What are my options for a low-profile GPU these days? From what I can see the 1050 Ti looks to be about my best bet - the 750 Ti is starting to look a bit long in the tooth now. But I'm not really up on modern GPUs, I don't know anything about AMD cards for example. I don't need all the settings turned up and I don't need anything higher than 1080p really - I just want something that can cope with modern games. I'm specifically looking at low profile - i.e. half-height - cards rather than "compact" full-height cards. I want a small unobtrusive machine that could happily live under the TV, and I am not willing to pay a fortune for a compact MiniITX case that can accommodate full-height cards. I don't have any gaming machines right now - I had to sell off my gaming laptop in order to help pay for a motorcycle insurance excess, so I'm looking at a bit of a low-budget re-entry into gaming. I've wanted to build a "console-like" machine for a while, so this seems like a good opportunity to explore that. I can pick up a compact SFF/USFF machine with an i5 or i7 quite cheap, but it would more than likely only have half-height slots (obviously PSU would be a factor also, especially for a 1050 Ti). A Zen APU on a MiniITX board is probably the "dream" scenario, but I'm not sure I'll be willing to wait that long.
don't know what case you have or size you need but what about one of the mini 1060/1070/1080 and a PCi e riser to install it 45 degrees, I used to do this in an LC19 obvious without such a beefy GPU as it was only 7cm high but worked fine.
Yeah chances are the case will only have half-height slots. At the moment I'm thinking I'll pick up a small/ultra small form factor desktop machine on the cheap and install a dedicated GPU; the kind of machines I have in mind will likely have only half-height slots, and I won't have the option for a right-angle riser.
TBH it sound like it might be a costly mistake, chances are in a prebuilt cheap SFF the PSU won't have been specced for decent GPU, might not have appropriate cabling etc, probably better to build in to HTPC case like the Milo 08 or buy a console.
Does the machine need to be under the TV, could it be hidden behind or in a cabinet? I used to hide a full size tower (CM stacker) behind my TV
Yeah I know the pros and cons of using a pre-built SFF machine vs using an HTPC-style MiniITX case. What I don't know is what half-height GPUs are available, whether a 1050Ti is the only realistic choice. At least if I know that I have a set of parameters to work with - power requirements, card length, PCIe power cabling, etc - and I can make a better decision. It doesn't have to live in the lounge but that's my preferred option right now. It'll be a long while before I can afford to start investing in a decent desktop gaming PC. Both of us do play games and while it might limit me from being able to use mouse & keyboard games, having something resembling a gaming machine in the lounge is a step up on where I am now. Plus, with the right GPU, streaming to a Steam Link (which I do have) is always an option. I have a cantilever TV stand so that doesn't leave any room to hide a larger case (and I'd have no room for that anyway). Yeah, the more research I do the more I think a 1050Ti is probably the best bet for a half-height GPU which can do 1080p. I had assumed they'd probably need two slots for the cooler.
