Heavy College, no time to play, downgrading videocard advice

[taltamir]

I feel like I have been wasting the best years of my life on college. I am through with working part time while taking 9 credits a semester and playing around with my spare time. I quit my job, I took a heavy load semester, and I am gonna continue with heavy loads to finish it ASAP. I want OUT. And that means no more playing. I am living off of student loans now.

Which brings me to the computer situation. I haven't played a while, which is just wasting my hardware, and electricity.

I did away with my CPU oc, its just wasting electricity.

I took out the evga GTX260 OC yesterday and I am selling it on ebay. Instead I put in the 7900GS I had lying around... I see those sell for 30$ on ebay.

I'd just use the 7900GS in my PC than but it is loud, it is taking more power than I'd like (although at this price forget the power savings, its not gonna be worth it), and it is hot... It also doesn't support DX10 so aero is not so hot. I want to replace it with a cheap DX10 video card and I need advice on which one. It needs to be quiet, cool, low power, as small as possible, and I don't care how well it performs. I will pay a little extra for two DVI ports over a DVI and an AGP, I looked at the 8300GS, the 8400GS, and the 9400GT, they are all between 30 to 40 after MIR, but I have no idea how much power they take, and if any of them are bad buys or not. are any of them rebadges? I'd obviously like the better performing card, because despite not planning to game, I could sell it more easily when I get into gaming again...

I tried the 3450 I have in the file server, it was crap, the drivers are terrible, 8.12 doesn't install the driver at all, and 8.11 gives me other trouble. And it seems like a good idea to vary the type of cards, if I get a good low power nvidia i might swap it with the fileserver for the superior solaris drivers nvidia has.

So, bottom line, I need advice at the ultra low cost. Or suggestions. I have been thinking on replacing the heatsink/fan on the 7900GS, maybe that would be a more sensible purcahse.
Or maybe swap the P35 mobo for a G45 one or an nvidia 9300 and ditch the video card altogether...

I basically need to know what to do on the low end.

PS. didn't AMD just release a really good buy at the low end? the 3450 might have been iffy but if it is the better deal id buy it.

 

[Qbah]

The low end 8- and 9-series are your best bet if you don't want a Radeon. And what do you mean they are crap? Obviously they are crap for gaming. For everything else they'll be fine. There's a nice review at Xbitlabs on the current low-to-high-end cards when watching Blu-Ray stuff. Here. Perhaps base your decision on that?

Myself, I'd go with a passive card. My HD3450 was perfect for what it was used for. Everything besides current gaming. And not even a hitch running it.

 

[taltamir]

By crap i mean it doesn't work, not that it performs poorly on games, I haven't gamed in a while. I spent a lot of time troubleshooting the drivers. It seems like AMD does not care for making drivers for the 3450. Their official drivers for solaris don't work for it, despite claiming compatibility and working for their other cards, the 8.12 vista64 driver doesn't work, period, the 8.11 driver works, but the CCC gives a critical error and fails to load every time you turn on your computer, try to run it, or try to uninstall it, the driver windows installs automatically (from june 08) limits you to 1600x1200 resolution... so the best i got was to download the driver ONLY v8.11 for windows vista64 and THAT Worked... finally.. at 1920x1200.

The 3450 is simply the worst supported video card I have ever seen in my entire life. But... If the price is right, and the performance (for resale) is there, and its quiet and cool and better in anyway, i would buy a 4x70 or whatever it is called.. that was supposedly a really cheap cut down 4 series.

Anyways, the 8 and 9 series contain a ton of cards.

I almost went for a passive cooled 8400GS, but a ton of people said they either failed in the first few months, or crash whenever they run a heavy game due to overheating.

Than I wanted the 9400GT but then i read its nothing but an overclocked 8500GS, overclocked is the opposite of what i want because i want low power and low heat...

So I wander if someone knows the low end well...

