Graphics card for my computer

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Winter-huntsman
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Graphics card for my computer

#1 Post by Winter-huntsman »

So I think this is the correct place to post my tech question. So I have a hp 8300 elite computer with an upgraded graphics card that was put in by the supplier. They said it would get by so I could play games but I would want to get a better one latter on. That was 2 years ago and I'm ready to upgrade. From what I can tell I need to have a low profile card, and I have a 240w PSU. I have looked around and found a few different things but I really don't know what to do, so here I am asking for any of you tech people to help.
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Re: Graphics card for my computer

#2 Post by puredeathly »

I guess you have the small form factor edition?
finding a decent low profile GPU is really hard... If you do it like /r/techsupportmacgyver you could cut an opening in the top of the case to make space for a full height card but you will definitely need to get a more powerful power supply... 240W is nowhere near enough for a good graphics card...

This card would be one example of a low profile GPU that is currently in the mid range of GPUs: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814125680 so low profile cards DO exist. they are only hard to find...

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Re: Graphics card for my computer

#3 Post by Winter-huntsman »

Ok thanks for the advice, I know nothing about computers I just play games on them, sow how would I go about getting more powerful power supply is that something I could do or do I need a professional because I know of some good cards that need 400w. If I can upgrade it to a higher power what would be the best card I could get then?
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Re: Graphics card for my computer

#4 Post by Winter-huntsman »

Would this kind of card work I have heard great reviews about it and many people run it on low powers like my 240 and some on 180 power units.
http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Computer-Grap ... Y7G8FVDK2G
Or should I keep looking into other things.
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puredeathly
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Re: Graphics card for my computer

#5 Post by puredeathly »

Winter-huntsman wrote:Would this kind of card work I have heard great reviews about it and many people run it on low powers like my 240 and some on 180 power units.
http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Computer-Grap ... Y7G8FVDK2G
Or should I keep looking into other things.
The GTX750Ti is pretty old but still the card you would use for better office/low end gaming PCs as it doesn't cost much compared to it's features.
The current equivalent would be the GTX950 as it costs a bit less and offers about 1/4 more performance but I don't think there is an low profile edition...
Idk what your PC currently uses but I read somewhere that the 750Ti needs about 60-70W so if your power supply can handle the additional power requirement it should be fine (which I assume as I have never seen an office PC that uses more than 100W. What CPU do you have? exact model number can be found via control panel -> system).

(A very good source for performance comparisons between GPUs is http://videocardbenchmark.net)

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Re: Graphics card for my computer

#6 Post by Winter-huntsman »

Ok the cpu is Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3470 cpu @3.20Ghz 3.20 GHz
That's is what it says, I just dusted the interior of the computer with air and took some photos, and saw that I had no video card at all so anything would be good. Also like I said I will be upgrading the psu. Oh and if you were wondering what the computer is its exact name is HP Compaq elite 8300 SFF.
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Re: Graphics card for my computer

#7 Post by RevZ »

Given your PC model and installed CPU, you're most likely using your CPU's internal graphics processor, the Intel HD2500. It is simply abysmal.

If you want roughly a 7x increase in raw graphics processing power at a decent enough price (given the fact that you have to get a low profile card) I'd recommend a good 2GB version of the R7 250, something along the lines of this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814150713

I'm sure cheaper ones with the same memory size and clock speeds can be had. As long as it includes low profile brackets it's fine to find another brand if you'd like.

The card only performs a tiny margin (2% ish in most publicized benchmarks) less than an nVidia GTX 750, therefore it'd be a really nice upgrade to your system. Don't expect any really high-end gaming performance from it, of course!

