Radeon HD6750 on my Dell 0G254H mobo?

[abhartman]

Hi all,

This is my first post on the Tom's Hardware forums, so I hope I manage to ask my question well.

I've got a moderately old Dell (3-4 years I think) with a 0G254H motherboard. Dell's site says there's a PCI-e 2.0 slot, which is where my current ATI Radeon HD 3600 video card is installed. I just started playing Skyrim and wanted to upgrade the video experience.

Can I put this Radeon HD 6750 card in that slot, even though the card itself is for PCI-e 2.1? I've seen somewhere that a BIOS update might be needed to get PCIe 2.1 cards to work in 2.0 slots, but my BIOS is at A00. Any advice is appreciated!

HIS H675F1GD Radeon HD 6750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=14-161-379)

-Adam

 

[the great randini]

you can but beware... check the power requirements for the card. the first choice on new egg is a powercooler with a 450 watt requirement also it does not come with a 4 to pin adapter like most of the more expesive version do.
so if you have the standard power supply that came with a dell you may need an upgrade.

 

[abhartman]

you can but beware... check the power requirements for the card. the first choice on new egg is a powercooler with a 450 watt requirement also it does not come with a 4 to pin adapter like most of the more expesive version do.
so if you have the standard power supply that came with a dell you may need an upgrade.

I've seen some places that say that the PSU in my Dell is underrated and can handle the power requirements of the card, but I wasn't fully convinced. Is it likely the Dell specs on their site will actually tell me the PSU capacity? Also, I didn't quite parse your comment about a "4 to pin adapter" I'm guessing you mean the card is powered from the PSU and not the slot, and it needs an adapter to connect?

I found a similar spec'd card here, that has a much lower power requirement. Since I'm never gonna be a top tier rig with the older mobo, will I notice any differences in the slower speed of this card and fewer streams?


ASUS EAH6670/DIS/1GD5 Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=14-121-442)

-Adam

 

[the great randini]

if your not sure of the power supply, open the case (pull the lever toward the back on top and the side will pop off) and look at the side it it will be on the label third line down from the top it should be part number hn493 305 watt
a molex or 4 pin connector is a legacy power connector you will not need one for that asus card some reivews have this card running on 300 watt power supplys you should be ok

 

[abhartman]

if your not sure of the power supply, open the case (pull the lever toward the back on top and the side will pop off) and look at the side it it will be on the label third line down from the top it should be part number hn493 305 watt
a molex or 4 pin connector is a legacy power connector you will not need one for that asus card some reivews have this card running on 300 watt power supplys you should be ok

Thanks for the followup. One last point. Is it worth trying for the 6750 over the 6670? Am I going to be bottlenecked with the 2.0 slot to the point where the differences between the 2 cards won't be noticeable?

 

[abhartman]

Best answer selected by abhartman.