PC Processors

[curtandres]

I have an older Gateway FX 6860 with a Radeon HD 5750 GPU (8 GB RAM, and i7 processor, running windows 10 and Ubuntu).  I know this is a pretty old computer, but it still work quite well.  I have started doing video editing with it and I am thinking of upgrading the GPU, but being that it is an older unit, I am not sure of the compatibility of the newer GPUs.  Does anyone have any suggestions?

[black_zion]

Open the case and post a picture of the label on the side of the PSU, which will look similar to the example below, so we can give you an informed recommendation.

[curtandres]

[black_zion]

That's what I figured, garbage 450w PSU badged as a 500w...Honestly I'd recommend replacing that with a quality 750w unit if you want to do any meaningful GPU upgrade, as given its age and split 12v rails, and the fact it probably can't even do what it says it is rated for given the manufacturer as well, I don't trust it to be able to put out the 180w an RX 580 would demand.

[curtandres]

A PSU upgrade is definitely something I would be willing to spend on.  So if were to upgrade my PSU to 750W you would recommend an RX 580?

[black_zion]

That depends. I'd ask on the forums of the video editing software you are using to see if it would benefit from HBM2, in which case I'd recommend a Vega 64 card, or if it would benefit from Navi improvements, in which case I'd recommend a Radeon RX 5000 series card, but if it wouldn't significantly benefit from either, then I'd recommend the RX 580. One thing's for sure though, a more powerful card will do the final encoding, both H.264 and H.265, much faster in Handbrake.

[curtandres]

Thanks! that is helpful.  I think I am going to go with the 580.  I will have to look into Handbrake.  I have heard a little about it, but have no experience with it.

[black_zion]

Vidcoder is a popular frontend for Handbrake that is more user friendly, and can use Handbrake's hardware accelerated encoding (labeled as AMDEnc and NVEnc for AMD and nVidia cards, respectively). Converting from DVD files to H.264 MKV, no upscaling, goes quite quick, though don't expect this speed without at least an RX 5700XT.