[SOLVED] Need a new GPU compatible with my CPU i7 2600K

[tntqc]

I have a 2nd gen Intel® Core™ i7-2600K Processor (8M Cache, up to 3.80 GHz) and need to upgrade my GPU. This CPU can handle pci-e 2.0 cards only and not 3.0. I have bought a GTX 1070 and could not make it functional due to the PCI Express Revision supported by the processor. It seems that some pci-e 3.0 video card can function on the 2.0 slot, but the CPU don't accept it? I have red that some worked, but for me it was not working and I verified with ASUS tech support and they told me it was due to the CPU PCI expansion compatibility. So, I'm wondering what would be the top 3 video cards that this CPU will be able to handle? I have a ASUS P8Z68-V Pro GEN3 for the motherboard (it can handle the pci-e 3.0 cards, the board is not the problem. Verified by ASUS). Any suggestion please? Regards

 

[crystalcity]

Are you sure? Couple of my kids running a gtx1070 and an rx580 on older lga1155 boards which only support up to 2nd gen i series chips... never heard of this issue. It just works..

 

[Karadjgne]

Nothing to do with pcie. Pcie 3.0 just doubles the bandwidth of 2.0 and is backwards compatible. But thats a hardware thing. The pci express revision asus was talking about is the software revision. For instance amd changed their power delivery at about the time of pcie 2.2, so some cards would only work on pcie 1.1 to 2.2 revisions, some would only work on 2.3+. Nvidia cards, hardware-wise, are pcie compatible from current all the way back to pcie revision 1.1 as power delivery hasn't changed, only the way its used internally on the gpu itself.

What does affect many cards is bios. If you have the old legacy bios on your pc, modern cards can have issues. This is from the gtx 750/ti, 900 or newer series. Not to say all do, but Evga seems to have the best luck with compatability. If your board (uefi started with that gen mobo) is lucky to have uefi, or a uefi upgrade, then the cards should work.

Only Maxwell and newer gpus are affected by the bios revision, so older 700 series all the way upto the gtx780ti are legacy compliant, pcie 2.0 compatible etc.

Lga1155 is 2nd Gen Sandy-Bridge and 3rd Gen Ivy-Bridge

 

[crystalcity]

I don't even think bios was a problem for us. We updated it just as a matter of course, but the old 2010 era bios handled the gpu's just fine in our case at least. We plugged em in before we did the bios updates.

 

[tntqc]

Interesting answers, thank you both.

My Motherboard (ASUS P8Z68-V Pro GEN3) supports UEFI technology. I installed the latest BIOS (version 3802).
In BIOS, I set the PCI ROM priority to "EFI compatible ROM".
I can't see anything else in the BIOS settings that is linked to that.



I have Windows 7-64 installed. Again, my CPU is 2nd gen i7 2600K.
If I understand, in that way, it should boot properly and the GTX 1070 card should work?
The bandwdith of the pcie port (2.0 or 3.0) doesn't interfer with the compatibility? It is just the speed involved?

And I should pick the EVGA GTX 1070 for the best compatibility?

 

[Karadjgne]

Make sure that CSM is turned on and the Windows 8 Secure boot/fast boot stuff is Off.

There's lots of ppl running 2nd/3rd gen Intel (i7-3770K / asus gtx970 OC here!) and 9/10 series cards, although most who can afford the top ranked cards can also afford to have upgraded platforms before now.

 

[tntqc]

Make sure that CSM is turned on and the Windows 8 Secure boot/fast boot stuff is Off.

There's lots of ppl running 2nd/3rd gen Intel (i7-3770K / asus gtx970 OC here!) and 9/10 series cards, although most who can afford the top ranked cards can also afford to have upgraded platforms before now.

Thank you for your advices.

 

[tntqc]

I'm a bit confused with all this. It's over my competence.
I don't understand clearly the CSM thing and the secure boot option. I don't see anything relative to that in the BIOS. I see only what I have shown in the previous image.
So, I decided to bring my PC to a local computer shop.
He tested by plugging a Radeon RX 580 8 GB into my motherboard (I think it is similar to a GTX 970 like mentioned). He could not load it.
He said that it is a motherboard's issue.
I'm not sure about that. I checked the specs of the motherboard (ASUS P8Z68-V Pro GEN3); it is compatible with PCI-E 3.0 technology. it should be ok?
Maybe the CPU has something to do with the PCI-E 3.0 restriction?

It should be backward compatible anyway?
Someone in the Intel community tells me it is not a processor issue. But using a new video card on a older system might bring incompatibilities.

Does my 2nd gen Intel i7 2600K could really load PCI-E 3.0 GPUs like the systems mentioned above (ppl)?
Is there a video card I can buy and will work with both my CPU and motherboard?

I'm insistent, because I think that my system could be functional and satisfying with a new video card and give me a couple of years of fun and reliability.
I'd like to know a comment from someone that has a similar system as mine with a good video card. What should work for me?

 

[tntqc]

I bought today a Zotac GT 1030 2 GB to test it and it did not load (boot failure). I'm beginning to believe that my CPU is the cause of all that. Three pci-e 3.0 cards that did not work. Two older cards (GeForce 7900 GTO and GeForce GTX 560Ti) that worked (pci-e 2.0 or lower).

Why all I read says that it is backward compatible and I'm unable to make them function?
I just want one working GPU to enjoy my system a bit more.
I'm still up for other suggestions. Thanks!

