One Of The BEST Budget Low Profile Graphics Cards You Can Buy! Sparkle A380 LP Hands On

[@DS-pk4eh]

We need single slot, low profile graphic card that can handle 1080p without much hustle.

[@Toiyf.]

That's the Rx6400, although it needs help from FSR for some games like RDR2

[@jopppsss]

Yeah. A380 Single Slot is great for Optiplex. Rx6400 is not cheap though

[@saysbadman]

​@@Toiyf.I've been looking for a cheap Rx 6400. Don't forget they take like a 20% performance hit if you're not using pcie 4.0

[@ClovarChillin]

also rather than gaming rx 6400 might not suite the majority of audience and a 4gb of vram might also have a drawback to some@@saysbadman

[@Bartholo-meow]

@@Toiyf. problem with 6400 is u need a system with gen 4 pcie lane to fully utilize it and still, 4gb vram is not enough nowadays. better than 1650 tho.

[@jacymark661]

I actually ordered one of these yesterday for Plex encode/decode. Good to know it can handle much more than that. As always thanks for posting!

[@JFlogerzi]

should have gone with the 310. you don't need much for Plex.

[@406Steven]

I run a full size A380 in my Plex server, I run 400-600 FPS with 4 videos re-encoding to AV1. No fan until it gets warm and even then you can't hear it. For that use case I'm very pleased with it. I'd like to try gaming on it but I know I'll just be disappointed.

[@radzia1010]

What reason you use plex encode/decode just curius. Because i use microsoft streaming with samsung tv smart. More than enough.

[@jacymark661]

@@radzia1010 I have multiple types of devices and direct stream isn't always an option.

[@406Steven]

@@radzia1010 I use the A380 to encode to AV1 which can cut file sizes significantly (I have stuff in my library from the early 2000s and the encoding back then was nowhere near as efficient, even more modern codecs you can cut file sizes up to 40%) so I can save storage space. But most devices don't support AV1 yet. It's also nice to transcode for mobile streaming so I can save on mobile bandwidth.

[@CoilingSliver]

Since this is a budget gpu, a comparison between it on different pcie generation/bandwiths would be pretty interesting.

[@travisdonotsuscribegototjs9323]

i mean look at gamers nexus video on that, intel ark requires SAM or equivalent for your platform older gen 3 pci systems may not have SAM Z490 i think had it but thats a 10700k, so it seems only 10th gen intel and newer and 3rd gen ryzen and newer will even support these cards due to SAM or Resizable Bar

[@stebo5562]

@@travisdonotsuscribegototjs9323 The old xeons have rebar

[@dahahaka]

you're gonna struggle to find THAT much of a difference even with a 4090, there's really not *that* much going over PCIe, yes obviously you will see performance loss at PCIe3x2 but it really isn't as much as you would think. On the A380 you will see basically 0 difference

[@eriuz]

go and watch the rx 6500 video comparison on pcie 3.0 you loss a lot of performance @@dahahaka

[@drifting1O1]

ark requires a newer platform that supports resizable bar you cant use it with old stuff

[@ejtaylor73]

Wow that takes me back. The 1st GPU I ever got was a Sparkle, a GT630 with a whopping 2 GB DDR 3 memory, on PCIE 2.0. It didn't have a cover or back plate, it was just the PCB, components, and a tiny little heat sink fan, no bigger than a chipset fan. Not the 1st PC I had, just the 1st one I built myself, got pre-builts prior to that.

[@davidlane1248]

Whoa guys, it's one of the best. Prime barely ever says that in his titles

[@LegionLives]

Good to know I'm not the only one who's gotten a little cynical about his reviews

[@1nico517]

@@LegionLives along with the sketch cd key sponsorship

[@Rushil69420]

I have a feeling Sparkle didn’t let him make direct comparisons/feature pics of any other LP GPU either

[@pptemplar5840]

Idk, CDkeys sponsorship seems pretty normal, Intel A380 being the best at anything however is pretty questionable, ​Pretty sure the current lineup of Intel GPUs are only worth looking at on the "higher" end. A380 is probably the most questionable among the lineup. It's what I'd call a "Real Estate" GPU, a card that you would only consider for certain niche features only available on new cards that don't really have much impact on gaming performance, but people will constantly argue are worth while for some theoretical work application like showong off a 3D model of a bathroom to some client. (let's just not question how many Real Estate agents ar building custom small form factor rigs specifically for showing off 3D models) It's probably not even the best Real Estate GPU, the 3050 6gb seems to only exist to maybe scam people but I still think it might stomp this in most use cases. @@1nico517

[@user-kw8kh8dg3h]

Funny how low-budget small lp GPUs are where the fun is

[@almostahero]

I would love a pc like this, it is just so unique. Keep up these types of sff builds

[@Kemulnitestryker]

I have a Sparkle A380 ELF, and I am very happy with it's performance. 1080p gaming with no issues.

