Good, quiet bang for buck graphics card?

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati (More info?)

I bought this card for a backup SFF machine(Shuttle type) for use in
our family room for the kids until I settle on what the media center will
look like in a few months to a year and I was nicely surprised...

http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?pro...



On Mon, 21 Feb 2005 20:52:32 +1100, Jeff Conescu <coneyg@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I'm putting together a system that's going to be located in a bedroom and
> frequently used for watching TV on. Accordingly, it's in a Sonata case
> with
> 120mm fans and doesn't make much noise. I've got all the components
> selected
> apart from the graphics card. Bang for buck is the main objective, so the
> budget won't stretch beyond a radeon 9800se, and I'd rather go lower and
> spend the savings on other components if I can. I assume this points
> towards
> a 9600pro.
>
> Can anyone recommend a decent *quiet* video card to fit this brief?
> There's
> a real lack of online information available detailing how noisy
> particular
> cards are.
>
> All suggestions appreciated.
>
> [follow-ups set to alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati only]
>
>
>



--
Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati (More info?)

"Jeff Conescu" <coneyg@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:4219af5c$0$462$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au...
> Hi,
>
> I'm putting together a system that's going to be located in a bedroom and
> frequently used for watching TV on. Accordingly, it's in a Sonata case
> with 120mm fans and doesn't make much noise. I've got all the components
> selected apart from the graphics card. Bang for buck is the main
> objective, so the budget won't stretch beyond a radeon 9800se, and I'd
> rather go lower and spend the savings on other components if I can. I
> assume this points towards a 9600pro.
>
> Can anyone recommend a decent *quiet* video card to fit this brief?
> There's a real lack of online information available detailing how noisy
> particular cards are.
>
> All suggestions appreciated.
>
> [follow-ups set to alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati only]
>
>
>

The gigabyte 6600gt with passive heatpipe cooling. Needs lot's of space and
don't expect to overclock it much!

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati (More info?)

"Jeff Conescu" <coneyg@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:4219af5c$0$462$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au...
> Hi,
>
> I'm putting together a system that's going to be located in a bedroom and
> frequently used for watching TV on. Accordingly, it's in a Sonata case
> with 120mm fans and doesn't make much noise. I've got all the components
> selected apart from the graphics card. Bang for buck is the main
> objective, so the budget won't stretch beyond a radeon 9800se, and I'd
> rather go lower and spend the savings on other components if I can. I
> assume this points towards a 9600pro.
>
> Can anyone recommend a decent *quiet* video card to fit this brief?
> There's a real lack of online information available detailing how noisy
> particular cards are.
>
> All suggestions appreciated.
>
> [follow-ups set to alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati only]
>
>
>
I would suggest you not come to NVIDIA NG's asking questions on ATI cards.

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati (More info?)

Jeff Conescu wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm putting together a system that's going to be located in a bedroom and
> frequently used for watching TV on. Accordingly, it's in a Sonata case with
> 120mm fans and doesn't make much noise. I've got all the components selected
> apart from the graphics card. Bang for buck is the main objective, so the
> budget won't stretch beyond a radeon 9800se, and I'd rather go lower and
> spend the savings on other components if I can. I assume this points towards
> a 9600pro.
>
> Can anyone recommend a decent *quiet* video card to fit this brief? There's
> a real lack of online information available detailing how noisy particular
> cards are.
>
> All suggestions appreciated.
>
> [follow-ups set to alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati only]
>
>
>

I believe sapphire do some passively cooled high end radeons (they call
them their 'ultimate' series)

9600 Pro : http://www.sapphiretech.com/vga/9600proult.asp
9700 Pro : http://www.sapphiretech.com/vga/9700proult.asp
9800 Pro : http://www.sapphiretech.com/vga/9800proult.asp

They cost more though (obviously needing more technology to achieve the
end result - heatpipes, big good quality heatsinks etc.)

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati (More info?)

> budget won't stretch beyond a radeon 9800se, and I'd rather go lower and
> spend the savings on other components if I can. I assume this points
towards
> a 9600pro.

If you want quiet, go with a AIW 9600 non-pro. It doesn't have a fan so it
makes _no_ noise and if you're not a gamer, you'll never notice the
difference in performance.

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati (More info?)

