*Relatively quiet* GFX card solution for BF3/Skyrim/others ~$300?

[bovinda]

Three questions:

1. Looking for a single graphics card to be able to play games like BF3, Skyrim (presumably after people get some texture mods up), Crysis 2, Civ V, etc. on either a 1900x1080 or 1900x1200 set up.

Limit is about ~$300, +/- $50-60.

The thing is I'd really like something a little quieter, and not just on idle. I have a GTX 260 that is pretty quiet on idle, but sounds like a vacuum cleaner on Skyrim at high settings right now. I don't mind a little revving up during games, but would prefer it didn't get that high, and it would absolutely need to be quiet during blu ray playback (which would mostly be off the hard drive).

2. How important is it to get 2 gb of video ram? For example, I feel like I've been seeing that BF3 will use up to 1.5 gb, but it sounds like that's more about how it affects loading times than actual frame rates...is that correct? It seems like there aren't many 2 gb vid cards, most are still around 1 gb or so...

The rest of my hardware, if it is significant, is a i5 2500K, Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3, 16 GB ram, Antec 750w PSU, older 64 GB X2 Intel SSD.

3. Does SLI/crossfire make sense at this price point? What about the micro-jutter associated with SLI/CF, is that still an issue? And is it really stable? And can it be done quietly (sounds like probably not)?

In order of importance to me: frame rate/quality, stability, quiet, keeping in budget.

Thanks guys! :thumbsup:

 

[toyota]

if you think a gtx260 is loud then I am not sure any card will work for you. the reference gtx260 I had was about the quietest card I have ever owned. with the fan on auto, I never once noticed it even during gaming. even silentpcreview.com gave the gtx260 the nod for quietness.

 

[Silverforce11]

Your rig is good, grab the best gpu your budget can buy so it lasts awhile. At this point, i recommend a 6950 2gb or a gtx570.

From your list of games, go with NV since they perform better.

 

[bovinda]

if you think a gtx260 is loud then I am not sure any card will work for you. the reference gtx260 I had was about the quietest card I have ever owned. with the fan on auto, I never once noticed it even during gaming. even silentpcreview.com gave the gtx260 the nod for quietness.

Hmm...I mean, when not gaming I can't hear my GTX 260. Is the fan set to auto by default? I've never played with the fan settings. It's just that as soon as I turned on any game, it whirs up loudly and stays there.

Your rig is good, grab the best gpu your budget can buy so it lasts awhile. At this point, i recommend a 6950 2gb or a gtx570.

From your list of games, go with NV since they perform better.

I'm leaning towards a GTX 270. This one by Gigabyte looks promising from an acoustics perspective, although it seems like a lot of people are complaining about it dying shortly after arrival on the feedback at Newegg.

Anyone else have any recs for GTX 270s?

 

[Spjut]

You have probably already considered it, but at this poiny you should IMO wait for AMD/Nvidia to release their next series

 

[tviceman]

Any card with custom coolers (i.e. nonreference coolers) will almost always be quieter AND cool better. Asus has a huge heatsink and fan design, MSI has their twin frozr II's, Zotac also has their amped cards which feature big heatsinks...

 

[happy medium]

The Gigabyte gtx570 card you linked is the Ver.2 series.

I would go for that for ~300$

 

[FalconHorse]

I think Powercolor makes a passively cooled 6850.

Otherwise, I think most cards get 'loud' under load. My 5770 does anyway.

 

[bovinda]

When are the next gen cards coming out, anyway? Any projections? Are we looking at like January?

...and anyone think Newegg is going to have a sale on any of these graphics cards, either the 460s (which it seems like I could SLI and get good results from) or the aforementioned 570s? :sneaky:

 

[Leyawiin]

The three fan Gigabyte "Windforce" models (AMD or Nvidia) are pretty quiet. So are the HIS HD 6950 IceQ models.

 

[Gryz]

New AMD videocards are expected in January, nVidia cards are expected in March. Nobody knows for sure. There are even rumors that say that both companies will release their first cards even this year (December). There is also an expectation that the first cards will not be the top-end cards, but mid/low-end cards and/or chips for laptops.

I also have a gtx260. I was close to upgrading it this year. I even bought a gtx580. But it made so much noise at idle, I sent it back. (A week later I learned about MSI Afterburner. I wonder if I could have tweaked the gtx580 to be silent in idle-mode). So now I am waiting for the next generation cards. Skyrim runs fine on my machine (E8500+gtx260). So I think I will have the patience to wait until next year.