PS. I noticed there are FIVE different models called 8400GS, one has a PCI after the name but the rest are named identically! they differ on ram size, ram speed (by a LOT) core speed, and I am GUESSING the actual core might differ too...

 

[nitromullet]

You don't need DX10 to run aero glass just fine. I have a 7900GS as my back up card, and it works great. I have noticed though that if I swap out a DX10 card with it that the 7900GS works a lot better if I completely uninstall the Forceware drivers (safe mode+driver sweeper) and install fresh drivers. I'm not sure why this is, but this has been the case more than once. It's as if the NVIDIA drivers recognize that it's a NVIDIA card, but not that it's different NVIDIA card.

I've never really noticed the 7900GS being very loud, but that's up to you. If you're trying to save money, using what you already have is going to be your best bet.

 

[Hauk]

Ten years from now when you have the corner office or even your own business, you'll look back on this. Many of us thought the same thing, tired, ready to get out, ready to enjoy life instead of skimping.

Sounds like you've reached a pivotal momement. Save your post, read it ten years from now..

 

[LOUISSSSS]

Originally posted by: Hauk
Ten years from now when you have the corner office or even your own business, you'll look back on this. Many of us thought the same thing, tired, ready to get out, ready to enjoy life instead of skimping.

Sounds like you've reached a pivotal momement. Save your post, read it ten years from now..

that is why i'm in college now and STILL buying decent hardware. i might be low on cash now, but at least i'm not suffering from knowing that my pc sucks. i can still tell 99% (or 100% ) of all my friends my pc owns theirs. i'm just not sure thats worth the extra $100/year or so on upgrading

 

[zagood]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
that is why i'm in college now and STILL buying decent hardware. i might be low on cash now, but at least i'm not suffering from knowing that my pc sucks. i can still tell 99% (or 100% ) of all my friends my pc owns theirs. i'm just not sure thats worth the extra $100/year or so on upgrading

Only $100/year? You're doing it wrong.

 

[MustangSVT]

even after quitting gaming you are wasting too much time on computers.

seems like you wont break the habit.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

Originally posted by: zagood

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
that is why i'm in college now and STILL buying decent hardware. i might be low on cash now, but at least i'm not suffering from knowing that my pc sucks. i can still tell 99% (or 100% ) of all my friends my pc owns theirs. i'm just not sure thats worth the extra $100/year or so on upgrading

Only $100/year? You're doing it wrong.

yes us college students dont have that kinda income to blow.

and its prob more than $100 a year, more like 300-400

in 2008 i (est) bought: my 24in monitor, pcpc750, wd 640, 750gb external, x200 LAPTOP, logitech vx nano, and Iphone...


uhh wtf

 

[Keysplayr]

If you REALLY want to discourage yourself from gaming, and are committed about not gaming and focusing on college (I'm so proud of you :thumbsup: ) , then just sell your entire rig, and purchase a C2D based Celeron or even an AMD Turion based Dell laptop with Intel IGP. They can be had from Dell at 499.00. It will handle everything you need to do for college work, and keep you from gaming. (Or at least function very effectively as a gaming temptation remover.)

Yes. This is a radical approach, but a sure fire way to keep you from wasting time on gaming when you will have a heavy study workload.

 

[dug777]

I know I had no problems (obviously other than gaming, thanks to the abysmal bandwidth in the main) with my 3450 and Vista 64 back with the 8.10s.

If I were to offer the advice we provide to most people on here with your kind of story I'd suggest you haven't removed your nvidia drivers properly

To put it into perspective, AMD sells millions of 3450s with dell and the like, and to the best of my knowledge your story isn't being repeated by those millions of users. If it is, then I missed the sticky

I can't comment on whatever solaris is

If you really don't want to waste time gaming, why does the card matter? Buy the cheapest 8400GS if you insist on nvidia and get on with your life You don't need a DX10 for Aero glass either.

You could also have another bash at the 3450 with a comprehensive driver cleanout.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: dug777
I know I had no problems (obviously other than gaming, thanks to the abysmal bandwidth in the main) with my 3450 and Vista 64 back with the 8.10s.

