Quiet GPU for gaming?

[jase888]

Hi,

Im building a first build for a tv that will be used for browsing web, movies and a bit of gaming (arma 2, day z and arma 3).

What I would like to find out is can anyone recommend a suitable GPU for the PC, I am not looking at spending more than £90 ($145) and I want it to run those games smoothly and quietly.

Has anyone got any reccomendations? Also do i need that motherboard or could I get away with a cheaper one?


The system will be:

Gigabyte GA-Z77-DS3H Socket 1155 VGA DVI HDMI 7.1 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard
Intel i3 2120 3.33Ghz processor
4GB RAM
420w Corsair PSU

[ShyguyXPC]

if no overclocking and just running a single video card, you can just use a basic H77 Chipset mothboard, don't really need a top end Z77 board.

ArmA 3, has been pushed back to 1st Quarter of next year sometime, and no way to tell what that will need, but if ArmA 2 is any indication, it will need a pretty hefty card to run with good settings.

ArmA 2 currently can run on most gaming rigs, but benefits from a Fast Dual core, and a pretty high end GPU setup.

which is impractical with a Quiet setup need.


But you could run ArmA 2 at lower stock settings somewhat decently, as some maps/missions run ok, but depending on whats going on in game, framerates can dip and rise with out warning, depends on the servers your connected to as well.


Day Z is more optimized than the basic ArmA 2 engine for ArmA 2, and should run smoother on lesser hardware.

but then again, Day Z is a Zombie survival RPG mod for ArmA 2, so you don't have massive amounts of explosions and ordinance, incoming air strikes, Artillery barrages and whatever else all going on around you either.

or the need to be able to see 2 or 3 KM away at objectives when using long range weapons or approaching target areas.




I would probably recommend a Radeon HD 7750 at the least. If you could get a 7770 that would be a bit better. but at the upper end of your budget.

Where are you getting the parts from?

[jase888]

thanks for the reply shy guy. These are the systems I have been looking at building, I'm guessing from your previous comment the second build will be the one needed really. Just a quick question, would the first build be ok for it or stick with the second


Build 1:
Gigabyte GA-H61M-S2PV H61 Socket 1155 7.1 Channel HD Audio mATX Motherboard
Intel Pentium G620 2.6GHz Socket 1155 3MB L3 Cache Processor
4GB RAM
Asus HD 6670 1GB GDDR5 DVI HDMI Display Port PCI-E Graphics Card
Corsair 430W V2 CX Series PSU

£405

Build 2
Intel Core i3 2120 3.3GHz Socket 1155 3MB L3 Cache
4GB RAM
Sapphire HD 7770 1GB GDDR5 DVI HDMI Dual Mini DisplayPort PCI-E Graphics Card
Corsair 500W CX V2 PSU

£515

Thats the prices with all other components case, hdd, os, etc. Unsure if its worth paying that extra if the first build with play the game ok?

Thanks guys

[ShyguyXPC]

the first build will play the game, maybe not on good settings, single player/offline should run fine, playing in servers with stock maps/missions, and one or 2 other players wouldn't be too bad, but if you got in aircraft, it would suck, as you'd have to jack up your view distance, which can take a hit on performance, but if you left texture details and shadow details down to low, it should be ok.

6670 GDDR5 is more than capable of running the game at stock settings, and the G620 is also capable, it should run on stock settings fine, and for the most part, be able to get 30fps at least (though like I mentioned those rates can fluctuate quite a bit, even on my hardware in my sig, my frame rates can sometimes hit 20fps or so, online, or float way up in the 75-80fps range as well).



the 7770 is bit more powerful, and uses about as much power as the 6670, maybe a bit more...

Video Card Comparison - GPUReview.com

but I'd venture to guess the 7770 is about 50% better than the 6670 at the least.






Looking at OcUK:

Sapphire HD 7750 Ultimate 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card [11202-03-40G]

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050) [GFC-00599]

Intel Pentium G850 2.90GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail [BX80623G850]

Antec VP350P 350W '80 Plus' Continuous Power Supply [0-761345-06431-6]

Corsair XMS3 4GB (1x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Single-Channel Module (CMX4GX3M1A1333C9) [CMX4GX3M1A1333C9]

Not sure on what case your looking at and the HDD size, but I would imagine the total system price might be in the range of between Build 1 & 2.

