[SOLVED] GPU upgrade advice

Jul 26, 2019
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Hello,

I'm looking to upgrade my GPU until I'm ready to replace my PC in about 2 or so years. Hoping I can get some suggestions. My budget is about $100.

My PC is a Win7/64, Dell Vostro 460 built around May 2011. The specifics I could find are as follows:

GPU: EVGA Model# 01G-P3-1303-KR, Geforce 8400 GS 1GB DDR3 PCI-e 2.0
Power Supply: Dell Model# L350PD-00, 350W w/ 16A MAX on +12VA & 18A MAX on +12VB
CPU: i7-2600 3.4 ghz
RAM: 16GB

The new card needs to support (2) monitors. Preferably a DVI and a VGA port since that's what my current monitors have. My main monitor (DVI) displays at 1920x1080. The secondary monitor (VGA) displays at 1280x1024.

I use my computer for running AutoCAD Electrical 2018. I only work in 2D - never 3D. Autodesk recommends a DirectX 11 compliant card. My PC doesn't meet the requirements for AutoCAD 2019, so 2018 is the only version the card will see.

I don't use my PC for gaming.

I did try to install an EVGA Model# 02G-P3-3733-KR, Geforce GT 730 2GB GDDR5 about 2 years ago. I only got black screens on power up. I just assumed my PC wasn't compatible and sent the card back the next day.

I realize that I'm not going to be getting a top performing card based on my system. However, I'm hoping I can at least improve on what I currently have.

Thanks for any input!
 
Solution
Let me bring in somebody that might have a better idea on this. I don't want to give you bad information. I'm tempted to say I wouldn't try to use anything newer than the R9 series from AMD or the 900 series from Nvidia, because I think that after those generations most cards became UEFI based BIOS support only, but for Nvidia it might really have been the 700 series, especially when we're talking legacy BIOS support for a system as old as that one.
What we NEED to know is what the motherboard model number is, which you can find directly on the motherboard somewhere. Should be printed along one of the edges or down the middle somewhere. Honestly, the fact that you have a VERY early PCIe 2.0 card in that Geforce 8400 GS tells me that it's VERY likely that your board simply will not have support for newer cards in the BIOS.

I mean, it's 8 years old AND it was an OEM system. If it was an 8 year old aftermarket build, then the motherboard would probably have received BIOS updates at some point that allowed it to support newer PCIe 3.0 cards and architectures, but I have had very little success trying to get anything made in the last five years or so to run on any of those OEM systems from around the time (Or earlier) that your system was sold.

If you can get the model of the motherboard or the exact "express service tag" number of that Dell Vostro, we might be able to look a little closer and verify one way or the other.
 
Jul 26, 2019
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Hi Darkbreeze,

Thanks for responding.

My Dell service tag is DZ4NFQ1. The 8400 GS won't show up under Dell's spec details as it was installed after the fact by the folks I bought the PC through.

Per the sticker I found on the motherboard, the model# is 0Y2MRG. The BIOS version is A06 (dated 10/17/2011 per msinfo32). Dell lists a driver update for A06 that is dated 2014, but running the update says my current BIOS version matches the update version and only gives the option to quit the update.

I realize that current cards aren't going to work in my PC. I have zero issue with using an 5-8 year old card if it's better than what I currently have.
 
Jul 26, 2019
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I see that DVI, HDMI, & DisplayPort to VGA adapters exist. Knowing that now, the only requirement for a card is dual monitor support. Having both a DVI & VGA port specifically is not a must. I can pick up any required adapters.
 
Let me bring in somebody that might have a better idea on this. I don't want to give you bad information. I'm tempted to say I wouldn't try to use anything newer than the R9 series from AMD or the 900 series from Nvidia, because I think that after those generations most cards became UEFI based BIOS support only, but for Nvidia it might really have been the 700 series, especially when we're talking legacy BIOS support for a system as old as that one.
 
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You have the latest BIOS? It's generally only newer AMD cards that have issues with legacy BIOS vs UEFI. It is an OEM though. Have you asked Dell?
 
Jul 26, 2019
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The BIOS is version A06, which according to Dell website is the latest - used my service tag to determine. I haven't asked Dell for recommendation, only here.

I did do some research on google in the last few hours searching for 0Y2MRG. I've found that others have had success with a GTX 1050 TI as well as a few others. There's some other cards available if I upgrade my power supply, such as a GTX 970. Also, others have confirmed that the GT 720 & 730 aren't compatible, which I experienced myself with the 730.