If I were to offer the advice we provide to most people on here with your kind of story I'd suggest you haven't removed your nvidia drivers properly

To put it into perspective, AMD sells millions of 3450s with dell and the like, and to the best of my knowledge your story isn't being repeated by those millions of users. If it is, then I missed the sticky

I can't comment on whatever solaris is

If you really don't want to waste time gaming, why does the card matter? Buy the cheapest 8400GS if you insist on nvidia and get on with your life You don't need a DX10 for Aero glass either.

You could also have another bash at the 3450 with a comprehensive driver cleanout.

Buying a cheap card is only a temporary solution. He can always give in and buy a better card to replace the super cheap one, and steal cycles from his college studies. It's like someone quitting smoking, but keeping a pack in the house "just in case". An IGP lappy would solve any temptation he would have to upgrade his card. Again, radical, I know. But effective. I used a laptop with Intel IGP for over 1 1/2 years during my night college days, and didn't play any games. I had no tower. This was intentional so I couldn't give in and upgrade the GPU and game away my precious study time.

 

[AmberClad]

Ugh, I remember being one of the few people at college who had a full blown desktop instead of a laptop (those Macbooks seemed especially popular). There is definitely something to be said for the convenience of a low to mid range lappy if you want to try that route, especially when they're more than adequate for most people's needs. You can use them for taking notes in class, or for using the WiFi network to access the school's network and look at course material and follow along with what the instructor's doing. They're also handy for taking along to the library. Plus, you probably won't be tempted to try to play any serious games on it.

Not sure how well it would have worked in my case though, considering both my general programming courses and my CG specific ones that involved both raytracing and OGL work. The raytracing stuff in particular would have been painful on a slow machine - making a few changes to the code, recompiling, waiting for the scene to finish rendering - rinse and repeat.

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003

Originally posted by: dug777
I know I had no problems (obviously other than gaming, thanks to the abysmal bandwidth in the main) with my 3450 and Vista 64 back with the 8.10s.

If I were to offer the advice we provide to most people on here with your kind of story I'd suggest you haven't removed your nvidia drivers properly

To put it into perspective, AMD sells millions of 3450s with dell and the like, and to the best of my knowledge your story isn't being repeated by those millions of users. If it is, then I missed the sticky

I can't comment on whatever solaris is

If you really don't want to waste time gaming, why does the card matter? Buy the cheapest 8400GS if you insist on nvidia and get on with your life You don't need a DX10 for Aero glass either.

You could also have another bash at the 3450 with a comprehensive driver cleanout.

Buying a cheap card is only a temporary solution. He can always give in and buy a better card to replace the super cheap one, and steal cycles from his college studies. It's like someone quitting smoking, but keeping a pack in the house "just in case". An IGP lappy would solve any temptation he would have to upgrade his card. Again, radical, I know. But effective. I used a laptop with Intel IGP for over 1 1/2 years during my night college days, and didn't play any games. I had no tower. This was intentional so I couldn't give in and upgrade the GPU and game away my precious study time.

I agree entirely, if the OP really wants to get away from gaming this is the answer :thumbsup:

 

[Jephph]

Just get this.

 

[Jephph]

Or this.

A little more money for double the memory. Just noticed that your range was $30-$40 after MIR.

 

[Jephph]

Originally posted by: taltamir
I looked at the 8300GS, the 8400GS, and the 9400GT, they are all between 30 to 40 after MIR, but I have no idea how much power they take, and if any of them are bad buys or not. are any of them rebadges?

The 4350 is better than any of those NVidia cards with DirectX 10, and it can play Blu-Ray, and is smaller, and more power efficient.

 

[taltamir]

First, I want to thank everyone for their suggestions and input.

