SFF Graphics Card sub £100

[Daedus]

Hello, I'm looking to upgrade the graphics card on my Inspiron 560s and can see that a lot of people recommend the Sparkle SX98GT512-D3L-NM... however I can't find a (major) UK retailer that stocks it sub £100 and am concerned that the APU might not be up to the job.

I'll be gaming on a single monitor, but will likely be upping the resolution to something like 1920x1200 as I upgrade (currently just 1440x900).

I'd appreciate any recommendations or advice, though I'd stress that the availability of the card from major UK retailers is a key factor.

Also, being a 560s I'm limited to SFF cards that come with the shorter faceplate.

 

[Griffolion]

Have you tried ebay?

 

[Daedus]

No. I'm not a fan of eBay. An available stockist shouldn't be too hard to find, if I had some options. It's just that sometimes searching for a specific card can sometimes lead to dead-ends.

 

[Griffolion]

Indeed, i search all UK stockists first before trying ebay. Maybe even try Amazon and Ebuyer.

 

[Daedus]

I've looked at both, but need a card recommendation. Does the SX98GT512-D3L-NM consume vast amounts of power? What are viable alternatives if I can't get hold of one?

 

[Daedus]

So I took a look at the manual for the SX98GT512-D3L-NM and under the hood of the 560s and found two issues.

Firstly there's no bundled shorter faceplate for SFF desktops... which is a bit illogical.

And secondly it needs a direct hook into the APU - which the Inspiron 560s doesn't have available.

So let's forget retailers...

Can anyone recommend a good graphics card, thats small-form-factor *with* the short faceplate, that doens't need a line into the power supply?

 

[infernox_01]

im using a hd5570 in my inspiron 530s. its good at 1280x1024 resolution, im using it fine on a 250w power supply and costs around £65. im not sure how much better the low profile 9800gt is from the 5570.

 

[Daedus]

Thanks for the recommendation. I picked-up the Sapphire 5570 today and it does a pretty good job. Swapping in the bundled SFF faceplate was a bit of a drama thanks to the tiny screw on the HDMI socket, but a quick trip to Sainsbury's sorted that out.

Proper job!

 

[infernox_01]

mine came with a display port so it didnt have the tiny screw, just had to open the hexagonal screws on the vga and dvi sockets then screw them into the 2 low profile brackets. im not sure if i should risk overclocking it on a 250w power supply.