"Jeff Conescu" <coneyg@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:4219af5c$0$462$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au...
> Hi,
>
> I'm putting together a system that's going to be located in a bedroom and
> frequently used for watching TV on. Accordingly, it's in a Sonata case
with
> 120mm fans and doesn't make much noise. I've got all the components
selected
> apart from the graphics card. Bang for buck is the main objective, so the
> budget won't stretch beyond a radeon 9800se, and I'd rather go lower and
> spend the savings on other components if I can. I assume this points
towards
> a 9600pro.
>
> Can anyone recommend a decent *quiet* video card to fit this brief?
There's
> a real lack of online information available detailing how noisy particular
> cards are.
>
> All suggestions appreciated.
>
> [follow-ups set to alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati only]
>
Why ATI? Nvidia cards are better. Geforce 6600gt will suit you fine.

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati (More info?)

Jeff Conescu wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm putting together a system that's going to be located in a bedroom and
> frequently used for watching TV on. Accordingly, it's in a Sonata case with
> 120mm fans and doesn't make much noise. I've got all the components selected
> apart from the graphics card. Bang for buck is the main objective, so the
> budget won't stretch beyond a radeon 9800se, and I'd rather go lower and
> spend the savings on other components if I can. I assume this points towards
> a 9600pro.
>
> Can anyone recommend a decent *quiet* video card to fit this brief? There's
> a real lack of online information available detailing how noisy particular
> cards are.
>
> All suggestions appreciated.
>
> [follow-ups set to alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati only]


Check out the 9550 cards @ Newegg.com. They are slower than the 9600
Pro, but have passive cooling. I just bought one for my HTPC for about
$70, and I am very happy with it. You can google for benchmarks of the
9550 vs. the 9600. Also, avoid the "SE" cards.

This is the particular one that I bought:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?descripti...

It is out-of-stock at the moment.

Note that I went with the 128MB version - I don't do much gaming, so
256MB made no sense for me.

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati (More info?)

If you are not playing games, you can get a Radeon VE board for probably
$20 on E-Bay, they don't have fans at all, and they are surprisingly
good cards. The "built by ATI" cards have DVI, VGA and S-Video (TV)
output, any 2 of which can be used concurrently. Look for the "Radeon
VE Dual Display Edition". Although "low end", with only 32 megs of
memory, these are surprisingly good cards for anything in this range,
and they are fine for everything (including office apps, web browsing,
even photography, DVD playback and video editing) EXCEPT 3D games and CAD.

Also, the "built by ATI" Radeon 9600 (no suffix at all) was passivly
cooled (no fan at all) and they are available for under but close to
$100, they also have DVI, VGA and TV out, and are obviously much
higher-end cards.



Jeff Conescu wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I'm putting together a system that's going to be located in a bedroom and
> frequently used for watching TV on. Accordingly, it's in a Sonata case with
> 120mm fans and doesn't make much noise. I've got all the components selected
> apart from the graphics card. Bang for buck is the main objective, so the
> budget won't stretch beyond a radeon 9800se, and I'd rather go lower and
> spend the savings on other components if I can. I assume this points towards
> a 9600pro.
>
> Can anyone recommend a decent *quiet* video card to fit this brief? There's
> a real lack of online information available detailing how noisy particular
> cards are.
>
> All suggestions appreciated.
>
> [follow-ups set to alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati only]
>
>
>

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati (More info?)

Consider a chaintech 5700LE

"Jeff Conescu" <coneyg@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:4219af5c$0$462$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au...
> Hi,
>
> I'm putting together a system that's going to be located in a bedroom and
> frequently used for watching TV on. Accordingly, it's in a Sonata case
> with 120mm fans and doesn't make much noise. I've got all the components
> selected apart from the graphics card. Bang for buck is the main
> objective, so the budget won't stretch beyond a radeon 9800se, and I'd
> rather go lower and spend the savings on other components if I can. I
> assume this points towards a 9600pro.
>
> Can anyone recommend a decent *quiet* video card to fit this brief?
> There's a real lack of online information available detailing how noisy
> particular cards are.
>
> All suggestions appreciated.
>
> [follow-ups set to alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati only]
>
>
>

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati (More info?)

