6600GT replacement

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erwos

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Apr 7, 2005
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Need a bit of advice: my wife's computer has an old passively-cooled 6600GT in it. I'm looking for something that's cooler, but is of comparable graphical power (or better, obviously). I'd prefer to keep costs down if possible, and quiet is better (silent is best!). :)

Does anyone have any recommendations?
 
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CurseTheSky

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Oct 21, 2006
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What is the computer used for?

If she games on it at all, you'll want something mid-range like an HD 5670, GT 240, 9800 GT, or HD 5750. All of them will run laps around a 6600 GT, and most should run just as warm.

If no gaming is involved, I'd grab something like an HD 5450 or GT 220.
 
blastingcap

blastingcap

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Sep 16, 2010
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erwos said:
Need a bit of advice: my wife's computer has an old passively-cooled 6600GT in it. I'm looking for something that's cooler, but is of comparable graphical power (or better, obviously). I'd prefer to keep costs down if possible, and quiet is better (silent is best!). :)

Does anyone have any recommendations?
Click to expand...

If you are in the market for a mobo try getting one with an integrated HD4200 or higher. It will be about as fast as a 6600GT, especially if you oc it.
 
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erwos

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Apr 7, 2005
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CurseTheSky said:
What is the computer used for?

If she games on it at all, you'll want something mid-range like an HD 5670, GT 240, 9800 GT, or HD 5750. All of them will run laps around a 6600 GT, and most should run just as warm.
Click to expand...
She does game a bit on it, mostly LOTRO. Which of those cards is coolest, temperature-wise?

Some good suggestions all around, thanks to everyone who's responded so far. :)
 
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CurseTheSky

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Oct 21, 2006
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I would expect the HD 5670 or GT 240 to be the coolest of those four, but I'm not 100% sure.
 
blastingcap

blastingcap

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erwos said:
She does game a bit on it, mostly LOTRO. Which of those cards is coolest, temperature-wise?

Some good suggestions all around, thanks to everyone who's responded so far. :)
Click to expand...

It depends on the exact manufacturer but 5670 or GT240 are probably coolest. 5670 is significantly faster than the GT240, but GT240s are significantly cheaper. But they (GT240s) lack DX11.
 
Termie

Termie

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Aug 17, 2005
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Passively cooled cards are by nature going to be hottest, but also the quietest, and there is no fan to break down. If you want cooler, then get a card with a fan. They are also usually much cheaper, because the passive coolers are larger and more complex, to make up for the lack of a fan.

As others have asked, please confirm whether the computers has an AGP or PCIe slot before purchasing anything. My recommendation for your needs (assuming PCIe) is the GT240 DDR5. Just a steal at the $50 asking price (after rebate): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130533. Cheaper and faster than any HD5550.
 
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erwos

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Apr 7, 2005
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Termie said:
Passively cooled cards are by nature going to be hottest, but also the quietest, and there is no fan to break down. If you want cooler, then get a card with a fan. They are also usually much cheaper, because the passive coolers are larger and more complex, to make up for the lack of a fan.

As others have asked, please confirm whether the computers has an AGP or PCIe slot before purchasing anything. My recommendation for your needs (assuming PCIe) is the GT240 DDR5. Just a steal at the $50 asking price (after rebate): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130533. Cheaper and faster than any HD5550.
Click to expand...
The computer in question has nothing but PCIe slots - I'm pretty confident of this, as I built it myself. :) It's also a small micro-ATX system, and I think I underestimated the issues involved with cooling it - playing anything on it for a long period of time results in the system fans really kicking in to get rid of the heat. My thought was that a card with a fan might actually result in a quieter system, if the GPU fan itself was reasonably quiet.
 
