Which type of video card for my MOBO?

[desktop]

Hi everyone. I just joined because I need to find out what type of graphics card I can use in my PC. First off, my mobo is a Gigabyte P35-DS4 (rev. 2) and my CPU is a Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 GO.

I do responsive web design for a living and I bought a couple new monitors (DELL S2340M), but my current graphics card (Asus GeForce 9600 GSO) only has one DVI plug. I'd like to get a card that has two DVI plugs, but I'm unsure which ones my mobo could handle.

According to HWiNFO64 is says my card is a PCIe v1.1 x16. When I'm looking on sites like Newegg I see in the left hand column there are PCI Express 3.0, 2.1, 2.0, etc. It's a little confusing for me so I joined this forum to ask about this.

My question then is—which type of PCI-E video card would work in my PC?

Thanks to all who reply

 

[RCoon]

The board features PCI-E 1.1 @ x16
According to TPU's PCI-E Review, 1.1 @ x16 is equivalent to 2.0 x8, which is perfectly reasonable performance-wise. You can happily run any modern GPU (provided you have the power for it) at 94% performance efficiency.

 

[desktop]

Thanks for the quick reply. I checked that box on Newegg (PCI-E 2.0 x8) and it didn't give me much. Not any with 2 DVI plugs. So I'm assuming I can't run anything that above a 2 ?

 

[RCoon]

Thanks for the quick reply. I checked that box on Newegg (PCI-E 2.0 x8) and it didn't give me much. Not any with 2 DVI plugs. So I'm assuming I can't run anything that above a 2 ?

You can run any PCI-E GPU in existence. They're all backwards compatible down to PCI-E 1.1 (your motherboard PCI-E spec). Buy whatever you like, just bare in mind top end GPU's will get slightly crippled by about 6%.

 

[rtwjunkie]

Thanks for the quick reply. I checked that box on Newegg (PCI-E 2.0 x8) and it didn't give me much. Not any with 2 DVI plugs. So I'm assuming I can't run anything that above a 2 ?

Yes. Ideally though, at this stage, just search for modern PCIe 3.0 cards. Like RCoon said, any will work just fine.

 

[desktop]

Awesome. So I could run something like this then? I'm assuming that card would be an upgrade to the 9600 GSO I already have.

 

[RCoon]

Awesome. So I could run something like this then? I'm assuming that card would be an upgrade to the 9600 GSO I already have.

For sure, no problems. Just ensure your PSU has a spare 6pin connector for GPU's.

 

[desktop]

Well joining this forum was a good idea. Thanks for the help

 

[ThE_MaD_ShOt]

Yes that will work just fine as long as your psu can handle it.

 

[rtwjunkie]

Awesome. So I could run something like this then? I'm assuming that card would be an upgrade to the 9600 GSO I already have.

Yes, and that card would probably suffer even less from the PCIe 1.1 restriction too, so I think that would be a good choice.

 

[desktop]

My PSU is a PCP&C Silencer 610. According to the specs it says it has a PCI-E connector: 2 x 6-Pin

 

[RCoon]

My PSU is a PCP&C Silencer 610. According to the specs it says it has a PCI-E connector: 2 x 6-Pin

Well, the PSU is made out of the equivalent materials of a garden potatoe and a peanut, but I guess if it's worked with your 9600 and whole machine this long, it's not likely to cause too many issues. I would advise a new PSU in future as a priority. Nothing above 550W is necessary.

 

[desktop]

Thanks RC—recommend away

 

[RCoon]

Thanks RC—recommend away

https://pcpartpicker.com/parts/power-supply/#W=550,600&e=4,2&m=52,11,57,14,101,71,39&sort=a9

Any of those (Just not the Corsair CX series, don't choose one of those)

Preferably this one: https://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-s12g550

EDIT: I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to PSU's, so there are probably many others that are perfectly worthy choices. I just like to know I'm not going to have to replace a PSU for at least 5 or more years, and I enjoy power efficiency.

 

[desktop]

I've heard good things about SeaSonic. I'm assuming that has a 6 pin connector, right?

I built my current PC myself about 6 or 7 years ago. I tried to get components I knew would not be absolute for a while. Back then I had a lot of recommendations for the PSU I have now—and yes, it has been going strong all this time without any issues whatsoever. I'm sure for the time being is could run that Gigabyte card. I figure I'm not really going to upgrade a lot of what I already have until I decide to build a whole new PC again.

 

[RCoon]

I've heard good things about SeaSonic. I'm assuming that has a 6 pin connector, right?

