Best Low Profile Graphics Cards 2022
In this list we will be counting down the best low profile Graphics Cards currently available. Low profile Graphics cards are great for smaller PC cases as well as upgrading an older computer such as a dell PC which has no additional power connectors and not a lot of space.
Why get a Low Profile Graphics Card?
There are many reasons for purchasing a low profile graphics card. In some cases, only low profile graphics cards are supported and therefore limit options when it comes to choosing a graphics card.
Low profile graphics cards tend to be more energy efficient, quieter or even silent as well as being small in size. These graphics cards listed require no external power so should fit virtually any PC case old or new. Since most low profile graphics cards tend to be less powerful graphics cards (GT 1030, 710 etc.), we have listed a few to show that this is not always the case.
If you’re confused about low profile graphics cards, check our Low Profile Graphics Cards explained article.
- Require No External Power (usually)
- Can fit in basically all cases
- Low power consumption
- Low profile brackets can be changed to fit full sized brackets
- Silent or very quiet small fan
- Overclocking Possible
- Usually have HDMI (good for connecting to TV in HTPC)
- Easy to Install
Negatives
- Usually less powerful cards are low profile
- Not always as cheap as the full sized version
- Sometimes output ports are sacrificed
- Sometimes Less memory
- Less readily available than the full sized versions
Table of Contents
ASUS GeForce GT 710 1GB
Whilst the Asus GeForce GT 710 is not the best card for gaming, it actually offers quite a lot of good performance for the price. Coming in at only £26 or $35 it is a very cheap graphics card.
The GT 710 includes HDMI so you can connect it easily to a TV or HDMI monitor. Furthermore, the Asus GT 710 offers passive 0 dB cooling which makes it ideal for a small PC connected to a TV. However this card comes with some major negatives being this price and size. For instance there is only 1GB of memory (GDDR5 which is better than most 710s) which is just not enough for the most demanding games. Lighter older games on the other hand can be played with decent FPS. Alternatively you can get a 2GB version for not much more.
This card however is generally not for gaming and you will experience low fps in newer games. Your integrated graphics may be better than this card but if you’re upgrading an older system or want some new ports like HDMI then it isn’t a bad choice.
This card can be purchased from amazon for fairly cheap. Amazon UK or Amazon US. 2GB MSI version available Amazon UK Amazon US.
| Positive | Negative |
|---|---|
| Cheap | Performance isn't the best |
| No additional Power connectors (Low Power consumption) | No Low profile bracket included |
| Easy to Install | Only 1GB memory |
| Low profile | No Display Port |
| Silent Cooling | |
| GPU tweak II (overclocking) | |
| 3 Ports, VGA, DVI and HDMI | |
| Uses GDDR5 instead of DDR3 |
Palit GeForce GT 730 2 GB
The GeForce GT 730 is better than the GT 710 in performance but not by a huge amount. This card offers better performance as well as all other features of the gt 710. 2GB of memory (GDDR5 but also a DDR3 version) comes as standard on this card which is definitely a bonus.
It includes DVI, VGA and HDMI so you can connect it to a TV or Monitor with sound. Since this card is slightly more powerful, more demanding games such as GTA 5 (at low settings) can be run with decent FPS but bare in mind that it does cost around £20/$25 more.
Available at Amazon UK or Amazon US (Zotac Version but basically the same).
| Positive | Negative |
|---|---|
| Relatively Cheap | No low profile Bracket |
| No additonal Power (low power consimption) | Fan on graphics card can get loud |
| Easy to Install | No display Port |
| Low Profile.... | |
| VGA, DVI, HDMI | |
| Better Performance than GT 710 | |
| More memory (2GB) | |
| Uses GDDR5 instead of DDr3 |
Gigabyte GeForce GT 1030 Low Profile 2GB
Next up is the much newer GeForce GT 1030 powered by the latest Nvidia Pascal. Since this card is a much newer graphics card, the performance of it is a lot better than the GT 730. This however comes at a cost of about an extra £25/$30. Having said that, when you look at the price to performance ratio of the GT 1030 compared to the GT 730 you will realize that the extra money spent is well worth the much better performance in games such as GTA, CS:GO and Fortnite.
