Arctic Cool kills my 9600xt

fluke420

fluke420

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Jul 9, 2003
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Well thats what I get for not cleaning the inside of my computer. Should have known better.

Tonight I lost my 9600xt with an Arctic VGA Silencer while playing some HL2. Dust and crap filled the inside of the cooling fins right after the fan. Now it's time to buy a new video card but also considering it a change to upgrade.

Can anyone recommend a card that would be considered an upgrade from my current setup but still keep the price around ~$150. Rebates don't matter to me. 1280 and AGP is a must. I have always thought that a 9800 pro would be a cheap way to go.

BUT learned from my mistake, look everywhere for those little dust bunnies. They like to hide in really tight spaces.
 
fluke420 said:
Well thats what I get for not cleaning the inside of my computer. Should have known better.

Tonight I lost my 9600xt with an Arctic VGA Silencer while playing some HL2. Dust and crap filled the inside of the cooling fins right after the fan. Now it's time to buy a new video card but also considering it a change to upgrade.

Can anyone recommend a card that would be considered an upgrade from my current setup but still keep the price around ~$150. Rebates don't matter to me. 1280 and AGP is a must. I have always thought that a 9800 pro would be a cheap way to go.

BUT learned from my mistake, look everywhere for those little dust bunnies. They like to hide in really tight spaces.
Click to expand...

No no no.. you have it all wrong.
Your Arctic cooler COOLED your card..
You killed your card by not cleaning out the fan.. lol.

Oh well, no use crying over spilt milk.
Your not going to get much of an upgrade for $150. A 6600Gt is your best bet, but its not going to be a huge noticable difference. Save up another $50 and get a new 800gt.
 
lloose said:
No no no.. you have it all wrong.
Your Arctic cooler COOLED your card..
You killed your card by not cleaning out the fan.. lol.

Oh well, no use crying over spilt milk.
Your not going to get much of an upgrade for $150. A 6600Gt is your best bet, but its not going to be a huge noticable difference. Save up another $50 and get a new 800gt.
Click to expand...

what the hell have you been smoking...

A 6600GT is a massive upgrade to a 9600, hell its a decent upgrade from a 9800.
 
Whoops, I thought he said it was a 9800xt (and its not a big difference at all there between the 6600gt and 9800xt).
I would even stick with the 9800xt due to its 256bit capabilities vs the 6600gt's 128.
 
Damn I love America, nothing is ever your fault....
You killed that card bro not the cooler. :rolleyes:

I would pick EVGA over PNY anyday.
 
Yeah yeah yeah, I know it was my fault. I could be a cheap ass and put the original HSF back on and return it to ATI.

One last question, how does the 6800 non pro version fair against the 6600GT?
 
fluke420 said:
Yeah yeah yeah, I know it was my fault. I could be a cheap ass and put the original HSF back on and return it to ATI.

One last question, how does the 6800 non pro version fair against the 6600GT?
Click to expand...

It sucks sweaty balls, hard.
 
Now that's just not true. The 6800 is a little bit better than a 6600GT stock, but the 256-bit bus helps out in higher resolutions and with AA/AF cranked up. Additionally, the 6800NU AGP has the potential of unlocking. As for the question of manufacturer, avoid PNY at all costs- in fact, get the eVGA anyway. They have a lifetime warranty now, and they cover absolutely anything- even a bad BIOS FLASH!
 
YES GET THAT CARD

I upgraded from a 9600Pro to the 6800NU (the same XFX one you linked to) and I put a Zalman ZM80D-HP on it to run it passive - it works great. The stock cooler works great - I had lower temps with it, but now I'm passive and can't hear it, and still get decent temps.

That card is definately your best bet, I run the system in my sig at 1280*1024 in CS:S at High for everything, Reflect World, 4x AA and 8x AF, and it's absoultey great.

Here's the difference in my 9600pro to 6800:

CS:S Video Stress Test Max Everything, 1280*1024, no vsync:
9600Pro: 23.25 fps
6800NU: 82.12 fps
 
lloose said:
Whoops, I thought he said it was a 9800xt (and its not a big difference at all there between the 6600gt and 9800xt).
I would even stick with the 9800xt due to its 256bit capabilities vs the 6600gt's 128.
Click to expand...

what the hell are you smoking again! lol

yah so what if the almighty 9800xt has a 256bit "capabilities" It still get smoked by a 6600gt in almost everything :p

anyways.. 6600gt over a 9600xt is a big jump.. probably over twice the performance really..
 
I wanted to thank everyone for their help. I ended up going with the xfx 6800 non ultra. From my understanding this brand is not the best but the price performance ratio is one of the best in my price range.

Unable to unlock the extra pipeline, I was able to unlock the last pixel shader. With the stock cooling, which is subpar, I managed a mild overclock of 350/800. Better cooling will make me feel better before I crank it up.

With default 3dmark03 settings, my score with the main computer in my signature I was able to get 10131. Sure beats the hell out of my 9600xt.

Thanks again for everyone's help.
 
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