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What old, 2nd hand gfx should I buy?

flat-6

flat-6

flat-6

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
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Just built a new rig (Phenom II 555 BE, unlocked to quad), hoping for a nice quiet and small machine, versus my old behemoth in a giant case with 5 fans. I put my Radeon X1950 Pro in it and realised most of the noise comes from that!

I only play old racing sims (GTL) so don't need anything special. I want quiet and something at least as good as X1950 and also cheap (<£30). Happy to buy 2nd hand if that'll get me something better.

Ta.
 
Look out for a 3850 or even better a 3870 - you can pick those up for £30 or less and there are some very quiet models kicking around. Decent 3D, less than 90W so low power, double the speed of your x1950.

8800/9800GT can be had for £40-50, but many are too noisy and just a bit faster than a 3870. If you're lucky, a 4850 with a quiet cooler but that's more likely to be £50.
 
Cheers spirits, I have been out of the gfx card game for years so all these numbers of cards don't mean much to me any more. Will investigate.
 
mithrandir said:
9600gt is a fantastic little card.
Click to expand...

Indeed it is, as is the 4670 (newer very low power version of the 3850 essentially, worse than a 3870). If you are willing to stretch a little more you could go for these - but be very careful on your cooler choice for the noise! They are very small cards however, and may have passive versions available.
 
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You could always just put a new cooler on your 1950.

The Accelero L2 Pro (HERE) will fit, and they are peanuts (~£10).
 
spirits247 said:
Indeed it is, as is the 4670 (newer very low power version of the 3850 essentially, worse than a 3870). If you are willing to stretch a little more you could go for these - but be very careful on your cooler choice for the noise! They are very small cards however, and may have passive versions available.
Click to expand...

I can definitely vouch for this one :) Wonderful card. Powerful enough to keep up with modern gaming at 1280x1024 (resolution i use :p), cheap (should be well within your budget second hand) and with low power consumption.
 
Have found a couple of promising 4670s on the bay, these look like the way to go - small and low power with decent gfx grunt. Thanks all.
 
A 5450 is too slow - slower than your x1950. As said, you might as well just buy a new cooler for your x1950.

4670 is a great little card - it would suit your needs well - do a search for "Sapphire Radeon HD 4670" on the bay - it has a passive heatsink! A couple of days to go....
 
These Graphic Card numbers confuse me. I naturally thought the Radeon HD in the 5*** range are more powerful than the 4*** range but judging by some of your posts, I get the impression the 4000 series ones are faster?? very confusing as they're so many!
 
will be selling a HD2900XT on members market in next few days once i get home and take pictures, only used for 3 months, like new :)
 
nVidia 8/9 series cards are still pretty fast. At 1280x1024 I would recommend a 8600GT(S), or a 8800GT(X/S).
 
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