Graphics card for my new machine.

By Michael K. Hansen
in Hardware Hangout

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Michael K. Hansen

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Hi All

I am putting together a machine for personal use, which is based on a pre-built machine I got a good deal on. Unfortunately the deal only included the built-in HD graphics which is bit light for my taste, so I am looking to change that.

The current spec's of the machine are:

CPU: i7-3770

RAM: 20 GB

Storage: 180 GB Intel 520 SSD + 3 TB HDD

Graphics: Intel HD

OS: Windows

My main reason for adding some discrete graphics is some light and occasional gaming, but I do not play the latest and greatest games. Most of the time is used with browsing, programming and a little photo editing.

For more specific requirements I have, in order of importance:

  • Low noise. It does not have to be silent, but low enough noise level not to stand out.
  • Brand. A proven brand (ASUS, Sapphire, etc) and there will be no OC of the system or graphics card.
  • Size. It can be full length and dual-slot if needed.
  • Price. Price is not the deal breaker, but I don't want to pay for the latest and greatest.

I was looking mostly at AMD Radeon card, as I have had those in the past, but the Nvidia 600 series seems to be quite powerful and not so noisy.

Let me know what your experiences and recommendations are.

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Michael K. Hansen

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Thanks for the quick replies, and the G3D Mark score. I've never been a fan of on-board or built-in graphics, and a score of ~450 for the HD4000, even my phone can do better. :D

My main problem is the noise of the card, as it difficult to estimate and you need to dig into the reviews to see what it is like. I was thinking to stay away from anything that required additional power connections, because of the logic more power = more cooling = more noise.

At the moment I am looking at Radeon 7750 cards, with 1 or 2 GB of memory. Popular choices seems to be MSI, Club3D and Sapphire.

Any brands I should focus on for lower noise?

Grand Master

threetonesun

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Thanks for the quick replies, and the G3D Mark score. I've never been a fan of on-board or built-in graphics, and a score of ~450 for the HD4000, even my phone can do better. :D

My main problem is the noise of the card, as it difficult to estimate and you need to dig into the reviews to see what it is like. I was thinking to stay away from anything that required additional power connections, because of the logic more power = more cooling = more noise.

At the moment I am looking at Radeon 7750 cards, with 1 or 2 GB of memory. Popular choices seems to be MSI, Club3D and Sapphire.

Any brands I should focus on for lower noise?

The 7750 is a waste of money. Also your logic is a bit flawed, the noise really comes down to a combination of power use and the fans used. Most of the popular mid range cards (7770, 7850, 650Ti and 660) are relatively low power, depending on the brand will depend on the amount of noise they make. In general, the better the brand the better the fan.

For reference, I have a 660, and I can't hear it over my CPU fan.

Grand Master

Detection

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The 7870 is nice bang for buck, I have my machine on the floor to the right of me and I can only hear the case fans, even stressed to death with benchmarks I rarely see the temp pass 61c this time of year, before it got so cold 70c~ was the highest I saw it, but I've also given my case a good clean since then

Grand Master

Astra.Xtreme

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All the modern cards do really well with keeping the noise down. I used to run GTX 570s in SLI, and they got kind of loud when gaming. I now have a 680 and it doesn't get loud at all.

Regardless, the noise comes down to how sound-proof your case is. If it's a big concern of yours, there are special cases that are made with sound-proofing materials. You can also buy a watercooler for your CPU and quieter case fans.

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Michael K. Hansen

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Big thanks to all of you for giving advise, and especially for setting me straight on power, cooling and noise. Perhaps I should consult you more often!

Old habits die hard, so I ordered an Radeon 7870, and hoping for it to be quiet.

In the meantime enjoy the weekend, and for those who are old enough have a virtual beer. :beer:

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