[@SuperMickyChow]

What games are you playing? What fps are you getting & at what graphics settings?

[@radioraffa]

@@SuperMickyChow Crickets .....

[@amolochitis30]

Comparing it to other options would have made this video even better

[@natejennings5884]

I'm thinking the RX 6400, which actually edges out the GTX 1050 Ti!

[@GhostGamer799]

​@@natejennings5884rx 6400 is like gtx 1650ti

[@seitostockman]

yeah i scrolled through all the chapters looking for comparisons

[@napowolf]

Maybe do a round up of all the current LP GPU options? GTX1650, 1630, RX6400, RTX 3050, A310 and A380? Also ReBAR vs no ReBAR for Intel GPUs would be nice.

[@tyaty]

Also A2000(~3060 dual slot ) , W6400(RX6400m single slot), RTX 4000 SFF Ada(dual slot ~4060)

[@randyharrigan4790]

It's great to see some new affordable lp cards on the market! I only wish they had been available around 2-3 years ago when I had to pay almost double that for a 4gb rx550lp.

[@dividion8102]

It's really impressive that this card matches the performance of an R9 380X (which had dual power connectors and pulled up to 300W), yet it can run off just the PCIe slot. This also gets about an extra 1000 points in Time Spy vs the RX 6400. Not bad for $100.

[@dragonl4d216]

The latter is also 9 years old. Go back 9 years in time and any modern GPU will look god tier.

[@opx4real]

I have the non LP of the sparkle. About 6 months as a stellar HTPC and emulation stream for my steam deck to moonlight off of. Such a good value, once drivers finally settled in.

[@yougoonie3338]

This is awesome. I try to run everything in my computer room at 100w total off the main power feed into that room. This includes monitor, lamp, speakers, printers, gpu at load. I wish people would care more about electricity, it is the key to the universe, wish we respected it more, it has infinite potential.

[@byakugan641]

do you think i can put this on a 400w psu?

[@user-zv3lj1ef7l]

Apparently you don't care all that much because not only do I run a Dell PowerEdge R930 quad CPU xeon monster server with twelve terabytes of ram and the rest of my house from 10,000 watts of solar panels (32 x 320W) on my roof.

[@renderedpixels4300]

@@byakugan641 very much so. power supplies are most efficient at 50%, so presumably you have a 65w cpu which lands you around that 200w mark

[@eusebiou-say-bee-oh326]

Until we have free electricity, as in geothermal power plants, having high power rigs don't make sense since sooner or later the power generation that we have now will just get more and more expensive. Since the more human beings there are, the more demand for those things that we like would be more and more wanted, i.e. everything that requires electricity, from transportation, food, housing, comfort, and entertainment. Everything rises exponentially because every family borne not just one or two children but more, thus an exponential rise for finite resources.

[@arielnunesvelloso439]

Please show some emulation performance for the A380 and A310, thanks, great job as always 🤗

[@bharath2508]

Better than gt 1030

[@juanjosealmanzar6330]

No shit

[@chucksgrace3225]

Is it?

[@trevordp]

No gpu is better than the gt 1030 😅

[@kuronoch.1441]

​@@chucksgrace3225It's better than RX 6400, so might be around 1650 levels.

[@MarkHyde]

Just bought this GPU maker's A770 card - looks like a great value brand manufacturer putting out low cost GPUs - not powerhouse graphics but great as part of console alternative builds as second PCs for kids and/or lounge room multimedia setups.

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

My only criticism of those cards is their thermal design. Notice that their brackets don't have any cutouts, so they're designed to dump all their heat inside the case. A lot of low profile cards are designed like this and it makes no sense IMO, since they're gonna be used in places where volume is limited so they shouldn't be adding heat to the internal air volume of the case.

