Trying to Update HP H8-1020

[jitter1127]

I am looking to update my HP h8-1020. It has a IPIS8-CU (Carmel 2) motherboard. I know the motherboard is a piece of crap, but I do not want to replace it if I dont have to yet. My Bios is a legacy Bios and I can upgrade to 7.16. From my research it seems people are having some trouble getting cards to run with this MoBo, but I do not know if its because they are buying UEFI cards or a deeper issue. I would like to get a GTX 760 or a R9 270x. I found a Sapphire Radeon that specifically says that it works with both UEFI or a Legacy Bios, and has a switch on it. I have not been able to find much out about the GTXs. Do you think that the R9 270 or GTX 760 will work? I already upgraded the PSU when I bought the PC. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[okcnaline]

Specs...

 

[jitter1127]

i7 2600s
8GB RAM
I have dual boot win 7 and 8.1
600W PSU

 

[okcnaline]

That's quite an easy fix. First, show me a picture of the insides of your desktop, to make sure of compatibility.

 

[jitter1127]

I know i have space for the card the slot on the mobo is PCI express x16, and I have empty bays above it. My problem is a lot of people are reporting trouble updating the GPU especially newer nvidia cards. Based on what I am seeing it MAY have to do with the NVIDIA cards working with the UEFI Bios only and not the older Legacy Bios. Like I said I found an ATI card that is compatile with both Bios types, but I dont know if that is the issue for sure.

 

[okcnaline]

No, I meant replacing the motherboard since you think it's a problem.

 

[jitter1127]

Ooh ok....Well I do not want to do that, because I will end up having to dump more money into it. If i upgrade the mobo I will probably need a new HDD and a new windows license. Pretty soon new a $170 GPU turns into a $300 investment.....

here is pic of mobo

http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docId=emr_na-c02831611

 

[okcnaline]

More like $170 into $220 investment. I'm going to say get a cheap but reliable motherboard.

Squarely $219.97...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H61M-S2PV(R2.0) Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $219.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-27 22:06 EST-0500

 

[jitter1127]

What about Windows....Would I need a new copy of that...I would also frown upon reformatting my HDD, although it would be a good excuse to get a SSD.

 

[okcnaline]

I doubt you need a new Windows license. If you're using Windows 7, reuse the license on the sticker and install.

 

[JohnnyRelentless]

More like $170 into $220 investment. I'm going to say get a cheap but reliable motherboard.

Squarely $219.97...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H61M-S2PV(R2.0) Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $219.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-27 22:06 EST-0500

I also have a HP Pavilion h8-1020 and I just received the EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti SC from Newegg, but it didn't work. So I am thinking about trying your solution of replacing the mobo. Probably with the Gigabyte GA-H61M-S2PV R2.0 LGA 1155 Intel H61 DDR3 mATX that you linked to.

I see that it is compatible with the intel i7 CPU I have, but will my RAM also work with it? Are there any other considerations I need to worry about?

Thanks.

 

[okcnaline]

Yep.

 

[JohnnyRelentless]

Yep.

Yep? To which question? And if yep is for 2nd question, do you have anything helpful to add?

 

[okcnaline]

The RAM. Selecting it would be strightforward, so no point in commenting.