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Re: Graphics card for my computer

#8 Post by Winter-huntsman »

Thanks a lot you guys, I have been watching enough videos on how to install all of the thing I need. And don't worry I know what to exspect I'm just trying to get from minimal graphics/laggy games to at least smooth low to mid level graphics. I plan on heading out thanksgiving weekend to get the items I will need. Thanks again, and last question is any suggested store I should go to or should I just order on line.
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Re: Graphics card for my computer

#9 Post by puredeathly »

RevZ wrote:Given your PC model and installed CPU, you're most likely using your CPU's internal graphics processor, the Intel HD2500. It is simply abysmal.

If you want roughly a 7x increase in raw graphics processing power at a decent enough price (given the fact that you have to get a low profile card) I'd recommend a good 2GB version of the R7 250, something along the lines of this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814150713

I'm sure cheaper ones with the same memory size and clock speeds can be had. As long as it includes low profile brackets it's fine to find another brand if you'd like.

The card only performs a tiny margin (2% ish in most publicized benchmarks) less than an nVidia GTX 750, therefore it'd be a really nice upgrade to your system. Don't expect any really high-end gaming performance from it, of course!
the gtx 750 ti has about 3x the points at the G3D benchmark and only costs a bit more (and the radeon card uses more power too)...
I'm neither an AMD nor an NVIDIA fanboy but performance/heat&power usage ratio nvidia wins and the gtx 750 ti isn't that expensive (AMD wins the price per performance race with the higher-end cards though ^^).
The problem with such a small PC is that you can't really afford any additional heat to maintain a cool PC.
Especially if you want it to be silent...

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Re: Graphics card for my computer

#10 Post by RevZ »

750, not 750Ti. Also, haven't looked into it yet but is the 750Ti even available as a low-profile (and slot-powered only) card?
Point still stands. Both the non-Ti 750 and the R9 250 cost relatively little and are decent enough to be considered a useful upgrade.

EDIT: oh, right, as above. It doesn't outperform either card by 3x or even 2x due to it being a partially cut-down card, but still it's a bit faster. It costs more money though, and for 50% more money it isn't really in the 'cheap' domain anymore.. As a guy who will modify anything without hesitation and who wants more processing power over anything else I'd simply cut a hole in the case and mount a desktop card, but we're obviously dealing with more sane people here. :mrgrin:

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Re: Graphics card for my computer

#11 Post by puredeathly »

RevZ wrote:750, not 750Ti. Also, haven't looked into it yet but is the 750Ti even available as a low-profile (and slot-powered only) card?
Point still stands. Both the non-Ti 750 and the R9 250 cost relatively little and are decent enough to be considered a useful upgrade.

EDIT: oh, right, as above. It doesn't outperform either card by 3x or even 2x due to it being a partially cut-down card, but still it's a bit faster. It costs more money though, and for 50% more money it isn't really in the 'cheap' domain anymore.. As a guy who will modify anything without hesitation and who wants more processing power over anything else I'd simply cut a hole in the case and mount a desktop card, but we're obviously dealing with more sane people here. :mrgrin:
I already posted the link to a low-profile 750ti ^,^
Slot powered is not a requirement because there are molex to pcie-power adapters out there as long as the PSU can deliver enough power.
Oh and btw: I did cut my case to fit my GTX970 (the card was 1cm too long to fit so I removed a bit of the HDD cage because I was to lazy to swap the case for an other one :mrgrin: )
If the PSU and the budgets permit it I would go for the 750ti :)

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Re: Graphics card for my computer

#12 Post by Winter-huntsman »

Thanks guys sorry I have not posted in a while. I had Malware on my computer and it infected the base software so I had to re set my entire computer. I am now looking back into the graphics cards now because I have a lot of cool city builder games and I want to see them in better detail. I have learned how to fix and clean my computer up a bit but I will be going to get a power unit and graphics card soon, is there anything I should look for or be concerned about because of the size requirement. My computer is a hp 8300 elite compaq sff. Oh and also quick question about the steam game program on the computer, I'm trying tore download it and it's says it updating but the updating bar goes up then jumps back and it keeps doing it till it stops/quits probably from it timing out, is there a way I can fix this.
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