Making the best of it...

[mapsedge]

So, the video card I ordered for my computer is incompatible with the MB...once installed, the computer would not boot, not even to "DOS." One long beep, two short beeps. "Display Adapter Problem." I think it's because of the AGP voltage slots: the MB supports 3v or 3v/1.5v combo, and the new card slots in at 1.5v only. Suck, in simpler language.

So, I called TigerDirect and they recommended a replacement, no problem. It's even $5 cheaper and I don't have to pay for shipping. What I find amusing enough to post about is the description of the card:

XFX GeForce 6200 Video Card - Ultrasilent Cooling, 512MB DDR2, AGP 8x, DVI, VGA, TV Out, Video Card

Ultrasilent Cooling. In a world where computers are running fast enough to generate the kind of heat that requires powerful fans, and the PC noise levels keep rising.¹, to advertise a card with ultrasilent cooling sounds like a really cool deal.

Let's look closer at what ultrasilent cooling really means.

It's another way of saying, "This card doesn't have a fan on it."


¹ Yes, I know about liquid cooling; yes, I've seen that one really cool website where the guy immerses his PC in vegetable oil. Let's stay focused, m'kay?

It also amuses me that "silent" can have grades. Ultra-silent, as opposed to just "silent." Super-mega-silent. Somewhat-less-than-a-747-silent.

Comments

[jehosefatz.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's got a heat sink.

You'll need to make sure you have a good cross-case fan or that could cause heat issues for other components, even if the card is cool enough.

I don't know what your old card was (don't remember and too lazy to see if you said before) but you might want to think about upgrading the PS, too. My 512s pull 220W each under load.... which eats the standard PSs on boxes for breakfast.

- Jeho

double-secret-probation silent

[themadblonde]

for the really BAD ones.