Almost all of the mid-range and high-end graphics cards available today come with a dual-slot design which means they occupy two slots on your motherboard and computer case. This is because these cards come with powerful GPUs, and to cool them a bigger heatsink with one or more fans is required, thereby increasing the height of the graphics card.
The main disadvantage of dual-slot graphics cards is that they occupy two or more slots on your motherboard, and if you have a smaller motherboard like a microATX one, then you will not be able to fit an expansion card in the adjacent and vacant PCI-E slot that is already occupied by the graphics card. Only some of the entry-level graphics cards come with a single-slot form factor, but they are not good for gaming purposes. But having said that there are some good single-slot graphics cards that are quite powerful, and you can use them for a decent amount of gaming and graphics-related work. So, here in this post, I am going to provide you with a list of the best single slot graphics cards available today.
Advantages of Single Slot Graphics Cards
- Occupies less space in the computer case
- Allows better ventilation in the PC case
- Generally consumes lesser power
Important Note: Single Slot graphics cards have limited cooling capability due to a slimmer heatsink and a single fan. So, do not ever try to overclock them as they can thermal throttle easily. Also, you must have good airflow and ventilation in your PC case by installing additional case fans for single slot graphics cards for their better cooling.
Must Read:
Best Single Slot Graphics Cards from Nvidia
Here are the best single slot GPUs or graphics cards from Nvidia for gaming and graphics-related work.
EVGA GeForce GT 730 4GB DDR3
This is a budget graphics card that comes with 4GB 128-bit DDR3 memory. EVGA also has other GT 730 models in GDDR5 & DDR3 variants but only this one comes with the single-slot design. It is a decent powerful card but is not meant for extreme gaming. Yes, you can play older games on medium settings and some of the latest games on low settings.
EVGA GeForce GT 730 comes with 96 CUDA Cores which is way less because the 64-bit DDR3 and GDDR5 variants come with 384 CUDA Cores. This is a good card for watching HD movies, video editing, photo editing, and running basic to medium level graphics software. This is a low-power card and it includes dual DVI and an HDMI port for connectivity. You may get this graphics card for under 100 dollars and may check out the link below for its availability.
EVGA GeForce GT 730 4GB DDR3 Specifications | |
CUDA Cores | 96 |
GPU Clock | 700 MHz |
Memory Clock | 1400 MHz |
Memory Size | 4 GB DDR3 |
Memory Interface | 128-bit |
Bus Interface | PCI Express 2.0 |
DirectX | 12 |
OpenGL | 4.4 |
Output Ports | DVI x 2, HDMI |
Buy EVGA GeForce GT 730 4GB DDR3
EVGA GeForce GT 740 4GB DDR3 Superclocked
This is a more powerful graphics card compared to the above-mentioned EVGA GT 730. EVGA GeForce GT 740 SC Single Slot Graphics Card comes with 384 CUDA Cores and 4GB DDR3 memory. The card comes with a bigger heatsink and a relatively smaller fan for cooling.
This is also not a true gaming card but it can be used for a decent amount of gaming especially for playing older games at high settings. This card is powerful enough to run games like CSGO on max settings and you can also play the latest games at low-medium settings at a decent resolution. The card does not require external power connectors and has got two DVI ports and one mini-HDMI port for connectivity. You can get this GT 740 single-slot graphics card for a tad above 100 dollars.
