Newegg has the 512MB starting at $43 and the 1GB starting at $54.  These are passively cooled, and low profile.  They still do Dolby True HD and DTS-HD bitstreaming.  Looks like we finally have a winner!

Bitstreaming and passively cooled for $43?  Definitely a winner in my book for a pure Media Center card.  If you are a gamer, though, look elsewhere.

 Is Powercolor a good brand? or should i not be concerned at this price point? I normally opt for xfx or gigabyte but i'm trying to finish my build as cheap as possible.

I haven't heard much about Powercolor.  I've always gone with Sapphire.  Just make sure you buy it from a reputable company that has good return policies and you should be alright.

 Looking at the specs of the 5570, man it seems like i should wait and pay possibly $20 to get sooo much more performance

http://www.erodov.com/forums/ati-launches-radeon-hd-5450-hd-5570-a/29927.html

Powercolor is fine. I have a 5770 from them as well as a 5770 from Sapphire in myother HTPC. Both are almost indistinguishable even in form factor.

Do any of the current flavors offer an HDMI port or all they all DVI-I and Display port?  Sticking an adapter off the back of my case is anything but appealing at this point.

 everyone i seen so far has hdmi and dvi

cigga24:

 everyone i seen so far has hdmi and dvi

Great!  I quickly read a review this morning at work and they were slighting the cards for being DVI and Display port.  Too bad I dont have the room for this card once I get the ceton tuner...

Anand has a good review here:

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3734

 You appear to be sacrificing a key AVIVO component for video quality (vector adaptive meshing).  I'd recommending sticking with a 5670 or higher, particularly if you're an HD sports fan.

Well the 5570s may be a better alternative if that is the case...sorry for being a bit behind on these, but I have been slammed at work and in some ways it is easier to make a post and check it rather than reading through a lengthy review.

Yet another release from ATI/nVidia lacking CEC support.

Tester

 Newbie, and yes I am still very new to HTPC's. I was curious if I were to get this card (upgrade from Radeon 4650) will I need a processor that supports Dolby True HD? I heard the new i3 does this. I have a i5-750 now.

No, you wouldn't need a processor upgrade.   The video card does all of the audio bitstreaming for you.

 your stereo receiver needs to be able to though