Best single slot solution?

S

sizzlemeister

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 27, 2007
Messages
165
Alright, so the "used but tested, 30 day guarantee" 4850 I bought on Ebay last week came and it's dead. Yay.

So, I would prefer to buy new at this point. A single slot 4850 new at the Egg is $149! Way too much for the application. I'm upgrading a 3850. Not to mention, even though the 4850 in question didn't allow the system to post, its fan was spinning and that sucker is LOUD. I have a Sapphire 1gb 4850 in another system and I thought that got loud, but now I can appreciate it considering this.

Anyway, so, I prefer ATI, but am willing to entertain a Nvidia. What is the best single slot solution out there? Or at least a reasonable upgrade from a 3850 in a single slot solution?

Thanks!
 
Syntax Error said:
That 4850 isn't single-slot. You can tell clearly by the tall HSF on the card. :p

Single-slot in the sense that it only has one PCI expansion bracket but it definitely will restrict any other expansion card in the slot under the PCIe slot the 4850 will be connected to.
Click to expand...

Bingo!

So far, the ideal solution seems to be a XFX 4830. What about some of the single slot Nvidia cards? Are there any under $99 that come close to performing like a 4850? I've been out of the Nvidia loop since the 7xxx days.
 
Well, what are you trying to achive with this small-profile machine? High-performance gaming within a shuttle, perhaps? I really think your best chance is to try to get yourself another 4850, since it seems like the best reasonable upgrade worth the money. You'd have to get a new 4850 either through RMA if it's still eligible or you'd have to bite the bullet and get another one with a reference design HSF, since those are single slot.

Don't expect it to be quiet, though. :(

Maybe a used 8800GT or you get a 4850 from the F/S boards here, most of the people who sell stuff are pretty legit, so you might have to start hunting around for a good deal.
 
It's the computer I have in a "studio" environment, recording and light composing. It's an all-purpose rig that needs to handle DAW stuff, some graphic design, and some games. Problem is that I got an el-cheapo ECS AM3 board and it didn't occur to me until it got here that the single PCI slot, which I need, is only one slot away from the PCIe slot.

While another single slot 4850 would be ideal in terms of performance, if the single slot unit I have, which doesn't work, is any indication of the noise, then I might have to pass on the 48xx series altogether.

My older Radeons weren't nearly as loud as this thing is - although I will have to assume that since the card is borked the fan is running at 100%, which it would never do while being used for recording.
 
sizzlemeister said:
My older Radeons weren't nearly as loud as this thing is - although I will have to assume that since the card is borked the fan is running at 100%, which it would never do while being used for recording.
Click to expand...

youre absolutely right. if my 8800GTX doesn't post properly, or i forget to plug in a PCIe power connector the fan will spin at 100% until the power connector is plugged in or i reset my CMOS to make the board post properly.

the card won't spin at 100% the entire time, only under load.

try this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150336
 
My single slot sapphire reference 4850 was loud, especially with the fans cranked to 70%+, in crossfire they sounded like a windstorm. It really sucks that they're 150, payed the same a year ago. The 9800gtx is the nvidia equivalent but thats dual slot, the 9800/8800gt might be a good solution, but I have no clue on noise from them, and the 4830 is faster, if I remember correctly. Anything less than the 9800/8800/4830, your getting similar performance to your 3850.
 
Odd, my Sapphire reference 4850 is very quiet. Then again, at idle the fan speed is hovering around 30% *shrug*
 
Syntax Error said:
That 4850 isn't single-slot. You can tell clearly by the tall HSF on the card. :p

Single-slot in the sense that it only has one PCI expansion bracket but it definitely will restrict any other expansion card in the slot under the PCIe slot the 4850 will be connected to.
Click to expand...

lol oops my bad, i just looked at the pci bracket hehe :p
 
Aren't there single-slot 4770s out there? Since they run cooler than the 4850 they ought, hopefully, to be better suited (fan might not have to run as fast/loudly).
 
8800GT will still be loud under load, but remember, the 4850 is slightly faster than that and it doesn't have to be spinning at 100% load all the time either. It's all a matter of how much you're going to be pushing it and how well ventilated your case is as well.
 
Okay, I don't know if you guys are interested to read this, but I thought it might have value to someone other than me, plus I need to up my post count so I can buy and sell stuff in the classified section.

So I tried this 4850 in a new build this morning (AM3) and it booted with no problems. Interesting things to note: the two AM2 systems I tested this on only support PCIe 1.0a. I have never heard of a 4850 not working in older PCIe slots, have you?

Secondly, and probably most significant: the card looks fine and plumb, yet it does not sit square in the slot. So, if I make it flush with the mobo and the slot, the ports sit inward and away from the case. If I screw in the port bracket to the case, then the card does not sit flush in the slot and at an angle away from the mobo - meaning it's possible some of the right hand contacts aren't making contact in the slot.

Bizarre! In all my years of building systems I've never seen a card so geometrically odd. Like I say, it looks square, even when I put it up to my other 4850.

At least now, though, I know what I'm dealing with and can work with it. And, for the record, the fan did quiet down significantly, so that was good to hear (pun intended).
 
Syntax Error said:
That 4850 isn't single-slot. You can tell clearly by the tall HSF on the card. :p

Single-slot in the sense that it only has one PCI expansion bracket but it definitely will restrict any other expansion card in the slot under the PCIe slot the 4850 will be connected to.
Click to expand...

If you insist on single slot, then a 9800GT should do the job for you just fine. Most of the 4830's I'm seeing on Newegg look like they have a dual slot design.
 
What is the best single slot solution out there? Or at least a reasonable upgrade from a 3850 in a single slot solution?
Click to expand...

Does CUDA matter to you at all? If so 9800gt (~8800gt) would be a good choice as ATI Stream hasn't caught on yet. I believe those can be had for under $100.
 
Dual slot coolers are the future now. Only the lower end stuff will have single slot coolers unless your talking water cooled ;). Same thing happened with cpus. Heatsinks got 10x bigger :cool:
 
Conker said:
Dual slot coolers are the future now. Only the lower end stuff will have single slot coolers unless your talking water cooled ;). Same thing happened with cpus. Heatsinks got 10x bigger :cool:
Click to expand...

Absolutely. However, as I said above, I'm somewhat left with little choice for a dual slot right now.
 
yeah... my same situation. dual slots take up so much more room, but are worth it compared to single. get a dual.
 
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