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CurseTheSky

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Oct 21, 2006
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erwos said:
The computer in question has nothing but PCIe slots - I'm pretty confident of this, as I built it myself. :) It's also a small micro-ATX system, and I think I underestimated the issues involved with cooling it - playing anything on it for a long period of time results in the system fans really kicking in to get rid of the heat. My thought was that a card with a fan might actually result in a quieter system, if the GPU fan itself was reasonably quiet.
Click to expand...

A 5670 with a dual-slot cooler / fan should be whisper quiet. Again, it's a bit more expensive, but it's a worthy investment IMO.
 
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erwos

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Apr 7, 2005
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CurseTheSky said:
A 5670 with a dual-slot cooler / fan should be whisper quiet. Again, it's a bit more expensive, but it's a worthy investment IMO.
Click to expand...
Money's not an issue, really. I'll pick up a dual-slot 5670 on the way home today - maybe my wife will get a Blu-Ray drive, too. :)

(But, seriously, the noise from her box is stupidly loud, even my own box with a 4850 is far quieter.)
 
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CurseTheSky

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What are the rest of her system specs? The only components producing noise should be the case fans, graphics card (unless it's passive, like her 6600 GT), power supply, CPU heatsink / fan, and hard drives. Most modern components are whisper quiet, unless otherwise stated around the 'net.

Is her case running a bunch of 80mm fans or a high RPM CPU fan? Also, is the noise a "air rushing" sound, or a clicking sound from a hard drive? Is the noise constant or does it increase / decrease with time and depending on what she's doing (such as playing a game)?

On a final note, to save you the aggravation, make SURE to do the following when you install the new card:

- Download an install a program called Driver Sweeper from Guru3D
- Uninstall Nvidia drivers from Control Panel
- Restart into Safe Mode (this is important)
- Run Driver Sweeper and have it detect and remove any remaining Nvidia driver components
- Shut down the computer, remove the 6600 GT, and install the HD 5670.
- Start it up and install the latest ATI drivers.

:)
 
Last edited:
Termie

Termie

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
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CurseTheSky said:
What are the rest of her system specs? The only components producing noise should be the case fans, graphics card (unless it's passive, like her 6600 GT), power supply, CPU heatsink / fan, and hard drives. Most modern components are whisper quiet, unless otherwise stated around the 'net.

Is her case running a bunch of 80mm fans or a high RPM CPU fan? Also, is the noise a "air rushing" sound, or a clicking sound from a hard drive? Is the noise constant or does it increase / decrease with time and depending on what she's doing (such as playing a game)?

On a final note, to save you the aggravation, make SURE to do the following when you install the new card:

- Download an install a program called Driver Sweeper from Guru3D
- Uninstall Nvidia drivers from Control Panel
- Restart into Safe Mode (this is important)
- Run Driver Sweeper and have it detect and remove any remaining Nvidia driver components
- Shut down the computer, remove the 6600 GT, and install the HD 5670.
- Start it up and install the latest ATI drivers.

:)
Click to expand...

These are good questions.

Here's a dual-slot 5670: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161334.

It might help, but honestly, any of those cards should be very quiet, and the GT240 is much cheaper. Just my two cents.
 
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erwos

Diamond Member
Apr 7, 2005
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The underlying problem is that she had a Q6600 in there right next to where the 6600GT's passive cooler was diverting heat. Combine that with the questionable fan management from the motherboard BIOS, poor airflow, and tight conditions in the mATX case, and it's not much of a shock that things were heating up. (My wife is a thermal-test engineer and also had some not-so-nice things to say about the cooler on the card, too.) This was OK back when she didn't game much on the system, but after she got into LOTRO, it was starting to really annoy me.

I wound up just buying a dual-slot 5750 (figured she could use a graphics upgrade!), a bigger case (CM Elite 331), and a new PSU (OCZ SilentXStream II 500W). I hesitate to say "whisper-quiet", but it's much quieter than the previous setup, so I guess it's mission accomplished. I still like the old case quite a lot (it just sucks for hot systems), so it might become an HTPC next year, maybe with Sandy Bridge.
 
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