Best Low Profile Card?

[DamnDirtyApe]

Wow, I can't believe this thread is still going! I ended up getting an Asus 4550 as a Christmas present, as 3650 availability is non-existent where I am. It seems I've just been playing Team Fortress 2 since then, and the 4550 does the job pretty well. Let us know how the 4650 works out though.

Now if only someone came out with a passive low-profile card with good performance. I haven't been able to find an aftermarket passive cooler that'll fit in a case that 3.7" high.

 

[IndigoAtaxia]

Where did you pre-order your Low Profile 4650 from Selbatrim?
Was it this one? http://www.i-tech.com.au/produ...650_512_D2_DHM_LP.aspx

Its the only one I can find. And its all the way in Austrailia!

 

[Selbatrim]

Hi IndigoAtaxia.

Actually I ordered from http://www.bttech.com.au/power...-4650-512-p-24826.html but again it's in Australia. It should be mentioned though that they are keeping me waiting. Placed the order on the 11th with ETA to the store on the 18th, then on the 18th I get a new ETA for 11th... of March... Checked around a bit and found out that the Powercolor will be available in US etailers by 2nd week of March. http://forums.anandtech.com/me...id=2276230&STARTPAGE=1

I'm seriously thinking Galacy 9600GT... Waiting a month for the 4650 is not my idea of fun. If it was a 4670 then I know it's definitely the card I want. The 4650 would work, but is not ideal... Argh... Choices...

 

[bluemax]

Originally posted by: Selbatrim
Sad to say my hybrid crossfire venture actually failed for Fallout 3. Unsure of the reason and too old to bother trying to figure it out. So that's the bad news and the good news is that the overclocked 780G (onboard) is what was managing to play it in 1024 x 768 all on it's lonesome. Good boy 780G.

I have pre-ordered the low profile Powercolor 4650 and now agonizing over the fact that it will not arrive for another week. I shall gladly post my findings both on fan noise and performance when I get my grubby hands on it.

I hate waiting...

At what price? NCIX tells me the Powercolor 4650 will be available in a few weeks... [twiddles thumbs]
...but if it's anything more than $80CDN, it makes much more sense for me to save up and buy the $120CDN Sparkle 9600GT which is (very often) TWICE the speed!

Sure hope the Sparkle 9600GT is quiet!

Bring out the 9600GREEN already!!! 95% of the speed, HALF the power requirements! (And no 6-pin plug required!)

EDIT: Hey... I've been out of the loop for a while... which card would be better for Folding@Home? 9600GT or Radeon 4650?

 

[IndigoAtaxia]

Sweet, thanks Selbatrim. I will probably wait until it makes its way to the US though.

I would prefer a 9600 GT but my slim vostro only has a 250w power supply with 18 amps, not nearly enough to run it. The 4650 doesnt require a 6-pin connector and uses much less power.

 

[Selbatrim]

Hi Bluemax.

If I look at the prices for the 9600gt and the 4650(+ low profile bracket) the prices in Australian dollars is $113 for the 4650 and $167 for the 9600gt. I'd rather not touch another Nvidia what with having one die on me and the this http://www.theinquirer.net/inq...how-underfill-problems .

Couple that with a low power draw the 4650 becomes more desireable. For me But as mentioned, my wish list is for a low profile 4670. I guess it doesn't really matter unless you care about DX10.1 and that really interesting (and unused as far as I know) Tesselator which is rumored to be included in DX11 (unsure if Nvidia cards have this feature).

 

[bluemax]

??? Is that just a macbook problem or are 9600GT's affected as well?

The 4650 better be under $80 though, or it's just not worth paying for... it's almost half the speed.

 

[BlueAcolyte]

Selbatrim, that was a problem with 7 and 8 series chips in NOTEBOOKS. There are no failing dies on the desktop.

Plus, that's the Inquirer.

 

[Selbatrim]

Hi BlueAcolyte.

