LGA775: Compatibility with New GPU's?

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cptmold

cptmold

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I've got an LGA775 MoBo, and I'm sick of integrated graphics... but I'm not quite at the point where I can get a new rig set up without dealing with more integrated graphics. My plans are to get an enthusiast-grade GPU now for my Pentium dual-core processor, and move over the new PSU/GPU when I've got an octo-core FX build later on.

Will using a Sapphire R9 280 on an LGA 775 motherboard present any risks of damage to the MoBo? It has a PCI-E 16x slot, but I don't know if it's 3.0 or 2.0. This is a socket from around 2007, so I'm not sure how a newer card will be handled, and after hearing the horror stories of how Pentium D processors actually fried some motherboards, I had to double-check before doing it.
 
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cptmold

cptmold

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Thanks for the quick response! I had a feeling that it would only be the crazy ultra-CPU's that could possibly cause damage to outdated motherboards, but I just wanted to be sure before modding a functioning (but painfully slow) computer.

I've already de-dusted this thing, and I'm planning to put in the card some time in June. #battlefronthype
 
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W

weilin

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Your board is probably PCIe 1.1. I wouldn't get anything more than a mid-range card for anything on a LGA 775 platform. The CPU is very old now and will probably bottleneck any video card that's any faster. A side benefit is that you may not need to upgrade your power supply if you go mid-range.

Alternatively, you can buy a top of the line video card and then upgrade the rest of the computer down the road and unlock the rest of the performance. If you go this route check your power supply, it may not support such a high power card. This is especially true if you have a OEM (Dell, HP etc) computer.
 
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cptmold

cptmold

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I understand that I'll be seriously bottlenecked, but it's not much of a problem since I'm not going above 1366x768 (1280x720, if I really have to). I'm also swapping out the PSU... as crappy as this Lenovo computer may be, I'll give them credit for upgradability.

My plan is to use it for now, and save up to build a new rig with an FX 8320-E... I'll pull out the GPU/PSU for the new build, then get a decent 300w PSU for this Lenovo computer. After that, I'll throw in a wireless adapter and have it as a work computer. It'll still have 6GB RAM and a 64-bit OS by the end of my upgrade, so there'll definitely be a noticeable improvement.
 
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iam2thecrowe

iam2thecrowe

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there was an issue with certain 775 boards and amd gpu's, notably the 5xxx and 6xxx series. It was an incompatability between the BIOS and the card, causing blank display on boot. I had a nvidia 650i chipset board that had the issue, got my new hd 6850 at the time, and got a blank screen. Many boards got a BIOS fix for it, i was lucky enough that there was a bios available which fixed my problem. Unfortunately there is no longer new BIOS support for any of those boards so if it doesnt work, then your gonna need to update the motherboard and everything. If i was in your shoes, id just go an intel i3 or amd 7850 or similar, which is still going to be vastly better than your current integrated gpu, till you can afford something better.
 
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boju

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I read a lot of the pcie 1.1 boards needed bios updates for majority of pcie 3 gpus to work, not sure if older chipsets with pcie 2 had the same problem im not sure.

If the op did have an LGA775 board with maybe P45/Q45 or any other listed as having pcie2, would have more of a chance.
 
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cptmold

cptmold

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My motherboard has a PCI-E 2.0, Q45 Integrated graphics. I'll make sure to check for it, though, thanks for the heads-up.

@ iam2thecrowe: I'd prefer not to use Intel HD. I know it's miles ahead of this, but it's still not great for modern games and I'd rather have a great 720p machine for now and build a new setup with the same card later.

 
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iam2thecrowe

iam2thecrowe

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well an amd a10 7850 will have good 720p performance. I guess, it depends, if you have a qua core 775 chip or dual core. If its a dual core, i would go with an a10/a8 upgrade, which gets you a much better cpu, and enough gpu horsepower for 720p. If you have a core 2 quad, then just a gpu upgrade would probably do you for a little while.
 
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cptmold

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My goal is to run 720p60 on high settings, whereas the benchmarks I've seen for AMD A10 reach that framerate only for low settings. Besides, it's cheaper in the long run to keep the GPU and CPU separate, as I won't have to waste money on an integrated R7 250 I'd rather not use. I'll just get an FX 8320-E for this card in a build later this year, simple as that. I know it's not the best I can get, but I've looked up benchmarks for this processor and I'm satisfied with its performance results.
 
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iam2thecrowe

iam2thecrowe

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by the end of this year hopefully you will have acess to something a lot less outdated than that old fx chip.
 
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cptmold

cptmold

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I know that FX 8320 is old, but it can get close to the lower i5's in gaming performance if you overclock it a bit and it's perfect for my purposes (server-hosting and recording/livestreaming). If I go Intel, it'll be an all-out upgrade... I'm not getting another dual-core budget computer ever again.
 
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