new system, need video card for dual 22" LCD monitors, non-gamer

xpost to ATI, Nvidia & pc-homebuilt for coverage

I'm starting to build a new system and I want to equip it with 22"
dual monitors in landscape/portrait 1680x1050 & 1050x1680. 2 Samsung
2243BWX monitors. Mobo is a GA-X48-DQ6 with a PCIe 2.0 x16 slot. I'm
not a gamer (other than an occasional rousing round of Minesweeper:-)

I'm hoping to identify a minimalist dual DVI (VGA w/dongle may be OK)
card that can use passive cooling (preserve use of the adjacent PCIe
x1 slot). I only need 16 bit color so maybe that will allow less RAM
(less heat). I don't need HDMI or HDCP. Ability to read the DCC to
adapt to a change in the monitor pivot position is a plus.

Operational stability & thermal survivability is paramount - cost
isn't an issue. If ample operational envelope can't be gotten with
passive cooling, then a move upscale to a fan based card that can be
stable is something I'll have to accept - even if loss of the PCIe
slot is the price. Build it & forget it. My main W2K system has been
driving a 21" CRT with a Radeon 70 LE AGP passive card for 8 years now
and still trucking. I'd like to see Dec 2016 come and go the same
with the new XPproSP3 platform.

Note: don't assume I know precisely what I'm asking for - that would
be a mistake. I've done a bit of reading and 'I think' the above is
sensible - but if not, don't hesitate to enlighten me,
ignorance ain't bliss.
----
Pete Gebel pfgebel(deletethis)@crisperiodcom
Have the best day possible - all things considered

tanstafl <> writes:
>xpost to ATI, Nvidia & pc-homebuilt for coverage
>
>I'm starting to build a new system and I want to equip it with 22"
>dual monitors in landscape/portrait 1680x1050 & 1050x1680. 2 Samsung
>2243BWX monitors. Mobo is a GA-X48-DQ6 with a PCIe 2.0 x16 slot. I'm
>not a gamer (other than an occasional rousing round of Minesweeper:-)
>
>I'm hoping to identify a minimalist dual DVI (VGA w/dongle may be OK)
>card that can use passive cooling (preserve use of the adjacent PCIe
>x1 slot). I only need 16 bit color so maybe that will allow less RAM
>(less heat).

RAM does not produce much heat, and the amount of RAM on any modern
card is good enough for 24bpp at any resolution even with two
monitors.

Any passively cooled Dual-DVI card should do.

I have a Sapphire Ultimate Radeon X1650 Pro, which should fit your
bill. The heat sink is on the back side (where the CPU fan blows on
it), so the PCIe x1 slot below it should be usable.

>Operational stability & thermal survivability is paramount - cost
>isn't an issue.

Then buy several cards. Two of my passively cooled cards died after
several years of usage (one was a Voodoo 3 3000, the other a Radeon
9600). They were stable before they died.

Followups set to alt.comp.periphs.videocards.ati.

- anton
--
M. Anton Ertl Some things have to be seen to be believed
Most things have to be believed to be seen
http://www.complang.tuwien.ac.at/anton/home.html

tanstafl wrote:
> xpost to ATI, Nvidia & pc-homebuilt for coverage
>
> I'm starting to build a new system and I want to equip it with 22"
> dual monitors in landscape/portrait 1680x1050 & 1050x1680. 2 Samsung
> 2243BWX monitors. Mobo is a GA-X48-DQ6 with a PCIe 2.0 x16 slot. I'm
> not a gamer (other than an occasional rousing round of Minesweeper:-)
>
> I'm hoping to identify a minimalist dual DVI (VGA w/dongle may be OK)
> card that can use passive cooling (preserve use of the adjacent PCIe
> x1 slot). I only need 16 bit color so maybe that will allow less RAM
> (less heat). I don't need HDMI or HDCP. Ability to read the DCC to
> adapt to a change in the monitor pivot position is a plus.
>
> Operational stability & thermal survivability is paramount - cost
> isn't an issue. If ample operational envelope can't be gotten with
> passive cooling, then a move upscale to a fan based card that can be
> stable is something I'll have to accept - even if loss of the PCIe
> slot is the price. Build it & forget it. My main W2K system has been
> driving a 21" CRT with a Radeon 70 LE AGP passive card for 8 years now
> and still trucking. I'd like to see Dec 2016 come and go the same
> with the new XPproSP3 platform.
>
> Note: don't assume I know precisely what I'm asking for - that would
> be a mistake. I've done a bit of reading and 'I think' the above is
> sensible - but if not, don't hesitate to enlighten me,
> ignorance ain't bliss.
> ----
> Pete Gebel pfgebel(deletethis)@crisperiodcom
> Have the best day possible - all things considered

