Best low end Video card

FriendlyFire

FriendlyFire

Codex WMDicanious
Joined
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Iam looking to upgrade my MX440 to something that can run decent frame rates.
Need some advice what Video card to get at around $100au

Current specs:
AMD2400@2000 (heat problems) 120gig HDD, 1gig DDR ram, 19" LCD samsung 913N, 8x AGP slot MB and of course my MX440. 350W power supply (so high end graphic cards are not an option unless i want to install new Powersupply, fans and newer case)

Geforce 6200
9700 pro

Since I have heat problems I might be forced to buy lower cards

FX5500
FX5200 <-- why even upgrade
GF4 Ti
9600
9550
9500

any advice ?
 
you should take care of the heat problem rather than go around it. No better advice than that. Get a better heatsink, fan or someother cooling system.
 
Get some Artic Silver and reseat your heatsink. It's still having problems look at buying a replacement. An Athlon XP2400 should not be having heat trouble.

Of the cards you listed the 9700pro is probably the best. You might look at a 9800 pro also, but I don't know how much more they would cost.
 
FriendlyFire said:
350W power supply (so high end graphic cards are not an option unless i want to install new Powersupply, fans and newer case)
Click to expand...

For starters, do you have a no name brand power supply? You would probably have no problems running a 6800GT on 350W, and if it's a quality PS, you can run even higher. If you open your case, it should have a label telling you how many amps you have on the 12V rail. This is what is important to you.

FriendlyFire said:
Since I have heat problems I might be forced to buy lower cards
Click to expand...

Do you know for sure you have heat problems? What are your temps at? Even if your CPU is running hot, it won't affect your graphics card unless it's bringing the whole case's ambient temp up alot.
 
stickciv said:
you should take care of the heat problem rather than go around it. No better advice than that. Get a better heatsink, fan or someother cooling system.
Click to expand...

Thats the first thing i though off
Iam using my processor default fan/heatsink I never had a problem with it until now. The MB heat alarm is sounding with Temp hitting 70 degres celcius,
It used to run full load at under 50 degres

I had added an extra fan into my case for cooling and vacumed my fan for dust.
Looks like iam gonna have to re-seal my heatsink/fan
Might get a new Heatsink/fan while iam at it
 
I wonder if putting the computer inside a small fridge or freezer would help :) Do not try this until you know it will work.
 
Mine was hitting 75 before I got a new heatsink. Now it rarely goes above 60.
Click to expand...

What processor do you have? Those temps are really higher than they should be...

I wonder if putting the computer inside a small fridge or freezer would help
Click to expand...

Condensation + electronics = bad
 
Best low-end video card?

I think I have an old piece with a then-state-of-the-art 256 k RAM on it. It's yours for free (-shipping costs) :p
 
FriendlyFire said:
Iam looking to upgrade my MX440 to something that can run decent frame rates.
Need some advice what Video card to get at around $100au

Current specs:
AMD2400@2000 (heat problems) 120gig HDD, 1gig DDR ram, 19" LCD samsung 913N, 8x AGP slot MB and of course my MX440. 350W power supply (so high end graphic cards are not an option unless i want to install new Powersupply, fans and newer case)

Since I have heat problems I might be forced to buy lower cards
Click to expand...

You should get your system running safely before you get any video card. Your components will not last nearly as long if they are overheating. Even your hard drive and RAM are sensetive to heat exposure. That AMD chip runs very cool in comparison to the new Pentium 4s so if your not overclocking it takes a lot of bad cooling to get it to overheat. I would get an aftermarket cpu cooler right away and make sure your case fans are providing a proper cross breeze.

The power supply is often considered the most important component so I wouldn't ignore it either. Not enough power can cause stability problems and irregular power can damage components. 350w is a bit low but I would be more worried about the quality especially if it came with the case. Some really cheap power supply have their intake and exhaust fans flowing in the wrong direction and actually blow hot air from the PSU into your case, usually directly over the CPU.

cierdan said:
I wonder if putting the computer inside a small fridge or freezer would help :) Do not try this until you know it will work.
Click to expand...

For extreme cooling people often use a well sealed tube containing liquid nitrogen. Or you can actually buy a freezer with a tube thats mounted to the CPU but you don't want to put it in there. People have been known to put their computers in freezers for short periods of time but only when they are turned off and they would need to be dried very well before powering up again.
 
Best low end graphics card = ATI Radeon 9550. It sure beats a 5700. The 9600 is marginally better but I don't think the extra cost is justified.

As for best heatsink - well, aircooled socket A, that would be an SL-97. But it isn't cheap - you have to buy a seperate 80mm or (better) 92mm fan for it as well.

Not compatible with ALL mobos though - check this site;-

http://www.thermalright.com/a_page/main_product_si97.htm

If I were you, I'd get the heatsink and fan first - I'm running at about 35 degrees centigrade, albeit on a XP Mobile chip. XPM-2500 (I went 2600) are AMAZING... if you're mobo and memory can hack it, you can get 3 GHz (even more) out of the things!

Oh yeah - the SL-97 is HUGE. Just so you know. ;)

EDIT: I just remembered, one of the issues with using Arctic Silver etc is that you have to redo it every couple of years. It sort of dries out/evaporates. Use Acetone to clean off the old stuff. Oh, and a really good tip - take the mobo out of the case, lay it on a flat, steady surface, take the fan off first - then the heatsink is a lot easier to take off. Long thin screwdriver down the slot to ease the spring tension, and another to lever the clip off.

There's a knack to it, but I've known people try it without even taking the mobo out of the case! Then they wonder why their computer doesn't work (because they've smashed great lumps out of the mobo, that's why).
 
Oh yeah - the SL-97 is HUGE. Just so you know.
Click to expand...

Sometime I'm going to have to take a picture of my Thermaltake SonicTower. It puts just about every other cooler out there to shame ;)

I'm running at about 35 degrees centigrade, albeit on a XP Mobile chip.
Click to expand...

36C on a dual core 4400+ ;) Did I mention that the cooler is essentially silent? :D
 
Who knows, next year some games might be released that actually use a dual core.
Click to expand...

Maybe, but right now I'm having fun running BF2 with 64 bots, while still having programs running in the background :D

Taken from;-

Optional fan? Optional? And the example shown has 2 of 'em... how silent is that then, eh?
Click to expand...

That be it. The silver part with the actual fins is about 12cm x 12cm... gargantuan ;)

I'm running it with a single 120mm fan, held between the two towers. With my case fans on low ('cause I have 6x 80mm fans) and the room as silent as I can get it, you have to be within 1-2ft to even be able to tell that the PC is on. In normal operation you can't hear it at all, since the other two PCs in the room are much louder ;)
 
Great. So how can you tell how a cooling fan has failed? The trail of black smoke from the back of the PC? ;)

Only kidding, sounds like a great rig... but I'm not going 64 bit for a couple of years yet. Waiting for Xfire to mature and M2 to get released... and of course, saving the peniies to pay for it.
 
double post, DELETE me please.
 
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