Optiplex 745 Small Form Factor and GT 1030 2GB

[polis_putrus]

Hello, Im planning on upgrading my R5 240 1GB to a GT 1030 2GB, it uses 30 watts, so wattage shouldnt be a problem, my problem is, the cheapest one I can find is about $80 and Im not sure if the Optiplex 745 BIOS (latest version 2.6.6) will recognize the GT 1030 or will not be compatible, can anyone please let me know, is the GT 1030 compatible with the Optiplex 745, Thanks for any help

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

Graphics cards do not need BIOS support (CPUs do) - - - if your PC has a compatible slot and a suitable PSU, the graphics card will work.

 

[william p]

Actually that's not always true. Dell has a known issue with AMD GPUs from GCN3 on. It seems the BTX Dells and maybe a few others need BIOS video resolution VESA Mode 103, and the AMD cards can't provide it. Sometimes they refuse to boot, and other times they'll F1 and run, but the BIOS Setup screen is never seen again. But no issues with the GT1030 or other Nvidia cards. Also the Opti 745 is not UEFI BIOS. Some higher end GPUs require this and won't work due to that BIOS issue. But the low end cards usually don't need that. Some GTX750 cards do. It was a good question to ask about an old dell like that one.

 

[polis_putrus]

This is the exact same one I'm looking to get. Now my question is, Is the GT1030 bios or uefi? This is the one I'm planning on buying.

 

[william p]

It varies from one brand to another, and the vendors are clueless. UEFI usually requires a UEFI MB to run, MSI says theirs is universal but I've seen older MSI cards not work. A Legacy card can run on UEFI if you disable Secore Boot, and enable Legacy Mode. System requirement should list UEFI if it's needed. The 1030 level cards are almost always Legacy because they're intended for older computers anyway. At GTX750 level is where the issue starts.

 

[polis_putrus]

Thanks for the information, I will purchase the card soon.