Lenovo M91P graphics upgrade

[New_Newbi]

Hello,

I think I found a good deal on "Lenovo Think Centre M91p SFF Model: 4518-E4U", the specs are:

• 1 PCI Express 16x Slot 2 PCI slots
• Intel i5-2400 3.1 GHz
• 500 Gig Western Digital Sata Hard Drive
• 8 Gigs DDR3 Ram

And it is a Small Form Factor, So I need a low-profile GPU. I want to know is it possible to get a decent performance?

I am not really sure about the PSU but I am open to upgrading the PSU as well.

The PC is 120$, I will be able to put like 150$ for upgrading GPU & PSU.

 

I know that it is an old PC but I can not afford more.

I will be glad if anybody could help me on what GPU I can get. Or any other idea.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Turtle Rig]

4 minutes ago, New_Newbi said:

Hello,

I think I found a good deal on "Lenovo Think Centre M91p SFF Model: 4518-E4U", the specs are:

• 1 PCI Express 16x Slot 2 PCI slots
• Intel i5-2400 3.1 GHz
• 500 Gig Western Digital Sata Hard Drive
• 8 Gigs DDR3 Ram

And it is a Small Form Factor, So I need a low-profile GPU. I want to know is it possible to get a decent performance?

I am not really sure about the PSU but I am open to upgrading the PSU as well.

The PC is 120$, I will be able to put like 150$ for upgrading GPU & PSU.

 

I know that it is an old PC but I can not afford more.

I will be glad if anybody could help me on what GPU I can get. Or any other idea.

 

Thanks in advance.

You should definitely get a SSD and forget the hard drive.  That will really help you when you are bottlenecking and what not.  Low profile card 160ish bucks EVGA 6" 1060 6GB single blower fan.

[New_Newbi]

3 minutes ago, Turtle Rig said:

You should definitely get a SSD and forget the hard drive.  That will really help you when you are bottlenecking and what not.  Low profile card 160ish bucks EVGA 6" 1060 6GB single blower fan.

Well It is going to be much more than 150$

Is the motherboard capable of putting 1060 on it? It will be going to need a new PSU, right?

[THraShArD]

You'll see a huge improvement over SSD hard drive.   Just make sure your OS Recovery is not on a Partition and might need to migrate to new drive w/ special software.

 

Does your Lenovo come with CD's and Recovery Software ?

[New_Newbi]

Just now, THraShArD said:

You'll see a huge improvement over SSD hard drive.   Just make sure your OS Recovery is not on a Partition and might need to migrate to new drive w/ special software.

 

Does your Lenovo come with CD's and Recovery Software ?

Well, I haven't bought it yet. So I am not sure...

I maybe upgrade to SSD in the future. For now, I want to know which graphic cards I could put it the PC. Basically, If the motherboard supports good graphics cards?

[CharminUltraStrong]

21 minutes ago, New_Newbi said:

-snip-

What's the wattage on the PSU inside the machine right now?

[THraShArD]

You'll have to open your case and take a look what available power cables you have. Some companies do not give you much and not too sure how well adapters will work for a PCIE card.

 

If you are using a low end or semi-medium range you should have no problem at all with adapters.  I don't know much about Nvidia cards or how adapters will work, but never had any issues with Radeon cards in the past.

 

I believe the Radeon RX 560 does not require any power adapters at all.  If you look at Amazon, the stock photo shows it in photo but it's an error and more research and people saying it has no power at all.

[New_Newbi]

5 minutes ago, CharminUltraStrong said:

What's the wattage on the PSU inside the machine right now?

It is what it says here,

AC 120/230 V (50/60 Hz)

[CharminUltraStrong]

Just now, New_Newbi said:

It is what it says here,

AC 120/230 V (50/60 Hz)

Then you'd be better off getting an RX 560 or a 750ti. They are powered via the PCI slot itself. Whatever money you have left you can spend on a 16 gig kit of DDR3 RAM.

[New_Newbi]

8 minutes ago, CharminUltraStrong said:

Then you'd be better off getting an RX 560 or a 750ti. They are powered via the PCI slot itself. Whatever money you have left you can spend on a 16 gig kit of DDR3 RAM.

Where can I buy one! I am more of an Nvidia guy, but I can not find 750ti anywhere!!

[CharminUltraStrong]

1 minute ago, New_Newbi said:

Where can I buy one! I am more of an Nvidia guy, but I can not find 750ti anywhere!!

Ebay is your best friend, the RX 560 is newer and more powerful than the 750ti by a pretty hefty margin.

