Gaming video card in htpc - possible to have the fan off/low in windows?

Daedalus01 · 13th March 2010, 9:34 PM

hi

ive been out of pc gaming for a while. im now looking to get a fairly decent video card (just to run sims3, spore, total war games eg medieval 2 ). however video card noise in windows/movies is an issue

currently are there any video cards designed such that the fan can be turned off/turned to be very low during windows when 3d acceleration is not used?

also what is the minimum video card i should get for those games? was thinking maybe a nvidia 9800GT? or what is the radeon equivalent?

resolution will be 1280x720 as thats what the plasma tv supports

thanks!

MoonSha · 13th March 2010, 9:37 PM

You should look for a recent card that support dropping clocks to save power in 2d. Then set up manual fan speed settings with triggers in rivatuner to allow the fan speed to drop below the default minimum when it's cool enough.

Daedalus01 · 13th March 2010, 9:47 PM

any suggestions?

skootyloops · 13th March 2010, 9:50 PM

Those two games you mentioned aren't exactly going to require massive amounts of power to run.

You could easily get away with a passive cooled graphics card. If you have a look around there are many graphics cards with passive cooling. Hell the 7950GT was able to run with a passive cooler

That way you wouldn't have fan noise, and most cards will be able to run those games in high detail at that resolution.

Alba · 13th March 2010, 11:03 PM

ATi HD5670 a well balanced HTPC card.

Review here

13th March 2010, 9:34 PM	#1
Daedalus01 Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: NSW, Wollongong/Sydney Posts: 2,102	Gaming video card in htpc - possible to have the fan off/low in windows? hi ive been out of pc gaming for a while. im now looking to get a fairly decent video card (just to run sims3, spore, total war games eg medieval 2 ). however video card noise in windows/movies is an issue currently are there any video cards designed such that the fan can be turned off/turned to be very low during windows when 3d acceleration is not used? also what is the minimum video card i should get for those games? was thinking maybe a nvidia 9800GT? or what is the radeon equivalent? resolution will be 1280x720 as thats what the plasma tv supports thanks!

13th March 2010, 9:37 PM	#2
MoonSha Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Perth, WA Posts: 975	You should look for a recent card that support dropping clocks to save power in 2d. Then set up manual fan speed settings with triggers in rivatuner to allow the fan speed to drop below the default minimum when it's cool enough. __________________ Antec P182 :: Intel 80gb G2 SSD :: Asus P6T :: Intel i7 920 @ 3.8 :: 18GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 :: GTX580 :: Asus 120hz :: Logitech G15 v2 :: MX518 :: X-Fi XtremeMusic :: Z-5500D Trades: vine-au, Tomee, DaFugg, Stax, kung-f00-kamel, Crambo, kooliez, luke_o, cysp. Over $1500

13th March 2010, 11:03 PM	#5
Alba Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Shellharbour Posts: 4,752	ATi HD5670 a well balanced HTPC card. Review here __________________ Join the OCAU HWBOT Team

13th March 2010, 9:47 PM	#3
Daedalus01 Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: NSW, Wollongong/Sydney Posts: 2,102	any suggestions?

13th March 2010, 9:50 PM	#4
skootyloops Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Sydney Posts: 5,692	Those two games you mentioned aren't exactly going to require massive amounts of power to run. You could easily get away with a passive cooled graphics card. If you have a look around there are many graphics cards with passive cooling. Hell the 7950GT was able to run with a passive cooler That way you wouldn't have fan noise, and most cards will be able to run those games in high detail at that resolution.