Excellent info. Thanks very much.
I'm downloading the 3DMArk app as I write this. If the vid card turns out
to be a problem, what card would you recommend? I'd like to keep it under
$200 if possible. It would be driving a 32" Sony Bravia @1920x1080.
Many modern low end video cards can drive a big monitor. What
you pay for in video cards, is gaming capability, enhanced 3D
rendering.
To start, you want a video card with the connectors you need, on
the faceplate. In years past, I would have recommended a card with
dual DVI-I on the faceplate, as you can use DVI-I to VGA passive dongle
adapters, to get VGA from it. That gives you two DVI, two VGA, or a mix.
My current video card is like that.
If you had a monitor with HDMI input, perhaps an HDMI connector
would be nice. And so on.
One reason for being careful about connector choices, is on the
off-chance you'll be using two monitors on the card in the future.
If you're not interested in two monitors, then selecting a video
card is a lot simpler. (Most video cards are dual-head capable,
with only a couple of the very cheapest ones, cheating on the
connectivity. I've seen some $39 cards, where the VGA and DVI-I
share facilities, so the card is effectively a single-head design
and can only drive one monitor at a time. Virtually everything else
is dual-head or better (Eyefinity).)
Low end cards may have video decode acceleration for movie playback,
but it is generally only used by a few video player applications. If
you had a weak processor in the computer, you might be more worried
about whether it had good UVD or Purevideo support.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UVD
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvidia_PureVideo (your GT 240 is "VP4")
I'd guess you wouldn't need to spend $200, for an HTPC (Home Theater)
type application. If you wanted to play 3D games, then the better
part of that $200 would be well applied.
For an HTPC, maybe a 4350 or 5450 ? Some of those are pretty cheap.
I can find this 4650 for $60, that has two DVI on it (that would
use a bit more power than the other cards, and has more gaming
capabilities).
You can see some power numbers here, for a few different cards. I
think the 4350 might be a 4550, with only slight differences,
so the power number of 18.5 watts would be similar. That's how
they can make some of those fanless.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/ati-radeon-hd4550_4.html#sect0
The 4650 is 30 watts.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/ati-radeon-hd4650_4.html#sect0
The GT 240 was 43.5 watts.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/gf-gt240-1gb_4.html#sect0
Paul