Upgrade help!

[Mojo Mender]

Greetings fine folks, I come to you with a true first world problem. I would like to be able to play wow while at work, during my downtime. The computer I use for work is a standard cube farm pc, with the exception that I have upgraded, and added a second hard drive, and gone from the 2GB of Ram that is comes with, to 8GB DDR2 Ram.

It is a Dell Optiplex 780
Interl Core 2 Due E8400 3.00GHz
8 GB Ram
64 Bit OS


I have wow installed, but it crashes the moment I try to load it. The poor onboard graphics card just can't handle it, lol. Since I can no longer modify the settings outside of game, it appears that I would have to invest in a new video card. herein lies the problem. the PSU is not replaceable, so I need a video card that can run wow on the most basic of settings that does require a dedicated power input. Does this exist? Also preferably a small card, as this computer is roughly 4-5 inches in depth? and that is probably exaggerating.

[Sturmbringe]

Cheap workstation PC's such as this one come with the cheapest of the cheap PSU's which are not really suited for gaming loads. Your PSU might fail while gaming or even the PC might shut down while gaming on account of the PSU being unable to take the extra load.

I suppose you could buy an extra low powered GPU and try. If the PSU cannot take the load, just remove the card and re-sell it on ebay.

I recommend you buy a GTX 750 (non-TI). Someone AMD knowledgeable may suggest an equivalent AMD card maybe.

Hopefully, your PC might be able to take the 55W load of the 750. If not, severely underclocking the card might get you to around 45W draw. Could work. Maybe, if you are lucky.

P.S.: Don't expect stellar performance at dungeons with a Stock, non-overclocked, Socket 775 Dual Core CPU. It would be just barely playable.

[Fascinate]

He probably also needs a low profile card as well, do 750ti's come in that form factor?

[Mojo Mender]

Trust me, I fully expect for the graphics to be the equivalent of Minecraft, lol.

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-OptiPlex.../dp/B004MJ5VEU

The above is the exact PC I am using, with the exception of the modification to ram. I mostly just want to be able to do gathering or other light activities, I do not expect to be able to dungeons/raid/or even go near Dalaran xD

[Sturmbringe]

I think it should probably fit:



OP should research exact dimensions/ask the ebay seller and take measurements of his case accordingly.

[Mojo Mender]

I should note, that I do not have much experience with looking for bare minimum components, would something like this be able to run wow? If even on the most basic of settings? It appears to not need a dedicated power supply.

https://www.amazon.com/Asus-Radeon-S...32KGJKADWWF4PS

[Fascinate]

A lot of games would play really well actually with a 750ti, but you would need to find a low profile model which could prove to be difficult.

Actually i found one for you, it has a bit of a price premium but that is expected for a low profile card:
https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GV-N.../dp/B00MW8NXAW

Also newegg link in case amazon charges you tax:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125680

[Mojo Mender]

A lot of games would play really well actually with a 750ti, but you would need to find a low profile model which could prove to be difficult.

Actually i found one for you, it has a bit of a price premium but that is expected for a low profile card:
https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GV-N.../dp/B00MW8NXAW

Also newegg link in case amazon charges you tax:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125680

Thank you so much, however, from looking at the card. I don't think it would fit, unless I were to cut off the excess metal and that would then essentially leave the VC dangling lol.

- - - Updated - - -

I think it should probably fit:



OP should research exact dimensions/ask the ebay seller and take measurements of his case accordingly.

What video card is this?

[Fascinate]

Thank you so much, however, from looking at the card. I don't think it would fit, unless I were to cut off the excess metal and that would then essentially leave the VC dangling lol.

It comes with a low profile adapter, check the other pictures on newegg.

[Sturmbringe]

I should note, that I do not have much experience with looking for bare minimum components, would something like this be able to run wow? If even on the most basic of settings? It appears to not need a dedicated power supply.

https://www.amazon.com/Asus-Radeon-S...32KGJKADWWF4PS

That my friend is a good catch.

The answer is "yes" at 1200X900 or so resolution.

