I'm buying a new video card to support my new hi res LCD monitor.
I'm just looking for a cheap card to run my system that will display 2D images and video files ok. I'm not into games, and I'll be buying a separate capture card in the future.
I've done a lot of looking round, and I think the ATI Radeon 9550 would be a good choice; it's only about £40. I'd considered the 9250, but apparently the 9550 is better, and they're almost the same price. (Any other suggestions would be welcome of course!)
My problem is, when I look at the online stores, there seems to be several different versions of the same card, all for the same price. For example, the "Club 3D" version, the "Gigabyte" version, the "connect3d" version. I just don't understand why there are all these different versions. Are these all unofficial bootleg copies I'm looking at, or are they all legit ATI cards with slightly different features? If so, which one would be best for me?
All I really want is something that can display 2D images/apps clearly and quickly at 19200x1200 via a DVI cable.
Oh... and I need one without a fan because I'm building a silent system!
Which one should I buy? Can anyone help?
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They are legit cards, made by different manufacturer's. ATI only makes the chip for the cards but other manufacturer's like Gigabtye, Club3D, etc are the card makers.
I would advise against one without a fan, fans keep it from overheating thus keeping it from frying the chip and you having to replace it. Video card fans are small and produce little noise. -
I've been using a ATI chipset 9550 for about six months. It's a Sapphire brand. The ATI part is the 9550 chipset. Some versions come with fans, most don't. I would stick with a good brand, Asus, Sapphire, PowerColor, Gigabyte or similar. ATI licenses the chipset to a lot of video card manufacturers.
I use the DVI output through a ATI DVI to Component adapter going into a video projector for my home theater setup. Also feeds a 15" LCD computer monitor.
I found it easier to setup than the equivalent Nvida card for the DVI output. I just needed an inexpensive card, no gaming. Being that it goes to a 15" LCD monitor, I run it at the native monitor resolution of 1024 X 768.
EDIT: I just went over and checked the temp: 92F, 33C heatsink temperature. No fan on the card, but I have a tower case with good circulation. -
No fan on the card, but I have a tower case with good circulation.
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The computer in my profile uses a Sapphire Radeon X300SE PCI-E video card and it definitely needs a fan, runs quite a bit warmer than the CPU or the hard drives. I use a 80mm PCI slot fan underneath it.
I don't mind a video card with a small quiet fan, but small fans that run at higher RPMs can be irritating. I wish video cards would put the heatsink on the top, instead of the underside where there is little air circulation.
That said, I don't consider 92F, 33C hot for a video card, and I would still recommend a 9550 chipset for a economy video card, even without the fan.
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