8600GTS is badly crippled model with one-third GPU (32 stream processors vs 96 of G80 GTS and 128 of GTX) and halved memory bus and can't handle high resolutions, FSAA and AF.
Even previous generation's top cards are faster than it!
[QUOTE=Biggles;166094]One of Corsair VX450W or Seasonic S12 Energy+ 550 or Seasonic S12-430 or Seasonic SS-400HT or Corsair HX520, depending on which one I can actually find (only seen the Seasonic S12 Energy+ 550 so far).[/QUOTE]S12E+ has exactly same innards as Seasonic M12s, Corsair HXs (and PC P&C Silencer 610&750) but is similar to earlier Seasonics with its fixed cables. All of these lack current limited virtual rails.
S12-430 and Corsair VX450 use at least cheaper PCB.
Biggles<font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
[QUOTE=Vertigo_1;166129]Second, I think it'll take a good bit of detective work to determine which cards are loud and which aren't. I'm not sure what brand of card my roommate bought - I think it might be eVGA - but it gets loud as hell when it spins up. [/url][/QUOTE]
Is it an 8800GTS? Cause that one statement would be enough to convince me to stick with a silent 8600GTS if it is. The argument that "it only happens while you're playing games when noise is happening" doesn't hold water. I can think of a number of occasions in many games where the GPU was working hard but the environment was quiet, and so a loud video card fan would be obtrusive.
Well, here's how to allow mor airflow in Antec P18x case:
[url]http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=44067[/url]
[QUOTE=PSI-KILLER;166149]I would just get a 8500GT and wait a few months when the power for dollar ratio is going to be better.[/QUOTE]Hey...
Aren't we talking about gaming capable graphic cards, not word processing capable cards?
[b]Two generations old top cards beat that graphic decelerator![/b]
As well could go for slowest available single core CPU.
Biggles: It all depends on how well ventilated the case is. If the 8800gts reaches critical temepratures it will sound like a weak hairdryer. But imo that's a good thing. But if the case got good air circulation it will be quite quiet both in gaming and idle.
I don't know if you want to wait for this Biggles, but anyways, a review on the 8800gt. [url]http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=163160[/url]
Biggles<font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
See that's why I'm having so much trouble. I'm right at the end of a generation, but I'm sick of this laptop. One of the reasons I'm keen on the 8600GTS is that I wouldn't feel so bad about deciding it was crap and getting a new card in 6 to 12 months (which would also be fanless). But if I get the heaps-more-expensive 8800GTS, then I can't really justify replacing that for at least a couple of years. On the other hand, new cards will be launching "soon," but how soon appears to be a matter of debate. I've seen October 29th (less than a week) being spread around as the launch date, but does that mean cards will be available at that time? Probably not. I'd love to get an 8800GT if it's going to be cooler than the 8800GTS and faster than the 8600GTS, but given that they aren't likely to be available for months...
On the other hand, this whole mess is pushing me towards giving in and getting an aftermarket cooler for an 8800GTS to see if I can get that fanless. But then again, the 8600GTS has better video decoding. Ah, what a pain this is. :p
I get the frustration. :)
The fun thing about the 8800GT, it looks like it's going to be faster than the 8800gts. nVidia is going to upgrade their 8800GTS to be a bit better than the 8800gt, which imo really will make it all confusing if they keep the names.
And if you do buy a 8800gts then atleast try the stock cooler first. :)
Q6600 has more than enough power so video decoding isn't going to be the deciding factor.
Biggles<font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
I was under the impression that the 8600 line, having PureVideo 2, was capable of higher actual quality in terms of noise removal and deinterlacing, than the 8800 line, irrespective of computing power usage. Perhaps this is incorrect and the PureVideo codecs will just offload onto the CPU to achieve the same quality?
