GPU / motherboard compatiblity

[Deemik]

Hello,

I'm looking to upgrade my GPU and feel a little lost when checking if what I'm looking at is compatible with my motherboard.

My current system is:

ASUS P6T SE - http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P6T_SE/#specifications
i7 920 2.66GHz
1GB ATi HD4890 Graphics accelerator DVI, DirectX 10.1 PCI Express 2
I also run the display at 1920 x 1080

I have been looking at cards around the £150 mark or something similar to a Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB DDR5 HDMI/DVI-I/DVI-D/DP PCI-E.

Can anyone tell me:
If this card is compatible with my motherboard?
If there are any other suitable graphics cards I should look for?
If there is an easy way to search or check graphic card / motherboard compatibility?
Any other information that I should be aware of while looking for something suitable?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hello,

I'm looking to upgrade my GPU and feel a little lost when checking if what I'm looking at is compatible with my motherboard.

My current system is:

ASUS P6T SE - http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P6T_SE/#specifications
i7 920 2.66GHz
1GB ATi HD4890 Graphics accelerator DVI, DirectX 10.1 PCI Express 2
I also run the display at 1920 x 1080

I have been looking at cards around the £150 mark or something similar to a Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB DDR5 HDMI/DVI-I/DVI-D/DP PCI-E.

Can anyone tell me:
If this card is compatible with my motherboard?
If there are any other suitable graphics cards I should look for?
If there is an easy way to search or check graphic card / motherboard compatibility?
Any other information that I should be aware of while looking for something suitable?

Thanks for any advice.

Your mobo and new GFX should work fine together! No issues there. The 7850 2gb is a great card, and will perform well. Personally I prefer nvidia cards, so I would go for something like a 660/660ti. Either way, they would give good performance with your system. Well balanced.

 

[Wolfshadw]

If there is an easy way to search or check graphic card / motherboard compatibility?

For the most part, all PCI-E graphic cards are compatible with PCI-E motherboards, regardless of versions. The only exception to this is a PCI-E v2.1 graphic card and a PCI-E v1.0 motherboard. In some cases, motherboard manufacturers provided BIOS updates that could resolve this sole incompatibility.

In short, as long as your motherboard is not using PCI-E v1.0 expansion slots (your states "3 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (at x16/x16/x4 mode) " btw), the card is compatible.

Any other information that I should be aware of while looking for something suitable?

Always make sure your power supply is sufficient to power the newer graphics card. Since you're currently running an HD4890, I'm sure the power supply is ample for the new card.

-Wolf sends

 

[Deemik]

If there is an easy way to search or check graphic card / motherboard compatibility?

For the most part, all PCI-E graphic cards are compatible with PCI-E motherboards, regardless of versions. The only exception to this is a PCI-E v2.1 graphic card and a PCI-E v1.0 motherboard. In some cases, motherboard manufacturers provided BIOS updates that could resolve this sole incompatibility.

In short, as long as your motherboard is not using PCI-E v1.0 expansion slots (your states "3 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (at x16/x16/x4 mode) " btw), the card is compatible.

Any other information that I should be aware of while looking for something suitable?

Always make sure your power supply is sufficient to power the newer graphics card. Since you're currently running an HD4890, I'm sure the power supply is ample for the new card.

-Wolf sends

Thank you both for getting back to me so quickly.

Power supply was actually going to be my next question. My system uses a HEC-550VP-2DE (550W) supply (http://microdream.co.uk/hec-hec-550vp-2de-atx-550w-psu-power-supply.html). Looking online, the HD4890 seems to require similar system specs to the HD7850 - both 500W, 1GB system memory and 75W 6pin PCIe power connectors. (The HD4890 requires 2 and the HD7850 requires 1). It looks like your absolutely right Wolf

However, upon opening my case I found that the HD4890 has 1 x 6pin and 1 x 8pin connection (possibly a 6pin with an extra 2pin attached?). I guess my question is this - would it be suitable to use this power supply, connect the 6pin PCIe to the HD7850 and leave the 8pin disconnected?

Thanks again.

 

[Wolfshadw]

I guess my question is this - would it be suitable to use this power supply, connect the 6pin PCIe to the HD7850 and leave the 8pin disconnected?

Yes, that's perfectly ok. Just make sure the 8-pin (or 6+2-pin) is tucked out of the way and not blocking any fans.

-Wolf sends