Graphics Card Won't Fit

[justicejud]

I'm trying to install a GeForce FX 5500 PCI graphics card into my son's
Dell OptiPlex GX60. This computer has a very small case and, although
the card fits into the PCI slot, you cannot close the case because of
the card's size. Is there someway to work around this that anybody
knows? Do they make smaller cards?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Smith]

You could look into a PCI Riser card.

 

[BruceM]

Yeah, best solve the problem by swapping it into a second hand tower & then
you don't get that problem in the future. Also I could nearly bet that his
slimline comp only has a low powed power supply & limited number of empty
slots for a burner etc?
Don't know what country you're in but in Australia you can pick up second
hand towers with 350-400W power supplies in them for about $20A

 

[Paul]

I'm trying to install a GeForce FX 5500 PCI graphics card into my son's
Dell OptiPlex GX60. This computer has a very small case and, although
the card fits into the PCI slot, you cannot close the case because of
the card's size. Is there someway to work around this that anybody
knows? Do they make smaller cards?

Thanks in advance.

Here is an example of a low profile PCI card (FX5200 64 bit memory).
This one doesn't seem to include a second PCI bracket - some products
have a low profile bracket, so you can remove the normal height
bracket and put the low profile one on instead.

eVGA 128-P1-N309-LX Geforce FX5200 128MB 64-bit DDR PCI Video Card $49
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130188

This one has a low profile bracket included:

eVGA 128-P1-N320-LX Geforce FX5500 128MB 64-bit DDR PCI Low Profile $54
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130255

It may be harder to find a low profile video card with a 128 bit
memory interface to the GPU. That will give a bit more performance
for gaming.

You'll also want to check that the product you buy, has a DVI to
VGA adapter plug, if the monitor has a VGA video cable. Low
profile cards cannot support all three flavors of connector
at the same time, as there isn't enough faceplate space for that.
The DVI connector has both digital and analog signals on it, and
the DVI to VGA adapter plug brings the analog signals to a
standard VGA pinout. It is much better to get the adapter
bundled with the video card, as you can pay a fortune if you
have to buy it separately.

The "homebuilder/hacker" option, would be to take the guts
out of the Optiplex case, and place them into a standard
ATX case. Only you can judge whether the mechanical details
of the Dell are suitable for such a transplant - companies
like Dell play fast and loose with standards, so there could
be all manner of mechanical surprises in such a transplant.
Finding a case-modder web page for the GX60 would tell you
how feasable such an "upgrade" might be. Your cost in this
case would be a $50 computer case, and the knowledge that
more upgrade cards might fit in the future.

A riser card adapter mentioned by another poster is also a
good idea. This would basically be a 90 degree adapter, so
the card lays on its side, rahter than standing upright.
Whether a riser would work, depends on how the faceplate
of the card would line up after installation. There are
more mechanical details to worry about, and buying a
low profile video card is a bit simpler.

Paul

 

[kony]

I'm trying to install a GeForce FX 5500 PCI graphics card into my son's
Dell OptiPlex GX60. This computer has a very small case and, although
the card fits into the PCI slot, you cannot close the case because of
the card's size. Is there someway to work around this that anybody
knows? Do they make smaller cards?

Thanks in advance.

If you have the option, return the card to the seller and
instead seek a "low profile PCI" card. As BruceM pointed
out, you may be facing a power supply limit, there may be
insufficient power or the added load may reduce the lifespan
of the power supply.

As for the PCI riser, it's basically just a right-angled
adapter, sometimes one on a ribbon cable but those tend to
be more problematic with video cards. You'll have to see of
there is room to accomodate the card at a 90' angle, if it
would clear other parts, and if it would have sufficient
airflow around it too. A passively cooled card can be worse
in such a scenario as they rely more on chassis airflow.
You might be able to underclock it to reduce heat and power
consumption, but that seems counterproductive too, since the
card isn't going to be very fast for newer games to begin
with, and I expect gaming was the reason for the new card?

 

[Michael C]

Yeah, best solve the problem by swapping it into a second hand tower &
then you don't get that problem in the future. Also I could nearly bet
that his slimline comp only has a low powed power supply & limited number
of empty slots for a burner etc?
Don't know what country you're in but in Australia you can pick up second
hand towers with 350-400W power supplies in them for about $20A

Have you seen the inside of a dell? They don't even have the normal screw
holes in the motherboard. Instead they have slots that are not in the
same location as the screws.

Michael

 

[justicejud]

Thanks for your responses! A lot of information. I've gotten a low
profile card and I've managed to get it in it the slot...of course,
there are now problems booting the system, but I'll working around that
too eventually.

 

[Michael C]

Thanks for your responses! A lot of information. I've gotten a low
profile card and I've managed to get it in it the slot...of course,
there are now problems booting the system, but I'll working around that
too eventually.

The dell has detected you didn't buy spares from them.....

 

[digisol]

Different cards / different voltages

They have a notch in the AGP slot so the wrong voltage card can't b
used, fairly common, my guess is the AGP slot has at least one smal
notch to stop it going in

Some have the notch in the card so they are compatible with th
board

Try a smaller card, like a GF-5200 or a GF4-MX440 128 Mb the latte
goes in my soc 370 dual Tyan board