Which HD3850 with an Accelero?

Ubtree · Post by **Ubtree** » Tue May 06, 2008 9:29 am

I would like to run an HD 3850 (PCI-Express) with an Accelero S1 Rev 2, but I am not an expert on graphics cards (and I'm totally new to ATI), and would appreciate some help on choosing a card.

My main requirements (other than silence) are reliability and stability. The main use of the card will be photo-editing, and so performance is not a major consideration; I will not be overclocking, nor using the card for gaming.

I need help to decide on a manufacturer / specific model. Any help would be appreciated.

FartingBob · Post by **FartingBob** » Tue May 06, 2008 9:45 am

If your not gaming you can get a much cheaper card that the 3850. Any cheap card will be fine for 2D work.
The HD3450 is half the price of the 3850 in the UK and will run your system very well, whilst consuming less power and most of them ive seen don't use a fan to cool them.

Ubtree · Post by **Ubtree** » Tue May 06, 2008 11:10 am

Thanks, Bob. That is extremely helpful. Being a complete ignoramus when it comes to graphics cards (since I don't have many special requirements), I have to rely on those who know much more than me - and they are usually gamers. So I have previously been steered towards the higher end cards. But a 512MB HD3450 (with 2 x DVI for my 2 monitors) fits the bill perfectly.

Just one more question. I assume that different manufacturers produce different versions of the HD3450. Are any manufacturers better (more reliable, etc.) than others?

Immortals · Post by **Immortals** » Tue May 06, 2008 12:33 pm

I agree with Bob that high end cards (or even mid range cards) are simply a waste of money if you are not a gamer. However putting an accelero S1 on any low end or even mid range card is complete overkill. You should be able to find a 3450 that is passive anyway. GPU utilisation will rarely go above 50% if you're not gaming.

tehcrazybob · Post by **tehcrazybob** » Tue May 06, 2008 12:42 pm

I've always been a big fan of Sapphire cards, but I've actually never had any problems with a graphics card of any brand. And, as Immortals mentioned, you won't need to shell out for a high-end cooler on a 3450. I'd suggest this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102731

Gillian Seed · Post by **Gillian Seed** » Tue May 06, 2008 1:49 pm

I've just bought a passively cooled 256MB Sapphire 3450 from novatech.co.uk, however it was the last sapphire they had in stock. Only Â£25!

They also stock an Asus version of the card, which has a MUCH larger heatsink that the Sapphire model... it is Â£10 more expensive though.

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/spec ... l?ASU-3450

Ebuyer* has the Sapphire version...

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/140600

*some people hate ebuyer. I've bought a lot from them and never had a problem.

widowmaker · Post by **widowmaker** » Tue May 06, 2008 1:59 pm

You may also find it desirable to look for a good warranty service when purchasing such a card. BFG generally has a very good warranty and would be worth looking into, however I don't think they cover aftermarket coolers. Some companies offer warranties that will cover aftermarket coolers, but I don't know them off the top of my head.

FartingBob · Post by **FartingBob** » Tue May 06, 2008 2:00 pm

I use ebuyer occasionally, generally only for things that are unlikely to go wrong. I tried RMA'ing a motherboard with them. After about 3 weeks they send back the same mobo, minus the manual that i shipped back with the board and a 2 line email saying "The board worked fine on our test system so we are sending it back". It never did work on my system though.

Anyways, back on topic. Glad you found the card you needed. Not everyone needs 60FPS at 1900x1200 on the latest game, sometimes its hard for gamers to remember that.

wayner · Post by **wayner** » Tue May 06, 2008 5:28 pm

If you want to go a little higher end then the 3450 you can get a passive HD 3650 from Sapphire for about $165. Much cheaper than buying the card + an aftermarket heatsink and less work. The only downside is the space that this card takes up but I don't imagine it would be different then your original premise of the Accelero on a 3850.

Ubtree · Post by **Ubtree** » Thu May 08, 2008 12:32 am

Thank you for all the very helpful advice. It was just what I needed to point me in the right direction - and it demonstrates the excellence of SPCR (particularly when contrasted with the advice given in another forum in which I posted the question, where all I was told that the answer was obvious - buy whatever is cheapest).

For the benefit of anyone coming across this thread in the future, I will add some comments based on the research that led on from the various responses.

The 3450 would meet my needs, but I nevertheless followed up on the suggestion to look at the 3650, and was surprised to see that even though it was a much faster card for some applications, its power consumption is broadly similar to that of the 3450 ( http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/forums.asp? ... t=9354&p=0 ), and the extra cost is negligible in comparison with the total cost of the PC that I have built.

Since these are not gaming cards, they do not tend to get reviewed, but Newegg does have some reports of users' experiences. I was surprised to find that comments on the Sapphire 3450 ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductRe ... 6814102731) were mixed, to say the least, but the reports of Asus's 512MB flavours of the 3460 ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814121243 and http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814121237 ) were extremely positive. Also, Asus provides a 3 year warranty.

I have decided to opt for the Asus EAH3650 with 512MB of DDR3 memory. This is much cheaper than the 3850, but still given me a lot of flexibility. And, of course, with its passive cooler, it has saved me the cost, time and trouble of fitting an Accelero, and the resultant warranty invalidation.

Once again, many thanks.

Rewdoalb · Post by **Rewdoalb** » Thu May 08, 2008 6:15 am

let us know how it works out for you, once it's all installed!

Ubtree · Post by **Ubtree** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 8:37 am

I've been using the using the EAH3650 for a little over a month now - and its been entirely trouble-free.

It's a large card, but not excessively so, and the build quality is very good. In my PC case (a P182 with 4 Noctua fans), and for my applications (non-gaming) it is running satisfactorily cool (in the low 40Â°s). The performance is fine for my applications, and setting up the dual monitor configuration was a breeze. And best of all, it is, of course, silent.

This completes my new system. I've moved from a large Chieftec case, fully sound-insulated with Noise Magic fleece and cooled by 4 Papst 80mm fans, to the P182 with the 4 Noctua fans, and the reduction in noise is amazing. My new system is almost, but not quite, silent - but it fully meets my hopes for a quiet system,

Ant6n · Post by **Ant6n** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 5:34 pm

xbitlabs review of 3650
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/ ... d3650.html