HP Slimline S3750T - Need a graphics boost [ Edited ]

[Downphoenix1]

I already have a Radeon HD 5450 from Gigabyte, 512MB memory and 700mhz core speed. Looking to make one last upgrade to the graphics on this machine, but not sure what will work best on this box past the 5450. I need a card with really low power usage like that card obviously, as its a slimline, and has a measly 240w power supply. I wont mind upgrading the power supply too if I have to, but the Slimline has such a funky power supply, I dunno. I guess if I really had to, I might just get a bigger tower, but I want to do that as a last resort, since I only want to slap in a new graphics card. I bought about a little more than 2 years ago, so I figured I could go up to an HD 7000 series equivilent, but there doesn't appear to be one. And I wont get to the 6450, its not actually any better. Any suggestions?

[wb2001]

Downphoenix,

Replacing the PSU in a slim is not a problem. Athena Power sells TFX units (see measurements) up to 400W:

http://www.athenapower.us/products/power_supply/power.html

The real issue with slim's is heat.

 Although the HD7750 states it requires a 450W PSU. A search of the site hwcompare reflects the HD5450 @ 19W, and the HD775 @ 55W.

http://www.hwcompare.com/11789/radeon-hd-5450-vs-radeon-hd-7750/

[Downphoenix1]

Thanks for the reply. Do you have any suggestions for a better card that won't require a new psu? As far as heat, I know it can be a problem in the slimline if not properly maintained, but I made sure to clean it out on occassion, make sure the cabling is not restricting airflow, and occassionally get some thermal grease applied around the cpu.

I'd rather not do the psu, I will only do that if I can't find a card with similar power usage to the 5450 that's not flat out better. Its been more than 2 years since it came out, last year's 6450 is actually worse from some of the benchmarks I've seen, and ATI or perhaps the card manufacturers seem to have pulled out from those types of cards.

This upgrade is just to be able to handle better game performance and video playback. Not doing any crysis type stuff, no 3d modeing, and it won't bother me if I can't run games at high/max settings, just as long as I can get increased performance without increased power/heat. I intend to build a new machine from scratch next time (or buy a proper hp tower if the price is right, and build up from there) and keep this one around as a backup, maybe reconfig it to be an htpc or something like that, so looking for the cleanest upgrade route possible.

[wb2001]

Your question is perplexing. The HD5450 is 19W. It is very difficult to assess what extra wattage is still available from your 240W PSU.

[Downphoenix1]

I guess. I'm just looking for anything comparable in power output. Im sure i can probably go a little higher, the card you mentioned is probably out of the question though, but I may go check out the psus and see how much they run.

[Big_Dave · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Look here at HP Partsurfer for video cards that are used in the newer Slimline models with a 220 watt power supply.  These cards were manufactured specially for HP Slimline PCs with 220 watt power supplies.

[Downphoenix1]

Thanks for the tip, but the website appears to be down entirely. I hope its just temporary, I'd really like to look at what HP uses for upgrade components on this.

[wb2001]

Maybe it's your browser. Thanks to Dave, but I'll post them.

NVIDIA GeForce 520 (1GB) LP PCIe x16

AMD HD7350 Meerkat LP 512MB DDR3 PCIex16 

AMD HD7450 Wombat LP 1G DDR3 PCIex16 

[Downphoenix1]

Thanks for the help guys.

After doing my research on the HD 7450, it seems to be pretty much the same as the 6450 from what I saw, which was a very minimal boost on the stock 5450 (mine is at 700mhz instead of 650 for the stock's speed) so I doubt it will be of any help to me. I will probably have to consider upgrading my PSU and going with something like a 7750 which looks like it will be a very good increase for what I need.