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Fastest passive and low profile card?

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Caporegime
Joined
13 May 2003
Posts
34,564
Location
Warwickshire
Hello, I'm building an HTPC for the living room.

I want it to be able to do the typical HTPC things such as deal flawlessly with 1080p, as well as be able to play games that lend themselves to the X-Box controller / living room, such as FIFA, Tiger Woods, Virtua Tennis, Just Cause 2, etc.

It must:

- Be passively cooled.
- Be or be able to be, low profile.
- Be at least as fast as an 8800GT for games.
- Bit stream DTS-HD Master Audio over HDMI.

Does such a card exist? Thanks!
 
Thanks...is a 5570 as fast as as an 8800GT? If so I could forgo the passive thing as there'll be other fans in the case anyway. Just trying to keep overall noise down as it's in the living room.

Are there no passive low profile 5570s then?
 
A HD 5570 like this ticks most of the boxes.

however, in games it will not be nearly as fast as a 8800gt (or 9800gt which performs the same as the 8800gt) - this review compares the performance in a range of games.
 
Thanks guys. My conclusion is that I need to either build an HTPC that will accommodate full size graphics cards, or give up on any meaningful gaming in the living room!

(Or buy a PS3 :().

Cheers.
 
if the case could fit dual slot cooler, since 5770s run super cool, you could most likely just put a passive cooler on it and it would be fine.

I've had 8800GTX and it could run fine passively with HR-03 and that's like double the temp of 5770.

The only minus would be that it's not going to be low profile, can't ur case fit normal cards? Most of them do.


--------------------------
They should release lower end 6xxx series a month or so after the initial ones probably so I guess it might be easier to get in say 2months.
As it is now there is not many low profile cards that are capable of playing games at high res.
 
I would look at a 5770 and a Prolimatech MK13 combo, it will need a fair bit of space but with some airflow over it from your cases intake fan (if you have one?) it will passively cool the 5770. Maybe even a 5850 if you want to put abit more airflow over it.

mk-13.jpg


Its one mahoosive cooler, that would easily handle a 5770 passively imo.


Edit:

For low profile, you could try a Thermalright Hr-03Gt inverted
imgp0481jl5.jpg

--
1542_p6.jpg

or the Thermalright Spitfire, both can be fitted in multiple ways to save space. And all three would offer allmost complete passive, silent cooling if put on a 5770.


They fit all should fit a 5770 and 5850 afaik, but i would make 100% sure before you get one.


Hope that helps :)
 
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Thing is do you reeeeeally need passive? Unless you overclock even something like a standard 5850 isn't exactly loud, and when gaming you'll presumably have some sound booming out anyway. Performing more sedate duties pretty much any card will have its fan so low you can hardly hear it. More so if you go for a quiet case and pay good attention to PSU and CPU cooling.
 
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