Zotac has released a new variant of the low-power NVIDIA GeForce GT 710, and while this wouldn't normally be news this card has a very important distinction: its PCI-E x1 interface.
With a single-slot design, low-profile ready (with a pair of brackets included), and that PCI-E x1 interface, this card can go places where GPUs have never been able to go (AFAIK). Granted, you won't be doing much gaming on a GT 710, which features 192 CUDA cores and 1GB of DDR3 memory, but this card does provide support for up to 3 monitors via DVI, HDMI, and VGA outputs.
A PCI-E x1 GPU would certainly provide some interesting options for ultra-compact systems such as those based on thin mini-ITX, which does not offer a full-length PCI Express slot; or for adding additional monitor support for business machines that only offer a single PCI-E x16 slot, but have a x1 slot available.
Specifications from Zotac:
Zotac ZT-71304-20L
- GPU: GeForce GT 710
- CUDA cores: 192
- Video Memory: 1GB DDR3
- Memory Bus: 64-bit
- Engine Clock: 954 MHz
- Memory Clock: 1600 MHz
- PCI Express: PCI-E x1
- Display Outputs: DL-DVI, VGA, HDMI
- HDCP Support: Yes
- Multi Display Capability: 3
- Recommended Power Supply: 300W
- Power Consumption: 25W
- Power Input: N/A
- API Support: DirectX 12 (feature level 11_0), OpenGL 4.5
- Cooling: Passive
- Slot Size: Single Slot
- SLI: N/A
- Supported OS: Windows 10 / 8 / 7 / Vista / XP
- Card Length: 146.05mm x 111.15mm
- Accessories: 2x Low profile bracket I/O brackets, Driver Disk, User Manual
The card, which is listed with the model ZT-71304-20L, has not yet appeared on any U.S. sites for purchase (that I can find, anyway), so we will have to wait to see where pricing will be.
Although people like to call
Although people like to call these pointless, I’m glad cards like this exist as a cheap alternative to active adapters if you need more display outputs. I use a 5450 alongside the main 7950 so that I have 3x high resolution VGA ports. Most active adapters don’t even support higher VGA resolutions (>2048×1536 60hz).
Good point! High-res monitor
Good point! High-res monitor support is certainly a reason to consider this card. Unless I was stuck with a laptop, I would always prefer a dedicated PCIe x1 GPU over an external USB solution.
“Absolutely RETARDED” is the
“Absolutely RETARDED” is the lesser compliment I can give to this…
I just like how even on a 25W
I just like how even on a 25W card they recommend a 300W power supply, as if 250W would likely fall flat on its face with most systems.
In fact, how many systems would you figure that 25W additional in a card like this unlikely to ever be used for demanding tasks would be the straw to break the camel’s back?
Why people should use this
Why people should use this card instead of an APU or a professional multi-display solution?
An APU makes sense, a
An APU makes sense, a multi-display solution would cost more. For the most part I agree. I’m sure there’s some small percent of people who this will be perfect for.
It is a cheep, small solution
It is a cheep, small solution for use in places where a APU is not appropriate. Things like servers that do not have a integrated GPU if you need a local video output. In many cases this can be solved with IMPI access but I’m sure there is a market for it to make it worthwhile creating such a card.
It’s nice to see one of these
It’s nice to see one of these that doesn’t require a Dremel and “some assembly required”.
Good, was waiting for
Good, was waiting for something along these lines a long time. Now I can put simple vga card on x1 slot and plug another RAID controller where it matters. Love one slot, x1 idea. Now give me a waterblock for it. 😀
As for answering question why this and not APU. Well because I can replace card alone without need of replacing platform when apu goes wonky. That’s what for PC are. Max Modularity.
DDR3 sucks for GPUs. Really
DDR3 sucks for GPUs. Really sucks.
This is great card for as who
This is great card for as who have multi gpus in system.I just order one.I have 610 PCI-e 1x and its great but 710 is better.