GPU reccomendation for small case gaming

Spike

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Aug 27, 2001
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A friend is going to build a lanbox similar to the one I have setup. Since I have not been in the market for a new GPU in a while (soon though) I have not kept up on the prices and performance. I did some looking today and have some questions.

First off he is looking to spend ~$150 on the gpu. From what I can tell this buys him a GTS 450, 5770, or GTX 460 768mb. The concerns due to the small case are power consumption, heat generation, and noise. I know the 5770 would do great here (XFX 5770 is $135 AR) but I'm not sure about the others. I assume the GTS 450 would also be good seeing as it's based on a mobile GPU core so the heat and noise should be lower. I know nothing about the 460. Checking the charts all three GPU's are right in the performance range he is looking (450 -> 5770 -> 460 is what the order looks like to me) for so I'm leaning towards recommending a 5770 as I know it better than the others.

Anyone here have any reasons why the 450 or 460 768 would be a better fit? He cares nothing for physX or cuda so this is strictly on a performance/price/heat/noise field.

Thanks!
 
Feb 19, 2009
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the 5770 has the lowest TDP of the lot, so heat is not a concern. it's not noisy or quiet, just barely audible inside a case. with small cases you want the gpu exhaust to vent outside the case. so whichever you go with, buy a card with rear exhausts.
 

Spike

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Aug 27, 2001
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the 5770 has the lowest TDP of the lot, so heat is not a concern. it's not noisy or quiet, just barely audible inside a case. with small cases you want the gpu exhaust to vent outside the case. so whichever you go with, buy a card with rear exhausts.

Thanks for the info.

I admit I'm kinda surprised... when I used to read the vid forums anytime someone asked a recommendation the nVidiots and fanATIcs used to come out of the woodwork. I'm impressed that there seems to be restraint these days! Either that or everyone is asleep. ;)

Seriously though I am looking for feedback on the 450 and 460. My personal preferences aside I'm going for the best bang/buck for his situation so I don't care which side of the fence that comes from. Thanks to anyone who can offer information.
 

RussianSensation

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Sep 5, 2003
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For $150-170, GTX460 768mb is the best card hands down. It's a good 30-40% faster than 5770 or GTS450.

Plus considering the lackluster DX11 performance of HD5000 series, I'd spend the extra $30 towards the 460 over 5770 any day.

In addition to Dirt 2, AvP, Just Cause 2, GTX460 will also smoke the 5770 in:

Lost Planet 2 (DX11)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat (DX11)
BattleForge (DX11)
Starcraft 2
Far Cry 2
etc.

Add to this that GTX460 will overclock another 20-30% without breaking a sweat (performance which will exceed 5850).

His other option is to wait for HD6770 which launches October 24-25th next month.
 
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Spike

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Aug 27, 2001
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For $150-170, GTX460 768mb is the best card hands down. It's a good 30-40% faster than 5770 or GTS450.

Plus considering the lackluster DX11 performance of HD5000 series, I'd spend the extra $30 towards the 460 over 5770 any day.

30-40% faster? I'll admit I only looked at one site (anandtech) but the benches did not appear to show it that much faster. Yes faster, but not by that much. Also how does it fair heat and noise wise? It can't be a furnace in a small case with a quad core and only 1 slow 120mm cooling it. If it's not a furnace then assuming I can talk him into spending the $160-170 needed I'm sure he would go for it.
 

Attic

Diamond Member
Jan 9, 2010
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The EVGA 460 SC cards are EE (external exhaust). They are a bit noiser than the alternative, but not terrible by any means.
 

RussianSensation

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Sep 5, 2003
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30-40% faster?

Did you click the links I posted? I intentionally provided all kinds of reviews so there is no bias from a single review. You can review all of them from start to finish and you'll see how much faster it is.

Gigabyte, or MSI Cyclone are quiet and cool.

If he is really on a budget, the $155 Zotac with reference cooler is also going to be great! (not to be confused with an external exhaust fan setup which is what was tested at Anandtech and is much louder)

Power consumption is better for the 5770.
 

Skurge

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2009
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He never mentioned resolution or what game he is going to play mainly or his PSU. whats the TDP of the 460-768? 140W? the 5770 is about 100W
 
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Skurge

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Aug 17, 2009
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For $150-170, GTX460 768mb is the best card hands down. It's a good 30-40% faster than 5770 or GTS450.

