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Old Asus 7600GS

A

Anomili

n00b
Joined
Oct 30, 2007
Messages
18
I have a fanless 7600gs that I bought in a pinch when my old motherboard died and I needed a quick replacement on the cheap (which included a non-AGP vid card). Recently, however, I have realized that the 7600 gs is only marginally better than my old x800 pro when it comes to running games such as TF2 and WoW. (Obviously I can't even begin to play more modern/graphics intensive games.)

I am currently wondering if adding a heatsink to the card will be worthwhile in terms of overclocking gains, or if I should just save my money and buy a whole new card in a couple of months. Any help would be appreciated.
 
Probably don't need a new heatsink...just put a fan near it.

New card is best option though.
 
k, any good options out there now or should I wait a couple of months for something new to come out?

Edit:
CPU = AMD 5200+ 2.61Ghz
RAM = 2gb ddr2 400
MOBO = Asus M2N-E (POS)

I can't afford a whole new computer. If I get a card it will need to be on a budget. Under 400 for sure.
 
kirbyrj said:
Probably don't need a new heatsink...just put a fan near it.

New card is best option though.
Click to expand...

I agree, a fanless card almost certainly has a great heatsink already. Adding a 80 (or 120mm :)) fan will do an awesome job bringing its temps down. Just use any spare fan (or buy one) and locate it (screws, string, tape, anything) near the vid card & overclock til it swells up

& when that gets boring, get a new card
 
I saw the 8800GS cards for $120 or so in the hot deals. I'd get one of those as a replacement over the 9600GT.
 
Thanks for all the advice everyone. The problem I have with the stock heatsink is that I am afraid to rag on it. I have pretty good case airflow (5x 80 mm fans [one directly blowing from side panel onto side of heatsink] and one 120 mm fan) and all my cables are out of the way, but I am still apprehensive about OCing.

I guess I will do some searches regarding what ideal GPU temps are. Right now I seem to be peaking at 69 Celsius under load with 49 at idle.
 
Anomili said:
Thanks for all the advice everyone. The problem I have with the stock heatsink is that I am afraid to rag on it. I have pretty good case airflow (5x 80 mm fans [one directly blowing from side panel onto side of heatsink] and one 120 mm fan) and all my cables are out of the way, but I am still apprehensive about OCing.

I guess I will do some searches regarding what ideal GPU temps are. Right now I seem to be peaking at 69 Celsius under load with 49 at idle.
Click to expand...

Those temps look reasonable, especially from a passively cooled card. I think you have some OCing headroom, although, in my experience, OCing a video card doesn't net huge gains. You're still going to be limited by the the GPU architecture and memory bus.
 
I agree w/kirby, those temps are perfectly safe. For temporary OC's to the limit you might go as high as 70, 80, even 90C. For a Very short time (<10 minutes - Crysis with an incredibly dusty HSF) my card was 110-120sC. But OC'd my card typically is mid 40s idle, upper 70s under load. OCing further brings temps to the 80s, with minimal (2-7 FPS) but sometimes noticeable gains.

You should experiment with it, run RivaTuner & monitor your temps, see how your games improve. If you're already considering buying a new card, you have less to lose if somehow you do damage the current card (something which rarely occurs)
 
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