nerdexam
CompTIA

220-802 · Question #478

Mike, a technician, is getting ready to upgrade the graphics card in a customer's computer with a performance PCIe graphics card. The customer has verified that she has a 16x PCIe slot on her…

The correct answer is C. Power supply. High-performance PCIe graphics cards consume significantly more power than a standard PSU may provide, often requiring dedicated PCIe power connectors and higher wattage capacity.

Hardware

Question

Mike, a technician, is getting ready to upgrade the graphics card in a customer's computer with a performance PCIe graphics card. The customer has verified that she has a 16x PCIe slot on her motherboard. Which of the following may also need to be upgraded?

Options

  • ARAM
  • BMotherboard
  • CPower supply
  • DProcessor

How the community answered

(52 responses)
  • A
    6% (3)
  • B
    8% (4)
  • C
    69% (36)
  • D
    17% (9)

Why each option

High-performance PCIe graphics cards consume significantly more power than a standard PSU may provide, often requiring dedicated PCIe power connectors and higher wattage capacity.

ARAM

RAM capacity is independent of GPU installation and does not need to change when upgrading a graphics card.

BMotherboard

The motherboard already has a 16x PCIe slot as confirmed by the customer, so a motherboard upgrade is not required.

CPower supplyCorrect

Performance-class graphics cards frequently require 150-300W or more, delivered through 6-pin or 8-pin PCIe power connectors directly from the PSU, in addition to the 75W available from the slot itself. An older or lower-wattage PSU may lack sufficient total wattage or the necessary PCIe power connectors, requiring an upgrade before the new GPU can operate stably.

DProcessor

The processor does not directly constrain GPU power delivery or physical installation requirements.

Concept tested: PSU power requirements for high-performance GPUs

Source: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005724/graphics.html

Topics

#PCIe graphics card#power supply upgrade#GPU installation#hardware compatibility

Community Discussion

No community discussion yet for this question.

Full 220-802 Practice