Plus considering the lackluster DX11 performance of HD5000 series, I'd spend the extra $30 towards the 460 over 5770 any day.

In addition to Dirt 2, AvP, Just Cause 2, GTX460 will also smoke the 5770 in:

Lost Planet 2 (DX11)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat (DX11)
BattleForge (DX11)
Starcraft 2
Far Cry 2
etc.

Add to this that GTX460 will overclock another 20-30% without breaking a sweat (performance which will exceed 5850).

His other option is to wait for HD6770 which launches October 24-25th next month.

Except for the hardwarecanuks benches, are those other benches for the 768mb or 1GB card? They don't say on the graphs.
 

Spike

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Aug 27, 2001
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Did you click the links I posted? I intentionally provided all kinds of reviews so there is no bias from a single review. You can review all of them from start to finish and you'll see how much faster it is.

Gigabyte, or MSI Cyclone are quiet and cool.

If he is really on a budget, the $155 Zotac with reference cooler is also going to be great! (not to be confused with an external exhaust fan setup which is what was tested at Anandtech and is much louder)

Power consumption is better for the 5770.

Sorry, when I read your posting there was only one link, I'll review the rest to get a good feel for it.

What about heat? I'm not too worried about power consumption since he will have a min of an Earthwatts 500/Corsair 550 in there so there will be power to spare. I'm most worried about heat and noise, especially with what will likely be a Phenom X4 in there.
 

Spike

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Aug 27, 2001
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He never mentioned resolution or what game he is going to play mainly.

Good point and to that I don't really have an answer. He has not told me if he is going to get a new lcd or not and I don't know what res his existing one is if he even has one (he plays on a laptop right now). For the sake of argument lets assume 1920x1080. As for games he is into SC 2 right now but he will be playing BF:BC2, the new total war, and whatever else catches his fancy for the next 2 years +
 

RussianSensation

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Sep 5, 2003
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Except for the hardwarecanuks benches, are those other benches for the 768mb or 1GB card? They don't say on the graphs.

Here is another one with only 768mb: http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/19619/5

@1920x1080 (other than BF:BC2)
32% faster in Starcraft 2
31% faster in Just Cause 2
28% faster in Dirt 2 (DX11)
29% faster in BF:BC2
53% faster in Borderlands

Now add another 25%+ to these too because GTX460 overclocks a lot better than 5770.

Gigabyte card will be around 35*C idle, and 60*C @ full load, also the quietest of the 460s - Review.
 
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Skurge

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Aug 17, 2009
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Here is another one with only 768mb: http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/19619/5

@1920x1080 (other than BF:BC2)
32% faster in Starcraft 2
31% faster in Just Cause 2
28% faster in Dirt 2 (DX11)
29% faster in BF:BC2
53% faster in Borderlands

Now add another 25%+ to these too because GTX460 overclocks a lot better than 5770.

Gigabyte card will be around 35*C idle, and 60*C @ full load, also the quietest of the 460s - Review.

Well that's pretty damning right there. If you can afford it, get the 460, your other option are a $100 4870 on newegg, but you don't get DX11.

I think there was an asus 5750 for $90, you could get 2 of those, but I never recommend Xfire.
 

Spike

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Aug 27, 2001
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Dang... thanks for all the info. Neither xfire or overclocking is an option as I want to keep the temps as low for him as possible (my 8800GTS 512 loves to overheat in my x-qpack 2 and it's not even overclocked). That 460 does look like a winner...

Anyone see any reason why a Antec NeoHE 500 or eathwatts 500 could not handle the GTX 460 and a phenom 2 X4 or Athlon 2 X4 all non overclocked? I assume they would be fine but I know nothing about how much power the 460 draws. He is leaning towards the x-qpack 2 case so the psu's we can fit are limited and the cooling is only so-so.

EDIT: is this cooler any good or is it just a gimmick?
 
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dangerman1337

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Sep 16, 2010
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No, there isn't a reason why a GTX 460 and a Phenom 2 X4 coudln't be powered up by a decent 500 unit power supply, but heat and noise i'm not so sure.
 

RussianSensation

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Ken g6

Programming Moderator, Elite Member
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Dang... thanks for all the info. Neither xfire or overclocking is an option as I want to keep the temps as low for him as possible (my 8800GTS 512 loves to overheat in my x-qpack 2 and it's not even overclocked). That 460 does look like a winner...

