Best Graphics Cards for Compact Cases

After the success of the RTX 40 series and the recent announcement of the "five thousand" series, prices for GeForce video cards of the previous generation should gradually creep down, but so far, alas, this is not happening. And now the budget GeForce RTX 3050 (Ampere architecture, 2020), which could not boast of high power at the time of its release, still costs decent money. But here we can only complain about life or look for analogs from the Radeon 5000 series from hands. However, we digress.

By 2025 standards, the RTX 3050 is something between an entry-level graphics card and a monitor plug. On the one hand, its capabilities are quite sufficient for most games on medium graphics presets in Full HD, on the other hand, many games of 2024–2025, including the recent STALKER 2 and Black Myth: Wukong, will slow down. In the case of video editing and rendering, it is more suitable for medium-complexity projects, otherwise the process may drag on.

At the same time, the low-profile version in the MSI GeForce RTX 3050 LP 6G OC design turned out to be miniature even by the standards of "compacts" (length 174 mm, thickness 2 slots) and will fit in a compact desktop like Fractal Design Ridge without the need to unscrew the pockets for drives and move the walls. And it consumes only 70 W of energy, so for the entire system you can get by with a compact and inexpensive 300 W power supply.

The Sapphire Radeon RX 7600 PULSE graphics card is an optimal solution for entry-level and mid-level gaming with well-balanced characteristics. Its length is 240 mm, which provides flexibility when assembling compact PCs, and the metal backplate with a designer pattern in the form of a heartbeat scale gives the device a unique style. The model is equipped with a number of connectors for connecting multiple monitors, and the cooling system includes composite pipes and two fans with ball bearings, providing an 80% longer service life compared to budget solutions.

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 graphics processor with PCIe 4.0 interface unleashes the full potential of the RDNA 3 architecture, which provides 50% greater energy efficiency compared to the previous generation. The graphics chip is capable of overclocking up to 2755 MHz with a memory frequency of 18000 MHz, which provides a high level of flow Rate both in tests and in real gaming. The card supports AMD Radeon Super Resolution (RSR) and FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) technologies, which allows you to increase the resolution and increase FPS for comfortable gaming. The advantage of the model is the Radeon Anti-Lag technology, which minimizes delays between the video core and the processor for more responsive gameplay.

INNO3D GeForce RTX 4060 COMPACT is a compact modification of the "people's" RTX 4060 video card from the Ada Lovelace series, designed for entry-level gaming, multimedia and work assemblies with restrictions on the dimensions of the case. Like its larger brothers, the video card is equipped with an AD-107 graphics chip with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and has support for DLSS 3 with an upscaler and an intermediate frame generator, which can increase gaming flow Rate in the case of particularly heavy projects. For owners of Full HD monitors, this is still one of the most attractive options on the market in terms of price-flow Rate ratio.

The key feature of the INNO3D GeForce RTX 4060 COMPACT is its compact design with a printed circuit board shortened to 155 mm. This is one of the shortest video cards on the market, even compared to other compact models. The dual-slot cooling system is based on a fairly simple aluminum blank in the style of stock coolers, imposing certain restrictions on the video card (more on that later). A small fan with an impeller diameter of 87 mm is responsible for active cooling. If necessary, it can be removed and replaced with a quieter fan.

To avoid overheating, Palit engineers had to go for some restrictions. So the model does not have factory overclocking and it operates at reference frequencies. The power limit of 118 W cannot be increased. And under peak load, the chip temperature can slightly exceed 90 ℃, which is why the system will reduce clock frequencies. Therefore, in demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Alan Wake 2, this modification is slightly inferior in flow Rate to classic versions of the GeForce RTX 4060 with two fans. In principle, this is expected. At the same time, the fan is not adaptive and does not adjust to heating, but it does not make much noise.

The Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4060 OC Low Profile graphics card is a great compact solution for SFFPC and HTPC builds. The device takes up two expansion slots and is equipped with a cooling system with three small fans. The length of the graphics card is 182 mm. Despite the compact dimensions of the cooling system, the model has a factory overclock. At the same time, the frequency of the graphics processor is increased by only 15 MHz compared to the reference, reaching 2475 MHz. The amount of video memory is 8 GB, overclocking is not provided.

Given the limitations of the Low Profile format, Gigabyte engineers resorted to certain tricks in order not to slow down the model on the one hand, and to remain within the "Low Profile" on the other. Unlike many similar models with two or even one fan, the model is equipped with three miniature Apistek fans with a diameter of 47 mm, a single-section radiator of complex shape and a pair of flattened direct contact heat pipes. And additional power is brought out to the rear of the case.

As a result of this approach, the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4060 OC Low Profile demonstrates good temperature and frequency potential and can even be overclocked. The numbers are different for everyone, it's a matter of luck, but there was a post on Reddit in which the author managed to increase the core frequency by 10% and the memory frequency by almost 20%. And if you put overclocking aside, the flow Rate of the model is identical to the larger classic modifications of the RTX 4060 - that is, it is more than suitable for most AAA games of recent years in Full HD at medium-high graphics settings. And this is without DLSS.

MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti VENTUS 2X BLACK 8G OC is a mid-range video accelerator from the "four thousand" line of NVIDIA GeForce video cards. Since this model belongs to the Ada Lovelace family, it has support for the sensational and controversial for many gamers DLSS 3 technology, which allows you to increase FPS using upscaling and frame generation. However, you have probably heard about DLSS many times already, so let's move on to analyzing the specific implementation in the flow Rate of MSI Ventus.

Despite the fact that it does not belong to the "compact" category, its dimensions are almost comparable to specialized low-profile models - the length of the printed circuit board is 199 mm, and the card itself takes up 2 system slots. Traditionally for the Ventus series, a pair of 10-blade medium-sized fans are responsible for cooling, which are located on top of the classic aluminum radiator. In general, the cooling system works well, the chip and memory modules do not overheat, and the noise level can be called moderate. In terms of flow Rate, the RTX 4060 Ti is one of the best options for gaming at 1080p, providing 60+ frames per second in 99% of modern games at maximum graphics settings. And when using DLSS 3, with reservations and compromises, it allows you to aim for 1440p.

Perhaps the only drawback of the model is its slightly unbalanced price - the Ti version is on average 15% faster than the regular RTX 4060, but its cost is 20-25% higher. However, nothing can be done about it, the "invisible hand" of the market works seven days a week and NVIDIA almost always has to overpay a little for the increase in power. For example, the older and slightly more powerful RTX 4070 will cost almost 2 times more than the base RTX 4060 at the beginning of 2025.