Video card (for desktop pc) question

Me | 12/28/2022 | Paul R.

[Paul R.]

The ASUS GeForce 710 2GB DDR3 EVO video card specs state "Digital Max Resolution 2560 x 1600", but ALSO state "Interface : Yes x 1 (Native DVI-D) / Yes x 1 (D-Sub) / Yes x 1 (Native HDMI 1.4b) / HDCP Support Yes (1.4)

Well, the HDMI (which is what I'm "after", to hook up a 4k 43" TV), if said output is HDMI 1.4b, should support 4k video = 3840 x 2160 pixels resolution. Am I missing something here? Can this card give me a clean 4k output for displaying text (docs, spreadsheets) on this TV?

[NorseViking]

It pretty much can work under HE mode, depending on input.

[Paul R.]

In this (my) case I have space above my primary monitor, but not to the sides, and in that space is presently the secondary monitor, long dimension vertical. But... that ends up ergonomically being a little flaky, largely I suppose because the bottom of the secondary monitor is separated from the top of the primary monitor by the top of the work desk / “hutch”. So, if I want to compare documents or, say, two graphs, it just doesn’t work so well. For that I prefer the two items displayed as closely as practical / side by side. With the right video output I could put TWO medium size (24”-27”)monitors up above the primary monitor, but, a single 43” 4k makes a lot more sense to me...

90% of “work” time my primary monitor is all I need. But there is that other 10%. And, some evening / weekend I might want to lean back and watch some non-work! :-)

[Paul R.]

To clarify: “in that above space”

[Paul R.]

So... Can anyone tell me what that “Digital Max Resolution 2560 x 1600” spec means vs. the spec for “Native HDMI 1.4b”?

It’s been an interesting discussion, but, not to the point.

[mylife]

cad/gerber files on one screen, programs on the other

[Myrddin]

I purchased my 34" 4k HDR monitor a few years ago. When running Windows at hi-res, I had to make font adjustments for work to be readable. That hack works much of the time, but you will encounter older apps that don't have font or scaling capability. They will be too small to read. Another "pain" comes with screen sharing to Skype or Teams. When run on my 4K monitor, the others on the call can't read the shared screen. I had to open the laptop cover and force the resolution down so that the shared content was readable. You may or may not run into those challenges.

[Paul R.]

Useful article RE: all the early HDMI versions (although evidently the author was a turd!):

https://www.audioholics.com/hdtv-formats/understanding-difference-hdmi-versions

[Paul R.]

I’ve not run into anything (yet!) that I presently need on my office desktop machine that could not manage to make acceptable on my primary monitor. But, yes, in the past I’ve run into that with old apps even on FHD screens. (Readable, but not comfortably so.) It’s likely I might run into that with some of my old testing apps too, but those are on separate (old) machines in my lab and I don’t really need to install them on my office desktop - luckily for my Acetaminophen budget! ;-)

[simi_ed]

It sounds like you are mixing specifications together. HDMI is a unique interface, and is not necessarily tied to resolution. If the card has a maximum resolution of 2560x1600, then that is the most you will get. HDMI can be HD (1920x1080) or UHD (3840x2160) or 4K (4096x2160). If your GPU card has a max resolution of 2560x1600 then the best you will do is 2560x1600! I would expect that using HDMI the best resolution you can get would be 1920x1080.
A newer, more powerful GPU will easily support either 4k or UHD. Spend the $$$ to get what you want/need.

I hope that helps!
Ed

[Paul R.]

Well, that’s sort of what I thought, but, is a HDMI 1.4b port really HDMI 1.4b if it can’t crank out the resolution (granted at only 24 or 30 Hz) of 4k that is in the HDMI 1.4b spec, due to a limitation of the GPU? That’s one of the key specs / capabilities. In addition to also being capable of the lower resolutions, of course.

That sounds to me like a claim that a computer has a USB 3.2 port when it doesn’t have the buss (or maybe the CPU) behind the interface to move data that fast...

[TLI]

https://www.hwinfo.com/

Free.

I use it to monitor temps in cpu, gpu, ssd drive temp and DIMM temps.

Much more useful that power consumptions.

.

[Intar]

HDMI port alone does not equate to max resolution. Specs on your card support 1366x768 max which is well below HD 1080p. Your card supports 720P max and is frankly ancient and not supported by nVidia or Microsoft anymore. You will have to invest in a new card. Prices for 4K capable cards start at $500 and go up from there.

[Paul R.]

Oh, well, it’s not my card. I ran across it on eBay while looking for used graphics cards, and I wondered about the disparity in the card’s claimed “digital” resolution vs. it having (claimed) HDMI 1.4b capability.

Where are you finding a spec of 720P max? The specs I quoted are right off the ASUS website.

And why can a 4 y/o laptop I recently purchased in v. good condition for $150 (B4 tax and shipping) (a “good” eBay deal at the time but not exceptional) show (screen resolution window) that it IS connecting to the TV at 4k resolution (per stated capability), but, a freaking card for a desktop that can do the same would cost $500 minimum? Do desktop cards hold their value that much better?

Alice in Wonderland was less bewildered than I am at this point...

But, potentially it might appear that I should just go looking for a refurb desktop with an 8th gen processor embedding UHD 620 & with a HDMI 1.4 or better port?

[Paul R.]

