Minimum video card for 3440x1440 resolution

I

incredadamible

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Feb 2, 2016
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What would be the entry level video card for displaying 3440 x 1440 resolution over HDMI or DP? I just need to run basic applications and web browsing (no gaming).

Looking up specifications on nVidia's website indicates the GT 640 and above supports 4096 x 2160 over HDMI. Searching around google indicates HDMI on anything below the 610 is limited to 1920 x 1200.

Haven't got around to looking up AMD's offerings.

Any help or real life experience would be greatly appreciated...would be nice if I could find something for less than $50 (new or used).

Thanks!
 
Anything with a DisplayPort out. So pretty much any 600 series Nvidia card or 7000 series AMD card or later.
 
KazeoHin said:
Anything with a DisplayPort out. So pretty much any 600 series Nvidia card or 7000 series AMD card or later.
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Not all display ports can output at the resolution I'm looking for. Looking up lower end 8000 series or 7000 series AMD cards shows their display port can only output 2560 x 1600 max and HDMI 1920 x 1200.

I guess I should also add that I don't want to have to plug in external power and I want to keep the card as small, quiet and efficient as possible. No reason to have a power hungry card just to run windows explorer.

Looking up AMD, it seems the R5 230 may their best fit. The 8570 is the lowest in the 8000 series that supports the higher resolution...
 
There always seems to be a toss-up on the specs of these lower-end cards, and HDMI actually going above 2560x1600. Good luck finding gold in that mess, HDMI is a nuthouse.

Or even being able to find a DisplayPort on some of these cards. Those are like hen's teeth.

The first bus-powered card to have 4k plus DP on every model was the GTX 750 .

But today you can get an RX 460 2GB for cheaper than 750 now, and that's 4k plus DP guaranteed.

This one is $89 after rebate.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202269
 
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Haha, I should also also add that I'm in Canada, so an $89 USD card is really $3,000 CAD (or so it seems). I did find some used R7 240's and 340's as well as one GT 640...all local and all less than $50. Leaning towards the R7 340...
 
GTX 660ti will do the trick. I bought a Predator x34 (3440 x 1440) a few months ago, together with a 1080. The monitor came first before the card, and it worked fine with the gtx660ti, I could even play CS:GO on it with that card.
 
Laffles said:
GTX 660ti will do the trick
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Thanks for the info...the 660ti may be a bit higher end then I was thinking. I found someone selling an R9 270, but decided against it due to power/noise.

I'm still confused on this...my old Mac Mini from 2011 with the Radeon 6630M chipset will output 3440 x 1440 over thunderbolt/DisplayPort (and I'm pretty sure HDMI). However, the specs on the Mac Mini DisplayPort and HDMI show max resolution at 2560 x 1600 and 1920x1200 respectively. This matches what the spec shows for the Radeon 6450/6670 (i.e. DisplayPort 1.2 with max resolution of 2560x1600 and HDMI 1.4 with max resolution 1920x1200).

For comparison, the DisplayPort 1.2 specs show it can support 4k resolution up to 75hz. HDMI 1.4 specs show it can support 4k resolution at 24hz.

Are the specs wrong on the AMD/nVidia websites? Google shows lots of people trying to output 1440p resolutions on older cards with nothing but issues. Is the resolution limited on the driver/Windows side of things?

Edit: Fixed spelling errors
 
For just productivity work I've done it with on board Intel HD graphics - i5-4690K via DP
 
alaricljs said:
For just productivity work I've done it with on board Intel HD graphics - i5-4690K via DP
Click to expand...

I am using existing parts to set up a home server (Atom D525 system), but my monitor is a Dell ultrawide at 3440 x 1440. Motherboard only has D-Sub out. The monitor only has HDMI and Displayport in. Instead of buying an adaptor to go from D-Sub to HDMI/Display port and live with crappy resolution, I thought I could buy a cheap video card and get full resolution.

I want this server on all the time, so that is why I'm looking for something low power/low noise.
 
incredadamible said:
Thanks for the info...the 660ti may be a bit higher end then I was thinking. I found someone selling an R9 270, but decided against it due to power/noise.

I'm still confused on this...my old Mac Mini from 2011 with the Radeon 6630M chipset will output 3440 x 1440 over thunderbolt/DisplayPort (and I'm pretty sure HDMI). However, the specs on the Mac Mini DisplayPort and HDMI show max resolution at 2560 x 1600 and 1920x1200 respectively. This matches what the spec shows for the Radeon 6450/6670 (i.e. DisplayPort 1.2 with max resolution of 2560x1600 and HDMI 1.4 with max resolution 1920x1200).