[New_Newbi]

Just now, CharminUltraStrong said:

Ebay is your best friend, the RX 560 is newer and more powerful than the 750ti by a pretty hefty margin.

Yeah, I see that now! It almost to good to be true!

And I do not need to upgrade my PSU? I think I am going to go with Rx 560

Is this the right product?

https://www.amazon.com/MSI-R5604TPC-560-Graphic-Cards/dp/B07B7YMBFC

[CharminUltraStrong]

10 minutes ago, New_Newbi said:

Yeah, I see that now! It almost to good to be true!

And I do not need to upgrade my PSU? I think I am going to go with Rx 560

Is this the right product?

https://www.amazon.com/MSI-R5604TPC-560-Graphic-Cards/dp/B07B7YMBFC

I believe you will, it recommends a 400W PSU at minimum so you're probably stuck with a 750ti.

[New_Newbi]

4 minutes ago, CharminUltraStrong said:

I believe you will, it recommends a 400W PSU at minimum so you're probably stuck with a 750ti.

Yeah,

Just one more question, How should I know that a graphics card will be compatible with my motherboard? Like this one,

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6NI5X6/ref=dp_prsubs_2?th=1&tag=linus21-20

 

Also, The GPU only need to be Low Profile? Because in some of the images, the brackets look a bit taller than it needs to be...

[CharminUltraStrong]

18 minutes ago, New_Newbi said:

Yeah,

Just one more question, How should I know that a graphics card will be compatible with my motherboard? Like this one,

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6NI5X6/ref=dp_prsubs_2?th=1&tag=linus21-20

 

Also, The GPU only need to be Low Profile? Because in some of the images, the brackets look a bit taller than it needs to be...

GPU's fit in all PCI slots, low profile just means it's a small card that can fit in really small cases.

[THraShArD]

You will need to look if the low profile card comes with brackets.

 

If you want good Nvidia low end card, look into PNY if you live in the USA.  I've seen some good things in past

[New_Newbi]

11 minutes ago, THraShArD said:

You are going to have a tough time. That is a Thin Client case and you will need a Small Profile bracket and card.

 

There no chance you going to fit a video card in that. What exactly does the case look like that you have ?

This is the case:

https://www.cnet.com/products/lenovo-thinkcentre-m91p-sff-core-i5-2400-3-1-ghz-4-gb-320-gb-4518a31/

[New_Newbi]

27 minutes ago, CharminUltraStrong said:

GPU's fit in all PCI slots, low profile just means it's a small card that can fit in really small cases.

If I change my PSU, Can I put a more powerful GPU as well? Something like the RX560?

[THraShArD]

Many of those power supplies for those type of systems are special.   I don't know if you have a standard micro-atx power supply.  If you buy a standard micro version, im not sure if the holes will line up correctly and mount.

 

You need little upgrades here and there, but overall I don't think it's worth the money to pour into for the long term.  I did not realize you have a Thin Client case.  I've seen Dell systems like yours with add-on GPU but you really can't soop it up that well

[New_Newbi]

1 minute ago, THraShArD said:

Many of those power supplies for those type of systems are special.   I don't know if you have a standard micro-atx power supply.  If you buy a standard micro version, im not sure if the holes will line up correctly and mount.

 

You need little upgrades here and there, but overall I don't think it's worth the money to pour into for the long term.  I did not realize you have a Thin Client case.  I've seen Dell systems like yours with add-on GPU but you really can't soop it up that well

Well with this system I could get a decent tower with 300$. But there are not any other options to be even close! I just got a headache!

[THraShArD]

I found some discussion regarding the M91p power supply

 

https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkCentre-A-E-M-S-Series/M91p-SFF-power-supply-upgrade-what-do-I-need-to-know/td-p/3603332

 

 

[New_Newbi]

2 minutes ago, THraShArD said:

I found some discussion regarding the M91p power supply

 

https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkCentre-A-E-M-S-Series/M91p-SFF-power-supply-upgrade-what-do-I-need-to-know/td-p/3603332

 

 

Thanks man, So it is do-able... I think I am going to go with it.

[filippalfi]

1050Ti low profile would go nicely in that system.

[New_Newbi]

On 2/8/2019 at 4:02 PM, filippalfi said:

1050Ti low profile would go nicely in that system.

Without changing the PSU?

[filippalfi]

45 minutes ago, New_Newbi said:

Without changing the PSU?

Yeah, draws only 75W from PCIe slot. I used it in a similar build with 275W PSU.