Is there any solid information on when actual 8800GT products will be available? Possibly in a silently-cooled form, or at least with a larger cooler than the whiny-looking thing in those photos. :)
[QUOTE=Biggles;166148]Is it an 8800GTS? Cause that one statement would be enough to convince me to stick with a silent 8600GTS if it is. The argument that "it only happens while you're playing games when noise is happening" doesn't hold water. I can think of a number of occasions in many games where the GPU was working hard but the environment was quiet, and so a loud video card fan would be obtrusive.[/QUOTE]Yes, it's a GTS, but [b]the behavior of one brand of GTS is not representative of all brands![/b]
I even remember, back in the days of the 6xxx series from nVidia, people were reporting that 6800 GTs were annoyingly loud while 6800 Ultras were dead silent. It's not the chip you solder to your PCB, it's how big your heatsink is, how you design your fan, how and when you tell the fan to spin up, and a host of other factors.
If you're that worried about it, buy a GTX or GTS and stick [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835109136]this[/url] on it.
[QUOTE=Biggles;166176]I was under the impression that the 8600 line, having PureVideo 2, was capable of higher actual quality in terms of noise removal and deinterlacing, than the 8800 line, irrespective of computing power usage. Perhaps this is incorrect and the PureVideo codecs will just offload onto the CPU to achieve the same quality?
Is there any solid information on when actual 8800GT products will be available? Possibly in a silently-cooled form, or at least with a larger cooler than the whiny-looking thing in those photos. :)[/QUOTE]
Vertigo_1, I do think I should mention that the majority of the manufacturers stick to the reference heatsink design, which is often quite efficient at cooling the board in question while not being particularly quiet. Though you are right, it really does depend a great deal on the manufacturer's individual product. BFG, for example, offers a modified reference heatsink on many of their products that practically shuts off the fan when the card is inactive. ZOTAC (I believe the name is) uses Zalman designed HSF units on their cards, as well as offering near-passive on some of their models. Gigabyte's fascination with passively cooled cards has resulted in them offering no less than three distinct designs for their own product lines that each perform at different levels of efficiency, and Asus is all over the charts in terms of active and passive.
The big problem is that few sites actually test noise levels beyond unscientific "It sounded quiet to me" references. Quiet for some is relative, having come from the Thermaltake Volcanos of the Thunderbird era ;)
Also, I suggested replacing the reference HSF with a passive cooler, and he passed (see comments above) as it would be modifying the card in some way and would occupy one to two pci/pcie slots. That particular configuration is my current favorite, as with a little creativity, you could cool a pair of cards with a carefully sandwiched thin 120mm fan.
Biggles<font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
So no information about 8800GT product releases then?
Biggles<font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
So, in other words, no. :)
I poked around and found lots of rumours about products from a couple of manufacturers, but no information about launch dates. Maybe they'll be announced on Monday.
[QUOTE=Biggles;166165]See that's why I'm having so much trouble. I'm right at the end of a generation, but I'm sick of this laptop...[/QUOTE]
*JackN would take Biggles Laptop in a second... :p *
I'm focusing on maxing out this Athlon now that it works and is old enough for most everything to be cheap now... :)
Biggles<font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
In the end, I partially took Psi-Killer's advice, and got an 8600GT. Once I replace it, it'll do well in a media PC. It looks like this may have been a good choice, as not only are the actual reviews of the 8800GT showing it to be a great performer, but there are reports that a passive version is in the works. :D
Psi-Killer, that's not a heatsink. [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage.aspx?Image=14-125-063-08.jpg%2c14-125-063-02.jpg%2c14-125-063-03.jpg%2c14-125-063-04.jpg%2c14-125-063-05.jpg%2c14-125-063-06.jpg%2c14-125-063-07.jpg&S7ImageFlag=0&Depa=0&Description=GIGABYTE+GeForce+8600GTS+GV-NX86S256H+Video+Card"]This...is a heatsink[/URL]
Good job so far, Biggles! My parts are going to begin arriving...whenever I decide to buy them ;)
Comments
Even previous generation's top cards are faster than it!
