Slim GFX Cards *help please

[j_mathews91]

I bought a HP Compaq 8000 Elite Intel Core 2 Quad 2.66Ghz Desktop Win 7 and am looking to buy a gfx card for it. I can see though that the gfxcard slot is only about 10cm long, but all the gfx cards look like they are longer. Can someone point me in the right direction please, I only want a gfx card so i can play fallout and world of warcraft.

 

[BFG-9000]

Just about any low-profile card fits in that system, given it has space for a double-slot cooler. However the 240w PSU is severely limiting. There are plenty of people running GTX 750Ti cards with such low-powered PSUs though.

If it was me I'd try a MSI 750Ti with the VBIOS switch that allows you to force Legacy BIOS mode. That ensures there would be no hybrid BIOS issues in your non-UEFI system.

 

[j_mathews91]

I am going to buy a Gigabyte GT 710 low profile 2gb ddr3 tomorrow for $55 (I can't find 750ti anywhere which would be my first choice because i Had a 750ti on my old computer). It only consumes 19 watt, and I plan on disconnecting the DVD Drive which will free up a bit of power. Is this viable?? I have seen that the MSI version has max power % options, Is there a program that would do the same for the Gigabyte graphics cards??

 

[BFG-9000]

The PSU is 320w with 14A and 16A 12v rails, so should power a 750ti fine without disconnecting anything.

The 710 is pretty slow and well below the minimum recommended for Fallout 4.

 

[j_mathews91]

I'm not sure why you think its a 320w because on the sticker it says 240w max. I am going to spend twice as much on a MSI GeForce GT 1030 Low Profile 2G, This has MSI Afterburner Software which can limit the max power of the gfx card. And it runs on 30W. I have seen that disconnecting the DVD player can free up 20W. So I doubt my pc is running within 10W of the maximum 240W.

Does this sound alright???

 

[I keep forgetting my password]

MSI afterburner is not limited to MSI cards only. You can run MSI afterburner with any GPU

 

[BFG-9000]

Ah, you have the SFF model. It's the 8000 Minitower models that came with the 320w--which has the same proprietary plugs instead of the 24-pin, but won't fit in your case.

Well I think the GT1030 is an excellent card but people seem to have problems getting its Hybrid vBIOS to boot in many OEM systems (almost always works in aftermarket Core 2 motherboards) so I would suggest buying from someplace that takes returns. The MSI 750Ti cards had a vBIOS switch to force Legacy BIOS mode so worked no matter what. And unfortunately the competing AMD RX540 is only described as <50w.

FWIW, back in the day I ran a 110w HD4850 for years on a C2Q with just a 240w PSU so many things you don't expect could work do. It even only had a single molex string for the molex-to-6-pin PCIe adapter.

 

[RobCrezz]

The 710 is junk, I would really recommend avoiding it.

 

[j_mathews91]

Can anyone back up what bfg-9000 is saying about the bios? People at the computer store seem to think it will run fine.