Video card question.

[alfaniner]

I have a Dell XPS 500mhz 128mb ram with a Riva TNT2 nVidia video card. One day after rebooting I got grayed out lines on my screen in the same lines as text.

According to an internet forum, this is a common problem for this card, apparently happening immediately after the warranty runs out (about 3 years).

I'm wondering if anyone knows what card I could simply replace it with (to tide me over until I get a new computer!)

Thanks.

[nyarltep]

you can get a ati 9600 for under $125
look on pricewatch.com and try to find some deals

[a_unique_person]

Anything will be better than that. You just have to make sure your mother board will run AGP 2X. My guess is it will.

[FFed]

I would also recommend ati. I have the Radeon 9500 Pro and consider it the best card I ever bought. With ati having a big chunk of the market there are lots of forums for tweaking and problem solving if you ever have any, such as amdmb (http://www.amdmb.com/)

[thrombus29]

Try this thread at the [H]ocp fourms.

Average Joe's Buying Decision.. Thread For All Sorts of Buying Decisions


http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?threadid=610676&perpage=15&pagenumber=1

[DangerousBeliefs]

Do you plan on upgrading any time soon?

If not, I suggest getting something very similar in power (for around $40 on the Internet - I recommend the GeForce4 MX 440).

If you are planning on upgrading soon, I would suggest the 9600 Pro is a very good buy right now at around $130.

The reason is that your current computer would not be able to handle a modern, powerful video card and you would really be wasting your money unless you're looking to upgrade your entire system.

[alfaniner]

Thanks for the help.

Right, I'm only looking for something about the same until I get a new system in a month or so. I've done some research myself, of course, and haven't opened the computer case to check, but is a video card a "plug and play" thing?

I mean, is this a standard like a USB port where I can just remove the original and plug a new one in (perhaps having to install new drivers and whatnot also)?

[FFed]

Your card is AGP and any card you buy now is AGP, which is the type of slot for the video card. Just pop it out and put in the new one. If the new one says it is AGP 4X then it will still work.
I would uninstall any of the old video drivers before you shut down and put in the new card.

[thrombus29]

Originally posted by FFed
Your card is AGP and any card you buy now is AGP, which is the type of slot for the video card. Just pop it out and put in the new one. If the new one says it is AGP 4X then it will still work.
I would uninstall any of the old video drivers before you shut down and put in the new card.

Not all AGP ports are the same. the first AGP ran at 2 diffrent voltages, I dont know how old your system is, but you should find out which your Mobo has.

Thread with the voltages:

http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/14271/

Edited- Even better page.

http://www.ertyu.org/~steven_nikkel/agpcompatibility.html

[a_unique_person]

My brother in law bought an AGP2 card and tried to plug it into an AGP1 slot. Didn't work, and may have blown up the card.

[DVFinn]

See if you can pick up another TNT2 card. You should be able to get 32 meg one for about $20 and it will be compatible with the AGP slot you're running. Not at all a current card, but very cheap and the performance is in line with the old system. It should run you pretty well until you can get around to a new PC.

I have a pile of cards you can have for nothing including an old VooDoo3 which is more or less approximate to a TNT2. Just send me an email if you'd like, I'll only ask that you cover the shipping.

[alfaniner]

Originally posted by DVFinn
See if you can pick up another TNT2 card. You should be able to get 32 meg one for about $20 and it will be compatible with the AGP slot you're running. Not at all a current card, but very cheap and the performance is in line with the old system. It should run you pretty well until you can get around to a new PC.

I have a pile of cards you can have for nothing including an old VooDoo3 which is more or less approximate to a TNT2. Just send me an email if you'd like, I'll only ask that you cover the shipping.

Thanks, I'll consider it. Don't you need to load some drivers for a specific card also?

I'm finally getting around to doing some shopping this weekend and we'll see what I find first.

[DVFinn]

Retail stores are not the place to get PC parts at reasonable prices, although you can return things easier that way.

try:
http://www.pricewatch.com
http://www.newegg.com

[alfaniner]

ATI Radeon 9000 from Comp USA. $49.99 (plus tax) after rebates.

Got it installed tonight -- along with DVD and other Multimedia applications, looks great!!! Minimal problems (but then I work a "good" support line so I know the questions to ask myself). I wonder why I didn't try this before.

Oh, yeah. I didn't need to!!

[boomer6]

Originally posted by alfaniner
ATI Radeon 9000 from Comp USA. $49.99 (plus tax) after rebates.

Got it installed tonight -- along with DVD and other Multimedia applications, looks great!!! Minimal problems (but then I work a "good" support line so I know the questions to ask myself). I wonder why I didn't try this before.

Oh, yeah. I didn't need to!!

Great! I am glad you problem is fixed. I am curious though; did you try to reinstall your drivers? Along with checking the connections, that is the first thing anyone should do. Time has a way of (working loose/creeping) cards and pins. Drivers sometimes become corrupted over time, and need to be reinstalled.

[boomer6]

Originally posted by alfaniner
ATI Radeon 9000 from Comp USA. $49.99 (plus tax) after rebates.

Got it installed tonight -- along with DVD and other Multimedia applications, looks great!!! Minimal problems (but then I work a "good" support line so I know the questions to ask myself). I wonder why I didn't try this before.

Oh, yeah. I didn't need to!!

I am curious though; did you try to reinstall your drivers? Along with checking the connections, that is the first thing anyone should do. Time has a way of “working loose/creeping) cards and pins. Drivers sometimes become corrupted over time, and need to be reinstalled.

[alfaniner]

Yes, I tried resetting the card in the slot. Also tried reinstalling the original drivers but couldn't get through that process. I saw that my card had a little fan-thing with a lot of dust on it and decided it was just as well to get a new one, and to go through the learning process of upgrading something. Who knows? I mght even add some more RAM!