GPU Upgrade

[eliforp]

Good Day to you all!
I'm contacting this forum because my desktop GPU has apparently given up the ghost and before replacing it, I am wondering if I can consider an upgrade?
To note I currently have a Sapphire HD5450 1go in a pci slot.
According to Techpowerup, a more recent successor could be the AMD Radeon HD 6770 Green Edition.
Can anyone kindly tell me if this would be an appropriate replacement on my system: wether my machine will be capable of handling it, or am I barking up the wrong tree and would do better to replace my gpu with the same again?

Many thanks for your answers

 

[Vya Domus]

That's a really old GPU, what are the other specs of the system.

 

[P4-630]

PCI... uhm..

It's all PCIexpress for a long time now..

Good luck with finding a good working used GPU of that age...

 

[eliforp]

Thank you for your replies: I can see that you are laughing at my "aged" system!
Other specs are:
Gigabyte GA-H61M-USB3-B3 motherboard
Intel core i7 - 2700 - 3.6 Ghz processor with Kingston memories and Western Digital 1000Go 64Mo SATA II - Caviar Green hard disk;
under Windows 7.
Don't forget: I am in europe!
( there are still second-hand guaranteed replacements available here online)
I hope to run this system a little while longer until I can afford to "start again"

 

[pavle]

That green edition HD 6770 is a renamed HD 5750; you can look for a HD 5770, but these all are PCI-express and with additional power connector, that your PSU has to have.

Edit: if your system is good for your needs, it doesn't matter how old it is as long as it works.

 

[P4-630]

Gigabyte GA-H61M-USB3-B3 motherboard

Ok at least your motherboard has PCI Express.

 

[AnotherReader]

Thank you for your replies: I can see that you are laughing at my "aged" system!
Other specs are:
Gigabyte GA-H61M-USB3-B3 motherboard
Intel core i7 - 2700 - 3.6 Ghz processor with Kingston memories and Western Digital 1000Go 64Mo SATA II - Caviar Green hard disk;
under Windows 7.
Don't forget: I am in europe!
( there are still second-hand guaranteed replacements available here online)
I hope to run this system a little while longer until I can afford to "start again"

I don't believe anyone is laughing at your system. Even twelve years later, the 2700k is a fairly capable CPU. In order to help you, we would also need to know other information about your system such as:
1. Its power supply (name and age): the 5450 had a really low TDP and we need to be sure that your PSU can power more capable GPUs
2. Case with description of cooling (number of fans, glass side panel or closed etc.); this can help us determine if a blower might be best suited for your use case
3. DRAM speed and size as well as number of DIMMs

In addition, you should also let us know what you intend to use the GPU for.

 

[Keullo-e]

Depends of your usage mostly. I'd put something like a RX 580 for a stock 2700K (as your mobo doesn't support overclocking) at maximum.

 

[Dahita]

What's your budget? You power supply? And do you do any kind of gaming?

 

[QuietBob]

The HD5450 is an entry level GPU from 2010. Pretty much anything will be a huge upgrade over it. The i7-2700K, on the other hand, is still a decently capable CPU that can even power you through some recent games.

As has been said, we need to know your exact power supply model and the kind of games that you play to make sensible recommendations.

Also, what revision is your motherboard?

 

[Ware]

I currently have a Sapphire HD5450

It sounds like you're not playing games and you just need a working GPU.
You can put in something a bit newer/better, but you might be limited by space or an inadequate PSU.
You could also remove the GPU, and revert to onboard graphics.
You may need to reinstall drivers if you change the hardware.

Good luck with finding a good working used GPU of that age...

That's very true here. These low end GPU's are worthless and got recycled.
I come across a lot of old machines with cards like HD5430, or GT530.
The cards had often become unreliable, or they had dead or noisy little fans.
They were usually the first thing to die in these systems, and most of these windows 7 era PC's are long past retired.

