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mackyman
Adept I

upgrading from a ati redeon hd 4600 series video card

I have a older computer that has a AMD phenom(tm) II X6 1090T Processor (6 CPUs), ~3.2GHz with a ECS-A790GXM-AD3 motherboard and a Antec 500 watt power supply that is 9 years old but very reliable. My son has been doing basic video editing on it but I need to upgrade the ati radeon HD 4600 Series video card. Can anyone please recommend a better card that will work with this computer but yet is resonably priced since this computer is somewhat old. Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

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Since you have a 500 watt PSU, you can check this website to see what GPU cards you can install with a minimum PSU wattage of 500 for your computer system: PSU REQUIREMENTS - RealHardTechX 

Once you pick a GPU card you can research it. The RX 4xx or 5xx series GPU are nice card and fairly new and still supported with AMD Driver updates.

Also depends on how you want to connect your Monitor. (VGA, HDMI, DP, DVI-D). Most newer GPU card doesn't have VGA port on them anymore since it is considered to be legacy in case you have a VGA Monitor.

Some of the GPU cards needs to have a PSU cable to connect to the GPU card Power Connector. Those are the numbers that are circled on the right side columns.  Either a 6 Pin or 8 pin Power Connector. If you purchase a GPU card with a Power Connector and your PSU doesn't have the appropriate cable then you would need to order a adapter connector if the GPU card doesn't come with a cable already included.

Plus your Motherboard Spec indicates it has two PCIe x 16 (version 2) Slots: ECS > A790GXM-AD3 (V1.0/V1.0A) 

Thank You so much for your advice. My Samsung 27 inch monitor does have HDMI and DVI inputs. If possible I would prefer not to buy a GPU that needs a Power Connector. On Newegg.com I can get a MSI Radeon RX 560 for $150.00 or a Gigabyte Radeon RX 550 for $100.00. To be honest I don't what I should be looking for in a GPU. I know the inputs and memory are important but other then that it's really confusing. There are just to many. But at least with that chart I'm able to find one that works with my Power supply. Do you have any suggestions on those 2 GPU'S?

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I made a noobie mistake and I apologize. I wasn't aware that newer AMD GPU cards requires the new version of BIOS to work (UEFI) on your motherboard. The Motherboard you have doesn't use UEFI but rather the old previous type of regular BIOS.

According to black_zion‌ the RX 5xx won't work in your computer because it doesn't have the correct type of BIOS style (UEFI).  Plus your Antec may not be giving out 500 watts of power anymore due to it age and quality.

Before you spend any money on a new RX 5xx GPU or any new GPU, I would strongly suggest you open an Online AMD SERVICE REQUEST and see if your  NON-UEFI BIOS Motherboard will work with the RX 5xx AMD GPU Cards from here: https://www.amd.com/en/support/contact-email-form  or open a EMS Support ticket and ask them also to verify BEFORE BUYING any GPU card.

Again I apologize for the wrong info due to I wasn't aware of the UEFI factor.

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This REDDIT Forum thread verifies black_zion‌ about, at least the RX 560 GPU not working on a Non-UEFI Motherboard BIOS: MSI AERO ITX RX 560 4GB doesn't work with older motherboard : EtherMining 

Yet this ANATECH thread some Users says it does work and some says it doesn't depending on the RX type:GPUs with Legacy BIOS support? How do you know? | AnandTech Forums: Technology, Hardware, Software, ... 

I would definitely ask AMD Support by opening a AMD SERVICE REQUEST from my previous reply.

I would advise against upgrading that computer's GPU for the following reasons:

  • That motherboard does not feature a UEFI BIOS, and all currently manufactured AMD cards require that feature.
  • That PSU is 9 years old. A good rule of thumb is that a PSU loses 2% maximum rated power cumulatively per year due to capacitor aging, which means it is likely capable of 415-420w of power ASSUMING that PSU was able to provide all power at +12v. The HD 4600 series is rated for 50-60w depending on the model, and aside from the anemically slow RX 550 which is rated for 50w, any new card will pull much higher power, up to 185w or more for the RX 580. 

