Graphics Card Recommendations?

[HTPCGB]

Hey guys,

I'm purchasing a PCI-E graphics card for my PVR and am looking for some recommendations. I'd like to be able to play Microsoft Flight Simulator X at medium-high quality (on all settings) with no lag. (I know that some of you here have experience with Microsoft FSX.) Noise is a factor so something with passive cooling is preferable. Would something like this be sufficient?

Or should I just wait for DirectX10 cards and the FSX DX10 patch?

Thanks in advance,
HTPCGB

[nitrogen_widget]

You will be waiting a while for DX-10 patches to games.
Plus you will need Vista.

I can't comment on what that card will accomplish for you though.

[blizard]

Hey guys,

I'm purchasing a PCI-E graphics card for my PVR and am looking for some recommendations. I'd like to be able to play Microsoft Flight Simulator X at medium-high quality (on all settings) with no lag. (I know that some of you here have experience with Microsoft FSX.) Noise is a factor so something with passive cooling is preferable. Would something like this be sufficient?

Or should I just wait for DirectX10 cards and the FSX DX10 patch?

Thanks in advance,
HTPCGB

HTPCGB
To give you any better advice you we would need to know more then a game and a video card. You have to provide the information that is required about your hardware and for what kind of resolution your display are capable to display your game. Mid range doesn't say much and every game can be tweaked in different setting for how much they will push any computers resources.

From windows XP desktop use: windows start>run...

Code:

dxdiag

That will start DirectX diagnostic tool which will give you all your drivers and tell you basic information about your systems video card (VPU), CPU and memory.

Google for CPU-Z if dxdiag is not clear enough on what you have under the hood.

That video card has 512 MB DDR2 video memory which you will not have much use of on a low end video processor. Today for DirectX 9c based game you would get more for your money with with medium range video processor (VPU or GPU) and type DDR3 (or DDR III) for video memory and at least 256 bit path between GPU and video memory (frame buffer is another name for this kind of memory) to utilise that amount of memory in en efficient way. Only the very high end video card have the power to use 512 MB DDR3 (like X1950XTX -there are both DDR3 and DDR4 version- or 7950GT). If you plan to use medium range resolution and textures you will not gain much from 512 MB video memory. You need to have the power of speed of memory type, path (128/256 bit) between VPU and memory that can handle it and the texture that would need it. Don't forget that CPU must also be able to keep up the system. Video card will be bottle necked by CPU if it is too slow. (Here you have also to think about your hard disk and the performance that thsoe can provide as it is part of the memory sub system.)

I would stay away from any passive cooled video card if I had any intention to play game at medium range or better. That is because even a low end video card would need cooling and you would be forced to use case fan to compensate for this. MS Flight Simulator is a rather complex game and will make use of your CPU and video to the max, so I think I you should really invest in a good case with large (120 mm) silent fans, a video card that have good cooling (larger fan on cooler will reduce the need to have high speed fan to transfer the same amount of heat) from start and a efficient PSU to feed power to both your video card and to the rest of your system.

My own ATI based X1950XT is really silent in desktop use and watching tv, but can throttle up when needed to provide very good resolution for games, so there is no need to restrict oneself to only look for passive cooled video cards. BY throttle up I mean that you can hear it working, but it is not annoying and that is with a standard cooler from vendor.

What you need to consider is what kind of display you want to output your game to and what other option that is possible to take advantage of in your HDTV or SDTV, improvement of driver and other factors can be as well interesting to learn of before you purchase any video card. I am a big fan of ATIs video and chipset as you will get AVIVO features without you need to pay any extra. With nvida you need PureVideo that you need to purchase to really take advantage of its HD power.

Today you should be able to get DirectX 9c based video card rather cheap and from what I understand it can be worth to still use one as the driver for DirectX 10 based video cards are still not that good.

I recommend you to look up Silent PC Review as those guys really can their stuff about building silent computers and even them advice to not use passive cooling on everything when you build computer for silent operation. Then we have Toms Hardware with vga charts for easy comparing of video cards. Remember that benchmarking is always depending on what driver and the combination of hardware you use, so it is a very crude measurement to see how different video card are in performance and some brand come overclocked from vendor with the same video core. In the end you have to decide/decipher what is most likely to be your own real world performance.

Good hardare to build a silent PC
Power Supply Unit
Seasonic have a wide range of very high end PSU (and are considered the best for silent PC), Corsairs are claimed to be rather silent, Tagan Easycon (which I use myself) are also silent. Arctic Cooling have also cases with PSU that should be re-branded Seasonic. Antec should also have some very good one for silent PSU, but have had times with bad quality. (Use newegg.com to confirm this if you don't believe me.)

Heat sink fan (HSF)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro (skt 754/939/AM2) and he same version exit for Conroe (LGA775) based sockets. Those a cheap and large heat sink coolers that can be controlled by fan controller from motherboard if mb have such features.
They come with pre-applied thermal interface material (TIM) in the same way as boxed cooler do from AMD. (I don't how intels CPU are delivered for retail market, but suppose it is in the same way with boxed coolers and pre-applied TIM.)