 

[eliforp]

Again thank you for your replies.
Some additional info and enclose pics of Mobo, power supply and current GPU.
Power supply is ADVANCE ATX-5000, 480W output max, fan-cooled. Mobo revision is REV 1.0
Metal case with 1 fan on mobo and vents in side panels.
Memory is (I think, see pic), two x 8 Go DDR3 PC10600 @ 1333MHz.
Am currently using onboard graphics which are lamentable!

My usage is:
Microsoft Flight simulator : 2020 version
Video editing and Photoshop work

If I go for a HD 5770 I don't see additional power connectors on the psu and are not using any with the HD5450, only the pci slot...
With thanks

 

[AnotherReader]

Thanks for sharing this information; we still don't know how many fans your case has,. However, there's a problem; your power supply is only capable of supplying 240 W on the 12 V rail which severely limits your choices. A GTX 1050 or the RX 6400 is about as high as you can go. To be safe, I wouldn't go higher than a GT 1030.

 

[oldwalltree]

Just on PCIE slot power your are limited to 75 watts, so i'd go with a gtx 1650. It's a newer(ish) card & only has a 75 watt TDP.

 

[AnotherReader]

Just on PCIE slot power your are limited to 75 watts, so i'd go with a gtx 1650. It's a newer(ish) card & only has a 75 watt TDP.

I wouldn't trust that PSU to power a 1650.

 

[QuietBob]

Power supply is ADVANCE ATX-5000, 480W output max, fan-cooled

Unfortunately, this is a very low quality unit living on borrowed time. If it originally came with the rig, it's likely pushing twelve years old. Also, it doesn't have any PCIe connectors to provide additional power for the GPU. If there were just one thing to upgrade in your system, it'd have to be the power supply.

EDIT:
Actually, scratch that. You're sitting on a ticking time bomb. From the review @AnotherReader posted

Even before connecting the power supply, mistrust is already evident just by reading the label. Announced at "480 Watts Max", the block only delivers 20A on the +12V rail, or 240 Watts. Since 70% of a PC's current is consumed on this rail, it is therefore more of a 300 Watt power supply than 480. To arrive at this figure, Advance indicates completely fanciful values of 35A on the + 5V and 30A on +3.3V, which not only does not comply with the ATX standard, but is also absolutely unsustainable by the power supply wires and connectors.

So let's start testing with a 20% load. First surprise, the PF is measured at 0.62 and the efficiency barely exceeds 70%. The block was however purchased in France and contains the CE logo: it must therefore contain power factor correction electronics. In our case, it seems to be a passive and completely ineffective version. But we'll see that later. Charge at 50%. Same observation. Let's go to 100%. Problem: given the specifications of the power supply, we must limit ourselves to 325 Watts to respect the various limitations on the rails.

Everything loaded, while it took time to read some datasheets, a loud explosion sounded, causing the multiple circuit breakers in the lab to be tripped. Boom, cauliflower food. Either. A faulty power supply is always possible. Fortunately, we have 3 power supplies of the same type. A second therefore joins the test bench. After a few minutes, multiple detonations, a very strong smell of burning and a heart attack narrowly avoided for the humble tester armed with his fire extinguisher.

Metal case with 1 fan on mobo and vents in side panels.

Make sure to install at least one fan exhausting hot air from the case at the back.

Memory is (I think, see pic), two x 8 Go DDR3 PC10600 @ 1333MHz.

All good. If the specs are correct this is the maximum amount your motherboard can take. From the photo it's clear now that it's the GA-H61M-D2H-USB3-B3.

Am currently using onboard graphics which are lamentable!

Actually, the HD Graphics 3000 IGP is more powerful than the HD5450 in every way, except for API support. The HD5450 is the slowest dedicated GPU to support DX11, but that is irrelevant given how weak the card is.

Microsoft Flight simulator : 2020 version

Don't you mean the 2002 version? 2020 requires Win10 and 2 GB of video memory. I'd be surprised if it even launched on your current config. Any GPU upgrade will require a better power supply.

