Hello, One of the two builds I am planning involves the building of a mITX desktop based on the following spec: Gigabyte H67N Socket 1155 Intel i5 2500k Corsair Vertex 3 120Gb SSD Be Quiet 650W PSU My quandary is what to do for GFX. This is not a gaming system, it is for photoshop editing and web design. I want a small footprint. The GFX card must fit in the motherboard compartment which will be approx 200(W)x200(L)x160mm(H) so it rules out most of the powerful cards, but again, they are not needed. My present desk top has a Sapphire Ultimate 1Gb 4670 which does nicely but as I am upgrading the rest I thought I would look at replacing this. Plus, as I have the chance to alter the dimensions now I would like to get a card good for a few years. The card must also be quiet, if not silent like the current one. So far I have identified either the GTS450 or the HD6770. I know a reasonable amount about computers and have been building my own for over a decade but I am really struggling to decipher the figures and work out which card will be best. Some sites say one, others say the other and some say neither are much better than what I have now?! I place my self at your mercy oh knowledgeable gods of Bit-Tech!
What benefit do you expect to get from a new graphics card if you aren't using it for gaming or some other GPU-calculation task? I can't see any point to it.
I'd suggest you to keep your Sapphire Ultimate 1Gb 4670. It is a fanless card, is short and does not require any power cord.
Just keep the original and see how it all works, then if you have any issues or notice it not quite working as expected then see about forking out some cash. I also wouldn't rule out the IGP on the 2500k, the onboard graphics is quite competent for doing normal day to day tasks and would save power AND cash.
One of the SFF builds was supposed to be a server housed in a Lian Li PC-Q07b. So far the spec is: Asus E35M-i deluxe 2Gb Corsair XMS3 1333MHz 4+ WD green drives. However, having trouble working out the wattage this will draw. I make it out to be 60-80 max, but the power calculator sites are saying 160+ which kinda knackers the idea of using a Pico PSU meaning I can then just stack the HDDs where the PSU would go. Thing is, board is very new so it is not on the power calculators or anything similar. It states 18W... Can anyone assist?
You will need the Molex for the 4-pin cpu power feed, leaving only one HDD connector... M3-ATX-HV powers my Zotac H55-wi-fi/i5-665k/X-25M car-PC. 90w at startup, dropping to less than 20W running itunes... HTH dunx