Silent cases
Need to have enough space for good air flow, be steady (to reduce vibration) and not isolate sound to the cost of heat. A nice case should not need to be isolated with sound proof material as it will also rise heat. Here Antec have the lead with a wide range from cheaper solution to the more expensive one and some more expensive brand like Lian Li. Home theater builder will more likely have a horizontal case instead of standing one (midATX). Remember that hot air are lighter and will go up, so a closed case standing will have another way to cool hardware then a horizontal HTPC or microATX case.

Passive cooling in such case must be planned with care to not damage hardware as it is several parts that adds up to how hot it will become during usage.

Case fan
Recommended fan by SPCRNoctua benchmark
I use those fan myself and couldn't be more happy. You get everything on package like silicone grommets and resistor in the package.

Video card
This is tricky as both ATI and Nvida have made good mid to high end range video card for directX 9c and they now filling market with DirectX10/9L (9L are Vista's engive to work with DirectX 9c games). New video card will always have some time before they will find stable driver.

Suggestion for windows XP based system:

ATis X1950 Pro should be really good and cheap, it can be found also for AGP if that is you motherboards vga slot.

X1650 should also be good, but I would not go down in ATis rating SKU as that will also effect how which level of HD resolution they are supposed to offload. The same goes for nvidas SKU, so don't expect to do 1080p very well on a low end 7300GS video card from nvida.

7600GT will be in the range of X1950 Pro (check benchmarks).

Suggestion for Vista based system:

You need to make sure that driver support are acceptable for your need. Newegg review (and google) on different video cards are a good indication on how well any of these card are for their usage.

Hope this info can be of any help to anybody that want to build a silent PC (or HTPC).

[HTPCGB]

Thanks very much blizard for the detailed reply. In the end I've decided against trying to turn my HTPC into a gaming machine. I'll probably build a gaming-specific machine for christmas this year.

Blizard's post should probably be made a sticky or something like that; it's pretty good info.

[gEd]

great post blizard.

htpcgb: It think you are right to keep your pc for htpc duties, especially if noise is an issue.

the 7300 card you mentioned should be great for standard def mpeg playback, especially if you partner it with the purevideo decoder and follow Csy's tips for configuring playback.

[blizard]

Thanks very much blizard for the detailed reply. In the end I've decided against trying to turn my HTPC into a gaming machine. I'll probably build a gaming-specific machine for christmas this year.

Blizard's post should probably be made a sticky or something like that; it's pretty good info.

great post blizard.

htpcgb: It think you are right to keep your pc for htpc duties, especially if noise is an issue.

the 7300 card you mentioned should be great for standard def mpeg playback, especially if you partner it with the purevideo decoder and follow Csy's tips for configuring playback.

Thanks both of you. I agree with gEd that a low end video card might help you to free up some of your internal system memory that now are in use for the integrated video processor on your motherboard, but even my old nvidia GeForce2 MX 200 video card could play DVD and nvidia state that 7300 can only play DVD good according to their site.

HTPCGB be care full that you don't pick any of the very low end card that will "share" (a technology called "TurboCache" for nvidia;ATI call it something with "Hyper...") system memory with some part that its own internal as that would almost be the same as you have now.

I forgot to add that a today's dual core CPU from both Intel and AMD are really cool compared to just for what they where one or two year ago. My Athlon64 X2 4200+ run at 30 degree C during normal usage and go up to 45-50 degree when I use both core to max which is very rare. With the new energy efficient (EE) CPU from AMD (65 W DTP and 35 DTP - the last one is sold in a more limited number and cost rather much for what you get IMO). Intels C2D have also become better and are now on pair with heat. I have an "older" core that are rated to 89 W DTP. You can compare these data from AMD Compare. Don't take DTP measurement to serious from neither AMD or Intel as they different way to get those numbers, but benchmarks indicate that for each new generation of cores there are improving those specification.

What I try to say that it is possible to build a HTPC machine and a gaming machine all in one with some careful planning, but there is also a need to do plenty of research so you will not fool yourself as marketing of computer hardware have become more intensive. Besides "gamers" there are now "HTPC" and the "silent PC builder" that are the new target groups for those vendors and passive cooling is something that most potential buyer for hardware think is an easy way to get that dream machine without consideration that the number one killer for hardware are heat and dust.

It could also be worth to take a look at the new AMD 690G or AMD 690V chipset which have a fairly strong onboard video card for HTPC tasks from what I have read about this chipset. [Some have HDCP, HDMI and all have AVIVO support which really is targeting to HTPC and light gaming.] Both a used on micro ATX which I think you use right now. You have already some kind of DDR2 memory so it would reduce some cost and it will run with any of the dual core offer that is out on market for from both AMD and Intel. From newegg it looks that they will call the same chipset for ATI Radeon Xpress 1250 or Xpress 1200 for the Intel based version. There have been some dramatic price cut on AMDs dual core CPU and now have also Intel started to make cheaper Core 2 Duo, so it could be worth to see if it will fit your need and budget.