Hi All,
A complete hardware newbie here.
I got my hands on a Tranquil IXLs desktop with an Intel i5 2400s chip on an H67PCH board. There's no graphics card in it, but there is one PCIe slot.
Since the machine only has passive cooling and the total power supply is only 90W, I don't think that putting a graphics card into the box would be a good idea (if at all possible considering there's only about 25 spare watts when under load), but I like the idea of having an external GPU to plug into the Tranquil when I feel like gaming.
I don't need a particularly strong GPU. I'm sure that the pc will run some good oldies like ADOM and JA2 without any problems
, but I'd need some GPU boost if I pick up IL-2, Fallout 3 or when I finally decide to check out Diablo 3.
Even if the above will run on i5 alone, I'd rather take off some load from the CPU to prevent it from overheating.
So, I would be grateful for any advice on:
a) What single-slot GPU to go for? Ideally, something that's good value-for-money.
b) What's the cheapest way to build/buy the enclosure?
I'm quite happy to build an enclosure myself if that's a lot cheaper. I recon I need:
1) Link from Internal PCIe to an exit jack (USB? Expresscard?)
2) Exit jack to external PCIe board that will hold the GPU
3) Power supply for the extrnal board.
4) Some sort of a box to house the assembly.
I've seen some dual-slot sets available on ebay for about £100 including the power supply, but would that work with a single-slot GPU? £100 seems a lot for a metal box, small PCB and a power adapter!
c) Following on from (b), will a USB link be good enough for an extrnal GPU? Or do I need expresscard or anything else?
I would appreciate any help with this project.
Thanks,
TCabot.
A complete hardware newbie here.
I got my hands on a Tranquil IXLs desktop with an Intel i5 2400s chip on an H67PCH board. There's no graphics card in it, but there is one PCIe slot.
Since the machine only has passive cooling and the total power supply is only 90W, I don't think that putting a graphics card into the box would be a good idea (if at all possible considering there's only about 25 spare watts when under load), but I like the idea of having an external GPU to plug into the Tranquil when I feel like gaming.
I don't need a particularly strong GPU. I'm sure that the pc will run some good oldies like ADOM and JA2 without any problems
, but I'd need some GPU boost if I pick up IL-2, Fallout 3 or when I finally decide to check out Diablo 3.Even if the above will run on i5 alone, I'd rather take off some load from the CPU to prevent it from overheating.
So, I would be grateful for any advice on:
a) What single-slot GPU to go for? Ideally, something that's good value-for-money.
b) What's the cheapest way to build/buy the enclosure?
I'm quite happy to build an enclosure myself if that's a lot cheaper. I recon I need:
1) Link from Internal PCIe to an exit jack (USB? Expresscard?)
2) Exit jack to external PCIe board that will hold the GPU
3) Power supply for the extrnal board.
4) Some sort of a box to house the assembly.
I've seen some dual-slot sets available on ebay for about £100 including the power supply, but would that work with a single-slot GPU? £100 seems a lot for a metal box, small PCB and a power adapter!
c) Following on from (b), will a USB link be good enough for an extrnal GPU? Or do I need expresscard or anything else?
I would appreciate any help with this project.
Thanks,
TCabot.