[@TakisEnjoyer]

I think one thing that should be said in every video about Intel cards os that they're still pretty bad for older games using DX9 so if you plan to use it for "retro" gaming maybe it's not the best option. They're slowly improving with this tho

[@user-jm6qf9hd9j]

You can see a review test on TechPowerUp on that same exact GPU model and manufacturer (I can't give an exact link to their article as KZbin will flag and will autodelete my post for putting any external links). They gave pretty average review and their recommendation being preffering for a more expensive / higher level GPUs. However, as I can tell, they decided to test games for that entry-level graphic card ONLY at their HIGHEST (!) possible graphic settings, there's has NOT BEEN ANY KIND OF TESTS at all on lower ones, like: smaller resolutions, lower game details, XeSS / FSR mode enabled, etc. 🤨 So, I like that this video tested this entry-level GPU on a reasonable lower setting compared to the TechPowerUp one. 😍

[@mustasheolll2020]

I love that case design, it looks so organic

[@DarthDarklorD]

Used the sponsor for a new build. Had an issue activating, went into the chat and they fixed it with me. Just had to send em a screenshot of my windows version and the error code. And all that on a Sunday morning!

[@lexluthermiester]

@ETAPRIME Thank You for reviewing this card! I like it! There are not enough cards like this around.

[@TheRealBillySlang]

Fantastic results! For the price this is great for a cheap pre-built or tiny builds.

[@fatenevermore]

How does it compare to the ASRock LP A380 you showed a couple months ago? The full size HDMI and DisplayPort on the ASRock card might be easier for people to use than the mDP ports on this card.

[@ezravanguard4631]

Thanks for the content very interesting. I tried this with my sparkle elf A380 and got it to boost above 2700mhz at 62 watts running furmark. Though bifrost when I do this is inconsistent not always applying the wattage, though not a huge jump in FPS. I use +80 boost and +10mv in arc software with a fan curve whilst gaming seems to be stable. With my mighty 12100f😊

[@davidsanders890]

Just a heads up, but Fortnite should really be tested at low settings. Also, that game mode you tested in is not as demanding as the lobby's would be. With that being said, I am glad you included it and would like to see more comp. multiplayer games in your lineup. They are some of the most popular games.

[@paulbeers4105]

I think it’d be cool if someone did like a comparison of buying say a 8600g or 8700g and using the iGPU vs buying an a310 and a380 and something like a 7600 or 7700 based on cost and performance and then what it would be like if you swapped in a 4070 or something….. just to see what the upgrade path would be I’d say you could only afford X now, and y later….

[@guritamarctiberiu1567]

the 8600g and 8700g beat the 45w configuration of the arc 380, I dont know about the 60w TDP configuration. But tbh I wouldnt take 60w into account since I dont think that all cards can go there (like the ASrock variant). Also if you dont have PCIe 4 I wouldnt recommend such a card, the APUs you mentioned are generally faster if you are looking solely for a small form factor build. Also if you want a somewhat good SFF PC ignore the APUs as well and just go for a 4060LP since those APUs cost around 300$ for the 8600g and about 370$ for a 8700g. So tbh spending 300$ for a 4060 and 100$ for a R5 5500 would make a whole lot more sense in this case. At this point the LP GPU market is stagnant for a very long time with the GTX 1650 still being the best value GPU out there. However if you only want something that can play esports titles on a budget high refresh rate monitor with low settings (the most common type of settings in such titles), your cheapest bet would be to go for an ancient RX550 4Gb or something similar. If you want to do some medium settings 60 FPS AAA gaming as well go for a 3050. Just avoid any a380 or rx6400 as those are in all honesty worse than modern APUs and the value for money is worse than the combination of a cheap CPU with a 4060 or 3050 or even a 1650.

[@rmcdudmk212]

Perfect card to upgrade an old Optiplex or similar machine. 👍

[@MUCKLEECH]

exactly

[@Kanivalos80]

I think you need REBAR for intel gpus to get the most of their performance. Get an 6400 or 1650 for these old machines.

[@DreadedGareth]

Pcie 3 on optiplex

[@Toiyf.]

