Card cooling

[Shadow Geek]

i am going to finally purchase a 9800 pro and i was thinking of buying an extra card cooler for it. I feel a card cooler would be in my best interest, i dont think i would be oc'ing my card. ( maybe if i get R360 core)
i am told the investment is wise, but an still unsure. can some one shed some more light on this topic?

 

[Nubius]

Are you sure you want to go for 9800 pro and not something like the 6600GT?

Same price and the 6600GT has GDDR3 memory and better performance in most situations although I will give the credit towards the 9800 pro as it's quite the contender but slowly being phased out.

If you aren't overclocking you don't need an extra cooler, and with the 6600GT you wouldn't need an extra cooler even if you were overclocking, especially with the eVGA brand as they have a pretty good heatsink on it as is.

 

[VIII]

i played half life 2 for a few hours and after i got out i felt into my case and touched the card, it was pretty hot but it didnt affect performance in the slightest... im thinking of puttin some sinks on it, but my tech friend said its normal

 

[ak_smallz]

cards can get really hot... like 70C (yes, celcius). But thats normal so dont worry about it. If you concerned though, yea get some heatsinks or a vga cooler.

And Shadow, to answer you question.
for a 9800pro, the Arctic one is well knows and does the job well
I agree with nubius though. A 9800pro will cost you 200. The VGA cooler for it will cost another 30. I say go for the 6600GT (EVGA is the best) because it costs 230, just as much as a 9800 with the cooler. It also performs much better because it is newer and has better RAM on it like Nubius said.

BTW the VGA cooler is here:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-186-113&depa=1

Oh and what do you know, there was a pricedrop on the 6600GT's hehe, its only 213 now. pick it us while you still can. Here is the EVGA (This is the AGP version which i think is what you want):
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-130-220&depa=1

 

[RangerXero]

I cant even see the board on my 6600 gt , the whole thing is coverd by a copper heat sink , so even if i did buy extra cooling for it , theres no place to put it.

 

[Shadow Geek]

my only problem is my power supply. Im running a 300 watt and dont really want to spend the extra money right now. The 6600 gt u guys mention requires the minimum of 350. i dont want to take any chances on running low on power.
im an avid gamer, but my little fx 5200 is really hindering my game playing, so i wanted to up the anty and get a new card. i just thought i would buy a card and be cool with it, but now, i've run into many problems.

 

[RangerXero]

welp , you know, power supplys dont cost nothing , hell you can get a cheap case with a 450 watt psu for 30 to 40 bucks and then just mod the case for extra fans if needed.

But anyways , ya , powersupplys dont cost much , dont get me wrong , there is power supplys that im sure cost an arm and a leg , but for the average consumer there are plenty of cost effective options.

 

[xteam02001]

my only problem is my power supply. Im running a 300 watt and dont really want to spend the extra money right now. The 6600 gt u guys mention requires the minimum of 350. i dont want to take any chances on running low on power.
im an avid gamer, but my little fx 5200 is really hindering my game playing, so i wanted to up the anty and get a new card. i just thought i would buy a card and be cool with it, but now, i've run into many problems.

check the sticker on your powersupply and see how many amps you have on the 12+ volt rail. post it when you have seen it.


i wouldnt really worry about the 350watt minimum powersupply thing. i have a 300w psu in my computer running a 6800GT, lots and lots of fans, 2 optical drives, and a harddrive. havent run into any kind of problem.

 

[bunnymanboy]

The 9800 is cheaper than the 6600gt.
Online the 9800pro can be found for 150-200 after rebates, where the 6600gt usually goes for 210 and up

 

[ChipXI]

You can overclock the 9800 Pro MUCH higher than the 6600 GT.