I was pretty sure the same underfill was used for the desktop components, but you are right in that they have not been failing like the notebook chips. Mainly for me it just doesn't inspire confidence and having been one of those unfortunate with a 7 series notebook chip that failed I'd rather not fund Nvidia this time around. And yes... I read the Inquirer... and they did report this and it was accurate Anyways, not really a fanboy of either. I have owned two superb gfx cards in my time the GeForce 3 Titanium (awesome) and a 9700 pro All in Wonder (again, awesome). My bad luck was with a 7800 go gtx which out of warranty turned a $1600 lappy into a $1600 paperweight...

 

[Selbatrim]

Anyone been able to find any benchmarks with a standard 4650? I've been going crazy trying to find one but all anyone seems to ever have benched is the Sapphire OC which seems to use Gddr3 and is clocked a fair way away from 600gpu and 400(800) mem.

It doesn't need to be a review of one of these just showing a more or less standard 4650 in comparison to some other cards.

Thanks. Still waiting on mine and wondering if I should cancel the order or stick with it.

 

[bluemax]

Originally posted by: Selbatrim
Anyone been able to find any benchmarks with a standard 4650? I've been going crazy trying to find one but all anyone seems to ever have benched is the Sapphire OC which seems to use Gddr3 and is clocked a fair way away from 600gpu and 400(800) mem.

It doesn't need to be a review of one of these just showing a more or less standard 4650 in comparison to some other cards.

Thanks. Still waiting on mine and wondering if I should cancel the order or stick with it.

Pretty much everything I've found has the 9600GT at around 50% better performance. (or 33% slower than a 9600GT) but you got me thinking whether those were DDR2 or 3 cards reviewed.... I'll have to look again.

I'd prefer the 9600GT's speed, but the 4650's power draw.

RELEASE THE 9600GREEN already!!!!!!1!!11one

 

[Selbatrim]

Originally posted by: bluemax

Pretty much everything I've found has the 9600GT at around 50% better performance. (or 33% slower than a 9600GT) but you got me thinking whether those were DDR2 or 3 cards reviewed.... I'll have to look again.

I'd prefer the 9600GT's speed, but the 4650's power draw.

RELEASE THE 9600GREEN already!!!!!!1!!11one

As far as I've been able to find out the 9600Green is not a low profile card though. They might make a low profile though which would make it a very interesting card indeed. It think the price/performance ratio between the 4650 and the 9600GT is about right so I'll pay less but get less for the 4650.

 

[bluemax]

Originally posted by: Selbatrim
As far as I've been able to find out the 9600Green is not a low profile card though. They might make a low profile though which would make it a very interesting card indeed. It think the price/performance ratio between the 4650 and the 9600GT is about right so I'll pay less but get less for the 4650.

The card is barely even out as it is, let alone an LP card. It would be foolish NOT to make one though!

 

[bluemax]

Anyone have some insider info as to some HOT new LP cards on the verge of coming out? I'll be kicking myself if I buy the Powercolor 4650 LP card only to have something much better come out next month!

Id buy the Sparkle 9600GT but I worry about running my 280W PSU at "redline" for too long... The 4650 is 33% slower and 33% cheaper but uses WAY less power.

Anyone able to contribute more before I hit the big red button that sucks my hard-earned money away?


I'll provide a "review" of the 4650 if/when I get it!

 

[Selbatrim]

Originally posted by: bluemax
Anyone have some insider info as to some HOT new LP cards on the verge of coming out? I'll be kicking myself if I buy the Powercolor 4650 LP card only to have something much better come out next month!

Id buy the Sparkle 9600GT but I worry about running my 280W PSU at "redline" for too long... The 4650 is 33% slower and 33% cheaper but uses WAY less power.

Anyone able to contribute more before I hit the big red button that sucks my hard-earned money away?


I'll provide a "review" of the 4650 if/when I get it!

I suppose you have to ask yourself which games you play and at what resolution and detail settings. If you feel you will need to compromise already then you will be using an outdated graphics card from the get go.

I've ordered the powercolor 4650 myself and feel at 1440 x 900 my gaming experience will not be limited by that card. HOWEVER, I'm more than happy to sell this one and buy a 4670(or better if it exists) in 6 months time. My reasons are I want a card asap and a want an ATI chip. If I wanted to keep the card for a couple of years and I was happy with either manufacturer I'd buy the 9600gt and see if I could undervolt my system. I do that currently on ram, cpu and southbridge anyways as I like a cool system. No harm in undervolting as long as you keep within stable limits. My northbride is overclocked and voltage increased but that's me trying to squeeze out as much GPU performance from my 780G as possible

 

[bluemax]

My finger's been hovering over the button to order that 4650... it's "enough" but not by much. The price is passable but not cheap.

