[SOLVED] Non-Gaming: Better GPU to match for i5 8400 for productivity only

[MoeDR]

I searched on the topic but most associations to the cpu are for gaming applications. I do not use my PC for gaming whatsoever, it is strictly for work, school, productivity, video teleconferencing. I know I do not need a high end gpu, I am trying to find a better balance. I have an AMD Radeon HD 6700 with 2xDVI, 1x DP, 1x HDMI. I have the requisite 16gb of 2888mhz RAM. I run three 27" monitors just HD, 1080P, rated at 75htz refresh rate. Not sure if the current card I have may be enough even though I have not had issues with flickering or anything of the sort, it just the car is old. I did a tech refresh of cpu/mobo/ram/m2 for startup drive and kept the gpu. The mobo is a z370 and in retrospect I think I should have gone with a B but can't change that.
Do I need a more gpu for my current cpu? If yes, what would be a better application for what I use it for? TIA
Moe

 

[rgd1101]

vc? we usually said gpu.

 

[MoeDR]

vc? we usually said gpu.

Thanks.

 

[hang-the-9]

I searched on the topic but most associations to the cpu are for gaming applications. I do not use my PC for gaming whatsoever, it is strictly for work, school, productivity, video teleconferencing. I know I do not need a high end gpu, I am trying to find a better balance. I have an AMD Radeon HD 6700 with 2xDVI, 1x DP, 1x HDMI. I have the requisite 16gb of 2888mhz RAM. I run three 27" monitors just HD, 1080P, rated at 75htz refresh rate. Not sure if the current card I have may be enough even though I have not had issues with flickering or anything of the sort, it just the car is old. I did a tech refresh of cpu/mobo/ram/m2 for startup drive and kept the gpu. The mobo is a z370 and in retrospect I think I should have gone with a B but can't change that.
Do I need a more gpu for my current cpu? If yes, what would be a better application for what I use it for? TIA
Moe

If your card is working fine no need to change it till it dies. Unless you are gaming you don't need the video card to match the speed of the CPU, that only would matter in gaming performance so you limit how much either of those parts can limit the other for pushing pixels and running the game engine.

 

[doolittle]

Technically the HD 6700 is "legacy" and the latest win10 AMD WHQL drivers to support it is v15.7.1

You could just pull it out and use the HD 630 IGP on the 8400 as long as your board has the proper connectors, and get the lastest intel HD driver - it's only slightly slower than the HD 6700 but should be good enough for most office-type of productivity apps

 

[groo]

Technically the HD 6700 is "legacy" and the latest win10 AMD WHQL drivers to support it is v15.7.1

You could just pull it out and use the HD 630 IGP on the 8400 as long as your board has the proper connectors, and get the lastest intel HD driver - it's only slightly slower than the HD 6700 but should be good enough for most office-type of productivity apps

I agree. on chip graphics should be more than enough

 

[MoeDR]

Technically the HD 6700 is "legacy" and the latest win10 AMD WHQL drivers to support it is v15.7.1

You could just pull it out and use the HD 630 IGP on the 8400 as long as your board has the proper connectors, and get the lastest intel HD driver - it's only slightly slower than the HD 6700 but should be good enough for most office-type of productivity apps

I was thinking about this also, just run it straight from the board. The current version I'm running on the gpu is 16.2.1 but it does not support AMD FreeSync. Would that be due to being considered legacy as you are referencing? Thanks.

 

[hang-the-9]

I was thinking about this also, just run it straight from the board. The current version I'm running on the gpu is 16.2.1 but it does not support AMD FreeSync. Would that be due to being considered legacy as you are referencing? Thanks.

You have 3 monitors, if the card you have is working now, leave it working. It's not likely your motherboard will have 3 of the same connectors, they tend to have 2 or 3 different ones which means you may need adapters, and I hate having to use different connectors unless needed, it just makes the system look patched together.

 

[doolittle]

I was thinking about this also, just run it straight from the board. The current version I'm running on the gpu is 16.2.1 but it does not support AMD FreeSync. Would that be due to being considered legacy as you are referencing? Thanks.

I believe v16.2.1 is a beta version, possible that could be the reason freesync is not enabled but honestly if you are not gaming I would not worry about not having freesync enabled.

Also missed the 3 monitor bit, my bad - most Z boards have HDMI, DP and a USB-C port... In that case, you can get a USB-C => DP cable for about $10~$15 to get the 3rd on active if you wanted to pull the card to save on power which would pay for itself over time in that respect, up to you.

 

[MoeDR]

Thank you everyone. I think I'm going to keep things as is with the current card as mostly advised. That's the sensible thing to do anyway.