[SOLVED] Graphics card recommendation please

[milleniumaire]

I have a home build PC based on a Gigabyte AORUS GA-Z270X Gaming 7 motherboard, which has an onboard Intel HD Graphics 630 chip providing 4096x2304@60Hz via Displayport (v1.2) and 4096x2160@24Hz via HDMI (v1.4).

I recently purchased a HP Z38c curved monitor, which has both a Displayport 1.2 and HDMI 2.0 ports, both of which support the maximum resolution of the monitor, which is 3840x1600@60Hz.

I have an 8K displayport cable that supports v1.4 and a HDMI cable that supports v2.1, so both cables are capable of 4K i.e. the max resolution of the monitor.

Unfortunately, I have an issue when I use the displayport cable as the screen keeps blacking out and flashing. This doesn't happen with the HDMI cable, however I'm only getting 3840x1600@30Hz i.e. half the monitors refresh rate. Please note: I have spent a couple of months trying to troubleshoot this issue; different cables, 3 different Z38c monitors, technical support from HP etc. and all configurations have the same issue, suggesting it is a problem with the onboard graphics chip or possibly the motherboard displayport socket.

So, I'm looking to purchase a reasonably priced graphics card that achieves the following:

• Has a displayport socket supporting at least v1.2 (ideally v1.4 for future proofing)
• Has a HDMI port supporting v2.0
• Only requires 1 PCI slot (I really don't want a huge graphics card taking up lots of space)
• Is reasonably quiet i.e. doesn't have lots of fans, preferably only one
• Is not power hungry!

I'm not interested in gaming, this machine is predominantly used for work (coding) and sometimes video rendering.

The Nvidia Quadro P2200 looks like it ticks most of the boxes, except it doesn't have any HDMI ports, so is no good, which is a shame

Why do I want both displayport and HDMI? I would prefer to use Displayport, but if I have the same issue as I'm currently having when using displayport then at least I know HDMI works, so could use that instead. Plus, providing it is HDMI 2.0 (minimum) it should work at 3840x1600@60Hz, which is twice as fast as I can currently achieve with HDMI using the onboard graphics.

Thank you very much for your recommendations.

 

[Darkbreeze]

So, I'm looking to purchase a reasonably priced graphics card

Currently, there is NO such thing as a "reasonably priced graphics card".

5 year old GTX 1050 graphics cards are back in production and being sold for ~300.00, in the neighborhood of twice the original MSRP, because there is such a shortage of graphics cards from both Nvidia and AMD. Gamers are paying 2000-3000 dollars for a graphics card that should be selling for 800-1200 dollars. Unless you are willing to settle for a VERY low end graphics card, and pay more for it than it should ever cost, you are in for a rude awakening.

https://lifehacker.com/why-graphics-cards-are-even-more-expensive-in-2021-1846036657

 

[milleniumaire]

Currently, there is NO such thing as a "reasonably priced graphics card".

Yes, I'm aware that prices are high. By reasonably priced I mean around £300, rather than £1000. I simply want a card that can run my monitor at 3840x1600@60Hz with the criteria I listed. It has surprised me that my wishlist is so difficult to achieve!

 

[Darkbreeze]

For around 300 your best bet is probably going to be something like the GTX 1050 or if you can find one, something like a 1650. Even something like an RX 570 or 580 would easily do what you want to do.

 

[milleniumaire]

I purchased a Displayport (v1.2) to HDMI (v2.0) adapter. This plugged into the displayport socket on my PC and then then one end of a 4K rated HDMI cable was plugged into the other end of the adapter, with the other end of the HDMI cable plugged into the Z38c monitor.

This works and I now get 3840x1600 @ 60Hz.

This is yet another indication that the displayport on the Z38c product does not work correctly, not just on the current monitor I have, but also on the previous 2 monitors I tried, suggesting there is an issue with this product that HP need to investigate.

I say this because when ANYTHING is plugged into the Z38c displayport I get blackouts and horizontal flashing. This adapter is plugged into my PC displayport and clearly the signal from that works perfectly otherwise I would be getting issues through the HDMI cable also.

 

[Darkbreeze]