Would like some feedback about graphic cards

[Andreas W]

Hi all

I believe my current graphic card is running a bit hot and starting to run slow could just be something I have imaginated but anyhow I would like some advice, my current card is a Asus GTX 260 and I have been looking at this WEBHALLEN.com - KFA2 Geforce GTX 460 EX 1GB (60XFH6HS3GXL) - PCI-E / DVI / VGA / HDMI
Its cheap mainly because its not being made anymore or something like that but I dont mind that since I dont need the best out there, all I want is a 2x dvi card with a good cooler since I have a small room that get quite hot, and the current one I have runs at 70c so that dont really help me in tiny room, I am no expert in the graphic card department but what I can see this card should be atleast a bit better then the one I have right?

If possible I would like to see some suggestion on mid range graphic cards from nvidia that have a good cooler with 2x dvi slots.

//Andreas
http://www.webhallen.com/hardvara/115046-kfa2_geforce_gtx_460_ex_1gb-pci-e-dvi-vga-hdmi

 

[1Bowtie]

Have no idea what price we are talking about US $, i just bought an EVGA GTX 550 Superclock for $144 US, let me know how that compares.

 

[Andreas W]

144 dollars would be 967 Swedish Kronor(SEK), wish is really cheap but I guess graphic cards are cheaper in USA? did a pricecheck on EVGA and the cheapest card I found was a GTX 560 for 2100 Swedish Kronor(SEK) which would be 312 dollars, so not sure I can set a price since as you can see it differs quite a lot, or I could ship one from an online store in USA might even be cheaper then buying one here but probably not the safest thing to do

 

[1Bowtie]

When i was looking, i also went to EVGA and found what i wanted. They had many cards cheaper than the GTX 560 ti which is in the higher end of mid range cards. I also checked different outlets for price and found Amazon to be the cheapest. Different countrys have many different price structures. Hope you find a good one soon.

 

[Andreas W]

Yeah, I have found some that are really cheap but I am just not very sure about them, I mean should I care what they are called at all or should I just look at the clock/memory/shader speed & cuda cores and just pick any card thereafter that have a higher ammount then my current one?

 

[1Bowtie]

Read some reviews about the cards you are looking at, brand name can be important, like i read from the EVGA forums, also talked to people who have used that brand, have they had any problems with the card, warranty, all the feedback was good for EVGA so thats who i went with. Also i was already useing an EVGA GTX 250 without any problems, i just wanted to upgrade my card for the older games i play Links 2003 so for me midrange card was best for what i use it for hence the GTX 550 ti Superclock.

 

[bassfisher6522]

If your up to the task...you could pull out the GPU from the PC and have a look at the internal workings of it. This means you have to take the GPU apart. Not hard. Generally speaking, when a GPU starts to increase in temperature and gradually over time...is a good indicator that the heat sink is clogged. I had the same thing happen to me on my AMD 4870. I pulled it out and took it apart and to my surprise the heat sink was so clogged with dust the air wasn't being exhausted. Once I gave it a thorough cleaning my temps fell back down to 36*C idle and upwards of 50*C when doing heavy gaming. Now I have it OC (over clocked) and idle temps are 44*C and 58* under load. This could save you some money and give you some experience as well.

 

[Andreas W]

Read some reviews about the cards you are looking at, brand name can be important, like i read from the EVGA forums, also talked to people who have used that brand, have they had any problems with the card, warranty, all the feedback was good for EVGA so thats who i went with. Also i was already useing an EVGA GTX 250 without any problems, i just wanted to upgrade my card for the older games i play Links 2003 so for me midrange card was best for what i use it for hence the GTX 550 ti Superclock.

Ya I am considering EVGA seeing a lot of ppl using them so must be because of a reason I guess, I will try to read up on them a bit too

If your up to the task...you could pull out the GPU from the PC and have a look at the internal workings of it. This means you have to take the GPU apart. Not hard. Generally speaking, when a GPU starts to increase in temperature and gradually over time...is a good indicator that the heat sink is clogged. I had the same thing happen to me on my AMD 4870. I pulled it out and took it apart and to my surprise the heat sink was so clogged with dust the air wasn't being exhausted. Once I gave it a thorough cleaning my temps fell back down to 36*C idle and upwards of 50*C when doing heavy gaming. Now I have it OC (over clocked) and idle temps are 44*C and 58* under load. This could save you some money and give you some experience as well.

Problem is that I have already done that and my card idle at 50c lol, was not long ago since I changed thermal paste and cleaned it out, only other thing that I am planing on doing is mounting fans to the side panel for blowing air on the card, I wrote nvidia one time and asked about temps and for them its perfactly normal that the card is running at 70-80c when gaming, I just want it lower since I think those temps are crazy, I was looking into buying an aftermarket heatsink etc but buying that would cost me just as much as a new card more or less with a much better fan already mounted

 

[1Bowtie]

Good thinking and i think your going in the right direction. Good Luck

 

[Andreas W]

Thank you ^^

Just need to order some of the stuff from USA, I hate my country when it comes down to custom pc parts and such, but what to do