Noob guestion...Dell/Lenovo Geforce 310...Any difference? except price

[ron1n1]

Hello

I am looking for a compatible graphics card for my ill-bought Lenovo M57 SFF. The only official graphics card available is the LENOVO 57Y4397 GeForce 310. This card retails on ebay and other websites for approximately 60 to 100 euros which is a lot to pay for a low profile graphics card.

However I have seen the same model graphics card but with a Dell prefix at the start for almost 1/4 the price.
Now i know a bit about computers but my knowledge of graphics cards is sparing but i have a few questions

1:What is the difference if any between this lenovo card and the same model by dell/hp/other manufacturers?

2:I know that all of the companies get their raw cards/GPU processors from the same company, Nvidia/Radeon, but are they mutually compatible with each other?

3oes anybody know of any decent low profile graphics card that (unofficially) works in the Lenovo M57 (6072)?

 

[Xttony]

1. A few things can be different like core clock, ram speeds, etc. but the difference is not too much as the cards are the same. Also knowing the manufactures I don't think that they will tamper with these settings.

2.desktop cards - yes, laptop cards - sometimes.

3. HD 7750 for $100

 

[ron1n1]

HD 7750? Does that come in a low profile variety? I cannot seem to see Low profile cards of this type anywhere. I need a low profile as the the Power supply cannot handle higher end (280watts)

 

[Xttony]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202002
Low profile card
Also see if this card fits
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131477

Your PSU can handle both cards without any problem

 

[ron1n1]

Hi
I ended up buying a Nvidia Geforce 310 512mb DDR3 that I found cheap. Unfortunately the M57 lenovo is not compatible with it. I think Lenovo were pretty strict about letting only their own propriatory geforce 310 cards work in this computer. It did work in another computer with no issues so I am certain that it is the fault of the computer and not the card.

If anybody has a confirmed case of a decent low profile card working in a Lenovo M57 Small form computer could you let me know please? Please don't recommend a card unless you know it works for certain in the M57.

 

[zeusdog]

Hi ron1n1. I recently bought 7 Lenovo M57 (6072) computers and I too am looking for a graphics card. Thanks for posting about the inexpensive Dell's Nvidia310's; I too was about to order one and try it.

Our options are certainly limited to the low power consumption varieties due to the 280W PSUs in the M57s as well as Lenovos odd PCIe slot

I have several other computers with PCIe2.0x16 so I am going to go out on a limb and order this:

ASUS Radeon HD 6450 Low Profile 625MHZ 1GB 1.2GHZ GDDR3 DVI HDMI VGA PCI-E Video Card ($39.00 CAD @ NCIX)

I like it because it should fit and there is no fan. This isn't a kick butt card by any means but its a huge improvement over the Q35 chipset we're currently stuck with. If it doesn't work I'll throw it in another computer and try this:

ASUS AMD Radeon HD 6570 650MHZ 2GB 1150MHZ GDDR3 DVI HDMI PCI-E Video Card ($69.00 CAD @ NCIX)

If that doesn't work...then I give up. The Q35 is good enough for web browsing and Microsoft office etc.


Some guy in Germany was able to make an MSI 440GT Low Profile Card with 1024MB GDDR3 work with some sheet metal work in his case to make it fit, but nonetheless, it worked (http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/A-M-and-Edge-Series-ThinkCentre/M57-and-any-graphics-cards-total-lack-of-support-and-do-not-buy/td-p/225450). I dont really want to butcher 7 cases and change out all my hard drives! Lol.

Good luck