How much does the video card get used in normal GB operation? If it's a GB only system, assumign things like TV, pictures, ect?
I ask because I have a eVGA 5500 card w/ a fan, and it's the loudest fan in there. I can disconnect it, but I wanted to see if it's a big issue on a system that only does GB.
I have a low profile fanless FX5200 and the heatsink gets much too hot to touch. (i.e. it really hurts - but dosn't actually burn - I would guess the heatsink is about 90C - 190F - which puts the chip itself even hotter!)
While I don't particularly like this - it works flawlessly.
If it wasn't such a cheap card (USD $30?) I would probably have done something about it, such as a fan as insurance.
You could always run the fan at 5V or 7V to quieten it down but still move some air.
I decided to live w/ it for now, until it a) drives me nuts, b) my wife can actually hear it and mentions it, or c) it dies or misbehaves. If/when it does, I found some good <$50 6200 options that have heat sinks.
Sound like a good plan. I have found that AGP 6200 are becomming a little hard to find - although the price is nice.
I really don't think AGP cards are going to be around very much longer at all.
edit: You could try gluing an 80mm fan onto the heatsink, possibly modding the cable to run at 7v instead of 12v
Really? I'm not sure, personally. People got some pretty beefy systems over the last few years, and at 2.8G on my main system, and even using it for work and games, I can't see needing to swap it out any time soon. There just isn't the rush there was to upgrade anymore. Same goes for switch to SATA.
wannabepvr Wrote:Sound like a good plan. I have found that AGP 6200 are becomming a little hard to find - although the price is nice.
I really don't think AGP cards are going to be around very much longer at all.
capone Wrote:There just isn't the rush there was to upgrade anymore. Same goes for switch to SATA.
Agree with you here. My main home PC is still a P4 2.0G and unless you are in to gaming or hi-end graphics there just isn't any need for faster.
It used to be that software demanding continual advances in hardware and hardware was responding. Now I think the hardware folks are leading and trying to encourage the market with new technologies.....and discontinuing old (AGP)
I don't have SATA and I don't have PCI-ex. I don't
need them.
But I suspect that PVRs and HD formats may be what leads the next charge!