I would not worry about using this card with Dell's 220W power supply in a stock 660s system. The Radeon 6450 is rated to draw just 27W at peak load; this version which uses DDR3 and a passive cooler is likely to draw even less. Both the Geforce GT 620 (30W) and Radeon 7570 (>40W) are tested and supported by Dell for use in your machine, which you can confirm in your owner's manual

This one is almost guaranteed to run in your coffee-machine, I'd say you grab one.

[Mojo Mender]

It comes with a low profile adapter, check the other pictures on newegg.

I'm an idiot, lol. Thank you. I will definetly look into this card, the price isn't bad at all if it gets the job done.

[Sturmbringe]

The GPU above in the picture is a GTX 750 which, however, draws 50-55W. That Radeon with the 27W draw you found above is much better in this regard so you should grab it IMO.

[Mojo Mender]

That my friend is a good catch.

The answer is "yes" at 1200X900 or so resolution.

I would not worry about using this card with Dell's 220W power supply in a stock 660s system. The Radeon 6450 is rated to draw just 27W at peak load; this version which uses DDR3 and a passive cooler is likely to draw even less. Both the Geforce GT 620 (30W) and Radeon 7570 (>40W) are tested and supported by Dell for use in your machine, which you can confirm in your owner's manual

This one is almost guaranteed to run in your coffee-machine, I'd say you grab one.

I just need you to know that I was on a call with a customer when I read your ending line, and when I got to coffee-machine I was barely able to mute myself before completely losing my shit. xD

[Fascinate]

I strongly suggest against buying a radeon 6450, i understand 120 dollars is a lot more than 38 dollars but its the difference between playable on settings that wouldnt look like a potato and barely playable on 1 preset, night and day difference.

If you dont want to spend 120 bucks on a work PC and i get that, search for gtx 750 low profile, or gtx 650/650ti low profile. Its possible you can find those for 60-80 bucks and would still be a massive difference over a 6450.

[Mojo Mender]

Honestly, I was expecting between 50-150, so 120 is not bad. I guess I could always just custom build a beast of a gaming computer and use the shell of one of these things. xD But jokes aside, I don't mind if it looks like a potato, and personally I hate radeon cards, but may I inquire as to your suggestion against it?

[Sturmbringe]

The thing is that the Radeon 6450 has half the 3D Mark score of the lowest recommended GPU for Legion which is a GT 440 or Radeon 5670.

So OP, I recommend you search for the lowest draw GT 440 or Radeon 5670 you can find at Amazon.

Also, have a look below:

http://www.futuremark.com/hardware/gpu

Use Ctrl+F to search for GPU's by number. You need a card with a score greater than 1200 in that benchmark and a very low poer draw, maybe in the 40W range.

[Fascinate]

Honestly, I was expecting between 50-150, so 120 is not bad. I guess I could always just custom build a beast of a gaming computer and use the shell of one of these things. xD But jokes aside, I don't mind if it looks like a potato, and personally I hate radeon cards, but may I inquire as to your suggestion against it?

Its just really old and really slow, plus WoW plays a lot better on nvidia cards.

[Sturmbringe]

That was interesting.

I think I solved it for you mate:

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desk...specifications

Nvidia GT 720

Higher 3D Mark 11 score than the lowest requirement GT 440=1200 marks@3D Mark 11 and just 19W power draw.

This card is absolutely guaranteed to run in your system. You only need to check the dimensions.

5.7 inches Length
2.713 inches Height
Dual(Slot)-width

Have fun

[Mojo Mender]

That was interesting.

I think I solved it for you mate:

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desk...specifications

Nvidia GT 720

Higher 3D Mark 11 score than the lowest requirement GT 440=1200 marks@3D Mark 11 and just 19W power draw.

This card is absolutely guaranteed to run in your system. You only need to check the dimensions.

5.7 inches Length
2.713 inches Height
Dual(Slot)-width

Have fun

Thank you so much my good sir! : D This looks perfect, and yes it does appear that it will work! Ordered now : D

[Denpepe]

waste of money, it's a cheap multimedia card not meant for gaming probably not much different from you onboard graphics.