looking for low profile video card advice on a Dell optiplex 390 smallish case

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bradyapba

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Nov 29, 2004
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I have a Dell optiplex 390.. i am re purposing it for an 11 year old.

Its and i3, 8 gigs of ram, 500 gig HD, and a 240w psu.

It has a pcie x16 slot I can use, according to dell 2.0 x 16 compatible.

not a lot of room, about 7 inches in lengh, and 3.5 inches high. So a low profile card is needed...

I assume most that dont require an extra power adapter, and just get the power from the pcie slot, will be ok with the 240w PSU.

Any one have any good luck with some?

He will be doing medium gaming, plus all the regular stuff you do with a pc, surfing, you tube, etc.

hoping to keep it in the 50-100 range..

those 730s look decent, as well as maybe the 240s?
 
Ken g6

Ken g6

Programming Moderator, Elite Member
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Dec 11, 1999
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You might have difficulty with a 240W no-name PSU with any card. But it helps that it has an i3 and not an i5. Does it say on the side of it how many 12V amps it delivers on how many rails? (If you don't know what that means, maybe post a picture of its information card if it has one?)

A couple of R7 250s look potentially usable. Does the case have two slots in the back? If not there's a single-slot card, but it might be too long at 7.5 inches in length.
 
Cerb

Cerb

Elite Member
Aug 26, 2000
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125677

TMK, that's the best low profile card available, and should be around 70% faster than a R7 250. The card is 6.89" long, so double-check your clearances. Of course, it's a bit over your budget. The R7 250s would work fine, as well, and would be better values than GT 730s. Some LP GT 740s exist, and have comparable performance to the R7 250, as well.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814500337

With a Sandy or Ivy Core i3, I would trust the power supply to have enough headroom.
 
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bradyapba

Senior member
Nov 29, 2004
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Ken - yes I have 2 slots. I dont have 7.5 inches. So it would have to be the 1st card.

Cerb - the 1st one you posted is a little too much money... and im scared how much power it draws. 2nd seems more in line on what i was thinking.

solmiester - i cant find one maxwell thats low profile to fit in my case.

all these cards are 3.0 pcie. Dell told me the slot in the 390 is 1.0 but 2.0 compatible.... can i use 3.0 cards?

edit: it is a sandy bridge
 
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bradyapba

Senior member
Nov 29, 2004
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Ken - 17a on the 12 rail.

Cerb - i didnt see the low profile bracket in it the 1st time, it was listed at 4.76 inches which was too big. I see the LP bracket now. Just dont think I want to spend $130. Also they seem to require 400w psu. I only have 240 watts. think im leaning towards that 740.

Thanks for the 3.0 tip. I was assuming I couldnt use any of the 3.0 cards.
 
Cerb

Cerb

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Aug 26, 2000
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The PSU rating is bogus. Always has been. Some cheap PSUs have even been caught literally lying about their power ratings (as in actually being a 300W model, FI, rebranded and labeled as a 450W PSU), so that always gets padded, and by a lot.

The GT 740 will have plenty of power. You've got a 65W or so CPU, some losses in the CPU and RAM voltage regulation, a drive or two, some RAM...maybe 90W. The card should use no more than 64W itself, usually less. 240W is plenty.

PCIe backs down, and you'd need a fairly high-end card today to make out more than trivial differences between 1.0 and 3.0, on a 16x slot. Some cards have had issues, even though it should be backwards-compatible, but nothing recent should have any problems. Your CPU should offer PCIe 2.0 to the 16x slot, however.
 
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Insert_Nickname

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May 6, 2012
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Cerb said:
The GT 740 will have plenty of power. You've got a 65W or so CPU, some losses in the CPU and RAM voltage regulation, a drive or two, some RAM...maybe 90W. The card should use no more than 64W itself, usually less. 240W is plenty.
Click to expand...

If you're already looking at a 65W TDP, there is absolutely no reason not to get a 750(TI). They will not use more then that. Less actually in the 750non-TI's case (55W).

Gigabyte makes both a 750 and 750TI in low-profile format. Which one to pick only depends on how much you're willing to spend:

750TI:
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5160#ov

750non-TI:
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5144#ov
 
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bradyapba

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Nov 29, 2004
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thanks guys, i got a lot of great info that is helping me make a decision. The boy I am building it for is 10, and im trying to keep the costs down as much as I can. I didnt want to break $100, so I was hoping to see what the best card under $100 was....but I will have to consider these 750s. :)
 
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Insert_Nickname

Diamond Member
May 6, 2012
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Cerb said:
OP's budget is the reason. Even the non-Ti was a stretch.
Click to expand...

I didn't realise the 750(TI)'s were that expensive in NA. I take your point.

bradyapba said:
thanks guys, i got a lot of great info that is helping me make a decision. The boy I am building it for is 10, and im trying to keep the costs down as much as I can. I didnt want to break $100, so I was hoping to see what the best card under $100 was....but I will have to consider these 750s. :)
Click to expand...

The non-TI version of the Gigabyte 750 currently retails at newegg for $130, so it is really stretching the budget... :)

On the other hand, the GT740 is really just a GTX650 re-brand with slightly lower core clock (993MHz vs 1058MHz, memory is the same at 5GHz). The 750non-TI is close to twice the performance of the GTX650, so I wouldn't say its unreasonably priced.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1125?vs=1131

Its really a question of what he want to play. For flash-type games even the IGP will properly be sufficient, but if we're talking full-on 3D games, then the more performance, the better. If you settle for the GT740, make sure you're getting a GDDR5 version of the it. There are a few cards using DDR3 floating around.
 
