Guide for Selecting a Discrete Video Card

[Big_Dave]

Hi Tonyrl55,

Check the power supply in your HP PC for the following specifications:

1. 600 watt (Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 42 Amps.)
2. An available 6-pin PCI-E power connector and an available 8 pin PCI-E power connector

The 780 is a huge power consumer.  I would suggest that you consider a different power supply.  The Corsair HX650 would be a very good choice as it has a single rail 12v+ rating of 54 amps.

Know what the return policy is before you buy anything.

[Tonyrl55]

it appears that my hp dps-600wb from what I can find only has 2 6 pin pci-e one is white labeled p10 with all the black cables on the clip side and the other is black labeled p11 and as well has all the black cables on the clip side. would a adapter work to make one of the 6pin into a 8 pin to meet the requirement for the graphics card?

never mind I found another white pin labeled p10 just 2 pins so im thinking that would be used for the 8 pin power/ I checked out the cosair 850w gold modular if I decide to upgrade. thanks for your help

dave. Im sure I will be asking more questions down the road.

[Wako_Jacko]

Hello,

I'm wanting to upgrade my HP Desktop's (NY464AAR) GPU - the one I'm using now is intergrated and pretty much useless for any games. I've been looking at the AMD 7850. Will this work with my system and bios? I know I'm going to need a new PSU so could anyone suggest one that would have3 enough wattage to power my system, and also fit into the case. (Can I even add a GPU to the system? I know there is ONE PCI 16x on the motherboard)

I want this system upgrade to make do with while I gather more funds to make my own build.

Games I'm wanting to play (I don't care about the grahpical settings, just the resolution - 1440x900) -

Arma 2, Arma 3(?), Dayz Mod, Dayz Standalone (Most Important)

Red Orchestra 1 & 2 (Including Rising Storm)

SimCity 5

Tropico Series

Payday series

Battlefield 3 and possibly 4 (if my CPU can handle it)

Are there any better GPU's for my budget that will run the games listed above any better?

($100 - $200 Canadian Dollars) 

Thanks,

Jack

[Big_Dave]

Hi,

The below graphics cards will work for you at the resolution that you stated.  You don't even need to change the power supply.

MSI NVIDIA GTX N750 TI and the MSI GTX N750 TF

[Wako_Jacko]

Hello,

I want a decent GPU, I don't really want a 750ti after reading a lot of failed installations of them on these forums. Will the 7870 fit inside of my case and work fully with a 430w PSU? ( http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cx430m )

Will this card work with the version of BIOS on my system? I haven't upgraded it since buying this PC so it is how it left the factory. 

Thanks again.

Jack.

[Big_Dave]

Hi Jack,

I think that you would be better off asking HP Support for additional assistance.

HP's support number is 800-474-6836 or 800-HPINVENT or online here.

[GYestrau]

Hey Big_Dave,

I made a new post with this question this morning but after skimming for a little while I think I should have just asked you within this post!

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I have a prebuilt machine (HP Pavilion p7-1020). 

I am interested in getting a non-integrated (Discrete?) video card for my PC.

I believe the integrated card I have now is the weak point in my system. I want to be able to run some higher end games and believe this is the point in my PC holding me back.

I was thinking about getting one of these:

XFX Double D R9 290 947MHz 4GB DDR5 DP HDMI 2XDVI Graphics Cards  

Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB GDDR5 DUAL DVI-D/HDMI/DP TRI-X OC Version PCI-Express

Before making a purchase though I want to be sure that the card I buy will be supported by my PC.

I do assume I will need to upgrade my PSU (I think it currently has a 250W) but not really sure what I should be looking at for this and any suggestions would be welcome!

Thanks in advance,

Gordon

[Big_Dave]

Hi GYestrau (Gordon),

The first thing that you should do before determining which graphics card to buy is to review this posted document.

An important consideration when considering top end, high power consuming graphics cards is whether your existing motherboard will be able to accommodate the power demands while at the same time allow the graphics card to reach its full performance potential particularly when you are paying big money for top end graphics cards.

The high power draw of upper end graphics cards will present you with heat dissipation issues as the air flow within the existing cabinet and the limited number of fans would most likely insufficient for sustaining a maximum power use from a 300+ watt graphics card.

If you want a high end graphics card then you should consider a custom built enthusiast level PC.

[Maxsider]

Hello guys,

i would like to give new life to my old compaq  CQ2100 desktop PC.

I have already  increased the RAM up to 2 MB.But Tte  onboard GMA 950 Intel graphic chip is not capable to manage 1080p video files.

Since the HP H-I945-ITX  motherborad has 1x PCIE slot, is it possible to add a discrete video card?

Which model do ypu suggest?  Is it possible to upgrade  the (external) power supply in order to manage an additional graphic card?

Thanks in advance for you kind help. 

[Big_Dave]

Hi Maxsider,

You can't add a PCI-E x16 graphics card to the CQ2100 and there is not a slot for it.  You could probably add a WIFI, network or sound card to the this low powered energy efficient PC.

Expansion slots

1 PCI Express x1 slot (for cards such as network, sound, or tv-tuner)