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I have a Dell Optiplex 755 Mini-Tower at work, which means the case is about 4 inches wide. I had a look inside, and the video card it's got is pretty small and compact.

It currently has an ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT installed. I'd like to get any relatively good Nvidia card since ATI Linux drivers are terrible and cause no end of headaches.

Does anyone know what type of card will fit into a small case like that?

Specifically I'm wondering if anyone knows the actual words used to describe it. It seems the photos for "low profile" cards have cards that are small, with the metal part with the plugs that are still too long to fit in a smaller case.

Excellll
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Neil
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    Do you mean the Desktop (4.59") or the Small Form Factor (3.65")? The Mini-Tower is 7.36" and should fit anything. – Joseph Jul 18 '09 at 13:40
  • As already Joesph said the dimension of mini-tower Optiplex 755 should be big enough to accept most of middle-end video cards. Another point that is missing is what you mean with "relatively good". What's its main purpose? – Drake Jul 18 '09 at 14:36

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According to Optiplex 755 TechSpecs, your Optiplex 755 system can handle a card which fits inside the following dimensions:

  • Height 4.376"
  • Length 6.6"

This is a "Standard Height, Half Length" card according to the PCI Express Electromechanical Specification.

The silver box power supply is 305W, but the max 12V power is 264W and the max 3.3V+5V power is 150W. So, if you get a card greater than what the system is designed to handle (all three standard video card configuration options are 25W or less), then you may have to also upgrade the power supply. So, when you buy a video card, test it out and make sure you can return it for a refund if it doesn't work.

hanleyp
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Specifically I'm wondering if anyone knows the actual words used to describe it.

I'm surprised this doesn't seem to have been answered properly. I still can't find an answer that really satisfies. Your Optiplex 755 "mini" tower is probably different from a normal Optiplex 755?

From the digging I just did (it wasn't easy) the closest thing our species has to a market standard for what you're talking about is "SFF" for Small Form Factor. But officially/originally, this refers to other things than our subject. Please let me know if there's any more good info about this. Would love Wikipedia to illuminate the standards one day.

So after trying things like "compact," "low-profile," "mini-itx," etc., the one thing all these narrower cards have in common in online seller (amazon, newegg) listings is "SFF." Though "compact" is also used.

"Low Profile" only refers to the height I think. Length can matter, but it depends on the case configuration. It's width that we care about here if I'm not mistaken, meaning that only a single or maybe two plugs could comfortably fit on the exterior-facing mounting plate whereas a standard width card could hold 3 or 4 output plugs.

Steve Klein
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I was never able to find a card that worked in my low profile Optiplex 620. Even the low profile cards were too tall to put the case side back on.

I thought about trying to get one from Dell directly or from a more modern Dell computer second hand, but decided to give it to a relative as a gift and get a newer machine. A non slim machine. :-)

kashani
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If the Dell has normal-profile slot covers (around 12cm in length), any standard card should fit.

Otherwise, you will need to find a manufacturer that offers low profile cards with either a replacable slot cover or one where it is possible to shorten it like this one:

enter image description here

However the only cards I ever saw that allow this are all server grade controllers and stuff like that, and Matrox graphic cards, which are excellent but have poor 3D performance and a high price.

Gareth
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Sven
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