Thanks to those who responded to this request. I now have the computer display on the 42" 1080p 1920x1080 HDTV and it looks good!! I looked around a lot, and finally found a used passive cooled (no noisy fan) MSI nVidia AGP 6200 with VGA & DVI outputs. I used a DVI to HDMI converter cable because the TV had neither DVI or VGA inputs. (Don't buy a TV or monitor that doesn't have the inputs you need.) The puter is a reconditioned black IBM A50p (Intel 865G chipset), same color and size as my stereo receiver, so it matches good. Now I can listen to my mp3's and flac files through the stereo, and watch video files on the big TV. Next I need to replace the present CD-R drive with a DVD drive and I should be able to play DVD's also. The driver software I installed for the 6200 included some nice nVidia display utilities. The utilities gave me a choice of resolutions up to 1080i, but not 1080p. I don't know why 1080p is not available, maybe a limitation of the NV 6200 card. When I'm done buying the DVD drive, the home-made (playback only) HTPC will have cost about $250. 
Thanks again for the help. Bob Lendrim   


>From: Bob Lendrim <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Dec 12, 2008 11:28 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: [PCBUILD] Video card to run 42" 1080p HDTV
>
>I bought an older desktop and want to put a video card in it which will run my 1080p HDTV. It has to be AGP and the power supply is only 260W, so I am limited in choice of cards. I don't know yet if I can put in a larger power supply. A passive cooled NVidia 4200 (which draws about 40 watts) is currently running the TV. I can find the current draw of most video cards, but don't know which ones will run the TV. 
>
>Is it possible to tell from a card's specifications whether it will run the 42' 1080p HDTV?
>If so, what specs should I look for ?
>
>Thank you, Bob Lendrim
>
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