Fanless HTPC card

R

Ronco

[H]ard|Gawd
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Oct 6, 2005
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What should I get?

No gaming... video, audio, usual PC stuff. Mobo is a P5W64-WS (Yes I know what you will probably say, it just turned out that way). DVI + Analog VGA wanted, HDMI not req.
 
i would say hit up any geforce 8500/8600 card. you may like the ati 2400/2600 series also.
 
Get the gigabyte that was just reviewed here on [H].
http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTM3OSwsLGhlbnRodXNpYXN0

1186937087CGBlsktXvs_10_1.gif


/thread
 
Thats true.. With that said though, I would find something with hdmi right on the card. Save some hassle of getting an adapter.
 
It's an HTPC, but it's more of a self contained HTPC in that I'll put a separate monitor on it which will sit on top of the cabinet - 22" or so. It won't be pulling in TV even, but will be playing back DVD's, ripped/recorded video and more usually, regular music. If it can drive a 24" (and I would imagine all cards can) VGA or DVI, I'm happy.

Really, absolutely no need for power beyond HTPC duties. Lower heat, resulting in cooler parts elsewhere, is more of a priority if anything. So what I'm looking for is actually not the most powerful fanless card I can get away with, but the coolest-running card that'll handle HTPC duties well.

So... 2400 Pro?
http://www.dabs.com/productview.asp...&SearchKey=All&SearchMode=All&NavigationKey=0
 
Ronco said:
So... 2400 Pro?
http://www.dabs.com/productview.asp...&SearchKey=All&SearchMode=All&NavigationKey=0
Click to expand...
The 2400 doesn't have the horsepower for video over 720p. I'd go with a 2600 or the 8600 series at the very least. And yes, I'm talking strictly HTPC duties.

But it also depends on what you software you are running; Wiretap has tried the ATI cards in his HTPC (I believe it was a 2600XT with a 690G mobo) and had driver related issues (neither the VGA drivers for the video card and IGP would install) but he was running Vista (64 at first and then 32 I believe). He popped in an 8600 series card and things ran fine; I've got a 8500GT running under Vista in my HTPC and love the thing.
 
i bought a sapphire 2400 pro from newegg for 50$ (now i think 35 with rebate!)

its not a bad little card, for a fanless solution. Havent done much with it yet, im Motherboard-less for the next few weeks!
 
Video beyond 720P is not going to be a big issue I feel. I'll ask the simple question in that case, which runs cooler when doing normal HTPC duties, a fanless 2600 Pro, a fanless 8500 GT or fanless 2400 Pro?
 
2400pro probably uses less power, less heat, fanless. ;)

You should be good with a card like 2400pro.
 
I'm almost decided on the 2400 Pro. Just one last question - how bad is the 'illegal' ATI 'optimisation' of their Vista drivers and will it have an impact on security (the web will be browsed often from this machine)?
 
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