Graphics Card options?

[simon214]

Thanks guys this Gigabite nvidia GT 710 looks great on my 32" tv!! no flicker and it cropped to size and stuck to it.

£33 on amzon atm ... some sellers are doing 710 all the way to 750 in 1 nd 2 gb cards,

any ideas on a blue ray drive? is there a brand or model which fits really well?

[sinful]

I've had great success with my Panasonic UJ-265 BDXL drive.

[IT Troll]

Nvidia still haven't released the rumoured GT 930 but EVGA and ASUS has recently announced low power editions of the GTX 950. These don't require an additional power connector and are being positioned as a replacement for the GTX 750 Ti. They use less than 75W and have HDMI 2.0 and dedicated H.265 decoding.

However so far the announced cards are both full height and dual width meaning they are not a good match for the VGX (would require reconfiguring the expansion slots).

[Oliver]

Apr 30, 2016 7:10:17 GMT IT Troll said:

Nvidia still haven't released the rumoured GT 930 but EVGA and ASUS has recently announced low power editions of the GTX 950. These don't require an additional power connector and are being positioned as a replacement for the GTX 750 Ti. They use less than 75W and have HDMI 2.0 and dedicated H.265 decoding.

However so far the announced cards are both full height and dual width meaning they are not a good match for the VGX (would require reconfiguring the expansion slots).

Thanks for keeping us informed on the latest cards.
I finally got round to installing my son's old AMD Radeon HD 7470 card.
Fed up with jerky video playback and periodically (about once every 40mins) my screen goes blank for around 2 secs and the sound disappears for another 5 secs after it comes back on.

With haste I uninstalled all the AMD drivers and software using the uninstall tool on the AMD website and dug out the old HD7470, I hovered out the dust from inside my XL301 and installed the card, then and only after putting it back together, I noticed it only has DVI and Display Ports, no HDMI. I had to restall my HD6670, I just assumed it had HDMI, felling a bit silly I didn't check that first.
My HD6670 send to be working slightly better since dusting it off and reinstalling all the drivers but still appears faulty.
Anyhow I'm back looking out for a new graphics card, I was going to get a GT 730 but I find I'm watching an increasing amount of H.265 videos, ideally I would like full H.265 support and HDMI 2.0 so I'll have to keep an eye out and struggle on with my HD6670 fit a little longer.

[Oliver]

Apr 5, 2016 14:57:43 GMT simon214 said:

Thanks guys this Gigabite nvidia GT 710 looks great on my 32" tv!! no flicker and it cropped to size and stuck to it.

£33 on amzon atm ... some sellers are doing 710 all the way to 750 in 1 nd 2 gb cards,

any ideas on a blue ray drive? is there a brand or model which fits really well?

Hi simon214

Which gt710 did you buy, I'm looking at getting a cheap graphics card for my VGX-XL whilst I custom build a new HTPC.
I've seen this for just £25 delivered but don't think the heatsink will fit..

Asus NVIDIA Gt 710 1 GB Passive Cooling Pci-E Graphics Card www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01AY793MY/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_CGZkxbNHB6AP5

[IT Troll]

No that won't fit as it is double width. This Zotac should fit.

www.amazon.co.uk/Zotac-ZT-71301-20L-GeForce-Express-Graphics/dp/B01AZ7W76W

simon214 went for a Gigabyte model, which I think have active cooling.

[Oliver]

I hoped the wider part might fit into a void, wishful but incorrect thinking.
If the GT710 will cost me £30 I wonder if this GT720 at £33 might be a better buy, it's perhaps slightly wider but I guess it will fit...

ZOTAC GeForce GT 720 1 GB Graphics Card www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00MIYKRC2/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_.I4kxb54MFJP1

Any thoughs please?

[IT Troll]

It looks like it should fit especially when you view it end on.

However in this thread it was hinted that it might not. But it was not very clear.
vgx-xl.proboards.com/thread/425/faster-more-memory

[Oliver]

I've bought the gt720 it's a higher spec and only 19watts! So should be cool and economical, I thought that was worth the extra £3. I looks like I bought the last one.
I hope it will fit, if not I'll either try to mod it slightly or simply return it, bought directly from Amazon so hopefully shouldn't have any issues.

