On Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:55:08 -0000, "The Dude"
<sdfsdfsdf@asdfsdfsdf.com> wrote:

>OK, I've had a look and still not sure. Basically I want fanless card that
>plays modern games (at 1600x1200 - 30fps+) with good quality settings.
>Anyone got any ideas?


If your aversion to fans is that "some" of them make a lot
of noise, either research those with user reviews giving
some info about noise levels, or get your own aftermarket
heatsink (whether passive, or with a fan but designed for
low noise).

A card that plays modern games like Far Cry 2 at 1600x1200
will have to be a very powerful card. See the link I posted
previously, but prior page(s) of that article:

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,6...=663817&page=3

the range of cards you're looking at include one model I
mentioned already, an nVidia 260, as the lower end
alternative that really isn't fast enough for 1600x1200, an
ATI 4870 in the linked chart would be bare minimum and even
that not something which will do very well.

The key thing is, you need to look at models offering the
performance you want, THEN look at the online or local
stores you'd consider buying from to see if they have a
version of a card with that GPU which has a fanless
heatsink. Which GPUs are you considering needs to be the
primary focus, rather than only what one vendor has that is
fanless, though personally I would just get one with a fan
because it's a good idea, similar to how a whole gaming
system should have a few fans in it even if it'd be nice if
it didn't. Fans don't have to be noisey, it just takes some
planning and research to avoid any that spin at more than
low RPM.