[url]http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=854&model2=707&chart=278[/url]
[QUOTE=Biggles;166094]One of Corsair VX450W or Seasonic S12 Energy+ 550 or Seasonic S12-430 or Seasonic SS-400HT or Corsair HX520, depending on which one I can actually find (only seen the Seasonic S12 Energy+ 550 so far).[/QUOTE]S12E+ has exactly same innards as Seasonic M12s, Corsair HXs (and PC P&C Silencer 610&750) but is similar to earlier Seasonics with its fixed cables. All of these lack current limited virtual rails.
S12-430 and Corsair VX450 use at least cheaper PCB.
Is it an 8800GTS? Cause that one statement would be enough to convince me to stick with a silent 8600GTS if it is. The argument that "it only happens while you're playing games when noise is happening" doesn't hold water. I can think of a number of occasions in many games where the GPU was working hard but the environment was quiet, and so a loud video card fan would be obtrusive.
[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121094[/url]
[url]http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=44067[/url]
[QUOTE=PSI-KILLER;166149]I would just get a 8500GT and wait a few months when the power for dollar ratio is going to be better.[/QUOTE]Hey...
Aren't we talking about gaming capable graphic cards, not word processing capable cards?
[b]Two generations old top cards beat that graphic decelerator![/b]
As well could go for slowest available single core CPU.
And 8500gt, I wouldn't touch it with a stick.
On the other hand, this whole mess is pushing me towards giving in and getting an aftermarket cooler for an 8800GTS to see if I can get that fanless. But then again, the 8600GTS has better video decoding. Ah, what a pain this is. :p
The fun thing about the 8800GT, it looks like it's going to be faster than the 8800gts. nVidia is going to upgrade their 8800GTS to be a bit better than the 8800gt, which imo really will make it all confusing if they keep the names.
And if you do buy a 8800gts then atleast try the stock cooler first. :)
Isn't the quad enough for video decoding?
Is there any solid information on when actual 8800GT products will be available? Possibly in a silently-cooled form, or at least with a larger cooler than the whiny-looking thing in those photos. :)
I even remember, back in the days of the 6xxx series from nVidia, people were reporting that 6800 GTs were annoyingly loud while 6800 Ultras were dead silent. It's not the chip you solder to your PCB, it's how big your heatsink is, how you design your fan, how and when you tell the fan to spin up, and a host of other factors.
If you're that worried about it, buy a GTX or GTS and stick [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835109136]this[/url] on it.
Is there any solid information on when actual 8800GT products will be available? Possibly in a silently-cooled form, or at least with a larger cooler than the whiny-looking thing in those photos. :)[/QUOTE]
well, that's true. your call.
The big problem is that few sites actually test noise levels beyond unscientific "It sounded quiet to me" references. Quiet for some is relative, having come from the Thermaltake Volcanos of the Thunderbird era ;)
Also, I suggested replacing the reference HSF with a passive cooler, and he passed (see comments above) as it would be modifying the card in some way and would occupy one to two pci/pcie slots. That particular configuration is my current favorite, as with a little creativity, you could cool a pair of cards with a carefully sandwiched thin 120mm fan.
I poked around and found lots of rumours about products from a couple of manufacturers, but no information about launch dates. Maybe they'll be announced on Monday.
*JackN would take Biggles Laptop in a second... :p *
I'm focusing on maxing out this Athlon now that it works and is old enough for most everything to be cheap now... :)
[IMG]http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage.aspx?CurImage=14-127-293-02.jpg&Image=14-127-293-08.jpg%2c14-127-293-02.jpg%2c14-127-293-03.jpg%2c14-127-293-04.jpg%2c14-127-293-05.jpg%2c14-127-293-06.jpg%2c14-127-293-07.jpg&S7ImageFlag=0&Depa=0&Description=MSI+GeForce+8600GT+NX8600GT-T2D256EZ+Video+Card[/IMG]
Good job so far, Biggles! My parts are going to begin arriving...whenever I decide to buy them ;)