Inexpensive 4K Single Slot GPU: Does it exist?

[craigr]

I do not want this card for gaming, just watching video. 

 

I've been combing the web for hours and can't find anything for certain.  I'm looking for a single slot graphics card that can play native 4k video streams that isn't expensive (used or new).  I want to use it on a Windows VM inside unRAID.  I would also like it to be able to down convert 4K video to 1080p 60Hz as well.

 

Right now I have an RX 560 that just barely does the job in my Windows 7 PC.  I need something about that powerful so it can playback movies without stutter or dropping frames.  The trouble with this card and all the rest is that they all use two slots, but I need all my slots.  

 

I see the RX 550 cards are cheap, but they are less powerful than the 560's.  Do you think they could do the job?  The 560 requires a power connection while the 550 just runs off the PCIe power and uses 10 less watts.

 

Any recommendations?

 

Thanks,

craigr

Edited July 14, 2020 by craigr

[hawihoney]

Inno3D GeForce GTX 1050ti 4GB Single Slot Edition. This one is sitting in my Unraid Server. The 4GB Version is requiered for Hardware transcoding of 4K content.

 

 

[craigr]

Thank you for pointing me in that direction.

 

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the 1050ti considered slightly less powerful than the RX650?  is the 1050ti any better than the RX550?

 

It's really easy to find gaming info for these cards, but simple 4k playback and down converting numbers seem impossible to find!?!

 

Kind regards,

craigr

[craigr]

15 hours ago, hawihoney said:

Inno3D GeForce GTX 1050ti 4GB Single Slot Edition. This one is sitting in my Unraid Server. The 4GB Version is requiered for Hardware transcoding of 4K content.

 

 

Man that card is not cheap though either!  I paid like $50 for my RX 560 used.  I'm thinking more and more that modifying my RX 560 may be the way to go.  Remove the stock heat sink and fan, cut off the second slot, and make a custom heat sink that sticks up and away from the card.  I have plenty of room in my Elysium case.

 

I don't know, I paid $420 for my CPU, MB and RAM.  Sinking $250 into just the video card seems really steep

 

I do appreciate your advice though and it does seem to be a bit of a faster card based on my research.

 

craigr

Edited July 14, 2020 by craigr

[craigr]

On 7/14/2020 at 12:31 AM, hawihoney said:

Inno3D GeForce GTX 1050ti 4GB Single Slot Edition. This one is sitting in my Unraid Server. The 4GB Version is requiered for Hardware transcoding of 4K content.

EDIT:  It shipped!

 

Well I just tried searching for your board again.  Low and behold www.grooves-inc.com had it for $173 with express shipping.  I decided to throw "caution to the wind" and placed an order.  Reviews are mixed on third party sites regarding grooves, but the orders for video cards seem to be more often fulfilled.  reddit also confirms by many posters that the site is legit, but shipping is often slow and customer service can be nonexistent.  Fingers crossed

 

Kind regards,

craigr

Edited July 25, 2020 by craigr

[craigr]

On 7/13/2020 at 10:31 PM, hawihoney said:

Inno3D GeForce GTX 1050ti 4GB Single Slot Edition. This one is sitting in my Unraid Server. The 4GB Version is requiered for Hardware transcoding of 4K content.

The card got here yesterday and this is exactly what I was looking for.  Thank you!  VM is running nicely with it.

 

grooves-inc.com really came through too.  They shipped within a few days, USPS had it sit in the Netherlands for a very long time (USPS has been very slow especially with international shipping since COVID), but it got here brand new and in great shape.

 

I'm thrilled.  I have some audio judder through HDMI so I'll have to work on that, but I am just happy to be able to play 4K movies and do scren captures on the VM.

 

Sweet!

craigr

[hawihoney]

Glad to hear. My 6-slot Supermicro board had only one empty slot left. This card helped.

 

Double check that the graphics adapter card does not touch other cards. Had to place a small distance-keeper between the graphics card and my LSI-9300 HBAs. They did touch each other.

 

Audio problems on 4K content is mostly a codec/player thing here. VC-1, TRUE-HD, E-AC3 and PCM with more than 96khz make problems here - depending on the player.