Quiet AGP card?

[manzo]

Having watched Civ 4 absolutely murder my system, I looked at the specs and was surprised to see that my graphics card is below the minimum spec (I have a 7200 AIW). Whilst this could be a good excuse to change the motherboard and get a PCI-e card, I really can't face that after the number of failed components I've had over the last two years.

I am also planning on getting a new monitor, and I am tempted by the 24" Dell (at least I will be if I can get a decent price on one), so I'd like a card that can handle the high resolution. Though I'm not talking about playing Half Life 2 with everything whacked up as high as possible at that resolution.

The final requirement I have is that the card is quiet. I've spent a lot of time and money getting my two PCs to **** the hell up, and I want to keep them that way! I don't mind fitting a silent cooler on to a new card, but if there is a decent card out there that is also silently cooled, I would rather go for that one.

So, anyone got any suggestions?

[schmunk]

Budget?

[manzo]

Budget?

Pretty flexible, to be honest. I was thinking around the £150 mark, but if need be, I can go higher.

[sawyen]

6600GT Silent Heatpipe? not sure if they're on AGP tho..

But there's always arctic cooling NV Silencer 6..

[csl]

The Gigabyte heatpipe cards run VERY hot. Without decent case airflow the card will hit temps over 100C under load. And if you're buying this card for a quiet system you'll probably have low airflow to start with.

I had the passive 6800, and it finally fried itself this spring - garbled images which I could only shake by entering windows in safe mode. Sent it back and got a replacement from Gigabyte (eventually) but then sold it. I'd look towards a stock 6600GT (perhaps the XFX one with the dual DVI) then buy a Zalman VF700 for it: http://www.zalman.co.kr/product/cool...600GT_eng.html

This ought to be quiet and relatively cool.

For over £150 you could either look at a standard 6800 or an X800 card, both of which will outperform the 6600GT and allow for higher resolutions. I'd limit the 6600GT to 1280x1024 for decent performance, so if you get a larger panel, consider something more powerful.

[hoodmeister]

Just a quick spanner in the works ~ I don't know the specs of the 7200, but what speed is your AGP slot? I should imagine it's 4x, which is fine and dandy, but there's a slim chance it's 2x ~ which will completely screw things up. So best check.

[davidstone28]

http://forums.hexus.net/showthread.php?t=58890

[manzo]

I have an ABIT NF7 board, which says it does up to 8x AGP, so I'm alright on that front. With wanting a larger panel, it sounds like I should go for a 6800 (not the GT, right?) or an X800. Ah, more decisions!

[manzo]

Trawling through this forum, a couple of cards have been recommended:

GeCube RADEON X800GTO AGP 128MB DDR Uni-Wise, £114.99 inc VAT from lowestonweb.com

256MB XFX AGP GeForce 6800 GT DDR3 TV + DVI , inc FarCry Full Game, 233.83 Inc VAT from scan.co.uk

I would assume, from the pricing, that the 6800GT is by far the better card out of those two, but is it twice as good, given the price difference?

Also, which card is the easier to quieten with third-party cooling?

Any other cards that I should think about getting?

[manzo]

No-one have any more thoughts on this? The Dell monitor is turning up tomorrow, so I would like to order a card asap, and I really can't decide what to go for!

[sawyen]

6800GT would be the best bet.. We all wish 6800GS were coming to AGP.. but indeed it wont.. so, between X800GTO and 6800GT? Hats down for 6800GT definitely..

Believe me, with ath £233.. you'll be able to play EVERY game in the market now.. abeit maybe a little less on the details on newer games like FEAR, all other games can be played under 1280x1024 with 4Xaa 16xAF with confidence..

[[DW]Cougho]

id get an X800GTO2 and unlock it to an XTPE.

About £160.

EDIT: oh bugger, they are PCI-E only, DAMN this dual standard! (about 5th time ive made this mistake) As recommended above get a 6800GT if you can.

[manzo]

Yeah, if I had a pound for every post I've read that says "get an X800GTO2" and is then swiftly followed by a "bugger, it's PCI-e only", then I'd have enough to get any card I wanted!

Looks like it's time for a trip to scan for the 6800GT.

So, what silent cooling options do I have with this card? There's the Artic Cooling nVidia 5, how quiet is that? Otherwise, which Zalman coolers can I use? I haven't found which one to use with what card.

Ooh, I'm getting quite excited now! I've been suffering with a 17" CRT for the last few months, since my 22" died, and I'm looking forward to getting a large screen back!

[sawyen]

arctic cooling nv silencer rev 5 is good enuf AFAIK.. but if u could spot a Leadtek A400GT, then it would be much better.. full copper heatpipe cooler, and very quiet.. I have 2 of them and they are very quiet.. (one is moded now tho).. ehehehe

[manzo]

Do you have 256Mb or 128Mb A400GT cards? I have found a 128Mb version for £170, but no 256Mb versions. Is the 128Mb one worth getting?

[sawyen]

Both my A400GTs are 256MB.. I don't recall 128MB versions other than vanilla A400 TDH.. ASUS has one of those 128MB GTs.. As long as they have them copper coolers.. its good enuf..

Oh.. Forgot to mention.. the A400GTs are dual slot coolers... so is AC NV Silencer 5

EDIT: the 128MB ones should be fine.. but the lower memory buffer will hurt in games like FEAR and DOOM3