Video editing and Photoshop work

Again, any meaningful GPU upgrade will require you to replace the PSU first.

 

[Zach_01]

Again thank you for your replies.
Some additional info and enclose pics of Mobo, power supply and current GPU.
Power supply is ADVANCE ATX-5000, 480W output max, fan-cooled. Mobo revision is REV 1.0
Metal case with 1 fan on mobo and vents in side panels.
Memory is (I think, see pic), two x 8 Go DDR3 PC10600 @ 1333MHz.
Am currently using onboard graphics which are lamentable!

My usage is:
Microsoft Flight simulator : 2020 version
Video editing and Photoshop work

If I go for a HD 5770 I don't see additional power connectors on the psu and are not using any with the HD5450, only the pci slot...
With thanks

View attachment 333896View attachment 333897View attachment 333898

Well you need a GPU below the 75W limit of the PCI-E slot. Your current GPU is 20W one.
Maybe you can tell us what options are available in your local market.
I’m in EU too and here, (Greece) are a few options with 50-70€

 

[Marcus L]

GTX 1030 would be much better than 5770, those cards are ancient, heck the 1030 is too but still not as bad, maybe a 1050 with no pcie?

 

[Zach_01]

GTX 1030 would be much better than 5770, those cards are ancient, heck the 1030 is too but still not as bad, maybe a 1050 with no pcie?

You mean GT1030?
This is a 30W gpu and x6 faster than HD5450

GTX1050 is a 75W gpu

 

[AusWolf]

Do you have any budget for a full system upgrade? Or maybe in the not so distant future?

If the answer is no and no, then I do agree with the others that the GT 1030 would be best.

 

[Zach_01]

Do you have any budget for a full system upgrade? Or maybe in the not so distant future?

If the answer is no and no, then I do agree with the others that the GT 1030 would be best.

Yeah that gpu would be good to make the PC going again without much change, until full system replacement is possible.

 

[eliforp]

Thank you again for all your replies.
I'm sorry I didn't say there is only one fan you can see on the mobo and one cooling the power supply; that's it!
Looks as if the GT 1030 is the best I can hope to fit; I have no budget at the moment for more than a gpu replacement; power supply at the most....

 

[P4-630]

Thank you again for all your replies.
I'm sorry I didn't say there is only one fan you can see on the mobo and one cooling the power supply; that's it!
Looks as if the GT 1030 is the best I can hope to fit; I have no budget at the moment for more than a gpu replacement; power supply at the most....

From what country are you buying?

Zoekresultaten gt 1030 - Pricewatch - Tweakers

tweakers.net

 

[DaemonForce]

Is that an H61 board? Isn't that the same era as the 790GX chipset in my AM3 board?

You have integrated graphics options to hold you over until you can make a replacement decision, so that much is good.
If you're restricted to single slot and 75W, GT 1030 is pretty much it, unless you're looking for a compute card like a Tesla.

Either way, that HD5450 is about the same era as my antique HD6570 and the only good thing about it is feature level, which isn't a good thing in this era. It's about as effective as a door stop.

I want to say look for something modern but there's a serious problem finding anything full size or otherwise that only powers on from the PCI-E bus. Good luck with that.

 

[Zach_01]

Thank you again for all your replies.
I'm sorry I didn't say there is only one fan you can see on the mobo and one cooling the power supply; that's it!
Looks as if the GT 1030 is the best I can hope to fit; I have no budget at the moment for more than a gpu replacement; power supply at the most....

If you can find a GT1030 you dont have to change anything else. The PSU will support it, as its only 10W more from your last one.
Only thing you have to do is to uninstall and clean GPU drivers and install the ones for the new one.

Your CPU does have integrated graphics and your board has HDMI output. If your monitor accepts only DVI you can find the proper adapter (HDMI/DVI) to connect and have picture before you install any other GPU to clean drivers.