I built my current PC myself about 6 or 7 years ago. I tried to get components I knew would not be absolute for a while. Back then I had a lot of recommendations for the PSU I have now—and yes, it has been going strong all this time without any issues whatsoever. I'm sure for the time being is could run that Gigabyte card. I figure I'm not really going to upgrade a lot of what I already have until I decide to build a whole new PC again.

It has two 6/8pins so it can support much higher end GPU's in the event you went full on ham-mode.

 

[desktop]

Lol...full on ham-mode. Ha! A remark like that I'm surprised you don't have Rocket as your avatar

 

[RCoon]

Lol...full on ham-mode. Ha! A remark like that I'm surprised you don't have Rocket as your avatar

I did before Christmas

 

[krusha03]

https://pcpartpicker.com/parts/power-supply/#W=550,600&e=4,2&m=52,11,57,14,101,71,39&sort=a9

Any of those (Just not the Corsair CX series, don't choose one of those)

Preferably this one: https://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-s12g550

EDIT: I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to PSU's, so there are probably many others that are perfectly worthy choices. I just like to know I'm not going to have to replace a PSU for at least 5 or more years, and I enjoy power efficiency.

While it's always good to have a bit excess to be future proof, in reality his system wont pull more than 350w. Idk what the OP budget is but my corsair CX500M is running my system overclocked no problem. And i see he CX600M is the same price now.

Awesome. So I could run something like this then? I'm assuming that card would be an upgrade to the 9600 GSO I already have.

As i said i don't know what your budget is, but if you are not gonna do any gaming you can even go for something like this and the extra $$ can be invested in PSU or SSD for example. Also filling in your system specs could be really helpful in giving upgrade advises

 

[desktop]

Hi krusha. Thanks for the info (and the link to that card). My full system specs are.....

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

CPU: Intel Quad Q6600 (Go-Stepping/2.4 GHz)

MOBO: Gigabyte P35-DS4 (Rev. 2)

CPU Cooling: Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme

RAM: GSKILL DDR2 PC6400 (8 Gigs)

GPU: ASUS EN9600GSO GeForce 9600 GSO 512MB

HDD: 2 x SeaGate Barracuda SATA (250GB, 320GB)

External HD: AcomData PureDrive 500 GB USB 2.0/eSATA

Optical HD: ASUS DRW-24B1ST SATA

Power: PCP&C Silencer 610

Case: Ultra m998

Monitors: (2) DELL S2340M in dual mode.

Speakers: Logitech Z560

Does any of that help?

 

[krusha03]

Hi krusha. Thanks for the info (and the link to that card). My full system specs are.....

You can fill it in your profile, no need to post it here or every time you have a question According to this you have a good PSU so I don't see the need of changing it. Maybe a better investment would be an SSD. Starting windows in 15 seconds instead of 2 minutes has been the best investment for me

 

[desktop]

You can fill it in your profile, no need to post it here or every time you have a question.

Ok, will do.

According to this you have a good PSU so I don't see the need of changing it. Maybe a better investment would be an SSD. Starting windows in 15 seconds instead of 2 minutes has been the best investment for me

Yikes! That from a SSD drive? Got any recommendations on drives?

 

[rtwjunkie]

Yikes! That from a SSD drive? Got any recommendations on drives?

They are all only minorly different in benchmarks. Real world, I don't think you'll really notice, as they are all noticeably faster than HDD. My advice is get a good rated one as cheap as you can on sale, which many frequently are. Crucial, Samsung are two great brands. I would get 256GB, but 120 is probably the minimum. 256's can frequently be had around $100 on sale.

 

[RCoon]

According to this you have a good PSU

That was in 2008. PC Power & Cooling aren't even registered with plugloadsolutions, as such I'd not recommend any of their PSU's for modern hardware. That review even puts it beside the OCZ PSU's, which are most definitely not cream of the crop.

You buy cheap, you buy twice.

They are all only minorly different in benchmarks. Real world, I don't think you'll really notice, as they are all noticeably faster than HDD. My advice is get a good rated one as cheap as you can on sale, which many frequently are. Crucial, Samsung are two great brands. I would get 256GB, but 120 is probably the minimum. 256's can frequently be had around $100 on sale.

This.
The Crucial MX100 is probably the most recommended consumer drive. Excellent IOPS (ignore sequential read/write figures, it's all a bunch of crap), decent warranty, and excellent GB/$.

 

[ThE_MaD_ShOt]

Make sure when you chose your gpu that the psu you chose is ample for the new gpu.