Graphics card with DVI output to run business apps on 24" monitor,preferably without a fan

[kenk]

I will be building a quiet system and would like to have a quiet video
card to run just business apps (no gaming, no CAD). I have seen that
many of the larger displays just have DVI output now. Before I purchase
a motherboard, I would like to choose a video card to be sure I have the
proper socket. Since the card should not have to do graphic gymnastics,
it should be able to be a model which doesn't need its own cooling system.

Suggestions to match these requirements?

Thanks
Ken K

 

[Dave]

I will be building a quiet system and would like to have a quiet video
card to run just business apps (no gaming, no CAD). I have seen that
many of the larger displays just have DVI output now. Before I purchase
a motherboard, I would like to choose a video card to be sure I have the
proper socket. Since the card should not have to do graphic gymnastics,
it should be able to be a model which doesn't need its own cooling system.

Suggestions to match these requirements?

Thanks
Ken K

Are you sure you really need a video card? Graphics adapters built into
motherboards have a bad "rep", and deservedly so. But recently, many
mainboards have been released with more powerful graphics chips (good for
low-end gaming use, even), DVI outputs, and even HDMI outputs. Some of them
are even FULL-SIZE ATX mainboards. For someone who has minimal graphics
needs and would rather not have a fan on a graphics card, it seems to me
like motherboard built-in graphics would be an ideal solution.

Check the following for just one example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131331

Note that along with HD 3300 graphics (more than powerful enough for
business apps!) and DVI connector, it also has built-in "sideport" memory.
In other words, the mainboard has factory installed RAM that is dedicated
for the built-in video adapter to use. So it won't even steal RAM from your
Operating System and Applications! Plus, this mainboard is not much more
expensive than you'd expect to pay for any decent and current technology
name-brand mainboard. Plus it will fit any AM2/AM2+ Phenom processor. So
how powerful/fast you want the system to be is up to you. AND, in the
unlikely event that you aren't satisified with the built-in graphics
performance, you could always try a different video card later.

But if you are sure you want a dedicated video card right away, you could
try something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125250

-Dave

 

[Conor]

I will be building a quiet system and would like to have a quiet video
card to run just business apps (no gaming, no CAD). I have seen that
many of the larger displays just have DVI output now. Before I
purchase a motherboard, I would like to choose a video card to be sure
I have the proper socket. Since the card should not have to do
graphic gymnastics, it should be able to be a model which doesn't need
its own cooling system.

Suggestions to match these requirements?

Can't go wrong with any of the Matrox cards. Dirt cheap on eBay
basically due to the fact that they're built for 2D image quality and
speed. Matrox gave up the 3D gaming framerate race a decade ago.

 

[kenk]

Are you sure you really need a video card? Graphics adapters built into
motherboards have a bad "rep", and deservedly so. But recently, many
mainboards have been released with more powerful graphics chips (good for
low-end gaming use, even), DVI outputs, and even HDMI outputs. Some of them
are even FULL-SIZE ATX mainboards. For someone who has minimal graphics
needs and would rather not have a fan on a graphics card, it seems to me
like motherboard built-in graphics would be an ideal solution.

Check the following for just one example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131331

Note that along with HD 3300 graphics (more than powerful enough for
business apps!) and DVI connector, it also has built-in "sideport" memory.
In other words, the mainboard has factory installed RAM that is dedicated
for the built-in video adapter to use. So it won't even steal RAM from your
Operating System and Applications! Plus, this mainboard is not much more
expensive than you'd expect to pay for any decent and current technology
name-brand mainboard. Plus it will fit any AM2/AM2+ Phenom processor. So
how powerful/fast you want the system to be is up to you. AND, in the
unlikely event that you aren't satisified with the built-in graphics
performance, you could always try a different video card later.

But if you are sure you want a dedicated video card right away, you could
try something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125250

-Dave

Dave, the ASUS board would work. How is it that you know every board???
I looked through a few but couldn't find one with a DVI connector.

Thanks
Ken K

 

[Paul]

I will be building a quiet system and would like to have a quiet video
card to run just business apps (no gaming, no CAD). I have seen that
many of the larger displays just have DVI output now. Before I purchase
a motherboard, I would like to choose a video card to be sure I have the
proper socket. Since the card should not have to do graphic gymnastics,
it should be able to be a model which doesn't need its own cooling system.

