Upgrading GPU on MD7712 (Akoya P5704D)

[johninstalbans]

Hi

I have the above 2011 very well-specc'ed desktop which is working perfectly. However, I have just upgraded my monitor to a 32" QHD which needs a resolution of 2560 x 1440 - which sadly the GPU in my PC (AMD Radeon HD6750) cannot offer.

So I want to upgrade it with one which can, but I'd like advice on which of the many options I should choose (I am NOT a gamer, but do watch streamed HDTV alongside regular computing activity.

It has been suggested that a Palit NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 2GB card would fit the bill (at around £75), but I'm worried about switching from Radeon to NVIDIA. Also, although HDMI is available, would it be preferable to look for DisplayPort connections (which the monitor supports)? Any views on the suitability of this? One review seems to suggest that it performs LESS well than the one I have (and that 2560 x 1440 is unplayable)!

Thanks for your help.

[Phantom]

Oh that's interesting, that was what I was about to show you. The code snippets marked red were the old and outdated microcode, several revisions behind since Intel updated it quite frequently over the years. So the custom BIOS updates all of them to the latest available ones for this platform, greatly improving compatibility.

[johninstalbans]

@Phantom

Did you get the PM I sent late on Tuesday?

[johninstalbans]

@TPFLegionaire 

Your reading links have kept me busy for hours! There is clearly a known issue with UEFI GPUs and Legacy BIOS - as @Bodgekin has said (just not known to me!).

This really does look like the reason for my problems, although it seems sensible to minimise the power use as well.

So I have a choice:

a) try to find an older legacy GPU that meets my resolution needs and is not power hungry; or

b) take up @Phantom 's kind efforts (below) to customise (and update) my BIOS to enable UEFI GPU's to operate with my Mobo;

it seems that making the change to my BIOS is very simple (from Windows) using the file he has created and uploaded for me.

So b) seems to be the most attractive option - but, having never touched a BIOS in my life - and reading of all the horrors that can occur, I'm nervous (especially, with due respect, as the file is not from an official source).

What do others here (with much more experience than me in such matters) think? Am I being unduly cautious?

I'll carry on biting my nails until I hear your views!

[TPFLegionaire]

Hi @johninstalbans 

Glad you liked the links, we aim to please here! 😉

You are absolutely spot on in your analysis.

I have nothing against a "random"  stranger( @Phantom no offense intended 😉  ) offering a modified BIOS, obviously if you had a machine under warranty , this would invalidate it and I could not possibly recomend it, but with legacy hardware , under no warranty, if you understand and are willing to take the risk of  bricking your machine then have at it.

The alternative would be the possibly long drawn out trial and error with a variety of legacy cards bought from various sellers until you find one that works.

If I were to think out of the box on that one , I would look at a 4K chromecast or equivalent amazon or android TV box to stream your chosen TV programs directly onto your monitor and be done with it. Prices for these (with black friday around the corner and new Google launches ) are going to be very atractive and equivalent to a legacy card.


Out of interest what is the maximum resolution you are achieving on that monitor with your current working card?

[johninstalbans]

Hi @TPFLegionaire 

Clearly no question of warranty risk, but on the other hand I would be severely inconvenienced if I lost the use of my only PC (even for a period) containing many, many years of history - hopefully(!) all backed up daily. Talk of 'bricking the mobo' is what scares me; I presume that is a fatal condition, which (given the age of the system) would effectively write the PC off. I suppose the upside of that would be that a replacement PC wouldn't have such legacy problems and would come with an approrpriate GPU - perhaps a silver lining!!!!! Having said that, it would still be a bad outcome for me.

Any other views out there????

I'm achieving 1920 x 1080 @ 60Hz with my new monitor (the same as on the previous one and the maximum offered by the GPU); however, the larger screen size means that each pixel is larger, leading to a reduction in precision/quality. Perhaps I should emphasise that the TV use is incidental, alongside office/web use, and usually in a relatively small part of the screen so that the resolution is not so critical. My main purpose in getting a larger monitor was to be able to have more windows open and visible concurrently; the higher the resolution, the crisper the presentation so the smaller a document can be legibly displayed - and hence the more windows can be visible.

I have previously taken broadcast TV direct to the monitor; however, when we moved house I found that it was impractical to get an aerial signal to the right place (and the indoor one I tried was useless). I concluded that, with a 200mB internet source, the future lay with streamed TV - especially as the (free) BBC iPlayer service is just so good, and its time-shifting and series downloading functionality makes it a better option anyway. But thanks for thinking out of the box!

[johninstalbans]

@Phantom 

I'm still nail-biting about applying your custom BIOS update.

To add to my confidence, could you help me understand ?

Firstly, just what is it that you do to the BIOS to make the UEFI GPU operable with the legacy card?

Secondly, just what is the effect of doing so?

Thirdly, what could cause its application to have a fatal impact on my mobo?

Presumably the meaning of the photos you sent will become clear from your answers!

Sorry to be such a wimp!

[johninstalbans]

@Phantom 

While waiting for your response, I have another question: would I be able acieve the same result by making a BIOS adjustment directly?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

[johninstalbans]

As a week has gone by since asking @Phantom for more information on his kind proposal, I don't know whether to think he has vanished - or perhaps been on holiday!

While waiting for him to catch up, does anyone else have any thoughts which might help me decide what to do?

My return period on the replacement (UEFI) graphics card is rapidly running out!

[johninstalbans]

Hmmm - I'm beginning to think I shouldn't do this.....

Is there any way of reducing the risk of applying a custom BIOS update? Anywhere I can submit it for independent testing (happy to pay)?????

Luckily the seller of the new GPU is happy to extend my right to return!

Happy to hear all views.

[johninstalbans]

Hi again

I'm still unsure about this - and with the lack of response from @Phantom I will probably NOT take the risk.

So I've been looking at other options and come across a graphics card which has a micro-switch to convert between UEFI and Legacy BIOS connection.

It is MSI NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti and seems to be available used on eBay for £30-£40. It also seems to have the merit of a low power requirement (60w, requiring only 400w PSU), although I'm not quite sure whether it has a 6-pin connection.

I have 2 questions that forum members may be able to answer:

a) does such a hybrid BIOS approach actually work properly for my problem?

b) is there any downside in connecting a PCI-E 3 GPU to a PCI-E 2 motherboard slot?

If there are other candidates (with a low power draw), I'd be grateful to hear about the too.

Many thanks

John