For comparison, the DisplayPort 1.2 specs show it can support 4k resolution up to 75hz. HDMI 1.4 specs show it can support 4k resolution at 24hz.

Are the specs wrong on the AMD/nVidia websites? Google shows lots of people trying to output 1440p resolutions on older cards with nothing but issues. Is the resolution limited on the driver/Windows side of things?

Edit: Fixed spelling errors
Click to expand...

I dunno, man. You're asking a question almost none of us have to deal with, since those rare people on these forums that DO use 4k resolutions tend to buy capable gaming cards, or a new system with Skylake. Sticking to 1440p or below is far easier on budget low-power cards.

DisplayPort has been a slowly-growing standard, and was only included on > $100 video cards for several years, and wasn't even standard on Nvidia products until 2012. This also means that they were high-power, which goes against your desire for silence. You can find used cards, but then power.

But you can try HDMI. The GT 710 says it supports 4k over HDMI, so you can give that a go. Passive cooled and all.

https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GT-710-1...ie=UTF8&qid=1486159806&sr=1-1&keywords=gt+710

But it can only do 4k at 30 Hz. You will be limited to 50Hz output due to the bandwidth limitations of HDMI 1.4. You want better? Suck-it-up and pay the man for a card with DisplayPort.
 
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whateverer said:
I dunno, man. You're asking a question almost none of us have to deal with
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Haha, yeah, there isn't much out there on this...That's why I'm asking the question :)

whateverer said:
But it can only do 4k at 30 Hz
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I don't need 4k...I was just using it as a comparison as if a card can output 4k, then it should output 3440x1440 without issues. I'm somewhere in the middle on the resolutions posted with the GPU specs...3440 x 1440 has ~25% more pixels than 2560 x 1600, but 4k has 67% more pixels than 3440 x 1440.
 
incredadamible said:
I don't need 4k...I was just using it as a comparison as if a card can output 4k, then it should output 3440x1440 without issues. I'm somewhere in the middle on the resolutions posted with the GPU specs...3440 x 1440 has ~25% more pixels than 2560 x 1600, but 4k has 67% more pixels than 3440 x 1440.
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Yes, but you understand that there is a bandwidth limit, so it won't work above 50 Hz on that HDMI port.

You'd have to pay far higher to get something low-noise with DP. There are some GTX 1050 Ti cards that have a fan that shuts-off at idle. Like this one:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125914
 
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whateverer said:
Yes, but you understand that there is a bandwidth limit, so it won't work above 50 Hz on that HDMI port.
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Sorry, I don't understand what you mean. Which are you saying won't work above 50hz...4k or 3440x1440?

Looking up information on the web...HDMI 1.4 has a max bandwidth up to 10.2 Gbit/s. 4k @ 60hz requires 12.5 Gbit/s and 2560x1440 @ 60hz requires 5.6 Gbit/s. I couldn't find anything showing bandwidth requirements at 3440x1440 @ 60hz, but I calculate it around 7.5 Gbit/s. So theoretically, I should be able to do 3440x1440 @ 60hz on any card with HDMI 1.4.

Next step is to find a card on the cheap to try out...
 
It's because HDMI 1.4 tops-out at 30Hz at 3840×2160. NOT 4k 60Hz.

In order to get to 60Hz, you'd need to drop the resolution by half.

4k = 8.2 Mp

So to get to 60 Hz, you'd need to drop down to 4.1 Mp.

3440*1440 = 4.95 Mp. This is HIGHER than the 60 Hz 4.1 Mp value we computed above, so your refresh rate is going to be under 60 Hz.


Your bandwidth difference is simple to compute:

X = (60Hz) * (4.95 Mp/4.1 Mp) = 50Hz

You cannot get around this bandwidth limit, unless you pay more for a newer, higher-bandwidth connection.

Now quit pretending we're still in the bad-old days of VGA graphics, and be prepared to shell-out for a new $100 graphics card if you want to connect a $500 high-resolution monster at it's rated refresh rate, and be low-power.
 
