GPU upgrade of HP Slimline S3448

[shabba_91]

Dear Community experts,

I have an HP Slimline S3448HK and was wondering whether there is any feasible GPU upgrade for this machine.

The current GPU is a Nvidia Geforce 8400 which is suitable for my normal daily use of Ms Office, etc but pretty much abysmal for current or even games from 2009/10.

From reading some previous post, I believe my limitations is the PSU which is 180W and the slimline case. This seems to suggest that my option is a low profile and wattage card.

I look forward to your informed suggestions. Below is the url providing the specification of my machine.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01403271&tmp_track_link=ot_faqs/top_issues/en_us/c01403271/loc:2&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&product=3707484

Many thanks in advance.

 

[DXRick]

Read the manual. It says:

IMPORTANT: Due to the small computer size, you can only install a small, low-profile
PCI-E card of the same approximate size of the graphics card. HP recommends that you
install a card with power consumption of 25 watts or less.
Not all low-profile cards will fit into the PCI-E slot. Some external connectors, especially
connectors located at the top of the card, may not fit properly into the back panel.

You are limited to the length of the card too.

 

[megamanx00]

-_- not too much room there. I say the best you can do is the 5550 or 5570 GDDR3 version. There are some GDDR5 versions of the 5550 and 5570 out there, but due to the extra power draw I'd advise against it. Since 5550s are getting sparse though I would say go with this 5570

SAPPHIRE 100293DP Radeon HD 5570
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102875

 

[megamanx00]

Only 25W huh ? Forget about that 5570 then. It has something like a 45W TDP, but when stressed with furmark (which is unrealistic for games) it pulls like 60W. Looks like you can't do any meaningful upgrade without replacing that PSU, which you may not be able to do.

 

[shabba_91]

Thanks Megamanx00 and DXRick - Looks like I have limited to no options. I guess the lessons learnt is that I should stay away from Slimline PCs if I want to do gaming.