More useful in some ways, but can it tell me how hard my power supply is being run? (Not shown at the link.)

That’s what I need to know, not my device temperatures, if adding a component with a significant power draw.

[Paul R.]

While stumbling around, I stumbled into this:

https://www.newegg.com/asus-geforce-gt-710-gt710-4h-sl-2gd5/p/N82E16814126433?Item=9SIARA8J9T0644

and:

https://www.asus.com/us/motherboards-components/graphics-cards/asus/gt710-4h-sl-2gd5/techspec/

Now, the specs clearly indicate:

“Max Resolution 3840x2160@60Hz for 1 monitor
3840x2160@30Hz for more than 2 monitors”

Heck, I really only need output for 1 monitor @ 3840x2160 @ 30Hz. Power draw and heat issues should be minimal.

Also useful is the card evidently NOT needing to go into a
PCI Express x16 slot — instead it can pop into one of the two PCI Express x1 slots. Except... This is a full width card, and my desktop is a HP6300 SFF. So, what I need to find is a two port version — which doesn’t seem to exist. :-(

[Paul R.]

BTW, that’s a very good point about the i-series CPU’s and I believe most everything in i5’s and i7’s from 7th gen on (and surely 8th gen) will run 4k right out of the CPU.

Unfortunately, my old HP6300’s, which I really like, won’t readily support the later gen I-series processors, SFAIK. (I’ve seen it done, online, but, talk about hoops to jump through!)

[Paul R.]

Hahaha - the specs clearly indicate:

“Max Resolution 3840x2160@60Hz for 1 monitor
3840x2160@30Hz for more than 2 monitors”

But who knows about TWO monitors. Not that I care much. BUT, I still can’t find a SFF version.

[Paul R.]

Closest I can find is the :

https://www.asus.com/motherboards-components/graphics-cards/asus/gt710-sl-2gd5-brk/techspec/

And possibly this:

https://www.asus.com/motherboards-components/graphics-cards/asus/gt710-sl-1gd5-brk/techspec/

Which is simply the 1GB version. Both take the PCIe16 slot. :-( But maybe that’s the “price” of gaining a DP port (which I don’t really need — I’d rather have 2x HDMI’s...)

It seems to me the mfgr’s have missed a bet, here. Other video cards come with hardware & 1 connector attached by ribbon cable, for mounting in EITHER std. or SFF desktops. There are about a bazillion SFF business desktops out there that could be a lot of fun with 4x HDMI outputs.

Crazy question: In the 4x HDMI version, is it likely the circuit board traces to the female HDMI connector are all on the surface(s) of the PCB? If yes, conceivably I could simply saw off the extended parts of the assembly and “rig” mounting for SFF. If no, I’d be afraid I’d leave behind shorts between the layers of the PCB.

[minnesota_bound]

I bought this card in July 2022. It is now priced at $199.99
ASUS Dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mini OC Edition Gaming CSM Graphics Card (PCIe 3.0, 4GB GDDR6 Memory, HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI-D

My monitor can do 4k but I have it at 2560 x 1440 on my 32” MSI monitor.
MSI Creator PS321QR 32” 2560 x 1440 WQHD 165Hz 1ms Response Time
I got it for almost half off due to credit card points : )
It can get to 4k 3840 x 2160 but recommends 2560 x 1440
Everything is too tiny for me at 4k.

As explained above by another poster there are programs that do not scale well and you cannot see the toolbar very well as it is tiny. I have Windows 10 Pro and under ‘Home> Settings ‘Display’ I have for ‘Scale and layout’ 125% to make things bigger.

In Settings, click on ‘Ease of Access’
You will see another setting ‘Make text bigger’ that has a slider. I have mine at 115%.

BTW when I was writing this I decided to try the 4k resolution.
I reverted back to 2k but the text was blurry.
Microsoft changed the ‘Refresh rate’ to 60 Hz instead of the 165 Hz I had and they inserted their own generic driver for my monitor.... arrgh! I had to update the driver with the correct one and change the refresh rate back to where it was. A restart and going thru ‘Cleartype’ and all is well.

[Paul R.]

I was just messing around again with that “new” (to me) laptop with the 4k output feeding the 43” 4k TV today. Text and so on look pretty good! But I forgot to check what frequency it was running on. And I think the recommended scaling was 150% (which I went back to.)

As noted above, the frequency is not a big deal to me. 30 Hz would be just fine.

We also hooked the TV up to the HDMI output of my daughter’s old (9 yrs?) Dell desktop. Best it can do is 1280 x 768. Small text was not so great!! Plus the desktop didn’t want to fit the screen no matter what we did, until we found an “automatic” (but must be selected by the user) adjustment on the TV, and then it was perfect.

Fun stuff.

I am almost positive the newer GT710 cards with 2 GB of DDR5 would do what I want. But, finding them used for SFF machines and with HDMI is spotty — the real numbers out there used and for sale seem to be oriented toward DP outputs. There’s even a specific HP version with 2 DP outputs, and a Dell too, I think... Some sellers have the HDMI + VGA + DP versions that come with rear brackets for either full size (as supplied) or one can unscrew that and go with two brackets, as one output is on ribbon cable and can be moved to a 2nd SFF bracket. Unfortunately, everybody so far has lost those extra brackets. (Eye roll.)