Posted: 7/5/2026 4:43:03 PM EDT
[Last Edit: LesBaer45][Edited]
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I have a small form factor Lenovo I bought at a really good deal (current conditions) off of FB marketplace (unopened even, cut the tape myself) to replace my 15 year old AMD build. Sorta got screwed with my timing given the current lunacy for computers parts but life goes on. M70s with a Intel 7 255 low end but it has 32G RAM and 2 1TB NVME drives so I got that going for me. I'd like to add a little boost to the graphics, but I'm not a gamer nor a "content creator" doing video editing so I don't need the latest $1K+ video card by any means. I'm limited by the low profile case and 275w PS so I can't exceed basic PCIe slot power. Depth is going to matter so it can't be a super long card. Running Mint LDE, wiped Win 11 off of it.  My research shows an extremely limited selection. I guess I could go double wide and give up the X1 slot but it's still got to be low profile. Trying to get the most VRAM and newest GPU I can within my limitations. Everything seems to be MAX size, MAX power, MAX GPU, MAX $$$$. No one appears to make mid end low profile cards anymore much less single slot. Looking for ideas and if anyone has a specific card they've used. Trying to keep this at no more than $300 but could always be talked into something if it's worth it. Pickings seem slim to none at best unless it's some really old card with maybe 2G VRAM if that. Guess I shouldn't have coasted so long on the last over powered build and bumping along on the work laptop. Now I'm going to have to make do and get by until the AI crash. It's coming any day now right?  
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There's nothing wrong with a little personal baggage, it's owning the whole luggage store that's the problem.
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Originally Posted By Moondog: What's your plans for this system? What apps do you want to run? Basic stuff. I do enough hard core at work, this is a personal machine, the company laptop is for the real work. And there's other compute available there for the stuff that the laptop can't handle. Web, some libre office stuff, GIMP once in a while, watching videos. Some light programming, maybe a little home automation later. Some ballistic / reloading software. Maybe some lightweight CAD / drawing for a rough sketch of a cabin, but not "Pro" level, 3D photo realistic layouts. Shitposting on GD? Nothing critical, job related, or super serious. I found some lesser aka older GPU 4G VRAM cards but that seems to be the top for low profile. |
There's nothing wrong with a little personal baggage, it's owning the whole luggage store that's the problem.
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A 3050 is actually more than enough for light workloads and to get something better than the onboard video https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTJZCJH1?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback |
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Originally Posted By Rebel31: A 3050 is actually more than enough for light workloads and to get something better than the onboard video https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTJZCJH1?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback It's not single slot, however it'll run in a low profile desktop with a 275W PSU. Looks like it comes with a low profile slot plate too. |
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Originally Posted By Rebel31: A 3050 is actually more than enough for light workloads and to get something better than the onboard video https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTJZCJH1?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback Ah. How'd I miss that? Only saw the 3060's and they were full sized. Guess I could live with a double slot since it is MSI. Or I could live dangerously and go with a never heard of'em LP single slot 3050. Found on same page Still feel like that cars should be like $175 or so but such is the state of Personal Computing these days. 
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There's nothing wrong with a little personal baggage, it's owning the whole luggage store that's the problem.
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Originally Posted By LesBaer45: Ah. How'd I miss that? Only saw the 3060's and they were full sized. Guess I could live with a double slot since it is MSI. Or I could live dangerously and go with a never heard of'em LP single slot 3050. Found on same page Still feel like that cars should be like $175 or so but such is the state of Personal Computing these days. GPU's have been pricey for awhile. Storage and memory prices are ridiculous. Tom's Hardware has a build chart based on price tiers, and they no longer list $500 gaming desktops due to the price increase. |
