Want to upgrade ATI HD3450

[tontod]

I have an ATI HD3450 in a Dell Optiplex 760 box. I tried the Sparkle GTS 250 1 GB, but it being a full size card did not fit. The heatsink on the fan hits the edge of the big plastic cover on/over the CPU heatsink. Whats my best option here? I'm looking to run a DC app(Folding@Home) and maybe play some games. I cant go with something thats too power hungry obviously, since the PS is rated at 300W.

 

[Bateluer]

I have an ATI HD3450 in a Dell Optiplex 760 box. I tried the Sparkle GTS 250 1 GB, but it being a full size card did not fit. The heatsink on the fan hits the edge of the big plastic cover on/over the CPU heatsink. Whats my best option here? I'm looking to run a DC app(Folding@Home) and maybe play some games. I cant go with something thats too power hungry obviously, since the PS is rated at 300W.

Sounds like you need a low profile card? If the 760 has a PCIe slot, then you have plenty of options, but none particularly powerful. Go to Newegg and filter the video cards by Low Profile and Low Profile Ready, there's a decent selection ranging from the GF 8400GS for around 27 to the excellent Radeon 4350 to the GF 210s. I believe there's a 9800GT as well, but I cannot recall its power requirements, might be too high for your 300W PSU. Do you know the A ratings on the 12V rail? Should be printed on the side of the unit.

Some of the cards for sale are actually weaker than your current 3450 though, so be sure to check the benchmarks and spec's before you actually buy.

 

[happy medium]

try a 4770....7.5 inches long and 90% of the performance of the gts 250

Edit : sorry a 9800gt low power version is a good choice

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Which one?

https://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/op760/en/sm/index.htm

 

[tontod]

Which one?

https://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/op760/en/sm/index.htm

Its the Mini Tower one.

 

[tontod]

Trying to figure out which card I can buy, there is a Microcenter close by that I was going to buy from. But looking at their site, not sure what would qualify.

http://www.microcenter.com/search/se...p=byopc_video&

 

[happy medium]

This one for a single slot, full height card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814500113

or this one for low profile.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814187061

Both should work, they don't require a pci-e power connector.

Microcenter is a rip off and I didn't see any low power 9800gt cards

 

[Qbah]

This one for a single slot, full height card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814500113

or this one for low profile.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814187061

Both should work, they don't require a pci-e power connector.

Microcenter is a rip off and I didn't see any low power 9800gt cards

:thumbsup;

EDIT: Okay, seriously, where are the emotes?

 

[Schmide]

This one for a single slot, full height card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814500113

PSA Warning ZOTAC 1 rebate for life lameness.

 

[tontod]

Sounds like you need a low profile card? If the 760 has a PCIe slot, then you have plenty of options, but none particularly powerful. Go to Newegg and filter the video cards by Low Profile and Low Profile Ready, there's a decent selection ranging from the GF 8400GS for around 27 to the excellent Radeon 4350 to the GF 210s. I believe there's a 9800GT as well, but I cannot recall its power requirements, might be too high for your 300W PSU. Do you know the A ratings on the 12V rail? Should be printed on the side of the unit.

Some of the cards for sale are actually weaker than your current 3450 though, so be sure to check the benchmarks and spec's before you actually buy.

The A rating on the 12V rail is 15A max. Hopefully this card will work as Happy Medium suggested above?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...namitedata.com

 

[happy medium]

Same as my Dell 250 watt (15 amp). And it ran a 7800gs with 1 molex connector.

 

[happy medium]

I took this from a Newegg review......

"Pros: This nVidia graphics card is performing flawlessly so far in my Dell Studio 540s eventhough PSU system requirement for this card is higher than my current PSU(which is currently 300w). It even bump up my vista graphics card score from 5/5.3 to 5.9/5.9(previous graphics card was nvidia geforce 9400GT)"

 

[cusideabelincoln]

I took this from a Newegg review......

"Pros: This nVidia graphics card is performing flawlessly so far in my Dell Studio 540s eventhough PSU system requirement for this card is higher than my current PSU(which is currently 300w). It even bump up my vista graphics card score from 5/5.3 to 5.9/5.9(previous graphics card was nvidia geforce 9400GT)"

Why should he trust a newegg review of a completely different PC?

 

[Schmide]

How about this.

$36 = $69.49 - $30 rebate - $3.50 5% bing* Asus ATI Radeon HD4670 512MB

add a $5.51 filler to reach $75 and take another $10 coupon REINDEER10 exp 12/21 for respectively.

$31.25 = $75 - $30 - $3.75 - $10

+ ~$10 shipping.

*Store listed under SuperBiiz be sure to sign in to bing first to get your cash back.

 

[tontod]

Another review for the low profile 9800 GT says this:

"This card (after a bit of physical trimming) works very well in my Dell OptiPlex 760 Desktop with E8600/3.33GHz and 8Gb RAM."

The physical traimming concerns me a bit. Otherwise I have the 760, but with E8400 and 4GB RAM.

 

[tontod]

It was a very tight fit, but I got it installed. However, nothing showed up on the screen for POST. The fan on the video card (low-profile 9800GT) turned on. I'm thinking I need a beefier power supply.

 

[Schmide]

Did you plug in the 6-pin power? Even a 200w PSU should post that card.

Edit: looked at the low power card and it didn't come with one. Lame

12V 6Pin Adapter

 

[her209]

I'm running a Sapphire HD4670 in my Dell Optiplex 755, but I'm using a combo riser card that allows me to use a full height card.

 

[tontod]

Did you plug in the 6-pin power? Even a 200w PSU should post that card.

Edit: looked at the low power card and it didn't come with one. Lame

12V 6Pin Adapter

Ah ok, I had no idea about this 6-pin power. Is this something I can get at Best Buy or Microcenter? Probably will be cheaper than ordering thru newegg + shipping.