Upgrade, or other option?

[DeaconFrost]

I'll be moving my computer to a new office soon, and I need it to be quiet. Right now it is, aside from the stock fan on my ATI 4850. I don't necessarily need an upgrade, but I could spend $100-$125 or so on a new video card.

So, my question is this: Is there a good, easy to install aftermarket HSF for my 4850? Or, would I be better off getting something like a 5670 with a good HSF on it already? I'm not sure how that card stacks up to my current card performance-wise.

 

[TechBoy]

I'll be moving my computer to a new office soon, and I need it to be quiet. Right now it is, aside from the stock fan on my ATI 4850. I don't necessarily need an upgrade, but I could spend $100-$125 or so on a new video card.

So, my question is this: Is there a good, easy to install aftermarket HSF for my 4850? Or, would I be better off getting something like a 5670 with a good HSF on it already? I'm not sure how that card stacks up to my current card performance-wise.

I installed an Accelero S1 on my 4850. Quite an easy ordeal, no thinking really needed. Took about maybe 5 minutes of my time to remove the old heatsink, clean off the TIM, put AS5 and install new ramsinks, and the heatsink.

 

[MacLeod]

There is no card in the $125 range thatll outperform a 4850. The 5770 or 4870 would be the next step up and theyre starting at $140.

What are your temps running? I have my 4850 running with a pretty stiff overclock and the temps never get out of the mid 50's. You may not need an aftermarket cooler and can save that money towards something else you need.

 

[SLiGuy]

There is no card in the $125 range thatll outperform a 4850. The 5770 or 4870 would be the next step up and theyre starting at $140.

What are your temps running? I have my 4850 running with a pretty stiff overclock and the temps never get out of the mid 50's. You may not need an aftermarket cooler and can save that money towards something else you need.

I've seen the 4870 on sale for $100 a few times in the past month, you just have to be quick to jump on any deals that pop up.

If you're lucky, you can find a used 5770 for cheap. I bought mine for $130 off FS/FT. I've seen a couple that were being sold for $120 as well.

The easiest and cheapest solution for the OP to obtain the least possible noise without giving up performance would probably be to buy an aftermarket HSF for it.

 

[MacLeod]

I've seen the 4870 on sale for $100 a few times in the past month, you just have to be quick to jump on any deals that pop up.

That would be a great deal! The 4870 is an awesome card and is even faster than the 5770 in a lot of games. If you can get one of these for $100, it would be a steal.

Thing is though, the 4870/5770 wouldnt be that significant of an upgrade. It would definitely be faster but not sure if it would be $100 worth faster. Im running a 4850 now and a 5830 or GTX260 are the minimum Im looking at.

 

[DeaconFrost]

I installed an Accelero S1 on my 4850.

How is the noise level with it installed?

What are your temps running? I have my 4850 running with a pretty stiff overclock and the temps never get out of the mid 50's.

I'm not overclocking it at all, and yet the fan still goes crazy anytime the card is given any kind of game to run. That's why I want something quieter, even at stock.

 

[TechBoy]

How is the noise level with it installed?

I'm not overclocking it at all, and yet the fan still goes crazy anytime the card is given any kind of game to run. That's why I want something quieter, even at stock.

Depends, its a fanless solution so the noise is actually none. If you want a fan on it you can mod it pretty easily and it will depend on what fan you want on it. I am running my S1 without a fan at the moment and its still 20c lower than the stock.