Need a middle of the road QUIET card, suggestions?

[RaynorWolfcastle]

Currently have:
- ATI 9700 Pro AIW + Silencer on low

Want:
- MUST BE QUIET or ~$180 so that I can fit a silencer in my budget for it.
- PCIe board
- Nvidia or ATI, I really don't care
- Don't mind OCing to get performance (x800 GTO2?)
- Must be dual DVI
- Capable of feeding my 2005fpw @ 1600x1050 with playable frame rates in current titles (no AA no AF, will settle for "medium" settings)

So what's the best bang for the buck at this price point? Sapphire x800 GTO2?

 

[mwmorph]

x800gto2 will be fastest.
6800gs will hvae sm3...

since you seem comfortable with medium serttings a x800gto2 will work.

 

[beggerking]

Isn't 9700 AIW planty fast already? .. I mean, if you switch, you lose out on the TV tuner...

ya, either x800 or 6800 would be nice.
x800 = faster w. oc
6800gs =sm3, quieter.

 

[BFG10K]

Gigabyte X800XL 256 MB passively cooled.

 

[justlnluck]

I have a Gigabyte 6600GT that comes installed with a passive heat pipe. Check it out on their website.

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

Originally posted by: beggerking
Isn't 9700 AIW planty fast already? .. I mean, if you switch, you lose out on the TV tuner...

ya, either x800 or 6800 would be nice.
x800 = faster w. oc
6800gs =sm3, quieter.

COD2 is a slideshow at 1600x1050 in DirectX 9 mode on the 9700 Pro. More importantly, I won't have an AGP slot on my new board.

I don't really care much about SM3 because I figure I won't be able to max out the eye candy anyway. As for the 6600GT, I was under the impression that its performance was pretty uninspired compared to the x800 GTO2 (once both are OC'd)

The Gigabyte silent x800XL would be attractive if it had two DVI outs rather than a DVI and a VGA.

How loud is the GTO2's fan? Looks like the best bang for the buck in this price range but I am concerned about fan noise, especially once it's unlocked and overclocked. I'm hoping I can use a dremel to mod my Silencer to work with whatever card I get.

 

[beggerking]

Originally posted by: RaynorWolfcastle

Originally posted by: beggerking
Isn't 9700 AIW planty fast already? .. I mean, if you switch, you lose out on the TV tuner...

ya, either x800 or 6800 would be nice.
x800 = faster w. oc
6800gs =sm3, quieter.

COD2 is a slideshow at 1600x1050 in DirectX 9 mode on the 9700 Pro. More importantly, I won't have an AGP slot on my new board.

I don't really care much about SM3 because I figure I won't be able to max out the eye candy anyway. As for the 6600GT, I was under the impression that its performance was pretty uninspired compared to the x800 GTO2 (once both are OC'd)

The Gigabyte silent x800XL would be attractive if it had two DVI outs rather than a DVI and a VGA.

How loud is the GTO2's fan? Looks like the best bang for the buck in this price range but I am concerned about fan noise, especially once it's unlocked and overclocked. I'm hoping I can use a dremel to mod my Silencer to work with whatever card I get.

6800 will be supported by purevideo w. H.263H, but its slower than GTO2 unlocked/OC level (not by much).

GTO2 is an excellent choice though I heard its pretty loud and runs hot. You can try your silencer or one of those 3rd party cooling solution(water cooling?)..

 

[Dman877]

GTO2 with a silencer is what you need. You'd have to spend another 100$ to get an apreciable boost in performance with a 7800GT.

 

[MDE]

GTO2 with a Zalman is the combo I'm running. I haven't tried COD2, but I can if you'd like.

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

Originally posted by: MDE
GTO2 with a Zalman is the combo I'm running. I haven't tried COD2, but I can if you'd like.

yes, please @ 1600x105 if possible Also, please post core/mem frequency, thanks.

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

any other opinions?

 

[beggerking]

No. thats it.. you can't go wrong with either. go for it

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: RaynorWolfcastle
any other opinions?

Sorry, I've been really busy, I'll try to test COD2 for you sometime within the next couple days.

 

[hellokeith]

http://www.superpcmart.com/products/detail.cgi?sku=2207

 

[davet11]

Hmm, I'm currently running an x600xt with a thermalright CL-G0003 passive cooler on it. I'd like to go with nvidia as my board doesn't really like ATI cards. Would the 6600gt be a good step?