What would be the best low profile graphics card currently available?
I essentially want to use it for HD movies and such on a 46" TV.
It will run in an HP N54L micro server, power might be a problem though.
Your thoughts and suggestions?
I reckon any decent AMD Radeon should be perfect. You don’t need a powerful GPU.
I had a Winfast Leadtek GT610 with the N40L micro server, it was okay but there was much room for improvement.
It will need to cope with file sizes of about a maximum of say 15GB, smoothly.
And which brand of AMD would be best? I have pretty much given up on Gigabyte.
HD5450
or
HD6450
Both have built-in decoders for media which you will need because the proc in the microservers can’t handle HD video.
Plus the GPU gives you sound.
Win/Win
I’m running the ASUS HD5450 Low Profile in my microserver. (video & audio via HDMI)
I remember you mentioning those two cards when I bought the GT610. So you reckon those are still the best ones for the job?
I saw a couple of other cards as well, but wasn’t sure how well they stack up against the 6450/5450
I also have N40L with the Gigabyte 610 low profile and don`t see any problems on mine.
What made you explore alternatives?
I sold the N40L along with the GT610 to upgrade to the N54L, I had some minor lag when playing HD movies over 12GB at some high action scenes. Other than that I did not have problems, although I did not play any 3D content on that setup.
The kids have rediscovered the 3D movies and I want a graphics card that can handle any HD or 3D movie without any hint of lag.
I was hoping that there would be a new breakthrough in graphics cards but it seems that the winner is still the HD6450.
The latest and greatest low profile from the AMD stable is the R7 240. It’s designed for HTPC’s. Can play Blu-ray 3D with ease.
This card even manages to play BF4 at 30 fps.
Quite pricey though.
Asus + msi below.
That looks promising, 128bit and everything.
So which brand is best then? a Quick google search for available cards suggests Sapphire, Asus, MSI.
Asus & MSI are my favourite brands
Will the R7 240 be better at playing HD than the HD6450? And I assume it has everything the HD6450 has in terms of decoding and audio etc?
Well, the HD6450 is on the 65nm process, the R7 240 is on the 28nm process so it will be more efficient and faster. As for decoding, yes it has everything from the HD6450 + more. It’s also much newer architecture.
Awesome, thanks! Then I will go for the R7 240 then.