Good video cards with *passive* cooling

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mmganga

Senior member
Jan 17, 2004
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Hi, what video card options are there for PCI-X with passive cooling? I remember the ATI had a low-end version of the Radeon, 9250 I think, which had this feature for cooling, are there any others which have better performance?

THANKS A LOT!
 
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AzNPinkTuv

Senior member
Nov 29, 2005
659
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Originally posted by: mmganga
Hi, what video card options are there for PCI-X with passive cooling? I remember the ATI had a low-end version of the Radeon, 9250 I think, which had this feature for cooling, are there any others which have better performance?

THANKS A LOT!
Click to expand...

PCI-E i hope you mean... the x800xl from sapphire is passive with a big heatsink.... make sure you have great airflow though...
 
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mmganga

Senior member
Jan 17, 2004
233
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0
Originally posted by: AzNPinkTuv
Originally posted by: mmganga
Hi, what video card options are there for PCI-X with passive cooling? I remember the ATI had a low-end version of the Radeon, 9250 I think, which had this feature for cooling, are there any others which have better performance?

THANKS A LOT!
Click to expand...

PCI-E i hope you mean... the x800xl from sapphire is passive with a big heatsink.... make sure you have great airflow though...
Click to expand...



Yes I mean the current bus standard, I knew one of PCI-X and PCI-E went out of the PC market more or less...

Is there a big difference between an X800XL and an X1300???

THANKS!
 
Cookie Monster

Cookie Monster

Diamond Member
May 7, 2005
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There is currently, a passive Asus 7800GT, a passive cooled asus X1600XT and 6600GT, passively cooled 7300GS from gigabyte, passively cooeld X800XL from gigabyte.

Out of those, the 7800GT is top performer.

For HTPC 7300GS is the way to go.

For mid range performance, the 6600GT/X1600XT will do the trick.
 
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mmganga

Senior member
Jan 17, 2004
233
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Originally posted by: Cookie Monster
There is currently, a passive Asus 7800GT, a passive cooled asus X1600XT and 6600GT, passively cooled 7300GS from gigabyte, passively cooeld X800XL from gigabyte.

Out of those, the 7800GT is top performer.

For HTPC 7300GS is the way to go.

For mid range performance, the 6600GT/X1600XT will do the trick.
Click to expand...


Ok, thanks guys for all the help -- one more question -- the X1600XT card is 128-bit, and it more expensive than the X800XT or X1300 (I am not sure but I think at least one of the two X800XT or X1300 is 256-bit). Would it make sense to get the cheaper one with higher bus width or is the X1600XT the best one out of the bunch?

I am not a gamer (other than occasionally) but more like an applications and 2D (CAD) guy.

Any opinions on the ATI FireMV or FireGL cards they are recommended for such applications but nobody mentioned the cooling.

THANKS!
 
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Vinnybcfc

Senior member
Nov 9, 2005
216
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I not too sure in this area but depending on what kind of 2d work you have these options:

1) Buy a expensive Quadro or FireGL/FireMV card then add passive cooling on and maybe underclock the card if needed
2) Buy a Geforce/Radeon that can be modified using drivers/bios/hardware mod and then add passive cooling on and maybe underclock the card if needed
3) Buy a Geforce/Radeon that can be modified using drivers/bios/hardware mod with passive cooling already

Edit:

I dont think any of the X series or 7 series can be modded
 
BassBomb

BassBomb

Diamond Member
Nov 25, 2005
8,390
1
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i do CAD and 3D modelling with my 6600GT it works very well, id suggest not getting a FireGL or Quadro because of the price premium
 
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mmganga

Senior member
Jan 17, 2004
233
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0
Undestood on the FireGL and MV cards, I wasn't too crazy on them since even my Radeon 7500 card runs 2D applications fine, but I know I am way overdue for an upgrade.

So I guess the consensus is get an X1300 card if I am not interested in games, correct? I saw the X800XT and X1600 are way too hard-core for what my needs are, and more than I would like to spend at this time.

Thanks!
 