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bradyapba

Senior member
Nov 29, 2004
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thanks IN! God info, esp the gddr5. I agree about the budget thing.... but its not even my kid, its just a friends, who cant afford a pc, and the 10 year old pc the kid was using died. So i was trying to do my best to keep costs down as i am paying for it. I already added 4 gigs of ram, and so i was trying to stay within a certain price range.

So after the 750s, what is the next best card? ( i may break down and get it. :)
 
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Insert_Nickname

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May 6, 2012
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bradyapba said:
So after the 750s, what is the next best card? ( i may break down and get it. :)
Click to expand...

For low-profile cases, it would be either the GT740 or R7-250. I don't think anyone makes a low-profile 250X unfortunately. If it exists it'll properly be in the same price bracket as the 750.

A couple of suggestions, unfortunately with low-profile cases you don't get to pick-and-choose much:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-682-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-337-_-Product

Again, the bit about GDDR5 also applies to Radeons. There are some DDR3 cards around.

I suppose the GT730 is an option too, but since it only has half the TMU and ROPs of the 740, it's a pretty significant performance hit. Again, again only cards with GDDR5 need apply. This is even more important on the 730 since it only has a 64bit memory bus, and with DDR3 it only has 14.4GB/s available (this is less then some IGPs...D:). With GDDR5 it at least has 40GB/s.
 
cbn

cbn

Lifer
Mar 27, 2009
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I would get this GT 730 for $54.99 (after $10 rebate):

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...309&CatId=3669

KNY-102520644_chiclet01_ds_mn_9107309.jpg


64 bit GDDR5, but it is still 39% more bandwidth than cards with 128 bit DDR 1800.
 
cbn

cbn

Lifer
Mar 27, 2009
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Insert_Nickname said:
This is even more important on the 730 since it only has a 64bit memory bus, and with DDR3 it only has 14.4GB/s available (this is less then some IGPs...D:). With GDDR5 it at least has 40GB/s.
Click to expand...

I actually ordered the ASUS GT 630 with 64 bit GDDR3 1800 for one of my builds.

According to this review, it actually does fairly well at 1366 x 768:

http://www.tipidpc.com/viewreview.php?id=1107

010.jpg


011.jpg


012.jpg


013.jpg


However, if the child using the desktop is using 1080p more memory bandwidth is going to be needed.
 
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bradyapba

Senior member
Nov 29, 2004
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IN - thank you! those are the cards I have been eyeing, I think i will be getting one of those.

CBN - you tempt me with your graphs. He doesnt have a HD monitor yet (but i suspect its coming soon).... so he will be gaming at the resolution..... hmmmmm.

THank you guys, I really am trying to keep it under $100, this is great info.
 
frozentundra123456

frozentundra123456

Lifer
Aug 11, 2008
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Yea 7750 was the go to card for low level power supplies before the 750/750Ti came out. Not sure of the price or availability is these days though. I think it has been rebranded as R7 250 or something.
You might be able to get one cheap on eBay since it is an old card now. I have a 7770 which is maybe 25 % faster and I can play most games at 1080p, Med to high settings.
 
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Insert_Nickname

Diamond Member
May 6, 2012
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cbn said:
According to this review, it actually does fairly well at 1366 x 768:
Click to expand...

I must say that is better then I expected for a GK208-based card. Great find... :)

...although, given how close the DDR3 and GDDR5 (within $10) versions are priced, personally, I would at all times go with a GDDR5 card.

frozentundra123456 said:
Yea 7750 was the go to card for low level power supplies before the 750/750Ti came out. Not sure of the price or availability is these days though. I think it has been rebranded as R7 250 or something.
Click to expand...

The regular 250 uses the Oland chip (384SP/24TMU/8ROP). The 7750 has a 512/32/16 setup, so it will outperform the 250.

Its the 250X that's the re-brand of the 7770. Although some 7770's have higher memory frequency. The 7750 has no direct re-brand.
 
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therealnickdanger

Senior member
Oct 26, 2005
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I've got a low-profile 7750 in one of my HTPCs (i3-2100, 4GB RAM) and I would highly recommend it. It's not a powerhouse, but it's good enough to play Borderlands 2 at 1080p low-medium settings. It can play anything at 720p better than an 360/PS3. It was about $90 brand new, but if you can't find one for that price (used or otherwise), the R7 250 isn't noticeably slower:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1140?vs=1124

Other than the cost, you certainly won't regret getting the GTX 750 if you can afford it. It's a monster for small form factor PCs.
 
Blue_Max

Blue_Max

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Jul 7, 2011
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I've researched this one to death... The GTX 750 (there's only one TI variant in low-profile, but non-TI is fairly common, Zotac especially) is your best bet. About $100-120 and THEEeeee fastest, lowest-power card out there for low-profile machines.

If you don't have enough money, save up for it. Nothing else comes close.
 
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bradyapba

Senior member
Nov 29, 2004
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sm625 I ended up getting that card, the evga 730 gt, but with 2 gig of ddr5, not 1 gig, for the same price. $79.

very happy with the purchase. easy install, quiet, and runs super smooth, and its playing all the games he wants for now with ease.
 
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