[SOLVED] Best cost to value video card upgrades for this older MB

[Lands]

I'm working through an upgrade vs buy new computer process. My last decision is whether I'll be able to get a video card that will work with my motherboard and be enough of an upgrade to have a decent impact on performance. I've looked for tools I can use to find this out, but it's hard to wade through the info.

My computer/ motherboard:
Computer: HP Pavilion HPE h8-1120
Motherboard:

IPISB-CU (Carmel2)​

Manufacturer: Pegatron​

BaseBoard: 2AC2​

version 2.00​

My current video card:

AMD Radeon HD 6570​

PCI Express 2.0 x16​

Max Resolution 2560 x 1600 at 60 Hz​

My computer runs on a Intel Core i7 2600
Operating speed: 3.4 GHz (up to 3.8 GHz turbo) Number of cores: 4

Is there a fairly simple way to narrow down a list that will work and then from there evaluate the value of the upgrade?

Should I assume that I must get a PCI 2.0 card and that a 3.0 won't work?

What specifically do you think I should be looking for in the new card vs what I have?

Here's the list I get when searching for "PCI Express x16 2.0 Graphics Cards" on NE, but no idea if that means these will work. (editing out link)

Greatly appreciate the help.

 

[Math Geek]

you can use a 3.0 card. it is backward compatible and on a lower end card won't make any difference at all to performance.

the most important question is what kind of power supply you have in that old pc. that determines what can and can't be run on the pc. that starts to narrow things down for you easily. so let's start there and see what you have for a power supply.

what works best is if you can take a picture of the psu label and post it so we can look into what it can do.

the spec page for the pc says 300w

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03019166

which means it likely does not have any extra power leads for a gpu. really not the worst news since it limits you to a card that is not too strong for the cpu anyway. but double checing and posting a pic of the psu label will make sure we know EXACTLY what psu you have.

 

[Lands]

you can use a 3.0 card. it is backward compatible and on a lower end card won't make any difference at all to performance.

the most important question is what kind of power supply you have in that old pc. that determines what can and can't be run on the pc. that starts to narrow things down for you easily. so let's start there and see what you have for a power supply.

what works best is if you can take a picture of the psu label and post it so we can look into what it can do.

the spec page for the pc says 300w

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03019166

which means it likely does not have any extra power leads for a gpu. really not the worst news since it limits you to a card that is not too strong for the cpu anyway. but double checing and posting a pic of the psu label will make sure we know EXACTLY what psu you have.

Thx - great to know 3.0 will work. I can't turn off my computer at the moment but the stats I gathered at the start of this process echo what you said:

​

Internal 300W (100V-240V)​

Form factor: Internal ATX​

Total wattage: 300W​

Nominal input voltage range:​

100-127V/6A (50-60Hz)​

200-240V/3A (50-60Hz)​

I definitely never upgraded the PS, so I'm 99% sure that's what this has. Does that help?

 

[Math Geek]

can you pop open the case and see if there is a 6-pin pcie connection available? i'm pretty sure it does not.

this limits you to at best a gtx 1650 which is still a pretty good card for the money. a step down would be a 1050ti or a amd rx 560.

the 1650 starts around $150 and the others are similar prices for less performance. you can of course go down in price but of course give up performance as you do it.

if you want better performance than this entry level budget card can give, then you're better off with a new build so you can get the psu to go with it. with a budget, it's not hard to see what you can get for your money. especially if you can reuse hhd's and windows and so on. $4-500 goes a long way toward a great cpu/mobo/ram combo. and opens you up to any gpu you wish to get.

 

[Lands]

can you pop open the case and see if there is a 6-pin pcie connection available? i'm pretty sure it does not.

Sure. To confirm, am I looking for this: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61NqBERSebL._AC_SL1400_.jpg

 

[Math Geek]

yup it will most likely only be 6-pins so not the 8-pin side of that pic

but i'm pretty sure it won't be there anyway

 

[Lands]

yup it will most likely only be 6-pins so not the 8-pin side of that pic

but i'm pretty sure it won't be there anyway

thanks - I just opened it up and don't see that type of connection. Only a flat one that I believe is for another hard drive. I did confirm that it's a 300w power supply btw.