As far as the 3450 is concerned, I looked it up, i am not the only person with that issue.
3450 @ 8.12: CCC? driver fails to work.
3450 @ default driver: doesn't work
3450 @ 8.6 driver (from win update): limit 1600x1200 res.
3450 @ 8.11 driver: CCC fails, driver works perfectly.

I guess 8.10 works perfectly for you, maybe id try it next...
On the other hand, from what I read the drivers on the 8400GS and the other "very cheapest" from nvidia are just as bad. I guess there is no real money there, they are not even bothering to check that a new driver works for it before releasing it.

It did not actually occur to me to "remove the temptation", I haven't gamed in a month. I was selling my GTX 260 because i do not want it to lose its value, when the time come I could always buy another card, although, I could always start a business after college instead of getting back into the time waster that is gaming.

I already have a laptop with IGP. I use a full sized comp at home though. But now that I think about it, I could sell the full PC and the lappy and get a lighter, easier to carry laptop. my current one is a HEAVY and HUGE monster running a single core athonXP.

The ONLY issue i have with the evga 7900GS SC is that it has only two pins on the fan, so the fan is stuck at 100% all the time, and it is OCed as well so it is power hungry. Honestly the cost of replacing it will NOT cover the cost of the electricity I save. My issue is that its loud though due to the fan, maybe ill just buy a replacement fan.

 

[zagood]

Originally posted by: taltamir
The ONLY issue i have with the evga 7900GS SC is that it has only two pins on the fan, so the fan is stuck at 100% all the time, and it is OCed as well so it is power hungry. Honestly the cost of replacing it will NOT cover the cost of the electricity I save. My issue is that its loud though due to the fan, maybe ill just buy a replacement fan.

Pretty sure that RivaTuner will still be able to control the fan. Give it a shot.
http://www.guru3d.com/index.php?page=rivatuner

You'll also be able to underclock it for energy savings.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: Hauk
Ten years from now when you have the corner office or even your own business, you'll look back on this. Many of us thought the same thing, tired, ready to get out, ready to enjoy life instead of skimping.

Sounds like you've reached a pivotal momement. Save your post, read it ten years from now..

Haha QFT. Its like that scene in Billy Madison where Adam Sandler squeezes the fat kid's cheeks and tells him never to leave. College is the best, the 3-4 years after are great too, after that its all downhill!

My advice, sell the PC and get a laptop for school work. Then spend any extra money at happy hour.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

sell it and get a Lenovo Thinkpad X200 or T400 for all your school work.
portable, powerful, fast, NO GAMING, sleek/sexy, good resale value, will last a while.

 

[Pelu]

lol... college and no play.... i better active my selfdestruct protocols...

 

[cusideabelincoln]

The HD4350/HD4550 would be the best budget cards to get. I believe they draw less power than the 9400GT, and should be comparable in performance.

http://www.gpureview.com/show_...hp?card1=578&card2=585

 

[taltamir]

Originally posted by: zagood

Originally posted by: taltamir
The ONLY issue i have with the evga 7900GS SC is that it has only two pins on the fan, so the fan is stuck at 100% all the time, and it is OCed as well so it is power hungry. Honestly the cost of replacing it will NOT cover the cost of the electricity I save. My issue is that its loud though due to the fan, maybe ill just buy a replacement fan.

Pretty sure that RivaTuner will still be able to control the fan. Give it a shot.
http://www.guru3d.com/index.php?page=rivatuner

You'll also be able to underclock it for energy savings.

thanks, it worked very well. I remembered riva tuner not being able to control the fan for this card, but the latest version does with no problems.

 

[kmmatney]

Was going to also say to use RivaTuner, to underclock and control the fan. You may also be able to edit the BIOS. There a BIOS editor for ATI cards that allows you to control all GPU, memory and fan speeds for all settings. I had a 2900Pro, one of the loudest cards, and actually made it almost silent by using ATI Tray Tools, and later by editing the BIOS. My current HD4830 is already underclocked while running windows, but I do have it overclocked to HD4850 speeds for gaming.