Top Perfoming Low Profile Card

[big-tony]

I know there are a million of these type of threads, but I don't see one that is updated for the "Top" cards out there for 2010.

I have a Dell Inspiron 546s a Slimline Computer. It has a Phenom X3 Processor and 8GB Ram in it and the video card is an integrated ATI Radeon HD 3200. I am also using a 1360x768 screen resolution.

My older Computer was just a single core Dell 531 with 4gb ram and I installed a Nvidia 9600 GSO inside of it and was totally happy with the cards performance for games like Call of duty, Left 4 Dead etc.

The only thing I would be concerned about is that the monitor that I used this 9600 GSO on was only 18 inches and my current monitor is 24 inches so I don't know if that same card would fare well even if I was able to use it on this computer (I know I can't)

What I am looking for is a Card with at least the 9600 GSOs performance (preferably better) and it has to be low profile and be able to use the standard power supply that comes with it. I don't know what wattage it is though.

I can spend up to $150, maybe more if the card is a good value.

I was looking at this one but want to know if any current cards are better performing.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102874&cm_re=Lowprofile_directX_11-_-14-102-874-_-Product&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3463938&SID=

 

[Wolfshadw]

I've not seen any ATI Low-Profile cards that would match your 9600 GSO's performance level. At least, not on Newegg. There are 9600GT Low-Profile cards that would match/exceed your 9600GSO's performance and I have seen a 9800GT on Newegg before, but that (and the 9600GT) may exceed your system's power capabilities.

Galaxy Geforce 9600GT Low-Profile - Does not require external power connection, but may not fit in your case.

-Wolf sends

 

[big-tony]

I've not seen any ATI Low-Profile cards that would match your 9600 GSO's performance level. At least, not on Newegg. There are 9600GT Low-Profile cards that would match/exceed your 9600GSO's performance and I have seen a 9800GT on Newegg before, but that (and the 9600GT) may exceed your system's power capabilities.

Galaxy Geforce 9600GT Low-Profile - Does not require external power connection, but may not fit in your case.

-Wolf sends

Ah I see. Brand don't matter to me by the way, it can be ATI or Nividia or whatever. Basically that 9600 GSO was a good card for me and the only aftermarket card I've had so I'm looking for at least better than it with the stock power supply. What do you think about the link I provided?

 

[Wolfshadw]

It's not close to the performance of your 9600GSO.

Tom's Hardware Graphical Hierarchy Chart

This chart shows the relative graphic card performance in comparison with each other. While the HD5570 is not actually listed on this chart, the HD 5550 would be only slightly less than the HD5570 and is far below the 9600GSO in comparative performance.

-Wolf sends

 

[big-tony]

I would probably be better off buying a bigger case huh? I already have a OZ 500watt power supply that I have never used BUT with this computer having the proprietary 200-250 watt power supply, I am kind of afraid that the 500watt aftermarket power supply would fry the board or not be compatible.

Should I have to worry about either of those?

If not then I will just look for a case that would fit all of my Computer's motherboard but with Dell having a lot of proprietary parts, I'm kind of fearful of finding a compatible case.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

This card and the Sapphire you posted would not only match but surpass the GF9600GSO;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161339

I think the others are confusing the desktop and mobile versions of the competition, because the 5550 would outperform a throttled GSO.

 

[big-tony]

This card and the Sapphire you posted would not only match but surpass the GF9600GSO;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161339

I think the others are confusing the desktop and mobile versions of the competition, because the 5550 would outperform a throttled GSO.

Between your link and my link, which would you say would perform better? Basically I am trying to find the absolute best performing card that is low profile for my slim desktop. I really want to just get another case, but I don't know how I would find a compatible one with Dells proprietary stuff. Especially the front usb ports and all that.

 

[Wolfshadw]

TGGA/Big-Tony,

My apologies if my information is inaccurate. It's based on the chart I linked previously. The 9600GSO is on the 11th tier from the top (Geforce) and the HD5550 is on the 21st tier (Radeon) and clearly listed as a discrete card:

Discrete: 9800 XT, X700 PRO, X800 GT, X800 SE, X1300 XT, X1600 PRO, HD 2400 XT, HD 4350, HD 4550, HD 5550
Mobility: X800, 3470, HD 5470 (DDR3), HD 5430
Integrated: HD 3300

But I'd certainly accept TGGA's assessment over my limited knowledge!

-Wolf sends

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

The Sapphire is faster is a 5570 and has higher core and memory speeds, it would be the way to go for gaming and heavier lifting (the HIS for stuff more like picture & video editing). But while it's better than the GSO, it's not dramatically or anything, and a full-on GF9600GT would trade blow and might even be better in some cases, although the one above is the slower one.

Fitting a case is difficult, but a rebuild might be worth it depending on your needs.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

They are close it's a question of the type of GSO (there are 4 with 3 designs(, the type of G9600GT (there are two) and also the applications/games being played.

They aren't daramatically different as I mentioned, but the low profile GSO is the slowest GSO of the bunch. And the GF9600GT would be the best contender IMO.
I would feel more comfortable with the HD5570 simply for the memory although the HD5500 should still beat the low-pro GSO.

 

[big-tony]

The Sapphire is faster is a 5570 and has higher core and memory speeds, it would be the way to go for gaming and heavier lifting (the HIS for stuff more like picture & video editing). But while it's better than the GSO, it's not dramatically or anything, and a full-on GF9600GT would trade blow and might even be better in some cases, although the one above is the slower one.

Fitting a case is difficult, but a rebuild might be worth it depending on your needs.

ah ok just what I needed to know. I was leaning more towards gaming and a card that can play almost any games at at least medium settings. Also, I am about to graduate with a degree Majoring in Web Design in July so graphic processing will also be high. So is this Saphire card basically as good as it will get for a slim desktop?

EDIT: TheGreatGrapeApe and Wolfshadw, thank both of you for your help. I'm gonna go with the SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5570. Many reviews have said it is easily overclockable if the stock performance isn't good enough so that sounds very fine for me

 

[big-tony]

Best answer selected by big-tony.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Yeah I think you will be good with it for general gaming (nothing it can't play really, although as you know sometimes medium settings will be needed), and it will give you lots of nice features to play with too so you can experiment with new OpenCL and Direct Compute features, since despite not having built in DP math (neither does the GF9 series) it does have everything else that is found on the higher models, and supposedly a DP work around (likely dual-issue w/ rounding) is coming too, so you would have alot more options to play around with should you wish to work with complex tools and take advantage of new feature sets in the burgeoning GPGPU era.

I think it's a good overall well-rounded choice, and hope it works out for you.