Not only is the Gigabyte GT 1030’s performance a lot better there are two variants of this card, one silently passively cooled and the other with a small fan both at the same/similar price. This means you can choose if you would rather have the extra cooling or silence.
| Positive | Negative |
|---|---|
| Good Price to performance compared to gpus above | More expensive |
| No additional Power (relatively low power consumption) | Only 2 ports HDMI, DVI |
| Includes Low profile bracket | No display Port. |
| Newer (newest at time of post) GPU Architecture, Nvidia Pascal | |
| Includes HDMI. 4k TVs etc. | |
| Silent if you get the passively cooled version. | |
| Low Profile... |
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1050 OC Low Profile 2G
On Gigabyte’s GeForce GTX 1050 there are 4 ports including a display port which not many low profile graphics cards have. The GTX 1050 is also powered by Nvidia Pascal making it a relatively new graphics card. Gigabyte’s GTX 1050 LP has solid performance in games such as CS:GO, Fornite and GTA.
This performs a lot better than the GT 1030 and additionally gives much better FPS. However, this card costs approximately £50/$60 more currently and the performance increase isn’t as much as between the 730 and 1030. If you’ve got more money to spend, this card is definitely one of the Best Low Profile Graphics Cards as it will provide some feature proofing.
Available at Amazon UK or Amazon US.
View Full Specs Here.
| Positive | Negative |
|---|---|
| Good Performance | Fan can be noisy |
| Low Profile... | More expensive |
| 4 ports! including 2 HDMI, Display port and DVI | Only 2GB of memory even though card costs quite a bit more than the 1030. |
| No additional Power | |
| Low Profile bracket included | |
| Nvidia Pascal | |
| Factory overclocked |
MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GT LP
Continuing with the Nvidia Pascal graphics cards. Here is one of the best Low Profile Graphics cards you can currently get. The MSI Geforce GTX 1050 Ti comes with 4gb of memory and dual fans for optimal cooling – even in small PC cases. Like the GTX 1050 this includes a Display Port but also comes with much better performance in gaming for only about £40/$55 more.
The additional 2GB memory improves gaming where the GTX 1050 was held back. Unfortunately there are only 3 ports on this variant but there is a gigabyte version with 4 ports. This does cost a little extra but you probably will only need max 3 ports anyway. All the positives outweigh the negatives to make this one of the Best Low Profile Graphics Cards you can buy.
Available at Amazon UK or Amazon US.
View Full Specs Here.
| Positive | Negative |
|---|---|
| Dual Fans - Good Cooling | Can be noisy |
| Low Profile... | Expensive - not much cheaper than a GTX 1060 (but not low profile) |
| 4GB GDDR5 Memory | 3 ports (less than Gigabyte's version) |
| Great performance for a LP card | |
| Nvidia Pascal | |
| MSI afterburner (overclocking) | |
| Includes Display Port | |
| Low Profile bracket included | |
| No extra power connectors. |
Zotac GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4 GB LP
Another great Nvidia card similar to the above MSI GTX 1050TI, is the Zotac GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4 GB LP. This card is similar to the MSI variant but it has some differences. Zotac makes a lot of mini and small graphics cards which can result in better temperatures when under load. There are 2 40mm fans which cool this card. Zotac’s Firestorm allows for overclocking facilities and monitoring of your graphics card.
This card is quite similar to the MSI GTX 1050Ti so we recommend to get whichever is cheaper. This card can be bought at Amazon US and Amazon UK.
| Positive | Negative |
|---|---|
| Dual Fans (good cooling) | Dual Fans (can be loud) |
| 4GB GDDR5 Memory | Could have more than 3 ports |
| Includes Display port | Can be more expensive than MSI's Version |
| Zotac Firestorm | |
| No external power required | |
| Good price to performance |
AMD Cards
Here are some AMD low profile graphics cards. These cards have very good performance and are similar in price to the equivalent Nvidia low profile graphics cards.
ASUS Radeon R7 240 2GB DDR3
The first AMD graphics card we will look at is the Asus Radeon R7 240 Low Profile. Whilst this card may not play games at the highest settings it still is fairly powerful playing on medium on newer games and high on older games. The low profile brackets are included so you are ready to install when you get this graphics card.
