What is the fastest low profile 3D card?

[JJMcKay]

Here's the deal. I bought my brother a new computer for his graduation but due to the wheel of a deal I got through my employer it's a low profile computer. What I'm wondering is which is the fastest low-profile card out there. So far it looks like the .Powercolor Radeon 9600SE is the best out there of this form factor. If anyone knows differently please let me know..

jj

 

[JBT]

I am pretty sure you are right that the 9600 SE is the fastest low profile im not positive though.

 

[klah]

AOpen has a 5700le in that size.

 

[JJMcKay]

Originally posted by: klah
AOpen has a 5700le in that size.

is it fast.. he's going to be gaming on this machine.. and... *sniff* already the prospects don't look so good.

 

[LTC8K6]

I don't see anything faster than the 5700LE. Which isn't saying much.

There is apparently a 9600XT low profile out there but durned if I can find it.

 

[LTC8K6]

What about an ATI8500/9100 or an NV GF4-TI4X00 series card? They'd be better.

 

[JJMcKay]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
What about an ATI8500/9100 or an NV GF4-TI4X00 series card? They'd be better.

dude, if it comes in low profile i'm all about it. i just need the fastest there is in the form factor.

 

[JJMcKay]

Originally posted by: JJMcKay

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
What about an ATI8500/9100 or an NV GF4-TI4X00 series card? They'd be better.

dude, if it comes in low profile i'm all about it. i just need the fastest there is in the form factor.

so question.. are they better? sry for sounding like such a n00b. it's been ages since i've been on top of current hardware..

 

[Cheetah8799]

I used to have a low profile gaming rig (about 1 year ago). Here is a quick rundown of what I've tested in it:

First try was a MX440se. That was junk.

I had a PowerColor 9100 low profile card. Worked great up through BF1942, Quake3, UT2k3, Call of Duty, Neverwinter Nights, etc., but the newer games on the market don't run so well.

I tested a 9600se lowprofile card, but wasn't impressed. Obviously it was a better card, but I wanted more than it could offer as an upgrade from my 9100.

In the end I broke down and bought a mATX non-lowprofile case. It's still small, but allows me to run a 9800 Pro. That allowed me to upgrade to a Mobile 2500+ AMD cpu, and overclock it to 2.5ghz. I've modded the case quite a bit, added lots of fans, etc. It's still small, and pretty damn fast.

Low Profile is awesome if you have space issues, which I do. I just had to make the decision of gaming speed vs. space. I was able to get a normal matx case to work in my space, so I went for it.


As a side possibility. Depending on which low profile case you have. It *may* be possible to setup an AGP slot riser card and get a full size video card to work. Good luck though, I think it will have to cover all your PCI slots, and then some.

 

[LTC8K6]

What processor is going to be used? Unless you've got a high end processor, you won't really get the benefits of a high end card anyway.

You can look at Toms VGA charts to get an idea of the relative speeds of modern cards. The 5700LE is not listed as it wasn't out, but it's chipclock is only 250mhz for comparison. That's very slow.

You can see how the slightly older GF4ti4200-4600 cards hold up.

 

[stncttr908]

The 9600SE has a 64-bit memory bus, which severely cripples its performance. For that reason you'd be best off with the AOpen 5700LE and its 128-bit bus.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-135-142&depa=0

 

[LTC8K6]

Yeah we suggested that 5700LE, but I am not sure how much the abysmal core clock cripples it.

It should be a bit faster than the 9600SE, that's why I said calling it faster wasn't saying much.

 

[LTC8K6]

I am going to stick with my earlier post.
I still don't see anything faster than that 5700LE available.

 

[JJMcKay]

Everyone thanks for your help. Really and truly. Right now I'm looking at Cheetah's mATX case solution. I'd have to likely get a new mobo for it (even though I believe this hp is mATX itself so maybe not!). Basically I am looking at this mATX case reviewed here:

http://www.bigbruin.com/html/simplemax.htm

It looks slick. The only thing that worries me is whether the Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro will fit and if it does, if that piddly 200W PSU inside it is enough to carry the rig. Something tells me it's inadequate. But I'll be calling this PCToys place to find out.

Which mATX case did you end up settling on Cheetah?

 

[SSibalNom]

from the same site 9600 non SE that would be faster than a 9600SE, and same size

 

[JJMcKay]

Originally posted by: SSibalNom
from the same site 9600 non SE that would be faster than a 9600SE, and same size

You are so right. it must be fairly new as it's not listed in the low profile offerings.

[EDIT: Quite the opposite- turns out it's a discontinued model.]

http://www.power-color.com/lowprofile.htm

Thanks!

I just ordered a 9800 Pro so we'll let the low profile saga die. I'll possibly post here again to let everyone know how the microATX adventures turn out. Again thanks everyone!