Please help with graphic card

[steve25may]

I have a Vaio VGX-XL201, and need to get a new graphic card that will work with windows 7 don't know anything about them, have been to pc world, maplin etc... but they say i need a low profile fan assissted card. And they don't do them but would fit it for me if i get one. But i have no idea what to look for or where. don't know the difference between pci/pci express. I am a complete novice. Can anybody help

[ward3550]

i have the xl302 and also need to replace the card have not done it yet been looking at inno3d n95gt-1ddv-d2cx which it troll has used in his xl201 ALSO NOT SURE ABOUT WINDOWS 7.



IT TROLL

I've gone for an Inno3D N95GT-1DDV-C2CX which is a 512MB 9500GT with HDMI and the SPDIF connector (they also do a 1GB model N95GT-1DDV-D2CX). It is a low profile design but it doesn't come supplied with a low profile backplate. It does have a small fan but from the reviews I have read it is very quiet. I let you know how I get on.


Just finished fitting my 9500GT. As I said it doesn't come with a low profile backplate and so I had to take the one from my 8500GT. I then found that the power connector for the GPU fan was fouling a tall capacitor on the motherboard. So I had to carefully bend this away so the card would slot into place. The SPDIF connector on this card has the pin connections the opposite way around to the 8500GT (and 7600GTL) and so I had to switch these around on the existing cable. They do supply a cable with the card but it is rather short.

When all this was done the card works as expected with SPDIF passthrough for HDMI sound and scoring 6.2 on the Windows 7 3D index. The fan is very small and doesn't really add any noise over the other system fans. This is probably the fastest card you will be able to get for the XL series which still permits simultaneous SPDIF and HDMI sound.

[ITTroll]

It all depends on your requirements.

If you need simultaneous HDMI and SPDIF audio output I would recommend nVidia 9500 GT (Inno3D 9500 GT HDMI 1GB N95GT-1DDV-D2CX).

If you only need HDMI or SPDIF audio (i.e. not both at the same time) I would recommend nVidia G210 or G220 (e.g. Asus models). Another option in this scenario is the ATI Radeon 4550 (Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4550 HDMI 512MB 11141-05-20). However check the modes you require as the ATI doesn't support all resolutions at 50Hz (PAL).

All of the above cards will fit in the XL-series without the need for any modification.But you may need to source a low profile bracket.

Some more info on the differences here