Guide for Selecting a Discrete Video Card

[malesy]

Hey guy's i wonder if any one could help with what video card would be most suitable for me, it would mainly be for video editing, as my current setup still doesnt seem to be adequate.

my current setup is :

HP Pavillion 500-374na desktop
Windows 10 (64bit)
Intel Core i7-4790 (Haswell) 3.6 GHz Quad Core, 84W, Intel HD Graphics 4600 (GT2)

Corsair 500w psu
16gb Ram

As in the picture there is a PCI Express x16 slot (Gen 3.0) slot available.

Would this be fine ?

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/components-and-upgrades/graphics-cards/asus-2-gb...

Any help would be awesome guy's

[Big_Dave]

@malesy

"doesn't seem to be adequate" is a bit nebulous.  What exact issues are you experiencing?

The Intel 4600 should be adequate for many video editing programs.

Check with the video editing software manufacturer for a list of recommend graphics cards.

[SayleneHawk]

Hello everyone!

I bought my husband an HP Envy 700-216 for Christmas last year (see here for specs).  It comes with a JasmineR motherboard (see link here). Since Fallout 4 was released the onboard graphics haven't been up to snuff (running about 9 fps at some points), so I'm looking to get him a discrete graphics card for Christmas. Unfortunately I'm on a limited budget, so I've been looking at graphics cards in the $100-$150 dollar range, keeping in mind that I will almost certainly need to replace his PSU as well, which I figure will run around $50. Generally the top of this range seems to be a 4gb PCI Express card with DDR5 RAM, though I confess to not understanding the finer points of the specs for these cards. Some of the cards I've been considering include:

• EVGA GeForce GT 740
• Gigabyte GTX 750 Ti
• XFX Radeon R7 370
• MSI Radeon R7 370

Will any of these work? Is one better than another? Is there another card in the price range that I should be looking at?

Further complicating the issue, I'm not in much of a position to stealthily disassemble his PC and break out a tape measurer. Is there a way to figure out what kind of graphics card would be compatible without physically disassembling the computer?

Also, I've read that with the Windows 8 machines there can be an issue with the UEFI in the BIOS. Is there a way to find out before installing the graphics card if you need to go into the BIOS to disable this feature?

Any help/recommendations are appreciated. 

[Big_Dave]

Hi,

If you say that you don't want to "disassemble" your to measure inside for a graphics card then how do you plan on installing a discrete graphics card and a replacement PSU?

I suggest the following:

1. Open up your PC and measure inside to see what size graphics card will fit.
2. Use an online internet game simulator to determine what type of performance is acceptable based on the graphics cards that you are considering.

Most of the newer graphics card should work in your PC but it's not a guarantee that any particular graphics card will work in your PC even if it works in another PC.  Know what the return policy is before you buy.

[SayleneHawk]

Dave:

Obviously the computer will have to be taken apart to install the graphics card and PSU, I recognize that.

As I mentioned in my previous post, this is a Christmas gift for my husband. It is his computer I am dealing with. Therefore, if at all possible I would like to avoid taking the computer apart and physically measuring in order to determine how much space is available for the graphics card, as this would ruin the surprise.

As a logical person I would assume that there would be specs for this sort of thing somewhere, but my logical assumption is likely incorrect since I have yet to find it and nobody has pointed me in the direction of such.

I have, however, seen posted lists of OEM cards that are compatible with certain HP computers, so I'm wondering where I could find this list if such a list exists for the HP Envy 700-216? If I could get this then I could at least get an idea of the spec requirements/size requirements/etc.

Thanks for any help.

[Big_Dave]

@SayleneHawk

Computers are configured differently inside hence a big reason for opening up the PC and taking a look.  There are not any specifications that will that the place of a visual inspection.

This EVGA 740 with 4 GB would probably fit inside.  $117

This Corsair CX600 would be an excellent choice for a power supply. $29.99 after rebate.

[engapol]

Hello

I have a h9-1020a (Win 10) with a 600W PSU and would anyone be able to tell me if an Sapphire AMD HD7950 would be compatible with my pc? I've got plenty of physical space within it but I'm concerned about this infamous BIOS and boot issue.

If it isn't, what series of cards should be compatible with my motherboard? Is anything that isn't UEFI compliant suitable?

And Sapphire makes several versions of AMD cards that come with a 'Dual BIOS switch' that allow you to use Legacy BIOS or UEFI, would this allow me to use some of their newer cards (wwitched to legacy mode) with this function?

[milesrf]

I checked the spec sheet for the HP Envy 700-216.  It lists only the integrated graphics as a possibility for what the computer was originally built with.

I've never found any of the HP computers where the spec sheet shows the maximum size of the graphics card.

[Michi4]

Hi!

I have a Pavilion Elite e9120y that needs a new graphics card, and would really appreciate help knowing what to use. It is from 2010 but has had a few upgrades. It now has a 500w power supply and Windows 10. It also had a Radeon HD 7750 graphics card, but it seems to be wearing out just as the warranty has ended.

I was thinking of replacing the Radeon card with a Zotac Geforce GTX 750 TI video card, but then I found a mention of someone saying they might not work on some HP computers. Would it work on mine? The BIOS version is 5.07. There is no UEFI support. This was originally a Vista pc.

If the GTX 750 card is not compatible, what other current cards in the same price range would work?

Thank you so much.

[milesrf]

You can find most of the cases where it will not work the same way I did - look inside the case to find the motherboard part number, then do a Google search for that part number.  If most of the items found mention failures to work with a Geforce 700 series board, then assume that you'd better choose some board from an earlier series, or one with a GPU made by a different company.

Also, you may want to check whether the power supply is adequate for the board you choose.  For Nvidia-based boards, start here:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_family.html

For recent boards, scroll down until you see the right board name, then click on it.

For older boards, Click on Legacy Products in the left column, then select the series, then scroll down until you see the right board name, then click on it.

For most of the boards, click on Specifications in the left column, then scroll down until you see the line giving the minimum power supply rating.  Your 500 W power supply is more than adequate for a GTX 750 Ti, though.