MSI rolls out R4600 HDMI GPU series for HTPC builders

We won't say the homegrown HTPC is making a comeback or anything, but shortly after Lian-Li laid out a new pair of cases, in flies MSI with a new duo of media PC-centric video cards. The R4600 series is comprised of the R4650 and R4670 (ATI), both of which are available in 512MB of 1GB flavors. Aside from boasting an all-too-useful HDMI port, these cards also support 7.1-channel audio output for use with internal Blu-ray drives, and the design is such that they won't infringe on any other nearby PCIe cards. Per usual, MSI left us hanging with respect to pricing and availability, but we're going out on a limb and expecting these to be totally reasonable.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 21st 2009 12:59PM]

Ah, very nice!

All I want is a card with an HDMI out that can pass the lossless BD audio through, and more than able to keep up with anything 1080P-related.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 22nd 2009 11:17AM]

Ken,
Check out this video card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121287

I got this about 4 months ago and I've been very happy with it. I got a blu-ray in december and my dual core CPU couldn't keep up, so I got this card, installed the drivers, hooked up the HDMI(actual HDMI port on the back plate. no stupid dongle adapter), and it worked flawlessly. It's also passively cooled, can handle modest gaming(virtual tennis, wii emulation), has 7.1 audio pass-through and for $30 after MIR, you just can't beat the price. Unless you wanna play crisis on your HTPC, I'd recommend it.