Reasonably fast passively cooled graphics card

[dkm777]

Hi, folks,

I scraped together a PC from parts I had lying around and all that's missing is a graphics card (running a GF 6600GT temporarily). However, I would like to go passive, as this machine will be folding when not in active use and I already have a PC in the same room so the noise would really add up. The specs are MSI P35 Neo-FI, E8400 with a Scythe Ninja 2, 4GB DDR2 800MHz RAM and a 500W OCZ StealthXStream. It will be used by guests for general web browsing and by my brother for playing WoW whenever he comes to visit. The monitor is an ancient 1280x1024 LCD. I'm also wiling to consider an aftermarket passive cooler if there are no cards fast enough for WoW that come fanless stock.

 

[Vette73]

Well fanless adds a lot to the cost when you get high. Example a GTS450 with fan can be had in the $90 after rebate. But a fanless version will run you $150 or so.

There is the 5550 for $75 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161343

and then the 5670 for $104 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102902

after that you are looking at $150+.


Don't forget fanless cards only work if your case has good airflow.

What you might think of doing is get this 5670
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131366

It has a fan but also a oversized heatsink and maybe underclock the GPU. That way its cheaper and should be quiet. Of course this card should be pretty quiet by itself at stock settings.

 

[dkm777]

My father has a 5550 in his PC and it's nothing to write home about. I'll look into those 5670s.

 

[Vette73]

My father has a 5550 in his PC and it's nothing to write home about. I'll look into those 5670s.

Just make sure what ever card you get has DDR5. Most, all?, 5670's have DDR5 and run very cool. The 2nd one in my link is the newwer version with a double slot cooler. So much more quiet over the orignal single slot cooler.

 

[dkm777]

I'm not in America, so Newegg is not an option, but I found this thing:
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3312#sp
at a local retailer. If it has automatic fan control then it should be good noise-wise.

 

[Vette73]

^

Yea that looks like a updated 5670 with a larger cooler. So that should be ok as well. If it gets to loud just underclock the core a little bit to get where you want it. You can then clock it back up for people wanting to play games.

 

[-Slacker-]

A hd 5670 should serve you well at 1280x1024.

 

[Concillian]

Get a cheap 5670 or 5750. 5750 is enough to run pretty much max settings on WoW at 1280x1024. 5670 may need a few settings lowered, but it will still look decent.
Get an Accelero S2 (S1 is too big for that card)
Get a SILENT fan and zip tie it to the Accelero.

Eats up like 3 PCI slots, but that will cool a card silently.
Passive is not worthwhile, IMO. Get a fan like the Scythe Kama 2 (low speed) or the Nexus silent fans, they're fans, but I cannot hear mine unless I open my case and put my ear right next to it. I'm not kidding either, it's really that quiet. It's not pushing tons of air, but Some air > no air. Passive cooling is junk in comparison.

Even with passive cooling, you need fans somewhere. The GPU, CPU, and PSU are where the primary heat sources are, this is where you want your fans. You will have a better machine if you have fans these places and no case fans then if you had 2 case fans and passive CPU / GPU cooling.

 

[Termie]

Isn't nVidia a bit better for folding? Might he be better off with a GT240 or GTS450 in that case? The reference GTS450s have a very quiet fan.

Also, for 24/7 folding, fanless is probably the exact opposite of what you want. If a fan is revving up, it's because the card is getting hot, and that's what folding will do to it. Folding on a passive card is probably putting more stress on it than it's equipped to deal with.

 

[IGemini]

I agree, folding will be more taxing than some games in which case you will NOT want to go fanless. Passive cards work better for more pure HTPC uses.

 

[drizek]

Hi, folks,

I scraped together a PC from parts I had lying around and all that's missing is a graphics card (running a GF 6600GT temporarily). However, I would like to go passive, as this machine will be folding when not in active use and I already have a PC in the same room so the noise would really add up. The specs are MSI P35 Neo-FI, E8400 with a Scythe Ninja 2, 4GB DDR2 800MHz RAM and a 500W OCZ StealthXStream. It will be used by guests for general web browsing and by my brother for playing WoW whenever he comes to visit. The monitor is an ancient 1280x1024 LCD. I'm also wiling to consider an aftermarket passive cooler if there are no cards fast enough for WoW that come fanless stock.

Don't go passive, it's a waste of time. Passive only works if you have high airflow in your case, which kind of defeats the purpose.

Use a fan controller to bring the fan down to where it is inaudible, and then underclock as appropriate. This is what I did with my 4830, I literally cannot hear it, but I had to volt the fan way down in order to get it to stop whining. Still, not only is it perfectly silent and stable when folding, I was able to achieve a mild overclock too. I just pulled it out though to replace with a 460, and I'm hoping that I can volt the fan on that down dynamically instead of McGyvering it to a fan controller.

 

[bryanW1995]

Well fanless adds a lot to the cost when you get high. Example a GTS450 with fan can be had in the $90 after rebate. But a fanless version will run you $150 or so.

There is the 5550 for $75 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161343

and then the 5670 for $104 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102902

after that you are looking at $150+.


Don't forget fanless cards only work if your case has good airflow.

What you might think of doing is get this 5670
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131366

It has a fan but also a oversized heatsink and maybe underclock the GPU. That way its cheaper and should be quiet. Of course this card should be pretty quiet by itself at stock settings.

he lives in lithuania, cooling shouldn't be a problem. As I'm finding out here in south texas, with temps in the teens I just opened my window to cool my DC room!