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The "Not Quite Amiga but still computer related category" => Alternative Operating Systems => Topic started by: Cyberus on July 01, 2005, 11:55:28 AM

Title: Low profile AGP graphics card, recommendations?
Post by: Cyberus on July 01, 2005, 11:55:28 AM
I was given, yes given, an IBM NetVista 8303-15 last week. Anyway, it has a low profile 4x AGP slot. I was recommended that I get a Sapphire gfx card by a friend, perhaps this one :
http://www.casetech.co.uk/product.php?productid=17657&cat=0&page=1 (http://www.casetech.co.uk/product.php?productid=17657&cat=0&page=1)

because I don't have a lot of money. What do you guys think? Also, I seem to have real difficulty finding the word 'low profile' in a lot of graphics card descriptions. Is it because there aren't that many, or because the MFRs just neglect to mention it?

Cheers, Adam
Title: Re: Low profile AGP graphics card, recommendations?
Post by: blobrana on July 01, 2005, 12:07:18 PM
Hum,
It’s just a question on how much room it leaves.

If the air flows and it doesn’t make contact with anything then it’s probably ok....

What voltage is it? 3.3v?
Can the mobo take that? (it should, cos it’s `standard`)

Remember that for that £30 you can get a geforce fx5200 , 128mb ram and is  dx9 compliant....(they all use just one driver too....)

 

Title: Re: Low profile AGP graphics card, recommendations?
Post by: Cyberus on July 01, 2005, 12:24:32 PM
well, the case is a wee desktop one


like this:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-42767.html?up=unknownuser (http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-42767.html?up=unknownuser)

hence the need for a low-profile card

my requirements for the card, are that it is DirectX9 compatible and under say, 45 quid including postage.

[45 quid = approx 65 Euro/$]
Title: Re: Low profile AGP graphics card, recommendations?
Post by: Speelgoedmannetje on July 01, 2005, 12:32:53 PM
To save yourself a lot of trouble, go Nvidia
've a hell of a lot trouble with my Radeon9200
Title: Re: Low profile AGP graphics card, recommendations?
Post by: mendark on July 01, 2005, 01:00:05 PM
I have to say that my Radeon 7000 works like a charm. Passively cooled, so no extra noise and low in power consumption.

I'm willing to sell it because I found out i'm actually liking games on the PC *shame on me* and that this R7000 is'nt capable enough for 3D games.

For 2D, low power consumption and small dimensions it's perfect
Title: Re: Low profile AGP graphics card, recommendations?
Post by: whabang on July 01, 2005, 01:33:51 PM
Quote

Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
To save yourself a lot of trouble, go Nvidia
've a hell of a lot trouble with my Radeon9200

My Radeon 9200 works perfectly. On the other hand, so did my trusty ol' TNT2.
Title: Re: Low profile AGP graphics card, recommendations?
Post by: Cyberus on July 02, 2005, 09:35:39 AM
The only one I seem to be able to find that's low profile, or at least, visibly so from specs etc, is the Sapphire Atlantis Radeon 9200SE....

I've been looking for Powercolor ones as well. Just wondering what you guys think of the Radeon 9200?

I've seen low-profile Sapphire Radeon 9600s advertised on US sites, but is it worth the extra cash?

My main requirements, are that I want to be able to play Dawn of War, Day of Defeat (when the source is released for HL2) and perhaps World of Warcraft...

Thanks in advance
Title: Re: Low profile AGP graphics card, recommendations?
Post by: AdMartin on July 02, 2005, 11:36:04 AM
The thing is, even if the card itself is low profile, it still uses a high profile bracket to fit all the connectors. Get a low-profile card without a DVI connector, so that it also has LP bracket, like this one (http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=6940). It's also DX9 compliant, which the 9200 isn't.
Title: Re: Low profile AGP graphics card, recommendations?
Post by: Piru on July 02, 2005, 11:48:00 AM
Low profile 9250s are nice. Even if they use high profile bracket, many come with two low profile ones: The first one for the card itself with DVI and TV-Out connectors, and the second one for the VGA-connector.

So, there really is no need to get card without DVI.
Title: Re: Low profile AGP graphics card, recommendations?
Post by: Cyberus on July 02, 2005, 11:53:44 AM
Thanks for your replies.
You can fit a low profile bracket to the Sapphire 9200SE, AFAIK.

