Question Need basic graphics card for new DQHD (5120x1440) screen

[MPC22]

Hi Tom's Hardware Forum

I have recently bought a new HP E45c G5 screen, which has a DQHD (5120x1440) resolution.

The screen will be used together with my existing computer, which is about 10 years old. Its spec is:
- Intel® Core i7 2600k Quad Core
- 16 GB RAM
- Asus P8P67 mainboard
- 600W power supply

My usage of the GPU won't be very demanding. No gaming, no 3D, no video editing. Just some document editing, Excel spreadsheets and web browsing (with many tabs open at the same time).

Now I'm looking for a graphics card which:
- Is powerful enough to support my new DQHD (5120x1440) screen
- Still works with my old Asus P867 mainboard and the other specs of my old computer
- Has an output port which is compatible with the HP E45c G5 screen
- Is quiet
- Doesn't introduce any performance bottlenecks
- Is inexpensive

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

 

[Nyara]

Hii-Hii!

GT 1030 ($60) or RX 550 ($70-80), they must have DisplayPort 1.4 connector, you also need a DisplayPort 1.4 cable, ideally the 2nd so you have sightly better FreeSync from your screen, too, extra points if model with 4GB memory, so you lift a bit of burden in your aged system RAM. No noise. It will only run at 60hz.

If you want more refresh rate you would need to resort to Display Stream Compression (DSC).

For that you need a GTX 1630 ($130) or GTX 1650 ($130-170, as is, or Ti, or Super) with DisplayPort 1.4a connector + cable, or an RX 5500 XT ($150-170) with the same connector + cable. There is also the Intel A380 ($120) if feeling a bit adventurous. They will be lightly noisy at best. I do not know how high the refresh rate can reach with them in your system, but it should be more than 60hz at least.

Your system supports all the cards above, no compatibility issues.

Your CPU aged quite well and can do some gaming, 3D model viewing on web and other cool stuff with a decent GPU still, which are all the mentioned except the GT 1030 & RX 550 (which are worse than 2019 integrated graphics). You can ignore this point if it has literal 0 value.

 

[MPC22]

Thanks a lot Nyara!

I am considering buying the ASUS Dual Radeon RX 560, DUAL-RX560-4G, 4GB GDDR5, HDMI, 2x DP, technical specs are here. Would this one work? Hoping that the RX 560 is a bit better than the RX 550.

Thanks again.

 

[Nyara]

Thanks a lot Nyara!

I am considering buying the ASUS Dual Radeon RX 560, DUAL-RX560-4G, 4GB GDDR5, HDMI, 2x DP, technical specs are here. Would this one work? Hoping that the RX 560 is a bit better than the RX 550.

Thanks again.

For your needs, it is perfect. 30% faster than the RX 550 for same price, it uses 80W instead 50W so you might feel a subtle noise instead no noise at times, but that is about it.

It is still a largely display-only card yes, would need to look for a RX 580 (which has 130%+ the performance of the 560) if wanting more, the price is similar but its 185W will produce noticeable noise, yes. Your display will still be at 60hz with your resolution since that generation lacks DSC support and 60hz is the max the DisplayPort 1.4 does natively without DSC. And the newer cards with DIsplayPort 1.4a (DSC support) are more expensive as indicated above.

 

[MPC22]

Got it, thanks a lot Nyara!

 

[MPC22]

Hi again,

The ASUS Dual Radeon RX 560, DUAL-RX560-4G, 4GB GDDR5, HDMI, 2x DP (specs here) has arrived now and I have installed it. When booting, my Asus P8P67 mainboard does not detect the new GPU (one long beep and 3 short beeps). I suspect it's a power supply issue. The GPU comes has an 8 pin auxiliary power connector, highlighted in green in the picture below. The installation manual says "If your graphics card has an auxiliary power connector, connect the appropriate power plug from the system power supply."

Is this auxiliary power supply mandatory for this graphics card or would you expect it to work also when only connected via the PCIe slot?

The problem is that my 10 years old PC does not have an 8 pin power connector. What I do have is black connector whose name I don't know (highlighted in red in the picture below) and the old white 4 pin connector (highlighted in orange below).

I'm also attaching a picture of my power supply unit. It seems to be a 600W unit.

What approach would you recommend to power my GPU? I'd like to avoid replacing my power supply unit if at all possible. Many thanks!

 

[MPC22]

Hi all, sorry it's me again, still struggling with this issue.

I still haven't managed to run my new HP E45c G5 screen, unfortunately. The problem is that the ASUS Dual Radeon RX 560, DUAL-RX560-4G, 4GB GDDR5, HDMI, 2x DP graphics card that I have bougth is not recognised by my ASUS P8P67 mainboard. That mainboard is from around 2011. The slot is PCIexpress 2.0 (single at x16). Also my BIOS is from 2011 and I can't update it any further.

Meanwhile I found a solution to power the RX 560 graphics card. Have bought a cable which combines 2 old 4-pin MOLEX connectors into an 8-pin connector and that works. The white LED of the RX 560 lights up and the fans spin. Nevertheless, the card isn't recognised upon booting, error is "No VGA detected" (1 long beep followed by 3 short beeps). I've tried a lot of things but have now given up on the RX 560.

I now suspect that the RX 560 is just too new for my mainboard and BIOS. My plan is now to buy another GPU but a used model that had a release year around 2011-2014, similar to the age of my mainboard. Hope this will resolve the compatibility issue.

I'm considering one of these:
FirePro W5000 -> max resolution 4096x2160
FirePro W7000-> max resolution 4096x2160
Quadro K5000 -> max resolution 3840x2160

Does anyone know if these would also support the full 5120x1440 resolution of my screen? So is the constrain on the total number of pixels (width multiplied by height) or do these card also have constraints on the width alone for example no more than 4096?

If anyone can think of an old model released no later than 2014 which natively supports 5120x1440 that would of course be even better.

Thanks again!

 

[Nyara]

The age isn't the issue. Your motherboard is telling the system your GPU is not being powered by a PCI Express Power Connector and thus not allowing it to connect to the motherboard, to avoid a shortcircuit, molex are not a proper replacement, they give continous non-stop max energy which will burn the motherboard, it might have damaged your recently brought card already, too, hopefully not.

Your Power Supply is not lacking a PCI Express Power Connector due its age neither, it is been a standard for 20 years, your Power Supply is simply too potato, those generic potato Power Supplies usually fake advertise the power amount they deliver, too. When new, it likely only delivered about 200W max. This is why it does not includes the cable, as the Power Supply merely lacks the performance to power up even a single PCI Express cable. Worst even, due to use degradation it likely only delivers some 150W max now, which is barely above what your system without GPU is using.

My personal recomendation would be buy a new Power Supply, use this guide: https://cultists.network/140/psu-tier-list/ and pick anything from Tier D onward. Even if for any reason your videocard is still not recognized, you will still need a new power supply for any other card you buy. The options you listed should do the work in theory but I have no way to verify it, DP 1.2 has enough capacity for your resolution in theory, even if barely, but that might not meant the cards will actually function as expected for it.