What video cards are compatible with an HP RP 5700

[grkr]

I recently purchased an HP RP5700 though a company lottery.  Good unit but I'm a bit confused on the PCI slots.

I'm trying to give it a little more power graphically.  I know it has an ADD2 slot which looks alot like a PCI-E slot for a graphics card but won't support them.  Right below that there is a PCI E 1 slot.  Then some standard PCI slots.

It looks like a card similar to a NVIDIA Quadro NVS 290 would work.  But that is only because it would fit in the x1 slot.  I have no idea if it would be recognized by the board.

Anyone able to provide me with the model of a decent card?  I know this isn't HP model isn't even close to a gaming rig so nothing like that.  Just want to be able to watch a Hi Def video occasionally.

Thanks.

Grant

[Big_Dave]

Grant,

Can you provide us with the HP product number for your PC?  Some of the RP 5700 models only have a 240 watt power supply so finding a video card to work with that low of a wattage might not be possible.

[grkr]

Where would I find this?

Here is pretty much everything from the tag on the top.

p/n RT980UT#ABA

HP carepack lookup part number:  RU091AV

Long number on the top with no designation:  PROMOrp5759/E2160/80hnq1.OLv4rl US

Not going to give the serial number unless it is necessary.

[Big_Dave]

Hi,

This manual might help you with upgrades.  HP Partsurfer only lists one video for your PC and it's probably a low profile card.  The bad news is that your PC only has a 240 watt power supply which makes it difficult to add a video card with any decent performance.

[EdVicker]

I recently bought the same computer from business liquidation sale.  I would like to know what I plan to do will work.  I wanted to upgrade it so that I can play & make blue ray disc of our son.  Thus, I was planning to upgrade the graphics card by using the PCI 1x slot with the following:

1.  StarTech.com PCI Express X1 to X16 Low Profile Slot Extension Adapter (PEX1TO162)

http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Express-Profile-Extension-PEX1TO162/dp/B0039XPS5W

2. ASUS EAH5450 SILENT/DI/1GD3/V2(LP) Radeon HD 5450 1GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121447&Tpk=ASUS

What also is at issue is the power with only 240W.  Can the PCU be upgraded?

Ed

[lasvegaswireman]

While the Startech solution may work, it is unlikely that you will gain much of the performance you expect to see. Using an adapter like that is analogous to taking 16 lanes of high speed freeway traffic and put it all on a one lane road.

Frank

[EdVicker]

Sounds like it is better if I use a PCI x1 card which will be native to the computer.

Would something like these would work?

ZOTAC ION-GPU-A-E ION Graphics Processor 512MB DDR3 PCI Express x1 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card

www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500164

PowerColor Go! Green AE5450 512MD2-SH Radeon HD 5450 512MB 64-bit DDR2 PCI Express x1 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card

www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131432

Would the PSU need to be upgraded above 240W with those?

[lasvegaswireman]

The PowerColor AE5450 PCIe x1 claims to require a 450watt PSU, so it will not work... the ZOTAC ION doesn't state a minimum PSU requirement but does claim to consume 18watts, which should be doable in your system.

As far as the PCIe x16 to x1 thing versus native x1... I would call it a draw. The bottom line is that you still only have one lane for data to flow on. Given that you have native x1 support, I would go that route do to ease of install and lower cost.

Frank

[EdVicker]

Thanks for your reply.  I read one person's review on Amazon.com who stated that the Zotac worked on his system which only had 230W of power.

I will give it a try & give you an update later.

Ed.

[EdVicker]

Hi,

With your help, & Archean from Tom's Hardware website, I got the computer to work on our HDTV. The picture is great!!!

These are the following steps:
1. Reinstalled Vista Business via HP's recovery discs (in my case) or computer restore.
2. Installed Avast anti-virus.
3. The Vista OS that came with the computer was pretty old. I hooked the computer up to the internet & use Windows Update to get Vista totally updated.
4. Downloaded NVIDIA most recent driver for the Zotac GPU (280.26-desktop-win7-winvista-32bit-english-whql) from the NVIDIA website.
5. Increased RAM to 3Gb. One 1Gb existing DIMM + Corsair ValueSelect 2 GB (2 X 1 GB) PC2-5300 667 MHz 240-PIN DDR2 Memory Kit. I didn't know the computer has 4 DIMM slots.
6. Installed the ZOTAC GeForce GT218 (ION) 512MB DDR3 DVI/HDMI PCI Express 1 Graphics Card, ION-GPU-A-E into the computer.
7. Hook the computer up to our HDTV via HDMI cable.
8. Installed the 280.26 driver for the GPU.
9. Configure the settings for the HDTV.
10. Hook the ethernet line onto the computer & voila.

I've been testing it out on Hulu, & NBC & got great pictures. I watched some of The Matrix DVD using VLC instead of RealPlayer or Window Media Player. They both produced pictures that were jittery.

I'm considering getting a Rii Mini Wireless Keyboard, but I'm not sure how well it will be suited for controlling the computer. I'd welcome your input.

This little project wouldn't have been successful without the support & guidance from Friank in this forum & Archean at Tom's Hardware forum.

I'm sure there are many people out there who bought these computers at the Borders Bookstore's going out of business sale. If you want to turn it into a media computer, this would be one way of doing it. The whole thing cost $200.

I have no idea how it would do playing video games because I'm not using this computer for that purpose.

Thanks again,
Ed.