Dell Optiplex 960 MT, installing gtx 1050ti no signal

[KaityVoivre]

I have a Dell Optiplex 960 mini tower running windows 10 home, I put a gtx 1050 ti into the computer, it's fan spins so it's getting power, but it gets no signal on the monitor. Can someone help me please?

 

[Rogue Leader]

Theres a good chance that GPU will not work in there due to the BIOS. We have seen this issue before with older Dell and HP systems not supporting new Nvidia cards. The fastest thing that works in there is generally a 750ti.

You may want to double check the Dell forums, but this has been my experience working with these systems.

 

[ko888]

Your motherboard uses a legacy BIOS.

GOP (i.e. Graphics Output Protocol) is supported only with motherboards that use a UEFI BIOS.

If the graphics card's VBIOS (i.e. Video BIOS) only has GOP support then it won't be compatible with your motherboard.

If the graphics card's VBIOS has both legacy and GOP (i.e. hybrid) support then there is possibility that it will work. With such an old board and such a new graphics card it may still not work just because of simple compatibility issues.

 

[KaityVoivre]

Theres a good chance that GPU will not work in there due to the BIOS. We have seen this issue before with older Dell and HP systems not supporting new Nvidia cards. The fastest thing that works in there is generally a 750ti.

You may want to double check the Dell forums, but this has been my experience working with these systems.

What is the best value card for playing say GTA V on that doesn't require direct power supply connection?

 

[Rogue Leader]

Unfortunately the 750ti is hard to come by new these days, I would start hitting ebay you can probably find one for 50 bucks. Some require a 6 pin some don't you just have to see whats out there. The 750ti will play GTA V no problem.

AMD cards don't have this problem as much, you may be able to get yourself an RX 550 and it should work even without the UEFI BIOS. MAYBE. Make sure you buy from a store with a good return policy if you go that route.

 

[william p]

http://www.userbenchmark.com/System/Dell-OptiPlex-960/527
A lot of people are running that card in that computer. Dell has had UEFI Bios since Optiplex 755 they were an early adopter, and older Dells has BIOS issues with newer Radeons from R9-3xx +(285) on up.
The most common problem is not removing the old onboard video drivers. Boot into Safe Mode F8 (with the old GPU if necessary) and remove the old GPU drivers, then install the new GPU. Boot to Safe Mode w/ Internet and load new drivers.
That looks like a BTX form factor. The Zotac GTX 1050/1050Ti Mini are single slot and should fit w/o any mods required. I also see GTx 1060s there. An aftermarket PSU would be needed for that.

 

[william p]

Also look for PCI video settings in the dell BIOS. You may need to select this manually.