[NVIDIA] Which GT220 card to choose? (1 Viewer)

[ebk71]

I have to choose from a few GT220 cards. I got a HD5450 but it gives problems on my Nvidia based mobo.
Choices to make: 512 or 1gb, ddr2 or dd3, brands:Club3d, point of view, gainward, zotac, gigabyte, pny,xfx
I don't need HD support. I want just a worthy successor for my gf 6600, capable of viewing ipstreams without any stuttering. And with the most silent fan possible.!
For info, Current setup: K8N Neo4 platinum, Athlon 3000+, 1,5 gb mem, 2x 250gb sata, 400w psu.

 

[geoffstewart]

I have the asus 220 and the fan was LOUD... wow! But, I switched in a Arctic Cooling Accelero L2 Low Noise VGA Cooler 92MM.... and it's very quiet. I know when I bought that there were no passive 220s on the market (or at least in Canada), but that might have changed.... didn't zotac have one coming out?

The 220 is plenty powerful for HD (even though you don't need that now).... 1080p is easy and it does very well on 1080i with proper tweaks (MediaPortal Audio Renderer was needed for me).

Hope that helps.

Geoff

 

[ebk71]

I have the asus 220 and the fan was LOUD... wow! But, I switched in a Arctic Cooling Accelero L2 Low Noise VGA Cooler 92MM.... and it's very quiet. I know when I bought that there were no passive 220s on the market (or at least in Canada), but that might have changed.... didn't zotac have one coming out?

The 220 is plenty powerful for HD (even though you don't need that now).... 1080p is easy and it does very well on 1080i with proper tweaks (MediaPortal Audio Renderer was needed for me).

Hope that helps.

Geoff

Thanks, I read asus was loud, that's the reason I did not mention it .
Indeed, I can get a Zotac, but it's the only one which is passive, is about € 80,-( a littlebit more expensive, but still) And I thought maybe it's not without reason there so little
220's without active cooling.
But you don't think it matters if you get ddr2 or dd3 and 512Mb instead of 1gb of memory?

 

[geoffstewart]

I ended up with the 1GB ddr2 model... I don't think it matters for video, or at least, I can render my video no problem... perhaps someone will chime in otherwise.

As for passive vs. active cooling... you're right, there has to be a reason there are not too many passively cooled 220s around... it might be because it's just too close to not being able to cool properly.

The way I see it, if your case is properly vented and can pass air over the graphics card to help move away some heat, passive may work... I my case (pardon the pun), I don't have that... the card is right up against a wall next to the power supply and I need active cooling.... hence the add-on fan.

Might just be worth getting a brand you know and trust... try it out... if the fan is too loud, replace it.

g

 

[ebk71]

For someone who is interested: This Gainward GT 220 has a very silent fan. And I'm very sensitive for very high or low pitched sounds.
So I'm satisfied.