I'm putting together an HTPC for my new home. I'm over at Silent PC Review trying to get it as quiet as possible, when I ran into a snag. People seemed to be reccomending all sorts of 3D cards when I'd thought I'd need nothing more than an on-board intel chip.
So, now I'm left wondering, what role does a graphics card play in an HTPC running Microsoft's Media Centre? How much power do I need for something that's going to display TV (HD TV too) and recorded content? I'm not really planning it as a gaming machine (at least, not for anything demanding).
Money isn't an issue, though noise is, so I'd prefer to be able to replace the factory fan with something quieter, or better yet, something fanless. At the same time, I need it to provide smooth playback in pretty much any situation, but I know nothing about how the graphics card relates to playback in an HTPC.
So, now I'm left wondering, what role does a graphics card play in an HTPC running Microsoft's Media Centre? How much power do I need for something that's going to display TV (HD TV too) and recorded content? I'm not really planning it as a gaming machine (at least, not for anything demanding).
Money isn't an issue, though noise is, so I'd prefer to be able to replace the factory fan with something quieter, or better yet, something fanless. At the same time, I need it to provide smooth playback in pretty much any situation, but I know nothing about how the graphics card relates to playback in an HTPC.