New graphics card

Exide

I am amazingly focused right now!
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Hi.

I have an ATI Radeon HD 5870.
I want to upgrade graphics card to something newer and better. I'm thinking of trying an nVidia card.

Things I'm looking for:

*Better performance than HD 5870.
*A passive cooler (no fans.)
*Cheap!

Thanks in advance. =)
 

Slapshot136

Divide et impera
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*Better performance than HD 5870.
*A passive cooler (no fans.)
*Cheap!

normally I would say choose 2, but in this case you can really only choose 1 if by "cheap" you mean under $200 (which is about where the 5870 retail for), and by "passive" you exclude liquid cooled versions (since nothing anywhere near this performance level will able to work without some form of active cooling)
 

Ghan

Administrator - Servers are fun
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As far as I know, there are no cards with better performance than the 5870 that have passive cooling.
 

rover2341

Is riding a roller coaster...Wee!
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I also have a 5870 radeon. I bought last year.

Has ran pretty good. I dont really play super demanding games.

Only thing I can say is required me to buy a new power supply, and I got one that was a no name and it died in a week. Then it started to overheat my case. So I had to get a bigger case, and another power supply.

Takes 2 slots, 2 power plugs (plenty of power). And generates some heat.

If I could go back I would likely have waited to get a slightly slower but smaller card. (1-2 slots) but only 1 power plug for it, with lower heat.

But you own one already so you know all of this. But just my thoughts... I guess no advice as of yet ill look some on tomshardware they got decent reviews and suggestions on cards.

Try HERE http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7770-7750-benchmark,3135-15.html
 

FireCat

Oh Shi.. Don't wake the tiger!
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What is the difference between active and passive cooling? on "graphics cards"
is it better with passive?
 

Slapshot136

Divide et impera
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What is the difference between active and passive cooling? on "graphics cards"
is it better with passive?

active = moving
passive = non-moving

passive means basically it has a huge heat-sink to dissipate the heat and relies on the case's airflow to cool it off - this only works for low-end cards that don't make much heat

active = has a fan/pump or other "active" or "powered" method of cooling itself, and thus can cool larger loads - the downside is that they make more noise than passive cooling

neither is particularly better, generally the one that suits the needs of a card is already implemented on it

there is an expensive middle-ground option of "vapor cooling" where it's similar to a liquid cooling system, only that it has a liquid that changes to gas when heated (at something like 50º C), rises as a hot gas, and then cools/condenses on a large heat-sink that can be placed anywhere above the component which it needs to cool - this allows a much larger heat-sink to be used
 

Slapshot136

Divide et impera
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Will, this "vapor cooling system" consume more power? Just Wondering

no - it's essentially a "heat-powered cooling system"

P.S. - I think the best passive card is this, although I expect it will overheat if you play for more than a couple hours and/or have low case airflow
 
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