Legacy Dell T-3500 GPU Guidance Please

crown2020 wrote on 11/19/2021, 2:29 AM

Hi guys. I trust this post finds each of you well.

Here are my current system specs:

Windows 10 Pro / 64 bit.

Dell Precision T3500 3.47GHz

6 Core (12 threads Available at the hardware level), (16 available by default in host Vegas Pro 17, and can be increased).

24gb DDR3 Ram

** Nvidia Quadro 4000 (installed with the OLDEST driver I could find on Nvidia's Site (R340), (341.96) **

(2) 1TB Samsung SSD Drives.

I'm running Vegas Pro 17 (Build 455). My head is spinning after reading all the info about GPU's on this form and other places. I do not want to screw up and spend say $1000.00 dollars on a card, (when there is little to no performance benefit), when I could have spent say $500.00. My present card is WAY out of date. It's a Quadro 4000. It was released November 2, 2010. Even trying the latest to the oldest driver(s), it's PATHETIC. I've read that the Quadro, (at least in the year 2017 or so), is a card many on this form have disliked for noted bad performance. I can see why. I turned off GPU acceleration and used only my CPU. MUCH much better performance. However, I need to better what my CPU can do now.

I really desire the most modern card I can use with my current system specs. A new card is better in warranty terms. eBay is also an option. There is usually no warranty, however, on eBay. I primarily edit SD video. I may move into the 4k plus 21st centry one of these days. I'm not really sure my T3500 could even handle 4k. I edit SD now.

UPDATE: 11/21/21 - Research has lead me to these cards:

(1) GTX 1050 Ti

(2) ZOTAC Gaming GeForce GTX 1660 Ti

(3) GTX 1070 SC

(4) GeForce RTX 2060

Given my above system specs, I'd welcome thoughts on which of the above cards would benefit my SD encoding times under Vegas Pro 17. If I upgrade to Vegas Pro 18, would your answer change? Would my PCI bus speed seriously limit the performance of the card you recommend?

I welcome any thoughts or comments that can help guide my purchase decision. I make enough bad choices on my own. I thought I would get help with that this time around. 😁 In all seriousness, I really thank you all in advance for your time. It's always appreciated.

Comments

RogerS wrote on 11/19/2021, 7:20 AM

Is this CPU a 2010-era Xeon? I'd keep what you have and look to get a new computer when you can afford one. There are other threads here with recommended specs.

For 4K try right-clicking on the media and select "create proxy files." That's what I did with my computer from 2011 and it took time but worked.

Why do you use the oldest driver you can find? Is that the newest that works with this card? Generally the newest compatible driver you can find is preferable as it has bug fixes.

crown2020 wrote on 11/19/2021, 11:31 AM

@RogerS, Thank you for your reply. I am not interested in a new computer at the moment. I'm only doing SD right now. I'm interested in a card that can increase my processing time so that I will have faster encodes than my CPU can currently provide. To answer your question, it is a Xeon processor. I do not believe it's a "2010-era" as the T3500 is a "Precision". I THINK it came about in 2009.

I'd still welcome GPU recommendations for this T3500. If the general idea is that I can not get a card that would surpass my current CPU, I will have no choice but to upgrade. I would rather not at this time.

Still open to GPU suggestions at this point.

RogerS wrote on 11/19/2021, 8:46 PM

Okay, it's 2009 era CPU then.

Here are a few questions: how much spare wattage does your power supply provide?

How much room in the case do you have for a new GPU?

What cables does your power supply use?

Read: "What Graphics Cards Are Compatible With My PC?"
https://www.tomshardware.com/features/graphics-card-compatibility

I'm not very familiar with hardware from that era so I encourage you to look into it carefully. You may find that the newest GPU you can use are not current models but from some years in the past. If the newest GPU you can use is older than the minimum recommended for Vegas Pro 17, don't waste your money. If the PCI bus speed is going to seriously limit the performance of the GPU, think carefully about whether it's worth it. Computers don't retain value well so you may be able to find a used or refurb system from say 2017 that would perform better than a 2009-era system with a new GPU.