Low Profile Card for Dell Optiplex 755

[WSD1993]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Sometime within the next week. BUDGET RANGE: Any card under $150 with rebates.

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming card that can at least play GTA IV in the Medium settings range.

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: Intel GMA 3100. Standard Dell 285w Power supply.

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: Celeron 430 (will upgrade to either a Core 2 Quad Q8400 or Q9650, mostly depends on my next paycheck)
1GB DDR2 (8GB DDR2 Later on.)
40GB Hard Drive (2TB Wester Digital Caviar Black in the near future)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: None really.

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Right now: 1280x1024 After Card Purchase: 1920x1080 (1080p/1080i)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Needs to be a low profile, single slot video card.

I've already looked into a few, but don't know if they will fit my bill:

Sapphire Radeon HD 5570:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102874

Palit GeForce GT 430:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261104

MSI Radeon HD 5670(If I can make it fit in my case):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127523&cm_re=MSI_Radeon_HD_5670-_-14-127-523-_-Product

Much appreciated:
WSD1993

 

[jay2tall]

A 5670 would be the most I would try. I'd go with a sapphire though.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102923&cm_re=5670-_-14-102-923-_-Product

 

[WSD1993]

A 5670 would be the most I would try. I'd go with a sapphire though.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102923&cm_re=5670-_-14-102-923-_-Product

That's what I was thinking about doing, but then I saw the cramped area between my PCI-E slot and Hard Drive cage.
And, thanks to Intel, BTX is not 1.5-2 slot friendly if you have a SFF case.
I might try, but single slot cards, or even BTX compliant dual slot low profile cards will do for now.

 

[jay2tall]

That's no good. So you won't have room for the cooler? If the issue is the 2nd slot cover you don't need to install that.

 

[WSD1993]

That's no good. So you won't have room for the cooler? If the issue is the 2nd slot cover you don't need to install that.

Really? So I can just buy a smaller aftermarket cooler and stick it on there, and it would work just fine?
I'm not into putting thermal paste on anything, but I'm going to have to get a new CPU eventually if I want to play GTA IV, so I might as well get some for the videocard as well.

 

[jay2tall]

The stock cooler should be fine on the video card. Will it not fit with the stock cooler?

 

[WSD1993]

The stock cooler should be fine on the video card. Will it not fit with the stock cooler?

Well, that's what I was kinda worried about, but it seems that there is a considerable amount of space in between the hard drive and the motherboard, so even if the stock cooler touches the hard drive, it will still have airflow.
Still kinda worried about the power usage of this card though.
Do you have any idea of how much power this card uses under full load? I searched Google and couldn't find a detailed explanation for the power draw.

 

[jay2tall]

Here is power drawl for the card only:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5670,2533-17.html

Here is power drawl on a full system, its a 430 review but just look at the 5670:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3973/nvidias-geforce-gt-430/17.
It's 221W running Furmark and 214W playing Crysis. This is on a full system running a Intel i5-680 CPU - 3.60GHz. That usage is probably fine for a 285W PSU. I wouldn't go any higher though.

 

[WSD1993]

Here is power drawl for the card only:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5670,2533-17.html

Here is power drawl on a full system, its a 430 review but just look at the 5670:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3973/nvidias-geforce-gt-430/17.
It's 221W running Furmark and 214W playing Crysis. This is on a full system running a Intel i5-680 CPU - 3.60GHz. That usage is probably fine for a 285W PSU. I wouldn't go any higher though.

Excellent. Just what I was looking for.
Kinda bummed that it uses over 200W though, but everything seems fine.
Thanks jay2tall!
WSD1993

 

[WSD1993]

Best answer selected by WSD1993.

 

[jay2tall]

^That is with an i5 though. Not a Celeron. I'm sure it is much less in your current system.

 

[WSD1993]

^That is with an i5 though. Not a Celeron. I'm sure it is much less in your current system.

Yeah, my Celeron's TDP is 35w. A typical i5 has around 95w I think, and so does this Core 2 Quad I am getting.
By the way, about that Sapphire card you listed, can you think of any aftermarket heatsinks that only take up one slot?
I just saw what you were talking about with the removeable VGA port on that card, and I'm tempted to get this one over that MSI.
Also, I heard that PCI-E 1.0 has trouble with PCI-E 2.1 cards, so that MSI may be a no go.

 

[Ratnik59]

I read your dell optiplex 755 video card questions and was wondering what card worked for you. Thanks

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey