Any low-profile card faster than GTX 950?

[Blue_Max]

I've found a few GTX 950 low profile cards out there! So far that looks like the best little card out there, but has anyone seen anything new from the GTX 10x0 or Radeon 4x0 lineup?

Thanks!

 

[Termie]

Have you actually found a few? It appears that the Galax pictured above is the only one on the market, and may only be available in Japan.

You definitely won't find that card or any more powerful low profile cards in the US. The most powerful LP card available for the last year or so has been and continues to be the 750 Ti. It seems the demand for low profile cards just isn't high enough to invest in coolers that can work effectively despite the huge disadvantage of ultra-small fans. In other words, this is a technical challenge that no board partner is willing to accept.

And while an RX460 could probably be made low profile, it's slower than a 950. Every other GPU in the RX400 and GTX1000 lines puts out far too much heat to go low profile.

 

[Arachnotronic]

The lack of low profile cards faster than 750 Ti sucks

 

[antihelten]

Have you actually found a few? It appears that the Galax pictured above is the only one on the market, and may only be available in Japan.

Galax has a european brand called KFA2, which also has the low profile 950 available.

Don't know about the US though.

There are also rumours of a low profile RX 460 from MSI, but that wouldn't really be any better than the above GTX 950.

There's also the WX4100, which is a fully enabled Polaris 11 GPU, but with relatively low clocks (975 MHz versus 1200 MHz on the RX 460). Of course this is a Radeon Pro card so the price will probably be something silly.

 

[nerp]

I believe the KFA2 brand is being eliminated.

 

[Blue_Max]

I haven't been able to find one of those GTX 950's in the USA or Canada... can't find anything better on the market even coming out soon... may have to settle for a 750TI.
Meh... at least it'll run cool in a very small machine.

 

[nerp]

At this point a gtx1050 might come out and be available before long. We can only dream I suppose.

 

[VirtualLarry]

It's a real shame that AIB partners aren't going after this market more. I'm sure I'm not the only person interested in a LP GTX950 or RX 460. What options do users of older (think Core2, LGA775/AM2, chipset IGP) PCs have for getting up-to-speed for modern web video decoding? Throwing working PCs into a landfill because they won't play Netflix HD adequately, shouldn't be the first option.

 

[NTMBK]

It's a real shame that AIB partners aren't going after this market more. I'm sure I'm not the only person interested in a LP GTX950 or RX 460. What options do users of older (think Core2, LGA775/AM2, chipset IGP) PCs have for getting up-to-speed for modern web video decoding? Throwing working PCs into a landfill because they won't play Netflix HD adequately, shouldn't be the first option.

You can always move the motherboard into a new case, so long as it's a standard ATX/uATX motherboard. Also means you can get a new look (instead of that dour old Dell box), a fresh power supply, and improved cooling. Not ideal, but better than throwing out the whole system.

 

[Blue_Max]

You can always move the motherboard into a new case, so long as it's a standard ATX/uATX motherboard. Also means you can get a new look (instead of that dour old Dell box), a fresh power supply, and improved cooling. Not ideal, but better than throwing out the whole system.

My whole idea is to STAY small though.

 

[NTMBK]

My whole idea is to STAY small though.

Sorry, I was aiming that at Larry, not yourself If you want to stick with a slimline case then you definitely have limited options! Hopefully AMD's new APUs will be good for this sort of build.

 

[daxzy]

It's a real shame that AIB partners aren't going after this market more. I'm sure I'm not the only person interested in a LP GTX950 or RX 460. What options do users of older (think Core2, LGA775/AM2, chipset IGP) PCs have for getting up-to-speed for modern web video decoding? Throwing working PCs into a landfill because they won't play Netflix HD adequately, shouldn't be the first option.

Most modern (> 2012) ITX cases I've seen are either "thin" which means you can't even add a GPU or have the capability to take a full height (minus the protruding heat-pipes some OEM's like to make), but half length card. The half height cards are being phased out (except in servers, but that's a whole other market). Hopefully with Thunderbolt 3 being more mainstream, we'll see more user-friendly and cheaper external GPU's casings.

Also, regarding your LGA775/AM2 comment, I think it'd be far more economical to upgrade the mobo/cpu/memory (Any Kaveri/Sandy* or newer combo is good enough atm) than buying a GTX 950 just for watching H264/H265/VP9 videos. Ironically, watching high bit-rate videos was a primary reason I moved from a C2D laptop to an Ivy-Bridge Thinkpad. Beyond sentimental (or compatibility) reasons, I'm not sure why you would bother keeping old hardware.

* I'd probably go with Kaveri/Haswell or newer

 

[Blue_Max]

Hopefully AMD's new APUs will be good for this sort of build.

I had high hopes AMD would release a new APU that showed as significant an increase as Intel has been doing for the last several years. I was very disappointed that the most recent APU was yet another micro-increase of... what... ten percent at best? Booooooo! I'd pay a little extra to get an APU with double the IGP power!

 

[grant2]

i think your only hope is to hold out for a GTX 1050 low profile.

I am.!