Your monitor has VGA and DVI connectors. That means, in a pinch,
you could use a card with one VGA and one DVI connector on it.
And that means a very cheap card could be used (your first card
will be a learning experience, where you learn that cheap is
not the same thing as good).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...54&Tpk=2243BWX

On DVI interfaces, 1680x1050 is covered by a "single link" connector.
See the Specifications section here, where there are some examples of
resolution options.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface

You can skim through the lists here, to find a gutless card.
And gutless should have low power consumption. Something with
a 64 bit memory interface on the GPU for example. HD 3450
or 8400 GS perhaps.

http://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/
http://www.gpureview.com

Next, you can use the Newegg Advanced Search. Set interface to
PCI Express 2.0 if you want. Set "Cooler" near the bottom of
the list, to "fanless". It claims there are 143 cards (some
of which could be PCI Express 1.0 version cards).

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCateg...cs-Video-Cards

When I started reviewing the cards, virtually all of them had
issues of one sort or another. On one card, a guy said that
running two monitors in dual mode, the "whites" were blown
out on one display. That means something was wrong with
the contrast/brightness/gamma or some other setting, which
made the two displays differ.

So while there are cheap cards, and ones where the operating
temperature isn't in the danger zone, there are still the
odd issues.

As a result of looking at the reviewer comments for the
cards, I can't recommend anything :-( It is very much
a matter of tradeoffs, and deciding which is the least
annoying option.

Passively cooled cards, can have the cooler on the front
or on the back of the card. If on the front side,
the card will take up two slots (and possibly a third
if you want to leave an air channel for cooling). If
the passive cooler is on the backside, the cooler can
bump into the Northbridge heatsink - it all depends on
how massive the cooling structures are on the motherboard.
The benefit of a backside cooler, is the "air spill" from
the CPU fan, can help cool the card. But "air spill" only works
well, if the cooler is shaped to spill in the video card's
direction. Some expensive aftermarket coolers blow towards
the exhaust on the back of the case, and there isn't as much
air spill to work with.

Paul

"tanstafl" <> wrote in message
news:...
> xpost to ATI, Nvidia & pc-homebuilt for coverage
>
> I'm starting to build a new system and I want to equip it with 22"
> dual monitors in landscape/portrait 1680x1050 & 1050x1680. 2 Samsung
> 2243BWX monitors. Mobo is a GA-X48-DQ6 with a PCIe 2.0 x16 slot. I'm
> not a gamer (other than an occasional rousing round of Minesweeper:-)
>
> I'm hoping to identify a minimalist dual DVI (VGA w/dongle may be OK)
> card that can use passive cooling (preserve use of the adjacent PCIe
> x1 slot). I only need 16 bit color so maybe that will allow less RAM
> (less heat).

(snip)

OK, you will want a minimum of 512MB of dedicated video RAM to start with.
And passive coolers are often larger, by necessity. If there is no fan,
then there needs to be more area exposed to the air to keep things cool.
(thus the heatsink is larger) Looking at the picture of your motherboard,
it looks like a passively cooled video card is going to block a PCI-Express
slot (either side) OR it is going to block a PCI slot.

I'd suggest you try a HD 4670:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102792
This one is a decent brand, has TWO DVI, and the cooler is small enough that
it shouldn't block a nearby slot. From reviews I've read, it's one of the
quieter coolers, too. Not necessarily quiet, but not as loud as some.

