Guide for Selecting a Discrete Video Card

[Ptartedmonkey]

I have a model a6400f HP desktop, anyone aware if I could get a gtx 560 in there? perhaps a gt 520?

[Big_Dave]

Hi Ptartedmonkey,

The EVGA 560 is 8.25" in length.  Measure inside your PC to make sure that it fits.  You'll need at least a 450+ watt power supply.  These cards usually fit in the HPmid-tower PCs.

The EVGA 520 is 5.7" in length and should fit. You'll need a 300+ watt power supply.

Your PC only has a 250 watt power supply.  I would recommend that you replace the power supply with a Corsair CX500.

These HP 'how-to" articles should be helpful.

[dmpiq]

I have a DC7900 Small Form Factor PC with the following specs:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500

RAM: 6GB DDR2-6400 800Mhz (2 x 2GB Dual Channel)+(1x 2GB single channel)

Graphics: Integrated Intel GMA 4500

HDD: 320GB SATA2 + 2TB SATA2 7200rpm Internal

ODD: DVD+-/R/RW

OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

Which is the best graphics card for this unit? It is primarily used for entertainment purposes - should be able to playback 1080p video flawlessly - and also a bit of consumer video editing.

[Big_Dave]

Hi again,

Small form factor? If yes, then your PC only has a 240 watt power supply.  If the PCI riser is not installed then you can install a low profile video card and it needs to be less than 6.6" in length.

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. Call HP Partsurfer and verify the length of the card before you buy.  The HP NVIDIA GT 530 might work out the best for your needs.

BTW-->  The faster PC2-8500 memory might have worked out better for HD video. 800 mhz dimms is the minimum from my observations when working with HD video.  If you are rendering HD video to disk then consider installing a SSD.

[dmpiq]

Hello again,

Regarding the RAM, it is very hard to find PC2-8500 here in Australia. The most common sticks available are the DDR2 800 ones. however, I've found the

KINGSTON KHX8500D2K2/4G HyperX 4GB 240-pin DDR2 memory

on eBay. Will these be compatible?

Also, I found a Gigabyte GeForce GT520 card in my local computer store. It's the only 5xx series closest to the GT 530 card available here. It is Low Profile but its power requirement is 300W. Is this alright?

Also, for the SSD, I'm planning on inserting either a Crucial m4 128GB or OCZ Vertex 4 128GB.

Please let me know if you would like me to start a new thread as I don't want to 'hijack' this thread/guide on video cards.

[Big_Dave]

Hi,

If you plan on using a retail over the counter video card then stick with the recommendation for power supply wattage by the video card manufacturer.

[steveselva]

Hey Dave,

I just bought a HP Pavilion p7-1234, specs below.
http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03363664

I was wondering if there was any possible PSU and GPU upgrades I could add to play games such as Skyrim and BF3.

Any advice would be helpful, thanks.

[Big_Dave]

Hi Steve,

You will definitely want a better video card for Skyrim and BF3, particularly if you want to run the games as envisioned by the developers (higher settings). 

Review this posted document for background information.

Want is your budget amount? 

The Sapphire AMD 6850 is a very good choice at $135 after rebate.

This Corsair CX600 should be sufficient.  $45 after rebate. Excellent sale price!

These HP 'how-to" articles should be helpful.

Install the PSU first and get your PC stable then install the video card.

[metzger90]

Hi Dave,

 Would really appreciate if you could help me out with this. I have a HP computer ( Model Number: HPE-171f

OS: Windows 7 64-bit ) I currently have upped the RAM in the computer to the max it can hold and upgraded the power supply to a CX600.

 My question for you though was regarding the video card of course. I had my eyes on the new Nvidia GTX 670/680 cards. I realize this is a very tight fit. But I am wondering if this is even doable. I've opened up my computer and looked around but I cant be sure until I actually buy the card. Which for obvious reasons I dont want to do right away.

Much appreciated if you could help me out.

Regards

[Big_Dave]

Hi metzger90,

Review this posted document for background information.

You are looking at a 9.5" card for the 670 at best and a 10" card for the 680. You really need to do some measuring inside your PC.

You also need to consider the additional heat that the 670 and 680 will generate inside the smallish HP mid-tower cabinet.  The 670 is 170 watts and the 680 is 195 watts. What are your plans to deal with the extra heat?

Know what the return policy is before you buy anything.

You might look over the high end video card benchmarks and perhaps consider the AMD 7850. It's a lot cheaper and it's only a 130 watt card.