Quietest Vid Card ~$200

[Rekonn]

I'm looking to get a quiet new vid card around $200. My needs are modest due to my monitor's resolution only being 1440x900. I'm thinking I won't need any more horsepower than a Radeon 6850 provides. With that in mind, is the XFX Dual Fan 6850 my best option? The same cooling on a 6870 got great review here.

 

[superccs]

The cooler on my MSI 460GTX cyclone is very good both in cooling and noise levels. It is also way within your budget. Going for a 57xx or 68xx should work well too.

 

[Arkadrel]

You can get a 6870 for ~179.99$ after MIR on newegg atm.
XFX one though.

Seems to be around 46 dB idle -> 50 dB load. (hardwareheaven)
*edit checked his review of the 460, that seems to be around 48-50 dB as well (on load) depending on model.

 

[toyota]

1440x900 is a pretty low res so what do the rest of your specs look like?

 

[Rekonn]

I'm in the process of building a new computer while reusing some parts like the monitor. New system is going to have
2500k (would like to oc to 4.5ghz)
Scythe Mugen 2 rev b cpu cooler
8GB ram
antec truepower new 550W power supply
128gb SSD (waiting to see review of Crucial M4 before deciding)

 

[Rekonn]

Arkadrel - I'd like to focus on video cards that come with coolings solutions that are significantly quieter than those on reference cards.

Superccs - cool, will check out some reviews of that card.

 

[frostedflakes]

Check out the MSI Cyclone 6850 and ASUS DirectCU 6850, both are supposed to be pretty quiet. I think the 6850 can also be undervolted a decent amount, which will allow you to further reduce temps and noise if you're not interested in OCing (beyond the factory OC that the previously mentioned cards have).

 

[Syne]

The MSI 6850 Cyclone PE is a good option. It has a two way fan switch with silent and performance modes. It's also factory overclocked to 860mhz/1100mhz, which puts it only 5 - 10% behind a stock 6870.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/HD_6850_Cyclone_Power_Edition/27.html

It's ~ $175 AR at Newegg and Amazon

 

[notty22]

I'm in the process of building a new computer while reusing some parts like the monitor. New system is going to have
2500k (would like to oc to 4.5ghz)
Scythe Mugen 2 rev b cpu cooler
8GB ram
antec truepower new 550W power supply
128gb SSD (waiting to see review of Crucial M4 before deciding)

I concur with the Cyclone being very quiet. 6850 or gtx 460 models out there.
I would adjust your budget to include a 23' 1080p monitor, it will be a huge 'payoff' upgrade.

 

[zod96]

This one....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ter-_-14187123

It has the Artic Cooling Twin Turbo on it. Which is by far one of the quietest coolers you can buy....

 

[Skurge]

Agree with most people above. Cyclone 6850/460, DirectCU 460/6850/6870, The XFX Dual fan 6800 cards are also very quiet.

 

[Absolution75]

Even the stock 6850 is the quietest card I've owned since ugh, forever? I think my gf4 TI made less noise but it had a tiny fan and whined

 

[deimos3428]

This one....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ter-_-14187123

It has the Artic Cooling Twin Turbo on it. Which is by far one of the quietest coolers you can buy....

Unless the Powercolor passive HD6850 materializes for under $200, this is probably the quietest solution you'll find.

 

[Rekonn]

Great suggestions! If you can compare the techpowerup review results to each other, the MSI Cyclone 6850 is looking really good...

ASUS Radeon HD 6850 Direct CU 1 GB - Idle 28dbA Load 38dbA
MSI GeForce GTX 460 Cyclone OC 1 GB - Idle 25dbA Load 39dbA
MSI HD 6850 Cyclone Power Edition (silent mode) - Idle 24dbA Load 27dbA

The GTX 460 with arctic cooling is very interesting too. Gotta think about whether the card taking up 3 slots vs 2 may be an issue though.

 

[Sauro]

Asis 6870 DirectCU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-418-_-Product


Link to review with audio of card in action:
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revie...graphics-card-review-power-temp-noise-oc.html

 

[flexcore]

Gigabyte 6850 is a good low noise card. Get the non-oc version and save a couple bucks.