Recommendations on a low profile card??

[Smmmmqog]

Hi, I've never posted here before but I've looked here for advice many times. You guys are the best. So here's my question - you've probably heard similar before:

I've got a friend who is definitely not a gamer. He's a man in his upper 60's that runs a small home business. So his current PC is a Dell sff machine just running on-board Intel graphics which are quite adequate to his needs. But he has always been a dedicated Civilization fan, and Civ4 as I'm sure a lot of you know won't run on the basic on-board stuff.

So I'm shopping for a graphics card for him and I'd like to get a decent one, but the big hitch is that it's got to be a low profile card because of his case, and AGP because it's the only slot he has. Does anyone have any recommendations?

As cards have gotten beefier low profile has more or less disappeared. I haven't been able to find any 9600PRO's in low profile and I doubt any exist. About the highest I've found is a 9600SE, but that's 64 bit and I'd really like 128 bit if possible. I've found a low profile 9250 that's 128 bit but is that tradeoff better or worse? Does anyone know of any cards maybe at the 9550 level or so that are 128 bit AND low profile? Should I settle for the 9250?


Smmmmqog

 

[Hikari]

So does he need a low-profile bracket as well? I have a computer at work that needed a low-profile PCI card WITH a low-profile bracket, and the only option at the time was a GF5700LE, since I didn't want a 9250 (even slower). Talking about PCI in my case, but helps if you know if he needs the bracket, too. Still, even a 64bit 9600 or 9550 is better than a 9250 I think.

 

[Smmmmqog]

Thanks,

Yes he does need the bracket as well.

 

[phaxmohdem]

hacksaw FTW

The 128 bit 9250's will be on par with the 9600SE. I've got one (9600SE) and its unimpressive to say the least, but it should run most games fine at lower res/less eye candy.

My card plays C&C Generals just fine at 1024x768 max settings on a P4 3.0GHz machine.

 

[yhelothar]

6200

 

[Hikari]

Yeah, can't quite find out of these LP 6200's have a LP bracket or just the card is LP:
http://www.xfxforce.com/web/product/lis...ails.jspa?productConfigurationId=79772

 

[yhelothar]

Originally posted by: Hikari
Yeah, can't quite find out of these LP 6200's have a LP bracket or just the card is LP:
http://www.xfxforce.com/web/product/lis...ails.jspa?productConfigurationId=79772

Just take off the bracket and don't use one at all. That's what I'm doing.
Or you can buy a low profile bracket for $10 or so, which isn't worth it IMO. Might as well just tape it sturdy and save the $10 for a piece of metal.

 

[Smmmmqog]

Just take off the bracket and don't use one at all. That's what I'm doing.
Or you can buy a low profile bracket for $10 or so, which isn't worth it IMO. Might as well just tape it sturdy and save the $10 for a piece of metal.

Were it my computer that's pretty much what I'd do. Well actually, if it were my computer I wouldn't HAVE a sff. lol
But with it being more or less his "office" computer I'd rather not suggest that if I can avoid it.


Thanks for all the ideas,
Smmmmqog

 

[yhelothar]

Yeah if I was building the comp for someone else, I'd fork out the $10.
Just google for low profile backet and you'll find one.