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Quietest Video Card
- Thread starter JindaZ
- Start date
Hamish Campbell
2[H]4U
- Joined
- May 15, 2006
- Messages
- 2,062
Fanless HD 4670 of which there are many good choices.
Passivley cooled Gigabyte GV-R485MC-1GI HD 4850
http://www.provantage.com/gigabyte-technology-gv-r485mc-1gi~7GIG906P.htm
http://www.provantage.com/gigabyte-technology-gv-r485mc-1gi~7GIG906P.htm
Last edited:
defaultluser
[H]F Junkie
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Passivley cooled Gigabyte GV-R485MC-1GI HD 4850
http://www.provantage.com/gigabyte-technology-gv-r485mc-1gi~7GIG906P.htm
That's overkill. And even if it's passive, his system fans still need to remove all that heat.
It's a much better proposition to start with something like the 4670, which has a much lower power envelope. This goes doubly if he's planning on putting multiple cards in the same system.
The 4670 will do fine in terms of decoding video, will deliver you decent performance in GPU-assisted tasks, will run the occasional game if you get the itch, and will run with very low power. Getting one of these with a passive cooler actually makes sense.
See here how little power the 4670 sips versus the 4850.
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That's overkill. And even if it's passive, his system fans still need to remove all that heat.
The OP asked:
what is the top rated quietest (both with and without fans)
The Gigabyte HD 4850 is indeed the fastest ("top rated") passively cooled video card available which does answer his question.
He also stated it's not a gaming machine, so he wouldn't need a 4850. 4670 is the correct answer.
If it isn't a gaming machine, does it even need a HD4670?
OP said top rated, not necessarily the one that performs the best in 3D applications.
OP: How many monitors do you need to run, and for what application?
Might not be 'needed' but you can find a 4670 512mb at newegg for $44.99 AR. I mean do you really want to go for an even lower end card that'll cost around the same price any way?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121329&cm_re=4670-_-14-121-329-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121329&cm_re=4670-_-14-121-329-_-Product
Might not be 'needed' but you can find a 4670 512mb at newegg for $44.99 AR. I mean do you really want to go for an even lower end card that'll cost around the same price any way?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121329&cm_re=4670-_-14-121-329-_-Product
Maybe. I mean a HD4670 will still produce more heat and take more power than a HD4350 right? If the tasks are simple, no reason for a more powerful GPU right? I mean why waste resources? But I get your point, HD4670's are cheaper now.
defaultluser
[H]F Junkie
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- Jan 14, 2006
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Maybe. I mean a HD4670 will still produce more heat and take more power than a HD4350 right? If the tasks are simple, no reason for a more powerful GPU right? I mean why waste resources? But I get your point, HD4670's are cheaper now.
Not that much. Once you get to a certain "minimum," it gets harder and harder to go lower, because every video card has to continue running DRAM and on-board devices aside from the GPU. The 4350, 4370 and 4550 all have idle power within a few watts of each other for this reason.
You can argue that there's a significant difference between 6w and 10w idle, but I say it's lost in the noise with a desktop PC setup. That, and the 4670 can actually game a little (the 4550 cannot), so if you get the itch, you can give in and play a few games.