The 350W Antec will be enough for the whole system, the CPU and GPU are low powered to begin with.

though I would recommend some good quiet cooling for the case, since the GPU is Passively cooled.

but that 2.9GHz Dual core would provide a bit more performance for not much more in price.

the H77 board, is newer than H61, and should support ANY Sandy Bridge chip, as well as any of the newer Ivy Bridge ones as well.

if you had to make a cut somewhere in that list I made, I'd be dropping to a Radeon HD 7750 with a regular fan on it, which would still be more powerful than the 6670, but also uses about 10W less power as well.

[jase888]

that all seems good and i like the idea of the passive cooled graphics card although dont want to get any wtaer cooling or put a lot of fans in the case.

Im looking at getting the 7770 with the fan and just use this case Cooler Master Silencio 550 USB3.0 ATX Case (LINK BELOW) as that should keep any noise quiet.

Have you used these cases before and are they silent even with a amd 7770 gpu with fan?

[jase888]

Also just re read your comment on motherboards, how come the one you say is higher end is cheaper than the H77??

Could I get away with this motherboard see below as its only £40 or should I spend that bit more?

Gigabyte GA-H61M-S2PV H61 Socket 1155 7.1 Channel HD Audio mATX Motherboard

[ShyguyXPC]

you listed link below (for the 3rd or so time in your threads) and forgot to post the link, or its not showing up.



I don't know what your talking about in regards to the motherboards being cheaper than the other one?

With out any links to the actual products your referring to other than the ones I linked, I can't answer any of those questions.

but just about any Z77 Motherboard will be more expensive than any H77 boards, unless they are on sale or something.

[ShyguyXPC]

I see I forgot the mobo link in my post above...

This is the one I was looking at with the parts list: ASRock H77M Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard [H77M]

[jase888]

whoops im sure i had pasted the links in but maybe not.

heres the h77 at £79.90
ASUS P8H77-V - 1155 SOCKET - H77 CHIPSET - ATX review cheap prices P8H77-V - 1155 SOCKET - H77 CHIPSET - ATX ASUS best buy discount online uk shop

and heres the p77 at £70
Gigabyte GA-Z77-DS3H Socket 1155 VGA DVI HDMI 7.1.. | Ebuyer.com

[ShyguyXPC]

(hint) You have links to 2 Different Retailers... which could explain the price difference.


if they were both the same retailer, then it would be more of a question of whats the difference and why, but their not.

Even then, its just some odd case of the H77 having as many or more options. The Chipset is lesser featured than the Z77, mainly in Overclocking support.

But neither board you should be looking at anyways, first of all, its Asus, your almost always going to pay more for Asus Branded Boards over most other brands, Including Asus' Own Subsidiary ASrock.

2nd, these boards are Dual GPU intended boards for CrossfireX.

Unless you plan on tossing in a 2nd card, and bigger PSU in the future, I wouldn't even be looking at these boards.

For a Small HTPC/Gaming PC as your describing, a single GPU based board setup would be what I was looking at, unless you planned on tossing in a pair of those Passive Cooled 7770's, and a stronger 500W PSU?



Do you have a specific UK Retailer your buying from, or are you looking at several sites for the build?


There's OcUK, Ebuyer, Novatech, Scan.co and Aria PC that I know of as the main ones.

[jase888]

Yeah i knew they were different retailers lol, looked at other retailers and they were sikilar price and just wondered why.

Im looking at ebuyer for all my components and getting the coolmaster silencio 550 from amazon. Do you recommend intel over amd processors for gaming? Someones said i should really be looking at quad core processor for future proof, never really had a pc with amd so not to sure but intel seems to have better rep.

[ShyguyXPC]

Intel.


Intel Core i3 21xx series Dual Cores will perform on par with an AMD Phenom II Quad Core for gaming.

The Intel Cores are that much more powerful than AMD's cores on their CPU's.

The Current AMD FX series is a flop, runs at higher clock speeds, more power consumption and doesn't perform better than the Phenom II's they replaced.


The 2nd Revision of the FX Series should be out this month, and have only seen a few preliminary benches, but nothing definitive yet.


Intel is still the only game in town.


as to Quad cores for future proofing.

People have been saying that since 2006 since the Core 2 Quads came out.

Most gaming is still mainly Dual Core Optimized and not many games are made for more than that.


Quad cores do have advantages, but you also pay more in the end.


AMD Quad cores are affordable, but performance wise Intels Dual Cores are just as good, does just as much with lower Power consumption, less cores, and less heat.


But the future proofing is why I have been suggesting the H77 chipset, since it can support the newer recently released Ivy Bridge Based Intel CPU's.

Add to that, with Ivy Bridge you also have PCI Express 3.0 support, and I think even with the new AMD's coming out this month, they still won't support 3.0 yet, not that its needed yet, but still.


