different country different price, what to buy for a water cooled HTPC?

[Denun]

Hi,

i want to build a definitive (???) gaming pc, but with so many videocards i really don't know what to buy.

i read hundreds reviews and benchmarks but they usually don't specify the size of those videocards, and my main problem is not the heat or the noise (everything will be cooled by liquid) but the size of it and if exists a water block for that videocard.

my case is a Zalman HD160XT and, as written on the manual, it's compatible with "Full Size PCI Card"; I don't know what's the meaning but i think around 24-25cm.

let me add that i'm currently in Korea so some cards are difficult to find or they have different price then expected, so all threads, comparisons and "final thought" based on 180$ GTX460 1GB vs 180$ AMD 6850 cannot be taken in consideration, and that's another reason why i really need your help.

I'll write down some prices just to give a rough idea and hoping that you can help me to choose the right one for my rig.

GTX460 768MB (675mhz-700mhz) = from 200,000W to 230,000W (180US$ - 206$)

GTX460 1GB (700mhz - 750mhz) = from 240,000W to 270,000W (215US$ - 240US$)

GTX460 1GB (760 mhz - 840 mhz) = from 280,000W to 320,000W (250$ - 290$)

GTX460 2GB (700 mhz) = 320,000W (290US$)

GTX465 1GB 608MHZ = 270,000W (240US$)

GTX470 1.2GB 607MHz = 350,000W (315US$)

GTX470 1.2GB 625MHz = 390,000W (350US$)

HD6850 1GB 775MHZ = around 260,000W (235US$)

HD6870 1GB 900MHZ = around 330,000W (300US$)

Considering that i will use (as stated before) 100% a water cooling solution, what do you think is the more convenient solution? a 6850 crossfire or a gtx465 sli or a single 6870 (...i'm not sure 6870 will fit in the case) ?

Do you know a particular model of 6870 or gtx470 shorter and where is applicable a waterblock?

i saw how bad was an oced 6850's crossfire and it really confuse me why other sites report a good oc from 6850, perhaps is something that happen only when we crossfire it? (http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/gpu_displays/his_vs_evga_midrange_gaming_face_off_review/1)

thx a lot for all advise you will give me.

 

[Ravious]

People can't tell cards apart from MHZ now. It has to do with the processing cores and stuff. The 6870 is only to compete with the 5770 but can sometimes beat the 5830. I would go for the GTX460 as lots of reviews show that it has greater performance.

 

[tinytomlogan]

People can't tell cards apart from MHZ now. It has to do with the processing cores and stuff. The 6870 is only to compete with the 5770 but can sometimes beat the 5830. I would go for the GTX460 as lots of reviews show that it has greater performance.

The 6870 replaces the 5770 and is way faster tbh. Watercooled htpc is a strange one. If its for films and those kind of duties I would actually say buy the 6850 as its cooler quieter and draws less power (asuming by htpc you mean small)

Full sized pci card means the height of the card NOT the length btw ...........

 

[Denun]

HTPC because I have this beautiful chassis from zalman that my wife loves and is positioned in a way where there is not a lot of air, btw all else is water cooled (even my PSU) so for me now whatever card i will choose it will be water cooled.

So the difference between a single card to a sli or xfire configuration is 1 waterblock.

the computer is a multipurpose computer and is 24h turned on, let me correct this, it's not only multipurpose but also it has to carry on different concurrent task (most of them real heavy).

this computer is the center of the living room.

As we don't know korean this computer it's used to download english media content (so imagine 24h application like usenet, quickpar, winrar), this is the the background task that more use the cpu.

It's also used in background as a streaming server (not really heavy things, just mp3, but you know it's another task there).

so on top of that i love play videogames (most mmorpg, but i play everything) @ 1920x1080 and watching full HD movie and Bluray.

so, yes HTPC was a short definition to say it's not positioned in a good flowing spot and the chassis is beautiful but a little bit small, you can see it here: http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=192

note:

i need to connect 2 monitors, one is the small touchscreen inside the chassis

 

[Denun]

Full sized pci card means the height of the card NOT the length btw ...........

thx !! didn't know that

 

[Xochielt]

I ever wanted to build a freaky gaming-machine inside one

of these cases, but I could never convince my bank account

to it. Fella, would that be great lookin' eyes when my

mini-pc 0wns their BigTowers in Futuremark... hmmm...

B2T:

Do u get SLI or XFire inside this small case?

 

[Denun]

I ever wanted to build a freaky gaming-machine inside one

of these cases, but I could never convince my bank account

to it. Fella, would that be great lookin' eyes when my

mini-pc 0wns their BigTowers in Futuremark... hmmm...

B2T:

Do u get SLI or XFire inside this small case?

until last week i had 2 x 4850 but not also they were not enough to handle the new games but one of them burned out because the fan was broken (i think a psu cable touched the fan so it just broke in a thousands parts)

now i'm wondering what to do, personally i prefer a single card solution then a SLI or CF configuration, but with the modern videocard seems to be impossible to find one short enough to install into a desktop chassis