Anyone any good with graphics cards?

[rcx132]

I thought I'd treat myself to a 4K monitor so that I have a bigger canvas for work.

But a bit of a 'doh moment this morning, the monitor arrived and I realised that my DVI graphics card won't power a 4K monitor.

So I found a decent priced 4K graphics card with four ports as I use four monitors: Hp Nvidia Quadro P600

But now I think I've hit another snag. My motherboard is a bit old and has PCIe 2.0 expansion slots:

But the graphics card is PCI 3.0

So is this going to be a no go?

 

[brianblock]

Yeah will work

 

[LewisT]

Its should work, but be aware that there can be compatibility problems with newer cards in older computers due to them changing the bios on graphics cards to uefi.

 

[PhillipM]

It'll work, be aware that's a workstation card that runs a pro driverset though.

 

[rcx132]

It'll work, be aware that's a workstation card that runs a pro driverset though.

What does that mean Phillip?

 

[gaz1]

Also be aware not all new cards will fit in old operating systems

 

[PhillipM]

What does that mean Phillip?

Quaddro cards are designed for business use, they use a different driver to the commercial cards, so you can sometimes run into compatibility issues with some programs, depending on what you're doing. But as it sounds like a workstation it'll probably be okay

 

[rcx132]

Quaddro cards are designed for business use, they use a different driver to the commercial cards, so you can sometimes run into compatibility issues with some programs, depending on what you're doing. But as it sounds like a workstation it'll probably be okay

Phillip, as you seem to know your stuff.... do you know what's going on here. The graphics card looks exactly the same, same memory, same chip, both are referred to as P600, but one is HP (Heward Packard) and the other is a brand I've not heard of, PNY, but seems to come with a full size bracket in addition to the low profile bracket:

https://www.ebuyer.com/781923-pny-nvidia-quadro-p600-graphics-card-vcqp600-pb
https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/hew...card-quadro-p600-2-gb-gdd-1me42at/version.asp

 

[fizzy]

To be honest the brand doesn't matter much as they all use the same chipset. There are quite a few brands to choose from. To be honest HP aren't as well known for graphics cards as PNY!

 

[rcx132]

To be honest the brand doesn't matter much as they all use the same chipset. There are quite a few brands to choose from. To be honest HP aren't as well known for graphics cards as PNY!

A few brands and they use the same product? I mean it looks like more than just the chipset that is the same. The only diffence seems to be that the PNY comes with two mounting brackets. Ok good to hear that PNY are a respected brand

 

[fizzy]

A few brands and they use the same product? I mean it looks like more than just the chipset that is the same. The only diffence seems to be that the PNY comes with two mounting brackets. Ok good to hear that PNY are a respected brand

Yes the cards are almost clones. Sometimes one brand will have a slight edge on the other due to better cooling or something but usually people go for the better deal.

 

[rcx132]

Yes the cards are almost clones. Sometimes one brand will have a slight edge on the other due to better cooling or something but usually people go for the better deal.

Thanks for explaining! So I might go ahead with the PNY. The other issue I had was that the 24" 4k monitor just didn't give any advantage for my business use because text and menus are too small. I tried it, put it back in the box and sent back. I'm told I need to go to 28" to get the result I want which is basically a bigger canvas to work on.

 

[fizzy]

Thanks for explaining! So I might go ahead with the PNY. The other issue I had was that the 24" 4k monitor just didn't give any advantage for my business use because text and menus are too small. I tried it, put it back in the box and sent back. I'm told I need to go to 28" to get the result I want which is basically a bigger canvas to work on.

Smaller monitors are a waste of time at high resolutions.
We have a 34" monitor which is awesome.

 

[rcx132]

Smaller monitors are a waste of time at high resolutions.
We have a 34" monitor which is awesome.

What do you use it for? Is 34" not too big for using as a computer monitor?

I do a lot of stuff with large schematic drawings, or long Ghantt charts and am basically looking for more space on the monitor. There's a guy at work who works with big Excel files and I can see he's also constantly zooming in and out... I thought that a 4K monitor would help with that kind of thing.

 

[aguycalledsteve]

Is 34" not too big for using as a computer monitor?

No. No it is not.

 

[fizzy]

What do you use it for? Is 34" not too big for using as a computer monitor?

I do a lot of stuff with large schematic drawings, or long Ghantt charts and am basically looking for more space on the monitor. There's a guy at work who works with big Excel files and I can see he's also constantly zooming in and out... I thought that a 4K monitor would help with that kind of thing.

Well I like gaming but useful for work as I can have 3 or 4 screens open at the same time.
Drone videos look great on it as well.

 

[MattH]

I use a curved 42" 4K Philips monitor at home and at work.
Use it for CAD and remote systems access (think browser inside virtual server inside browser inside remote desktop) which requires a lot of desktop to be productive.

The standard icons and menus on this are about the same size as a 21" 1080p monitor so it's like having 4 smaller monitors joined together.

 

[tflnemesis]

Sounds like you need a dual monitor setup. I did this years ago and absolutely loathe working on single monitor systems now. Fairly easy to set up and a reasonable gfx card will run 2 monitors.

 

[Luke]

Why stop at 2? 3 or 4 monitors are pretty common now.

 

[Rocketman]

Yes the cards are almost clones. Sometimes one brand will have a slight edge on the other due to better cooling or something but usually people go for the better deal.

No it is tweaked for their own workstations. So in theory to get the best out of a HP P600 you would use it in a HP workstation specified for the model.

Generally speaking a PNY would work fine but you may not get support for it in a HP workstation or vice a versa = why is it not working? well you should have bought the HP version / or is this hp p600 card is not working in my workstation? well you should have bought the PNY non specific version.