Intel is the way to go for Future Proof.


AMD is fine, for rep and performance, but for the price and future proof aspect, Intel is the way to go.


And with ArmA 2, you want as much CPU performance as you can get.

The game is Not Quad Core Optimized, and only can use up to Dual cores, its a DirectX 9 game, and not DX10/11, and faster Clock speeds are important as well.



A Quad core will allow you to run games and other software in background with out much hit on game performance, but beyond that, if the games don't take advantage of that, then its wasted.


Most Quad cores, to make affordable, are more cores, with lower clock speeds.

For example, say a game really needs a 3GHz Dual Core to run really well, and you get a 2.6GHz Quad core.

the game will use 2 Cores, and be running at 2.6Ghz, you might as well have saved the money and bought a 2.6GHz Dual core instead, if your not running other stuff in background.


Quad cores can also help with some games running really high end GPU's/setups as well.

but for a budget build your looking at, the Intel Dual Cores are still the best bet.

Even the Pentium G Series like we've linked in this thread, are as capable in gaming as most of AMD's "Lower" Speed Phenom II Quad Cores.

and at 65W or less power consumption, should run cooler and quieter than the AMD's as well.


Hopefully AMD can catch up at some point to Intel, and offer some good pricing options, but right now AMD is lagging way behind in the game.





The Case itself should be fine, its not a higher end case, but should be fine.

The foam padding for sound deadening can help, but depends on the type of sound that its deadening, you'll still hear case fans sometimes.

I put sound dampening matting in mine, and there was little to no difference, but then again, my system was pretty quiet to begin with.

I'd remove all the rear Expansion brackets though for more free flowing air in there.

if you need bracket on the rear, there are some brands that sell slotted rear brackets that can be installed for airflow.

also, if the case has a side panel fan placement, I'd make sure to get a good decent quiet side fan to blow air over the Video card, as it will need something to blow air over the heatsinks to wick away the heat. though you could have the air drawn out of the case with a side fan, I'd recommend blowing air over it, since you could be drawing more ambient air out that vent and not so much of the air passing over the heatsinks and pulling heat away.

[jase888]

thats that sorted then, intel it is. Its a shame that from the sounds amd have fallen quite a bit behind.

Ive decided to go with that motherboard you recommended, the ASUS P8H77-V

also i think i will go with the intel 2120 i3 3.3GHz as its only an extra 30 which I think will be best paying now as read reviews and its much better for gaming.

Ive just looked on the overclockers site at GPUs and seen the 7770 on offer at £99, is this the correct one (see link below - which i have remembered to post this time lol)
Sapphire HD 7770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card [11201-00-20G]

Is there much difference between the 7770 and 7750 passive you recommended, because I am swaying towards the 7750 due to the passive cooler and will be much better for a htpc (quiet wise)

[ShyguyXPC]

I didn't recommend any Asus board, the board I linked to was an ASrock, which costs a bit less.


If you can afford it, go with one of the Core i3 3xxx series, those are Ivy Bridge models, and will support PCIe 3.0 for years down the road.


Intel Core i3 3220 3.30GHz Socket 1155 3MB Cache.. | Ebuyer.com

Intel Core i3 3240 3.40GHz Socket 1155 3MB Cache.. | Ebuyer.com

Either of those.



as for the cards, the 7770 is faster than the 7750, but not by a whole lot.

if your valuing the Passive cooler over the other ones fan, the 7750 is the better deal. (even more so, if you end up getting a board that Supports Dual Cards and AMD CrossfireX, to run a 2nd 7750 alongside the other, though I would consider one of the Corsair 400-500W PSU's you were looking at for that)

The price on the 7770 is a really good deal though.


some games it could be noticeable though... BF3 for example:

AMD Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1 GB Review | techPowerUp

could be the difference between playable, and painfully not so much.

some other games, not too bad really: AMD Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1 GB Review | techPowerUp



This review shows ArmA 2 frame rates with the 7770 OC one:

Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 Overclocked Video Card

Though I find it hard to believe that card is able to get 50fps on very high settings, when I'm lucky to get that on standard settings in game during MP, unless they only tested it via one of the 3 in game benchmark tests, which one of them you can easily get 100fps or better on.

but their Absurdly overclocked test setup like most review sites, which I take with a grain of salt, do.

Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 Overclocked Video Card

I really hate sites that do this, take a stock system, boost its CPU Clocks and everything else to insane rates, and then test the cards for reviews. Most users DO NOT have Overclocked PC's, or even moderate OC's on them.