EVGA GeForce GT 740 4GB DDR3 SC Specifications | |
CUDA Cores | 384 |
GPU Clock | 1059 MHz |
Memory Clock | 1334 MHz |
Memory Size | 4 GB DDR3 |
Memory Interface | 128-bit |
Bus Interface | PCI Express 3.0 |
DirectX | 12 |
OpenGL | 4.4 |
Output Ports | DVI x 2, mini-HDMI |
Buy EVGA GeForce GT 740 4GB DDR3
EVGA GeForce GT 1030 SC Single Slot
GeForce GT 1030 is the entry-level graphics card in the GeForce 10 series lineup. The card is built on the Pascal GPU architecture and comes with 384 CUDA Cores and 2GB GDDR5 memory. Here we have the single slot version of GeForce GT 1030 which is EVGA GeForce GT 1030 SC Single Slot. This is a great card for eSports gaming and running less demanding & older games at good graphics settings at 900p or 1080p. It can also run modern & latest games at low-medium graphics settings at 720p or 900p resolutions. This is an overclocked (SC) GT 1030 card, which means it will offer slightly better performance than a stock GT 1030.
This single-slot GeForce GT 1030 graphics card from EVGA has a very low power consumption of 30 Watts and requires no external power connectors. For connectivity, the card comes with two single-link DVI-D ports. The card is at least two times faster than an integrated graphics solution (Intel Core i5 as reference) and packs a lot of power for the price. Highly Recommended by me.
Check out: Best GT 1030 Graphics Cards for eSports Gaming & Work
EVGA GeForce GT 1030 SC Single Slot Specifications | |
CUDA Cores | 384 |
GPU Clock | 1290 / 1544 MHz |
Memory Clock | 6008 MHz |
Memory Size | 2GB GDDR5 |
Memory Interface | 64-bit |
Bus Interface | PCI Express 3.0 |
DirectX | 12 |
OpenGL | 4.5 |
Output Ports | DVI x 2 |
Buy EVGA GeForce GT 1030 SC Single Slot
Inno3D GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (1-Slot Edition)
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is a powerful mid-range graphics card based on the Pascal GPU architecture from Nvidia. It comes with 768 CUDA Cores and 4GB GDDR5 memory. On this mid-range graphics card, you can play the latest games on high settings at 1080p resolution with playable frame rates. GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is more powerful than Radeon RX 460 and has performance equivalent to that of the Radeon RX 560.
Here we have a single-slot GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics card from Inno3D. This graphics card is really sleek and it strictly occupies only a single slot in your PC case. Unlike other GeForce GTX 1050 Ti cards, this one does not come overclocked and it has the same GPU and Memory frequencies as with reference GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics card. Inno3D GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Single Slot graphics card does not require external power from the PSU and needs only a decent 400 power supply for its working. Some important features of this card include Nvidia G-Sync, Nvidia Ansel, Vulkan API support, and Nvidia GPU Boost. Display connectivity options include DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort.
Inno3D GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (1-Slot Edition) Specifications | |
CUDA Cores | 768 |
GPU Clock | 1290 / 1392 MHz |
Memory Clock | 7000 MHz |
Memory Size | 4 GB GDDR5 |
Memory Interface | 128-bit |
Bus Interface | PCI Express 3.0 |
DirectX | 12 |
OpenGL | 4.5 |
Output Ports | DVI, HDMI, DP |
Buy Inno3D GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (1-Slot Edition)
GALAX GeForce GTX 1070 KATANA
GALAX GeForce GTX 1070 KATANA is undoubtedly the most powerful single-slot graphics card that you can get for high-end gaming or professional graphics-related work. GeForce GTX 1070 is a high-end graphics card from Nvidia based on the Pascal GPU architecture. The card comes with 1920 CUDA Cores and 8GB GDDR5 memory having a 256-bit memory interface or bus-width. On this card, you can play the latest games on very high/ultra graphics settings at 1440p resolution with 60+ FPS.
This single-slot GeForce GTX 1070 comes with an all copper heatsink which helps in dissipating the heat more quickly and efficiently. The bracket also comes with special holes to remove the heat generated inside the card. This is known as RazorX Technique & Turbo Radiator from Galax which consists of a copper cooling and advanced vapor chamber. The fan on this card is a blower-type fan that blows air sideways on the heatsink for cooling it. This is an SLI-ready card which means you can run two of these cards in a multi-GPU setup on your PC and double your gaming performance. The card is also VR Ready which means it can seamlessly run all your Virtual Reality applications and games. The card has a maximum power consumption of 150W and requires an 8-pin PCI-E power connector. You need a good 500W PSU to power this single-slot GTX 1070 graphics card. For connectivity, it includes DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort.