I see that a GTX 1050 Ti is within reach depending on the manufacturer (MSI $130) or if it's used (EVGA $120). Do you recommend it/particular brand or possibly something else?
 
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I've bought EVGA cards for my personal systems going back to the GeForce 6800GS in 2005 just due to the excellent support and warranty service although I've never had to use either.

The only times you see compatibility issues like this is with OEMs and it's due to the custom BIOS they use.
 
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Deleted member 217926

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I disagree. Insufficient power problems usually result in crashes at load not complete boot fails and Dell OEM boards are notorious with GPU compatibility issues. Also Dell uses good OEMs for their power supplies and has for years. Delta and Seasonic are both quite common although I haven't checked his exact model.
 
The problem is your PSU, it's abysmally weak and I think that's why the card you tried failed. The PSU couldn't run it and so instead of exploding, it shut down.

On a GT730? That's ridiculous. Patently untrue. That OEM PSU is MORE than capable of running a slot powered card. ANY slot powered card. The problem, at least as far as that attempt was concerned, was something else altogether UNLESS the power supply was just plain faulty. And if that was the case it would have had a problem running any slot powered card, not just that one. They can all pull up to 75w technically if they are slot powered. That's not to say they all DO, but they certainly could based on the PCI spec.
 
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On a GT730? That's ridiculous. Patently untrue. That OEM PSU is MORE than capable of running a slot powered card. ANY slot powered card. The problem, at least as far as that attempt was concerned, was something else altogether UNLESS the power supply was just plain faulty. And if that was the case it would have had a problem running any slot powered card, not just that one. They can all pull up to 75w technically if they are slot powered. That's not to say they all DO, but they certainly could based on the PCI spec.
I'm sorry, it seems I read the original question wrong. I thought he had said a GTX 780 card. You are of course correct, the GT 730 should have worked no matter what. I don't know why I read what I read but I stand corrected. I'm quite embarrassed actually. LOL
 
I disagree. Insufficient power problems usually result in crashes at load not complete boot fails and Dell OEM boards are notorious with GPU compatibility issues. Also Dell uses good OEMs for their power supplies and has for years. Delta and Seasonic are both quite common although I haven't checked his exact model.
Yeah, I read the original question wrong. I thought that he had said GTX 780 instead of GT 730 because my phone rang as I was reading it and my brain modified GT 730 into GTX 780. Kind of embarrassing actually. LOL
 
I've ordered an EVGA GeForce GT 1030 SC 2GB GDDR5, P/N 02G-P4-6338-KR from NewEgg, which has (2) DVI ports. I (re)discovered that my secondary 4:3 monitor has a DVI-D port. I've been using the VGA connection for so long that I had forgotten it has both inputs. I won't need to mess with any adapters now.

Thank you for the help guys. I'll report back once I get the card installed.

Sounds good. Hopefully you have more luck than with the previous card.
 
Jul 26, 2019
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I can finally report that the EVGA GeForce GT 1030 SC 2GB, GDDR5 is compatible with the Dell 0Y2MRG motherboard w/ v. A06 BIOS and a Dell OEM 350W power supply.

I'm pleased with the upgrade. It's probably meaningless, but my PC's "windows experience" graphics-related ratings jumped from 4.3 to 7.8 after installing the card.

The only issue I had with the installation was a recurring popup error message at startup: ERROR IN C:\\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\NVSPCAP64.DLL MISSING ENTRY: SHADOWPLAYONSYSTEMSTART.

I believe the problem was caused by installing the new drivers without uninstalling the old ones first, which I had read should be okay since I was replacing an NVIDIA card with another NVIDIA.

I ended up having to run DDU to uninstall everything and then reinstall the new drivers. The startup error message stopped after that.

I should add that I did try removing all of the drivers manually through add/remove programs prior to using DDU, but one of the older drivers was unresponsive to the uninstall. DDU took care of it.

Thanks for all of the help guys.
 
I'll be honest. I run the DDU EVERY TIME I install a new driver version. The "clean install" offered by the AMD or Nvidia software, just doesn't do everything that the Wagnard tools DDU does, and is nowhere near as effective. Too many occasions of HAVING a problem after simply upgrading the drivers, so for the last few years I simply have taken the extra five to ten minutes it takes to run the DDU and then install the new driver package. It has not yet failed me and I don't expect it to anytime soon.

Very glad it all worked out well for you. Best of luck man.
 
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