​@@Kanivalos80 Yup that's the biggest drawback, Intel would have been way more successful with their gpus if they didn't design it around rebar smh

[@rmcdudmk212]

@@DreadedGareth depends on the model.

[@slyfoxkgar]

hope they come to Canada some day soon. I deal with a lot of used systems, and that 310 you showed last video, is great for my clients that just want more than one monitor. (mostly office work) but for some low end gaming used systems.. the 380 would be amazing to get people into gaming on the cheap.

[@gotelldonn]

Thanks for the video! Do you have a link for the ITX cases shown in this video?

[@Crazyblox]

he wont respond

[@bluetech2809]

@@Crazyblox starting to think he's actually just an AI haha

[@406Steven]

I have a soft spot for Intel Arc as well as small form factor PCs, I set up a price alert for when these drop to $99.99 again so I'll grab one then! Thanks for the video, it really performed a lot better than I expected. I have an A380 already for my Plex server but have never tried to game on it, I'm also curious to see how this will fare in a PCIe 3.0 system given that it's only set up for x8

[@IchRockeInDerDisco]

Now that's a GPU I'm exited about ! Not something that's more expensive than a PS5 and Series X combined and would be obsolete in 5y

[@denvera1g1]

2:25 What is that unpopulated SMD at the very end of the card? That looks similar to an unpopulated M.2 slot, it looks like it has more fingers, and is missing the power fingers.

[@TheGameBench]

I assume you can do the same overclocks with the ASRock version you tested previously as the specs between the two are the same, and they should perform the same. Also, the ASRock model is regularly $100. This one is certainly the better looking of the two however.

[@kommandokodiak6025]

glad to see sparkle is back in the game

[@ClovarChillin]

Well Acer's Predator version came far before this and went unnoticed by many youtubers, that also is LP

[@genesisneyad4799]

HELLO! A small recommendation, for the tests in Fortnite I recommend you play the battle royale zero build and activate the game recording options, and use that game to play in other benchmarks. Also try using the DX11 rendering mode with textures on low and render on high. People looking for these builds tend to compare how many fps their sweet builds give them.

[@RuruFIN]

A380 has matured pretty damn well after all.

[@chillinlee]

Wow. Have to say I'm so impressed with this budget card. 6gb of VRAM for 100 bucks is nice.

[@jasonhemphill8525]

Good job Intel. Don't give up!

[@betag24cn]

rofl, say dont give up, to make them forget the idea of abandon market and hust focus on server gpus for ai, just hilarious!

[@reviewaccount469]

The first ARC card I would consider. I think Intel could have a good LP card niche at this price point or even a bit higher.

[@ScottGrammer]

I just bought the ASUS version of this card. It has one HDMI and one full-size Displayport out. But the computer it's in currently does not have resizable bar. That's going to be corrected soon. Was running an RX6400, but again, the motherboard is the problem (pcie e). The Intel, even hogtied by the lack of rebar, still slightly outruns the 6400. It should improve greatly when I change platforms in a week or so.

[@supremesonicbrazil]

Your voice sounds particularly crispy in this one. Are you using AI? Sounds way off from what I was used to hear in past videos.

[@ubernugget3925]

I would love to see how an A380 performs in a budget Emulation build. Especially compared to the RX 6400 and RTX 3050.

[@PadPoet]

A used A2000 is way better value for money. The 6GB goes now for around 200ish and the 12GB version for around 250ish. You get a 192bit bus instead of 96bit and way better drivers and performance in general. Would be great if you did a comparison between this card, a 3050, an RX 6400 and an Nvidia A2000.

[@AnTran147]

omg that looks so adorable with how small and pudgy it looks

[@gasoline9456]

If you have room for dual slot LP but the 4060 is too expensive or you don't have an 8 pin connector please just get a 3050. Over double performance of the 380 in most games without all the driver issues and only costs 50% more(at least in Europe) not even counting the rest of the system.

[@stevenwex8966]

The ARC cards need ReBar, or has that been fixed with driver updates??? (ETA Prime asked for questions), I do notice the card is 2 slots thick, but it does use a single slot bracket making it more compatible then the rtx 3050. The card could almost be classed has 1.5 slots.

[@EvertG8086]

Still needs rebar

[@davidframe1613]

I'm fine with call of duty at 60 frames I've never had a TV or monitor that would do over that so to me 60 1080 is just fine. I think that's the sweet spo. I wish mini PCS would do this also.

