Need Vid Card replacement

[essotereh]

Hey guys, I've got a 4 year old i7-920 with a Gigabyte X58-UD4P, still purring, love it. But the graphics card Nvidia GeForce 9400 GT 512MB is acting up, the fan specifically. It is a pulsating/revving noisy kind of thing happening. I suppose I need to replace it, so can you recommend a very low cost replacement that is compatible? I'm not a gamer and this will no longer be my main pc, but a slave in an audio mixing set up.

[Vinster]

Re: Need Vid Card replacement

Here are the specs for your card; Specifications | GeForce

I think a simple GT610 would do you fine; GeForce GT 610 | GeForce

pending on the e-tailer they are under $50... I have a few running on HTPC's... audio over HDMI, streams 1080 just fine... I wouldn't game with it really... but does all the day to day stuff just fine :)

Also PCpartspicker is your friend here :); Choose A Video Card - PCPartPicker

Hope that helps....

Vin

EDIT: also if the GPU is fine and it's just the fan, you can replace it as well... -> Newegg.ca - GPU Coolers

[essotereh]

Re: Need Vid Card replacement

Thanks for the info! Hmm, it seems like it would just be better to replace the card as any cooler I discover is half the cost but then the time and all to do it ,right. Cheap enough to just buy the new one. I saw on a similar thread elsewhere this one recommended, ASUS EAH6450. It is fanless and pretty inexpensive so i think I'm going with that one! Any thoughts?

[Vinster]

Re: Need Vid Card replacement

if all you are going to do is browse the web and office work it'll do just fine, just make sure you case has good air flow because that heat sink will get hot, and without case air flow the card will overheat... I have a few ATI silent cards too and I've bought $5 North Bridge fans (40mm x 40mm) and just zip tie them on and just use 7v from the MB... just a little insurance. and they are quiet which helps a little too.

Vin

[essotereh]

Re: Need Vid Card replacement

Hey thanks Vin,

Well the first thing is, this will be a slave pc which means not much if any work will be off of its monitor. I will be accessing it only as a secondary PC/RAM/Storage source though the master PC which has a nice Nvidia card in it. Also, this 920 slave has a nice big case fan strapped on the side panel for extra cooling. Which I think will be ok, but you got me worried a bit haha

EDIT: just to add, it is a slave for an audio sampling/midi system

[Vinster]

Re: Need Vid Card replacement

if the GPU will just be powered and not active then you're golden...

Vin

[essotereh]

Re: Need Vid Card replacement

Yup exactly, most of the time it'll just be powered, with its monitor off, occasionally on just to check settings or check software, etc. Not for heavy gaming, audio or anything else where it'd be on constantly and being hit hard.