So what do you think? I'll look at the cards you already mentioned as well. I'm not going to be doing any gaming - it will be video editing in After Effects and Premiere. Both the most recent versions.

What specs should I be looking for in the new card vs what I have? I see the obvious one being memory (mine had 1gb. Looks like others have 2gb+). Knowing what to look for will let me also evaluate other lower cost cards.

 

[Math Geek]

premier recommends at least 4 gb of vram. which is what the 1650 has. but it suggests 2 gb as a minimum. i'd stick with 4 gb if possible to maximize what you can get out of it.

https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/system-requirements.html#gpu-acceleration

here is a list of what they suggest for a gpu. the 1650 is on the list as is the 1050ti. no budget amd cards are on the list :/

for the money the 1650 is a ton better than the 1050ti and would be my recommendation. but just about anything will be a nice increase from what you have now

 

[Lands]

premier recommends at least 4 gb of vram. which is what the 1650 has. but it suggests 2 gb as a minimum. i'd stick with 4 gb if possible to maximize what you can get out of it.

https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/system-requirements.html#gpu-acceleration

here is a list of what they suggest for a gpu. the 1650 is on the list as is the 1050ti. no budget amd cards are on the list :/

for the money the 1650 is a ton better than the 1050ti and would be my recommendation. but just about anything will be a nice increase from what you have now

Hahaa. Well said. Anything would be a nice upgrade.

I see a lot of people on youtube love the RX 560 (which you mentioned) and the RX 570. Would the 570 work with my machine and what's your general opinion on them vs the GTX considering I'm doing graphics vs gaming? The look to be around $110-$130.

(thanks for the link - I do see the 560 and 570 on there)

I also see that I'll have to check and see if i have the width available needed for these cards

BTW I sincerely really appreciate you help.

 

[DSzymborski]

The 1650 is preferable in this application, both for Adobe and because of your lack of a PSU beyond a basic one. The RX 570 is more powerful for gaming, but even if that were your goal, the 570/580 use more power and require supplementary connectors, leaving you more problems to solve. 1650s generally -- make sure the exact one does not require one -- do not require supplementary power.

The RX 560 is well short of any of the GPUs mentioned in this thread.

 

[Math Geek]

i only mentioned the 560 and 1050ti because i knew they were usually only 75w cards.

but they lag far behind what the 1650 can do for the same power used. i actually have a 1650 super and it games very well at 1080p for me. i let it set the eye candy for me and have no issues keeping decent gameplay. but that card uses a 6-pin connection which you don't have.

pretty much the best you can get without extra power is the 1650. as DS noted above though, do check to be sure it does not need extra power. some of the higher end cards use extra power for overclocking and other uses.

here's a list of 1650 cards that do not need extra power.

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/video-card/#c=443&I=15000000000,75000000000&sort=price&page=1

plenty of options at all sizes and brands. i have the MSI Aero ITX OC edition 1650 super and i like it. not real big and stays cool and quiet. the non super 1650 would be even quieter since it uses less power.

 

[RTX 2080]

Yep, the 1650 was basically designed for guys like you: you need a card that's a solid improvement on the one you have, but it needs to fit within the 75 watt power envelope of the PCIe slot so that no 6 pin or 8 pin power connectors are needed.

 

[Lands]

The 1650 is preferable in this application, both for Adobe and because of your lack of a PSU beyond a basic one. The RX 570 is more powerful for gaming, but even if that were your goal, the 570/580 use more power and require supplementary connectors...

i only mentioned the 560 and 1050ti because i knew they were usually only 75w cards...

Yep, the 1650 was basically designed for guys like you...

Thanks to you all. Exactly the help I needed - greatly appreciate it. My plan as of now is to see if my board will read 16gb or ram (another thread), test out the 1650 and see how my computer performs.

From there I'll either be set with a little over $200 investment or I'll give this one to my son and have to invest in a new one.

I'll update you when I get to that point.

 

[Lands]

Question: what's the policy on posting links? If I find a card or two that I'm considering ordering, can I post a link to Amazon or Newegg here?

