Upgrade Advice to replace Sapphire 5770HD

[David_82_man]

First post as I come across multiple different answers to questions similar and different to mine at the same time.

So I just upgraded my monitor for the first time in 6 years running on a resolution of 1680x1050 and just got a new very nice curved monitor at 1920x1080 (very nice!). Higher resolution in games have messed the FPS a bit. So I am looking for a new Graphics card. but once I found one I like I stumbled to to a problem I do and don't understand.

My PC Specs:
Intel Core i5 750 @2.67Ghz Lynnfield 45nm Tech.
12. GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @532 MHz
Gigabyte P55-US3L (Soecket 1156)
1024MB Sapphire 5770HD

I used Google to find a good replacement for the 'Sapphire 5770HD' card and came up with 'Gigabyte Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Windforce OC 4GB.' A nice look card...

I have a 'Gigabyte P55-US3L' Motherboard. PCI-E 2.0. the GTX 1050 has the 3.0. I understand that 3.0 will work in 2.0, but you would lose performance. Questions: 1). How much performance would be lost? 2). Would the motherboard be under stress? 3). Other thoughts and suggestions?

Thank you.

 

[Iceman21]

There wont be significant performance difference between pci-e 2 and 3 with gtx 1050ti.

But I cant find if your motherboard has UEFI bios. Sometimes there are compatibility issues with newer gpu-s and legacy bios motherboards.

 

[David_82_man]

Thank you for your reply Under System Information it says 'BIOS Mode: Legacy' could not find any info on UEFI for my MB. Would this mean it doesn't?

 

[dontlistentome]

I'm pretty sure you don't have UEFI bios, it wasn't around back then. For that reason I would suggest staying away from new Nvidia cards. You could also try contacting the company, such as Asus or Gigabyte, and asking them if it'll work with a legacy bios.

AMD videocards seem to work alright on older motherboards. An RX 460 2gb is a useful, entry level 1080p card. It draws low amounts of power, so unless you have a terribly low powered PSU you can use it. It will run esports type games very well, with the more demanding games you'll need to dial down the settings a bit. A 470 would give you potentially better 1080p gaming. Potentially, because your older CPU will struggle on certain demanding games, in those games the 470 won't help.

Another alternative is a used videocard. The downside, besides them being used, is they typically draw a lot more power. I don't know if your power supply could handle it, but something like an HD 7970 would give you performance similar to a 1050 Ti, at a lower cost and it's compatible with your motherboard.

The 1050 Ti would be ideal for you, but that compatibility question is a serious one.

 

[David_82_man]

I've looked at the GPU's and they seems to mainly be PCI-E 3.0. I have a 500w PSU if that helps. Anything double the power of what I have with out having to sacrifice any performance because of the PCI 2 and 3 would be great. The 1050 Ti just catches the eye and its been a while since I shopped for a new GPU. I am looking for one with at least 2 HDMI ports so I don't have to keep swapping cable when I want to use the TV for movies etc. Also contacted Gigabyte Support. So we'll see how that goes.