What's the best Fanless video card? / best video card that will work with 400W PSU?

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szdpd

Weaksauce
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as far as fanless video cards go, which is the best one?

as far as video cards that can work well with a 400 W PSU, which is the best one?
 
What are you doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? etc
What the specs of the rest of the system?
What's the max resolution of your monitor?
What's your max budget for the video card?
What case will you be using?
Which 400W PSU?
 
Danny Bui said:
What are you doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? etc
Click to expand...

Everything else + some mild gaming

What the specs of the rest of the system?
Click to expand...
probably good enough for any fanless video card as well as any video card that will work with a 400W PSU

What's the max resolution of your monitor?
Click to expand...
1920 x 1080

What's your max budget for the video card?
Click to expand...
the budget is not the issue

What case will you be using?
Click to expand...
the case is a mid tower. don't remember the exact name

Which 400W PSU?
Click to expand...
Corsair CMPSU-400CX

+3.3V@20A, +5V@20A, +12V@30A, [email protected], [email protected]
 
szdpd said:
probably good enough for any fanless video card as well as any video card that will work with a 400W PSU
Click to expand...
That doesn't help me at all considering that I need to know the specs and therefore power usage of the rest of your parts to answer your second question. If you have something like say the Core i7 9xx series or even the Bulldozer CPUs, that changes the GPU recommendations

In any case, to answer your first questions somewhat, the fastest fanless GPU for gaming on sale from Newegg right now is this $147 shipped Gigabyte HD 6770 1GB Video Card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125386

However the best fanless GPU to use if you're doing a lot of work in Photoshop or Premier Pro would be this Asus GT 440 (crap for gaming though):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121469
 
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Danny Bui said:
That doesn't help me at all considering that I need to know the specs and therefore power usage of the rest of your parts to answer your second question. If you have something like say the Core i7 9xx series or even the Bulldozer CPUs, that changes the GPU recommendations

In any case, to answer your first questions somewhat, the fastest fanless GPU for gaming on sale from Newegg right now is this $147 shipped Gigabyte HD 6770 1GB Video Card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125386

However the best fanless GPU to use if you're doing a lot of work in Photoshop or Premier Pro would be this Asus GT 440 (crap for gaming though):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121469
Click to expand...

wow it's been over a week and I still haven't bought a video card even though I badly need it in order hook up the 2nd monitor and see if I increase my productivity with additional screen real estate.

full disclosure:

Core2Duo LGA775 65W
Gigabyte ga-g31m micro atx
(integrated video/audio)
4 GB DDR2
IDE DVD drive
IDE 7200 rpm hdd
SATA 7200 rpm hdd
Corsair CMPSU-400CX 400 W PSU
23 in widescreen lcd monitor
17 in lcd monitor (old)

As you can see, it's a humble system but to this day it continues to serve me well and I still feel little need to get something newer or faster.

All I want is a video card, so I can put my 17 in monitor to some use.

Additionally, since I was forced to abandon my old setup after I ended up with a bad motherboard, I am no longer able to use my AGP card and for that reason it's been a few years since the last time I played Counterstrike, a game that while I can't say that I miss terribly, I'd like to play every now and then for old time's sake.

Then there are newer games like Crysis 2 and Battlefield and you name it, but I already have a gaming console that fulfills most of my gaming needs.

Sure it would be nice to play one of the newer games on my PC even if on low settings, just to see how much I like them on this widescreen monitor, but i don't see myself buying one of those monster video cards just to play games. Then again, if I find myself unable to play new games on low settings, I doubt I would complain since I know that low end video cards can do only so much.

My main needs are:

1) A video card will have at least 1 HDMI output and 1 VGA output (I want to run dual monitors)

2) A video card that will allow me to comfortably play Counterstrike at a resolution 'appropriate' for a 23 in monitor that supports a max resolution of 1920 x 1080.

3) I also want to make sure that I get a video card that is quiet. Fanless is better since they say that video card fans even if relatively quiet tend to die sooner rather than later.

4) Last but not least, the video card must be compatible with my current system. I don't want to deal with overheating problems and what not.


With all these points in mind, can you suggest an appropriate video card?
 
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Either of the last two listed are good options. The 6850 should work fine with a dvi->vga adapter (and should come with one).
 
5) The card can't take up more than 1 PCI slot

6) The card must be less than $100. Preferably less than $80 shipped

7) It's true I can use a DVI-VGA adapter but I don't like those adapters because there is few space between the back of my case and the wall.
 
szdpd said:
ok. now find me a card that meets all the criteria i need
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There's a magic word, bro....

Anyway, with criteria as strict as yours, a Newegg filtered search would probably yield few enough to count on your fingers. Shouldn't be a very difficult decision from there.

Well here's my shot:

For "less than $100":
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161392

For "less than $80 shipped":
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161374

Cheers.
 
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szdpd said:
5) The card can't take up more than 1 PCI slot

6) The card must be less than $100. Preferably less than $80 shipped

7) It's true I can use a DVI-VGA adapter but I don't like those adapters because there is few space between the back of my case and the wall.
Click to expand...

If you are still counting on mild gaming at 1920x1080 and these 2 new criteria, that takes your choices down to 0. Just find the cheapest single slot card with an HDMI because you won't be gaming on anything in that price range anyways.
 
szdpd said:
3) I also want to make sure that I get a video card that is quiet. Fanless is better since they say that video card fans even if relatively quiet tend to die sooner rather than later.
5) The card can't take up more than 1 PCI slot
Click to expand...
These two demands are mutually exclusive with anything more powerful than a 6670.
szdpd said:
2) A video card that will allow me to comfortably play Counterstrike at a resolution 'appropriate' for a 23 in monitor that supports a max resolution of 1920 x 1080.
6) The card must be less than $100. Preferably less than $80 shipped
7) It's true I can use a DVI-VGA adapter but I don't like those adapters because there is few space between the back of my case and the wall.
Click to expand...
I suggest the XFX 6670 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150542 $83.99 ($58.99 AR) + $6.98 shipping
It is poor value because of GDDR3 but should suffice for CS:S at 1080p. And has a VGA output, is single slot, and Newegg customer reviews describe it as "mostly quiet".
 
chithanh said:
These two demands are mutually exclusive with anything more powerful than a 6670.

I suggest the XFX 6670 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150542 $83.99 ($58.99 AR) + $6.98 shipping
It is poor value because of GDDR3 but should suffice for CS:S at 1080p. And has a VGA output, is single slot, and Newegg customer reviews describe it as "mostly quiet".
Click to expand...

That one's good too, but if fanless is more important than a $15 difference, then I'd get the HIS 6670.
 
chithanh said:
These two demands are mutually exclusive with anything more powerful than a 6670.

I suggest the XFX 6670 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150542 $83.99 ($58.99 AR) + $6.98 shipping
It is poor value because of GDDR3 but should suffice for CS:S at 1080p. And has a VGA output, is single slot, and Newegg customer reviews describe it as "mostly quiet".
Click to expand...

That one's probably the better pick. But if fanless is more important than a $15 difference and a better warranty, then I'd get the HIS 6670.
 
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