>2 monitor/qhd support video card for h9 1170t

[focusbob]

I have a hpe h9 1170t for which I am trying to upgrade the video card. I tried a gtx 1050 ti, ignorant at the time to uefi v legacy bios issues, which did not work. Then, I tried an MSI GTX 750Ti card with a legacy bios hard toggle on the pcb. By all accounts, this card should have worked, but it did not. I am on the latest BIOS version (7.15) and my psu is 600w. Ultimately, my goal is to be able to run 3 monitors simultaneously (2x 1080p, 1x qhd); my current card (gtx 550Ti) can do neither. My questions:

1) Is their a known compatability issue with my system and the MSI video card (N750Ti TF 2GD5/OC)? Why isn't the card working in legacy mode?

2) What is the best compatible video card I can buy for my system (that supports 3 monitors, and qhd)?

[Big_Dave]

Hi,

This thread shows success using the MSI 750. However, your PC has a different motherboard.

MSI 750 HP Solution for the HP Pavilion HPE h8-1120 (Carmel2)

The reality is that there is no guarantee that any particular graphics card will work in any particular PC even if the graphics card works in other PCs or even the same or similar model PCs. Know what the return policy is before you buy.

"qhd" ? Please no acronyms.  I hope that you are not thinking quad 4K.

[milesrf]

I've found that when you install another Nvidia-based graphics
card, you should reinstall the graphics driver before you expect
all features of the new card to work correctly.  Did you?

Download Drivers
http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

In case you need to ask MSI for help, start here:

https://us.msi.com/Graphics-card/N750-Ti-TF-2GD5OC.html#hero-overview

When I had graphics problems on one of my computers, I had to
inspect the motherboard, get the brand and model number, then do
a Google search for that motherboard, in order to find out that
this model of motherboard is known to have severe problems (such
as not booting) with recent graphics cards.  You might want to try
that.

Also, note that the legacy BIOS mode of the graphics card will only work if the motherboard is set to boot in BIOS mode.  For HP computers, the setting controlling this is usually in the setup you can do on the computer just before telling it to boot.  So, explore that section of the setup to see if that computer is able to switch between BIOS and UEFI modes.

[Big_Dave]

@milesrf

The OP is running a version 7 BIOS.

[focusbob]

Hi Dave, 

Thanks for sharing that link. It's very interesting, because that system maxed out at BIOS version 7 (albeit 7.16 whereas mine is 7.15 but that doesn't seem like a likely source for differences). It seems like it "should" work with the legacy bios switch engaged...

I can return the card no problem, but I am still left not knowing what card will work with my system that is superior to my existing card. I'm now looking at gtx 660 cards because they are supposed to be compatible with legacy bios (if they haven't been flashed to uefi bios), but buying one of these is tricky because they are no longer sold new/with return policy. I'm also looking at AMD cards with legacy bios support, but I feel I will likely fall into the same issue as with the MSI gtx 750, where the card "should" work but doesn't. I can't find any threads specifically concerning the h9 1170t. 

The specific resolution I am referring to is 2560 x 1440. One monitor at that resolution and two others at 1080p. 

[milesrf]

When I recently contacted Nvidia, they told me that all recent graphics cards made by Nvidia are compatible with either a BIOS or a UEFI.  The cards may have a switch to tell them which mode to allow, though.

This says nothing about graphics cards made by some other company, even if an Nvidia GPU was used as part of it, though.

Also, you might want to look at the motherboard long enough to get the brand name and possibly the model number.  If the motherboard brand name is Pegatron, you may need to do a Google search for the model number to check if other people has been having trouble using recent graphics cards on that model of motherboard.

[focusbob · Accepted solution]

Ok, here is the post I wish I would have found; I hope it helps others:

I bought a Dell branded geforce gt 640 from ebay that is compatible with my system. It fulfills all of the criteria I outlined above.

Here is what is not compatible from my experience: geforce 1050 ti, 750 ti (even if it has a legacy switch), amd rx 460 (which oddly enough worked fine on an even older hp system).