graphics card - Upgrade suggestion from geforce 550 ti

07
2014-07
  • Ukemi

    I have a Geforce 550 ti, and im looking to do an upgrade with a 200 dollar budget. My motherboard's best slot is a pci 2.0 x16. Is there anything i can get with those restrictions worth getting?

    Note: my motherboard is real cheap, Gigabyte am3+... but im trying to avoid upgrading it. If I can get a better Video card for less than 200, and ill see a significant difference, ill do it. But if Im just grasping a straws, then feel free to say so.

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    graphics card - Is GeForce GT430 PCI-Express 2.0 requirement a must?
  • qlf00n

    My current graphic card has just stopped working. I need to buy new card pretty fast. I've found GeForce® GT430 which fits in my budget (and has comparable performance to my current, silent GF8600GT).

    I have rather old motherboard (asus p5kc, intel socket 775) which is based on Intel P35 Chipset. GeForce® GT430 specifications says that it is backward compatible with older PCI-Express slots but.. in requirements list it says clearly PCI-Express 2.0 compliant motherboard. I've found that Intel X38 was the first PCI-Express 2.0 capable chipset.

    I am confused because I know that PCI-Express slots are cross comptabile but I am not sure if the requirement is just a "marketing requirements" or the card really needs additional wattage. I've also found that the card has 60W TDP.


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  • Tyler Faile

    It should work, but it might not be able to operate at it's full speed.

    It'll still be better than your GeForce 8600 GT was though.

    Also, make sure you plug it in to your PSU.

    The main difference between PCIe 2.0 and 1.1 in regard to the card you're getting is the extra power from the slot to the card. 2.0 has double the power.

    PCIe 2.0 offers 150W. Compare that to the 75W PCIe 1.1 gives. 2.0 also allows power management through the bios.

    I don't believe your card will use all of the bandwidth from the older PCIe slot, but I could be wrong.

    Here is a forum discussion about a similar issue, though they were talking about different cards.