Suggestions to match these requirements?

Thanks
Ken K

Start here. The purpose of looking through their stock, is to get some idea
what you want. And then you can shop around (like locally perhaps) for the
same item.

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=48&name=Desktop-Graphics-Video-Cards

Using the Advanced Search, you can set Cooler = Fanless, and type "Express"
in the search box, so you'll get any PCI Express version 1 or version 2
graphics cards. PCI Express is the slot of choice on new computers or
new motherboards. Both versions are compatible with motherboards, so you
can use either one. They both have tons of bandwidth (4GB and 8GB/sec
respectively, compared to ~2100MB/sec on AGP).

A couple examples -

POWERCOLOR AX4650 512MD2-S3 Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16
HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail $69

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131135

And this one places the fins on the processor side of the video card.
If there is room on the motherboard (find a picture of it), then
this concept may be able to get some cooling air from the CPU fan.
If the CPU fan doesn't "spill" any air, then you could use either
video card.

HIS Hightech H465PS512P Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready $81
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161274

According to this, the HD 4650 is 9.4W at idle. It draws 30W if you
were to play a 3D game on it.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/ati-radeon-hd4650_4.html#sect0

The boxes sometimes include adapters. In this picture, the product includes
a DVI to VGA dongle (left), and a DVI to HDMI dongle (right). If you wanted
to use two VGA monitors for a wide desktop setup, then you'd need to purchase
another DVI to VGA dongle. The card can run any two of three interfaces at the
same time (dual view), and the mini-DIN connector has composite video or S-video
on it.

http://images17.newegg.com/is/image/newegg/14-161-274-S05?$S640W$

The 4650 appears to support "dual link" DVI. That is two digital
interfaces on the DVI connector that work to give enough pixels to
drive an Apple 30" monitor. Some older video cards have single
link connectors, so cannot go all the way to 2560x1600 with DVI
digital output. (And this is one reason I'm not searching in the
really cheap older cards, for a solution.)

http://www.hisdigital.com/us/product2-400.shtml

"2560x1600 (dual-link DVI)"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface

The analog (VGA) output will drive somewhat less than that, cleanly.
So for really large numbers of pixels, DVI is the way to go. Note that
your LCD TV, while the TV may appear to be huge, when you count pixels,
it doesn't really have that many. Many of the cheaper ones are
1366 x something. There are a few expensive ones, that actually
have 1920 pixels accoss. But if you go for a desktop monitor, Apple
and Dell have some with 2560x1600. The LCDTV concept gives a very large
image, but the pixels are large as well.

Have fun,
Paul

 

[Dave]

Dave, the ASUS board would work. How is it that you know every board??? I
looked through a few but couldn't find one with a DVI connector.

Thanks
Ken K

Extensive research* from constant tinkering, and an occasional full build.
I'm not a big Asus fan, btw. But in researching a recent build of my own, I
ran across that particular Asus board and many similar boards. I was
tossing it out as a suggestion of the type of board I was referring to. But
if you like it and decide to build with it, great. For your system needs, I
do think it is a perfect fit. -Dave

* Usually start by researching chipsets, then search motherboard
manufacturer web sites to see what they offer with that chipset. Then after
I think I've found the boards I'm interested in, I search the usual online
vendors to see how much and where. But that approach can back-fire. For my
last build, I found the PERFECT mainboard, (as in, I was drooling!),
manufactured by Sapphire. Only problem was, while it was listed on the
Sapphire web site and reviewed elsewhere, I couldn't find the specific
motherboard I wanted (desperately!) for sale ANYWHERE. Eventually
settled for a Gigabyte board. Kinda blah about it, but it works. Using it
now. Totally side issue, but if anyone is curious, the following is the
board I really wanted:
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/am2rx780/
And the following is what I settled for:
http://www.giga-byte.com/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2695

 

[Mike Painter]

What are you going to output to?
A card with a TV tuner on it or even a USB video should do just fine.

A friend just hooked his older HP media center machine to his new LCD and
everything comes across quite nicely.

 

[kenk]

What are you going to output to?
A card with a TV tuner on it or even a USB video should do just fine.

A friend just hooked his older HP media center machine to his new LCD and
everything comes across quite nicely.

The output would presently be to a Samsung 19" monitor which has DVI
input and, within a few months, a Samsung 24" monitor which has DVI input.