Looking for the cheapest fanless video card to run Team Fortress 2

[tracerit]

I bought a bunch of stuff for my computer, mainly midrange parts, to play some of the current games but realized that I liked none of them except for TF2 (Loved TF1 back in the days). My original plan was to keep this newly upgraded midrange system for a year or two then upgrade to Nehalem, but now I"ve decided to downgrade back to my old setup to save money and get a cheap fanless video card that will run TF2 at about 1280x1024 resolution. So I returned all the midrange parts that I bought.

The system that I will be using (minus the video card pending recommendations):

Pentium D 930+ 3.0Ghz
Gigabyte P35-DS3L
2GB OCZ DDR2 6400


I want fanless because even this XFX 8400GS video card that I'm using at the moment has a loud fan, I came from an old Radeon 9000 with just a heatsink.



I checked out newegg and found this fanless MSI 8600 GT 256MB for $85 (after rebate).

 

[secretanchitman]

the sparkle 8800GT...its fanless/passive and at just recently did a review on it!

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: secretanchitman
the sparkle 8800GT...its fanless/passive and at just recently did a review on it!

how is a nearly $300 card the cheapest.



i'd recommend the gigabyte fanless 2600XT since its about $100 and apparently does pretty well in TF2 with AA off.

 

[Lateralusxxx]

I have a 7600gt passive cooled Video card i am about to sell because im upgrading to an 8800gt. I have not played TF2 on it but it runs CS:S like a charm... i get like 80fps on max settings/resolution. Let me know if you are interested. (Its pci-e if you were wondering.)

The only down side is that it is quite large since it has two heatsinks

 

[tracerit]

The Sparkle 8800 GT article made think about getting a quieter fan that will suit my gaming needs (which isn't very high).

Lateralusxxx, I sent you a Private Message for more information, sounds like a card that fits the bill.

 

[AVP]

I would get one of these maybe: 8600gts, 2600xt512, 2600xt256 or even a 2600pro. Reviews don't seem great on the last two, but they are all done by one person each.

 

[tracerit]

The first two is approching the $150 which is close to what the 3850 (should) be going for and I'd like to stay out of that range. The last two are good options though and I'm resarching if they're any better than the 8600GT here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127293

 

[tvdang7]

2600xt is better or on par with 8600 gt. 2600 pro is on par or slightly worse than the 8600 gt. i would get the 100 dollar 2600 xt. and why fan less. noise levels of cards arnt usually noticeable over case or psu fans for me.

 

[Obsoleet]

Originally posted by: AVP
I would get one of these maybe: 8600gts, 2600xt512, 2600xt256 or even a 2600pro. Reviews don't seem great on the last two, but they are all done by one person each.

Hate to bump an old thread, but I own the first of those cards and like it alot. Fanless is the way to go unless you own the highest end card out. It's weird never experiencing spinup while gaming, but cool. My personal opinion is that a fan isn't necessary besides to cut costs on a lot of these cards. A 65nm G92 should be fanless unless they want to use a tiny heatsink and a fan instead of a bigger HS. Most people arent willing to pay the premium, but I am because sometimes I keep a card for a long time, and GPU fans seem to die on me or start making noise before other fans in my rig.

I'm thinking of upgrading to the new Sparkle fanless myself.
If the OP is still looking for one I would possibly be interested in selling mine. Prior to the fanless 8800GT, my 8600GTS was the fastest fanless card on the market. Still works great and is the cheapest 'fast' fanless card you'll find.

My personal experience is that dual slot coolers are tolerable, and don't whine so much. Single slot coolers like the 7800GT/7900GT/8800GT annoy me. My 8800GTX was quieter than my old 6800GT/78/7900GTs, and my 7900GTX (dual slot but different design, didn't blow the air out of the case).