SPCR

Hi all,
i'm building a new system (Asus P5B dlx, C2D E6600 with thermalright ultra 120 and scythe s-flex e, 1 Gb kingston pc6400, 3 x WD2500KS) and i would like some help on which of the two following cards to choose
1. Asus EAX1950Pro
2. MSI RX1950PRO-T2D256E (also the VT2D512E version with VIVO support is an option).
Both cards sport a two slot cooling claiming that it is quiet.
Has anybody used one of these cards? and are they quiet?
Any other option in the same price range is wellcome!

Thanks in advance.

I have the asus, I have 3 harddisks in a antec-p180 and that is the main sound i hear idle.
When I play a game like oblivion the fan never speeds up so I can hear it, but it is getting hot at 75 degrees.
With AtiTool I changed the behavior of the fan so it speeds up while I am gaming, then the card gets 65 degrees with a fan speed of 50%.
Then I can hear it when I turn the game volume down, but I don't care while gaming.

The important thing for me is that I can't hear it while the card is idle
I hope this information helps.

Sjoukew, thanks a lot for the info.

Hi, I just recently got the Sapphire X1950pro Ultimate. The default idle fan setting is too loud and is audible but I'm using ATITool to over ride it. Currently set for 9% (lowest on offer) up to 60°C which it doesn't get to in 2D use. IIRC set to jump to 18% up to 70°C and scale beyond but I've not seen it get that high yet. The 9% fan setting is really very quiet, also the RAM is higher clocked at 1600MHz (vs 1400MHz) but the core isn't OC at 580MHz, it should OC but I haven't tried yet as ATI tool crashes system when I try. I think only comes in 256MB version and claims HDCP support.
Seb

The new Powercolor X1950Pro SCS3 (silent) is passively cooled by Artic Coolings new Accelero S2 cooler.

http://www.powercolor.com/global/main_p ... asp?id=161

[sgtspiff]
Yes, i know about the passively cooled powercolor but i would like to read some tests first before i put a heater inside my computer case.

[SebRad]
First of all thanks and yes i think i had read somewhere on the net that although Sapphire uses the zalman cooler is not so quiet.

Now the bad news, Asus EAX1950Pro is not available and i can find the MSI and the Powercolor 1950Pro/512M/VIVO which comes with an accelero X2. Should i risk with the MSI (uknown sound characteristics but exhausts heat outside the case) or go with the Powercolor?

important thing to find a card that can be controlled / overclocked with atitool including fan control

this will allow you to turn a loud card into a quiet card when browsing and doing normal desktop things but when gaming or rendering you will have a card that ramps up the fan and therefore is safer to run a high speeds

i would steer away from such powerful cards in passive configurations - they kick out a lot of heat!

[frazered]
i agree with you. I think that the Powercolor doesnot have controlable fan (Accelro X2) from what i have read on the net. On the other hand i have no idea what is going on with the MSI.

here a review on that cooler.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/ ... 50pro.html

Its key feature is the unique cooling system developed by Arctic Cooling. This made the PowerColor X1950 Pro Extreme larger, but also almost silent

[sjoukew]
thank you for the review which on page 5 ( http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/ ... pro_5.html ) reads that the "fan is always rotating at 2000rpm" which means that the speed is probably not controlable.

The fan is always rotating at 2000rpm, so the PowerColor X1950 Pro Extreme produces the same noise all the time. Although the card is not exactly silent, it may be considered as such because its noise isn’t audible against the noise from other system components like hard drives, CPU cooler, and system/PSU fans.

The only info that i have found so far for the MSI is the following
http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/vi ... cid=3&pg=1
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/sho ... p?t=120831 (huge images)

MSI anyone???

mits wrote:[sgtspiff]
Yes, i know about the passively cooled powercolor but i would like to read some tests first before i put a heater inside my computer case.

This is a strange statement. Whether the card is passively cooled, or actively cooled, the amount of heat produced is the same, the onnly difference is that an active cooler is going to transfer the heat to the air quickly. The amount of heat transfered is still the same, so, I'm not sure what it is about a passive cooler you're unsure about. I cool my x1950pro with an HR-03 passively, check my sig.

ryboto,
Probably I didn’t make myself clear, you are right that the produced heat would be the same but having a passive cooler the transfer of the heat from heatsink to air is based on the existing airflow which means that you will have a hot spot in your case with high temps on it and the surrounding space. However, by using a cooler the heat is transferred more quickly to the air and I believe that it is distributed more evenly inside the case.

mits wrote:ryboto,
Probably I didn’t make myself clear, you are right that the produced heat would be the same but having a passive cooler the transfer of the heat from heatsink to air is based on the existing airflow which means that you will have a hot spot in your case with high temps on it and the surrounding space. However, by using a cooler the heat is transferred more quickly to the air and I believe that it is distributed more evenly inside the case.

I understand what you meant now. Still, the only way to really be rid of any hot zones, or unwanted air circulation might be with a heat sink that exhausts hot air out the back of the case. When I had the VF900 installed, it threw hot air all around, but because the x1950pro is a longer card, the hot air wasn't necessarily drawn into the bulk air flow created by the 120mm intake and exhaust fans. Instead the hot air helped to warm up the hard drive I have in my 5'' bay. The drive temps have come down a few degrees, never getting hotter than 40C, whereas before it would get up to 43C, not a large change, but mind you that's max, during typical operation, temperatures are down by at least 5C. Then again, everyone's needs are different, and I do have an a-typical system configuration.

ryboto wrote

When I had the VF900 installed, it threw hot air all around, but because the x1950pro is a longer card, the hot air wasn't necessarily drawn into the bulk air flow created by the 120mm intake and exhaust fans. Instead the hot air helped to warm up the hard drive I have in my 5'' bay.

That is the reason that i would like to go with the MSI which expels the hot air out of the case. The fan that is being used by the MSI is an AVC model BN06015B12L (avc.com.tw) which should be a blower type fan 60mm in diameter, 15mm in height, Ball bearing, 12Volt, Low rpm model. The problem is that the specific model is not listed in AVC's site and i can not find any technical info for this.