PC Building

[mumofgamer]

My son has an AMD Ryzen 3200G with Radeon Vega 8 Graphics, 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD, and I am looking to upgrade the graphics to an AMD RX 6600-XT, but after having looked at the motherboard am still none the wiser as to if this would actually fit. Does anyone know if this would fit his computer please?
I have been googling how to check and I know that the 6600-XT needs 2.5 slots and I believe there is a spare slot(s) on the motherboard, but not sure if big enough, apparently the 6600-XT is 17.5cm wide and that is longer than the width of the slot on the motherboard, but then it also says it needs an 8 pin connecter! Please help, I am not a PC gamer and I want to make sure I get something worthwhile and I am going down rabbit hole after rabbit hole on the internet!

[CaligoVereor · Accepted solution]

Your PC will use the card that you plug your screen into. Basically, right now if you're using integrated graphics your monitor is plugged into the motherboard. After installing the new GPU you need to plug the monitor cable into the new GPU itself and then when you boot up it will automatically use the GPU you plugged into. Also, it is recommended to completely uninstall old drivers (look up DDU) before changing GPUs and then doing a clean intall of the new ones. I'm not sure how critical it is when going from AMD into different AMD but just in case to avoid issues probably should do that.

When it comes to power supply, there should be a sticker of some sorts on the actual power supply unit that says what max output it has, like in the picture below

It is important that your power supply has enough power for all your hardware. Recommended wattage for a 6600XT system seems to be 450W, so the power supplys max output should be at least that. Depending on what kind of supply you have it might be differently placed but the sticker should be there with the max output info.

[BigAl01]

I think you have plenty of room for the RX 6600 XT GPU.  I needs one 8-pin power connector from your PSU, and every PSU made for the last five years has at least one of those (most have two or more).  What is the wattage of your PSU?  It's likely a low power unit, such as 450 Watts.  Your GPU should work with that minimal specification, but you won't know for sure until you try it.

[CaligoVereor]

You should measure the space in your case, from the back up to the trays where harddrives and stuff are held. Your motherboard looks fine but we can't see the rest of the case, in my experience I had upgraded my rig only to discover the GPU didn't fit inside the case itself so I had to get a bigger one. I'm adding a photo of what I mean.

Other than that, like BigAl said, check your power supply to make sure it has enough wattage. Maybe post a photo of it with cables here, if you're unsure?

[mumofgamer]

Thank you both. I have checked the space and the new card will physically fit. 

With regards to power supply I have learned that the new card is 160W and current PC is 65W, does this mean that current PC can't take it, or does it mean that it would just be 125W output total and if so does this seem reasonable?

Assuming that the power issue is not an issue, when it comes to actually installing it, how do I connect it so that that PC stops using the Vega 8 which is integrated in the motherboard? Is it just a case of disabling the Vega 8 somehow and then slotting in the new card?

[CaligoVereor · Accepted solution]

Your PC will use the card that you plug your screen into. Basically, right now if you're using integrated graphics your monitor is plugged into the motherboard. After installing the new GPU you need to plug the monitor cable into the new GPU itself and then when you boot up it will automatically use the GPU you plugged into. Also, it is recommended to completely uninstall old drivers (look up DDU) before changing GPUs and then doing a clean intall of the new ones. I'm not sure how critical it is when going from AMD into different AMD but just in case to avoid issues probably should do that.

When it comes to power supply, there should be a sticker of some sorts on the actual power supply unit that says what max output it has, like in the picture below

It is important that your power supply has enough power for all your hardware. Recommended wattage for a 6600XT system seems to be 450W, so the power supplys max output should be at least that. Depending on what kind of supply you have it might be differently placed but the sticker should be there with the max output info.

[BigAl01 · Accepted solution]

I would disable the integrated graphics that you have been using in the BIOS of the motherboard, once you are up and running on the new video card (GPU).  That will save power as you don't need the integrated graphics running anymore once you are on the GPU.  Also, I would not uninstall the current Adrenalin driver until you have swapped over and see how it performs.  Then you might just update the Adrenalin drivers (maybe after you disable the integrated graphics in the BIOS).  You could go the route that @CaligoVereor suggests (using DDU), but I don't think that is necessary with a system that is performing well.

[mumofgamer]

Thank you both, you have been so helpful! 😊

[BigAl01]

Let us know how it works out.