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Graphic card recommendations?

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - Graphic card recommendations?

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ctblack   09-24-2008 at 06:08:02 PM

Hi,

I don't know if the card I have in mind exist or not, I have been burned by cards with onboard fans that die and cause other problem one too many times. So I am asking the knowledgable forum members to see if a fanless card exist that has not too bad performance in 3D games (not FPS, but RTS type of games), my monitor has max resolution of 1650x1050 pixels. If there is not such thing, then which card out there has the best (long lasting) cooling onboard fan? Thanks!

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ahslan   09-24-2008 at 06:25:02 PM
- 0 +

well this might be a little overkill for you but here it is anyways:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125237

if you told us what your budget was, we could help you a lil better...

Message quoted 1 times
------------------------------ AMD64 X2 6000 + Biostar Tseries 770 + 4gb DDR2 800 G.Skill + Thermaltake WingRS case + Raidmax 530w modular PSU + 200gig internal WD HD + 250gig external WD HD + 500gig external Simpletech HDD + Belkin Wireless G PCI receiver + Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD4850
 Reply to ahslan
ctblack   09-24-2008 at 06:35:03 PM
- 0 +

ahslan wrote :

well this might be a little overkill for you but here it is anyways:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125237

if you told us what your budget was, we could help you a lil better...



Thanks for replying, that card looks like it fits my needs. My budget is $200-$300.

Reply to ctblack
ahslan   09-24-2008 at 06:40:53 PM
- 0 +

well there you go man...lol...got it on the first try :)

 

just make sure that the card will fit in your case...that thing looks pretty big just from the pics...


Message edited by ahslan on 09-24-2008 at 06:42:02 PM
------------------------------ AMD64 X2 6000 + Biostar Tseries 770 + 4gb DDR2 800 G.Skill + Thermaltake WingRS case + Raidmax 530w modular PSU + 200gig internal WD HD + 250gig external WD HD + 500gig external Simpletech HDD + Belkin Wireless G PCI receiver + Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD4850
 Reply to ahslan
aevm   09-24-2008 at 07:15:33 PM
- 0 +

Is that card using a TEC cooler by any chance? The Newegg and Gigabyte sites don't explain what "GIGABYTE Multi-Core Cooling Technology" means.

Reply to aevm
megamanx00   09-24-2008 at 07:37:09 PM
- 0 +

I just hope your case has good ventilation.

------------------------------ Playing X-Men Origins: Wolverine Athlon 64 X2 5000+ @3.24 Brisbane | GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-DS4 | 4GB Mushkin DDR2 1066 | Plextor 760A| 2x 3850 512M CF| WD 1TB Black| Fortron Blue Storm II 500W | APEVIA X-Dreamer Black | Win XP Pro & Vista Buisness 32bit
 Reply to megamanx00
br3nd064   09-24-2008 at 09:02:09 PM
- 0 +

I don't think it uses a TEC cooler. It looks like a standard heatsink. If you decide to go with that card, make sure your case has good airflow.

Reply to br3nd064
wgdz   09-24-2008 at 09:43:14 PM
- 1 +

for that $214 go get the visiontek 4870 that is on sale at BB if you can similarly price and use a 10% coupon if you have it to.

Reply to wgdz
ahslan   09-25-2008 at 05:51:15 PM
- 0 +

well I will admit that the card is a little expensive, but this is because of the fanless heatsink and 1gb of onboard memory...but ya, if it were up to me, I would get a cheaper one...

------------------------------ AMD64 X2 6000 + Biostar Tseries 770 + 4gb DDR2 800 G.Skill + Thermaltake WingRS case + Raidmax 530w modular PSU + 200gig internal WD HD + 250gig external WD HD + 500gig external Simpletech HDD + Belkin Wireless G PCI receiver + Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD4850
 Reply to ahslan
ctblack   09-25-2008 at 09:06:05 PM
- 0 +

I did ordered that card along with my new PC, which is using a Antec Sonata III case. Someone did replied about having good ventilation, the Sonata III comes with one 120mm rear multi speed fan, and there is a option to add a front 120mm fan, do I need to add the front fan too?

I agree the price is more than other 4850 cards (I actually paid $241 Canadian), but I am now have phobia about my card's fan dying and take out my whole computer with it. So the extra $50 or so is well justify for me to sleep well at night :)

Reply to ctblack
ahslan   09-25-2008 at 10:06:40 PM
- 0 +

...well then i guess the peace of mind is worth $50 then...

good selection on the case btw...you can run your computer with only the back fan, but if you are OCing, I would get another fan for the front...

------------------------------ AMD64 X2 6000 + Biostar Tseries 770 + 4gb DDR2 800 G.Skill + Thermaltake WingRS case + Raidmax 530w modular PSU + 200gig internal WD HD + 250gig external WD HD + 500gig external Simpletech HDD + Belkin Wireless G PCI receiver + Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD4850
 Reply to ahslan
ctblack   09-25-2008 at 10:18:20 PM
- 0 +

Great! Thanks! I don't plan to do any OCing, I am only using a 2.4 GHZ quad core. The games nowadays seems to be more GPU sensitive than CPU bound. I hope it will last me a while.

Reply to ctblack
Zanny   09-26-2008 at 04:11:16 AM
- 0 +

Considering cpu bottlenecks, the 4850 is nice. Only issue is its the 1 gig edition, and I guarantee that your whole system will cap out without using up 512 meg ddr3 on a 4850 - you can get a 2ed at some point later if you want some crossfire, but $40 for 512 meg ddr3 is a little much.

Message quoted 1 times
Reply to Zanny
rdb   09-26-2008 at 02:28:53 PM
- 0 +

4850, maybe with a after market cooler

Reply to rdb
ctblack   09-26-2008 at 04:42:43 PM
- 0 +

Zanny wrote :

Considering cpu bottlenecks, the 4850 is nice. Only issue is its the 1 gig edition, and I guarantee that your whole system will cap out without using up 512 meg ddr3 on a 4850 - you can get a 2ed at some point later if you want some crossfire, but $40 for 512 meg ddr3 is a little much.



Does that applies to all games? I am only interested in RTS/RPG types of games and not FPS types.

Reply to ctblack
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