Video cards for HTPC

matrim

I'm trying to setup a HTPC (Xbmc on top of either Ubuntu or LMDE) on an old box I have, it will also act a as file server and a few other things but the main function will be HTCP. It currently has a Raedon HD4350 and outputs via HDMI to a 32" LCD but I'm having a lot of problems getting it to work properly.

Using the propriety drivers (both via apt or compiled myself) I get a flicker every couple of minutes and then the colour will randomly go off (i.e. screen has a blue or green tint) for a few minutes.

Using the open source driver straight from an install the video seems to work fine but there is no sound via HDMI.
To fix this I have to enable a boot option "radeon.audio" which enables HDMI audio. This works to enable audio but every 2 minutes I will get a flicker on the screen similar to what I get with the other drivers, but this time no colour distortion.

Apparently ATI are going to stop supporting this card with their propriety drivers so rather than hope for a fix, I'm thinking of just buying a new video card.

I've heard nVidia cards are well supported by both linux and XBMC (hardware decoding support) so was thinking of going that way. The GF210 is nice and cheap and looks to support the basics of everything I need but is there a better option out there? I'd probably be willing to spend up to about 60 or 70 euro.

TLDR : Recommend me a well supported (cheap) graphics card for use in a HTCP running XBMC and Linux?

KAGY

matrim wrote: »

I'm trying to setup a HTPC (Xbmc on top of either Ubuntu or LMDE) on an old box I have, it will also act a as file server and a few other things but the main function will be HTCP. It currently has a Raedon HD4350 and outputs via HDMI to a 32" LCD but I'm having a lot of problems getting it to work properly.

What type of flicker do you see? I have the same/similar card and I get a "texture flicker" for want of a better phrase, esp in the shadows. By that I mean that I have some barely noticeable artifacts in the shadows or highly textured areas then it suddenly becomes crystal clear. it happens with different format videos from different sources.

I know I fixed this before (it's back after a change of distro) but I can't remember how and haven't got the time to go searching. It might have been changing the video output / overlay from Xvideo to something else.

Other than that, apparently NVida cards work better with Linux.

matrim

By flicker I mean the whole display goes black for about a second and comes back on.

Some of the logs I was looking at last week seemed to indicate that something was restarting and that was causing the display to reset

matrim

I'm doing some more testing today and can't see what the problem is.

I was using it for about 2 hours this evening just as a desktop, i.e. running checks and installing programs with no problem. Then as soon as I start to play a video using mplayer the screen blanking / flicker starts again.

Checked the logs and nothing there that I can see.

matrim

Just a quick update to let anyone who may have a similar problem know, I ended up getting a Nvidia GeForce GT 430 for around €50.

It took a few minutes to properly setup HDMI audio but since then the video and audio are very good.