On Mon, 21 Feb 2005 12:51:34 +0000, ofn01 <netusr@internet.not> wrote:

>Jeff Conescu wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> I'm putting together a system that's going to be located in a bedroom and
>> frequently used for watching TV on. Accordingly, it's in a Sonata case with
>> 120mm fans and doesn't make much noise. I've got all the components selected
>> apart from the graphics card. Bang for buck is the main objective, so the
>> budget won't stretch beyond a radeon 9800se, and I'd rather go lower and
>> spend the savings on other components if I can. I assume this points towards
>> a 9600pro.
>>
>> Can anyone recommend a decent *quiet* video card to fit this brief? There's
>> a real lack of online information available detailing how noisy particular
>> cards are.
>>
>> All suggestions appreciated.
>>
>> [follow-ups set to alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati only]
>>
>>
>>
>
>I believe sapphire do some passively cooled high end radeons (they call
>them their 'ultimate' series)
>
>9600 Pro : http://www.sapphiretech.com/vga/9600proult.asp
>9700 Pro : http://www.sapphiretech.com/vga/9700proult.asp
>9800 Pro : http://www.sapphiretech.com/vga/9800proult.asp
>
>They cost more though (obviously needing more technology to achieve the
>end result - heatpipes, big good quality heatsinks etc.)

I'd stick an Arctic Cooler on a standard ATI card (as indeed I have
done). Macho fan setting for overclocking or "silent" setting if you
are a big girl's blouse.

--

Julian Richards
computer "at" richardsuk.f9.co.uk

XP Home
L7S7A2 motherboard
Powercolor 9800 SE 8 pipelines 438/364 with Omega drivers
1 GB RAM
10 GB + 80 GB HDs
CD+DVD/CDRW drives

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati (More info?)

Julian Richards wrote:
> On Mon, 21 Feb 2005 12:51:34 +0000, ofn01 <netusr@internet.not> wrote:
>
>
>>Jeff Conescu wrote:
>>
>>>Hi,
>>>
>>>I'm putting together a system that's going to be located in a bedroom and
>>>frequently used for watching TV on. Accordingly, it's in a Sonata case with
>>>120mm fans and doesn't make much noise. I've got all the components selected
>>>apart from the graphics card. Bang for buck is the main objective, so the
>>>budget won't stretch beyond a radeon 9800se, and I'd rather go lower and
>>>spend the savings on other components if I can. I assume this points towards
>>>a 9600pro.
>>>
>>>Can anyone recommend a decent *quiet* video card to fit this brief? There's
>>>a real lack of online information available detailing how noisy particular
>>>cards are.
>>>
>>>All suggestions appreciated.
>>>
>>>[follow-ups set to alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati only]
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>I believe sapphire do some passively cooled high end radeons (they call
>>them their 'ultimate' series)
>>
>>9600 Pro : http://www.sapphiretech.com/vga/9600proult.asp
>>9700 Pro : http://www.sapphiretech.com/vga/9700proult.asp
>>9800 Pro : http://www.sapphiretech.com/vga/9800proult.asp
>>
>>They cost more though (obviously needing more technology to achieve the
>>end result - heatpipes, big good quality heatsinks etc.)
>
>
> I'd stick an Arctic Cooler on a standard ATI card (as indeed I have
> done). Macho fan setting for overclocking or "silent" setting if you
> are a big girl's blouse.
>

Is thermal paste supplied with the arctic cooler?
It is absolutely essential to remove the old thermal paste before
applying the new stuff?
Ive noticed that my 9600XT has two plastic pushpin things for the HSF
(abit model) - does the arctic cooler have just two screws that match up
with these or is mine meant to have four and is non-standard?

im interested in the AC but just a bit concerned about having to do the
replacement of my stock hsf

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati (More info?)

On Mon, 21 Feb 2005 14:03:11 +0000, ofn01 <netusr@internet.not> wrote:

>Julian Richards wrote:

>> I'd stick an Arctic Cooler on a standard ATI card (as indeed I have
>> done). Macho fan setting for overclocking or "silent" setting if you
>> are a big girl's blouse.
>>
>
>Is thermal paste supplied with the arctic cooler?
>It is absolutely essential to remove the old thermal paste before
>applying the new stuff?
>Ive noticed that my 9600XT has two plastic pushpin things for the HSF
>(abit model) - does the arctic cooler have just two screws that match up
>with these or is mine meant to have four and is non-standard?
>
>im interested in the AC but just a bit concerned about having to do the
>replacement of my stock hsf

I can't remember about paste. I got the old one off using a hair dryer
and it came away pretty clean. I am no techie at all but even though I
worried about it whilst doing it, I had no problems.

I paid over the odds for a 9800 SE but it runs like a 9800XT so it's
not all bad.

--

Julian Richards
computer "at" richardsuk.f9.co.uk

XP Home
L7S7A2 motherboard
Powercolor 9800 SE 8 pipelines 438/364 with Omega drivers
1 GB RAM
10 GB + 80 GB HDs
CD+DVD/CDRW drives