R wrote:
> I'm no gamer. Just looking to find a decent PCI-E video card to
> replace my AGP Matrox P650's (can't find new motherboards to support
> AGP).
>
> One of the reasons I like the Matrox P650 is that the slim design did
> not interfere with adjacent cards, and also, they are fan-less (good
> for audio recording apps).
>
> Again, I don't need gamer-type acceleration, though it wouldn't hurt.
> Any suggestions?
If you go to Newegg.com, select the video card section, then use
the Advanced Search, you can select "fanless" as an option. Then
cards that are fanless should be shown.
There are truly fanless cards, and there are cards that really
should have had a fan. For example, I have a crappy FX5200 (weak
as a gaming card), and I have to keep an 80mm case cooling fan
pointed at it, to keep it stable under strenuous conditions.
Which is why, if buying fanless, you should read the customer
reviews for the product. Some of the reviews will note
extremely high GPU temperatures, which would be a sign that
the cooling solution for the card simply isn't good enough.
You can also spend a few minutes, looking at the I/O options.
Some cards have a single VGA and a single DVI connector. Some
have two DVI connectors. Consider whether you plan on using
one or two monitors with the new card. Some cheap LCD monitors
now, only have DVI on them.
There is more info on DVI here. The most flexible option is a
DVI-I connector with dual link, which allows digital resolutions
over 1920x1200. But that would be overkill for the average
user (like me).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvi
Paul
Similar Threads
Linear Mode
