Question Legacy AMD Radeon HD 6850 Help... :C

[Cornext]

Hey there! I recently brought an AMD Radeon HD 6850 off the web for gaming purposes but unfortunately, as with all things tech, it doesn't seem to work in my PC.

My device is a factory prebuilt Dell Inspiron 3847 running on Windows 10 (there should be a pdf online with all the info on it, just search up "Specifications Dell Inspiron 3847") with only two modifications, a replacement 500 watts power supply with a six pin attachment for GPUs as well as one 8 GB stick of ram. Since my device is a factory prebuilt, I can't find search up the device in any online PC compatibility checkers, although from my own (hopefully) accurate research, an AMD Radeon HD 6850 should still work on it.

And that is where the problem begins. The GPU does not function within my Inspiron... however, when I turn on the PC, its fans do power on and the GPU itself receives electricity. But, the PC itself does not register the GPU... such as in Device Manager or anything alike. Even AMD's own driver installer does not "detect" any AMD hardware within my device (although this may just be because it is a legacy GPU).

I feel like it's also important to note that the GPU itself should work. I bought it off a reputable seller who tests their GPUs before selling them to make sure they are 100% functional.

I have tried a lot of things. Some of which are: trying to unhide hidden drivers in the device manager, manually deleting my graphics drivers (which constantly keeps redownloading itself as it is integrated), used DDU to delete my graphics drivers, updated everything (graphics drives, windows version, BIOS version), checked BIOS to see if the issue was there (for some reason there are only three options in the advanced section of my BIOS? None of which connect to the graphics), manually downloaded and tested various different legacy drivers, physically taking the GPU out and putting it back in, inspecting the motherboard connection slot, double checked the power supply to make sure it's sufficient, and digging around in the computer software to hopefully "find" any traces of it.

As you can tell by this post, I have in fact, not found any solution at all yet. I feel like the problem can be one of a few things.

Either the AMD Radeon HD 6850 is completely incompatible with my device, the legacy drivers are not working, the integrated graphics of my computer are overriding things (?), I just lack the technical know-how to properly install it, or any great number of other things... Any help would be greatly appreciated, I have been trying to get this thing to work for almost half a week. I would love to see any responses. Thank you!

 

[Aeacus]

the GPU itself should work. I bought it off a reputable seller who tests their GPUs before selling them to make sure they are 100% functional.

Test the GPU in 2nd PC to confirm if it works there. If not, GPU is dead and return it.

Either the AMD Radeon HD 6850 is completely incompatible with my device

No. HD 6850 uses PCI-E 2.0 x16 and that is both backwards and forwards compatible (to PCI-E 1.0 and to PCI-E 3.0). So, there is no such thing as "GPU not being compatible".

the legacy drivers are not working

This can be, when GPU is dead.

Any working GPU has two sets of "operation".
1st set is displaying Windows default drives, so you can actually see the image and install GPU drives.
2nd set is running off from dedicated drivers for that specific GPU.

Sometimes, GPU works fine when using Windows default display drivers but as soon as GPU drivers are installed, screen goes black and nothing. In this case, GPU driver chip is dead, essentially entire GPU is useless.
But when GPU even fails to display Windows default drivers, then whole GPU is toast.

the integrated graphics of my computer are overriding things (?)

No.

When dedicated GPU is in the system and MoBo (BIOS) detects it to be working, the iGPU is automatically disabled.

Do note that the GPU you bought is 14 years old and it being dead isn't that much of a surprise. What would be surprise, is it actually working fine.

 

[Cornext]

Thank you for your super concise response. I will definitely test the GPU in another device and see if it works. In the meantime, I forgot to mention that when I plug in my monitor directly into the GPU it also displays a "HDMI connection not found". Is this also another sign of the GPU being toast? And do you have other recommendations for more modern but still kinda cheap GPUs (dx11 compatible... at least 1 GB... for gaming etc) that should work with my device?

 

[Aeacus]

I forgot to mention that when I plug in my monitor directly into the GPU it also displays a "HDMI connection not found".

This means that GPU doesn't output any video signal what-so-ever. Sign of dead GPU.

You may have more luck with DVI connector, rather than HDMI connector. (Could be that the seller only tested DVI connector and not HDMI connector.) Given that your monitor actually has DVI connector.

And do you have other recommendations for more modern but still kinda cheap GPUs (dx11 compatible... at least 1 GB... for gaming etc) that should work with my device?

Depends on your budget, but given that you only have 6-pin PCI-E for power, options would be (from weakest);
GT1030 (equal to HD 6850), GTX 1050, GTX 1050 TI, GTX 1630, GTX 1650.
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/video-card/#sort=price&c=396,379,380,525,443,500&page=1

All are compatible with your PC and support as low as DX9. Also, they have between 2-4 GB VRAM (you'll see the VRAM amount in pcpp).

I suggest buying brand new. This way, you'd have warranty for GPU (in case something happens). Also, do check if GPU needs additional power. Most of the listed GPUs should not require additional power via PCI-E cable. But there could be some GTX 1650 GPUs that require 6-pin PCI-E. None should require 8-pin PCI-E.

GTX 1650 cheapest, brand new, goes for $160 bucks in Egg,
link: https://www.newegg.com/msi-gtx-1650...-geforce-gtx-1650-4gb-gddr6/p/N82E16814137593

It also needs 6-pin PCI-E power cable.

HD 6850 vs GTX 1650 comparison: https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/AMD-HD-6850-vs-Nvidia-GTX-1650/m7743vs4039

 

[Cornext]

Alright, thank you so much for the help! Super glad I found this forum and you lol. It's unbelievable how hard it is to find tech help nowadays. Again, thank you!

 

[Aeacus]

It's unbelievable how hard it is to find tech help nowadays.

Don't know about that. 🤔 TH forums have been around for a decade or two. Also, is the biggest tech forum on the internet.
And with some Google-Fu, you can actually find the answer from the net (given you know the right keywords to use).

 

[Cornext]

LOL guess I just live under a rock if I really had that much of a struggle finding the TH forums (it took me days). Again, thanks a lot for the help. I just brought the GTX 1650 that you suggested. It will arrive on Friday. Again, thanks! You saved me so much time, sleep, and hair loss. Anyways, happy early New Years and good luck with your future endeavors. May your tech knowledge be ever-expanding and wallet ever-full.