This post is split into two parts, the first part is for those looking to see if their Graphics Card supports hardware-decoding of video (H.264\/AVC and VC-1), whereas the second part is for those looking to buy a new graphics card that supports hardware-decoding.<\/p>\n
The term DXVA (DirectX Video Acceleration) is often used and refers to hardware-enabled playback under Windows. Many of the graphics cards presented here also supports hardware acceleration on other platforms, but those will not be taken into consideration by me for the time beeing.<\/p>\n
Wikipedia lists most compatible cards that decode video on the GPU, each manufaturer has their own solution.<\/p>\n
If you are still at a planning stage for your HTPC, I recommend getting this book<\/a>. I wish I had this book when I started out as it would have saved me a lot of time. Of course, if you are not interested in setting up windows media center, this book<\/a> should be more suited for. I will use http:\/\/www.silentpcreview.com<\/a> for most of my HTPC recommendations, check out their page and forum!<\/p>\n Fan VS. Fanless<\/strong><\/p>\n While noise can be an annoyance, removing all cooling components can become quite hazardous. Most graphics cards are equipped with low quality stock fans that makes quite the impact on overall noise levels. These can easily be swapped with better coolers from Zalman<\/a> or Arctic Cooling<\/a>. I used the Zalman VF1000<\/a> on my Ati 4850 with good results. If you are considering a fanless card, make sure it keeps a stable temperature and that the case fans helps cooling it.<\/p>\n Fanless and gaming:\u00a0Powercolor <\/a>ATi <\/a>Radeon HD5750<\/p>\n Fanless and little to no gaming:<\/p>\n Fanless and low profile cabinet: Asus ATi Radeon HD5450 Silent<\/a><\/p>\nList of recommended cards<\/h3>\n