Graphics Card Upgrade - SAM 460

I currently have a Radeon 6450 installed in my SAM 460 system. Sadly, there is no 3D support (as far as I can see) for this card. I'm therefore looking to replace it.

Have read several threads here, but I'm still unsure which card to go for. I'm not looking for something very expensive, just want to have 3D working properly. Right now several games runs slow, so looking to speed things up.

Do you guys have any suggestions? I remember using the Radeon 9250 PCI (I think) in the SAM Flex and that felt much faster than the card I'm using now, but I guess there are many better alternatives out there.

Thanks in advance for your help (again). :)

@BobSacamano

A Polaris based card should be the best option in the long term.
Radeon RX550 or RX560 .
You would also need the Polaris driver that is available as part of a pre purchase option of A-Eon's Enhancer Software v2.0

But it may not so easy finding a single slot version so you may need to use a pciex16 riser cable If you need to use the pci slot. Also a large enough case would be required to mount the card properly in this case.

I am currently using a RX550 with pciex16 riser cable with my Sam460ex .Have also used an RX560 with the same setup.
Have sourced a single slot RX550 version but may not get it in my hands to test until next month.
Problem with low profile video card models is that the SATA card in the pci slot can restrict airflow and make the cards run hotter than normal.

I'd advise getting a cable like this so you can secure the PCIe slot to the case. You may have to drill holes for the standoffs but the end result will be worth extra the effort.

@BobSacamano

I recently bought this one:

AMD Radeon RX550 4GB 2DP Card; SKU: 3TK71AA
(https://www.amazon.es/HP-Tarjeta-AMD-R ... 3&creativeASIN=B07DH4PMKG)

Is single slot, has 2 display ports and 1 hdmi, with a dvi2hdmi cable I plugged into my "old" monitor without problems.

Drawback: I don't see/get my Uboot boot menu, as this gfx card has UEFI rom IIRC. "Redirected" to serial in case I'll need to change/see some settings and with an extrenal terminal/PC no probelm then.

Is an RX Polaris 12. Quite happy with it.

@BobSacamano
Quote:
Then don't get a Polaris for now, because there is no classic Warp3D support for those cards at all and only unstable hacky MiniGL support via MiniGL4GL4ES at the moment!
I'd recommend the Sapphire R7 250 2GB DDR5: full 3D support, performance more than good enough for everything on AOS4 (and there will certainly be another extra boost once we got DMA/GART), pretty silent.
I have that one installed in three systems here (X5000, Tabor and sam460ex), very satisfied with those!
Only problem: may be hard to find by now

@Daytona675x

Using one or two slots in Sam460?

@Daytona675x

This one isn't exactly what you recommended, but at least it's available:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D3VY8ZB/ref=psdc_284822_t3_B004X8EO6Q

Would this be a good one to take advantage of the latest drivers?

@arfcarl
This is the one, it effectively covers the PCI slot too, due to the fan construction. In my case this is no problem because that PCI slot isn't used anyway.
However, I also have this one which works flawlessly in the sam460ex too, single slot.

@PEB
I can't say if this one works, didn't test it. If you look here a similar card is mentioned as working, so I asume chances are good for your finding, but no guarantee from my side
If I were you I'd give it a shot Although I have no idea how well that 240 performs on AOS4 right now.

@all
I also have this one here, a passively cooled R7 250 1GB. Had this in stock and just put it into my X5000, works well but looks as if not all VRAM is being accessed, system reports only 200+ free VRAM MB after cold boot (on a pretty clean system), which is still good enough for me but I probably wouldn't recommend this one because of that.

@PEB

Many R7-240 (Oland) based cards do not work with the Sam460ex.
This includes cards that work ok with the X1000 and X5000 .

@Daytona675x

Should this one work with a SAM460?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JOCNH32/ref=dp_cr_wdg_tit_nw_ls

@Spectre660
Thanks for the warning.

@PEB

http://www.hdrlab.org.nz/projects/ami ... er-hardware-compatibility

Not sure if it's the same, but...
XFX Radeon R7 250E 1GB (R7-250E-ZNP4) Cape Verde
RadeonHD v2.7 Working Single slot card

Based on above link.

@jabirulo

Okay, I just ordered it.
I'll know if it works in about a week.

@Spectre660

I tried the R7-240 route but had to go back to a 6570.

@Daytona675x

Quote:
That's a graphics.library limitation, because it can only use the 256 MB that the CPU can access directly. 3D drivers can use the rest of VRAM if you have RadeonHD.chip v3.

Hans

@Hans
Right, totally forgot about this :P

@all
Then I can definitely recommend this one here, I love fanless stuff Performance is fine, and the 1GB are good enough for me and most likely every game available on our system anyway.
Only tested in my X5000, not in the sam460ex!

Note: If you put the gfx card in a sam460, be shure if you don´t cover the PCI Slot. If you want to use DMA für S-ATA, then you won´t be happy with the internal port... it is slow!

You can use a PCI-E Riser card:

Here some images from my "old" Sam460 which i sold some weeks ago:

https://os4welt.de/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2391

And here an image from a Club3D Radeon7750 which is very small and should fit into the Sam460 with using a SATA Controller (slim enough!)

https://os4welt.de/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2396

...links only for pictures because i don´t find a button to upload them here ;)

Regards,
Thomas

@imagodespira

Can't see images I must be registered/logged.

OS4Welt:
Um Beiträge in diesem Forum anzusehen, musst du auf diesem Board registriert und angemeldet sein.

Sorry, i will upload the images to our website tomorrow...

@imagodespira

danke schoen

@jabirulo
Here some images.

This is a gfx card with a bigger height which does not fit into the PCI-E Slot if a SATA controller is used. Many of the gfx cards needs more space or two slots. A solution could be such a PCI-E Riser card:







This kind of card is a perfect one for a sam460 because it is very slim and there is enough place between both cards (SATA+GFX). And if you want a small case, this is low profile and works well (hard to find!!!):




When my Sam460 was new, i built the system without fans as silent Amiga ;) But in this small case (also tried another small case) it was to hot and AmigaOS/Sam460 freezes. So if you want a silent Computer, be shure that you have a bigger case then mine and maybe put a silent case fan into it.

P.S. right click + open in new tab in images for fullsize!