If I had to upgrade today, I'd buy a gtx560ti. That card seems to be a good mix of performance, price and silence. And then tweak the fan-speed at idle with MSI Afterburner.

 

[peonyu]

The three fan Gigabyte "Windforce" models (AMD or Nvidia) are pretty quiet. So are the HIS HD 6950 IceQ models.

Windforce is just a renamed Accelero cooler, which is one of the best coolers around and nearly silent. I second getting a Windforce card if the OP wants the best of both worlds [low temps on a strong card and nearly silent]. Its worth paying $20 more for alone.

NM im wrong, its not a Accelero. Still better than stock I bet, and the ASUS DC units are great to.

 

[Subyman]

6950 2gb Asus Matrix. Under load it only gets to around 50C and the fans never spin up past ~18%. Dead silent. It is large though, so make sure you make arrangements or measurements before hand. Easy overclock as well, but I doubt that is what you are going for.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...pk=6950%20asus

 

[exar333]

Cheapest 5870/6950 you can find. Save your money for the next family of GPUs.

 

[spinejam]

If you are going to buy now, I'd suggest getting a 2GB or 3GB card. It will serve you just fine even into the next generation of cards.

 

[s44]

+1 on Windforce

 

[Zebo]

This is why I water cool. Video cards. Anyway there are some passive cooled 6850s which is faster than your 260 GTX and silent. http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/HD_6850_SCS3_Passive/

 

[The Boston Dangler]

This is why I water cool. Video cards. Anyway there are some passive cooled 6850s which is faster than your 260 GTX and silent. http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/HD_6850_SCS3_Passive/

i doubt that's plug and play. you'd have to build a computer around it.

 

[tigersty1e]

You have to get aftermarket cooling if you want a quiet cooler.

Thermalright Shaman is hands down the best air gpu cooler on the market.

The 140mm fan spins at 800 rpm and is quieter than a 120mm fan spinning at 1100rpm. My gpu furmark loads at 55C.

There is no stock cooler on any performance gpu out there that is quiet. All cards make noise.

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

You have to get aftermarket cooling if you want a quiet cooler.

Thermalright Shaman is hands down the best air gpu cooler on the market.

The 140mm fan spins at 800 rpm and is quieter than a 120mm fan spinning at 1100rpm. My gpu furmark loads at 55C.

There is no stock cooler on any performance gpu out there that is quiet. All cards make noise.

Most non-refrence coolers are very quiet, and you don't need to worry about installing an aftermarket cooler and possibly messing it up.

 

[Zargon]

You have to get aftermarket cooling if you want a quiet cooler.

Thermalright Shaman is hands down the best air gpu cooler on the market.

The 140mm fan spins at 800 rpm and is quieter than a 120mm fan spinning at 1100rpm. My gpu furmark loads at 55C.

There is no stock cooler on any performance gpu out there that is quiet. All cards make noise.

the non ref twin an tri fan stuff coming out now are way quieter than reference stuff.

night and day, I can barely hear my twin fan 6950 untill its over 30% which will rarely happen

 

[Elfear]

The GTX 570 is a bit faster than the 2GB 6950 but I'll bet the high-res texture mods for Skyrim will use more than 1.2GB of vram. However as Silverforce mentioned your other games will run a bit quicker on the Nvidia card. If it were me, I'd find a cheap (but quiet) aftermarket cooler for your GTX 260 and wait for the next-gen cards to upgrade. Either that or a 460/6850 for around $120 with a non-reference cooler.

 

[tigersty1e]

Most non-refrence coolers are very quiet, and you don't need to worry about installing an aftermarket cooler and possibly messing it up.

the non ref twin an tri fan stuff coming out now are way quieter than reference stuff.

night and day, I can barely hear my twin fan 6950 untill its over 30% which will rarely happen

Silence is relative. If you are comparing reference blowers to these non-ref cards, then yes, they are relatively silence. If you are comparing these non-ref cards to a Shaman, then the non-ref cards sound like jets.

To me, a 120mm fan spinning at 1200rpm is too loud. When I say silent, I mean SILENT.

Also, the 6950 cards love low heat. Over ~60C, and it will be unstable when you clock it high. With the non-ref cards, they optimize the profile to have the card run into the 80s too artifically lower the sound.