low profile \ half height graphics card

[cbrow1is]

First of all i apologise if this is in the wrong place, only just signed up on behalf of a friend.

He basically has a brand new hp dc7600 small form factor pc and when he runs the game it works ok until the actual battle sequence. It doesnt go pixallated or through up any errors just wont run smooth it pretty much freezes or moves extremely slow. DirectX v9 is installed and nothing else is running on the pc at the time.

Now, assuming this means the graphics card needs updated from the inbuilt one, possibly due to 3D support? I dont claim to know anything about pcs!

I do know that good graphics cards and low profile dont go hand in hand but need to find him a card that would fit the pc and play the game for as cheap as possible.

Can anyone tell me where to find one i've looked for a while online and cant find anything (strong possibility i dont know what i'm looking for).

His spec is as follows:-

Processor, Operating System and Memory
Processor
Intel® Pentium® D Processor 945
• 3.40 GHz, 2 x 2 MB L2 cache, 800 MHz front side bus

Operating system installed
Genuine Windows XP Professional SP2

Compatible Operating Systems
Genuine Windows 2000 (Web Support), Genuine Windows XP Professional SP2, Genuine Windows XP Home SP2, FreeDOS, SuSE Linux 9.3

Chipset
Intel® 945G chipset

Standard memory
1.5GB DDR2-Synch DRAM

Memory type
DDR2-Synch DRAM PC-4200

Memory slots
4 DIMM

Internal hard disk drive
80 GB

Hard disk drive speed
7200 rpm

External drive bays
1 external 5.25 inch, 1 external 3.5 inch

Internal drive bays
1 internal 3.5 inch

CD-ROM and DVD
ADD2 DVI Combo

Hard disk controller
SATA 3.0 Gb/s

System features
Chassis Type
Small form factor

Graphic Subsystem Name
ADD2 DVI

Video adapter, bus
PCI Express™ x16

Video adapter features
3D/2D Controller (Microsoft® DirectX® 9), VGA integrated controller, RAMDAC integrated (400 MHz)

Graphic Subsystem Video Card Memory
Graphics memory is shared with system memory. Graphics memory usage can vary from 8 to 128 MB depending on the amount of system memory installed and system load

Expansion slots
2 low profile PCI, 1 low profile PCI Express x1, 1 low profile PCI Express x16 (2 full-height PCI available via optional riser card), (Note: with riser card option, express x1 and x16 slots are not supported)

Sound
Integrated High Definition audio with Realtek 2 channel ALC260 codec

Modem
Optional Hi-Speed 56K PCI SoftModem

Network interface
Integrated Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet for HP

Network cards
Intel Pro 1000 MT Gigabit NIC

Available LAN Drivers
Microsoft® Windows® NT 4.0, Microsoft® Windows® 98, Microsoft® 2000, Microsoft® XP, Linux® 2.2, Linux® 2.4

External I/O ports
Rear: 6 USB 2.0, 1 standard serial port, 1 optional serial port, 1 parallel port, 2 PS/2, 1 RJ-45, 1 VGA, audio in/out, Front: 2 USB 2.0, headphone and microphone

Keyboard
2004 standard keyboard PS/2

Mouse/Pointing Device
HP USB optical mouse

Security Management
Embedded TPM1.2 with optional HP ProtectTools, Embedded Security software

Physical security
Kensington Cable Lock, Hood Cover Security Loop supported, HP Desktop Security Lock, Integrated 1.2 TPM chip (ProtectTools software optional)

Dimensions (w x d x h)
33.8 x 37.9 x 10.0 cm

Weight
8.85 kg

Power consumption
240 watts maximum

Power Requirements
Input voltage 90 – 264 / 100 – 240 VAC, 50/60 Hz, active PFC

Acoustic Power Emissions
IDLE (Fixed disk drive spinning): LWAd = 4.0 Bels; FIXED DISK (Random write): LWAd = 4.0 Bels; FLOPPY DRIVE (Floppy to HD file copy): LWAd = 4.5 Bels; OPTICAL DRIVE (Sequential Reads): LWAd = 5.4 Bels

Acoustic Pressure Emissions
IDLE (Fixed disk drive spinning): LpAm = 29 dBA; FIXED DISK (Random write): LpAm = 30 dBA; FLOPPY DRIVE (Floppy to HD file copy): LpAm = 36 dBA; OPTICAL DRIVE (Sequential Reads): LpAm = 45 dBA

Operating Temperature Range
10 to 35° C

Operating Humidity Range
10 to 90% RH

Non-Operating Humidity
5 to 95% RH

Thanks for taking the time to read this and hope you can help.

[vonKrysiak]

Listen your computer is adequate to run MTW2, the only thing you need to change is video card.
My secondary machine is very similar bit lower cpu (3.2ghz) and more ram(2gb) and with OLD gf6800 pci-x I can run the game on huge unit size. Sometimes it works slower but it is still playable. so if you go to the shop and look around I bet you can buy a cheap card better than mine and enjoy the game the way you are supposed to!

[vonKrysiak]

Just checked the websites and Geforce 8500 256mb sells at 68 euro here so if you canspend that ammount you could get a really decent card - even if that would be geforce from 7xxx range it will still be sufficient.
Good luck

[cbrow1is]

Thank you very much for any input its greatly received.

[Quink.NL]

Wait a second here!

You said it was a Small Form Factor. Now, these a business desktops, with all hardware cramped together in a small box. I don't think you will be able to put standard size PCI-e video cards into that. Certainly not that 8500. Your friend will probably need a video card which is both not wider than, and fits the small bracket type.

These smaller video cards do not offer a lot of performance, and can probably only be attained through business channels, not through consumer retail. And you'll also have to either cut the bracket, or obtain a small one, to fit it in.

Good luck.