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Computers & Hardware => PC Hardware => Topic started by: Jaggies on January 14, 2023, 12:11:47 AM

Title: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: Jaggies on January 14, 2023, 12:11:47 AM
Hi all.
I'm having issues with the on-board graphics on my Windows 11 PC, probably because it is only using 2GB of my 16GB RAM. I don't know if this is configurable. AMD Radeon Vega 3 is what GPU-Z reports.
Video is stuttery (is that a word?) and also shows tearing on faster sequences.
I want to install a graphics card rather than rely on the on-board graphics, but the usual retail sites don't show if such a card is Windows 11 compliant, and that's a must here.
I'm looking for recommendations for PCI-e graphics cards that are known to work with Windows 11, and have HDMI output. I don't want to spend more than £150-£200 if possible. I don't need a high-end device as I'm not using the PC for gaming; I just need better basic video output.
Any ideas gratefully received.
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: Alex Atkin UK on January 14, 2023, 01:58:41 AM
I got an NVIDIA GTX 1650 to solve that very problem on Linux, I probably wouldn't go older than that if you want good video decoding support.  Although I honestly would expect the Vega 3 to be fine, its strange its having issues.

I don't know about the AMD cards to judge if something is just as capable in that bracket, I don't trust AMD drivers as they may be the cause of the problem in the first place.
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: HPsauce on January 14, 2023, 11:22:40 AM
You don't say what sort of video you're having problems with.
I don't do much video on my W11 PCs apart from playback of domestic recordings, though one of them has a Hauppauge TV tuner in it and that works fine. No 4K stuff though ....
All my W11 video cards are either onboard or actually rather old. The system I'm typing this on has two monitors, both 1920*1080, and it's an Nvidia GeForce 8600GT card. It's the system with TV.
Those 8600GT cards actually come with a variety of connectors including HDMI and I have several that I move between PCs to suit the monitor mix. I think this one is actually using two DVI connections, but access to the back of the PC is not easy!
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: HPsauce on January 14, 2023, 11:27:50 AM
I don't trust AMD drivers as they may be the cause of the problem in the first place.
My thinking too, my video cards are some years older than the one giving you problems.
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: Alex Atkin UK on January 14, 2023, 02:02:09 PM
My thinking too, my video cards are some years older than the one giving you problems.

I was using Intel iGPU before this, with people saying their Linux support is great, but still had to resort to NVIDIA which most people despise their closed-source drivers but its the only driver I can prevent (or reduce so I do not notice it) tearing.

Not experienced that problem on Windows mind you, but then I hardly ever watch video on Windows these days.
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: Jaggies on January 17, 2023, 12:31:41 AM
Thanks for all the replies.
The video I watch is mainly 720P or 1080P streaming from various sources. iPlayer and others are mostly OK, so it isn't a huge problem, just something that catches my eye from time to time.
The PC is about a year old, and is an AMD Athlon 3000G with Radeon Vega Graphics. I had to resort to the internal graphics when upgrading to Windows 11 as my old graphics card didn't meet the required criteria.
Still keen to hear from any users of Windows 11 what graphics cards they use, please.
Alternatively, can the internal graphics be tweaked to use more memory? I haven't found a setting/option that allows this, so would be interested in any advice on that score.
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: HPsauce on January 17, 2023, 09:46:39 AM
I had to resort to the internal graphics when upgrading to Windows 11 as my old graphics card didn't meet the required criteria.
What graphics card is it then, and in what way did it not "meet the required criteria"?
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: Alex Atkin UK on January 17, 2023, 09:50:45 AM
What graphics card is it then, and in what way did it not "meet the required criteria"?

I believe Windows 11 needs a GPU supporting UEFI.
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: parkdale on January 17, 2023, 10:20:58 AM
As you don't do any gaming just basic upgrade any of these will give you better performance...
And some are fanless.
https://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/nvidiageforcegraphicscards/nvidiagtseries/

So shop around for best prices.

I would recommend this one https://www.novatech.co.uk/products/msi-nvidia-geforce-gt-1030-silent-low-profile-2gb-ddr4-graphics-card/gt10302ghd4lpoc.html can run 2 4K monitors...  :)

2 day free delivery! https://www.cclonline.com/gt-1030-2ghd4-lp-oc-msi-geforce-gt-1030-oc-2gb-graphics-card/
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: HPsauce on January 17, 2023, 08:17:11 PM
I believe Windows 11 needs a GPU supporting UEFI.
Really, mine doesn't as far as I know (Nvidia Geforce 8600GT). I'd like to hear from the person with the problem what really prevented his existing card working.
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: gt94sss2 on January 17, 2023, 09:38:06 PM
Alternatively, can the internal graphics be tweaked to use more memory? I haven't found a setting/option that allows this, so would be interested in any advice on that score.

These settings are usually found in the BIOS.