BassBomb

BassBomb

Diamond Member
Nov 25, 2005
8,390
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whichever one you get, it would be a good idea to reclock the 2D clock to whatever the 3D clock normally is... that way u get good 2D performance

im not sure if AutoCAD turns gpu clock into 3D clock, but i know 3dsmax does
 
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otispunkmeyer

Lifer
Jun 14, 2003
10,442
0
0
Originally posted by: BassBomb
theres a 7800GT passive... that would be the fastest passive AFAIK
Click to expand...


not only passive, its got a facotry overclock....is it ASUS or Gigabyte? BFG where are u!
 
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stelleg151

Senior member
Sep 2, 2004
822
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Um, why is 7300>1300 for HTPC? If I remember correctly ATI has better IQ, and H.264 encoding and decoding support.

And the passive 7800gt is ASUS TOP I believe.
 
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BernardP

Golden Member
Jan 10, 2006
1,315
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76
You can wait a couple of weeks for the nVidia 7600GS. It is passively cooled and has about the same performance as the current 6600GT. I have read somewhere that is will be on sale as soon as it is announced, around March 9 I think.

It should be more than enough if you are not into heavy gaming.
 
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mmganga

Senior member
Jan 17, 2004
233
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0
Originally posted by: BernardP
You can wait a couple of weeks for the nVidia 7600GS. It is passively cooled and has about the same performance as the current 6600GT. I have read somewhere that is will be on sale as soon as it is announced, around March 9 I think.

It should be more than enough if you are not into heavy gaming.
Click to expand...

What's the suggested retail on the new card?

Thanks!
 
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firewolfsm

Golden Member
Oct 16, 2005
1,848
29
91
the new VF900 from zalman actually has heatpipes, you might be able to take off the fan and run it passive
 
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Xenon14

Platinum Member
Oct 9, 1999
2,065
0
0
Originally posted by: firewolfsm
there is a sapphire X1300 that is passive and an X800XL, both on newegg
Click to expand...

A friend of mine has x800xl: It overheats instantly in games like Battlefield 2; and his case temp never goes above 26 celcius. He had to put a fan on top of the 'passive' heatsink and problem was solved instantly. I'd stay away from a passively cooled x800xl if i were you.

Having said that, I just got a x800 gto2, and it's quite, overclocks insanely, and has 16 pipes unlocked.
 
BFG10K

BFG10K

Lifer
Aug 14, 2000
22,709
3,003
126
A friend of mine has x800xl: It overheats instantly in games like Battlefield 2;
Click to expand...
I subjected my X800XL to months of heavy gaming and I never had any issues with it. It would get hot but I gamed for hours and hours without problem.

It's possible your friend's X800XL is defective or it was damaged during installation (you have to be very careful not to press on the HSF when installing the card).

 
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beggerking

Golden Member
Jan 15, 2006
1,703
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0
I think there is a 6800 trick somewhere to turn your 6800 into a Quadro..
passive cooling can almost always be accomplished by a 3rd party cooler aka water cooling or simply a huge heatsink.
 
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TanisHalfElven

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2001
3,512
0
76
may i ask why you need passive colling. a large heatsink fan that runs slowly is almost as quite (and if you get ati you can control the fan speed using ati tool) thats what i do. i run regular at 50 % then if temp got above 45 i have set it to put fan speed to 100 %. and this is with the crappy small saffire heat sick fan. get a good third party cooler
 
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BernardP

Golden Member
Jan 10, 2006
1,315
0
76
Originally posted by: mmganga
Originally posted by: BernardP
You can wait a couple of weeks for the nVidia 7600GS. It is passively cooled and has about the same performance as the current 6600GT. I have read somewhere that is will be on sale as soon as it is announced, around March 9 I think.

It should be more than enough if you are not into heavy gaming.
Click to expand...

What's the suggested retail on the new card?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

It is not known yet, because it has to be announced. The best estimate is that it will be around the X1600 PRO's price level, while clearly overperforming it.

In about 10 days, everything should be known about the GeForce 7600 series, because it is to be featured at the CeBit Show from March 9 to 15.

Seems to be worth the wait.



 
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