GALAX GeForce GTX 1070 KATANA Specifications | |
CUDA Cores | 1920 |
GPU Clock | 1518/1708 MHz |
Memory Clock | 8000 MHz |
Memory Size | 8 GB GDDR5 |
Memory Interface | 256-bit |
Bus Interface | PCI Express 3.0 |
DirectX | 12 |
OpenGL | 4.5 |
Output Ports | DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort |
Buy GALAX GeForce GTX 1070 KATANA
INNO3D GeForce GTX 1650 SINGLE SLOT
INNO3D GeForce GTX 1650 SINGLE SLOT is one of the most powerful single-slot graphics cards you can get for gaming. GeForce GTX 1650 is a budget mainstream graphics card based on the Turing GPU architecture from Nvidia and comes with 896 CUDA Cores and 4GB GDDR5 memory having a 128-bit interface. The card is around 25% to 35% faster than GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, which was quite a popular budget mainstream card in older days. On GTX 1650, you can play almost all the latest AAA games on medium to high graphics settings comfortably at 1080p with respectable frame rates.
The single-slot INNO3D GeForce GTX 1650 features almost the same design and heatsink as of the single-slot INNO3D GeForce GTX 1050 Ti. It uses a metal shroud with a single fan located at the end. The card is also quite compact lengthwise. It does not require PCIe connectors from PSU and draws all its power from the PCIe x16 slot only. The recommended power supply for this card is 300 Watt. Display connectivity options include two DisplayPort and HDMI ports.
INNO3D GeForce GTX 1650 SINGLE SLOT Specifications | |
CUDA Cores | 896 |
GPU Clock | 1665 MHz Boost |
Memory Clock | 8 Gbps |
Memory Size | 4GB GDDR5 |
Memory Interface | 128-bit |
Bus Interface | PCI Express 3.0 |
DirectX | 12 |
OpenGL | 4.5 |
Output Ports | DisplayPort 1.4 x 2, HDMI 2.0b |
Buy INNO3D GeForce GTX 1650 SINGLE SLOT
GALAX GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Max 16 GB Unparalleled Max
Galax has announced a single-slot RTX 4060 Ti card named GALAX GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Max 16 GB Unparalleled Max. It will be the most powerful single-slot graphics card when launched. The card comes with 16GB GDDR6 memory with a 128-bit bus width and 18Gbps speed. It is a non-overclocked model and has a GPU Boost Clock of 2535 MHz. The card is 267mm in length and only 20mm thin making it a perfect candidate for SFF and Slim PC Cases including the Server ones. For cooling, the card uses a blower fan coupled with a vapor chamber heatsink. The maximum power consumption of the card is rated at 165W and it requires one 8-pin PCIe power connector from the PSU. Display connectivity options on the card include three DisplayPort 1.4a ports and one HDMI 2.1 port.
GALAX GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Max Specifications | |
CUDA Cores | 4352 |
GPU Clock | 2535 MHz |
GPU Architecture | Ada Lovelace |
Memory Clock | 18 Gbps |
Memory Size | 16GB GDDR6 |
Memory Interface | 128-bit |
Bus Interface | PCI Express 4.0 x8 |
DirectX | 12 |
OpenGL | 4.3 |
Output Ports | DisplayPort 1.4a x 3, HDMI 2.1 x 1 |
Check GALAX GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Max 16 GB Availability
Best Single Slot Graphics Cards from AMD
Here are the best single slot or single height graphics cards from AMD for gaming as well as video-related work.