However, I'm surprised you're having issues just playing ordinary videos - may be worth updating drivers etc.. to check something else isn't the issue.
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: Jaggies on January 18, 2023, 01:13:12 AM
Thanks again for the suggestions.
@HPsauce 'twas an ancient card and failed the Windows 11 hardware test.
@gt94sss2 Drivers are up to date. I'll check the BIOS next time I power on.
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: Alex Atkin UK on January 18, 2023, 10:16:29 AM
Thanks again for the suggestions.
@HPsauce 'twas an ancient card and failed the Windows 11 hardware test.
@gt94sss2 Drivers are up to date. I'll check the BIOS next time I power on.

Are these manufacturer drivers or the AMD Adrenalin drivers direct from their own website?
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: Chrysalis on January 18, 2023, 06:18:42 PM
See if you can get a GT 1030 from anywhere, its a n ideal iGPU replacement, if you dont need high end gaming.  The last card made by Nvidia for that price point.

There is two variants, ideally you want the one with integrated GDDR memory.

Also on iGPU's you can usually buff up the memory they allowed to use in the bios, so try that first to see if it helps with your problems.
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: HPsauce on January 18, 2023, 07:49:51 PM
@HPsauce 'twas an ancient card and failed the Windows 11 hardware test.
Thanks. I'd be intrigued to know what it was, if you still have it or can remember. Was it running under Windows 10 or an earlier version?
I've got loads of old hardware that supposedly fails Windows 11 "checks" but runs fine. Some needed technical intervention, sometimes a different driver, but often it just worked anyway.
Of all my various systems I've only got one that I haven't upgraded from W10 to W11, that's largely because I don't need to as it's a very "static" standalone system, mostly used only for what historical data is stored on it.
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: Jaggies on January 18, 2023, 08:33:53 PM
Are these manufacturer drivers or the AMD Adrenalin drivers direct from their own website?
It's the built-in driver. Checking for driver updates in Device Manager says I already have the latest but I'll check if there's anything newer on the AMD web site.
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: Jaggies on January 18, 2023, 08:39:42 PM
Thanks. I'd be intrigued to know what it was, if you still have it or can remember. Was it running under Windows 10 or an earlier version?
It was a Nvidia card I'd had for years but I can't remember the model and it's too much faffing around to lay my hands on it ATM. I'd had it from XP days, and it ran fine on that, plus 8, 8.1 and 10 without issue.
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: HPsauce on January 18, 2023, 09:55:11 PM
It was a Nvidia card I'd had for years but I can't remember the model and it's too much faffing around to lay my hands on it ATM. I'd had it from XP days, and it ran fine on that, plus 8, 8.1 and 10 without issue.
Interesting, thanks for that. If you do happen to come across it and remember, please do post the model here.
I'm always interested in what will and won't work with W11 and why.
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: Jaggies on January 19, 2023, 08:40:36 PM
Interesting, thanks for that. If you do happen to come across it and remember, please do post the model here.
I'm always interested in what will and won't work with W11 and why.
Sure, no worries.
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: Alex Atkin UK on January 21, 2023, 03:46:33 PM
There's some listed here: https://www.quora.com/What-graphics-card-is-not-supported-by-Windows-11

Looks like most NVIDIA cards before the 10x0 series.  Actually scratch that, their name change means I think the 500 series upwards may work.

I'd always pick newest possible though for newer video decoders (not that they really apply to me due to being on Linux, I think it still uses software decoding).
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: HPsauce on January 21, 2023, 08:53:06 PM
Well that Quora link says my video card (GeForce 8600GT) doesn't work with W11, but it's fine!
Nvidia driver, dated 41/11/2016 version 21.21.13.4201 digitally signed by Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher.
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: Alex Atkin UK on January 22, 2023, 12:27:19 AM
Well that kills that theory then.
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: HPsauce on January 22, 2023, 12:55:03 PM
My other easily checked W11 desktop PC (Compaq Presario built for W7) has an onboard Intel G41 Express chipset with Intel WDDM1.1 drivers from 2013!
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: Alex Atkin UK on January 22, 2023, 01:55:53 PM
I guess the WDDM 2.0 requirement was like the CPU requirement, something they might restrict later on but an artificial restriction for now that you can bypass.

But its also why I don't think its wise to install 11 on hardware not officially supported, as they left themselves an out to break compatibility with updates.
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: HPsauce on January 22, 2023, 02:21:50 PM
True, but my thinking is that I can probably just revert to W10 if they do get really difficult.
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: mofa2020 on January 22, 2023, 07:01:26 PM
The video I watch is mainly 720P or 1080P streaming from various sources.

I had the same issue with web videos on Windows 10 like YouTube Twitter where videos stutter and drop frames when hovering mouse pointer over "not-full screen" videos and this completely solved by disabling hardware acceleration in Chrome settings (if you are using it).
Title: Re: Graphics cards and Windows 11
Post by: Jaggies on January 23, 2023, 12:46:19 AM
I've just disabled hardware acceleration - something I should have thought of, however I have resolved the problem (I think!)...

Although AMD don't have updated drivers that I could find on their web site, elsewhere I found an app called Driver Easy, and now have 12 updated drivers, including the graphics driver.

Video is now much smoother, so happy not to have to fork out for a new graphics card.