Asus M2A-VM compatible graphics card

[mailpranshu]

Hi Toms.

Good to be back. Thanks a lot for the earlier support with the Phenom II question.

My mo-bo is now running a PII 945 post the 5001 update perfectly even though its an AM2 mo-bo.

But now I realize that my graphics is not up to the task. I have the following rig:
Proc : AMD Phenom II 945
Mo-bo : Asus M2A-VM
Ram : Transcend 800 Mhz
Card : XFX 8600 GT

What I need to know is whether it is possible to install and use a PCIE 2.1 card on my mo bo's PCIE "1" x16 slot.

I wanted to pick up a 560 or a 6870 as I am getting a good deal.

Please don't answer with things such as "no", "bandwidth will be limited" etc.

Thanks in advance.

 

[mailpranshu]

Also, I forgot to mention. I am at present on a 1440x900 display. Post the gpu upgrade I will move on to full HD.

 

[purple stain]

You should try to get a 2.0 card.2.1 cards are known to have issue's with 1.0 slots.

Honestly though I would get a GTX550ti and spend the extra money on a new motherboard.Your bound to see lots of improvements in the other componets.

 

[eleclerc]

According to wikipedia :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express#PCI_Express_1.0a
PCIe 2.0 motherboard slots are fully backward compatible with PCIe v1.x cards. PCIe 2.0 cards are also generally backward compatible with PCIe 1.x motherboards, using the available bandwidth of PCI Express 1.1. Overall, graphic cards or motherboards designed for v2.0 will work with the other being v1.1 or v1.0.

 

[purple stain]

Most of the time 2.1 cards aren't compatible right out of the box with a 1.0 slot.You will have to get a BIOS update to run a 2.1 card but the problem with that is that motherboard manufacture's stop posting updates for older model products.

 

[photonboy]

Yes.

Any PCIe card will work on any motherboard with a PCIe graphics card slot.

Your only issue would be possible CPU bottlenecking. Also, I'd get the GTX560.

Points:
- get a $20 to $40 CPU heatsink+Fan if you don't already have a non-stock one ( NCIX )
- *overclock your CPU (20% is probably stable with a good heatsink)
- run MEMTEST to test your RAM stability

*my older computer required me to first underclock my RAM before overclocking the CPU, because when I overclocked the CPU it also overclocked the RAM by the same amount.

 

[photonboy]

BIOS:

BIOS updates can often fix major issues. Make sure it's up to date. They also sometimes add RAM profiles so that the motherboard can automatically apply the correct timings and voltages.

CPU update:
I looked up the benchmarks for your CPU and made some comparisons to several other charts. I believe many games would NOT benefit from a CPU overclock.

You can test some games by using an in-game benchmark, if available. Generic benchmark programs aren't the best to use in your case.

Without a benchmark program you could use the program FRAPS and do an in-game benchmark (make sure it's repeatable) and try it with the CPU overclocked and not.

Graphics card:
I don't know what games you play, but if your budget allows I'd strongly suggest the GTX560Ti.

New graphics cards:
New AMD and NVidia cards are coming. This is my best estimate of the HIGH-END version card release dates:

- AMD 7000 series (Q1 2012?)
- NVidia 600 series (Q2 2012?)

You may wish to wait on one of these newer cards, but then that could be six months from now. They are estimated to use about HALF the overall power so noise will be significantly less.

 

[mailpranshu]

SO I am guessing a 1GB GTX 460 will do? It is PCE 2.0 (not 2.1).

 

[mailpranshu]

BIOS:

BIOS updates can often fix major issues. Make sure it's up to date. They also sometimes add RAM profiles so that the motherboard can automatically apply the correct timings and voltages.

Have updated my BIOS to the 5001.

 

[mailpranshu]

Also, what other good PCI 2.0 cards can you guys suggest. DirectX 11 is a must!!!!

 

[photonboy]

Summary of my above:

- GTX560, GTX560Ti or GTX570
- HD6850, or HD6870

Newer:
GTX6xx or HD7xxx that performs similar to above.

 

[mailpranshu]

BIOS:

BIOS updates can often fix major issues. Make sure it's up to date. They also sometimes add RAM profiles so that the motherboard can automatically apply the correct timings and voltages.

CPU update:
I looked up the benchmarks for your CPU and made some comparisons to several other charts. I believe many games would NOT benefit from a CPU overclock.

You can test some games by using an in-game benchmark, if available. Generic benchmark programs aren't the best to use in your case.

Without a benchmark program you could use the program FRAPS and do an in-game benchmark (make sure it's repeatable) and try it with the CPU overclocked and not.

Graphics card:
I don't know what games you play, but if your budget allows I'd strongly suggest the GTX560Ti.

New graphics cards:
New AMD and NVidia cards are coming. This is my best estimate of the HIGH-END version card release dates:

- AMD 7000 series (Q1 2012?)
- NVidia 600 series (Q2 2012?)

You may wish to wait on one of these newer cards, but then that could be six months from now. They are estimated to use about HALF the overall power so noise will be significantly less.

The 560Ti will do. Thanks a lot man!!!!!

 

[mailpranshu]

Best answer selected by mailpranshu.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey