Don't laugh! Need cool/quiet card for Dell Dimension 530.

pr0digy30 · Post by **pr0digy30** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 7:38 am

Family member picked a Dell Dimension 530 and is looking to upgrade the on-board video. Case is your "regular" sized Dell, not a slim version.

Computer is going to be concealed in behind a false wall that has easy access and *plenty* of breathing room. This is done both to eliminate the visual aspect of the computer as well as noise.

I've been looking at options, but hard to really figure out the "sweet spot" for the requirements:

- If passive cooling, stay reasonably cool (especially under load) since Dell cases aren't exactly designed for airflow.
- If active cooling, stay reasonably quiet... even though it will be be behind a false wall, still don't want to sound like there is a hairdryer in there.
- Dual-DVI
- Work with Dell's power supply (not sure, but think it's 300W)
- While not really for gaming, offer reasonable performance for some of the more recent games.
- Price, I am thinking < or ~$125

Any recommendations or information is appreciated!

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 7:50 am

HD 3650 passive, 8600GT passive, HD 2600XT/Pro. Those should do be more than enough for the job.

pr0digy30 · Post by **pr0digy30** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 10:26 am

The 3650 is looking to be the ticket...

Found this new passive 3650 from ASUS, price is right in Canada... but looks like it might not yet be available. Link Here

I am wondering if the Powercolor 3650 non-passive card might be another option. Seems to have a good size HSF on it.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 11:03 am

Both look very nice. They offer some decent gaming experience... Well, maybe not in Crysis but basicly in everything else.

line · Post by **line** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 11:10 am

I don't know about PowerColor's 3650 PCS card but you should note that its 3850 and 3870 PCS cards lack fan control and make a lot of noise. See here and here. I'd avoid this series at this time.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 11:46 am

line wrote:I don't know about PowerColor's 3650 PCS card but you should note that its 3850 and 3870 PCS cards lack fan control and make a lot of noise. See here and here. I'd avoid this series at this time.

That's passive so it really doesn't need fan control.

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pr0digy30 · Post by **pr0digy30** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 12:34 pm

Hmm, in that case it looks like passive is the only way to go.

I'm just concerned about how hot the card will get in a stock Dell case. While definitely not going to be used for hardcore gaming... the occasional FPS will get used.

Though having a 55nm process, I would imagine the GPU temps are much cooler than it's NVIDIA cousins.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 1:06 pm

Do you have pictures of that particular case?

pr0digy30 · Post by **pr0digy30** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 2:10 pm

Here's am external shot off of the web...

Will take some internal shots in a little bit, if you need them.

pr0digy30 · Post by **pr0digy30** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 2:36 pm

Got unlazy... and grabbed some internal pics. Unit has 3 fans, 1 on the CPU (E2160), 1 for airflow and 1 on the PSU.

Overall

Closeup of Slots

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 11:11 pm

Passive HD 3650 should fit there no problems. 8600 GT passive will fit no problems.

bonsai · Post by **bonsai** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 2:07 pm

I have a similar case. Is a 300w power supply enough for a HD 3650?

LongJan · Post by **LongJan** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 3:27 pm

From where does that case take air in?
That narrow opening in the front and vents in the left side panel? I suppose there, at least, is an intake for the CPU fan.

I think you need some airflow in the VGA department, especially if you choose a passive card.
Is there a side vent, low enough, to let air in, below the VGA card? Othervise, you can open up a couple of PCI slots.

All passively cooled cards tends to run rather hot. My experience with Dell computers is, that they aren't very quiet.
Does a VGA card with fan make any difference? I would try to find a quiet one with temperature controlled fan.

300W should be enough, assuming decent PSU quality from Dell, but the fan might ramp up.

line · Post by **line** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 3:44 pm

300W should be enough, assuming decent PSU quality from Dell, but the fan might ramp up.

Here's a thread where someone upgraded his Dell Dimension E521 (AMD X2 3800) desktop with 7590GT (71W) and another hard drive (~8W) without problems. I don't know if the PSU fan ramped up, though.

http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/for ... 5004341831

pr0digy30 · Post by **pr0digy30** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 4:58 pm

If there is any intake on that thing, its that measly little piece at the front... *EDIT* The left side has some ventilation holes at the bottom, towards the back... nothing to write home about though.

Heat build-up is a big concern.. unfortunately the passive ASUS card I am looking at has no reviews as it hasn't hit the street yet. I don't think the PSU will be a problem handling a 3650 as from the reviews of other 3650 cards, it seems to have quite low consumption.

What options are out there for a actively cooled unit (preferably with 512 MB GDDR3) and will stay reasonably quiet?

I think I might be able to give up some quiet (since this will essentially be behind a false wall) for peace of mind of not worrying about the GPU spontaneously combusting.

christopher3393 · Post by **christopher3393** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 9:38 am

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814161219 The HIS HD3650 IceQ3. It is unfortunately overclocked but this can be easily adjusted through ATI Catalyst. I have the 3850 version of this card in a Dell XPS 420. The card runs very cool and quiet during all 2D use. The fan is audible (XPS 420, like your Inspiron 530, is very quiet when under light load or idle) but smooth, soft noise.

The only problem I've had is that the fan runs all the time and it causes the PSU fan to run all the time---again not loud, but noticeable. When I had a 2400XT in the case it was silent. So I've been considering getting this 3650. These coolers exhaust heat out of back of case. The 3650 doesn't need connector to PSU like the 3850 does, so I'm hoping that this 3650 won't trigger the PSU fan during normal business use.

I would rather get the passive Asus 3650. But I can't find any reviews and I also worry about heat.