▷ Low profile or low profile graphics cards, what are they and why are they important?

Many times you have heard the term "low-profile graphics card", but what exactly is it and what are its advantages. We have prepared this post to explain what low-profile graphics cards are and why they can be useful to us. Today we help you know everything about them and how it has evolved into the gaming sector.

Index of contents

What are low-profile graphics cards?

A low-profile graphics card is a video card with a design that has been thought to be able to fit into a PC chassis with a very compact design, especially when it comes to height. An example of this is HTPC equipment, widely used in the classroom to see all kinds of content. The main difference between a low-profile and a conventional graphics card is that the former have a height less than a standard graphics card, approximately 8 cm.

We recommend reading our post on Integrated graphics card or dedicated graphics card?

This is not always true, but generally low profile graphics cards have a lower power consumption than standard versions since the electronics they have installed is more optimized, something that allows mounting a more compact heatsink, although in return the performance will be somewhat inferior. This lower power consumption also allows the fan to be kept at a lower speed, which means less noise generated. There are even cards that work passively, that is, without the need to have a fan spinning and generating noise.

Advantages of low-profile graphics cards

The advantages of a low-profile graphics card are several, on the one hand, they allow us to enjoy a computer with a much more compact size, something ideal to place it in the living room next to the TV, for example. With this we will have a PC full of possibilities without clashing with the rest of the furniture on the site. Many of these computers could even go through a video game console.

The other advantage is the great power they offer. We have mentioned that low-profile graphics cards are somewhat less powerful than standard versions, yet they are much more powerful than graphics built into Intel and AMD processors. This will make our equipment even valid for playing modern games with good graphic quality.

Low Profile graphics cards for gaming

Yes, low-profile graphics cards have also arrived in gaming. Last year, we showed you that the KFA2 GTX 1050 Ti gave similar performance to a standard size graphics card. The only downside we saw is that its cooling system incorporates two 40mm fans, but they are quite quiet in this model.

But KFA2 is not the only one to have released Gaming graphics cards. Manufacturers such as Gigabyte, MSI or Zotac have their models with somewhat better fans, but it seems, at least from the images we have seen, that the heatsink is of lower quality.

Also indicate that this standard takes a long time, and we can find it on network cards, Wi-Fi or even USB drivers. Here ends our post on low profile or low profile graphics cards, if you have any questions or suggestions you can leave a comment.