Silent, low power, mid-range graphics that fits. "Would that be all?"

[ChrisZXA]

Every graphics card generation has had its sweet spot. There would be a specific model or a special edition of that model that would fit the bill, in more than just one way.
Recently Sapphire introduced the HD 4670 Ultimate 512mb, and that was it for me. Here are some of the features that put this card on the top of my list.

-It delivers, which means its not a power horse but it can easily handle HD playback on a 1080 monitor and some occasional -mid settings- gaming.
-It doesn't make a sound, and it doesn't break a sweat. You get the same temps with the original 4670 (equipped with the reference cooler) and lower while you don't have to listen to the constant whirr. It even survives a torture test.
-It runs on regular, it won't squeeze every last drop out of your weak Shuttle psu.
-It doesn't take up a lot of space, which means it will block the ventilation less than a full sized card would.
-It connects, to anything. VGA, DVI & HDMI in the house, no more adapters, no sir.
-It -hopefully- fits inside a Shuttle chassis. That's how it looks like judging from the photos. It's gonna be a real pity if it doesn't but if not, i guess some cutting will do the job.

well.. i'll have mine blue, thankyouverymuch.


On a more serious note, if this card is any close to as good as it sounds, kudos to Sapphire, for making a card that is so definitely, desperately needed today.

[Maturin]

There should be a passive HIS 4670 with a Zalman cooler that fits snugly in the G2/G5 with no modding. But this being the Modding section, by all means get the sapphire :p

[ChrisZXA]

That looks like a good alternative, it is HIS HD 4670 iSilence 4, 1GB. Plus it should indeed fit inside the G5 without modding. On the downside, no HDMI/VGA connectors and while 1GB might boost gaming performance it would eat more power.

P.S. This was not supposed to be a mod related topic, more of a quiet SFF component. In case it's in the wrong section, feel free to move it.

[Maturin]

Quiet SFFing is fine too. On the subject of Shuttle PSUs though, you may be surprised by what will run. Take a look through this thread. A card powered solely by the slot has no chance of being too much for a Shuttle PSU. Many users even have single slot 4850s and 8800gt s in there, defying the manufacturer recommendations.

That being said, I still like that HIS. Probably the best silent card you can buy.

[ChrisZXA]

This sounds right, I too feel that the original 300w PSU could handle pretty much anything you could throw inside this chassis (G5/G6). However i'm planning to "downgrade" to a 200w PSU one of these days, and that could be a challenge. The power measurements from other users are encouraging, on the other hand 200w is half of what's recommended by the manufacturer for running a 4670.

[hugh]

1. why would you downgrade the psu?
2. just plain ignore the minimum requirement garbage manufacturers throw at you for their card
3. don't think it will fit personally. from memory, i seem to recall that heatsinks going around the abck of the card would only work if they used heatpipes which barely protruded above the top of the PCB, this thing looks like it's got a whole whopper of heatsink to tango with the drive cage, something that baaaaarely fit using heatsinks with very low profil heatpipes going over the top of the card

[ChrisZXA]

well, 1. the current PSU was really bad for my temper, and it's only gonna get worse with time. I've thought about the switch-fans-make-it-quieter idea, but there's just no quiet 40mm fan with adequate airflow. The existing fans, blow a shitload of air, i was truly amazed when i took it apart and tested the fans. The kamas or papsts or silenxs don't stand a chance the way i see it.
2. What you said, that's gonna be my play on this. I might burn something, but no sacrifice no victory. I really wonder however, where this is going.. The whole watt story. It seems everybody is creating low powered components (small (nm) CPUs, green hard drives, low power graphics, etc) and the PSUs/power requirements are over the roof ..and rising. I mean why buy a Hummer to go to the grocery?
3. You must be right on that, i'm starting to believe that the Ultimate doesn't have a big chance of fitting in the G5/G6 without some cutting. Too good to be true i guess.

[Maturin]

You're looking at this 200w passive one right? http://cgi.ebay.com/PC62-External-Power-Supply_W0QQitemZ370182188159QQihZ024QQcategoryZ3670QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262 Sounds good to me for Quiet computing.

I still say the 4670 would work as it can't physically draw more power than than the slot can provide.

[ChrisZXA]

Yeah that's the one, it arrived today. It looks ok, it sounds better, no noise naturally. The power brick is huge however, it's same size as the internal part, which is same size with the PC50 but really light, feels like its empty inside. Normal i guess since the external unit weights a ton. It will make moving a bit harder, but i'm currently happy with the trade off. The thing is that now, it's the hard drive that produces most of the noise, i'm guessing it's the main hard drive which is also older. It's always something, right?