Upgrading Low Profile Dell with major restriction

[AQuebman]

Hello All,

I am trying to play SWTOR on a PC of mine which has the processing power but unfortunately only has a Radeon 4350 under the hood. It runs decent but I can tell the graphics card is holding it back and giving me 20-30 FPS. I would like to find a $150 or less upgrade but the issue is that the PC is low profile and the power supply has 0 open cables to connect to a new age video card. Are there any options out there that I could pursue or am I stuck with what I have?

 

[Wolfshadw]

Not sure there are any low-profile cards that do require external power. You could probably look at a low-profile HD6650 (assuming your power supply has the power to support it). Anything above that would probably require an external power connection.

This HD6670 is probably what you want, but you need to make sure: 1) It will physically fit within your system, and 2) Your power supply is sufficient to power the card (specs state min 400watt).

-Wolf sends

 

[refillable]

Hello, I suggest you to get a low profile 6670 (which is probably the fastest low profile) graphics card which should play SWTOR and get yourself a new PSU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102958

Sadly I know that you can't put any normal PSU (ATX) inside the case, but what you can do is put in an external PSU, I saw a TFX PSU for slim dells, but they are deactivated. By the meaning external PSU, I mean that the PSU is outside, I can't find anything better to do my friend.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371023

I know it's pretty stupid and much much hassle, but this is the best way I think, I can't find of any better. One thing you should do is buy a new SWTOR PC .

 

[AQuebman]

Well if you've seen my name around here on Tom's Hardware i'm looking around and making decisions about a home built PC but i'll be collecting parts piece by piece. For now I just want to be able to play the game without major FPS issues until i can build a nice PC.

 

[AQuebman]

What about the 6570 is it much different than the 6650 or are there any Nvidia brand low profiles of similar capabilities? I only ask because I am going to my local Microcenter later today and wanted to see in their limited selection if they had something I could just take home right then.

 

[newbie1337]

couldn't you just upgrade the psu ? if not the 6670 would be your best option

 

[simon12]

You could get a new case and power supply.

 

[refillable]

What about the 6570 is it much different than the 6650 or are there any Nvidia brand low profiles of similar capabilities? I only ask because I am going to my local Microcenter later today and wanted to see in their limited selection if they had something I could just take home right then.

If you don't want to make an external PSU, buy a new case, then move the parts yourself.

To see a comparison of 6670 and 6570, here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6570-radeon-hd-6670-turks,2925.html

Now, in lower end market radeon cards are better .

 

[Gman450]

You could get a new case and power supply.

^+1
Shouldn't cost you much neither.

 

[AQuebman]

Well it's a traditional Dell and not having put it together myself I am not real confident in being able to take it apart and move it successfully. I am slowly building a better PC this is more just a temporary upgrade for a secondary PC.

It looks like my choices are limited though as I don't see any external power supplies out there anyways. The XG magnum i've been linked to a few times is no longer in production .

 

[Gman450]

If you're a bit desperate, then getting a low profile HD 6670 or a HD 6570 would be a good choice, as other members had provided you links for it.

 

[AQuebman]

Yeah I forgot to mention I found out my PSU is only a 240 watt so I think i'm stuck at either ripping out a PSU which Dell has made next to impossible to remove and replacing it or finding an external option.

Thank you all for your help.

 

[AQuebman]

Does the Radeon HD 6570 not require a certain wattage? I didn't see one but I did for the 6670.

 

[Gman450]

Max TDP for a HD 6570 is about 50 Watts.

 

[AQuebman]

Nevermind I found it on AMD's site and it's also 400Watt.

 

[Gman450]

Nevermind I found it on AMD's site and it's also 400Watt.

To give you a little idea,
AMD's website doesn't show the correct power requirements for their GPUs. They're a bit too over rated.
A good quality 350W PSU should run an HD 6570 well.
Take the example of Antec's Earthwatts PSUs. Their 380W PSU can handle even an HD 6850.

 

[simon12]

AMD as far as I can tell say even there lowest power cards need a 400W power supply I thin they base there recommendations on a PC needing a 400W power supply with no graphics card.

 

[simon12]

Total system power draw from toms review

Taken from http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6570-radeon-hd-6670-turks,2925-15.html

 

[Benasis]

I have dell optiplex gx620 desktop model, psu 280w fits only low profile gpu's, but I fitted hd 5670 and everything works fine, just have to keep my case open couse gpu is to big for this case

 

[nopela]

I have dell optiplex gx620 desktop model, psu 280w fits only low profile gpu's, but I fitted hd 5670 and everything works fine, just have to keep my case open couse gpu is to big for this case

YOU REALLY SURE? :O