Does anyone know of a good video card for an HP Pavilion Slimline s3000?

This case is very small and cramped. Ive been having difficulty finding a decent video card for it. It must be PCI x16.



http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/Tec…



This is what I am working with.|||You have two major restrictions. The case size (only low-profile cards will fit) and the power supply capacity.



In general, slimlines of any brand cannot accept gaming-level graphics cards because:



1) Midrange and higher models aren't made in low-profile



2) Slimline power supplies are too weak, generally 200-225W on average. And they're proprietary, you can't replace them with readily available ATX power supplies from Newegg, Amazon etc.



Unfortunately, HP's specs for the s3000 leave out the power supply info, so you'll have to open the case and read the label. Even forum posts aren't conclusive on exactly what capacity factory power supply HP used in those models- it might be anything from 160 watts to 250 watts. Supposedly the part number is 5188-7602.



http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/ca/en/ho/…



If your power supply turns out to be 220 watts, then you'd be able to install a low-profile Radeon HD 5450. That isn't a gaming card by any stretch of imagination, but it draws very little power and can play easy games like the Sims 3, World of Warcraft etc. If your psu is 250 watts, you can probably install a low-profile GeForce GT220, which is better.



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as…

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as…



However, if the psu is below 200 watts, that's not enough to upgrade to ANY standalone card (except maybe a GeForce 8400GS which is a complete waste of time). So you'd need to upgrade the power supply first. There are 3rd-party replacements psus for slimlines available on Ebay and some specialty sites like atxpowersupplies.com.



http://cgi.ebay.com/260735081207

http://cgi.ebay.com/320651304921



With the 270 watt psu ugrade, you could run a low-profile Radeon HD 5570.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as…



With the 300 watt 80 plus model, you'd be able to install a low-profile Radeon HD 5670:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as…



That's about as good as it gets for most slimlines. There are a couple of higher-end models which exist but the power requirements exceed anything you could install. In any event the low-profile 5570 is a decent card for everyday use and light gaming.



Performance:

http://www.techspot.com/review/245-ati-r…



But beware- cramped slimline cases have poor airflow, making them prone to overheating, especially after installing any standalone graphics card upgrade. As a general class of computers, slimlines are designed to be used as-is off the shelf for everyday business/school tasks, not upgraded for gaming.|||GPU buyers guide

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Utjw77kHk…

Power supply Guide ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG6uw0QFE…

Low wattage PSU's and GPU's Guide ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTQoH-j5K…