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8500GT and 7300GT fanless silent videocard reviews

Posted by on October 22, 2007

Over the past two weeks, I’ve replaced the videocards in my home, work and HTPC computers with fanless silent videocards:

ASUS N EN7300GT SILENT/HTD/256M for my work computer. I was originally going to put this item in my Sony home computer, but because the heatsink on this card protrudes one centimeter plus off the back of the card, it would interfere with the power supply on that computer which has a very tight case. I used it at work instead to replace my 6800 GS, and between replacing the rear fan with a Scythe 120 mm and turning the Antec fan up front to its low setting, I have a quiet PC at work which is very pleasant to use.

MSI NX8500GT-MTD256EH for my HTPC computer. This replaced a 6800GS, and the installation went smoothly. I originally purchased this card for its HDMI output, but I couldn’t figure out the interior cabling for the audio, so I just went with the component output. I think this was the way to go since I also use PowerDVD on the PVR, and I remember VGA output gives DRM errors which would probably also occur with the HDMI output. I like this card since it’s a lot smaller than the 6800GS, doesn’t need additional power, and is silent. I do notice that when I minimize Beyond TV or switch to PowerDVD, I get snow and a weird color in between changes.

MSI NX8500GT-TD256EH RT for my Sony computer. This replaced a 7800GT which produced a lot of noise. Since I now have a new gaming computer, I decided to add a silent card, and this card has a great price, yet still enables me to game at lower settings if I ever get the urge.

I notice these silent cards run in the mid-50s Centigrade, but they seem to work fine without any problem. I’ve seen that other people are seeing temperatures up into the 70s with these cards, so I guess mine aren’t that bad.