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What I meant was what is the most quiet ati 4870 1GB card out of the box (with default settings and no need to modify anything, for example tweaking drivers)? Very Happy

Hi everyone,

I am new here and would like some advice from you slient PC experts.

May I know what is the most quiet ATI HD4870 1GB card?

I am not into watercooling and I do not want to use third party coolers(accelero cooling solution) because I do not want to void the warranty.

Please advise. Thanks.

If possible, maybe include links to reviews etc etc...

IMO, The 4870 Toxic from Sapphire is the quietest that I can think of out of the box.

http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/products ... =278&grp=3

I can vouch for my Powercolor. Very quiet at idle, not so at load but not that annoying either.

Be careful which one you choose. I had a Palit sonic edition which broke. Then I got Club3D OC:d. The Club is a bit more silent that the palit but both are quite noisy. The clubs heatsink thing looks pretty much the same as that powercolor. But the fan implementation can differ because it idles only on 53 *C and spinning quite fast.

I have an Asus 1gb Dark Knight Edition. The cooler is very good, and at 20% the fan is completely silent. Idle temps are 49/57c with case fans (slipstreams) at 40%

About 5 minutes ago I completed an ATT profile that will underclock my card to 500/450 mhz while in 2d mode. Very, very useful, and idle temps went down a lot as well.

For 3D mode, ATT will spin the fan up from 30-50% 50% is definitely noticeable, but not extreme.

Thanks for all the recommendations guys.


How about this one :Palit Radeonâ„¢ HD 4870 1GB Sonic Dual Edition?

I am attracted to it due to the multiple video outputs it has.

But is it more quiet than the reference cooler?

wouldn't a 4890 be quieter, since it uses less power?

Ant6n wrote:wouldn't a 4890 be quieter, since it uses less power?

The jury is still out on that one. Some reviews even say it uses more power.

Anyone with experience of the palit?

Ant6n wrote:wouldn't a 4890 be quieter, since it uses less power?

No.
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article933-page4.html

I warned you earlier on this thread about that Palit. The smaller fan doesn't spin down. It is LOUD.

CyberDog wrote:I warned you earlier on this thread about that Palit. The smaller fan doesn't spin down. It is LOUD.

That's the old version. The new (1GB) version's fans are both PWM.

rpsgc wrote:

CyberDog wrote:I warned you earlier on this thread about that Palit. The smaller fan doesn't spin down. It is LOUD.

That's the old version. The new (1GB) version's fans are both PWM.

So you mean 1GB version = new and quiet fan version?

Can cyberdog confirm his is 512MB version?

I had a Sapphire 4870 and at stock it was still too noisy at idle. The best way I found to quiet the beast was to modify the bios to reduce 2D and UVD to GPU 160, Mem 225, voltage 1.083. It really slowed down the fan and didn't increase the video card temperature.

sputnik99 wrote:I had a Sapphire 4870 and at stock it was still too noisy at idle. The best way I found to quiet the beast was to modify the bios to reduce 2D and UVD to GPU 160, Mem 225, voltage 1.083. It really slowed down the fan and didn't increase the video card temperature.

I would not dare to play with any of those settings.

What I meant was what is the most quiet ati 4870 1GB card out of the box (with default settings and no need to modify anything)?

sputnik99 wrote:I had a Sapphire 4870 and at stock it was still too noisy at idle. The best way I found to quiet the beast was to modify the bios to reduce 2D and UVD to GPU 160, Mem 225, voltage 1.083. It really slowed down the fan and didn't increase the video card temperature.

The Toxic version, the Vapor version, or the original one?

Any more good recommendations?

I have no personal experience with them, but the new Vapor-X versions of the 4870 (and 4850) cards by Sapphire are getting a lot of good reviews on the web and nearly all of them comment on its low noise. I've been jonesing for one myself, but the Vapor-X 4870 (1 Gb version) seems to be selling for around $200-205 online which seems a bit dear considering you can get a 4890 for about the same. There is no 512 Mb version AFAIK, but there is a 2 Gb version if you're into overkill.

On NewEgg there is currently a $20 rebate, but I hate to deal with a rebate if I don't have to.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102825

i have a sapphire 4870 1gb, i'm not sure what version it is but its this one
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6814102801

I'll tell you that on normal use, its perfectly fine, i can't hear it, and runs fine.

when im gaming though...thats a complete different story. The card itself performs great and the graphics are pretty stunning to me. I play l4d and Tf2 mostly. BUT when the fan starts spinning fast, its super loud and omg does it ever pump tons of hot air into the room. I seriously feel a increase in a few temps in C. The noise itself during the gaming doesn't bother me too much, but the heat is a serious no seller for me. I live in a condo and my room is small, so the heat is a very big issue to me.

Sapphire Vapor-X is all you need. Have a look here: http://www.behardware.com/articles/751- ... -4870.html

Btw, I own a Sapphire HD4850 Vapor-X and it's absolutly silent. I can't tell without looking at the monitor if the computer is running 3DMark06 or is idle in Win desktop.

Very nice article. I've never read it before.

That sums it all up then.

Vapor X 4890 now available: SAPPHIRE Adds two new HD 4890 Models with Vapor-X.

I am really curious about the following information, found in the above link:
"The Vapor-X series features high specification solid capacitors and SAPPHIRE ‘Black Diamond’ heatsink chokes for higher efficiency and more reliable operation. The high-polymer aluminium capacitors used have characteristics superior to regular aluminium capacitors for longer product life. The choke is an important component of the power regulation on a graphics card, and the SAPPHIRE Black Diamond (patent pending) choke with integral heatsink runs 10% cooler and with 25% more power efficiency than a normal choke."

Where is states "integral heatsink runs 10% cooler with 25% more power efficiency than a normal choke", does this mean that less heat produced?

I ask because I would really like to have a high-performance video card, but the heat that is output from my case tends to make my small room heat quickly, similar to what member Denscafon mentions in his post above. If this new choke technology reduces heat output from the card, would it make this better choice than the 4870's and other 4890's in general? Help me to understand the physics please.