@ Piru
I was under the impression that a lot of the **50s were worse for performance than the corresponding **00, as they were later cost reduced models [Can anyone confirm this?]
Title: Re: Low profile AGP graphics card, recommendations?
Post by: AdMartin on July 02, 2005, 11:55:01 AM
I went to the product webpage (http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/VGA/Products/Products_GV-R955128T.htm) of the card I recommended. It seems to come with a full-size bracket, but as it has no DVI connector you can easily fit a LP bracket for a quid or two.
Title: Re: Low profile AGP graphics card, recommendations?
Post by: Cyberus on July 02, 2005, 12:08:37 PM
Thanks for the heads up, AdMartin.

The thing is, I'm finding it hard to tell what cards are low-profile and which are not. Like, where does it say that the card you mention is low profile?
Title: Re: Low profile AGP graphics card, recommendations?
Post by: AdMartin on July 02, 2005, 12:26:24 PM
The 9250 is better than 9200, 9250 SE is better than 9200 SE, but 9250 SE is worse than 9200.

The 9550 is worse than both 9500 and 9600, but better than 9600 SE. 9550 SE is worse than 9600 SE, but better than both 9250 and 9250 SE.

Does this clear things up or does it only make you more confused? :lol:

Anyway, if you have space for two brackets and on a tight budget I'd recommend this one (http://www.savastore.com/productinfo/product.aspx?catalog_name=Savastore&product_id=10281789&pid=44), as it's about the same price as the 9200s and 9250s, but faster and DX9 compliant.

If you wanna spend more you could go for a 9600, but most (all?) low-profile 9600 are the SE version, which are only marginally better than the 9550 SEs that I've recommened and not worth the extra money. It sometimes/often says just '9600' on shops' websites even though they really are 9600 SEs.

Note: SE models have a 64-bit memory bus instead of a 128-bit bus, halving memory speed.
Title: Re: Low profile AGP graphics card, recommendations?
Post by: AdMartin on July 02, 2005, 12:32:08 PM
Quote

Cyberus wrote:
Thanks for the heads up, AdMartin.

The thing is, I'm finding it hard to tell what cards are low-profile and which are not. Like, where does it say that the card you mention is low profile?


Check out the product webpage that I linked too and look at the pictures!
Title: Re: Low profile AGP graphics card, recommendations?
Post by: Cyberus on July 02, 2005, 12:36:46 PM
Quote

AdMartin wrote:
Check out the product webpage that I linked too

I did!

Quote
and look at the pictures!

Ahh, I was expecting to see the words 'low profile'. TBH, this is the first PC I've owned (well, apart from a laptop) and I haven't got a clue just by looking at gfx card if its smaller than normal or not!
Title: Re: Low profile AGP graphics card, recommendations?
Post by: AdMartin on July 02, 2005, 01:06:02 PM
;-)

Anyway, as I mentioned, this one (http://www.savastore.com/productinfo/product.aspx?catalog_name=Savastore&product_id=10281789&pid=44) is cheaper and you get a DVI output as well, but you'd need two low-profile brackets for it. Both are 9550 SEs, which is the best LP you can get in this price segment. So, it's basically up to how much space you have in the computer.
Title: Re: Low profile AGP graphics card, recommendations?
Post by: whabang on July 02, 2005, 05:00:38 PM
For the record, the 9200 and the 9250 (not the pathetic SE-versions) are excellent performers, and I have not seen anyone with problems running the latest games on those cards.
Title: Re: Low profile AGP graphics card, recommendations?
Post by: AdMartin on July 02, 2005, 09:43:07 PM
Well, I'm used to my 9500@9700, so to me the 9200 and 9250 are pathetic performers! :-P Plus they aren't DX9 compliant, so I'd take a 9550 SE any day, since it's faster, DX9 compliant and costs the same!

Edit: Doom 3 and Battlefield 2 flies on my card with high quality settings on 1024x768. I doubt a 9200/9250 would do very well in those games...
Title: Re: Low profile AGP graphics card, recommendations?
Post by: whabang on July 02, 2005, 09:45:45 PM
I'm running in 1024x768, no aa, and vsync on (60 Hz), and I generally run at 60 frames per second. No complaints there.
I use a TFT, and if I go with higher framerates I feel dizzy! :crazy:
Title: Re: Low profile AGP graphics card, recommendations?
Post by: AdMartin on July 03, 2005, 05:25:23 PM
 :-o
Title: Re: Low profile AGP graphics card, recommendations?
Post by: Cyberus on July 03, 2005, 06:12:56 PM
Thsnkf for your help guys, particularly AdMartin and Piru - you helped me work out what I was looking for. It seems (rather confusingly) that there are three versions of the Sapphire 9600SE, two of which are low profile. That's what I'm going to go for.

Cheers again,
Adam
Title: Re: Low profile AGP graphics card, recommendations?
Post by: AdMartin on July 03, 2005, 06:19:34 PM
Good luck!