[SOLVED] GeForce GT 630 Still Supported?

[michael diemer]

I am thinking about buying a GT 630 card for an old Gateway GT5656 desktop. I had an 8400GS card, but it broke. I have been using the on-board graphics since then, which limits me to ultra light Linux distros (I only use this machine for Linux, and just basic web browsing, no gaming or other intensive software). I would like to get more out of this old monster, but without spending much, as it could die at any time. For example, I want to try Ubuntu Unity, a respin of the Unity desktop, based on Ubuntu 20.04. also, Zorin 16 will be coming out soon, and I need to preview it, as my wife uses Zorin. But these distros will have modern kernels, which is why I wonder about this card. It looks like the latest driver support for it is NVIDIA 391.

So, would it be worth getting this? Would it extend the life of this old Gateway for a few more years? Or is that card already obsolete, and a waste of money?
Thanks,

Mike

 

[Eximo]

Latest driver for Linux shows support for the 630.

Yes, that card is obsolete, but so is the system, and practically anything with the GT moniker at this point. Even the GT1030, available now, is 4 years old. Still a fine low-power GPU, if a bit overpriced. Not recommended for you since it may have issues with that older motherboard BIOS.

My Athlon X2 6000 is still rocking a GTX285, shockingly still works, no motherboard drivers for Windows though.

Keep in mind that Nvidia is dropping new driver support for 700 series on Windows, so Linux support may start drying up soon.

 

[michael diemer]

Thank you for your reply, Eximo. I just did some research, and my 300W PSU (original equipment; my upgraded one, a 450W, also died awhile back), may not be enough to handle the load of two SSD's and one HDD (although I keep the old HDD disconnected most of the time). Recommended PSU for this setup is 350W. So it may not be wise to push this old beast any harder than I currently am doing. Also, the kernel issue is of concern as well. So, unless I hear differently, I'll have to just keep using this thing as is. But it just won't die. Those old Gateways were great machines. We also have a Gateway Pentium 2, with Windows 98, and it still is snappy. We keep it offline, though. but it's fun to play around with now and then.