Graphics Card Replacement

[harbin91]

Hi.

Since my NVidia graphics card is on it's last legs, I've been forced into looking for a new graphics card. One of the concerns I have is with compatability.

I know that PCIe is backwards compatible, (i.e. a v2.1 will work in a v2.0, etc). Now, my motherboard is an Intel motherboard. Fairly oldish, it is at the time when PCIe was relatively new. The board has a PCIe v1.0a x16 slot on it, whilst the HD5670 is a PCIe 2.1 card.

I've read on other forums, elsewhere that some older motherboards will not recognize or work properly with PCIe 2.0/2.1 cards and I don't really want to spend £40 on a card that might not work.

The card in question is this one: http://www.ebuyer.com/255465-xfx-hd-5670-1gb-sddr3-dvi-hdmi-displayport-pci-e-graphics-card-hd-567x-zaf3

According to the datasheet on the Intel website, my motherboard supports PCIe v1.0a cards.

In addition, the computer I have is one manufactured by a builder, and as such the BIOS is restrictive. I cannot change any major hardware settings such as clock speeds, voltages, etc... only the time, boot devices, passwords, acpi and a few settings like that.

My computer is currently powered by a 400w power supply. The minimum requirements on the card itself lists a 400w power supply minimum.

Anyways, my questions are:

Will the HD5670 work on my motherboard it's an MSI7204, with an Intel 945p chipset (with an ICH7/ICH7R chipset)?

Will 400w power supply be enough for this card? I have no idea how many watts are being used for other devices (I have no TV card, but I have two harddrives, two dvd drives.

Will it fit on my motherboard? Whilst I know that the slots are the same, my motherboard is a mBTX motherboard (yes I know, they aren't common). It's already a nuisance to move around in it, but just above it to the left is a heatsink for my CPU, and above it in the middle is the power connector for the motherboard.

In a nutshell, will it work on my motherboard?



I'm not an expert when it comes to changing hardware in my computer (although I've added two harddrives and added four sticks of RAM with relative ease).

 

[jonnyrb]

Hi.

Since my NVidia graphics card is on it's last legs, I've been forced into looking for a new graphics card. One of the concerns I have is with compatability.

Will it fit on my motherboard? Whilst I know that the slots are the same, my motherboard is a mBTX motherboard (yes I know, they aren't common). It's already a nuisance to move around in it, but just above it to the left is a heatsink for my CPU, and above it in the middle is the power connector for the motherboard.

In a nutshell, will it work on my motherboard?



I'm not an expert when it comes to changing hardware in my computer (although I've added two harddrives and added four sticks of RAM with relative ease).

400 watts is the minimum suggested psu for the graphics card, so you should be fine on the power front. With the whole pcie 2.0 vs pci 1.0 x16. You'll be fine with that motherboard. other than this I would suggest a 460 nvidia would also work with that PSU

 

[rockyjohn]

The HD 5670 is a good basic video card. You can look at this review to check its performance.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5670,2533.html

Note that your performance with this card might not be as good as the benchmarks in the review as the test system was configured so other components would not constrain the performance of the video card.

What CPU do you have and how much memory?

 

[jonnyrb]

The HD 5670 is a good basic video card. You can look at this review to check its performance.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5670,2533.html

Note that your performance with this card might not be as good as the benchmarks in the review as the test system was configured so other components would not constrain the performance of the video card.

What CPU do you have and how much memory?

He was asking if the gpu would work in his motherboard :O? ---> Yes

 

[harbin91]

Thanks for the replies.

The HD 5670 is a good basic video card. You can look at this review to check its performance.

Note that your performance with this card might not be as good as the benchmarks in the review as the test system was configured so other components would not constrain the performance of the video card.

What CPU do you have and how much memory?

3.2Ghz Pentium D and 4GB DDR2 RAM... and yes I am aware that the new card's performance would be somewhat restrained, but I've come to expect that on an old motherboard.

