[mythtv-users] Another Nvidia card question

[Gary Buhrmaster]

On Fri, Mar 9, 2012 at 21:28, Joe Hickey <jfwd at phlobus.net> wrote:
....
> Fanless cards typically run somewhat hotter than the ones with a fan,
> relying solely on airflow in the case to keep the temperature within
> spec.  My guess is you'd be worse off with a fanless card.

As with much else, your mileage will vary.  All else being equal,
I would agree with the rational and conclusion and not post.
But all else is not equal.  The GT220 has a TDP of 58 watts.
The (consumer) GT430 has a TDP of 49 watts.  While 9 watts
is usually not going to be significant, there are potentially knee
of the curve issues regarding the thermals in the case if the
case is near its limits.  And, of course, the TDP is a not to
exceed number, not what the cards would actually use for
VDPAU processing.  And while I do agree that generally
fan'ed cards will be cooler, I have seen some fan'ed cards
in some (usually small) cases where the fan ends up
sucking in air it pushed out the heatsink, creating a vicious
cycle.  "Sometimes" a passive heatsink will actually work
better there.  Real thermal solutions can be complex.

My first recommendation would be to see if it is possible
to remove the card next to the GT220 if only to determine
if you can get sufficient cooling that way.

Note that if the original poster is in a 60Hz country, the GT430
may not have sufficient headroom to produce the same glitch-free
output that the GT220 is capable of for interlaced content.

Gary