[@betag24cn]

lol, that sounds terrible, just buy something that os bad becuae you dont know how to set the tv at 120hz

[@WesleyAusten]

Inel Arc A380 has same performance of Ryzen 7 6800H's Radeon 680M, and 1/2 performance of Ryzen 7 8700G.

[@WaveSmash]

I'd love to see a video breaking down the performance of this and the a310 as a 2nd gpu dedicated to encoding video. I'm considering it but I'm not finding any stats on the encoders.

[@chucksgrace3225]

Where do you buy those cases mentioned in the video?

[@vincebaker3384]

would this card be good for graphic design & non-4K video editing. sometimes people do use video cards for other things besides gaming I would love to see more low cost video cards & how they preform on things beside gaming

[@caseyduckworth1578]

I bought this case, power supply, and the 4060 lp for an sff build. I like the wood paneling you added to the front. It sacrifices the little bit of airflow and the front usb though. I may test it out and see. The 4060 runs pretty hot.

[@thetechrealist]

I suggest undervolting or if you can’t undervolt, power limiting with MSI’s afterburner tool. 115w just is too much power for a graphics card in a minuscule case.

[@michaeloleary6012]

what case is this?

[@has20100]

Great video,can you tell me what type of the itx case you were using please

[@alphaqlater]

That's awesome. I appreciate the review and showing the tweaks to get that higher tdp. I have an old 4790k build without a gpu since i have it to a friend. This sounds like a compelling gpu to get back to gaming on the old rig. I'm curious how the performance is with Helldivers 2 on that gpu. Thanks!

[@chrisbullock6477]

The mini display port cables are what's putting me off. Wished they'd just add all HDMI considering its mainly for productivity and multiple monitor setup.

[@PC_GAMING_AND_EMULATION]

Would like to see some high-end emulation upscaled using this card.

[@ashneel]

Do you sell your builds?

[@spacedave2000]

I'm baffled PC's are still struggling to get great performance at 1080P. 1080P is now 15 years old standard (if not older). We need to finally move on to 4k standard.

[@betag24cn]

the problem is 4k implementation and costs, not much people have 4k monitors or the desire to get one, i only have a cheap tv and no interest to run anything at 4k apart from youtube videos on it

[@kuronoch.1441]

Surprisingly, Intel works better on higher resolutions comparatively against AMD and Nvidia offerings. For example A770LE ain't a match for 4060Ti in 1080p, but directly competes against 4070Ti in 4K.

[@sierra3139]

PLEASE buy the minisforum ms-01 and see if it can support this GPU if we get a custom molded case. That would be a best of a PC!

[@TrusteftTech]

If they came with say Nvidia doing the drivers, not having to worry about older software and it wasn't requiring resizable BAR, I would say it's an awesome card for the money in today's market.

[@Isaac-bu8hu]

Ray tracing and 30fps in PS5 only gen games performance test would be interesting. Wonder if this could be a series S competitor.

[@Neopulse00]

Thought for a second it was the a580 in LP format. Would have flipped.

[@BearBronson]

Dude a single slot a580 around the $180 - $200 would be an absolute game changer.

[@Neopulse00]

@@BearBronson i know, even as a double slot I think it'd be possible if it used a copper heat sink with a triple fan design (like the 4060) for $30 more, I'd buy it. Since it'd pair well with the AR900i idea I have in the tube currently for a new compact editing build.

[@gustavo9758]

Is that case on the left a modified A09? looks kinda neat.

[@RocktCityTim]

Even the A770 at $329 is still a bargain for what you get. Any chance you'll be looking at one of them soon?

[@bertgo305]

Sparkle is one of the ancient brands in GPUs I'm surprised they still exists.

[@kristopherleslie8343]

I never heard of them and I’m 40 years IT Vet 😮

[@BittiPomo]

used 1660 super/ti can be found cheaply sometimes like iw seen in finland there has been couple for 80-100euro

[@danny_mtnz]

Would be nice to see how it pairs up with a budget cpu

[@shining_buddha]

What case is it?

[@silveighty]

Same here

[@itaydagani1704]

I think testing a budget gpu like this with an i9 based system is missing the whole point this should probably be on the list to buy for people who have these older systems that still work well like dell OptiPlex based ones with 4th to 7th generation i7

[@nesyboi9421]

If you find the uncommon optiplex that features the full X16 slot on the upper bracket instead of the lower one.

