Better no fan graphics card for upgrade

corei5

New Member
Messages
11
Hi,

I assembled my PC in mid 2010 and it's still runs OK for my purposes except that I feel that Firefox and other programs that I use feel somehow sluggish and I attribute this to the naive graphics card I'm using (AMD RADEON HD 5450) even with the latest Catalyst drivers. I picked this up on purpose because it has no fan (I'm not a gamer anyway).
Now that it's 2014, I'm asking a recommendation for a more powerful graphics card that uses no fan at all in order to enjoy more powerful graphics in Firefox, youtube, flash, photoshop,...etc without adding any extra noise.

Thanks in advance.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Core i5 - Stock Speed
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-UD3P
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 5450
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster S22B300
    Screen Resolution
    1920*1080
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast
I sort of doubt that it is your sluggish problem especially with Firefox. That could be due to your internet connection.

What size hard drive and is it close to being full? Do you defrag it periodically?

With that said, check out the Zotac NVIDIA GeForce GT730 4GB.

Capture.JPG
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer V3 771G-6443
    CPU
    i5-3230m
    Motherboard
    Acer VA70_HC (U3E1)
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD4000 + GeForce GT 730M
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" Generic PnP Display on Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250 GB
    ADATA SSD SP900 128GB
    PSU
    90 watt brick
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Antivirus
    Comodo
    Other Info
    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.
Most of newer video cards have adjustable fan speeds and in normal use are turning at very low speeds and are very quiet, quieter even than CPU and PSU and are normally inaudible yet if need be they speed up.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
I sort of doubt that it is your sluggish problem especially with Firefox. That could be due to your internet connection.

What size hard drive and is it close to being full? Do you defrag it periodically?

With that said, check out the Zotac NVIDIA GeForce GT730 4GB.

View attachment 53310

Thanks for your suggestion. My connections is fine (around 7mbps), hard drive is spacious, De fragmentation is regular...etc. I just feel the weak point is the graphics card which I think should be upgraded to give a snappier interface. I'm not sure if I have to wait for Windows 10 to see graphics improvements without upgrading (since they switch to a flat design) but I'm not sure about that.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Core i5 - Stock Speed
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-UD3P
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 5450
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster S22B300
    Screen Resolution
    1920*1080
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast
Most of newer video cards have adjustable fan speeds and in normal use are turning at very low speeds and are very quiet, quieter even than CPU and PSU and are normally inaudible yet if need be they speed up.

The main reason that I'm trying to shy away from these cards as much as possible is that if the fan dies for any reason, I'm hosed and I have to get a new card!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Core i5 - Stock Speed
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-UD3P
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 5450
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster S22B300
    Screen Resolution
    1920*1080
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Avast
Most of newer video cards have adjustable fan speeds and in normal use are turning at very low speeds and are very quiet, quieter even than CPU and PSU and are normally inaudible yet if need be they speed up.

The main reason that I'm trying to shy away from these cards as much as possible is that if the fan dies for any reason, I'm hosed and I have to get a new card!
Well not really big problem, most are fans replaceable and I have an8 year old video card that still works.
Back to your problem, most gain with newer cards is in 3D applications like games etc., in 2D, years back, they all work same speed, about 300 MHz. About only things you can expect to be better are higher resolutions and better filters and better support for HD video. In those spheres, except for some rare, dedicated video cards your present one will be no worse than best new one. My newest one AMD R7 260 is actually a tad slower in 2D (couple %) than older one, HD3850 I just replaced. There is a way by changing BIOS in them to boost 2D speed by 100MHz or so but is a risky affair.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
Most of newer video cards have adjustable fan speeds and in normal use are turning at very low speeds and are very quiet, quieter even than CPU and PSU and are normally inaudible yet if need be they speed up.

The main reason that I'm trying to shy away from these cards as much as possible is that if the fan dies for any reason, I'm hosed and I have to get a new card!

Usually, smaller GPU's (like the ones without any some sort of cover, just plain PCB) fans can be easily replaceable. Also, GPU fans rarely die out, especially in your case, not being used for heavy gaming.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Y520
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 7300HQ
    Motherboard
    OEM Lenovo
    Memory
    4GB DDR4-2400
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 (2)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 1TB 5400 RPM
    Keyboard
    OEM Lenovo
    Mouse
    Logitech G502 Proteus Core
    Internet Speed
    100 Mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Other Info
    PC:

    AMD Athlon X4 760K
    8GB DDR3-1866
    AMD Radeon RX 460
    Seagate 500 GB 7200 RPM
You don't need a new Graphics Card for those applications at all, just a waste of money. Windows 8.1/10 whatever is irrelevant. Replace it if you wish but it won't make a difference.

A decent Internet download speed is far more important along with adequate RAM, Software maintenance, being free of Malware and so on.

Graphics Cards in general at the lower levels have pathetic fans, sometimes odd sizes, on my last desktop they were for ever grinding to a halt every 2/3 years. Finally I replaced that card with a passive heatsink model.
 

My Computer

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