GPU shopping, strict requirements

PC- Dell Optiplex 7020 MT with 750W PSU

card specs- NVidia GTX 750 Ti SC bare minimum, prefer better

card size- compact. Most video cards I've seen are too long to fit. I have maybe 1.5"-2" past the PCI slot before I bump into the RAM. Needs to be similar to this, but wouldn't mind something that takes external power-
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budget- $150 max, prefer cheaper

I am having serious trouble finding cards this small that are better than the 7500 Ti SC. Does anyone have a good suggestion? I wish to run Skyrim SE & Fallout 4 on high settings but nothing exceptionally modern(none of the current stuff really interests me).

The GPU's are exorbitantly expensive at the moment due to ISPs and Network Operators discouraging bitcoin mining. I don't know what to tell you about the $150 budget; the prices are so different depending on who you are. This is probably because the pricing for the cards has been determined using artificially intelligent algorithms that were trained using, you guessed it, GPUs. They also use a lot more energy compared to the new SOCs the game development companies are producing. It would be cool if some lower power PCie cards could hook up in SLI for some cheaper home gaming.

The 750 Ti SC I bought last year was $80 shipped. Now the cheapest used I can find, same type & manufacturer, is $130 shipped. Better cards that meet my physical size requirement are either unavailable or expensive. And since 95% of GPUs are physically large and only fit giant towers, it severely limits the selection. To get a big card I'd not only need to swap case but also the motherboard.

Mine is the 7020 specifically, matches what's shown here-
https://www.dell.com/community/Optip...e/td-p/6096863

The one in the video looks to be a different model with a bit more space inside.

The RAM clips are a worry, I'd be very lucky to clear them with a long card, it would be barely dodging them, and it's not something I can just buy and hope it will fit. As for the cage, my second data drive is a 2TB HDD so I need that to mount it. Until SSD prices drop radically I'm not going to be getting any 1TB+ drives.

The least expensive of these are more than $150, but... GeForce GTX 1050,GeForce GTX 1050 Ti,United States Desktop Graphics Cards | Newegg.com

You could also look at GT 1030 cards elsewhere. Some of those would be surely short enough. The 1030 may have somewhat less performance than the 750ti, though. On the other hand, the 1030 is two generations newer.

I think that you could use a longer card. The motherboard is nonstandard, but I'd guess that it's about microATX size (9.6 X 9.6"). You might have to install the ram before the card, though. From picture of the motherboard, the card should clear after the RAM is locked down.

Do you ("diosoth") really have a 750W PSU in the Dell? (With an adapter to fit the nonstandard power connectors? I presume that it's not a Dell PSU.)

What are you trying to accomplish? I presume that the Optiplex used onboard graphics.

Here, I insert my customary advice about avoiding spending money on upgrading old PCs. You may not find happiness, particularly if you're looking for a gaming PC.

Are there any online gaming platforms that can push the GPU graphics to your screen like Stadia? I know gaming in the cloud might be worth exploring if you don't play but for a couple of hours a week. I'm not sure what platforms render the direct x graphics or how well they do at performance for most TV's, Laptops and Cellphones. But a GPU in the cloud wouldn't cost more than a few bucks an hour. Add it up over a year and the $10 Stadia deal might actually be more expensive than spinning up your own instance for the game... but that could also really stick you with a bill if it didn't work right.

Steve C said:

When do people think GPUs will return to their much cheaper pre Covid price?

My Magic 8 Ball says "cannot predict now".

It has no good grasp of manufacturing interruptions, supply chain issues, or cryptocurrency mining.

Looking at eBay, I see a number of new RTX 3080 cards offered for $1.8kUS. That's down a few hundred dollars from the peak. I don't know whether that's a good sign, or just that there are few people left who might buy such a card for triple the original MSRP.

I hope that supply/demand will equalize before the end of the year, but I'm placing no bets.

bobkn said:

My Magic 8 Ball says "cannot predict now".

It has no good grasp of manufacturing interruptions, supply chain issues, or cryptocurrency mining.

Looking at eBay, I see a number of new RTX 3080 cards offered for $1.8kUS. That's down a few hundred dollars from the peak. I don't know whether that's a good sign, or just that there are few people left who might buy such a card for triple the original MSRP.

I hope that supply/demand will equalize before the end of the year, but I'm placing no bets.

I don't know about the OP but if I spent $1800.00 0n a video card my wife would pack my bags for me.