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If a PC comes with a on board graphics card, can a PCI graphics card be added.

taftdavidhaynestaftdavidhaynes Posts: 37
in New Users

I am thinking about buying a Dell optiplex 960 desk top PC with /core 2 duo [email protected] GHZ 3GB DDR2 & 500GB HDD.  It has a nVidia Quadro nvs 420 graphics video card.  It says the graphics is integrated on board graphics.  Can I add a PCI nVidia graphics card to this type of computer?

Comments

  • taftdavidhaynestaftdavidhaynes Posts: 37

    More information the motherboard has a PCIe x 16 connector slot one.  PCI connector slot 2, and a PCIe x 1 connector slot 4

    hope that helps

     

    Thanks 

    Dave

  • RuriRuri Posts: 50

    Hi,

    I got some spare pc from around the same generation ( q6600), yes you can use up to the latest GPU (no guarantee, but I got it working with a gtx970). But there is no way a core2 or chipset from that era can use the full potential of current GPU.

    I cannot comment on 3dl renders, but if you're planning on Iray, I would consider a full upgrade to see any benefit.

  • prixatprixat Posts: 1,590

    I don't think the Quadro 420 was ever integrated. The Quadro 210 was the only one that had an integrated version.

    They are probably refering to the Intel graphics being on board. The Quadro is probably in that x16 slot so you could easily take it out, but...

    The only reason anyone used a Quadro 420 NVS is because it's a low profile card that fits in slimline cases! Double check the case size or you won't be able to fit a standard height card in there. 

  • SixDsSixDs Posts: 2,384

    The Quadro 420 NVS and other similar cards were commonly used in OEM machines for the business market where large numbers of identical machines would be purchased and rolled out in corporate offices. It is unfortunate that Nvidia markets these cards under the Quadro branding, since they are not really workstation-class cards in the same way that the flagship Quadro cards are. For 2D graphics the 420's and similar are quite adequate, and that would end up being the primary use of the cards and the machines they were used in in an office environment. Basic graphic functionality is their purpose. Anything is possible, but I would guess that that Optiplex does not have onboard graphics, otherwise it would be unlikely for it to come with an addin card, as cost is a major consideration for buying and deploying large numbers of such machines. In the core 2 duo era the CPU's did not have integrated graphics as they do today, so integrated graphics then would have meant that the motherboard had a graphics chip integrated, thus raising the cost unnecessarily if an addin card was to be used anyway. Similarly, the NVS line of cards were often low-profile to allow a single mass-produced design to be used in a range of desktop form factors commonly made for the corporate market, in order to minimize costs.

    As prixat has said, the Optiplex line typically could be any of three basic form factors: Desktop (DT), Minitower (MT) or Small Form Factor (SFF). Which one the 920 you are looking at is will determine what you can use in it. Higher-end cards with Nvidia chips tend to be large, in both length, width and thickness, and OEM machines such as the Optiplex often have limited space inside compared to aftermarket PC cases. Check first.

  • frank0314frank0314 Posts: 14,336

    You should also consider getting more RAM because 3GB is not going to go very far at all.

  • namffuaknamffuak Posts: 4,194

    Indeed, if the system only has 3 GB it is unlikely that it can run a 64-bit OS, which makes the question moot; Iray is 64-bit only.

  • SixDsSixDs Posts: 2,384

    The Optiplex 960's in all form factors came with four DIMM slots, so upgrading the memory is possible. The largest capacity non-registered, unbuffered, non-ECC DDR2 memory modules produced were 2GB, so you could potentially pick up four of those, with used being your best bet. That would give you 8GB, which is the maximum those boards support anyway. (Do not buy the buffered, ECC server modules that are still widely available in retail channels - they won't work).

  • ed3Ded3D Posts: 2,303
    edited March 2017

    _hi,

    _look on Dell Refurbished dot com _

    https://www.dellrefurbished.com/

    _  _thanks_``~...

    Post edited by ed3D on
  • ed3Ded3D Posts: 2,303
    edited February 2017

    _there are many Different models on there_

    _even saw a Dell XPS 8700 ‑ Core i5 _

    _thanks_``~...

    Post edited by ed3D on
  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 102,936

    I believe that card is a pre-Fermi chipset - the current version of Iray in DS does not support those.

  • namffuaknamffuak Posts: 4,194
    Richard Haseltine said:

    I believe that card is a pre-Fermi chipset - the current version of Iray in DS does not support those.

    It also only has 1 GB of Vram and less than 100 Cuda cores. Dell shipped a LOT of business desktops with these cards because they allowed the user to run two VGA or DVI monitors from the single DVI port on the card with a 'Y' adapter cable.

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