Graphics cards for a lay down desktop?

[ThinkPad560X]

I have this IBM NetVista M41, 6790-22U http://www.bigkey.com/pic/IBM/cpu/19480 ... mb_4gb.jpg Intel Pentium 4, Windows XP Pro, 1GB of RAM max. ive been using if for awail and want to see about upgrading it. I was going to see about getting a new board for it, eaither a Core 2 Duo from a used lenovo small like mine, of a tigerdirect board. I like playing my Steam games but Im not a huge gaming person. And I want to be able to take my small desktop with me out to living room if I decide I want to. I could get a laptop but I not too much into getting another one and I dont use them much anymore unless I travel, then I just use my Z60m. Will PCI graphics cards fit in this? it has one in it right now, a Nvidia something, Stock. But I saw grahics cards that are huge now. As of right now I have a 32GB SSD drive with Windows XP Pro on it, 1GB Ram Max, CD/RW/DVD-Rom drive and USB 1.0 front and I think the back are 2.0. Want to get: PCI USB 3.0 4 slot, CD/RW/DVD/Blu-Ray/RW drive, if a combo exsits, motherboard, just found a Lenovo M58P desktop board didnt buy but looking at, "My desktop uses desktop and not small form boards so thats a Plus. All my games are installed on a External WD 1TB USB 3.0 HDD, pluged into back of this desktop. And want to get 8GB RAM or maybe even 16GB, I think 32GB is the max standard now right? I remeber when 256MB and 512MB or even 1GB was huge.

[Medessec]

I would recommend you just scratch all that and see if a Mini-ATX LGA 1155 board fits in it... so you can pop an i5-2400, i5-2500 or i5-3470 or something along those lines in there, and be set for life with that thing. I'm pretty sure it can be done, plus if you can't find a dedicated video card to fit-the Intel HD graphics on these CPUs are extremely potent and will leave you off nicely.

You'll need a video card that's passively cooled, and is made in "small-form factor", where they have a more stout bracket to go on the back where the ports are.

Here's an example of what one looks like: http://xtreview.com/images/Club%203d%20 ... 40%203.jpg
Compared to a card with a full-size bracket: http://content.hwigroup.net/images/news/GT_630_1.jpg

I'd recommend a GT640, but those can be quite pricey. If you're pressed for budget, you can probably look into a 405, 420 or 440. I'd recommend at least those if you want DirectX 11 support... even though you're a casual gamer, I would strongly recommend it. If you're still pretty non-caring and don't want to blow any money into a good video card, a GT 240 would probably do.

[A31]

Why buy into LGA 1155 now? It's been dead for almost a year. Look at LGA 1150 instead, and the 4th generation Intel processors. That is providing that the board of course fits into your case. You might have fun connecting the front panel connectors to the board (because OEMs tend to use proprietary connectors) and if the I/O shield is not removable then it won't fit.

Graphics cards wise, I think NVIDIA's cheap options are overpriced. Look at some of the Radeons instead. You're going to obviously need a low-profile video card, so your options are going to be limited (performance wise), but look at the lower-end cards form each manufacturer and you should find something.

Or alternatively you could just use onboard video if you ended up getting a new board/CPU/RAM combo. As mentioned, the Intel HD graphics are good, but if you want better onboard graphics then look at AMD's APU options. They are (relatively low-mid range) CPUs with decent onboard graphics. That might be ideal for you.

[Medessec]

Why buy into LGA 1155 now?

Because with Sandy-Bridge/Ivy-Bridge, the cost of CPU+Mobo can be more than 50% less for only a 10-15% performance decrease. It may not be as efficient or as techy as Haswell, but it's still featureful and wildly powerful. And for something as old and as cheap as a NetVista... I do understand that the OP likes the case, but it's like taking a Dell Optiplex case and putting an X79 motherboard in it.

However I am not at all against putting Haswell hardware in something like a NetVista... a desktop like that would be a pretty cool beast machine. I just think putting the latest and greatest in a case from the early 2000s is more novel than financially optimal.

Graphics cards wise, I think NVIDIA's cheap options are overpriced. Look at some of the Radeons instead.

This could be a good area too for saving some good money... the Radeon 5570(still an insanely powerful GPU today, comparable to the 440 and capable of DirectX 11) is pretty cheap and available in small-form factor, here's a really good sale on ebay I found at random: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ACER-ATI-Radeon ... 2588a91b92

However, I have a personal brand preference to Intel+Nvidia, and I find both brands in contrast to the other to work brilliantly in the long run. However-I will concede the AMD APUs(A-series with Radeon graphics on die) are pretty good options.

[A31]

Because with Sandy-Bridge/Ivy-Bridge, the cost of CPU+Mobo can be more than 50% less for only a 10-15% performance decrease. It may not be as efficient or as techy as Haswell, but it's still featureful and wildly powerful. And for something as old and as cheap as a NetVista... I do understand that the OP likes the case, but it's like taking a Dell Optiplex case and putting an X79 motherboard in it.

If he's prepared to buy new then buy the latest. You can get an LGA 1150 board and decent processor for not too much money.

If he can get a good used deal on an LGA 1155 platform (ie, CPU and board bundle), then go for it, but realise that the newest CPUs you can use are the Ivy Bridge CPUs from 2012. Great CPUs, but just be aware of that limitation.

Still consider looking at an AMD APU though. You likely wouldn't need to worry about buying a graphics card if you bought an APU.

At the end of the day, you just get what you can afford. If he's prepared to put new hardware into an old case that's his decision. He should spend what he is willing to spend on it (don't know why you want to keep it in that NetVista case anyway. If you got yourself a cheap ATX or even mATX case it'd be so much easier to upgrade your system and airflow would be miles better - probably look a lot nicer too!)

[Cigarguy]

For the system as described by the OP, I'd seriously look at AMD's APU. Cheaper than Intel with decent graphics with an OK CPU as desktop CPU go. After that I'd budget for a larger and faster SSD.

[ThinkPad560X]

For my Hard Drive should a get a HDD or keep with SSD? HDD is alot safer "In my opinion" in desktops then laptops since they dont move and are always sitting still. If so I'll just take this 32GB SSD and put into one of my laptops. What is the largest HDD out now, last time I saw was 2TB and that was 2011, so it should be bigger now. And would it be better to have all my games on the one drive then the external 1TB WD I have? And next is should I get IDE or SATA? Right now all this desktop has is IDE with a SATA adapter for the SSD. If I remeber I dont see any IDE on new motherboards so that would take out my IDE CD drive anyway, So I guess SATA I would get.

[Medessec]

SSDs work best in laptops, because you get all the benefits used effectively and that's the best for your money. So yes, it would be fine to get a brand new, high-capacity HDD and go with that.

[A31]

I've built a few desktops (including my own) with SSDs and they're quick! If you want a fast machine and you're not worried about storage, then get an SSD (and you'll never want to go back to a HDD, believe me!), but if you need space for storage then a larger HDD may be more ideal.

I think you meant that an SSD would be safer than a HDD because it never moves about and is still? If so, you'd be right, they are solid state - they have no moving parts and they are durable.

[Cigarguy]

SSD for sure desktops, laptops, old machine, new machine, tablets or anything that will take them. I will never go back to a HDD for OS and program files. Do not trust your data to either SSD or HDD, back everything up in triplicate. Everything is SATA now except for older desktops and laptops.