 

[RTX 2080]

I've seen people do it a lot and I myself have posted links on occasion; I believe its ok.

 

[Math Geek]

no problem posting links. it helps us a ton know exactly what you are looking at and possibly offer other similar links that are better buys. link away

 

[DSzymborski]

The problem with posting links is when people are posting links for the purpose of promoting themselves or their company's product, or, in some cases, their scam.

Posting links to aid in decisions and helping people is never a problem, so long as the link goes to a legitimate site!

 

[Lands]

I've seen people do it a lot...I believe its ok.

no problem posting links...

Posting links to aid in decisions..

Thanks all for the info on links. Here's what I'm considering. Used Amazon for the return policy and desire to use them.

GT 1030: I wanted to try and find one lower cost option that would still provide a big boost form my old AMD Radeon HD 6570. I think this might be a candidate at $89 but let me know if I'm wrong. Is there a better budget option?

1. https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Profile-Graphic-02G-P4-6333-KR/dp/B071LGVBDM/

GTX 1650: Compact version at $159:

• https://smile.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GeForce-Graphics-Compact-GV-N1656OC-4GD/dp/B086TSK5M3/

Two fan version of above 1650 (I think) for $159:

• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QHGKC2D?tag=pcpapi-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1

MSI version of 1650 at $154:

• https://smile.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GeForce-Graphics-Compact-GV-N1656OC-4GD/dp/B086TSK5M3/

For pricing, don't worry about $5-10 here or there. More about compatibility and features/performance. Also I found quite a few more 1650s to consider, but made these decisions partially because they were in stock now or soon (many weren't available through Amazon for many weeks), Thanks again for the time.

 

[RTX 2080]

The GT 1030 would technically work, but since you'll be doing video editing I'd recommend the MSI GTX 1650. 2 GB of VRAM is not much by today's standards and the 1030 cost/performance ratio actually makes it not all that great of value. Notice:

The 1030 is roughly 3.5 times as powerful as your 6570 for $89: Link

Whereas the 1650 is roughly 9.5 times as powerful as your 6570 for only $65 more: Link

 

[Math Geek]

any of the 1650 cards you linked would be fine. 2 fans are nice but not needed for such a low power card. really comes down to space in the case. get the small one if you need to, but get the 2 fan model if you got the room. i like the second one personally. it's just always been a good all around card.

 

[Lands]

The GT 1030 would technically work, but since you'll be doing video editing I'd recommend the MSI GTX 1650. 2 GB of VRAM is not much by today's standards and the 1030 cost/performance ratio actually makes it not all that great of value. Notice:

The 1030 is roughly 3.5 times as powerful as your 6570 for $89: Link

Whereas the 1650 is roughly 9.5 times as powerful as your 6570 for only $65 more: Link

Great point. That's a useful tool. I'll use that in the future, thx.

any of the 1650 cards you linked would be fine. 2 fans are nice but not needed for such a low power card. really comes down to space in the case. get the small one if you need to, but get the 2 fan model if you got the room. i like the second one personally. it's just always been a good all around card.

Ok, thanks. I'm going to measure tonight and order on of the 1650's depending my space.

Thanks both of you for the help.

 

[Math Geek]

no problem. i'm sure you'll love the upgrade

i went from an r9-280 to a1650 super and the difference is night and day. i can't imagine the boost you're gonna experience

 

[RTX 2080]

Great point. That's a useful tool. I'll use that in the future, thx.



Ok, thanks. I'm going to measure tonight and order on of the 1650's depending my space.

Thanks both of you for the help.

Happy to help

 

[Lands]

The problem with posting links is when people are posting links for the purpose of promoting themselves or their company's product, or, in some cases, their scam.

Posting links to aid in decisions and helping people is never a problem, so long as the link goes to a legitimate site!

no problem. i'm sure you'll love the upgrade

i went from an r9-280 to a1650 super and the difference is night and day. i can't imagine the boost you're gonna experience

Happy to help

Quick update. I have the GT 1650 but computer won't boot yet. I described the issues here, just in case you are able to help with that:

https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/need-help-getting-gt-1650-to-work-on-older-computer.3631674/

Thx!