People have said just use onboard graphics cos watching TV is not graphics intensive, but I want to record and playback (with Hauppauge HVR 2200 tv card with twin digital tuners might be watching while recording, or 2 recordings may be going at once) and have a high resolution screen, so do I need something more powerful? I was looking at HD4850 silent 1GB card, but this may be a bit extreme. Any advice greatly appreciated.
Answer:
The HD 4850 is a great mainstream gaming card but overkill for HD videos and many models have no HDMI support. The much cheaper HD 4350 can give comparable HD video performance at less wattage, less or no noise plus HDMI support.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127436
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125251
The HD 4350 and similar cards are preferred for HTPC (Home Theater PC) builds for their high HD video performance but small size, low wattage, less heat and low/no noise. Cost efficient too.
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/labs/247519/ati-radeon-hd-4350.html
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2408&page=2
