I have an ASUS Essentio Series Desktop PC: Model M11BB Series
With an AMD A10-6700 APU with Radeon™ HD Graphics 3.70GHz Processor.
I would like to install a discrete graphics card, and was warned I would need to find one compatible with this setup. So what graphics card should I use.
I have Google searched and can’t really find any info on what cards will work, or what will happen if I get it wrong.
Any knowledgeable persons out there willing to point me in the right direction?
Start here. Depends on what you want it for, like gaming.
GPUs aren’t like CPUs. They’re pretty universal. PCI-E is the standard slot and has been for almost a decade. You don’t say exactly what model GPU but it looks like the Radeons are either 7470, 7660, or 8350. Here’s the hierarchy chart. Higher ones are better; same level means roughly equivalent, but the ranking is relative.
You’ll also want to go into your BIOS (usually pres DEL while starting up, but some manufacturers use a different key. Turn off the option that says something like “Use onboard video.” Do this after you have the new one of course, or you’ll have no video!
Looking at the spec page, it appears that the system meets all the basic requirements for a low to mid range card. In fact, they provide this list of cards that the system might be bundled with:
NVIDIA® GeForce GT620 1GB/2GB
NVIDIA® GeForce GT630 2GB
NVIDIA® GeForce G505 1GB
NVIDIA® GeForce GT640 3GB
AMD® Radeon HD7470 1GB
AMD® Radeon HD7660D 2GB
AMD® Radeon HD8350 1GB
However, you are my no means limited to this list. Mainly you are limited by the power supply, which is on the small side at 300 (or 350?) watts.
I am biased, but I would recommend the NVIDIA GTX 750 Ti. It’s a great card that only uses 60 watts. I don’t think there’s a faster card out there for the same power budget. I would try to stick to under 100 watts unless you plan on upgrading your PSU.
Thank you, Dr. Strangelove! That link looks like it is what I was looking for, and I actually have a Nvidia 620, I think, Have to check. I was told by the sales person, that the graphics chip-set and APU (not CPU) were specifically programmed to work together and putting the wrong card in would result in sub optimal performance. This PC works really well with online games and does keep up on high performance with some older games, others still make it wheeze a little and I would like to buff it up a little to allow playing a few games that don’t like the setup as is.
Thanks I will look into this some more.
The sales person was incorrect. As thelurkinghorror said, GPUs are pretty generic and PCI-e is a standard. Power is really the main concern here.
However, check out yoyodyne’s link, where they pair the GTX 750 Ti I suggested with your exact system. It works fine and is a stellar improvement. Look at this, for instance. Over 10x improvement in minimum FPS!
That said, if you have a free 620 hanging around, it will work fine and still be an upgrade over what you have.
I have the pc that this one replaced. It had an upgraded psu and graphics card. unfortunately the MB is dead. If the salesman hadn’t given me a line of bull, I probably would have put the spare parts in it at the beginning. As it is, on some games the ASUS is at least as good as the predecessor. Is just a couple of games that don’t seem to like or understand the way this one works.
Thanks all for your help. I haven’t found the 620 yet, but I did find a 400 series that I might try. It worked for those games before. At least it will be a good test. I will probably change out the psu at the same time… just have to find the durn thing. Take your bets, will I find the Gpu I was looking for or the Psu I know I have somewhere first?
(Off to the attic to find the box marked “Parts”)
(and it is a 620… Just found the box, so It might be in a pc case upstairs.)
Seconding the 750 Ti. Great card for the money, and uses very little power (meaning no PSU upgrade needed). If you need more power, the GTX 970/980 is now available using the same power-efficient architecture as the 750 Ti, effectively obsolescing the previous 7xx series.
The salesman didn’t know what he was talking about. NEVER trust a tech salesman, especially if they work retail at a place like Best Buy. APUs are just ATI/AMD’s term for their integrated graphics solutions. AMD bought ATI so that both could compete better against Intel + nVidia, and the integrated graphics was developed as a product of that buyout. But you can still plug a separate 3D card (even if it’s nVidia) into one of those machines and use it instead.
As a note, the salesperson was (badly) trying to describe Hybrid CrossFire, which is when the add-in GPU can share work with the onboard GPU. It is AMD’s equivalent of NVidia SLI.
The performance of this setup can be greater than the lower-end card on its own but a good mid to high tier GPU will easily surpass it.
Well, I put in my GT 430, it detected and downloaded the drivers without any assist. also have my Thermaltake 450 watt and added a little exhaust fan in the back. Much quieter and not so many freeze ups. Now to test on some games that just weren’t working without a gpu. ((I have a sneaking suspicion that my GT 620 is in the wife’s pc ))
I’ll third the 750 Ti - you’ll find it like lightning compared to the 430. But if you’ve upgraded the PSU to the Thermaltake 450W, go for the 970 or 980 and get your socks blown off.