8600 series (fanless) for gaming

[zeek987]

Hey everyone, I want to have a silent video card if possible. So I thought I 'd go for a fanless 8600 series (best fanless card I can find).

Would a 8600 series (either GT or GTS, cheaper the better) be able to provide playable frame rates (30fps) on a 1280x1024 17inch lcd over dvi with current games? (cpu = Q6600)

Or should I step up to a x1950pro? I was told they are good value and fairly quiet. Is this true?


What's my best route here?



Thanks!

 

[vonwombat]

I don't know how quiet the X1950PRO is, but it performns better than the 8600. I don't know if it's the best idea to buy a fanless card though. Better try to find one with a silent fan.

 

[GeoMan]

absolutly no question, the X1950pro.

i can live with a little more background noise, but i cant live with playing games on low res and still getting jerky frames.

The X1950pro will give you significantly better performance at 1280X1024, check toms charts if you don't believe me.

And as far as DX10 go's, all games for probably the next year will be both DX10 and DX9, and the 8600 wont hold up as a gaming card on DX10 or DX9, so i'd go with the X1950pro on good ol DX9 and actually be able to play and enjoy the game, instead of a silent 8600GT on DX10 where i cant keep track of whats happening in the game because it's coming at me like a slide show. Even on current games the X1950pro is a much better performer, on games like Prey, the 8600 will be unplayable and the X1950 will give you a great playing experience.

If you want to game, frames and graphics quality are all that matter.

 

[FeareX]

The 8600gt is a fine card.. and handles my games fine @1440*900 (the same as 1280*1024 only widescreen)

So i would say go for it, an advantage of the 8600gt is also that it doesn't require allot of power.

 

[randomizer]

x1950 pro > 8600GT

x1950 pro >= 8600GTS (except when pumping the res and AA, due to the x1950 pro's 256-bit memory interface it generally performs better)

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Note that BF2142 has 4xAA and 8xAF enabled as well, oblivion has only 8xAF and no AA