A quiet Geforce 4?

slick_rick2k · Post by **slick_rick2k** » Sun Dec 15, 2002 2:46 pm

I'm looking to move into the GF4 era. My current card (GF2) isn't very noisy, and I would like it to stay that way. I have read about the zalman GPU cooler solution, so I'm looking either for a very quite GF4, or something compatible with the Zalman GPU cooler. I did a bit of poking around at newegg and I found these:
http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage.asp ... 112-06.jpg
http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage.asp ... 141-02.jpg

Both cards look like they have screws holding the GPU fan on. Does anyone have any experience with the Gainward or AOpen GF4 cards? Are they noisy? Does the CPU cooloer come off easily? If so, does the Zalman product keep it reasonably cool?

GamingGod · Post by **GamingGod** » Sun Dec 15, 2002 4:09 pm

abit suiluro are suposibly suppose to be pretty quiet, the normal ones, not the otes ones, i heard that the otes blower kind were loud.

MGP · Post by **MGP** » Sun Dec 15, 2002 9:25 pm

i have the gainward geforce 4 ti 4600 750xp ultra (bought it from newegg) and the gpu fan is pretty loud...that is, compared to my creative geforce 2gts gpu cooler.

Rod M · Post by **Rod M** » Mon Dec 16, 2002 2:22 am

yes apparently the otes is quite loud, there is a nice little article here: http://www.overclockers.com.au/article.php?id=108146

I have a Leadtek Ti4600 with the ZM80-HP and it works just fine,

http://home.iprimus.com.au/bohblesku/cu ... 00mid3.jpg

http://home.iprimus.com.au/bohblesku/cu ... 0_0190.jpg

[/u]

Gandalf · Post by **Gandalf** » Tue Dec 24, 2002 9:10 am

I have a GeForce4 MX440 with that other Zalman cooler on it, the extremely cheap one, the one without heatpipes. ZM 17CU or something like that). Still rock stable!

powergyoza · Post by **powergyoza** » Tue Dec 24, 2002 12:28 pm

Hey folks,

I'm curious to know what the picture quality is like on the GeForce 4's. For example, how sharp are the icon labels on your desktop? Has anyone had experience with it in comparison to a G550?

I've had experience with the old Cirrus Logie (good), ATI cards (ok), integrated GeForce (mediocre), geforce 2mx (mediocre) and integrated S3 (poor), but not GF3/GF4 yet.

Gandalf · Post by **Gandalf** » Tue Dec 24, 2002 1:57 pm

The quality is pretty much as good as it gets

.
Unless you're willing to fork out $500 to buy a GeForce FX in January ..

sneaker · Post by **sneaker** » Tue Dec 24, 2002 8:49 pm

If the performance meets your requirements, your best bet may be to simply go with a GeForce4 MX card which is completely silent to start with. Most of ASUS's V8170 series as well as the newer V9180 Magic are fanless, and there are some other brands out there which are as well. Check what's available in the stores where you are, find reviews through Google and check the pictures to see which cards are fanless, then double check with the store if need be.

Beyonder · Post by **Beyonder** » Thu Dec 26, 2002 10:15 pm

I have a geforce4 EVGA card that's hidiously noisy. It's by far louder than the CPU (XP 1500+ with an 80mm low RPM fan) and the PS. All in all, if you want a quiet video card, count on buying either a card with no fan:

Matrox G550/450/whatever
ATI 7500
Nivida Geforce4 MX

...or modding a card with the zalman. If you want any sort of 3d performance, you're stuck with the zalman heatpipe route. Those little fans are almost always noisy. I also had a Leadtech Geforce 2 GTS that was noisy as hell.

tidan_md · Post by **tidan_md** » Fri Jan 03, 2003 7:43 am

I recently replaced the noisy monster on my LeadTek WinFast A250 with a Panaflo. A bit overkill, I guess, but a rather simple mod that won't hamper performance at all. It will actually improve my overclocking while cutting back the noise.

The LeadTek card has a very large heatsink on the ram, so it was rather simple to get the fan mounting screws to bite in between the heatsink fins. The noise is also very acceptable because the mount is so solid. Vibrations are very small, and because the fan is on the inside of the case, you don't really get the airflow noise (and vibrations are killed by the case walls).