Good point on the PSU but the OP did mention he had a very reliable PSU which I assume it is a High Quality PSU. I have a 8-9 y/o Corsair 850 watt PSU with a fully loaded motherboard and 125 TDP Processor and a GTX 1070 and is still provides power within tolerances under heavy loads.

I didn't realize that AMD GPU cards requires UEFI BIOS to work. What happens if someone installs a AMD GPU Card in a Non-UEFI BIOS? The GPU card won't be recognized by the older BIOS?

Does Nvidia GPUs have the same restrictions with UEFI BIOS also?

Either way, then the OP would need to basically purchase a new computer with a more powerful PSU to install a modern GPU card.

Thanks for bringing up those two important points especially the UEFI BIOS part. 

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Hate these blasted forums, just lost my whole reply...Anyway, Antec, especially of that era, used a mix of quality and garbage OEMs for their PSUs, and I wouldn't trust it to not be just a Rocketfish with a different sticker. Corsairs are all quality units, mostly SeaSonic, and no reason to worry there. Corsairs are also built to supply almost all or all of their power at 12v, Antec units aren't.

As for the UEFI issue, it will just not boot, think there's a few threads on that here.

And yes, the OP should upgrade his entire system. Not only is the Ryzen 2400g much faster than the 1090T, the iGPU is -much- faster than the Radeon 4600 series, 4x faster. Yes it's more expensive, but doing a processor intensive task like video editing, you need a fast CPU.

All that just to upgrade a GPU Card!  I sent a DX-DIAG of my computer to Cyberlink Power Director and they replied that all I need to do is upgrade my GPU for maximum efficiency. I did not know that AMD GPU'S needed a UFEI BIOS. I just wanted to give this computer to my son. As for myself I was thinking of a IMAC. 

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I was looking at RX560 and 570 GPU Cards at Amazon.com and I didn't see anything on the actual boxes indicating that it is a UEFI Only GPU card.

Went to MSI.com to see their MSI RX570 4 gb GPU card. Doesn't say anything about which BIOS is needed. According to the Setup PDF from the MSI GPU Card here is what it says about System Requirements:

My best suggestion is before you purchase a GPU Card contact the GPU's Manufacturer Support and open a ticket with them and asked them if the GPU card is compatible with a Legacy or Non-UEFI BIOS Motherboard with 2 PCIex16 slots.

Tell you the truth I don't know what is going on with UEFI and AMD GPU Cards. Some threads says it isn't compatible while others says it is. Best to ask the GPU Card manufacturer Support and see if it will work on your old motherboard also AMD Support via the link I posted in my previous reply.

I am glad that black_zion‌ brought that one important detail up. Something I hadn't considered nor was aware of. If you get any answer from a GPU Manufacturer's Support or AMD Support will you let me know what they say to hopefully clear up this issue.

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The way around is is to go with a used, older card that is known to be legacy compatible, which is anything through the R300/Fury series.

I was thinking of the same thing.

I guess it is the best way to eliminate the possibility of finding out your new AMD GPU card doesn't boot up or not. I imagine the GPU's manufacturer should be able to tell if their GPU card is Legacy BIOS compatible or not.

Plus you have to think about it, a R9 290X, which is basically the same speed as an RX 570, is selling for around $85 on eBay, which is about half the price of an RX 570. Doesn't support all the new features of the RX 500 series, but if you don't need them, it's a large savings.

R9 Fury X, Fury and R9 Nanos are great GPU and do not need to have a UEFI bios installed.
They were released initially without a UEFI BIOS, although you can flash a UEFI BIOS onto the card.
They all have a dual BIOS switch as far as I know.

You can get good examples second hand for about 100-200.

The R9 Nano only needs one 8 pin power supply connector and is the one I would choose in your case. 
They perform >= RX580.

4GB of HBM is not a problem for the vast majority of games, and you can use them for 2K gaming.
4K gaming in DX11 Crossfire / DX12 MultiGPU is ok provided the game supports it but if I were you I would forget about DX11 Crossfire since AMD have dropped supporting it.

If you so decide to purchase one make sure you ask the seller to run GPUz with the BIOS switch in both positions at boot and report if the installed BIOS is UEFI or not so you can avoid having to find non UEFI BIOS and flash it.