Question about 6850 cards, and heat exhausting.

[Biscuit]

As long as you have sufficient air flow in the case using a non-venting graphics card isn't a problem: the only real question then is whether you can fit sufficient fans and venting elsewhere in the case to compensate for the extra heat from the graphics card. In anything down to a standard mATX tower this should be a problem, as you should easily be able to add a couple of quiet cooling fans. It only starts being a problem in very confined cases like cubes, shuttles and mITX. However, as other people have mentioned, if you get a shuttle then choose a rear-venting card, it will be somewhat noisier.

This^

To really be able to assess out how important rear venting will be i think it might be worth exploring the final goal which you are trying to achieve. You mentioned shuttle and sugo cases, maybe it is worth exploring the cooling and enclosure, possibly even the rest of the system all in one go rather than just the GPU?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

This^

To really be able to assess out how important rear venting will be i think it might be worth exploring the final goal which you are trying to achieve. You mentioned shuttle and sugo cases, maybe it is worth exploring the cooling and enclosure, possibly even the rest of the system all in one go rather than just the GPU?

Been there,done that.

I found with my Shuttle the coolers which vented the exhaust out of the case kept the system temperatures lower. Also,the PSU fan did not ramp up as much and the PSU exhaust was also cooler.

My Shuttle also has a pair of 60MM exhaust fans too, so the effect would probably be more pronounced in a case which uses a PSU as the main system exhaust.

[Biscuit]

but not all cases have exactly the same characteristics as your shuttle. Im not trying to take anything away from your experience, im just saying its worth exploring

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

It depends on the type of SFF case you have. Shuttles tend to benefit from graphics cards which vent the exhaust out of the case.

Some other cases use positive pressure and a high CFM intake fan to help force the exhaust out of the case. An example is the Silverstone SG05.

However,the fact is that if you have more heat accumulating in the case the internal temperature will rise unless you have a way of venting the exhaust. Usually the PSU will end up doing this job. However,I tend not to be a fan of using a PSU as the system exhaust since I like to keep my PCs for as long as possible.

Even the SG03 and SG04 cases have the optional cross-flow fan which would act as a system exhaust.

This is why cases like the Lian Li PC-Q08 and Silverstone SG07 have a top mounted exhaust fan.

[Biscuit]

This is why cases like the Lian Li PC-Q08 and Silverstone SG07 have a top mounted exhaust fan.

Personally the PC-Q08 would be my case of choice, surely with that case the additional cooling would mean its less important to have a fully rear venting GPU?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Personally the PC-Q08 would be my case of choice, surely with that case the additional cooling would mean its less important to have a fully rear venting GPU?

Yep!

This is why I will probably get a PC-Q08 or SG07 for my next build.

[Biscuit]

there you have it straight from the moose's mouth, get a case with top mounted cooling and you don't have to worry about the rear exhaust as much

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I have had a look around and there seems to be an EVGA GTX460 1GB with a venting cooler for around £140:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-e...dvi-i-minihdmi

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-e...dvi-i-minihdmi

Power consumption does seem 20W to 30W higher than an HD6850 1GB though:

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...review-18.html

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...-study-14.html

The HD6850 1GB does seem quite expensive in the UK ATM.

I wonder if my Shuttle PC55 will handle a GTX460 1GB?? It has three 12V lines rated at 17A,17A and 15A.

I have run an 8800GTS 512MB in the Shuttle before.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Now I am getting confused!!

I was looking at the HD6850 1GB Toxic which also uses a rear venting cooler.

These reviews seem to indicate that the power consumption of the card is around the same as other HD6850 1GB cards:

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/review...-noise-oc.html

http://www.overclockersclub.com/revi...0_toxic/16.htm

http://www.kitguru.net/components/gr...ion-review/14/

Two of the reviews used Furmark.

However these reviews indicate the card consumes much more than a referance HD6850 1GB:

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/365...d/index17.html

http://techgage.com/article/sapphire..._6850_toxic/10

It seems strange that the last two reviews indicated that the HD6850 1GB Toxic has higher power consumption under Furmark and OCCT than an HD6870 1GB.

[Biscuit]

Re u buying the 460 - I would just wait until you do a full upgrade for the peace of mind, what you have can tide you over surely?

Re the reviews - the hardware canuks site says

Please note that after extensive testing, we have found that simply plugging in a power meter to a wall outlet or UPS will NOT give you accurate power consumption numbers due to slight changes in the input voltage. Thus we use a Tripp-Lite 1800W line conditioner between the 120V outlet and the power meter

Maybe this is to do with it? Either way it will be some difference in the testing methods used.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would just wait until you do a full upgrade for the peace of mind, what you have can tide you over surely?

I have an overclocked HD4830 and a Q6600 at 2.67GHZ on stock voltage ATM. I can get the CPU upto around 3GHZ before heat becomes an issue.

Unless my system goes kaput a full upgrade is most likely going to be at the end of the year so I want to get a new card now.

I run my games at 1440X900 and 1680X1050.

Edit!!

I know that an HD4870 1GB will run off my PSU so perhaps I am worrying unnecessarily!!

[MSIC]

I'm increasingly considering the Silverstone SUGO's.
I just read this bit-tech review of the SG07 (summary: good case, poor cable management) but looks fair value at £155 given that it includes a 600W PSU.
I might however start looking at the Lian Li's too.... i'm torn over whether or not miniITX is just too much of a compromise perhaps :/

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The SG07 was around £130 on Scan Today Only recently IIRC. However,the PC-Q08 looks nicer IMHO.

[MSIC]

Hmm, i've just read the BT review of the Lian Li PC-Q08 and it too isn't perfect - basically looks like standard ATX PSU's dont fit right.
I might do some more reading, see if anyone has any joy with any particular models, mATX PSUs etc...

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would look at the SPCR reviews of the SG07 and PC-Q08:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/silverstone-sg07

http://www.silentpcreview.com/lianli-pcq08

The PC-Q08 seems fine with a Cooler Master Silent Pro M700 modular PSU and an HD4870.

[scaryjim]

Hexus get peak system draw for the Toxic to be significantly less than a 6870 (and not much more than a stock 6850) in this 3-way 6850 review. However, take a good long look at the noise comparisons in that review before rushing out to buy one....