Nvidia (GT430) vs. AMD solutions

[webminster]

Just a general grass-is-greener question.. Long time ago I disabled my onboard Radeon 4250 and installed a GT430 since I was having terrible issues with overcoming 29/59 problems with the 4250 and the drivers at the time (yes, applied all the known workarounds).

Since, been generally happy 90%+ or so, but still see occasional glitches, horizontal pan smoothness, flickering on line elements or channel logos and such, that leave me wondering about alternative graphics.

Anyone have experiences going from something like a GT430 to a AMD card like a 5750 or 6750, and have any impressions on whether the switch was "successful" (e.g., they saw any improvements relative to 29/59 or just plain video quality)?

Thanks for any comments.
-alan

[crawfish]

The only way to know is to try. The GT430 has worked the best for me. I think it was 2011, but over the course of a year, I tried replacing it with three AMD cards in the 6400-6600 range, and they were all worse for 29/59 stutter, plus they introduced a 29/59 glitch totally absent from the GT430, a sort of frame jumbling, where it looked like a frame was displayed out of sequence. This was distinct from the ordinary flicker, and all the glitches were immune to turning off all the post-processing. All my 29/59 problems have occurred with two different PCs and both my TV and my monitor.

The good news is, over the last year or so, I haven't been seeing 29/59 at all. It's still often there when I do the 411-info, but it isn't noticeable to me. So assuming my viewing habits are the same, either Nvidia or Microsoft (yeah right) made some improvements, or the broadcasters in my area are screwing up in more benign ways. I think it's probably mainly the latter, as there have always been people who've claimed 29/59 was fixed, but I don't doubt it's also partly the former, because I have one clip that still won't play cleanly but plays better than I remember.

[jjwatmyself]

If I was buying a card today to replace my GTS 450, it would be the power sipping GTX 750 Ti, as offers gaming performance, huge DDR5 RAM and without the need for an external power connector. Your system can operate with a 350-400 watt power supply with incredible graphics. Installed one last week in a friend's PC. Very impressed at how low the power consumotion is while having comparible performance to a GTX 560 Ti.

[Crash2009]

I have 2 different machines using the XFX version of the HD 6770. Both machines are Win7(64) It's been a couple years now with 0 problems. Initially, there was a great deal of experimentation with driver versions that ended with the Windows Update default version 8.50 from April of 2011. No Catalyst or Hydravision installed.

Never tried the GT430, so I have nothing to compare to. I do not notice any 29/59 problems on the HTPC or extenders.

[STC]

Personally AMD works best for me.

When playing with things a long time ago, I fired up my old PACE PVR in TV HDMI2 playing live HD and SD TV, and match that with HTPC's output on TV HDMI1. The TVs picture PQ would be setup exactly the same for both HDMI ports, and I would attempt to balance outputs using HTPC settings whilst flicking between them. I got almost identical with ATI with most everything turned off/disabled and just a tickle of sharpness added in catalyst (Cable STBs add a slight amount of sharpness). Motion handling was identical to the PACE. Only one channel I get has 29/59 output and we don't watch it so nothing lost there thankfully.

I tried the same with a GT430 but could not get it to perform as well PQ-wise. It fell just a little short.

[blueiedgod]

I initially set up our current "DVR" with "better" nVidia 8500, but it was giving me so much trouble, I switched back to the on-board 4250, and have not had problems since. It's been 5 years now with this particular machine.

[kmp14]

Personally AMD works best for me.

When playing with things a long time ago, I fired up my old PACE PVR in TV HDMI2 playing live HD and SD TV, and match that with HTPC's output on TV HDMI1. The TVs picture PQ would be setup exactly the same for both HDMI ports, and I would attempt to balance outputs using HTPC settings whilst flicking between them. I got almost identical with ATI with most everything turned off/disabled and just a tickle of sharpness added in catalyst (Cable STBs add a slight amount of sharpness). Motion handling was identical to the PACE. Only one channel I get has 29/59 output and we don't watch it so nothing lost there thankfully.

I tried the same with a GT430 but could not get it to perform as well PQ-wise. It fell just a little short.

Which AMD model are you using? What are you outputing at? (1080p60, 1080p59, 1080i30, 1080i29) ?

Thanks!

[STC]

1080P 59Hz

ATI 12.10 (hotfix release) - 12.8 would be just the same
Win 7 64
HD6670

[newfiend]

STC has always preferred AMD for it's better PQ.. I haven't tried AMD as I have always been an NVIDIA fanboy. I have had the GT430 as well as the GT640 (both EVGA models) as well as the GTX 650Ti and now the GTX 750Ti.
The NVIDIA cards did have problems with 59/29 in older drivers. This hasn't been an issue in some time now. All the cards I mentioned above have worked well for my needs and I get very good PQ (at least to my eyes anyway) on my TV.
I never thought about putting a GTX card in a HTPC until I started using it for Steam in Big Picture mode.. gaming in 1080p is great fun and having a card that handles both TV and great gaming graphics became very appealing.