Anyone see any reason why a Antec NeoHE 500 or eathwatts 500 could not handle the GTX 460 and a phenom 2 X4 or Athlon 2 X4 all non overclocked? I assume they would be fine but I know nothing about how much power the 460 draws. He is leaning towards the x-qpack 2 case so the psu's we can fit are limited and the cooling is only so-so.

EDIT: is this cooler any good or is it just a gimmick?

That particular card is one I've been thinking about, for use with a 450W Corsair PSU. If your PSU has a single-rail design, it should be fine.

I'm sure the cooler's fine; the major problem with it is that it exhausts 50% of its heat back into the case. Though notice that that particular card can be returned for refund within 30 days. Attic, are you sure the EVGA cards are fully external exhaust? The reference design is only about 75% external exhaust, and they don't show the internal edge of any of the cards.
 

Qbah

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Oct 18, 2005
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Grab a GTX460 768MB, there's really no contest compared to a HD5770 or GTS450. The HD5770 won't cut it at 1920x1080 and a GTS450 is just junk in general (I call it POS450 :p).

Also, I have a Corsair HX520W and it's running my setup amazingly. Both my CPU and GPU are OCed. And it's VERY quiet (SPCR approved :)). The Seasonic S12II is also an amazing PSU that hardly makes any noise. And I am VERY sensitive to any noise coming from my computer.
 

Zap

Elite Member
Oct 13, 1999
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A friend is going to build a lanbox
...
I assume the GTS 450 would also be good seeing as it's based on a mobile GPU core

When you say "lanbox" do you mean the Thermaltake Lanbox?

I don't think it is correct to say that the GTS 450 is based on a mobile GPU core. The GPU came out first for mobiles, but that's about it. It is like the venerable G92b (9800 GTX+, GTS 250, 9800 GT "green"). That was available in notebooks (GTX 260M, GTX 280M). Basically it fit the power/thermals, so it was used.

Personally, I would say go as high as possible on the GPU.

For the PSU, depends on when he's buying. Keep checking Hot Deals because recently there was a Corsair TX650 for $52 after rebate, and an Antec NEO ECO 620 for $35 after rebate. The NEO ECO has been on sale before for $50 (and maybe less). It should be decent quality and the kicker is that it is really short at around 5.5" deep, making it ideal for small cases where the power supply and optical drives may butt up against each other. For instance I currently use the NEO ECO in my secondary LAN box, built in an Antec NSK3480. I tried using the TX650 (6.3" deep?) but it physically would not fit because there was too little room between it and the optical drive for cables to be plugged in.
 

Kenmitch

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
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Looks like these guys are battling it out for a video card for you already :)

I'm also wondering about the ref to Lanbox?

If your buddy is just wanting something easy to carry around for lan parties then I'm thinking if you can sell him on something like the cooler master scout then the heat would not be of so much concern. It has a nice sturdy handle, pretty black interior, etc.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-196-_-Product

Just a though as it would also make your job easier if doing the build for him :)
 

Spike

Diamond Member
Aug 27, 2001
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Looks like these guys are battling it out for a video card for you already :)

I'm also wondering about the ref to Lanbox?

If your buddy is just wanting something easy to carry around for lan parties then I'm thinking if you can sell him on something like the cooler master scout then the heat would not be of so much concern. It has a nice sturdy handle, pretty black interior, etc.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-196-_-Product

Just a though as it would also make your job easier if doing the build for him :)

His specifications were to get a small case to which he is leaning towards the x-qpack 2. He wants it small so it's easy to carry around and there is something about a cube case he likes. I'll show him that cooler master one as it would solve many of my concerns about it and it's only $10 or so more expensive than the x-qpack.

As for the PSU he already ordered a Corsair 550 but my concern is that if he sticks with the x-qpack it won't fit. My OZC 400 and NeoHE 500 barely fit in there with the NeoHE being the better choice since it's modular. I have one new in box which is why I asked about that powering the system in case he needs to trade/buy that psu from me if his corsair won't work.

At this point I'm going to recommend the 460 768mb, now it's just about picking the right one. I would prefer he goes with an eVGA as they have the lifetime warranty (they have replaced my 8800GTX 512 twice so I know it works) but anything with a 2 year or above would probably work as well.