So basically, my HTPC is an HP Slimline which means it's the most un-upgradable thing ever. But I feel like upgrading the video card (an 8500GT) because it's sort of weak, and though I'm not really a gamer, it sucks not even being able to casually play recent games acceptably (I got through Far Cry 2 with 15fps on Med-Low <_<)

The other thing is that the stock 8500GT it came with is passively cooled, and coupled with the small case, the thing is constantly hot (not overheating, but still a bit too hot).

Problem: Case can only fit low-profile cards
Bigger problem: ****ty Slimline power supply is only 160W
Other problem: Case mods and getting a supplemental power supply are more trouble than it's worth

I've done some Googling and found some huge threads with people discussing/trying upgrades on Slimlines and it seems like the only real options are the low profile 9500GTs and Radeon HD 4550/3650 (although the latter is "pushing it" as far as power requirements). I'm not really that up-to-date on video cards, so -- does anyone know of a "better" fit? (The 9500GT doesn't have an HDMI out and I'm using an HDMI out to pass sound out right now, so ... =/)

My processor is an Athlon 64 X2 5400+ at 65W. I suck so I don't really know how much power the rest of my setup is drawing.

Can you get a more powerful power supply? I was looking at some mATX ones at Newegg earlier..will they work, or do you need something smaller?

I don't think I can upgrade the power supply

I found this chart of the actual power consumption of various video cards

http://mark.zoomcities.com/images/gfx/GFXpowerchartby3d.png

8500GT peaks at 27W and 9500GT at 28, so I'm guessing I'd have to stay around there ...

did i read that correctly? 160?

Yes, 160. It's anemic.

Are you sure you read it correctly? You need to add up the wattages of the various voltage rails. Some only have individual rail wattages, not a combined total.

It's 160. All Slimlines come with either 160 or 180W PSUs because HP is retarded.


In any case, though -- I did some more research and it's sort of come down between the aforementioned 9500GT and the HD 4550 due to the whole power thing. The 4550 has an HDMI out and the 9500GT has a DVI out, which i could get a DVI<-->HDMI adapter for, but I'll lose the sound I've been passing through. I've read that the 9500GT outperforms the 4550 from almost any angle, though. Any thoughts? >_<

Side note: I keyboard mashed and mistyped "Asus" as "asys" when searching for that card but Newegg successfully sent me to the right one

Out of those options the best one is the 9500GT, but I find it hard to believe it would work with your setup. The 9500GT essential performs the same as 8600GT (its easier to google 8500GT vs 8600GT comparisons).

Unless you can upgrade your power supply, its pretty much not worth upgrading. There are powersupplies designed to fit into drive bays, but you wouldnt want to dump all that additional heat into your small HTPC case.

Personally, I know when I upgrade I like to see a significant improvement. In the past when I perform upgrades like you are considering, I am usually disappointed. With graphics cards I try to skip a generation.

You should probably consider yourself lucky you have one as good as you do. With a PSU like that, upgrading the GPU is just asking for trouble. If you want something you should probably just build new.

A new case + power supply might be a less expensive option, unless all his hardware is specially designed to not fit in standard case stuff (IE mini stuff).

I was just looking at the HP Slimline specs apparently upgrading one of those is a nightmare. It seems the motherboard is ITX and uses a non-standard 24 pin power connection on the motherboard. Something called a Micro-fit connection.

Apparently the people who have upgraded the PSU on these machines end up doing some splicing/rewiring the PSU connector.

It seems a bunch of people have installed 9500GT's:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1224011
Thats pretty much the best you can do unless you wait for next-gen HTPC video cards.

Yeh which is why upping the PSU isn't an option

Thanks to everyone for your advice -- because I have been unduly influenced by the other forum I mentioned where there is a thread full of people trying to upgrade Slimlines (here), I may go ahead with the 9500GT (because honestly, the 8600GT is a HUGE improvement over the 8500GT in terms of gaming, and the 9500GT is just barely better than the 8600GT but uses way less power (maxes at 28W or so, while an 8500GT maxes at 27W), so it might be worth it to me just to go from unplayable to playable for modern games.) Or I might just heed Massassi's advice and decide it's not worth it. Depends on how much I'll have to pay for it <_< ($70 or less depending on rebates isn't *too* bad for me ... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150319)

I bought the GeForce 9600 GSO at Best Buy for their new year's sale, and it serves me very well. 768 GDDR3... I play Crysis at High quality... same with Far Cry 2. Fallout 3 runs great, if at times, decent on full quality. Call of Duty 4 is flawless online & off. I have a Pentium D (dual-core P4) and 2 gb memory. 500w PSU The RAM is cheap Gateway, but I can play any game out,. . . with 1280x1024 4FSAA no problem!! That's the highest my 19" LCD will allow. I actually acquired the last nVidia card of 768 they had. I'm extremely happy; every game I play is current-gen (and runs awesome!), or can do effects the consoles aren't literate enough to produce. I'm shocked.

Haha Triscuit and I found the same thread

In that thread there's also a link to a standard 20 pin to that "Micro" 24 pin adapter:

http://www.atxpowersupplies.com/20-pin-to-24-pin-hp-slimline-atx-converter.htm

coupled with this PSU:

[url]www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?/Item=N82E16817374002[/url]

Any thoughts? I think some guy mentioned he still had to do minor splicing or case modding but some people were able to just hook it in without too much trouble.

Ah I missed the adapter link. My only concern is even if you replace the PSU with the one recommended in that thread (which is currently out of stock) your current best upgrade possible would be this 9600GT . That one does feature HDMI out. You will have more heat and noise to contend with.

Too bad newegg doesnt have any of the midrange AMD/ATI solutions in Low Form Factor.

Guess you need to look at some FarCry2 benchmarks and estimate what type of improvement a 9600GT would yeild. And then decide if its worth $145(PSU/ADAPTER/CARD) + shipping.

You might want to check some measurements and make sure the 9500/9600's will fit length-wise.

I have an MSI 9600GT and when the fan is on high, it's LOUD. I've only heard it on high during bootup, though...Windows loads and it settles down.

Hrm

Well I read that a low-profile GDDR3 version of the 9500GT should be available soon (well technically a ton of manufacturers list it as available but I can't find it anywhere grr) so I might try to wait for that for lower power consumption + faster anyways.

I have decided, thanks to Triscuit, that a new power supply + adapter + 9600GT is not worth it. I'll just get a DVI<-->HDMI adapter for $3-5 for the 9500GT and pass my audio out through my S/PDIF.

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=45&threadid=2268946&enterthread=y

9500GT?

So one side effect of reading that huge thread Triscuit and I linked to was that I discovered a way to ghetto-mod my Slimline to add fans, since it runs really effin hot.



I bought a $15 laptop cooler and disassembled it and screwed the fans onto the back vent Temperatures have dropped by 15C across the board.

LOL, ever think about overclocking your CPU?, now that you have some better cooling. Since its HP its probably bios locked, but maybe a software overclocking util like SetFSB would work. It looks like the clock frequency chip on your motherboard is RTL8201CL, if im looking at the right reference diagram.

I didnt read that entire Slimline thread, but maybe someone else has attempted it...