[webminster]

How's the heat dissipation on the 750 models comparative to the 430 and such, and the noise?

[newfiend]

The 750Ti has been excellent for me it's a dual slot card and vents out the rear of the PC. I don't have any noise issues at all from the graphics card but my case has never been noisy to me it seems to dampen ambient noise to the point I don't hear the fan(s). The GT 430 has a fan but the heat is spread around inside the case instead of vented out like the GTX models. I never had an issue with heat or fan noise on either but it will depend on your case type and room environment etc. as well as how sensitive you are to fan noise etc. Its a subjective topic but overall I have had great experience's with all my NVIDIA cards.

[webminster]

I was intrigued by the 750Ti mention... decided I wanted to try one out so bought an EVGA 750Ti and just installed it. Used the 340.52 drivers from NVidia (the compatible driver list started with 334.89). I am so far impressed with the temperature profile, and the WEI (FWIW) is significantly higher than the MSI GT430 it replaced...

Not really seeing any video difference on the upgrade, which I assumed up front I'd be optimistic for it to solve problems... Still do see some flickering on Comcast, I was mostly trying to get rid of some flickering I see on channels like Showtime and USA where the channel logo will sometimes vertically shimmer, and I get shimmering artifacts on movie credits and sometimes on lines (like a line of light on a blind, or sometimes on a treescape). Still not sure if it's just 29/59 I can't get rid of, or more likely signal issues (like too much Comcast compression).

Oh, and thanks for the discussion above, appreciate all the feedback!
-Alan

[newfiend]

Hey Alan,
I also have Comcast. Some of the channels I have as well have crappy compression issues. HD really isn't "HD" on some of their channels. If you have Blu-Ray capability on your HTPC pop in a disc and see how that works.. at least that way you can get a feel for the video card performance and then you can tell if it's the card under performing for your needs or if it's Comcast over compressing the video stream. My bets are on Comcast over compressing. Blu-Ray at 1080p through my GTX 750Ti has been great as well as gaming at 1080p in Steam Big Picture Mode.
Let me know how it works out for you..
Good Luck,
newfiend~

[webminster]

Thanks for the reply, newfiend. My experiences mirror yours, I find Blu-Ray to be fine, and other non-cable comtent as well. Most of the cable content is at least adequate to good. There's the exceptions I've been fighting (not that they're terrible, just not "good enough"). Since we spend 99% of the time watching over the wire, been fighting for best possible for a long time, and assuming anymore fruitlessly. Too bad there's no likelihood to changing the Comcast biz model, or at least checking out something like a FIOS.

[STC]

Widgets on modern TVs such as Samsungs Digital Clean View and MPEG Filter help a lot for cable content I find.

[webminster]

So I've decided I'm a little happier with the GTX-750Ti, probably going to kep it... except:
Two playback interruptions in the last 3 days, "video error", requiring WMC restart. Have sneaking suspicion it's the 340.52 Nvidia drivers, maybe a carry-on of the problems with 337.88 as in http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... f=7&t=7473. Not exactly the same issue but seems similar.

Probably going to try regressing to the 335.23 drivers... those are on the compatible list, and I ran them before on the GT430...

[newfiend]

So I've decided I'm a little happier with the GTX-750Ti, probably going to kep it... except:
Two playback interruptions in the last 3 days, "video error", requiring WMC restart. Have sneaking suspicion it's the 340.52 Nvidia drivers, maybe a carry-on of the problems with 337.88 as in http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... f=7&t=7473. Not exactly the same issue but seems similar.

Probably going to try regressing to the 335.23 drivers... those are on the compatible list, and I ran them before on the GT430...

I have had similar video issues as of late.. Watching Live TV or Recorded.. all of a sudden I get a Video Error: Files needed to display video are not installed etc... Usually exiting WMC and reopening it fixes the issue. I have also had success with just hitting the restore down window button (which re-initiates the HDCP handshake) and the TV will then play.. I think it may be a Driver issue as well. The last two WHQL driver sets have had this issue. The latest WHQL Driver seems better but it still happens but not as often.
Let me know if you find a solid driver. I noticed that when the card is acting up if I run the Digital Cable Advisor that the card fails the test.. Nvidia needs to fix that in their driver IMO... I will look on their forums for similar complaints/issues with this.. If I see nothing I may start a thread. I am also running the latest BETA Firmware for the InfiniTV6 so I don't know where the "issue" is coming from but I am putting money on the Nvidia Driver as that's what fails the DCA... If I reboot the PC and then re-run the DCA it then passes.. Maybe it has an issue with PC's that sleep then wake and it doesn't refresh the HDCP handshake correctly?? But I am just speculating..
newfiend~