I have a PC that I got from someone else who built their PC and it is finally starting to show its age. Sometimes when I open applications, the frame rate drops.

I think it is using one of these currently, from 2014. https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/900-series/

I know that gfx cards have to be compatible with your Power Supply, and your PCI-E slot, but not sure what else I should know??

I would like to get something very compatible with Linux, Firefox, and Wayland, with lots of hardware codecs. Intel ARC?

How do you learn all this stuff?

  • Toes♀@ani.social
    2·
    2 days ago

    3rd gen i7 platform will be your major bottleneck.

    If the prices for ram weren’t insane right now I’d suggest a whole new build depending on what games you’re hoping to play.

    Don’t go with ARC as it’s not compatible with that motherboard. You need resizable bar support and ideally an x8 pcie gen4 lane or better.

    Since you’re rocking Linux I would suggest sticking to AMD graphics.

    What PSU are you using and games/software would you like to run better?

    The 980 is pretty good for most purposes outside of modern games.

    I’d suggest a new SSD and redoing the thermal paste on the cpu. Clean up the dust too.

    • sem@piefed.blahaj.zoneOPEnglish
      0·
      2 days ago

      Thanks, I didn’t know that x8 pcie was a thing now… also resizable bar support – something else to research.

      I cleaned up the dust and I haven’t noticed those “jerky cursor” problems for a bit, so hopefully that was it. It wasn’t even that much dust, so we’ll see how long 'til the system does it again. I am not trying to play any specific games, just trying to use the OS, file picker, etc., without lag.

      The PSU is a Corsair TX750

      I would like a linux desktop that “just works” ™ when I upgrade, but doesn’t have to play heavy games or pull heavy workloads. I thought a steam machine might be a decent choice for that, but hopefully this desktop has a few more years left in it.

      • Toes♀@ani.social
        2·
        2 days ago

        jerky cursor” problems

        Are you using the nvidia drivers and have your monitor connected to the gpu?

        The 980 should be more than capable of a fully functional desktop experience, so after cleaning the dust it may have just been a heating issue.

        • sem@piefed.blahaj.zoneOPEnglish
          2·
          2 days ago

          I am using the nvidia proprietary drivers, and had to use prime-select to set them to default. I am guessing it was just a heating issue! It looks like I should add dusting it out to the regular preventative maintenance schedule. I am hoping to not have to mess with the thermal paste.