 

[k1114]

It has nothing to do with the cpu. I run a 2500k with a 1060. Swapped from a 560ti and didn't do anything in bios or even drivers but I have an asrock z68. I'm going to say it's a mobo issue and asus wants to blame others. It's a common tech support tactic.

 

[tntqc]

It has nothing to do with the cpu. I run a 2500k with a 1060. Swapped from a 560ti and didn't do anything in bios or even drivers but I have an asrock z68. I'm going to say it's a mobo issue and asus wants to blame others. It's a common tech support tactic.

Maybe you are right. Your system is quite similar to mine. It should work fine then.
I guess that I have to gain more money and put it in a whole new system.
Thanks for your answer.

 

[Karadjgne]

I'm wondering if you are doing everything. In bios, the graphics need to be set as the PEI as primary, if the igpu is primary and you plug the monitor into the gpu instead, you get nothing. Also little things like monitor input changes if you used 1 cable for the igpu and a different cable for the gpu. Sometimes p miss those little things. Even seen issues where the gpu didn't work, yet it did but the monitor was plugged into the motherboard port, not the gpu port...

 

[tntqc]

I'm wondering if you are doing everything. In bios, the graphics need to be set as the PEI as primary, if the igpu is primary and you plug the monitor into the gpu instead, you get nothing. Also little things like monitor input changes if you used 1 cable for the igpu and a different cable for the gpu. Sometimes p miss those little things. Even seen issues where the gpu didn't work, yet it did but the monitor was plugged into the motherboard port, not the gpu port...

Thank you for sharing those important details. But yes, I had make sure that it is all connected properly. Actually, I tried with one and then also with two monitors. They were plugged in the GPU and not in the iGPU. I also put the PCI as primary in the boot option of BIOS.

 

[Karadjgne]

What connections ate you using for the monitor on igpu and testing the gpu? For instance, if using the igpu with vga to the monitor, then using hdmi from gpu to monitor are you switching the monitor input between vga and hdmi? Monitors don't switch inputs automatically.

 

[k1114]

2 older gpus worked as mentioned so I doubt it was an issue with any hardware locking bios settings, cable or monitor issue, primary or other related bios graphics setting. A 580 and 1030 didn't work as well. That doesn't leave many other options. I've seen asus z68 work with 10 series but I've also seen a lot of threads of people having issues with them. One could assume it's a bios issue. You could try an older bios. Did you ever try a cmos reset? What was legacy/uefi setting originally and now? What was the primary display set to originally and now? I know you tested other gpus in it but I'm going to ask anyways, was the gpu tested to work in another system?

 

[tntqc]

What connections ate you using for the monitor on igpu and testing the gpu? For instance, if using the igpu with vga to the monitor, then using hdmi from gpu to monitor are you switching the monitor input between vga and hdmi? Monitors don't switch inputs automatically.

I have a monitor plugged via dvi and the other via hdmi.
I tested them in many ways:
- both on the GPU
- both on iGPU
- alternate with GPU and iGPU

But I was assuming that both plugged in the GPU is the real way to test the video card.

 

[tntqc]

2 older gpus worked as mentioned so I doubt it was an issue with any hardware locking bios settings, cable or monitor issue, primary or other related bios graphics setting. A 580 and 1030 didn't work as well. That doesn't leave many other options. I've seen asus z68 work with 10 series but I've also seen a lot of threads of people having issues with them. One could assume it's a bios issue. You could try an older bios. Did you ever try a cmos reset? What was legacy/uefi setting originally and now? What was the primary display set to originally and now? I know you tested other gpus in it but I'm going to ask anyways, was the gpu tested to work in another system?

I did reset the CMOS.
I used both settings (legacy and uefi boot)
I updated the BIOS to its latest version. But I didn't try with the older version I had before. But I don't have the video cards in hands anymore (due to refund policy).

I bought a GT 710 video card that I know it is a PCI-E 2.0 card. And well, it works!

According to this thread, it is a processor issue as the 2nd gen Sandy Bridge doesn't support the PCI-E 3.0 video cards;
Ref.: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/360412-33-2600k-compatibility

 

[Karadjgne]

Yes. It sure does. An nvidia pcie 3.0 gpu is not just a pcie 3.0, it's backwards compatible all the way back to pcie 1.1. It'll work on ANY version of pcie from 1.1-3.0. The only difference is that pcie 3.0 has twice the bandwidth of 2.0.

with the newest intel cpus the pcie controller is on the actual cpu...so for him to have pcie 3.0 both the motherboard and the cpu must support pcie 3.0 but unfortunately only his motherboard supports pcie 3.0 so he will be stuck at 2.0 speeds (you wont notice any difference)

With your cpu, any pcie 3.0 gpu will just run at 2.0 speeds with 2.0 bandwidth, which honestly won't affect anything less gtx1080ti or better SLI as even a gtx1080ti can't saturate the bandwidth of pcie 2.0 x8, nevermind x16.

 

[k1114]

It is not a cpu issue. My pc is proof of that along with the thousands and thousands of others. You can google millions of threads of people using 3.0 gpus on 2.0 cpus. Your mobo bios just doesn't support it. Other asus z68 with sandy work with 3.0 gpus but as mentioned, a lot of them have issues. It's a mobo issue. Even the asus z77 mobos were having issues. You were just lucky enough to choose a mobo with issues.