Nvidia Announces Cessation of Support for Older Graphics Cards and Some Opsys

[RIBob 39]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings.  Unfortunately, I reckon this will affect the EAW users of "legacy" computers, many of whom have elderly, pre-1XXX level GFX cards installed. 

List of Gfx cards affected: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/its-official-nvidia-will-stop-supporting-gtx-600-and-700-gpus-from-october

Supplimentary info concerning OpSys no longer supported: https://techxplore.com/news/2021-06-nvidia-windows-kepler-gpus.html

What does this mean?

Not an Expert, but Nvidia updates for most pre-1XXX series graphics cards will cease.  Your pre-1XXX series graphics card will still work in the future as it did in the past, but Nvidia will no longer support them with updates.  I'm not sure about Nvidia discontinuing support for legacy OpSys, except that the Opsys involved are Win 7, 8, and 8.1.  Suggest updating your pre 1XXX series card PRIOR to cut-off date, straight from Nvidia website.

Unfortunately, the market for even lower-end Gfx cards (pre-1XXX cards) is so price-inflated that many 1XXX series cards are vastly over-priced compared to MSRP, and possibly unobtainable.  I recently sold some 7XX series Nvidia Gfx cards for about 3x what I paid for them not long ago.  That's how the bids on ebay went.

Users of computers with dedicated CPU-based graphics, such as many laptop users, may find upgrading physically impossible, although some laptops might allow upgrading their CPU and/or discrete grapics card. Whether or not an existing Gfx card is included in Nvidia's "list" is dependent on the user's computer, and its' configuration.  I recently upgraded my Dell N5050 laptop from original I3 CPU to I7 CPU.  Still the same internal CPU-based Gfx unit.  YMMV.  Other laptops might have discrete Gfx cards, and possibly their discrete pre-1XXX level Graphics cards might be capable of being updated. 

In a more rational Gfx card market, the answer would be simple:  Upgrade to an appropriate 1XXX level (or better) Gfx card.  Unfortunately even such relatively low-level cards such as pre-1XXX  series Gfx cards bring prices far in excess of MSRP.  1XXX level cards will likely see a significant price boost after this announcement becomes widely known.  OTOH, if one wishes to upgrade within the pre-1XXX series cards, the prices for the pre-1XXX series of Nvidia cards is likely to remain stable, or even drop a bit., post announcement.  Users of Small Form Factor (SFF) computers will find their choices very constrained, as such Half-Height, Low Profile cards have always been in short supply--and their market price  has always reflected this. 

Yet another issue is that some users of "legacy computers" will find that Gfx cards of 1XXX level and above will have significantly greater power draw than pre-1XXX  level cards, and their computer's proprietary Power Supply Unit may not be able to run their proposed Gfx card, or be replaced with a higher-power unit.  As a benchmark (of sorts) an Nvidia 1030 Gfx card will run perfectly well on my old Win 7 Dell Optiplex 760 computer, even with wimpy 240W proprietary PSU.

For reference: Nvidia 4000 series cards soon to be announced. 

Upgrading one's hardware is, unfortunately, now being made necessary by Computer mfrs, CPU manufacturers, Opsys Mfrs (Win 11 is coming...), and now Graphics card mfrs.  In some cases, upgrading may no longer an option, and an entirely new coomputer might be in the offing.

FWIW, considering on which 1200W PSU to buy.  Thinking ahead, to the power demands of future Gfx cards, and replacing current 600W PSU. 

Onwards and upwards.  Ad Astra!

Edited October 31, 2021 by RIBob

[VonBeerhofen 63]

Yep, this might cause problems for some people. Maybe they can stop upgrading and keep things working but most people don't even know how to make that happen. Still I don't expect Operating Systems to install an upgrade which isn't suitable for older hardware but I've seen some weird stuff before. Win10 support will also drop pretty soon I understand and with that support for EAW and other legacy games may also stop altogether. Can't stop progress. No worries for people still using legacy computers to play these games, glad I kept mine working, :)

VonBeerhofen

[VonBeerhofen 63]

Do you have your own generator for EAW RiBob? Lol.

VBH

[RIBob 39]

Sorry, don't understand.  I do have an emergency Generator, but using my computer in conjunction with my Genny requires an Uninterruptable Power Supply as an interface, since my Genny does not produce the pure sine wave electricity that electronics demand.

[VonBeerhofen 63]

I refer to this:

quote "considering on which 1200W PSU to buy" /quote

It's probably not an uncommon energy use nowadays but in the old days I heated up my bedroom with it. For comparison, in the old days of EAW a complete computer system ran on app. 500W, mine still does, :)

VBH

[RIBob 39]

Oh, I see.  Modern graphics cards, exclusive of the rest of the computer, can draw as much as 300W.  Add to that maybe 200W for the CPU, and add some "headroom" for the rest of the computer and peripherals, plus some "future-proofing, and 1200W is about right for the forseeable future.

Most PSUs "like" to operate somewhere in the middle of their power range, and that is where they are at their most efficient.