Casual gaming graphics card (GT 240/HD4670)

[jonnybearback]

Having been out and bought COD MW2 for my PC and found that my onboard GPU wont run the game, I either need to return the game or save myself from 100's of hours of lost time shooting people and buy a new gfx card!... on with finding a gfx card then

My system is a Shuttle SG33G6 with 300W shuttle PC50 psu, Q6600, Samsung 500gb sata2 drive and a small sata backup drive, DVD burner and a pair of 1gb Corsair TwinX XMX2 6400 ram modules.
Monitor is a 24" Dell WFP2408 S-IPS at 1920x1200?

Not a power system, but used mainly as home office, web design and photoshop/illustrator work. Gaming is bottom on the list of priorities an dI dont need to game at super high rez's.

Anyway, to cut to the chase...

I'm looking after a suitable gfx card to fit the PCI-E x16 slot

I dont have a PCI-e power connector from my PSU, but I do have 2 molex connectors spare.

I want to keep things cool and quiet and not overload the PSU so I think best options are the Radeon 4670 and the Geforce GT 240.
I may end up having this as a HTPC once I get a decent LCD TV so HDCP and HDMI out is a consideration too.

I've been looking at the Sapphire Ultimate Edition 4670 with 512mb GDDR3 and passive cooler http://www1.sapphiretech.com/us/products/products_overview.php?gpid=280
as well as the HIS 4670 isilence4 with 1gb and passive cooler.
also the Zotac GT 240 amp edition.
[url=http://pden.zotac.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage_images.tpl&product_id=198&category_id=78&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1[/url]

Passive is my preference, although I know down the line when I *need* it silent I can get a passive cooler.

Am I on the right lines or are there other options that wont kill me on PSU demands?
Any feedback on which card is best or what I should look at?

Also worth noting, it needs to be a single slot cooler card as theres not much room between pci-e slot and case.. more room on the solder side though and would just fit that Zalman VFN100 cooler.

Thanks

 

[sabot00]

Get the cheaper one, the GT 240 performs better, however in newegg is overpriced.
You can find 9800GT Eco (low-power) models, however these usually have lower clocks.

 

[jonnybearback]

any benefit of 1024mb vs 512mb - or again - cheapest best?

 

[deadlockedworld]

Hey Jonny,

This Tom's article discusses that question in detail if you are curious.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-ram-4870,2428.html

The GT 240 with ddr5 would be a nice option if you arent really worried about getting the best deal... If you are, you might be able to find some 9600GTs on sale that would be just as fast. I think you would be pretty safe using the molex to 6-pin adapter on a 9600 since nvidia sells it as a 350w psu card and im sure they are quite conservative.

-The 4670 is a great card, but falls a little below either of those in power.
-I'm not certain how I would feel about a 9800 eco on a 300w... 350 yes.. but in this case it might depend on what kind of quality it is... ?

(Is your case one of the ones with the normal PSU? You could pick up a $40 corsair 400cx psu with a completely silent fan.. and it would run any card that could physically fit in your case...)

 

[jyjjy]

The GT 240 is on par with a 9600GT and overpriced. You can get a 9800GT for the same price or cheaper. Here is one that is passively cooled;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143169

 

[deadlockedworld]

The GT 240 is on par with a 9600GT and overpriced. You can get a 9800GT for the same price or cheaper. Here is one that is passively cooled;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143169

I considered that one too, but what baffles me is that it is listed as having higher power requirements than a normal 9800GT. Also--I have trouble imagining the shuttle having good airflow?

"425W PCI Express-compliant system power supply with a combined 12V current rating of 28A or more
One 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connector -or- Two 4-pin Molex supplementary power connectors
System chassis intake airflow = 25 CFM being directed towards the graphics card"


---
On a side note, dont forget the GT 240 article by toms. It's a little flawed--because they used an underclocked 4670--but gives you a nice comparison of the cards we are talking about. (the 8800gt=9800gt)
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gt-240,2475-19.html

 

[jyjjy]

I guess if you want a card to be very quiet when viewing movies and such you could always get a normal card and then set up a profile in something like rivatuner to both underclock the card and turn the fan speed to very low. I've never tried it but it seems like it should work decently.