Suitable GPU for 310-watt PSU?

[barnettgs]

Glad to hear that the power was manageable. Get it undervolted. Hope you solve the other issues and don't need to ditch it.

It should appear as a red square icon when you type AMD or Adrenalin in the windows search bar. I find the software fine vs the Nvidia control panel/geforce experience apps.

Indeed, but the system was unstable; maybe it has to do with the limited resources of PCIE bandwidth, as my HP PC has an M.2 SSD, so it shared the same bandwidth because the apps I tried opening were not responding. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I think I would be a lot better off just getting a new motherboard and a new case/PSU and moving everything from my HP to a new system so that I can have more choice in selecting a better GPU, but for PCIE 4.0 support, it would mean replacing 5700G with something better? Honestly, I don't know why some companies like to scale back/cut down on the PCIE bus, especially with GPU and CPU. It is pretty pointless to move to newer technology yet cut back simultaneously.

EDIT: There was no red square or Adrenalin app icon when I typed in the search bar, which is why I think it may have to do with issues with PCIE on M.2 SSD. I don't know, but I returned the GPU card as it was not worth troubleshooting on a restricted HP system.

 

[Trickle]

PCEI 3 max support from your CPU vs 4 shouldn't have anything to do with stability. Its just that any future gfx cards (faster than the 6600) and/or you want to go to 1440p will ideally need more than 8xPCIE 3.

If your NVME is in the top most slot it should get its own direct access to the CPU. Just limited to x3. Again no stability issues will arise from that.

The missing app will just be due to the Adrenalin software not being installed/properly.

So the concern is where is the instability coming from. The fear is that the Power Supply can't truly handle the new card (perhaps test this by limiting the card's max power). Or it is something to do with the change to AMD drivers. [assuming you had no stability issues prior to the install]

 

[barnettgs]

The missing app will just be due to the Adrenalin software not being installed/properly.

That could be it, and I read plenty of stories about people having a bad experience with AMD drivers. Even though the AMD installer says Adrenalin is installed, it was just not there. I had to redo the driver installation wizard but to no avail. I read that it is recommended to use an older driver, but I didn't try that.

So the concern is where is the instability coming from. The fear is that the Power Supply can't truly handle the new card (perhaps test this by limiting the card's max power). Or it is something to do with the change to AMD drivers. [assuming you had no stability issues prior to the install]

The system was still unstable when the GPU was barely used, as I monitored the wattage level, so I don't think it could be a power issue.

Now, I think it might have to do with AMD driver/software issues, and if I had Adrenaline properly installed on my computer, then I would have been able to limit the power.

 

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

RTX3050 6GB review:

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 6 GB Review - The Fastest Slot-Powered GPU

Priced at $180, the GeForce RTX 3050 6 GB offers an accessible entry point into PC gaming. Operating solely on PCIe slot power, it's compatible with all PCs, including older OEM models, eliminating the need for power connectors. While noise levels are impressive, the price-to-performance ratio...

www.techpowerup.com

 

[barnettgs]

RTX3050 6GB review:

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 6 GB Review - The Fastest Slot-Powered GPU

Priced at $180, the GeForce RTX 3050 6 GB offers an accessible entry point into PC gaming. Operating solely on PCIe slot power, it's compatible with all PCs, including older OEM models, eliminating the need for power connectors. While noise levels are impressive, the price-to-performance ratio...

www.techpowerup.com

If I were to go for 3050, I would have gone for 3050 8 GB. As for the power consumption, apart from 70-75 watt cards, it is the lowest of all GPUs and 14 watts less than RX 6600 on Tom's Hardware. However, the power consumption seemed to vary slightly from site to site. The 6 GB version is just too close to the pricing of the standard 3050; I probably would have gone for 1660 versions, which have full PCIE 3.0 x16 support.

I am willing to bet that Nvidia will probably be more stable in my system, not that I'm biased toward AMD or Nvidia.

The GPU benchmarks hierarchy 2024: All recent graphics cards ranked

We've run hundreds of GPU benchmarks on Nvidia, AMD, and Intel graphics cards and ranked them in our comprehensive hierarchy, with over 80 GPUs tested.

www.tomshardware.com

I am still not making up my mind.

 

[barnettgs]

I ordered the Zotac RTX 3050 from overclockers.co.uk at £199.99 as it was the cheapest RTX 3050 8 GB I could find, and it was too good to turn down. I installed it last night.

It was the opposite experience from what I had with RX 6600. Before installing it, I didn't even bother to uninstall the AMD GPU driver first, but the system was very stable; everything seemed snappier, especially on web browsing. There was barely any stuttering on the same game I was playing, unlike the RX 6600. Total power consumption, on average, was 220 watts during the game, peaking at 230 watts at times on my power monitoring plug.

Overall, RTX 3050 is the best compromise GPU for my system without the need to upgrade. I think I just wasn't aware of AMD driver issues before using the RX 6600, as I was not on the PC gaming scene for years until recently, and if I had been, I would have paid more attention to it. I have read that installing an older AMD driver resolved most issues. However, Adrenalin software failed to install despite the AMD installer saying it did; it was strange. I never had any other app that failed to install on my system.

Since it is my work PC and I will be doing more video editing in the coming weeks, it will also be handy for playing older PC games and a few odd ones unavailable on the consoles. I recently got myself a PS5 Slim to keep it separate from my work PC, for use with a bigger TV, and for playing with newer titles.