OH, and the power supply you want for that rig is a Corsair 750TX, or a BFG
ES-800. Both are more powerful than you need (you need about 600W)...but
it's hard to find quality power supplies in the ~600W range. Unless you
want a Earthwatts 650 which is great quality and butt ugly.
http://www.provantage.com/corsair-me...x~7CSMC05E.htm
http://www.thenerds.net/BFG_TECHNOLOGIES.Bfg_Tech_ES_800_ATX12V_EPS12V_Pow er_Supply_800_W_Maximum.ES800.html?affid=8&ci_src= 14110944&ci_sku=ES800^~^BFG%20TECHNOLOGIES

Good luck, -Dave

In article <>, tanstafl
<> writes

>I'm hoping to identify a minimalist dual DVI (VGA w/dongle may be OK)
>card that can use passive cooling (preserve use of the adjacent PCIe
>x1 slot). I only need 16 bit color so maybe that will allow less RAM
>(less heat).

Nvidia Quadro 285/290 do you? Loads on ebay, example: item 290272435970
on ebay.co.uk. Seems to tick all your boxes.

I would recommend using dual DVI. Your chosen resolution is pushing it
for VGA, and don't make the mistake of choosing a card with one DVI and
one VGA. I'm running a pair of identical 1600 x 1200 screens off such a
card and had to spend hours with the setup on the monitor running off
the VGA-out to get it to look anything like the DVI display.

In message <>, Mike Tomlinson
<> writes
>In article <>, tanstafl
><> writes
>
>>I'm hoping to identify a minimalist dual DVI (VGA w/dongle may be OK)
>>card that can use passive cooling (preserve use of the adjacent PCIe
>>x1 slot). I only need 16 bit color so maybe that will allow less RAM
>>(less heat).
>
>Nvidia Quadro 285/290 do you? Loads on ebay, example: item 290272435970
>on ebay.co.uk. Seems to tick all your boxes.
>
>I would recommend using dual DVI. Your chosen resolution is pushing it
>for VGA, and don't make the mistake of choosing a card with one DVI and
>one VGA. I'm running a pair of identical 1600 x 1200 screens off such a
>card and had to spend hours with the setup on the monitor running off
>the VGA-out to get it to look anything like the DVI display.
>
Have you thought about Matrox cards?
--
dave griffiths

> Have you thought about Matrox cards?

Not since the 90s. Not much even then. -Dave

In article <>, dave griffiths
<> writes

>Have you thought about Matrox cards?

The G550 in PCI-e only supports 1280 x 1024 on the DVI output, which
doesn't meet the OP's requirements.

"tanstafl" <> wrote...
>
> I'm starting to build a new system and I want to equip it with 22"
> dual monitors in landscape/portrait 1680x1050 & 1050x1680. 2 Samsung
> 2243BWX monitors. Mobo is a GA-X48-DQ6 with a PCIe 2.0 x16 slot. I'm
> not a gamer (other than an occasional rousing round of Minesweeper:-)
>
> I'm hoping to identify a minimalist dual DVI (VGA w/dongle may be OK)
> card that can use passive cooling (preserve use of the adjacent PCIe
> x1 slot). I only need 16 bit color so maybe that will allow less RAM
> (less heat). I don't need HDMI or HDCP. Ability to read the DCC to
> adapt to a change in the monitor pivot position is a plus.
>
> Operational stability & thermal survivability is paramount - cost
> isn't an issue. If ample operational envelope can't be gotten with
> passive cooling, then a move upscale to a fan based card that can be
> stable is something I'll have to accept - even if loss of the PCIe
> slot is the price.

I have 2 GA MoBos -- P35-DS4 and X48-DS4. Both have HIS brand ATI cards in
them -- 1 X1950 and 1 HD3850.

I like the HIS "Ice Q" cooling (now to v4 for newer cards) if you have to go
with a fan. However, they also have an "iSilence" line with Zalman fanless
cooling
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...e=&srchInDesc=)
that may work for you.

Those come in 2600XT, 3450, 3650, and 4650, versions, all with 512 MB RAM and
dual DVI outputs. You'll have to research the various GPU capabilities a bit to
see what performance level you will need. To get the lower-power units you
sacrifice the 256-bit data bus, but that may not be important for your use. The
ATI Catalyst software also supports pivoting.

* dave griffiths:

> Have you thought about Matrox cards?

What for? The regular Matrox cards are way overpriced and can't do
anything a Geforce/Radeon can't do.

Benjamin