XFX RADEON RX 460 4GB GDDR5 SLIM
This is one of the best single slot gaming graphics cards you can get for your gaming PC. XFX Radeon RX 460 Slim is a powerful single-slot graphics card that comes with 896 Stream Processors and 4GB GDDR5 Video memory. This is an affordable graphics card that is based on AMD’s latest Polaris GPU architecture. This card is considerably faster than the GeForce GTX 750 Ti which is a very good mid-range graphics card from Nvidia based on the Maxwell GPU architecture. The gaming performance of the Radeon RX 460 is comparable to that of GeForce GTX 1050.
This is the only RX 460 card that has a single slot design as other RX 460 cards require two slots for their accommodation. On this card, you can play the latest games on medium settings on 1080p with good frame rates. It supports many advanced features and technologies such as DirectX 12, Vulkan, FreeSync, CrossFire, AMD LiquidVR technology, etc. This is not a power-hungry card as it does not require any PCI-E power connector from the PSU and needs only a good 400W power supply for its working. Connectivity options include DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort.
XFX RADEON RX 460 4GB GDDR5 SLIM Specifications | |
Stream Processors | 896 |
GPU Clock | 1220 MHz |
Memory Clock | 7000 MHz |
Memory Size | 4 GB GDDR5 |
Memory Interface | 128-bit |
Bus Interface | PCI Express 3.0 |
DirectX | 12 |
OpenGL | 4.5 |
Output Ports | DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort |
Buy XFX Radeon RX 460 4GB Slim
XFX Radeon RX 550 4GB Slim Single Slot
Radeon RX 550 is a budget graphics card in the latest Radeon RX 500 graphics card series. This is a great card for users who are on a budget and just to play older games or eSports titles on their budget gaming PC. Radeon RX 550 comes with 512 Stream Processors and supports all the latest graphics APIs including DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.5, Vulkan, etc. Here we have a single slot version of the Radeon RX 550 graphics card which is XFX Radeon RX 550 4GB Slim Single Slot. This slim Radeon RX 550 graphics card comes with 4GB GDDR5 memory having a 128-bit interface.
This budget single-slot graphics card is based on the Polaris GPU architecture from AMD and comes with DVI, HDMI, and DP ports. The card is powerful enough for casual gaming, video editing, and other graphics-related work. The card consumes very low power (TDP 50 Watt) and it does not require additional power connectors from the PSU. Display connectivity options include DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort.
XFX Radeon RX 550 4GB Slim Single Slot Specifications | |
Stream Processors | 512 |
GPU Clock | 1203 MHz |
Memory Clock | 7000 MHz |
Memory Size | 4 GB GDDR5 |
Memory Interface | 128-bit |
Bus Interface | PCI Express 3.0 |
DirectX | 12 |
OpenGL | 4.5 |
Output Ports | DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort |
Buy XFX Radeon RX 550 4GB Single Slot
Sapphire PULSE AMD Radeon RX 6400
[Fastest Single-Slot AMD Card, Very Power Efficient, GTX 1650 Level Performance]
The fastest single-slot graphics card from AMD that you can get for small factor mini-ITX PC Cases or Systems. It is also a low-profile card and can fit into slim PC Cases too. The card is 170mm in length, 56.2mm in width, and 17.2mm in height. For cooling, Sapphire PULSE AMD Radeon RX 6400 uses and slim aluminum heatsink and a smaller fan. The card has a maximum power consumption of 55W and requires no supplementary power from the PCIe connectors. Display connectivity options include HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 ports.
Radeon RX 6400 is the smallest card in the AMD Radeon RX 6000 graphics card series from AMD. The card sits below the RX 6500 XT in the series and is the second card after the RX 6500 XT to be built on the smaller 6nm fabrication process. The card is powered by RDNA 2 GPU architecture and uses Navi 24 GPU in a cut-down form. It comes with 768 Stream Processors and 4GB GDDR6 memory having a 64-bit interface running at a speed of 16 Gbps. The card also features a 12MB Infinity Cache which is an ultra-fast memory cache that can deliver higher peak memory bandwidth momentarily.