Asus includes three ports on this card including VGA, DVI-D and HDMI. This allows you to easily use this in a HTPC and connect it to your TV. Premium alloys allow for less heat to improve performance and durability in addition to a dust proof fan which can extend life expectancy of your card. Included is Asus’ GPU Tweak for customisation and control of your card.
| Positive | Negative |
|---|---|
| Easy to Install | Small Fan (less cooling) |
| No external Power (low power consumption) | DDR3 Memory |
| Cheap | No display Port |
| Small | |
| 3 Ports Including HDMI | |
| Small Fan (quiet Cooling) | |
| Asus GPU Tweak |
MSI Radeon RX 550 4GT LP OC
Moving on up from the lower end cards, we have the MSI Radeon RX 550 4GT LP OC. This card is a mid range card which is capable of some very good performance in newer games on med-high and even max settings on some games.
There are dual fans for superior cooling like most MSI low profile graphics cards. Because this card is made by MSI, military class 4 components are included to ensure long life span even with heavy use. MSI’s afterburner give freedom of overclocking facilities in addition to monitoring of hardware components. The downside of this card is being limited to 2 ports – HDMI and DVI-D. This can cause difficulty when connecting multiple displays but on the other hand it allows for this card to be a single slot low profile graphics card.
| Positive | Negative |
|---|---|
| 4GB GDDR5 memory | No display port |
| Good price to performance | Only two ports |
| Single slot even when low profile | Dual Fan (can be noisy) |
| Dual Fan (good cooling) | |
| MSI Afterburner | |
| No external Power required | |
| Nice heatsink Cover |
MSI Radeon RX 460 4GT LP
Moving a step up from the R7 240, we have the RX 460 which is a powerful card. The MSI Radeon RX 460 4GB LP has 4GB of memory which is more than plenty when it comes to playing the latest demanding games.
The card has a dual fan design which helps massively with heat dispensation since this card is very small. This card will fit in virtually all cases with its small, slim design. High quality military class 4 components are used to ensure this card will have a long life span even under the most intense loads. However, a downside to this card is the number of ports it has. Included are only two ports HDMI as well as DVI-D. This may not be a problem for most people, but if you want to connect it to any more displays than 2 it can become a challenge.
MSI’s afterburner can be used effectively with this graphics card to overclock and have control of your card.
This card can be purchased from Amazon US and Amazon UK however it is a little bit old and may not be readily available to buy new. There are some options such as eBay where you can buy this card used and it will perform just as well – and save you a bit of money.
| Positive | Negative |
|---|---|
| Dual Fan | Less readily avaiable |
| Nice Heatsink cover | Only 2 ports |
| Good Performance | No Display Port |
| MSI Afterburner | Newer version of similar card available |
| Slim and small | |
| No additional Power connectors |
MSI Radeon RX 560 4GT LP OC
The newer version of the RX 460 is the MSI Radeon RX 560 4GT LP OC. This card has better performance than the RX 460. Games can be played on max to high settings at decent fps. Like the 460 this card has a dual fan design to dissipate heat a lot easier and uses MSI’s military grade components for a long life span.
MSI’s afterburner allows you to take control of your graphics cards to overclock and additionally view information. Unlike the RX 460 mentioned above, this card has 3 ports which is very welcome especially on a low profile graphics card. Included are DVI-D, HDMI and also Display Port. Having display port is very useful and is not usually on many low profile graphics cards.
The MSI Radeon RX 560 4GT LP OC is currently a lot more readily available than the 460 LP however it does cost more. On the other hand the 560 is more powerful and has more ports, so it really depends on personal preference to decide which to get. The MSI Radeon RX 560 4GT LP OC is available on Amazon US and Amazon UK.
| Positive | Negative |
|---|---|
| Dual Fan | Can be expensive |
| Nice heatsink cover | Can be noisy |
| Good Performance better than 460's | |
| Small and slim | |
| MSI afterburner | |
| 3 ports including Display Port | |
| 4GB memory GDDR5 |
Conclusion
There are a lot of graphics cards to choose from when you want a low profile graphics card. Nvidia and AMD versions are both similarly priced for price to performance ratio. However, most AMD low profile graphics cards in the 1050, 1050 ti range tend to be MSI versions. This can limit your options when choosing AMD low profile graphics cards as it is a lot easier to get different brands of Nvidia low profile graphics cards.
Unfortunately, it seems there are none and possibly won’t be any higher end low profile graphics cards like 1060s, 1070s etc. This is due to the size the low profile graphics cards have to be.
We recommend getting either the rx 460, 550 or 560 for AMD and either the GTX 1050 or 1050Ti for Nvidia. This is due to the fact that they have the best price to performance ratios of the low profile graphics cards. These are some of the best low profile graphics cards you can currently get.
