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Cheap, Low Power and Quiet GFX for Server- Best Options?

Supertaff

Supertaff

Supertaff

Associate
Joined
12 Jul 2005
Posts
1,061
Hi All,

I'm looking to replace the 8800GTS I have in my server with something a bit quieter and hopefully drawing less power.

I've been looking in the main at the ATI 3450's any other suggestions.

I know there are MB with inbuilt GFX that possibly do the job, but don't want the hassle of replacing the M/B at this point in time.

Cheers for any help

Taff
 
A PCI card will do fine as it requires no extra power connector and is ample enough to run the just basics of things.

But if there are times if you do want to directly watch the videos and such stored on your server computer, you can't go wrong with the ATi HD 4500/4600 series of cards as they are well suited for HTPCs, have no need for a power connection, and run HD movies perfectly including HD audio over HDMI connection.

EDIT - Actually I take that back, even the older ATi HD 3400 series is fine. And they are extremely cheap as listed on OcUK.
 
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I see them providing better value, and i tend to re-use parts later. That is why i would like to get that. That may be just me. If going for a low end card, its better to get a good integrated one. HD3200 or HD3300 for example.
 
I'd go second hand and get something like an X300SE.. seriously if its doing nothing all you need to do is do something to compensate the lack of on board video?
 
Trunks9486 said:
I see them providing better value, and i tend to re-use parts later. That is why i would like to get that. That may be just me. If going for a low end card, its better to get a good integrated one. HD3200 or HD3300 for example.
Click to expand...

I'm sure the £5 it'd cost for an old 2d card could be swallowed by the OP. The £25 they'd save could buy a better 3d-enabled card at a later date if they suddenly decided that they wanted media capabilities.

They don't want to get an integrated solution, for the reasons they posted above.
 
Cheers for all your replies so far all.

This GFX will solely be used for the server. Being a serious gamer I can't think of it ever being reused.

The main thing for me on this is that the GFX is quiet and consumes a low amount of power. The server is running 24/7 so I'm trying to keep the running costs down.


The server as it stands at present is my old gaming PC, hence the fact that it has a 8800GTS 640mb in it.

The full spec is currently
C2D6600
8800GTS
4GB PC6400
1TB Storge
Gigabyte DS4 M/B
650W Jeantec Power Supply


Once I have a new GFX, the 8800GTS can go on the MM and some of the other parts will be replaced as I start building up another HTPC for the house.

Looking at the replies something along the lines of this would suit my purposes

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-171-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=168

Cheap and cheerful, Says silent, but doesn't mention power consumption.

Cheers

Taff
 
The fact that it will not require a PCIE or any molex power connection and just runs directly off the slot lane itself already shows that it's consumption will be low.

You can see more pictures of it at the official Sapphire website.

The specfications lists suggests that it requires a 300W PSU. Thats like a throwback to 5-7 years ago. So this card would be perfectly fine for your needs.
 
Any cheap card would be fine. Might be worth hunting through members market for a 2nd hand one.
 
why the hell are people suggesting gaming/media cards

any £5/10 2nd hand thing will do

if you need pci-e then the ati 2350 pro is perfect, ~£10 new
 
Cheap PCI cards are great.
I paid £3, new, for one from a competitor. No drivers for x64 bit windows server, so I'm stuck at VGA Res, but I only needed it for setting up my array and installing windows. Once windows and network drivers are up everything can be done via remote desktop.

Leaves you your PCI-E slots free for the future, so you can add a quality RAID card.

I would still advise you have a quick look for driver support before you buy one, It's still a minor irritation trying to install things at 640x480, when windows are too big to fit on the screen and you can't reach their buttons without moving the window.
The Driver situation is only going to get worse as time goes on, I'd check it has Vista support to be safe.
 
If I were making a server, and my motherboard didn't have onboard graphics, I'd use a S3 Trio or something like that that doesn't require a heatsink.
 
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