Which passively-cooled graphics card suggestions PT 9/10 & gaming?

[Melie]

Ladies & gentlemen, I am about to buy a new graphics card to my computer.

I don't care too much if it's going to be an ATI or NVIDIA, I just want it to work with Pro Tools 9/10 without causing me too many problems.

I will also be using my computer for gaming "Sims 3" and "Sim City 5" with best-possible graphics details for a passive graphics card, surely want it to be a passive graphics card.

Here is what I already have to try to build a relatively cheap but also low-noise system:

My processor: AMD Athlon X2 270 (2x 3.4 GHz) with 4GB RAM
My HDD drive: WD EARX 2TB (a low-noise hard disk drive)
Optical device, DVD writer: Asus DRW-24B5ST (makes noise when writing at its highest levels but else quite nice and really low-noise)

Any low-noise graphics card suggestions for me, please?
Price range is up to 150 € or 200 US dollars.
I'd really like to spend less, if possible.

Thank you all in advance. Your responses are well-appreciated.

[sunburst79]

Originally Posted by Melie

Ladies & gentlemen, I am about to buy a new graphics card to my computer.

I don't care too much if it's going to be an ATI or NVIDIA, I just want it to work with Pro Tools 9/10 without causing me too many problems.

I will also be using my computer for gaming "Sims 3" and "Sim City 5" with best-possible graphics details for a passive graphics card, surely want it to be a passive graphics card.

Here is what I already have to try to build a relatively cheap but also low-noise system:

My processor: AMD Athlon X2 270 (2x 3.4 GHz) with 4GB RAM
My HDD drive: WD EARX 2TB (a low-noise hard disk drive)
Optical device, DVD writer: Asus DRW-24B5ST (makes noise when writing at its highest levels but else quite nice and really low-noise)

Any low-noise graphics card suggestions for me, please?
Price range is up to 150 € or 200 US dollars.
I'd really like to spend less, if possible.

Thank you all in advance. Your responses are well-appreciated.

Generally speaking I look for a passively cooled card with the latest available chipset. Your always going to sacrifice performance in a passively cooled card. I can't really speak to the suitability of any card for gaming other than to suggest that it meets the minimum specs as defined by the games developer.


I've built a lot of systems. Both AMD and Intel. I've personally tested a Athlon x4 620 and the Phenom x6 1055T. The 6 core was about as powerful as a Q6600 from 2006 and the Athlon x4 620 was not quite as fast as a Intel E7400 Dual core at 2.5 GHz. Both seemed to run PT just fine for the amount of time I tested them. The Athlon X series is crippled for cache compared to its big brothers and this really drags its performance in PT down. I would suggest getting a Phenom X4 or preferably a X6 if you want to run PT. Your Athlon X2 is unlikely to perform very well - if at all. I'm not trying to knock your system. Just give you heads up. I would stick with a AMD video card because I think its likely going to pair up better with your AMD chipset. And hopefully use the same video driver to keep things simple.

[Blissful World]

Gigabyte Silent Cell 6700 - working like a charm and silent for over a year. But it's big! You need room for sure. PT 10 compatible completely.

[Old School Audio Guy]

Originally Posted by Melie

Ladies & gentlemen, I am about to buy a new graphics card to my computer.

I don't care too much if it's going to be an ATI or NVIDIA, I just want it to work with Pro Tools 9/10 without causing me too many problems.

I will also be using my computer for gaming "Sims 3" and "Sim City 5" with best-possible graphics details for a passive graphics card, surely want it to be a passive graphics card.

Here is what I already have to try to build a relatively cheap but also low-noise system:

My processor: AMD Athlon X2 270 (2x 3.4 GHz) with 4GB RAM
My HDD drive: WD EARX 2TB (a low-noise hard disk drive)
Optical device, DVD writer: Asus DRW-24B5ST (makes noise when writing at its highest levels but else quite nice and really low-noise)

Any low-noise graphics card suggestions for me, please?
Price range is up to 150 € or 200 US dollars.
I'd really like to spend less, if possible.

Thank you all in advance. Your responses are well-appreciated.

I use and am very happy with the Nvidia Quatro NVS 450 it drives 4 monitors and no fans
all passive works great I got the one made by PNY just make sure to use the Nvidia Drivers.
Good Luck
Cheers