Windows 8 Upgrading Video Card

[ShoobieStomper]

Hey, guys! I just have a quick question. I have an ASUS desktop with a shared AMD Radeon HD 8670D and my friend gave me an older dedicated video card. It's an AMD Radeon HD 6750. My question is: Will this be better than what I already have since it's dedicated? If so, how do I install it?

Thanks in advance!

- Alex

 

[ussnorway]

Will this be better than what I already have since it's dedicated?

Hi Alex,
Yes... as for the install an Asus will just detect the card as soon as you plug it in.

Windows 8 will try to give a shit Microsoft driver by default... get the one from radeon.
Windows 8.1.1 isn't too bad at Radeon drivers... the radeon driver is still better (i.e. faster) but the Microsoft is less mucking about.

 

[ShoobieStomper]

Awesome, thank you! I was looking for the driver and I found this. Link Removed
I guess that should make sure that I get the right driver. Also, when I physically place the card into my motherboard, do I also plug my monitor into it or do I need to wait until I get the driver(s)?

 

[ussnorway]

Ok yes sorry:

1. Download the tool you linked.

2. Turn the computer off and insert the new card… some models also need 6 pin power.

3. Connect your monitor to the outside plug on the new card instead and turn the system back on.

4. Tell the auto Microsoft driver wizard to f-off and run your download amd tool instead to get your driver.

 

[ShoobieStomper]

No worries! I did exactly this and my monitor isn't receiving a signal. :-/ I even tried plugging it back into the other port. Any ideas?

 

[ShoobieStomper]

Is this relevant to me?

http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3156

 

[ussnorway]

Could be Alex… you didn’t tell us what system you have, just that it’s an Asus.
Secure Boot isn’t normally seen outside of laptops but if the bios has it then disabling it won’t do any harm to your system.

p.s. if the card is buggered then just remove it and your bios should detect that’s gone… automatically re-enable the on-board graphics again.

 

[ShoobieStomper]

Sorry, that would probably help. I have an ASUS M11BB.

 

[ussnorway]

I have an ASUS M11BB

so;
g-card = Link Removed
system = http://www.asus.com/au/Desktops/M11BB/specifications/

Ok Alex you need a PCI Express 2.1 slot to power that card and the m11bb only has PCI Express 1.1… probably just as well because the power drain would also be an issue.

 

[ShoobieStomper]

Crud... that stinks. That's probably going to hinder me when it comes to getting another card then, huh?

 

[ShoobieStomper]

I am so sorry for being such a noob at this, but I really appreciate all of your help!

 

[ussnorway]

There are some very nice g-cards around that take a 1 speed express for example the gigabyte radeon hd 6450 was about $50 back in the day (2010) and it would give your system extra kick without blowing the power but yes the motherboard more than any other part does limit what you can and can't do with your system. the Asus M11bb is value for a desktop but it isn't really a gaming rig mate.

 

[ShoobieStomper]

This card should work, though. http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-750-ti

 

[nmsuk]

I wouldn't say the 6750 is better

so;
g-card = Link Removed
system = http://www.asus.com/au/Desktops/M11BB/specifications/

Ok Alex you need a PCI Express 2.1 slot to power that card and the m11bb only has PCI Express 1.1… probably just as well because the power drain would also be an issue.

PCI-E is backwards compat so the card will work fine. Like for example my card says PCI-E 3.0 but works fine in a PCI-E 2.1 board. The op won't even notice any perf issues. Though may need a bigger and better PSU

 

[ussnorway]

I seriously doubt it…

You’d have better luck with something like a GT720 GeForce RTX 20 Series Graphics Cards and Laptops but I don’t really go for Geforce and the only one of their cards I know for sure will run on your motherboard is the old GTX460 NVIDIA GeForce Graphics Cards ... I’d Post it on the Asus forum before you blow your dosh mate because the odds are good that someone has already upgraded their M11bb and could at least give you informed feedback.

PCI-E is backwards compat

I hear what your saying and yes 3-2 or 2-1 in the same power range is only a small bottleneck but 3-1 is asking too much imo.

 

[ShoobieStomper]

To be clear... I'm not getting a signal with the 6750 because my PSU is too small, right? Also, the reason I suggested the 750 Ti is because I was doing some research and I found a few places where people had used that GPU for the M11BB. You are probably right, though. I should just go to the ASUS Forum and see if they can help me out. I feel like a serious noob asking this, but what motherboard do I have? How did you find that out?

 

[ussnorway]

Well you may be a noob, Alex but they don’t make it easy.
The windows 8 (E8850) specs = http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/Desktop/M11BB/XX09_E8850_M11BB.pdf

They don’t give the motherboard specs because they don’t want to advertise it’s vintage… just post as a M11BB (windows 8) and people on the Asus forum will know what you have.

I'm not getting a signal with the 6750 because my PSU is too small

Yes that’s the main stopper with that card… once you got it running, then all that extra power will also generate more heat and that could become an issue later because of the limited space for air to flow around the internal parts.

So if you buy a new G-card and a bigger PDU to power it AND a larger case for the cooling… at some point the Upgrade will become more expensive than building a new system which is the conundrum gamers run into a lot. At this point you may as well grab a cheap $50-100 motherboard and enjoy your games on something designed for handling the stress that a good G-card places on your system. As nmsuk correctly points out, a pci-e slot will take a higher rated G-card and run it through the bottleneck as long as you can power it then it will boot but the actual performance it gives you just depends on to many factors and we can’t be sure.

Basic Option 1: buy a new G-card that your system can handle without needing extra parts (stress the need to run it as is in your post). This is why I would lean towards the lower end G-cards because the power needs aren’t excessive and they tend to be cheap.

Basic Option 2: your mate already gave you a nice card so spend your dosh on a PDU instead… I hesitate to recommend this simply because I know where this path leads and many a hard core mod’da with systems that wouldn’t look out of place on the bridge of the star ship Enterprise, started out this way.

+ on the up side this system runs just fine (as is) under normal work loads and was NOT designed to be a game rig… perhaps you have a sibling that wants it?

 

[nmsuk]

Earlier while bored I did some tests with pci-e the performance loss going from 2.0 to 1.1 was negligible. At most it was 4 fps and when running at over 80 you really don't notice.

 

[ShoobieStomper]

Thank you, ussnorway! I know I mentioned this before, but many people claim that the EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti will work just fine in my ASUS because it requires no external power and it is compatible with the motherboard. Here is a link to the exact one. Link Removed

 

[ShoobieStomper]

Earlier while bored I did some tests with pci-e the performance loss going from 2.0 to 1.1 was negligible. At most it was 4 fps and when running at over 80 you really don't notice.

Okay, that's good to know! As ussnorway stated earlier, I would still have to upgrade my PSU in order to run my current card, right? I also think I forgot to mention that my keyboard lights did turn on when I booted with the 6750. Doesn't that mean it made it to the BIOS?

Oh, and giving it to a sibling may be an option at some point, ussnorway. Haha