Passively cooled graphics card capable of 1440 x 900 - 60hz.

gm0411 · Post by **gm0411** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 2:16 pm

Hi everyone, I've an old system and a fancy new monitor, and I need a new graphics card to bridge the gap. I was wondering what your best suggestions would be.

The only requirement is that it is quiet (preferably passively cooled) and can run a resolution of 1440 x 900 @ 60hz. Preferably a DVI output too, but non-essential. I doubt it will be asked to power anything more complicated that a powerpoint presentation or the odd movie on you tube, so I don't need a Crysis slayer.

Any suggestions? Or just a steer where to start looking would be amazingly generous of you.

Thanks in advance.

IsaacKuo · Post by **IsaacKuo** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 2:33 pm

Do you have any more detailed information about what sort of system you have? There are different sorts of internal expansion slots. Also, some systems have "low profile" reduced height slots.

Most current systems have PCIe slots, but older systems use AGP. Some motherboards have only PCI card slots--this interface is too slow to play videos smoothly.

The type of expansion card slot you can use will dictate your purchase. Any video card that's been available within the current millenium will be able to handle 1440x900 resolution (although not necessarily in Windows, without the assistance of a video resolution tweaking utility like Powerstrip).

Slashor · Post by **Slashor** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 4:49 am

I run a 7600gt passively cooled and can play lots of games in a higher resolution that you have listed so I wouldn't worry so much about the capacity of any newer card to handle your requirements. Look solely for whether the stock heatsink actually does a good job and whether it fits in your system.

gm0411 · Post by **gm0411** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 5:32 am

SORRY GUYS! I was half baked last night and didn't make myself very clear.

I'm looking for an AGP card and it is to run windows XP in 1440 x 900.

The card is to go in to a small family starter PC so something like a 7600gt might need a bit too much power.

Regardless of that, this powerstrip program is amazing, I might just give that a go instead. Thanks for your suggestions!

sjoukew · Post by **sjoukew** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 11:52 am

Doing some basic math: 1440x900=1296000 pixels * 32bit colordepth / 8 (8bit=1byte) 5184000 bytes -> 5mb.
So all vga cards having 8mb ram should be able to get windows xp going in the perfect world.
In real life you also need decent vga drivers etc. to get it going. Any ati / nvidia card like the geforce 6200agp or the ati 2400 pro will display windows and youtube etc. But also a lot of older vga cards should be able to do that job nicely.
If you don't play any games one of these cards should be enough.
I have seen those cards with dvi ports also so if you can find one with dvi that is preferable if your monitor has a dvi connector also.

But what kind of old vga card do you have that is not able to display windows in the preferred resolution, if I may ask?

FartingBob · Post by **FartingBob** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 1:35 pm

Theres plenty of cheap PCI-E cards that would be ideal (such as those used in many HTPC systems that are passive and use minimal power), but AGP really limits your choice, and most cost more than their PCI-E version.

The nvidia 6200 has a AGP version that will run your system fine and is pretty damn cheap.

Cistron · Post by **Cistron** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 3:42 am

You don't even need a AGP card, any PCI card will do fine as well. If DVI isn't a requirement, go for something old with good VGA reputation and XP drivers.