New cheap cards better than old high end card?

[joshwa]

Hi!

I have an X1900XT AIW Radeon 512mb which is great - dual DVI, good desktop performance. Good for Photoshop.

However, I want it in the Living room as an "entertainment" PC so TV use - and noise is now an issue.

The GFX card is fine, but if you use any 3D features, then it gets loud.

Also Photoshop CS6 likes graphics cards... I don't do gaming by the way...

So now I'd like a Passive, Dual DVI (full size I guess) graphics card with good 3D performance for CS6.

Suggestions please. Cheap would be good. (£30?)
If I can get something better than the X1900 then I'll consider it.

If anyone knows of any that are significantly excellent for folding at home while still passive then I may consider it, but I guess my budget would be £60 max.

TIA.
CAIO.

Josh
PS - System details are not correct, I have a QQ6600, 4GB ram.

[Domestic_Ginger]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ew,3107-7.html gives me a good idea of whats whats. Your card seems to be slipping a little bit so maybe if you can find a better passive card for £30 (not sure if possible). Unfortunately it does not tell you which are passive.

FAH and power consumption do not go hand in hand imo.

[joshwa]

Thanks, that was a v. helpful link - Do these look reasonable?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sapphire-A...ht_2872wt_1270

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2GB-ATI-Ra...ht_3010wt_1270

Or higher spec 6670:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Asus-ATI-R...ht_2266wt_1270

Also, what would my X1900 be worth when selling?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Adobe Photoshop CS6 uses OpenCL,which means a newer card will be a better choice,but for things like gaming I am uncertain whether a £30 card is faster:

http://www.techpowerup.com/164743/AM...eleration.html

An HD3850 512MB is slightly faster than an X1900XTX:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/D...dition/21.html

An HD4670 GDDR3 is slightly slower than an HD3850:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/P...D_4670/26.html

The HD5570 GDDR3 is slower than an HD4670 GDDR3:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/S...D_5570/30.html

Both the HD5670 GDDR5,HD6570 GDDR5 and HD6670 GDDR5 are quicker than a HD4670 GDDR3. However,I am uncertain how much slower the GDDR3 versions will be as these are more common.

The Nvidia GT440 GDDR5 is slower than both the HD5670 GDDR5 and HD6570 GDDR5 too,and the HD6670 GDDR5 is faster than both.

To,put it in context,the cards under £40 probably won't be faster than an X1900XTX for most games,but support newer standards,are better for media playback,are more useful for acceleration of newer applications and consume less power.

Edit!!

Nvidia cards are better for doing folding AFAIK,although I am not certain whether the latest AMD GCN based cards have improved,as these are more compute focused than previous generations.

GPU based acceleration does help with certain filters in Adobe Photoshop CS6:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...o,3208-13.html

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

If you look at the Toms Hardware article I linked to,the HD6550D does quite well,and and HD6570 GDDR3 should be no slower,for Photoshop CS6 work.

Edit!!

It looks like the HD6670 DDR3 is around 20% to 30% slower than an HD6670 GDDR5:

http://tech2.in.com/reviews/graphics...cs-card/231692

I would estimate it is around 10% to 15% slower than an HD5670 GDDR5. The GT440 GDDR5 is around the same speed it seems:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/A...GT_440/26.html

The HD6570 DDR3 seems to be around 20% slower than an HD5670 GDDR5:

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/p...d-6570-review/

It probably means the HD6670 DDR3 is around HD3850 level I suspect.

[teppic]

PC World/Currys right now has the Asus HD6770 on offer at £55. It's a brilliant performer for the money. It does have a fan, but you're unlikely to hear it (and can always return it if you can). I had one as a temporary card, and it was actually a DirectCU version, not the one pictured.

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/asus-a...54909-pdt.html

[brookheather]

PC World/Currys right now has the Asus HD6770 on offer at £55. It's a brilliant performer for the money. It does have a fan, but you're unlikely to hear it (and can always return it if you can). I had one as a temporary card, and it was actually a DirectCU version, not the one pictured.

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/asus-a...54909-pdt.html

I couldn't find any in stock - you may be lucky and find one.

[royalpasion]

i would got at PC world and check the 6450 it is more than enough and very cheapp for £35