Hi - I am new and have a question about a new GFX card...

jon86 · 08-18-04, 04:00 AM

Hi.

I am planning on building a Windows XP / Linux-64 bit rig on Friday and I need some help choosing a graphics card. I was going to go for an ATi as you can get a card that has a factory fitted VGA silencer, which means the warranty is intact and I have a nice cool and most importantly QUIET graphics card.

As ATi drivers in Linux-32 bit are laughable and non-existent in Linux-64 bit, I have opted for an nVidia solution. One thing I hate with graphics cards are the rediculously loud and whiney 5 cfm type stock heatsink fans. I would love a passively cooled heatsink solution and run a 5 or 7 volt modded 80mm fan over it, but realise that it is highly unlikely that I could do that.

The budget I have is around $280 (Â£160) which must include English VAT. I will be buying from a UK stockist so no references to newegg please.

Thanks all.
Jon

chrismortimore · 08-18-04, 05:05 AM

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...x0y1z1p1s0n0m0

Look here. If you go for a decent one you'll get your fabby cooling system :P

Other places to try are www.dabs.com, www.ebuyer.com, www.simply.co.uk and a guy called Kev who owns a shop around the corner from me and doesn't have a website :P:P Go as high as your budget will dare.

jon86 · 08-18-04, 05:21 AM

You forgot to mention www.scan.co.uk and www.overclockers.co.uk...

I would like some suggestions of cards with decent cooling systems that don't feature a whiny fan that has to spin many many thousands of RPM to push any sort of air.

This is why I want an Artic VGA Silencer as stock on the card (like the ATi card I was going to get!

)

**Thunderbird** · 08-18-04, 05:44 AM

There are two things you can do. Ofcourse you can buy a simple fanless videocard but useally those cards are SLOW. They are useally based on geforce4mx (mx4000 is one of those too) or fx5200 gpus. Gainward has a fanless geforcefx 5700 in their "SilentFX" series. The card is a bit bigger than normal cards because of the heatpipe but it is 100% silent. (http://www.gainwardusa.com/products/vga_980sxp.htm)

An other option is to buy lets say a GeforceFX 5900 card and to make it silent by adding a zalman heatpipe. (the Gainward heatpipe is also made by Zalman) For example you could take this Zalman heatpipe: http://www.gainwardusa.com/products/vga_980sxp.htm (they have a few others too). Note that in case of the FX5900 you need to add a fan too, but the fans are big and because of that are silent.

jon86 · 08-18-04, 06:00 AM

I didn't want to 'add' anything because that would mean invalidating the warranty.

I have decided to go for the passively cooled FX5700 for Â£146.88 from Scan.
I don't need the absolute best graphics. I just need nice graphics that will run and be quiet. You can't get much quieter than silent.

Thanks very much for showing me this graphics card.

08-18-04, 04:00 AM	#1
jon86 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 3	Hi - I am new and have a question about a new GFX card... Hi. I am planning on building a Windows XP / Linux-64 bit rig on Friday and I need some help choosing a graphics card. I was going to go for an ATi as you can get a card that has a factory fitted VGA silencer, which means the warranty is intact and I have a nice cool and most importantly QUIET graphics card. As ATi drivers in Linux-32 bit are laughable and non-existent in Linux-64 bit, I have opted for an nVidia solution. One thing I hate with graphics cards are the rediculously loud and whiney 5 cfm type stock heatsink fans. I would love a passively cooled heatsink solution and run a 5 or 7 volt modded 80mm fan over it, but realise that it is highly unlikely that I could do that. The budget I have is around $280 (Â£160) which must include English VAT. I will be buying from a UK stockist so no references to newegg please. Thanks all. Jon

08-18-04, 05:05 AM	#2
chrismortimore Registered User Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 131	Re: Hi - I am new and have a question about a new GFX card... http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...x0y1z1p1s0n0m0 Look here. If you go for a decent one you'll get your fabby cooling system :P Other places to try are www.dabs.com, www.ebuyer.com, www.simply.co.uk and a guy called Kev who owns a shop around the corner from me and doesn't have a website :P:P Go as high as your budget will dare. __________________ [ www.guff.tk ]

08-18-04, 05:21 AM	#3
jon86 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 3	Re: Hi - I am new and have a question about a new GFX card... You forgot to mention www.scan.co.uk and www.overclockers.co.uk... I would like some suggestions of cards with decent cooling systems that don't feature a whiny fan that has to spin many many thousands of RPM to push any sort of air. This is why I want an Artic VGA Silencer as stock on the card (like the ATi card I was going to get! )

08-18-04, 05:44 AM	#4
Thunderbird Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Netherlands, Europe Posts: 2,105	Re: Hi - I am new and have a question about a new GFX card... There are two things you can do. Ofcourse you can buy a simple fanless videocard but useally those cards are SLOW. They are useally based on geforce4mx (mx4000 is one of those too) or fx5200 gpus. Gainward has a fanless geforcefx 5700 in their "SilentFX" series. The card is a bit bigger than normal cards because of the heatpipe but it is 100% silent. (http://www.gainwardusa.com/products/vga_980sxp.htm) An other option is to buy lets say a GeforceFX 5900 card and to make it silent by adding a zalman heatpipe. (the Gainward heatpipe is also made by Zalman) For example you could take this Zalman heatpipe: http://www.gainwardusa.com/products/vga_980sxp.htm (they have a few others too). Note that in case of the FX5900 you need to add a fan too, but the fans are big and because of that are silent.

08-18-04, 06:00 AM	#5
jon86 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 3	Re: Hi - I am new and have a question about a new GFX card... I didn't want to 'add' anything because that would mean invalidating the warranty. I have decided to go for the passively cooled FX5700 for Â£146.88 from Scan. I don't need the absolute best graphics. I just need nice graphics that will run and be quiet. You can't get much quieter than silent. Thanks very much for showing me this graphics card.