Thanks to @CAT-THE-FIFTH for pointing RTX 3050 out to me; I would have overlooked it.

 

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I ordered the Zotac RTX 3050 from overclockers.co.uk at £199.99 as it was the cheapest RTX 3050 8 GB I could find, and it was too good to turn down. I installed it last night.

It was the opposite experience from what I had with RX 6600. Before installing it, I didn't even bother to uninstall the AMD GPU driver first, but the system was very stable; everything seemed snappier, especially on web browsing. There was barely any stuttering on the same game I was playing, unlike the RX 6600. Total power consumption, on average, was 220 watts during the game, peaking at 230 watts at times on my power monitoring plug.

Overall, RTX 3050 is the best compromise GPU for my system without the need to upgrade. I think I just wasn't aware of AMD driver issues before using the RX 6600, as I was not on the PC gaming scene for years until recently, and if I had been, I would have paid more attention to it. I have read that installing an older AMD driver resolved most issues. However, Adrenalin software failed to install despite the AMD installer saying it did; it was strange. I never had any other app that failed to install on my system.

Since it is my work PC and I will be doing more video editing in the coming weeks, it will also be handy for playing older PC games and a few odd ones unavailable on the consoles. I recently got myself a PS5 Slim to keep it separate from my work PC, for use with a bigger TV, and for playing with newer titles.

Thanks to @CAT-THE-FIFTH for pointing RTX 3050 out to me; I would have overlooked it.

I suggested the RTX3050 6GB,because it was bus powered! The RTX3050 is also a PCI-E 4.0 8X card like the RX6600 so the problem can't be hardware based,especially as power draw doesn't seem different.

TBF,I have known plenty of people with the RX6600/RX6600XT and apart from one launch driver oddity they have been fine AFAIK. So I am not really sure what was happening with your RX6600! Makes me wonder whether your AV was blocking the installation of certain files.

But either way happy to hear the system is upgraded successfully now.

 

[barnettgs]

I suggested the RTX3050 6GB,because it was bus powered!

TBF,I have known plenty of people with the RX6600/RX6600XT and apart from one launch driver oddity they have been fine. So I am not really sure what was happening with your RX6600!

Yes, you have suggested the 6 GB version. However, you made me take a look at the 8 GB version.

The Google search says otherwise regarding the RX6600/RX 6600 XT. Many users have a perfectly usable system with ample PSU supply, only to have them crashed by AMD GPU, especially on the 6000 series. To be honest, I'm not sure what is going on with these GPUs.

 

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Yes, you have suggested the 6 GB version. However, you made me take a look at the 8 GB version.

The Google search says otherwise regarding the RX6600/RX 6600 XT. Many users have a perfectly usable system with ample PSU supply, only to have them crashed by AMD GPU, especially on the 6000 series. To be honest, I'm not sure what is going on with these GPUs.

I know at least 4~5 people with the RX6600/RX6600XT myself and they were mostly fine and that is on both Intel and AMD hardware. Known people who have had the RX6700XT and RX6800XT too. A number in thermally constrained SFF PCs(I haven't built an ATX sized PC for 15 years).

The only issue I saw was some weird idle bug at launch a mate had with their RX6600XT. If you search RTX3060 or RTX3060TI stuttering:

rtx3060 stuttering - Google Search

rtx3060TI stuttering - Google Search

Lots of people complaining about stuttering. I have an RTX3060TI and had no problems at all. This is in a thermally constrained 12 litre SFF case with a tiny SFX PSU! I ran a GTX1080 off a 450W SFX PSU too for nearly 5 years with a CPU which consumes more power than my current one. Apparently that was not possible since people had problems with PSUs with higher ratings.

If you search RTX4090 connector burning,you will find tons of people complaining. But on here very few are affected. I also had RX5600XT/RX5700XT dGPUs and briefly tested an RX6600XT in the same SFF system and another Intel one. I didn't seem to have issues,but obviously people do like in your case. It all seems very random to me!

 

[barnettgs]

I see. It was a bit déjà vu all over for me when I tried the RX 6600. It reminded me of the GeForce 32 MB and 64 MB GPUs I had over 20 years ago, dealing with driver issues, especially the former.

I guess the GPUs are still as finicky as they were many years ago!

 

[Tetras]

I see. It was a bit déjà vu all over for me when I tried the RX 6600. It reminded me of the GeForce 32 MB and 64 MB GPUs I had over 20 years ago, dealing with driver issues, especially the former.

I guess the GPUs are still as finicky as they were many years ago!

For what it is worth, I also own 2x 6600, which I've used @ PCI-E 3.0 & 4.0 and I haven't had any issues with the drivers either. I honestly see more posts with people complaining about (stability of) nvidia builds, but I suppose that's to be expected when most purchases are nvidia.

 

[barnettgs]

For what it is worth, I also own 2x 6600, which I've used @ PCI-E 3.0 & 4.0 and I haven't had any issues with the drivers either. I honestly see more posts with people complaining about (stability of) nvidia builds, but I suppose that's to be expected when most purchases are nvidia.

I'm not picking on AMD; it is just that I was puzzled by what had happened to my system, which rarely had a hiccup. My initial thoughts about my HP PC's limited system resources, PSU and PCI-E, were unfounded.

Regarding PCI-E, it runs on 3.0 x8, although I see it being reduced to PCI-E 2.0 and 1.1 due to its power-saving feature during light use.