not a big gamer or o/c'er. I'd like a decent card and picked out this one but I see review say it is noisy.

I need suggestions for cards that are notedly quiet.

XFX PVT84JUDD3 GeForce 8600GT XXX 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814150229
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy
Select An Optional Extended Warranty Plan 1 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $29.992 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $39.99 $30.00 Mail-in Rebate $129.99

Get a card with a passive heatsink. Should be lots of 7600 GS' cards out there that are fanless.

Should be able to game 1024x768 very well, and they're completely silent because they don't have a fan at all.

If you want something more powerful for gaming purposes, keep looking for other, passively cooled cards.

Below is a link to passively cooled nVidia 8xxx series GPUs:

nVidia Passively Cooled GPUs

Ignore the various flavors of the 8800 series since they come with a waterblock to cool the GPU. That means you'll need to buy a separate watercooling unit.

I chose nVidia 'cause they generally use less electricity than their ATI counterparts which means they should also generate less heat.

The passive 2600 or 2400 are very power efficient as well...

Great input, thanks a lot. I got sidetracked 6 months ago when I saw all the options on video cards. This is definitiely pointing me in a good direction. I'm getting real close now to doing it.

My box is running geforce 3 ti200. Deciding on video cards back then was simpler.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xSogJJoEVNo
May do this myself.