Quiet Graphics Card

[SirJangly]

Hey guys! I have the XFX 8800 GS. It's too loud though, and STAYS loud . Whats a good alternative that is a lot quieter, around the same price and/or better performance. Only recommendations from newegg please . Thanks in advance!

 

[postmortemIA]

strange, I have Leadtek 8800GTS and it is always - quiet.

What does GPU-Z tool says about Fan Speed on Sensors tab? It shouldn't be 100%.

 

[Sylvanas]

So do you want to buy a new card (if so whats the budget), new cooling solution or an app to control fan speed?

 

[SirJangly]

I'm up for a new card or cheap cooling solution

 

[Sylvanas]

Well what price is you're limit? 120-130 you can get a 3870/9600GT which will be marginally better than you're current 8800GS or a 4850 is the best card/deal going round atm which you can find for special deals $150 at Frys and some other places ($200 on Newegg atm). If you are not looking at shelling out on a new card and just want better cooling you should have a look at the Thermalight V2 / HR-03 GT / Thermaltake Duorb etc.

 

[SirJangly]

I heard the 4850 card is loud. I want something near silent I'd be willing to exchange my card at newegg if there is a nice performance gain as well as noise reduction .

 

[SirJangly]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814121244

and

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127355

I found these options

 

[Sylvanas]

Originally posted by: SirJangly
I heard the 4850 card is loud. I want something near silent I'd be willing to exchange my card at newegg if there is a nice performance gain as well as noise reduction .

The 4850 is not loud comparative to other cards, see this

While heat was a definite concern with both Radeon HD 4800 series cards, noise was not. As is typical with current generation Radeons, both cards spun up considerably when out test system was powered up, but the fans spun down to near inaudible levels once the drivers were initialized within the OS. And during testing neither cards' fan got very loud at all.

The performance of a 4850 is at least 2.5x that of a 8800GS so there is a huge benefit there.

However if you are looking for a passively cooled card the Asus 9600GT you linked is a good choice, keep in mind, you could also get a HIS 3870 IceQ for the same price if not cheaper than the 9600GT and it does outperform the 9600GT in the majority of games and you get HIS' awesome IceQ cooler.

 

[Mgz]

Originally posted by: SirJangly
I heard the 4850 card is loud. I want something near silent I'd be willing to exchange my card at newegg if there is a nice performance gain as well as noise reduction .

impossible to get that loud when the fan is only spinning at 25% max fan speed :-/

 

[SirJangly]

Originally posted by: Sylvanas

Originally posted by: SirJangly
I heard the 4850 card is loud. I want something near silent I'd be willing to exchange my card at newegg if there is a nice performance gain as well as noise reduction .

The 4850 is not loud comparative to other cards, see this

While heat was a definite concern with both Radeon HD 4800 series cards, noise was not. As is typical with current generation Radeons, both cards spun up considerably when out test system was powered up, but the fans spun down to near inaudible levels once the drivers were initialized within the OS. And during testing neither cards' fan got very loud at all.

The performance of a 4850 is at least 2.5x that of a 8800GS so there is a huge benefit there.

However if you are looking for a passively cooled card the Asus 9600GT you linked is a good choice, keep in mind, you could also get a HIS 3870 IceQ for the same price if not cheaper than the 9600GT and it does outperform the 9600GT in the majority of games and you get HIS' awesome IceQ cooler.

In reviews I heard the IceQ is loud. New egg currently has a deal with the evga 8800gs+earthwatt psu. That seems like a near silent combo!

 

[SneakyStuff]

You don't need a passive card, just one that doesn't have a 2 wire fan connector like the XFX you have. Most cards will allow you to manually set speed profiles through things like RivaTuner. My card for example runs at 45% when not gaming and 75% when gaming. Quiet when it needs to be, loud when the card needs effecient cooling.

XFX 8800gs fan wires

Just look for a card that has a normal fan setup.

 

[SirJangly]

With the rebate, the 4850 does look good. There is also a dual slot evga 8800 gt for 140-20mir. What do you guys think?

 

[Sylvanas]

Originally posted by: SirJangly
With the rebate, the 4850 does look good. There is also a dual slot evga 8800 gt for 140-20mir. What do you guys think?

Have a look at the reviews in the first post of the 4xxx review thread, the 4850 destroys the 8800GT, it's the better investment.

 

[SirJangly]

Hmm. Is it even remotely necessary for 14x9 resolution though? Sorry, I should have mentioned that in the OP lol I don't think I want all that extra heat as well though.

 

[Sylvanas]

Originally posted by: SirJangly
Hmm. Is it even remotely necessary for 14x9 resolution though? Sorry, I should have mentioned that in the OP lol I don't think I want all that extra heat as well though.

A 8800GT will be sufficient for resolutions under 1600x1200. It depends how long you intend it to last and if you intend to buy a new monitor in the future- if not might aswell get a cheaper 8800GT, if yes- it would be more future proof to get a 4850.

 

[Klinky1984]

Have you tried setting up automatic fan profiles in RivaTuner or modding your BIOS with new fan controls?

http://www.vaguetech.com/users...g/tutorials/rivatuner/

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1260590

 

[alkalinetaupehat]

IIRC Arctic Cooler's Accel S1 Rev2 is both passive (ergo silent) and awesome (ergo effective) at cooling. When paired with a "Turbo Module" it's still quiet but keeps an 8800GT at ~45C load. I'm going with this combo in my build and it's about $40 for both the fans and heatsink.

Accel S1 Rev2:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835186016

Turbo Module:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835186021

 

[SirJangly]

Thanks for the opinions guys! The XFX fan is stuck at 100% . I'm going with this card though: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16814127329R

 

[SergeC]

Originally posted by: alkalinetaupehat
IIRC Arctic Cooler's Accel S1 Rev2 is both passive (ergo silent) and awesome (ergo effective) at cooling. When paired with a "Turbo Module" it's still quiet but keeps an 8800GT at ~45C load. I'm going with this combo in my build and it's about $40 for both the fans and heatsink.

Accel S1 Rev2:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835186016

Turbo Module:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835186021

Second this. It cools my 8800GTS512 nearly silently, and amazing temps.

 

[SirJangly]

I just realized the PSU may be a big part of the sound issue. lol I am exchanging it for the Antec Earthwatt model thats on sale !

 

[SirJangly]

Any other opinions?

 

[SirJangly]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814134035

Yay they have the model I want in stock !!!

 

[bob4432]

i just picked up the asus 3850 and it is silent and cool. idling in my 80F room @ 35C, when gaming doesn't get over 55C or so and you can never hear it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814121219

and, it o/c to nearly 3870 levels w/ the ati ccc program