How do I know if my PC will work with this Graphics Card I want

[Brandon Rupska]

I was wanting to upgrade my PC's Graphics Card from what it came with to this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150665
and my architecture is http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c03789886&lang=en&cc=us&taskId=125&contentType=SupportFAQ&prodSeriesId=5358992&prodTypeId=12454 . The one concern for me is the PCI express and how the specs say my PC has "gen 2" and so I was wondering if that meant "PCI express 2.0 ONLY" and since the card I want is PCI express 3.0 I didn't know if it would work. I also didn't know if I should upgrade my Power Supply but I'm guessing I should because I've heard I should have a 500 Watt PSU and mine is only 300. Thanks for the Help!

 

[aflal]

only the bandwidth will be dropped but it will work
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/07/18/pci_express_20_vs_30_gpu_gaming_performance_review/#.UgXI_5IwpUo

 

[animal]

and yes, you will need at least a 550W quality PSU to run the new card, your current 300W won't do the job

 

[aflal]

and yes, you will need at least a 550W quality PSU to run the new card, your current 300W won't do the job

i agree it & it will work 100% sure if u upgrade the psu with pci-e power

 

[Brandon Rupska]

Will the small difference between the PCI's add up after a few years have passed, and if so is there a way to upgrade from PCI express 2.0 to 3.o? Thanks!

 

[animal]

the only way to upgrade your pci-e slots is to get a newer motherboard whose pci-e slots are 3.0 (or whatever standard is available when you upgrade). However, if/when you change the motherboard you will probably need a newer gen cpu as well, and by doing that you will probably need to acquire a new OS license since your current OS license is tied to the motherboard that came with the system.

Another thing to be aware of is many pre-built systems have proprietary parts in many cases, which means even though you find a newer m-atx mobo (since the original mobo is m-atx) it may not work in that case as most proprietary motherboards do not mount in standard pattern. What this means is that the motherboard standoffs in the case may not fit/work with the replacement mobo. IMHO, when you think about upgrading in the future, build your own.