ATI HD 3450 - what decoder/video renderer combo?

[mattyb]

Not sure what happened to my last post - might have got lost in the forum upgrade today.

Anyway, my trusty nVidia 7600GS AGP video card has just died and I'm in need of a replacement. They're relatively expensive nowadays so I'm looking for an AGP alternative. Researching on this forum the ATI HD3450 gets some good press. My setup is only SD at the moment so I'm not looking to spend a lot of $$$.

A couple of questions:

1) I've been using nVidia Purevideo with the 7600GS. Does this work with the HD3450? Or if not, what decoder/renderer combo might be suitable?

2) Is the HD3450 quiet? I can't seem to find and AGP fanless version anywhere (maybe they don't exist?). My 7600GS was passively cooled so I don't want to introduce any extra noise to the HTPC.

Thanks in advance.

[sub]

Not sure what happened to my last post - might have got lost in the forum upgrade today.

Yep - we lots about a day of posts when I ended up having to restore from yesterday's database backup.

[johnsonx42]

1) I've been using nVidia Purevideo with the 7600GS. Does this work with the HD3450? Or if not, what decoder/renderer combo might be suitable?

Purevideo should continue to work with the ATI card. You can also get the ATI MPEG-2 Decoder as part of the AVIVO download; I've had good success with that, though I've settled on the Windows 7 Microsoft DVD-DTV Decoder.

2) Is the HD3450 quiet? I can't seem to find and AGP fanless version anywhere (maybe they don't exist?). My 7600GS was passively cooled so I don't want to introduce any extra noise to the HTPC.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6814102862
I realize NewEgg doesn't ship to Australia, but at least that gives you a Sapphire part number to go looking for. You may not really need to go fanless though; my HD4550 does have a fan but it's whisper quiet.

[mattyb]

Thanks johnson. That's good news about the HD4550 being whisper quiet. I assume the 3450 would have the same fan.

Anyone else have any experience with the HD3450 they'd like to share?

[pBS]

i'm using one fine with XP...using ffdshow for mpeg2, cyberlink for h.264 and vc1..
in vmr9 fse mode...looks great for everything..
i'm using cat 8.11 for xp...tho for other os, newest is more likely better..
turn on detail enhancement in catalyst for a bit of sharpening or noise reduction..
[i prefer it off or set to '0']

[ilovejedd]

I use VMR9 FSE and MPC decoders.

[mattyb]

Ok, I ordered the HD3450 and have now received the HD3650 as the 3450 was out of stock. Looks like a fun weekend of tweaking decoders/driver settings coming up!

So pBS you recommend using the older 8.11 driver rather than the latest ones? (my setup is on XP)

[pBS]

yea, they just work out of the box...the 3650 is actually much better, and should work with mpc-hc decoders just fine...
8.11 for that one under xp...even default settings should work fine..

[mattyb]

Got my 3650 working and the playback quality is excellent - superior to the nVidia 7600GS in fact.

The only thing is the fan on the 3650 is NOISY. Is there any way of slowing that thing down? It seems to run full speed all the time. The version I have is the Powercolor HD3650.

[Torque]

In the Catalyst Control Center, do you have an "Ati Overdrive" section? If so, you can click the key icon to unlock the Overdrive settings. Enable manual fan control and then move the slider to see if it changes the fan speed. Make sure you check the temps every once in a while to make sure the video card isn't running too hot with the slower fan speed.