Anyhow, this was a much cheaper (and IMHO, more effective) solution than one of those MEGA-HEATSINKS that zalman is selling. It's worth a shot if you can find a spot to mount it on your GeForce4.

shunx · Post by **shunx** » Fri Jan 03, 2003 10:35 am

Gandalf wrote:The quality is pretty much as good as it gets .
Unless you're willing to fork out $500 to buy a GeForce FX in January ..

Does it actually seem like the FX will be purchasable in January?

nerotek · Post by **nerotek** » Fri Jan 03, 2003 11:04 am

for me personally i won't get a zalman vga cooler at this time... since the geforce fx is coming out soon and it's unlikely to be compatible with it... also the geforce fx will have a different design and cooling system... check www.anandtech.com, www.firingsquad.com, and other review sites for more info on geforce fx...

Zyzzyx · Post by **Zyzzyx** » Fri Jan 03, 2003 11:36 am

Yes, the new GeForce fx is going to have a different cooling system, similar to the OTES system used by Abit (?) now. But, looking at the card dimensions, I don't see why the Zalman wouldn't fit.

GeForce FX reference card

GeForce ti4600

Case temps will likely be higher with the Zalman, as it won't be using an external air source for cooling, but sure looks like it will fit physically. Whether it will be able to sufficiently cool the (likely hotter) fx chip, dunno. But will the fx chip run any hotter than the ATI 9700?

Zyzzyx
- quite happy with his new 128mb ti4200, and dreaming of the Zalman cooler

Asmordean · Post by **Asmordean** » Fri Jan 03, 2003 5:31 pm

Picture quality on the two GF4s that I have used has been as good as I have ever seen. Running at 1360x1024 85Hz on a 19" and it looks sharp. (MSI & Pine XFX)

As for noise, about the only card with a real heatsink on it is the Abit. The rest use heatsinks that are all show so they need horribly loud fans on them just to prevent the card from melting.

I have an XFX right now (Ti4200). The core is so hot on the back that I can't hold a finger to it for longer than about 10 seconds. I have to aquire some 3/32" bolts before I can attach my watercooler to pull the tempature and sound down to bearable levels. The heatsink on this card consists of a copper disc (as in flat) with a fan on it. Avoid if you want quiet.

GamingGod · Post by **GamingGod** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 1:48 am

i read somewhere that the geforce fx otes fan is loud but they are trying to make it more quiet before release. cant remember where i saw this though.

ez2remember · Post by **ez2remember** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 9:29 am

I don't think the Zalman VGA HS will work well with the Geforce FX, I mean tempertures must get really hot with this card and unless you have a 12v fan hanging over, I don't think it is good enough to cool it. This defeats the object of reducing noise.

GamingGod · Post by **GamingGod** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 10:19 am

yea i think that the fx is gonna be one of the hottest video cards to date, ull definately need some good airflow to keep it cool

MGP · Post by **MGP** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 12:16 pm

Yeah, I think I saw what GamingGod has seen at either Tomshardware or Anandtech. I'm ALMOST SURE that it was at Tomshardware. Anyways, to my understanding the GeForce FX is supposed to have some of the power-management features of NVIDIA's mobility chips in that the chip cools down on basic tasks and heats up during games (with the fan spinning a variable speeds).

Post by **Rusty075** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 4:12 pm

Given the fact that the Geforce FX is going to have nearly twice the transistors (125 million vs. 63 million) and run at a 60% faster clock speed (500Mhz vs. 300Mhz) I can only imagine that it's going to need some serious cooling. Probably on par with what your processor needs.

The ZM80 probably won't work on it for the simple fact that the GPU core is going to be much bigger than a Geforce 4. But I'd be willing to bet that the enginneers at Zalman have a ES model of the FX to tinker on already.

loply · Post by **loply** » Sun Jan 05, 2003 3:12 pm

Can you cool something like a Radeon 9700 Pro or a Ti4600 by mounting an 12V 80mm fan directly ontop of it (and removing its existing fan)?

A quiet Geforce 4?

A quiet Geforce 4?

A bit OT: picture quality?

Try a Panaflo