HTPC Graphics Cards Reviewed
 

In the last couple of years the market of consumer graphics cards began to get considerably more diverse than it used to be. Due to different requirements for power, cooling and space, graphics accelerators for gaming, graphics cards for HTPC (Home Theater Personal Computer) and basic multimedia tasks are completely different in terms of performance, form-factor and other qualities nowadays.

It is almost impossible to install longer graphics cards – such as ATI Radeon HD 5800 or Nvidia GeForce GTX 400/200 – into computer cases that resemble consumer electronics appliances like Blu-ray/DVD players. On the other hand, graphics cards that seem to be perfect for HTPCs cannot run modern games with all the eye-candy enabled in 1920x1080 resolution. In addition, such graphics cards come equipped with rather loud cooling systems that are not welcomed guests of living rooms.

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