I need to know if I can upgrade my computer to play 4k content.

[pantherj]

So I want to be able to use a 4k monitor and watch 4k content on my computer, but I don't know if my computer's video card slot can handle a video card capable of processing 4k video. I think it's a PCIe 2.0 slot, but I don't know what video card to buy that would work. Is 4k possible on this computer?

[Grzwacz · Accepted solution]

Greetings,

Welcome to the forum.

I am not a HP employee.

What graphics card did you select when buying your PC?

The GTX 770 and GTX 745, purchase options with your CTO PC, are capable of 4k resolution. I would think the AMD card option (R9 270) can also do 4k.

You do have a x16 PCIe 2.0 graphics card slot.

PCIe 3.0 cards are backwards compatible with PCIe 2.0 MB slots.

Playing AAA games at 4k will require a newer graphics card if you want decent FPS. 

Can't answer your question without knowing what you want to do.

Your PC is about five years old. CPU and chipset limitations could create bottlenecks if you want to do AAA games at 4k.

Regards

[pantherj]

I won't be playing games in 4k, but I do want to upgrade my monitor to 4k and watch movies and tv shows in 4k. I guess I'm trying to figure out what video card, if any, will work with my computer to watch say a 4k movie. I want to make sure my computer has the processing power, and the right video card slot to make this happen. So now I know that the computer can handle 4k content from what you're saying, but which card should I buy? The prices are all over the place.

[Grzwacz]

Hi

What graphics card do you have now?

The three graphics card options HP offered with your PC at purchase should play 4k video such as YouTube or Netflix.

Do you have a 4k monitor? Do you have a fast internet pipeline?

Regards

[pantherj]

I have the NVIDA Geforce GTX 745.

I don't have any problems with playing a 4k video and watching it on my regular 1080p monitor. I have fast enough internet to watch 4k YouTube videos.

My current video card doesn't support any resolution beyond 1080p.

[pantherj]

Ok so I thought my video card wouldn't do 4k resolution, but I was wrong. It will do 4096x2160 at 24Hz supported over HDMI. 4096x2160 at 60Hz supported over Displayport according to the internet. So basically I think I need a 4k monitor with a Display port because I don't want to watch at 24Hz that doesn't sound like it would look right. Although movies are filmed in 24fps. This is complicated. My video card can't do HDR, so I won't be able to take advantage of a wide color gamut and greater contrast and brightness. I'm learning that there is a lot more to this than I thought. Now I'm thinking I don't want a monitor that is beyond my video cards capability, and what would 4k at 24Hz even look like? Would I see the frames flicker? The standard now is 4k at 60Hz, and it's moving to 4k at 120Hz I think with HDMI 2.0.