The card has very low power consumption and draws all of its power from the PCIe x16 slot. The card supports HDMI 2.1, Directx 12, OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan, FreeSync, FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), Real-Time Ray Tracing, PCI-Express 4.0 (at x4 bandwidth only) but lacks H.264/H.265 encoding and AV1 decoding. RX 6400 offers GeForce GTX 1650 level performance and in some games, it beats the GTX 1650 by a significant margin. It is a great card for playing older games at high graphics settings at 1080p resolution and can even run the latest games at medium settings at 900p or 1080p resolution respectable frame rates.
Sapphire PULSE AMD Radeon RX 6400 Specifications | |
Stream Processors | 768 |
GPU Clock | 2321 MHz Boost |
Memory Clock | 16 Gbps |
Memory Size | 4GB GDDR6 |
Memory Interface | 64-bit |
Bus Interface | PCI Express 4.0 (x4) |
DirectX | 12 |
OpenGL | 4.6 |
PCI-E Power Connector | None |
Output Ports | HDMI 2.1 x 1, DisplayPort 1.4 x 1 |
Buy Sapphire PULSE AMD Radeon RX 6400
Other Single Slot RX 6400 Models
Powerful Single Slot Workstation Graphics Cards for Professionals
- Nvidia RTX 4000
- AMD Radeon PRO W7600
- AMD Radeon PRO W7500
See also:
Final Words
Gaming single-slot graphics cards are very rare because powerful GPUs require good cooling and it is difficult to cool down a powerful GPU by having a single slot design. Nevertheless here I have provided the best available single-slot graphics cards for your PC and if you have any doubts or queries then you can ask me by leaving a comment below.
(*This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission if you choose to purchase through the links I provide (at no extra cost to you). Thank you for supporting the work I put into this site!)
There is not such a thing as a RX 560 single slot.
Earlier it was listed on XFX official website but now has been removed. I have also removed it from the list. Thanks for the tip.
There is this one as well.
http://www.hisdigital.com/gb/product2-940.shtml
Nice find. Thanks
Every link I followed to buy one of these cards failed to find the model in question. AAMOF, I didn’t find a single one of the mentioned single slot video cards that I could actually buy.
These single slot cards in great demand and are very limited.
One has to wonder why the companies don’t figure that out and make sufficient quantities of them for the market???
May be they think that single slot graphics cards do not appeal much to gamers because of their limited cooling capacity and no room for overclocking.
Perhaps, but there’s more than gamers buying graphic cards. 🙂 Also, many of the computer models have limited slots. I have an HP Envy, and there aren’t enough slots to throw an extra one away on the graphic card. I need several other cards that take the other slots, so a single slot graphics card is important to me. I’d just like to upgrade the graphics, but the lack of suitable cards is a major stumbling block. The computer is fine otherwise, plenty of memory, fast processor, just needs a better graphics card. I think this is a pretty common situation.
Totally agree with you as most of the users only buy micro-ATX boards and they have limited slots.
Are people using them for buidling a gaming pc for the lounge/living room, like a Steambox? As long as the single slot card can play 1080p people are content and they can have a nice slim case which fits into their cabinet.
Well they are not meant for high-end gaming or enthusiasts, but you can definitely game on them especially on the higher GPU models like GTX 1050 Ti, RX 460 and GTX 1070. They are generally used with smaller motherboards having limited expansion slots or small form factor cases where every bit of space counts.
Out of all of these, which would you recommend the most?
If you are on budget then i would say XFX Radeon RX 550 4GB Slim Single Slot and if you want something more powerful then Inno3D GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (1-Slot Edition) but it is very hard to find this card.
I know someone commented earlier that a lot were sold out. I’m looking now and they are still sold out, especially the Inno 3D GEFORCE GTX 1050 ti 1 slot edition which is the one I want. Will you be doing another list soon? Or any recommendations for now for a good 1 slot card?
