I have a huge choice to make right now. All my HTPC's are utilizing my old computers. I really want to build a tiny silent new HTPC but it's hard to justify it when you have i7 systems with 12 gig of ram sitting on your shelf. My problem right now is noise. I popped my old ATI 4850x2 video card in my old i7 system for my bedroom to save money. The card is very fast but not fast enough for me to multibox 5 World of Warcraft accounts on one pc. Because of that I upgrade to a new ATI card for my gaming pc and this one has been collecting dust. The problem with the card is noise. It's essentially two 4850's on the same board. The fans sound like a jet engine.
I have been researching my options for a silent card. So far I have found the bare bones SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5450 1GB 64-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card for $19.99. This is a cheap silent card but it's very low GPU performance. My other option is a slight step up without crossing the $100 mark. I found the SAPPHIRE Ultimate Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card . This card is also silent for $69.99 after rebate. It bumps the GPU performance up to the 6670 range which should be enough to play a game if I wanted on my HTPC. I don't plan on playing games on it but I like to have options.
Considering my situation do you think it's better to go for the bare bones card or for the $69 upgrade? This means my 4850x2 will collect dust again but the jet will not blast my bedroom with noise anymore. If anyone has different card options I would love to see them.
I have been researching my options for a silent card. So far I have found the bare bones SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5450 1GB 64-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card for $19.99. This is a cheap silent card but it's very low GPU performance. My other option is a slight step up without crossing the $100 mark. I found the SAPPHIRE Ultimate Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card . This card is also silent for $69.99 after rebate. It bumps the GPU performance up to the 6670 range which should be enough to play a game if I wanted on my HTPC. I don't plan on playing games on it but I like to have options.
Considering my situation do you think it's better to go for the bare bones card or for the $69 upgrade? This means my 4850x2 will collect dust again but the jet will not blast my bedroom with noise anymore. If anyone has different card options I would love to see them.
