Recommendations for a Display Adapter

[coldan]

I have a Shuttle box which Belarc identifies as Shuttle Inc SK45 V10 - K45SE.

I am running Win 7 on an SSD but would like better Aero performance than the on board video gives.

The limitations are

Power Supply 100W
Processor 3.07 gigahertz Intel Core2 Duo E7600

Spare PCI slot - physical size - say 2cm

Can anyone suggest a suitable video card?

Regards

Coldan

 

[Nocandu]

Hi

Are you sure you have a 100 W power supply.
That doesn't seem like enough to run a separate video card.

I would think something more like 400 to 500 Watts would be required.

Mike

 

[BadBigBen]

while there are PCI GFX cards out there, the caveat is the PSU, at 100w it is good enough for the the hardware as it is, considering that the the CPU alone uses around 65+W, now if you add a graphics card to that it could well come to a "melt down" of the PSU...


Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[paparazi]

CPU 65 watts
Motherboard/ram/fan must be another 15watts
Hard drive 10watts
DVDRW 8watts
Hmmmm already at 100watts

Martin


On wings like angels whispers sweet
my heart it feels a broken beat
Touched soul and hurt lay wounded deep
Brown eyes are lost afar and sleep

 

[tf1]

The K45 is a simple/basic PC - equivalent to a Netbook in the workd of laptops.

It is not designed to be upgraded. It only has a PCI slot and the 100W power supply is virtually maxed out.

Your upgrade path is a new PC.




Regards: Terry

 

[coldan]

Well this IS my new GREEN desktop PC! and virtually silent - nice change from the noise my old tower case made.

It is currently running with an SSD 64Gb drive and an NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 in the PCI slot and runs Win 7 Aero but slowly. Index ( 2.5).

It runs into a 3HeadsToGo adapter to three 17" monitors giving 3840x1024.

If power supply temperature is anything to go by this is running very cool. In some recent hot days it was still only warm to the touch.

Coretouch32 reports both cores at 44C on a cool day and up to 50C on a hot one.

This is the content of the log file produced from my app

6:18:55 PM ** Get_PC - details of PC
6:18:55 PM Operating System - Windows VISTA (WIN 7) 64 bit
6:18:55 PM Computer Name : SHUTTLE
6:18:55 PM Computer details
6:18:57 PM CurrentClockSpeed: 3070
6:18:57 PM Manufacturer: GenuineIntel
6:18:57 PM MaxClockSpeed: 3070
6:18:57 PM Name: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E7600 @ 3.06GHz
6:18:57 PM NumberOfCores: 2
6:18:57 PM Current Display Resolution : 3840 x 1024

So - are there any low power drain better graphics cards out there?

Regards

Coldan

 

[tf1]

You'll be hard-pushed to find any graphics card that uses less than the 100W that your PSU has available.

Integrated (embedded) graphics processors tend to have the lowest power demands by a wide margin. The average power requirements of most PCIe and AGP cards is 140W idle and over 200W loaded (some astronomically higher requiring two additional power connectors). PCI cards are getting rarer than hens' teeth and would still need too much power.

So the simple answer is NO.


Regards: Terry

 

[BadBigBen]

here is some information to draw your own conclusions:

Q: What are the power requirements for the GeForce 8400 GS GPU?
A: GeForce 8400 GS cards have a maximum power draw of 71 watts.

FX9400GT - Thermal and Power Specs:
Maximum GPU Temperature (in C) 105 C
Maximum Graphics Card Power (W) 50 W
Minimum System Power Requirement (W) 300 W

source: nVidia

simple math (add to Paparazi's post) for the 9400GT: 65W+15W+10W+8W+50W = 148W at IDLE (no videos playing, no games, etc., ergo just standing there running)...

Solution A: upgrade PSU and GFX-card. Costs around 150 to 180 Dollars or more (PSU $64 and GFX Card $80)...

