Low Profile Graphics Card

A low profile graphics card is a card that is half the size of a full profile graphics card.

Its height is half size so it can fit smaller cases that only take low profile cards. A graphics card of this type requires less wattage power and works best in PC’s that have lower watts PSU’s. Normal cards may need 450 watts but a low profile graphics card may only need 300 watts. Check the specifications on the card to see if your PC meets the minimum requirements.

One low profile graphics card that has gotten good reviews on sites like Amazon is the SPARKLE SFPC84GS512U2LP 8400 GS 512M GDDR2 PCI Silent Low Profile HDTV S-Video DVI Graphics Card

The Sparkle GeFroce 8400 GS video card is perfect for Windows Vista. This card runs the features found in Vista without hesitation so you can play any Microsoft DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 games. This card has all the features of the GeForce 8 Series cards but not the price. For a low profile graphics card you get all of these outstanding features.

• NVIDIA Lumenex Engine
• Microsoft DirectX 10 Geometry Shaders: Shader Model 4.0 Technology
• High Dynamic Range (HDR)
• NVIDIA ForceWare

Here are some noteworthy things to know about.

If you have a PC where you are running windows vista and it has an onboard video card or in other words the video card is integrated with the motherboard then you may not be able to run some programs like Windows Aero and Windows DVD maker. The GeForce 8400 solves that problem.

When you do install this low profile video card remember to disable the onboard video first in the BIOS. Next you will install the card and then the drivers in safe mode.

Even though this is a half height card it is still powerful enough to runs games such as Fallout 3, Mass Effect, Call of Duty 4, Left 4 Dead, and Dead Space. In older games such as KOTOR 2 you can run this card at its max setting for smooth video gaming.

For older PC’s this card is an exceptional low profile graphics card. It is cost friendly, feature friendly and installation friendly. As an improvement over the GeForce 6200 this card runs smoother and faster.