I might be considering upgrading the motherboard in a few months anyway, depending on money and whether or not it would be worth it. If I did decide to do that, then I'd probably be needing new RAM and a CPU anyway. Pretty much everything else should be able to go over. The only issue I'd have with that is potentially needing a new case and PSU since my current board is an mBTX. In any case, it would be virtually a new PC.


The main constraint for me at the moment is money, since I've not got much of it... although I'd probably be able to do those upgrades for less than what it would cost me for a new computer of the same specs. It might be a few months though before I'd have the spare cash for it.

 

[jonnyrb]

Thanks for the replies.



3.2Ghz Pentium D and 4GB DDR2 RAM... and yes I am aware that the new card's performance would be somewhat restrained, but I've come to expect that on an old motherboard.

I might be considering upgrading the motherboard in a few months anyway, depending on money and whether or not it would be worth it. If I did decide to do that, then I'd probably be needing new RAM and a CPU anyway. Pretty much everything else should be able to go over. The only issue I'd have with that is potentially needing a new case and PSU since my current board is an mBTX. In any case, it would be virtually a new PC.


The main constraint for me at the moment is money, since I've not got much of it... although I'd probably be able to do those upgrades for less than what it would cost me for a new computer of the same specs. It might be a few months though before I'd have the spare cash for it.

If you don't mind the patience game, bulldozer should release near the end of September // Ivy bridge early 2012.

I was in your situation, I bought a new psu 3 months ago, a 6950 1 month ago and 16 gb of ddr3 memory yesterday. When bulldozer comes out I'll only need half a pc 😀 a mobo with 2x pcie2 slots and a cpu

note: I'm on a 775 socket Q6700, I can't use the ram lol. Limited to ddr2, but taking steps at it with my wallet

 

[Onus]

Assuming your PSU is a generic, the HD5670 should be fine with it, but a stronger card may be too much. I wouldn't get anything else until you rebuild.

 

[jonnyrb]

you could always upgrad in increments id go with this order (maybe not the parts, but, meh) gpu>psu>case>mobo+cpu (note you can reuse your old ram, thats what im doing) price of a cheap mobo + a x3 is about 120-130 (dont quote me i havent checked x3 prices in a while ) and a nice case (HaF 912) is 60 bucks and a new 500w is about 50 bucks

so all in all its not a bad thing if you dont spend hella money right now

and its ALOT cheaper if your upgrade yourself rather then buying a whole new pc... or you could buy a barebones system and upgrade that 😛

Assuming he has DDR3 Memory?? Look at his mother board... DDR2

be careful suggesting things to people when they don't give you their specs. However I like the HaF 912 as well

 

[monkeysweat]

i think you'll be happy with the 5670, it'll probably blast whatever you are replacing it with..

PCIe generations have to be backwards compatible with each other,, I don't think a 5670 will saturate a 1.0 slot anyways

 

[jonnyrb]

ah, i was assuming he had a small budget, but with the current prices on DDR3 i would suggest going that route i was actually suggesting a am2+ mobo, but with bulldozer around the corner... hmm yeah... did not think that one through... i also cant seem to get it through my head that DDR3 is like 20 bucks for 4g xD

lol i know I just bought 16 gigs of ddr3 memory for 89 bucks...
---------------------------------
I would never buy an am2+ mobo for upcomming bulldozer? I'd buy a specific bdozer mobo. Nothing like being at the mercy of a bios update

 

[harbin91]

TBH I'm not planning on replacing the other components for awhile anyway, so there's enough time for me to figure out what I'll upgrade them to... and it's only the graphics card that is really wrong in my computer. Sure my current setup won't be winning any hearts in the future, but it's good enough for now. I'll probably just be settling with the graphics card at the moment.

 

[zootnerper]

The last thing you need to do is buy a new case. Old one will last forever. All mine are at least 6 years old.

The only thing you might want is USB ports on the front of the case, but you can buy these little items if needed.

 

[zootnerper]

Oopps, kk