Stupid low-profile.... ... but it looks so darn GOOD!!

Edit: Trigger pulled! The 4650 just keeps getting such good value reviews... it's the best low-profile, LOW-POWER video card available now... and a good value at only $80CDN.

 

[Selbatrim]

Update: I have cancelled my order. Not sure who is at fault here but I think Powercolor should remove the product from their product line as it is not in store anywhere in the world to my knowledge. I was told yesterday (which was ETA in store) that there is no stock with distributor and ETA is now unknown. After a months wait, that is NOT good enough by a long shot.

Now what... Goodbye SFF case? That seems the only logical solution... Not happy.

 

[bluemax]

No kidding - NCIX has been holding my money for two weeks and there's no word of anything arriving or shipping. I'm seriously considering just grabbing a cheap 4550 card or something and just holding out. Man... something's gotta' be right around the corner.

Sparkle is the company to watch... and Galaxy (but especially Sparkle.) They've come out with the best stuff so far! If it weren't for my limited PSU, I'd have grabbed their awesome 9600GT and not looked back!

I still might.

 

[exar333]

Originally posted by: Selbatrim
Update: I have cancelled my order. Not sure who is at fault here but I think Powercolor should remove the product from their product line as it is not in store anywhere in the world to my knowledge. I was told yesterday (which was ETA in store) that there is no stock with distributor and ETA is now unknown. After a months wait, that is NOT good enough by a long shot.

Now what... Goodbye SFF case? That seems the only logical solution... Not happy.

The "Logical" choice would be to grab an Nvidia card instead of ditching the case.

Your "experience" is saying not to get the 9600GT....

 

[Selbatrim]

Originally posted by: ExarKun333

The "Logical" choice would be to grab an Nvidia card instead of ditching the case.

Your "experience" is saying not to get the 9600GT....

Thank you ExarKun333. That was extremely helpful. While we are nitpicking it I'd contend that it is logical to me as my experience is less than satisfactory with Nvidia chips and the fastest way for me to get a 4670 (which was the one I really wanted) would be to get a new case. Anyway, please, buy Nvidia chips till your hearts content. I'm not really a fanboy of either as previously stated.

But no, I'm hanging on to my Antec Minuet and my next card will not be Nvidia. In fact, I'm picking up a 3450. Then it's off to see the wizard of oz and hope I can get hybrid crossfire to work properly. Getting the card used and cheap and then I'll do as Bluemax suggested and wait. They might even release a 4670 at some point. Then happy will I be.

I feel your pain bluemax... hope the card arrives soon!

 

[bluemax]

Originally posted by: Selbatrim
I feel your pain bluemax... hope the card arrives soon!

It'll be at least another week... more likely two.

 

[Selbatrim]

Hi Bluemax. Did I see on another forum that you've cancelled your order as well? I've seen that Sapphire has a 4650 low profile out/coming out... Not listed on the Sapphire website though. It is listed as In Stock in some Australia e-tailers but I'm doubtful... the gfx saga continues. O await derisive comments aplenty as I didn't get my hands on the 3450 after all. I really dislike bidding. Why people push the price to a dollar or two below new price for a used item is beyond me.

Anyway, very little info but a picture or two can be found here: http://hardwarenews.aazzp.com/...le-adapter-on-hd-4650/

 

[bluemax]

Nice find! It sure looks better than the PowerColor card! I'll hold out until it's available... I'm in no super rush (as painful as the 6150SE IGP is.)

BTW, the model number is:

sapphire HD 4650 512MB DDR2 PCIE HDMI LP

Maybe we can collectively convince Newegg to carry it?

 

[bluemax]

You've got the model number... EVERYONE start pelting Newegg with requests! Go get 'em!

 

[Selbatrim]

The egg has listened to you http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102829 Currently at US$54.99 which probably makes it worth my while getting one in from overseas...

The wait does at least seem to be over... or nearly over...