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whateverer said:
Now quit pretending we're still in the bad-old days of VGA graphics, and be prepared to shell-out for a new $100 graphics card if you want to connect a $500 high-resolution monster at it's rated refresh rate, and be low-power.
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My motherboard is from the bad old days of VGA graphics...that's what I'm trying to fix, just trying to do it with as little cost as possible. Also, as stated in one of my previous posts, my 2011 Mac Mini is able to drive my high-resolution monster at its rated refresh rate...so I know I can do what I want with tech from 4-5 years ago. I don't believe I need to shell out $100 to get what I'm looking for.

Regardless, I found a free Radeon 6850 I'm hoping to try tonight. If it works, I'll let you know...
 
It will work. It's DP 1.2. You just seemed to be against used, and that would have ended the thread right then.
 
whateverer said:
You just seemed to be against used, and that would have ended the thread right then.
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I was assuming I would be getting used, unless there were some blow-out sales somewhere.

On the 6850, I'm going to try both HDMI and DP to see what I can get from each :)
 
Well, I didn't get to test anything last night...My motherboard puts the PCI-E at the bottom of the 2 expansion slots in the case I'm using, so there is no way a dual slot card will work. Also, the free card wasn't a 6850, but a 6870 that needs two 6-pin power connections...my little 400 watt PSU only has a single 6/8-pin.

I would still like to test the card to see if it will work, but wasn't up to dismantling my main rig last night, hopefully tonight. Though, I did reconnect my Mac Mini to my monitor to verify...the 6630M in the Mac is able to output 3440x1440 @ 30hz over HDMI.
 
For anyone interested...I installed the 6870 in my main system and it works as expected. I also managed to acquire a miniDP to DP cable. HDMI = 3440x1440 @ 30hz. DisplayPort = 3440x1440 @ 60hz. Too bad the card won't fit in my case!!
 
GameHard6 said:
Personally, I'd go with this option but I tend to have more expensive taste.
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A friend has an old Quadro card I'm going to try tonight...Single slot, quiet, and relatively low power. It has Displayport, but it's v1.0 (which is half the bandwidth of v1.2). Should still work, but I may have the same limitations as HDMI 1.4 (i.e. 3440x1440 @30hz).

I've read over on the internet that someone was able to get 3440x1440 @ 60hz over DVI (not by default, but by using a custom resolution). I may give that a try too...not sure it will work as I will have to use a DVI to HDMI adapter.
 
Success! A Quadro FX 1800 (released way back in 2009) works! I'm getting 3440x1440 @ 60hz. No custom resolutions required, it just recognized that resolution right away. It is glorious!

I wasn't expecting this, as DisplayPort 1.0/1.1 has less bandwidth (though higher frequency) than HDMI 1.4. From the internet: HDMI 1.4 maximum capacities are 10.2 Gbit/s & 340MHz pixel clock. DisplayPort 1.0/1.1 maximum capacities are 8.64 Gbit/s & 360Mhz pixel clock.

Based on my calculations, 3440x1440 @ 60Hz requires ~7.5 Gbit/s and needs a ~315MHz pixel clock. However, during my test with the Radeon 6870, HDMI 1.4 defaulted 3440x1440 @ 30Hz. If my hypotenuse is correct, I should have been able to force 60Hz to work!


whateverer said:
HDMI 1.4 tops-out at 30Hz at 3840×2160
Click to expand...

Going through everything this past week, I have determined that this is not correct. While HDMI 1.4 can only output 4k @ 30Hz, that isn't maximizing the available bandwitdh. I calculated the "theoretical" top-out refresh rate at 4k resolution to be ~38Hz (limited by pixel frequency).

This then changes the rest of your calculation...as using a 38hz maximum frequency, the ratio is now 38/60...not a half. This means to get 60Hz you'd need to drop down to 5.19 Mp. As 5.19 Mp is above 4.95 Mp (3440x1440 resolution), it should work...though definitely pushing the limits.
 
FYI if you're looking for a really cheap DP card, look at the Nvidia NVS 295. They go for under $7 shipped on eBay and can output at 3440x1440. ;)
 
In my experience with my PG348Q and GTX1070, it's only JUST good enough with not much headroom for the really graphically intensive titles AAA titles. Ideally I would have went with a 1080 for more headroom.
 
SolidBladez said:
FYI if you're looking for a really cheap DP card, look at the Nvidia NVS 295. They go for under $7 shipped on eBay and can output at 3440x1440. ;)
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Thanks for the info. The NVS 295 and the FX 1800 were released around the same time (Q1/Q2 2009), so it makes sense both would work!
 
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