Need a new video card...difficulty inside

[Radium_Angel]

I have a small Shuttle XPC system (sx38p2 pro, pics and specs here: http://global.shuttle.com/products/productsGallery?productId=638) and I'm in need of a better video card for it.

The difficulty is it can't be externally powered (6 pin) or take up dual slots (as the second slot is in use) so what's the bang for the buck in low end vid cards that will fit these limitations?

[SoundiBoy]

probably some form of 1050ti or maybe a 1060 3gb

[Keppla]

Nvidia's GTX 1050 TI doesn't use external power and they aren't as big as other cards.

[Crunchy Dragon]

Just now, SoundiBoy said:

probably some form of 1050ti or maybe a 1060 3gb

This,

 

Possibly even so far down as a GT 1030(although that's not exactly a high performing card)

[Crunchy Dragon]

Can you remove whatever's taking up the second PCIe slot to accommodate a larger card(as in dual-slot) or is whatever there there to stay?

[SoundiBoy]

Just now, Crunchy Dragon said:

This,

 

Possibly even so far down as a GT 1030(although that's not exactly a high performing card)

I wouldn't really recommend a GT 1030 unless it is ABSOLUTELY needed. A 1050ti is pretty much twice as powerful as the 1030 overall 

[ProjectBox153]

I’d look at the 1050 Ti. 

[KenjiUmino]

20 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

The difficulty is it can't be externally powered (6 pin) or take up dual slots (as the second slot is in use) so what's the bang for the buck in low end vid cards that will fit these limitations?

i think the best bang for buck would be a 1050ti.

 

they usually come with a two slot cooler but there is a single slot model made by inno3D 

 

[Jurrunio]

There's this, but I dont think it's available in the US.

http://www.inno3d.com/products_detail.php?refid=297

 

Seems like the majority of single slot cards are GT 1030s and RX 550s. This is weird since Galax made a single slot air cooled 1070, and yet nothing filled the gap in the mid tier market.

 

[JCMPTech]

Id google what others are using before you shell out a card.  I am the IT contractor for a large company that has tons of units with the same chip set as the unit you linked, and none of the PCs I have tried work with any card above a AMD R5/7/9 series or Geforce above the 9 series.  Might just be limited to crappy bios in the Dells and HP corporate units, but I'd do more research on card compatibility first, since its a first gen PCIe slot.  When they upgraded I was able to take as many of the old units as I wanted, and I am yet to get a single core2 machine to post with any of the RX cards or Geforce10 series.  The first Core2s came out in 2006, and the last ones in 2009, and removed from price list in 2011 so your dealing with allot of variables.  Some have 1st gen PCIe slots, some have 2.0, some run DDR3, some Run DDR2. I know other people who are running 1070s and alike in Core2 Machines but the dozen I have wont post no matter what bios version I flash (DDR3 and 1.0 PCIe), and other forums have similar results with Core2's so I would just see if anyone out there is able to run the card with your specific mobo before you order.

 

 

I also don't know how true it is so take it with a grain of salt, but a Tech on a Dell forum said that some card manufacturers still include support in the cards firmware for older PCie slots, some do not..  Supposedly some brands of 1050s post and others do not  because of the video cards firmware/bios support of non 3.0 slots.  Again he could of just said that to end the thread but who knows.

[KenjiUmino]

15 minutes ago, JCMPTech said:

I am yet to get a single core2 machine to post with any of the RX cards or Geforce10 series. 

i heard that geforce 10 cards need a mainboard with uefi bios. wich wasn't really a thing on core 2 machines.

[JCMPTech]

7 minutes ago, KenjiUmino said:

i heard that geforce 10 cards need a mainboard with uefi bios. wich wasn't really a thing on core 2 machines.

And the OP has a Core2 machine so....

 

 

EDIT:

FORM FACTOR	Shuttle Form Factor
PROCESSOR	Intel Core 2 Extreme / Quad / Core 2 Duo  with 1066M/1333Hz FSB
CHIPSET	Intel X38 + ICH9R
	4 x 240pin DDR2 DIMM slots,2GB per DIMM(Max 8GB) Support Dual channel DDR2 667/800 With the latest PCI-Express Gen 2.0 interface supporting ATi CrossFire™ and DirectX® 10 delivering the most hardcore gaming platform with awesome performance, stunning visual effects and breathtaking HD audio effects brought to you by 7.1 channel Dolby® Digital Live! and DTS™ Connect.       Ewww and its DDR2..... but wait it says he has PCIe 2.0! Why would a mobo manufacturer support the newest PCIe, the extreme editions of the Core2, not the newest RAM at the time??????

