Replace graphcis card

[Chris_huh]

I built myself a new computer with some help from some of you guys about a month ago (thread) and the pc works fine, apart from the graphics card. It works ok, its just really loud (image a 747 in your ear) and since this pc is in the room i attempt to sleep in i thought i would return it and get a quieter one.
The card i have now is a Sparkle NVidia 8600GT 512Mb card which for some reason only gets about 4.2 on the Vista Experience index for graphics. I thought i might as well go for one similar but wasnt sure what to spend my money on. I don't play a great deal of games, and the ones i do play probably arent that graphics hungry, i mainly use the pc for media stuff (videos [including HD stuff], photo editing etc). So should i focus on getting a higher memory card (512MB instead of 256MB) or should i work towards increasing the nvidia chip thing (8600GTS instead of 8600GT etc)?

As i want this to be 'silent' i am mainly looking at cards which are listed as being silent. I found the MSI 8600GT silent edition 256MB which seems to have good reviews.

I suppose i could pay up to about £80 if necessary. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Abarbarian]

Why not just put a more silent cooling solution on the card you have ?

 

[Chris_huh]

It just seems unnecessary to have a big cooling system on top of the card when all i am doing is running vista. I can return the card so i will get my money back from that, then buy another one. If i bought another cooling system it would probably cost more than replacing the card. Also just the way that it only gets a 4.2 on the vista experience index (i know its just a number but it must mean something) when others people witht he same chipset have 5.2 or higher.

 

[Alf]

what he means is get a aftermarket fan (zalman, AC, etc) to replace the fan on the card. This will not only lower the cards temps, it will also make the card much quieter

 

[Chris_huh]

I had looked at the aftermarket fans (like Zalman VF1000) but i just dont see why it would make sense to buy this when i could just replace the graphics card for free for one more suited to my needs.
Reading about ti seems others ahve had problems with this card too.

What i really need to know is whether i would really need a 512MB card for Hd media usage, and no heavy gaming. Would a 256MB 8600GT be fine for this purpose. The card i mentioned earlier has had good comments in regard to HD stuff and other general media.

 

[floppybootstomp]

As you seem determined to replace the card, yes, go for the MSI card you've listed above.

It will be quiet and give a similar performance to your current card.

 

[Chris_huh]

I was finally able to get through to the place a bought them and i am unable to return it without a box, which i can't find anywhere, so i am going to go for a aftermarket cooler.

Do i have to choose one depending on the type of graphics card it is etc.

Any recommendations, or are they all alright.

 

[Abarbarian]

Some coolers will only fit certain cards so you'll have to do some searching . Here is a start ,

http://frostytech.com/articles.cfm?startrow=67

http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products/nvidia-vga

 

[floppybootstomp]

Here's some more

 

[Chris_huh]

Thanks for those links. Since i want a quiet one i had a look at the Zalman VNF100. It lacks a fan which will make it quiet, but i hope that doesn't reduce its cooling ability. My case is the Akasa Zen which has two fans built in already and its pretty cool in there at the moment.

 

[Chris_huh]

Why do some of them list them as SLI ready. In what way do the coolers need to be capable of SLI?

 

[PotGuy]

Why do some of them list them as SLI ready. In what way do the coolers need to be capable of SLI?

Its just a certification from nvidia. It doesn't necessarily mean they are any better, just the company that made them were richer and could afford to pay nvidia to slap their logo on their product.

 

[Chris_huh]

ah right. Cheers.