[jpr703]

A very large aftermarket heat sink is going to be about the only way you can silence a decent video card unless you're willing to take the plunge in to water cooling.

Zalman makes a large, passively cooled radiator for water cooling but it's not cheap and not extremely easy to set up either.

 

[Edwood]

I didn't have much luck with the ZM80D-HP (50+ Celcius at idling temps), but then again, my X800 Pro was defective. I'll be waiting for at least a month to get it replaced.

I am going to try the Aerocool VM-101 with ducted airflow this time.

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=17359

-Ed

 

[450]

about HL2...Is my friend lying when he said he ran HL2 1600x1200 with a GF4 MX440 AGP 4x full antialiasing and such with no dropped frames?

CPU: Pentium 4 2.3 (non-ht) ghz
RAM: 1 GB DDR PC3200

 

[dwin902]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 450 about HL2...Is my friend lying when he said he ran HL2 1600x1200 with a GF4 MX440 AGP 4x full antialiasing and such with no dropped frames? CPU: Pentium 4 2.3 (non-ht) ghz RAM: 1 GB DDR PC3200

What do you mean "dropped frames". This isn't FMV, so there are no dropped frames. What matters is the frame rate, and your friend's would be nonexistent at those settings. My 9800 XT (which is many times more powerful than a GF4), for example, only runs at 33 fps at the settings he's claiming. Remember, a GF4 is essentially a GF2 MX with a slightly faster memory controller. It's about four generations old, and HL2 only runs with the DX7 codepath on such aging hardware. Your friend would be doing well to get playable frame rates at 1024x768, even without any AA/AF.

 

[devwild]

Quote:

Originally Posted by halcyon Gigabyte 6800 (GV-N68128DH) AGP http://www.giga-byte.com/VGA/Product...V-N68128DH.htm

This card has a fan on the backside, look at the pictures on newegg. It's possible the 6600 does too (likely, I see the heat pipe going to the other side), but I haven't checked.

Unfortunate, I'd love a fanless card with this horsepower that could fit in a Shuttle.

 

[devwild]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwin902 My 9800 XT (which is many times more powerful than a GF4), for example, only runs at 33 fps at the settings he's claiming. Remember, a GF4 is essentially a GF2 MX with a slightly faster memory controller.

While these statements are partially false (a little closer to true if you replace "GF4" with the GF4MX440 originally mentioned, but regardless a GF4MX is not a rehash of the 2MX -- it's a crap of its own breed

), the sentiments here are true. Your friend is quite full of it, or else he's managed some tweaking that makes HL2 look like Quake 1 regardless of the resolution