[SOLVED] GPU selection

[RothALD]

How does one determine how new of a graphics card their system will handle? Beyond accounting for the number of peripherals and watts that the power supply can handle, am I limited by the version of the PCI express card, the age/specs of the motherboard and or CPU? I have a Dell 8500 with an i7, I have the simple upgrades- an ssd, windows 10 and it works rather well for a 7ish year old computer. To play games however, I was considering trying to update it with as modern of a card as it will handle. With the understanding that a new power supply would be a smart idea, the best bang for the buck/power consumption/heat output points to an RX 5700. 4 or 8 GB and GDDR6 all sound well and good but if my system won't run it ... So beyond the specifics of my system, what are the general guidelines for selecting a new GPU without having to buy a new motherboard, CPU, and ram? Thank you all in advance for your interest.

 

[hang-the-9]

If your BIOS has UEFI option instead of only legacy, there is a good chance that any newer card will work. Check for any updates to BIOS first.

However, if you have an OEM system, then you need to take away some points for an OEM motherboard which can have issues working with add-on video cards. Newer system = excellent change a new card will work. OEM system, a bit less chance.

 

[RothALD]

Thank you Hang-the-9, I have the BIOS up-to-date and I believe it does support UEFI. Any Dell experts out there back me up?

 

[RothALD]

I found a Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 570 on eBay for a great price and works fine!