It is very hard to find these single slot graphics cards particularly Inno 3D GEFORCE GTX 1050 Ti. I will update the post whenever new ones comes out.
Found a place to order one.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4F978B4818&cm_re=1050ti-_-1FT-000N-00154-_-Product
Nice job.
There is nothing preventing you from gaming on a “Workstation” GPU if you need a single-slot card:
https://www.amd.com/en/graphics/workstations-wx-series
WX5100 is roughly equivalent to RX580 and WX7100 is faster, while being single-slot and relatively quiet. And twice as expensive. 🙂 WX3100 is however competitively priced and is similar in gaming performance to RX550 and GTX1050ti.
How about a list of single-slot graphics cards you can actually buy? The GALAX GeForce GTX 1070 KATANA isn’t available in 2019. According to GALAX, it hasn’t been shipped for some time. If you’re going to publish links, make sure they work! The link to buy the GALAX only shows GT 1030 cards.
It is one of the rarest graphics cards, but I think it is great to know that even such a powerful graphics card in single slot form factor existed.
Bought a Galax 1070 on eBay a month ago. Lots available from Australia for some reason.
Single slot one?
There’s single slot GTX1060 6GB available called ASL GeForce G1606 D5 SS
https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.32.1fd712bf20ac5C&id=603853930867&ns=1&abbucket=17#detail
There is 3GB variant as well:
http://www.pcasl.com/pd.jsp?id=41#_pp=0_625_8
Great find but it is almost impossible to get these relatively powerful single slot cards.
where do you find 1070 katana? I can only find it for 2000$ thats overpriced I think
Very rare to find this card. May be you can directly contact the manufacturer which is Galax.
Dear sir there’s also single slot inno3d geforce gtx 1650 card which ia a little better then 1050 ti and lesser than galax katana gtx 1070 8gb, yet since galax katana is discontinued makes this card best single slot card period.
Thanks for the mention of INNO3D GeForce GTX 1650 SINGLE SLOT.
I previously bought a similar card from Elsa https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/gp/product/B07WX23V8M/ that seems to be discontinued now.
These single-slot cards are limited and very hard to find.
Isn’t the Quadro P4000 faster than any of these, except for the GTX 1070?
Yes it is.
I also see that Quadro K2200 is better than the GT1030, and it’s available for about the same price now. Also has 4GB of GDDR5.
I should have just opened with Quadro K4200. It would perform almost as well as the GTX 1050 Ti, and unlike the three most powerful gaming cards listed here (GTX 1050 Ti, GTX 1070, and GTX 1650), it is actually obtainable, and even affordable. The K2200 is almost as good as the K4200 (and actually better than the K4000), but good used cards, the price is almost the same. The main difference might be in power consumption for some users. For North American users who must have a single-slot card, Quadro K4200 may currently be the most powerful PRACTICAL option.
Quadro RTX 4000 is also single-slot.
Yes, it is but this article is mainly about consumer or mainstream graphics cards.
Well, technically, the title says ‘for Gaming & Work’.
RTX 4000 definitely fits within the ‘Work’ category 😉
Plus, it now is definitely more mainstream than the now defunct Galax Katana.
Well, you do have a valid point. I think I will add a list of the workstation cards too.
What is fastest card that can replace the GT 1030 low profile single slot? I have a small Dell PC w no room and for years the 1030 has been the best card you can fit. Thx.
There is Yeston AMD Radeon RX560D-4GD5 LP but it is quite hard to find. You can check out this card at https://graphicscardhub.com/low-profile-single-slot-gpu/
In 2023, it should be any Radeon RX 6400.
Yes, I agree.
In early 2024, many of these cards are difficult to obtain or expensive. I realize the list keeps getting updated, but perhaps it is due for a complete refresh with available GPUs?