Build the hell out of the Dell.

[walterm]

250 Watt power supply, should easily support any 75 watt powered (2.0 x 16 PCIE) video slot/card.

newegg: all low profile, some passive(another decision point)
XFX HD545X-YQH2 HD5450 $38- $20 MIR
XFX GT520M $53-$10 MIR
HIS H545HR1G $47-$10
PCRush
Gigabyte gv r6450C 1Gl $34.58 + $15.39 shipping
EVGA STORE
EVGA 01G P3 1335 KR GT430 1 GB DDR3 $51.05 + SHIP
Amazon
HIS HD5450 Silence 1GB DDR3 $39.99 FREE SHIP with prime
MSI HD5450 1GB $35.99 SHIP FREE with prime
Sapphire HD5450 $35.98 SHIP FREE WITH PRIME

128 BIT
ECS NGT430C 1GQRF $62-$10 MIR
EVGA 01G P3 1430 LR $61

Shop mwave, superbiiz, Amazon etc for special sales

Obvious fact is the 64 bit cards are the price leaders, 128 bit seems to be a $20-30 jump.
I would buy a 64 bit from Amazon and use their exchange policy if necessary.
30 Day Prime membership is free (trial) and prime I think has free return shipping

I put the 64 bit GT520 card I purchased in an ECS motherboard AMD 245 build, I have a slow internet connection (ATT) and feel this did not stream as well as a 64 bit GT430 card, and both did less well than a GT430 128 bit or HD4670 128 bit.

No BluRay involved. Soo is maybe me.
BY posting here (looking for answers!, like me not expert) I think you should go a little more than strictly needed and buy a 64 bit card to try (ie returnable) or dodge possible issues and go 128 bit,

FWIW HD6450 may be more power efficient than HD5450, check reviews. Some 6xxx series cards are relabeled 5xxx series cards, some 6xxx are less capable than original 5xxx cards though I think this only applies to 6670 and above (went from DDR5 to DDR3 memory, among other cost cuts, lol)

Powerwise you will not be overclocking or approaching full CPU power or GPU power, I would be more worried about possible cooling issues.
This would also seem a good reseason to buy from a "returnable" source if you choose a passive cooled card.

BUT, I over do things on a regular basis, good luck!

[McSteel]

Originally Posted by Serious Sam

Even a GT 520 can handle BD playback. WTH is with all this GTX 550Ti, 6770 and GTS 450?.

For all you amateurs, HTPC is all about low power consumption.

All GPUs that require a 6-pin connector are no go.

My choice is, either go for GT 520 or GT 240.

You need to dial your attitude down a notch. That being said, I don't see how a HD 5670 is overpowered or ill-suited for HTPC application, seeing how low it idles and how low it's BR decoding power requirements are. On the other hand, there is a reserve of computing muscle, should the need arise. Alternately, I did recommend the HD6450, which would be adequate for most uses.

Originally Posted by Silk_the_Absent1

I'd be down for the card, but the Dell is a 530s, so it has to be a low profile card.

Which is why I'm also worried about the PSU.

-Adam

I'm sticking by my backup recommendation of an HD 6450 then. This one, perhaps?

And yes, I did overlook that it's an SFF case you have there. According to this, your PSU is more than capable of supporting a low-profile, low-power video card. If you really want to get a stronger one, you could go with this nice lil' Seasonic...

[Serious Sam]

Originally Posted by Silk_the_Absent1

I'd be down for the card, but the Dell is a 530s, so it has to be a low profile card.

Exact reason why I suggested 520 and 240 or if price is a big issue, then AMD equivalents would do.

Originally Posted by McSteel

You need to dial your attitude down a notch.

Amateur a sore spot eh?

[walterm]

Not certain this applies but reading consumer comments your Dell case may require some custom fitting for using the lowprofile adapter with the VGA plug. Maybe.

Just a pain to mount (I've had to remove and rescrew/nut plugs to fit on couple cases
before things would fit). May need a bend or two, too.

[Silk_the_Absent1]

By the looks of the case, a standard low-profile will work. I'll also be yanking the 56k modem taking up the bottom one, to save a little juice, and free up the slot in case I want it.

Thanks for the recommendations, guys.

-Adam

[Serious Sam]

Originally Posted by Silk_the_Absent1

By the looks of the case, a standard low-profile will work. I'll also be yanking the 56k modem taking up the bottom one, to save a little juice, and free up the slot in case I want it.

Thanks for the recommendations, guys.

-Adam

So what did you choose?.

[Silk_the_Absent1]

Originally Posted by Serious Sam

So what did you choose?.

Haven't yet. Waiting for funds, but it'll probably be something along the lines of a 5450 or 6450. Cheap, and will do the job.

-Adam