Which Passive 7600GS?

Filias Cupio · Post by **Filias Cupio** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 5:11 pm

I'm looking to get a new PCI-E video card, and the 7600GS looks to hit my price/performance/passive cooling sweet spot. I have a low airflow single fan (undervolted 120mm Nexus) system. The heatsinks on most of the passive 7600GS cards look very small - will they really work in a low airflow system? A couple are factory-overclocked and have bigger heatsinks and price-tags. Do I need the bigger heatsinks in a low airflow system?

Here's my list of passive 7600GS cards that I've found. Does anyone have anything good or bad to say about these cards?

MSI NX7600GS-T2D256EH:
http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_sp ... &class=vga
XFX PV-T73P-UDL (3,7)
http://www.xfxforce.com/web/product/lis ... nId=198678
(Factory overclocked, but no bigger heatsink: XFX PV-T73P-UDS (3,7)
http://www.xfxforce.com/web/product/lis ... nId=198679)
Albatron 7600GS:
http://albatron.de/english/it/vga/overv ... pro_id=172
Gigabyte GV-NX76G256D-RH:
http://tw2005.giga-byte.com/VGA/Product ... 56D-RH.htm
Asustek EN7600GS SILENT/HTD:
http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=2 ... odelmenu=1
Leadtek WinFast PX7600 GS TDH
http://www.leadtek.com.tw/eng/3d_graphi ... nameid=258
(Confusingly, this has two pictures, one passive, one with fan. I don't know what to believe.)

Factory-overclocked cards with larger heatsinks:
Albatron 7600GS Ultra:
http://albatron.de/english/it/vga/overv ... pro_id=177
Asustek EN7600GS TOP SILENT/HTD/512M:
http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=2 ... odelmenu=1

Finally, are there any other passive GPUs with similar or better price/performance?

frostedflakes · Post by **frostedflakes** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 8:45 pm

I think they tend to run hot (80-90*C load), but the reference heatsink is adequate, keep in mind GPUs tend to run warmer than CPUs.

But if you don't mind spending a bit more and think you could use the power, I'd highly recommend the Gigabyte 7600GT SilentPipeII. I believe a member is actually selling one for $150 shipped in the US, check out the For Sale forum.

Goldmember · Post by **Goldmember** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 7:45 am

Galaxy has just released a Dual-Slot 7600GS with a massive and passive Arctic-Cooling heatsink.

Galaxy 7600GS DDR2 Passive Press release.

Filias Cupio · Post by **Filias Cupio** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 4:41 pm

Thanks - it looks interesting. The small-passive-heatsink cards have a heatpipe coiled in the back of the card. If this one has a heatpipe, the press release doesn't mention it. I wonder how much effect this has?

Webmonkey · Post by **Webmonkey** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 10:13 pm

Goldmember wrote:Galaxy has just released a Dual-Slot 7600GS with a massive and passive Arctic-Cooling heatsink.

Galaxy 7600GS DDR2 Passive Press release.

That cooler looks like something from an V8 engine block!

But why so big? Other manufactors GS cards get by with using something much smaller and single slot...

Aris · Post by **Aris** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 7:03 am

the whole reason people like the GS is because its a single slot passive card. if your going to go with a dual slot, might as well upgrade to a 7900gt with a passive aftermarked cooler on it.

dewy · Post by **dewy** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 3:50 am

I recently got one of the Gigabyte Passive 7600GS's and in my P180 it runs at 46C (web browsing) and 74C (gaming), this is using just the 3 standard tricool 120mm fans at low in the p180, and a scythe ninja on the cpu which runs at 46C Idle/47C used

Goldmember · Post by **Goldmember** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 6:25 am

Filias Cupio wrote:Thanks - it looks interesting. The small-passive-heatsink cards have a heatpipe coiled in the back of the card. If this one has a heatpipe, the press release doesn't mention it. I wonder how much effect this has?

Yeah, I don't believe this Galaxy has a heatpipe. You are correct in that one or more heatpipes allow for a slimmer profile or higher performance on GPUs. Maybe AC has a version of this heatsink with heatpipes for higher-performing GPUs?

Webmonkey wrote:That cooler looks like something from an V8 engine block!

But why so big? Other manufactors GS cards get by with using something much smaller and single slot...

Haha, very funny. It does seem a little bit of overkill doesn't it? IIRC from the old 7600GS thread, these only consume 35 watts. I guess if someone wants their passive GPU to be cooler than 80C then they have to put on the engine block.

Aris wrote:the whole reason people like the GS is because its a single slot passive card. if your going to go with a dual slot, might as well upgrade to a 7900gt with a passive aftermarked cooler on it.

True, or a 7600GT as frostedflakes mentioned earlier if you do not need high-resolution gaming.

dewy wrote: recently got one of the Gigabyte Passive 7600GS's and in my P180 it runs at 46C (web browsing) and 74C (gaming), this is using just the 3 standard tricool 120mm fans at low in the p180, and a scythe ninja on the cpu which runs at 46C Idle/47C used

Thanks for the info. The P180 sure is a monster.