[KenjiUmino]

7 minutes ago, JCMPTech said:

And the OP has a Core2 machine so....

duh! i might have missed that little detail ... a single slot 950 then? 

[JCMPTech]

12 minutes ago, KenjiUmino said:

duh! i might have missed that little detail ... a single slot 950 then? 

If OP wants to not worry about compatibility, and since none of the single slot R7s are worth a damn, 950 is best you can get single slot and no PSU connection. 

OP didn't mention the Core2 directly that is why you missed it, I just followed the link to the system and downloaded the spec sheet.  I think the OP was more concerned with size issue and left out the age of the unit, which can be just as big of an issue.

[Radium_Angel]

Sorry about that. It's currently running an nVidia GT 710

The CPU is a Core 2, but I have a Q9550 on the way (yeah, it's an older system, not my main, or even secondary rig, and not planning on doing any serious gaming on it, if at all)

[KenjiUmino]

22 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

The CPU is a Core 2, but I have a Q9550 on the way

that would still be a core 2 ... a core 2 quad

 

with that kind of CPU, i am not even sure if anything above a 950 ti makes sense.

the core 2 quads are not that bad but you may not be able to see the full potential of a 1050 (ti) with it. 

[JCMPTech]

1 hour ago, KenjiUmino said:

that would still be a core 2 ... a core 2 quad

 

with that kind of CPU, i am not even sure if anything above a 950 ti makes sense.

the core 2 quads are not that bad but you may not be able to see the full potential of a 1050 (ti) with it. 

All of this^^^^^^^

I have a core 2 quad with DDR3 as a NAS, they arn't bad, but they are aging when it comes to new hardware

[Radium_Angel]

2 hours ago, KenjiUmino said:

that would still be a core 2 ... a core 2 quad

 

with that kind of CPU, i am not even sure if anything above a 950 ti makes sense.

the core 2 quads are not that bad but you may not be able to see the full potential of a 1050 (ti) with it. 

Since I won't be gaming with it (at least not anything beyond stuff like pac man) maxing out the video card is less of an issue. I was simply looking for something better than the 710 GT in it currently

 

[JCMPTech]

2 hours ago, Radium_Angel said:

Since I won't be gaming with it (at least not anything beyond stuff like pac man) maxing out the video card is less of an issue. I was simply looking for something better than the 710 GT in it currently

 

The 950 if you can find it, as far single size cards that will fit, this is all I could find on a quick newegg search, not much avail be better other than 730 or a overpriced R7 270

[Radium_Angel]

2 hours ago, JCMPTech said:

The 950 if you can find it, as far single size cards that will fit, this is all I could find on a quick newegg search, not much avail be better other than 730 or a overpriced R7 270

...950...nvidia GTX 950 Ti?

[KenjiUmino]

22 hours ago, JCMPTech said:

All of this^^^^^^^

I have a core 2 quad with DDR3 as a NAS, they arn't bad, but they are aging when it comes to new hardware

i have a Q6600 overclocked to 3GHz paired with a GTX 750ti.

 

this combination works quite well, my brothers girlfriend is using this system now and she can play many games without too much problems.

 

windows 7 on SSD is snappy even with a bunch of chrome tabs open. 

[Princess Luna]

Nothing wrong with the GT 1030 just because it offers worse price to raw fps ratio than the GTX 1050 it does not make it useless.

 

[JCMPTech]

So I was finally able to a Core2 machine to post with a 1050ti card, Zotac supports both UEFI and Legacy bios in at least the 1050Ti 2GB small form factor one.  Geforce 10 series cards USUALLY do not support legacy bios, some card manufacturers do.  I have seen it listed buried in specs pages on their websites, but none print in on the box.  OP probably bought something by now but I thought I would at-least share that info.

[Radium_Angel]

Thanks for the info. I put something in, then sold it to a client who needed the form factor.