Optiplex 9020SFF Graphics

[i0mega]

Hey guys,

I am looking for options to upgrade the onboard graphics card on my new optiplex 9020 sff.
How about ASUS Radeon R7 240 2GB ?

What are the requirements I should take under consideration? Low-profile, Half height, Dimensions, power consumption... I know this issue did come up a number of times before, but it seems that the options have changed.


I am looking at so many options and trying to avoid purchasing one that won't fit or won't be able to suck enough power juice out of this tiny box...

Any assistance would be appreciated!


Thanks!

 

[coozie7]

The inevitable question is: Why the upgrade? There are very few low profile cards that can game convincingly although the OptiPlex 9020 has plenty of power elsewhere with a decent amount of RAM and a i5 CPU the little 200 watt PSU is going to be something of a handicap.
And is it the SFF or ultra SFF, the ultra SFF has severely limited PCI-E connectivity: http://partnerdirect.dell.com/sites/channel/Documents/Dell-OptiPlex-9020-Spec-Sheet.pdf

 

[i0mega]

Thanks for your reply. I did not mention the specs:
i7, 8gb ram, evo850 and the original hdd is still on there.

..I do not any gaming, but still get the feel I want nicer video quality 😉

 

[coozie7]

I think you're on the right lines with the R7 240 although a very quick look over on Newegg turned this up: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133457 you'll have to mess around with the low profile bracket, though.

 

[i0mega]

I have a few options on my watch list, some like the Dell AMD Radeon HD 7470 should surely fit in there... I would normally go with the best available, but maybe I should go on the safe side here.

Diamond ATI Radeon HD 5450 Graphics
Sapphire AMD Radeon R7 240 2GB Graphics Card 11216-00-20G
XFX AMD Radeon R7 240 Core Edition 2048MB DDR3
ASUS RADEON R7 240 Graphics Card (2GB DDR3)

 

[coozie7]

You may very well have driver issues with the HD5450, it's an old card anyway so it will burn more power and produce more heat than the newer parts.
The others should be OK as long as they have low profile brackets included but there's really no viable reason to get a 2Gb card for video playback, 1Gb is plenty and probably less expensive.
EDIT, looks like they're ALL either 2Gb or 4Gb! WTF?

 

[i0mega]

R7 250 any better?

 

[coozie7]

Not really for your particular needs, the R7 250 is getting into gaming territory and TBH I was very surprised to see ALL the R7 240 cards on Newegg were either 2Gb or 4Gb.
If you're just after better video playback I think you'll get the best value from a GT610, all the Newegg reviews seem to be very positive about it with many saying how it can even handle full 1080 Blu-ray playback although you'll obviously need a Blu-ray player installed along with suitable decoding software and a HDCP compliant display for that to work.
Whichever you choose, don't get one of the passively cooled versions, they are prone to overheating in even full sized cases.