[@boraltns]

Hi, i have a question about Raspberry Pi HQ Camera. Is that module compatible with Raspberry Pi HQ Camera 8-50mm zoom lens? Also with Raspberry Pi 5 4 gb? My project is about the make, zooming camera to very far spot and focus that spot.

[@LovelyAlanna]

of course, sold out, this is something that would have a lot of use in my sff case

[@nikiiv]

One of those "I do want to mention that... " videos

[@darkknightforU]

I wish for these kind of gpu a budget cpu would be used instead of a i9 13th gen, maybe a i7 or i5 8th or 9th gen would be a sweet spot because I garantere no one with a high end cpu buy this kind of gpu 😊

[@nathanddrews]

*insert Mr. Sparkle Simpsons meme here*

[@foxbox19]

I just picked up one of these gpus, but I'm interested in the case that you are using. What kind of case is that?

[@RikiHorizon]

Maybe this falls outside your perview. But I wonder if you could swap the coolers on the 310 and 380, for science of course 😏

[@jordan-mn6yy]

pc's need to get to this form factor with 4k 240fps on ultra graphics

[@peterweber79]

The Moore Threads S30 could be interesting to. Its exotic ;) single slot low profile, chap (at least in china) and "modern" -> modern encoders and decoders (i have a S80 and the decoders seems to be flawless under windows 10 even with 4k AV1 60fps).

[@LordDio]

How's Tekken 8 run with these small cards? I think that game might be more intense than MK1 as far as fighting games go

[@e1x0r1]

Sorry for being lazy, do you have a video about the computer you used on this? Absolutely interested in building something similar.

[@dreamingacacia]

I see that the only downside for this card is no raytracing. Well it's a huge upgrade for me since I'm still using GTX 960Ti

[@applewizard32]

I wonder if you could swap the heatsink from the single slot A310 and mount it to the A380 board with the A380 fans and create a Frankenstein single slot A380, would love to see you try

[@toniserenvert7919]

They should make the low profile cards like nvidia and amd had nvlink and crossfire for 1080,1440p or so.

[@jeroendenhertog4975]

That's a big slap in the face for both NVidia and AMD.... Go go Intel!

[@qx1381]

Intel GPUs are coming out really humble.

[@SlainByTheWire]

This probably won’t work but I wanna see this in a small form factor PC running Steam OS.

[@TheDraftAttack]

Noob question : what is the purpose of a very small graphics card? Is this specifically for people who want to travel with a desktop, therefore smaller pc and easier to carry, or could you use it on the RPi5? Sorry, I'm not the best at technology, I would say I'm about average. Cheers!

[@MiraiKishi]

Imagine if you could solder double capacity RAM chips on. 12 GB Low Profile card for barely 200 - 250?

[@Karti200]

Imagine if rummors are correct - we might get an Intel iGPU with those 8 Xe Cores this will be sick

[@22lalen]

I want to see some tests with world of warships. Only game that matters to me on pc 😕😉

[@Jazzybreaks]

Got a free OptiPlex with an i7 8700 from work. Will this combo do mild gaming and run some older games fine? Mainly got the OptiPlex for Ableton Live and photoshop.

[@nevada149]

can you run that card with Batocera please, would be interesting to see how it handles the more modern consoles

[@sarahkitty4729]

I’ll stick to my A750 that’s got way more bang for my buck, sure it’s big but it’s a beast

[@danield.2530]

I would love to see how it runs MW3 with FSR 3.0 and Frame Gen enabled. I think it would hit 120 FPS or higher not gonna lie.

[@slickvibez16]

Frame gen isn’t a good idea for a FPS title given the added input lag but FSR 3.0 putting it into a stable 90+ fps would be sick

[@mauricarreno]

Can you add links for the entire setup? Looks interesting!

[@user-lg5tg6sf4t]

Hello, ETA PRIME. I'm interested in a prefabricated mini pc, and I like the pc case in the video because it has a wooden point. If you don't mind, may I know where to buy the case? And may I know if the RTX 4060 LP goes in?

[@victor64n]

damnnn its so cute, it reminds me to the low profile 1050