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Hi all
Fed up with whiny fan on my old 7300LE so I'd like to get a new card that has a bit of oomph - say 9600 like - but is quiet and low power - ideally not needing a direct power connection to the psu.
Oh, and as I have 4GB but Win7 32 not more than 512Mb :)
No preference between nvidia or ati - not had an ati card before so I wouldn't mind giving them a try.
I have about £70 to play with.
Thanks :)
I'm not 100% up to date, but I think one of the highest performing cards that doesnt need a direct power connector is the Ati HD 4670. Its one that alot of people recommend for media centre PC's. It's a midrange card, but it should be cool and quiet, as well as low power usage.
You should be able to pick up a passive version within budget, which will be (of course) silent.
Such as : http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/s...tml?sap-4670ul
Ati 4770 is between £70 and £80 so if you can stretch the buget a smidge you could get one of those. Or as you say a 9600GT from the green camp, either would do but the 9600 does need external power, as does 4770. So you may need to drop down a level on both sides if you don't have a pcie power connector on your psu.
Hmmm, £72 will get you a 9800GT Eco edition, which does not need an additional power connector, or a HD4770, which does but only draws about 5W through it! They're both midrange cards, and have plenty of oomph :D
Novatech have a HD4830 for just under £70 - again, it does use an additional power connector but doesn't draw much through it. The card is end-of-line now, which is why it can be picked up fairly cheaply, and on release it was pretty much class-leading.
Below that, £60 will get you either a 9600GT Eco edition, or a Sapphire 4670 Ultimate, neither of which require an extra power connector. The 9600GT has better performance, but the Sapphire is passively cooled!
Of course, stock 4670s only cost about £50 which is a significant saving (and they outperform every other card in that price bracket).
This Hexus review has a direct comparison of all the cards I've mentioned (as well as a slightly more expensive 4850) - the only disclaimer I'll put on it is that I believe it uses the non-eco versions of the 9600 and 9800, so the ones I've recommended will draw less power. Otherwise it should be a pretty reliable comparison. I think, if you can afford the extra couple of quid, the HD4770 is the one to go for :D
EDIT: I've bolded a couple of bits regarding power connectors as the other posters are a little out of date ;)
I would get one of these HD4770 cards:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173741
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/167966
The XFX HD4770 is one of the better HD4770 cards out there IMHO:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/...deon_hd_4770/1
The HD4830 was available for a while from Novatech for under £60!! It has gone up in price again recently!! :( I have an HD4830 myself and they can have lower idle power consumption than an HD4770 during idle although at load this is reversed.
Thanks all :)
I think a 4670 will give me the oomph I need - I'll sleep on whether to go for the passive Sapphire or the MSI with a fan which seems to be pretty quiet according to reviews.
My credit card's itching :)
Just ordered the MSI 4670 :)