And sadly it skews results so drastic its not even funny.

I can guarantee you, if I owned my own Review site, I would be doing several Benchmark reviews, using 2 or 3 System Types, an Average user system, Gamer system and an Overclocked System, and giving reviews of how certain games and GPU's perform on each, instead of misleading users into thinking they will get similar performance, on their more mundane stock clocked systems.

[jase888]

Ok I will be going with one of those i3 processors, probably the cheaper one.

For the graphics card, it seems like I may as well go with the 7770 as its the same price and from what you have said and linked it looks quite a bit better.

Also when you mentioned the case earlier and putting a fan onto the case to blow onto the heatsink of the graphics card for the passive card, it seems I may aswell just buy the gpu with a fan already.

Did you say you have used these before and if so are they quiet when nothing is running and can they handle been running 24/7, as the pc will always be on and running in the corner of a room?

[ShyguyXPC]

I haven't used one, but considering the low power nature of these cards, they should run extra cool at idle, the 7750 runs at about 55W or so, officially. which is cooler than the CPU runs.

7770 runs about 80W or so, which is still cooler than most AMD CPU's.

at full load they run a bit more, but when Idle, if your using something like MSI's Afterburner software, you can set up a Fan Speed Curve for idle and at load temps. have the fan running really low speed at Idle, and increase it as needed at load.

EVGA's Precision X is based on the same software, but only supports Nvidia Cards, MSI's supports both Nvidia and AMD/ATI Radeons.


Attached a screen shot of what the fan Curve looks like in Precision X, and what my current card is running at, at idle (my primary GTX 560 Ti at idle).

Granted their not the same cards, and fan noise levels, but just one of my GTX 560 Ti's which is about twice the performance of the 7770, is about as loud as a Gaming Console, Xbox 360, PS3, etc.

Sometimes I would go so far as to say its quieter as well.

I have dual cards, so the noise is a bit more now, but still relatively quiet, with this rig I have now, with my 4x 140mm fans, 2x 120mm fans on Water Cooling radiator, Dual GPU's and PSU, as well as HDD's and such, its now the quietest thing in my room.

my Air Conditioner and even when that is off, my Air Filter is louder than this.

now when I'm gaming, that changes, the GPU fan, depending on the game, can hit up to 70% of max, which can get quite noticeable.

but then again, my GPU runs at more than double the wattage of the 7770.

[ShyguyXPC]

unless your sleeping in the room on a regular basis, or you have extremely sensitive ears, your most likely not going to hear the PC running at idle, as the TV or audio will drown it out. If your in the room and reading a book or something, you might be able to hear it, but if you have anything else running like a desktop fan or ceiling fan or similar, you won't notice it over that, IMO.

[jase888]

ok thats settled then 7770 it is. Now after re looking at the coolmaster silencio 550
Cooler Master Silencio 550 USB3.0 ATX Case: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

it looks like there isnt much way for the heat to get out of the case apart from the fan at the top of the back, but it looks like it will keep it quiet. I know you say it wont get that hot in idle but when gaming it may get a bit hot in that case dont you think?

where as the coolmaster 361 seems a bit better with more vents and a little smaller but without the style of the silencio 550.

[ShyguyXPC]

nope, shouldn't be that hot, as long as the fans area capable of moving a decent amount of air, and quiet enough shouldn't be a problem.

the GPU is a dual slot card, and some of the heat should exhaust out the back, the rest in the case and up towards the CPU area, and out the back.




A bit more than the Coolermaster Cases, but has some nice cooling options with top mounted exhaust fans:

Antec P280 Super Midi Tower Case - Gun Metal Black [0-761345-82000-4]



Another good case design is this one: BitFenix Raider Tower Case - Black [BFC-RDR-300-KKN1-RP]



Also a bit pricey like the Antec: NZXT H2 Classic Silent Midi Tower Case - Black [H2-001-BK]



this is another good one, in size, price and design: Fractal Design Arc Midi Tower Case - Black [FD-CA-ARC-BL ]

[jase888]

Thats ok then at worst il put in some rear extension brackets for the air flow.

There some good cases as well, especially the last one however its out of my price range unfortunatly.

All set to order now, which out of these motherboards would you say most suits my needs, the ASRock H77 or Gigabyte Z77 as there is only a few pounds/dollars between them.

ASRock H77M Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard [H77M]

Gigabyte GA-Z77-DS3H Socket 1155 VGA DVI HDMI 7.1.. | Ebuyer.com

And with all the components we have mentioned a 430W PSU from corsair will be enough right?