Links: for the GFX card see below...

for the replacement PSU rated at 200W (can be upgraded to 270w - recommended):

FSP FSP200-50PLA2 - 200 Watt Power Supply

http://www.atxpowersupplies.com/200-watt-power-supply-FSP200-50PLA2.php

Solution B: upgrade to a new PC, costs around: $200 dollars upwards...

http://www.newegg.com/Store/Category.aspx?Category=3&name=Barebone-Mini-Computers

@tf1 - can't say that they are getting "rarer then a hen's teeth", NewEgg has 63 listed in their inventory...

see:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048 1069609642&name=PCI

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[tf1]

Ben

These are all old stock PCI cards: I didn't see anything current listed and I'd be surprised if there's much benefit over the embedded Intel 945 GPU. If I wanted an old generation PCI card, I'd look on eBay.

The whole raison d'etre for the Shuttle K45 is to be green. If you're going to change the PCU and fit a more powerful graphics card, why buy a K45 in the first place? It's like buying an electric car and then fitting a 6-litre V8 motor.

Regards: Terry

 

[BadBigBen]

These are all old stock PCI cards

possibly, but the Sapphire ones are still in current production, just take a look at their website...

I didn't see anything current listed

the newer GPU's need LOTS more power and transfer rates then a PCI port can deliver, that is the reason why you do not find anything more current then the FX9000 series with a PCI design...

I'd be surprised if there's much benefit over the embedded Intel 945 GPU.

That would all depend on the RAM size of the SK45 and if the 945SGC has DEDICATED video memory...

If I wanted an old generation PCI card, I'd look on eBay.

not if I can get one just as cheap and with warranty from a supplier... other than that, I agree...

The whole raison d'etre for the Shuttle K45 is to be green. If you're going to change the PCU and fit a more powerful graphics card, why buy a K45 in the first place?

we are her not to reason the why's and why not's, to upgrade the SK45 (I agree that it is to be green), but what the owner wants to do with it...

It's like buying an electric car and then fitting a 6-litre V8 motor.

why not, it would be just another hybrid, use the electric motor while driving in the city, and use the V8 gas guzzling engine while driving between LA and Vegas (there are just not enough power stations in Death Valley, where one could charge the batts)...

but we both agree that it would be cheaper and better if the OP, goes out and buys a newer and better system, to begin with, hence the comparison in my earlier post...

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[wahnula]

According to Shuttle:

http://us.shuttle.com/barebone/Models/K45_Spec.html

...this only has (1) PCI (not PCIe) slot. And yes, it truly does say 100 watt PSU.

Face it, this PC is what it is, consider yourself lucky to have a 5200 working, if you want Aero then get a different PC. Personally I would turn Aero OFF for better performance. It's just robbing you of GPU cycles that could be helping render your work.

Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[coldan]

Well I get Aero - for example if I shake a Title bar it closes all other open windows....and it happens instantly...

Go figure..

Works fine with an HDD but noticeably less responsive.. This PC is totally usable - I was hoping to get better rendering with Google Earth you see... but I feel that may be a function of my broadband connection.

Coldan

 

[tf1]

I have aero working just fine on a Netbook (similar 945 chipset), but only Atom processor and 2GB RAM. I don't think that Google Earth rendering will improve as it is only 2D graphics.


Regards: Terry

 

[kjv1611]

Are you connecting wired or wireless to the internet?
What router are you using?
What modem are you using?
What's your internet speed?

Yeah, I think that's where I'd be looking more than at PC specs for Google Earth stuff.

Another place to look would be to see if you have any security apps that may be slowing down Google Earth, b/c trying to evaluate all it's actions...

Another place to look would be to make sure you don't have something eating up all your CPU cycles or available RAM.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[coldan]

My K45 is connected to a Billion 7404 Router via an ADSL 2 connection.

Even after much changing of profiles ( at ISP Internode) I can only get 2500Kbits/sec.

Coldan

 

[tf1]

Possibly that is low for ADSL2, but it does depend on your distance from the local exchange and the quality of the (external) line and all the connections and filters you use internally.

Try connecting your router directly to the Master socket and disconnect all other internal devices. If it is still poor, check your exchange distance and if it is less then 2.5 miles, ask your ISP to get the line quality checked.


Regards: Terry