[simon214]

thats why i got the gigabyte version... its not a passive heat sink bit is very slim.... on the comparison screen it gives you the width .

mins 2.1 cm i think most of them were around that width

some of the 720's get really wide... watch out

P.S. also has Nvidia 3D! and my samsung is 3D so was considering a 3D bluray drive...

Its HDMI sound isn't a touch on the viao onboard sound. Im using the line out.

Attachments:

[simon214]

wait.... what? is that 300watt spec for my gigabyte gt 710 for the card allown? or the whole system? i may have to look again at this..

[IT Troll]

I wouldn't trust the specs on Amazon. The dimensions and weights are all over the place. The Asus is 2.7 wide in one listing and 5.4 in the other. It's the exact same cooler! Asus use the same cooler on the 710, 720 and 730.

The Asus, EVGA, Gainward, Gigabyte and Palit passive models are double width and so won't fit a standard VGX-XL.

The passive Zotac GT 710 is single width, whilst the Zotac GT 720 and 730 are 1.5 width (and so might fit).

The passive MSI GT 720 is interesting as it is single width but with a slightly longer cooler.

So to my eyes, the MSI is the slimmest passive GT 720 and the Zotac is the slimmest passive GT 730.

All of these cards use less power than the original factory fitted card (7600 GTL).

Attachments:

[IT Troll]

May 7, 2016 11:53:14 GMT simon214 said:

Its HDMI sound isn't a touch on the viao onboard sound. Im using the line out.

I have no problems with the HDMI sound. After all it is a pure digital stream from your source just like you would get from optical digital out from the onboard sound. So it will bitstream whatever your source has; Dolby Digital, DTS, DTS-MA (with a capable player), etc.

But it you are needing analogue output then the onboard may be better for that I guess.

[Oliver]

May 7, 2016 14:20:26 GMT IT Troll said:

The passive Zotac GT 710 is single width, whilst the Zotac GT 720 and 730 are 1.5 width (and so might fit).

We will find out today, gotta love Amazon's Sunday delivery service

[IT Troll]

Have you managed to squeeze it in? I am interested to see some pics.

[Oliver]

I will write a full post later, but here are a few pictures until then..







I started a new thread VGX-XL GT-720 Graphic Card Install with full install video



<<<UPDATE>>>

^^Been suffering from BSOD and Freezing with this new card, see my thread above for further details^^

[simon214]

May 7, 2016 14:36:12 GMT IT Troll said:

But it you are needing analogue output then the onboard may be better for that I guess.

yep, i think the sony viao dac is much better than my amp, the amp has spotify and doesnt sound anywhere near as good!

Im using the phono line out on the viao sound card... not optical spdif or anything... maybe you know better than me its sample rates? idk

[firefly]

I am a bit confused about the new graphic cards. What i read, is the HD7750 the best one for the VGX-XL, but the newer recommendations are very different. I see the GT720 / GT 730 are good or the R7 240 / 250. But I see all the newer cards seen to be slower than the HD7750, also seen on the post with the tuned machines. What do you advise me: which new card is the real follow up of the HD7750? I want 1 GB of DDR5 RAM only for HD Video, no gaming. Or should I look for a used HD7750? Thanks Andi

[Oliver]

Jun 1, 2016 10:50:54 GMT firefly said:

I am a bit confused about the new graphic cards. What i read, is the HD7750 the best one for the VGX-XL, but the newer recommendations are very different. I see the GT720 / GT 730 are good or the R7 240 / 250. But I see all the newer cards seen to be slower than the HD7750, also seen on the post with the tuned machines. What do you advise me: which new card is the real follow up of the HD7750? I want 1 GB of DDR5 RAM only for HD Video, no gaming. Or should I look for a used HD7750? Thanks Andi

VGX-XLpedia is a little out of date, the r7 240 is a rebranded (slightly lower spec) HD7750, I can personally recommend a r7 240 I bought a new one from Amazon for £40 which I feel is good value for the spec.
If you can find a good value HD7750 go for that, both cards are very capable (at 1080p atleast)

[firefly]

Now i dont have anymore think about the new cards: today i bought a brandnew sapphire hd 7750 low profile at ebay. I m very happy but dont ask me the price. There were a lot people bidding and want it too :-)