[08HybridOK]

I'm not big on off topic threads, but here goes.

I have a HP m7360y XP MCE desktop, from about 2005 w/ LCD monitor. I recently did a factory reset/reboot to clean up all the problems/software/etc. So after a week the screen started going a little funky once in a while. Well today it's all messed up, it's like looking at the monitor thru a color screen 9currently it's blue, but sometimes orange). At first a reboot fixed it for a while, now not at all. I've updated windows and the graphics driver. I replaced the monitor & the cable, still have the problem. I think the timing is just coincidence. It's a ATI Radeon x600 card now.

I've kinda been wanting to get a new card anyway so I might be able to play Stargate when it's finally released. Currently the most graphice intensive game is AOE III, MCE & youtube.
If I need a new card, what do I get? I think I should double the memory to 512, I'm pretty sure I have a PCIx16 slot. There are so many choices. I'd like to stay around $100 or less, but might splurge to $150 for sometihng great.

Help, suggestions?!

Edit: Oh I think I can rule out the drivers, the screen is messed up at boot up as well (dos/Bios) before windows even starts.

So any good/cheap cards?
Of course any ad makes their card look like superman!
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... CatId=1826

 

[CrashNburn]

i just upgraded to a geforece 8800GT brand XFX. new they run about 89 bucks. its a 512 with SLI capabilities. i got is from a guy who upgraded for $50. it seems to run great.

 

[RobtRoma]

Did you do any troubleshooting yet?

First, check the connections? I'd disconnect the cables and reconnect them before I tried anything else. If that doesn't work you can try swapping the cable with another one (if you have access to another monitor cable). If that doesn't work, see if you can get another monitor to test. See if it flickers. If that didn't work, I'd look into the graphics card. Just make sure there is a good return policy.

I agree that a card with the nVidia 8800GT GPU is a great value. Only thing is they seem to be discontinued. Newegg doesn't have many and they are all over $140 unless you are looking at a refurb. TigerDirect has them for $99 (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4197114&CatId=3670). But again, it seems to be a refurb. The 9800GT is the replacement for the 8800GT. I've heard it's not as good as the 8800GT but it's close. They are around $109 after rebate.

Good luck!

 

[08HybridOK]

Did you do any troubleshooting yet?

First, check the connections? I'd disconnect the cables and reconnect them before I tried anything else. If that doesn't work you can try swapping the cable with another one (if you have access to another monitor cable). If that doesn't work, see if you can get another monitor to test. See if it flickers. If that didn't work, I'd look into the graphics card. Just make sure there is a good return policy.

I agree that a card with the nVidia 8800GT GPU is a great value. Only thing is they seem to be discontinued. Newegg doesn't have many and they are all over $140 unless you are looking at a refurb. TigerDirect has them for $99 (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4197114&CatId=3670). But again, it seems to be a refurb. The 9800GT is the replacement for the 8800GT. I've heard it's not as good as the 8800GT but it's close. They are around $109 after rebate.

Good luck!

Thanks, I swaped cables & monitors so I know that's not it. I reinserted the card. I also recently took the whole computer outside and took an air hose to blow all the dust out (about 1-2 months ago) I think it may be overheating, it seems to work better after power off for a while (it's normaly on 24/7 for 3+ yrs)

I don't know if I should save a few $ and order online, or go to a local BestBuy, circuit city, office depot & get one off the shelf. Compusa closed their store here.

BB shows this card XFX - NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT 512MB DDR3 PCI Express Graphics Card for $150
PNY - Verto NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR2 PCI Express Graphics Card $129
BFG - NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT 1GB DDR2 PCI Express Graphics Card $120
& BFG - NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS 512MB DDR2 PCI Express Graphics Card $68

Another question, in system requirments, most state the system has to have the same amount of memory as the card. So does that mean it's not onboard memory, it steals from the system?

 

[RobtRoma]

I swapped cables & monitors so I know that's not it. I reinserted the card. I also recently took the whole computer outside and took an air hose to blow all the dust out (about 1-2 months ago) I think it may be overheating, it seems to work better after power off for a while (it's normally on 24/7 for 3+ yrs)

Good work with the troubleshooting. If you think it might be overheating, buying a new modern card might not help. I would figure they produce more heat than the on-board graphics. They also inhibit air movement. The question should be "why would it be overheating?" You blew the dust out of the machine, that's good. Did you check the fans to make sure they are still working? I'm not overly familiar with HP machines because I build my own... do they even have additional fans beyond the power supply?

I don't know if I should save a few $ and order online, or go to a local BestBuy, circuit city, office depot & get one off the shelf. Compusa closed their store here.

BB shows this card XFX - NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT 512MB DDR3 PCI Express Graphics Card for $150
PNY - Verto NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT 512MB GDDR2 PCI Express Graphics Card $129
BFG - NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT 1GB DDR2 PCI Express Graphics Card $120
& BFG - NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS 512MB DDR2 PCI Express Graphics Card $68

I usually order online (unless there is a really good sale). Again, where ever you buy, make sure there is a good return policy. At Newegg look for a card with a "Standard Return Policy" You can get your money back with that. The "30-Day Limited Return Policy" won't let you return... only exchange within 30-days. That's not good if you are not absolutely sure a card will work with your machine. Also, realize that returning something you purchase online will likely cost you $10 or so in shipping. That's what it cost me to return a bad Hard Drive I got with my last order.

Another really important thing I forgot to mention... Newer cards need power and connections that many older power supplies cannot provide. You need to verify what your P.S. can provide on the 12v rail(s) and the available connectors. There should be a label on the P.S. that tells you what it can do. (HP's and Dell's tend to really cheap out on the P.S.'s so be extra careful here). You also need to verify the requirements of the card and make sure the P.S. can supply at least the minimum. An example: A similar GeForce 9600 GT requires a "Minimum of a 400 Watt power supply" with a "Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 26 Amp Amps." It also requires a 6-pin connector. Usually they include an adapter that can work it you have 2 available molex connectors.

Another question, in system requirements, most state the system has to have the same amount of memory as the card. So does that mean it's not on-board memory, it steals from the system?

Usually what is listed on the card specs is what you get in terms of on-board memory. I remember reading something about this when I ordered my 8800GT but I can't remember the reason why. I believe DirectX 10 cards can use system memory if required. This might have something to do with the requirement...

 

[08HybridOK]

Thanks for the info. I hated to do it, but my computer was dead in the water otherwise, I couched up the clams for the BFG - NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT 1GB DDR2 at BB I see the same card at buy.com is $20 less + a $30 rebate I couldn't even get one of the BB snobs to stop and help me pick one out. If I wasn't desperate I'd have ordered online and waited a few days.

I didn't see a power connection on the card, but it mentions needing a 350W power supply. BTW I seem to recall replacing the PS shortly after the 1 yr mark, but don't recall the rating, I'm sure at least 350 tho. It's been on for 15 min so far, and so far so good. need to play a game now and see what happens.

I only thought overheating due to the fact the card was dang hot, but it may always have been, there was no fan on the old one.

Humm maybe I'll buy one from buy.com, and return it to BB??

 

[CrashNburn]

hey keep me in your thoughts if you ever trade up that 8800GT, i would like to get another one to SLI them.

 

[RobtRoma]

Thanks for the info. I hated to do it, but my computer was dead in the water otherwise, I couched up the clams for the BFG - NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT 1GB DDR2 at BB...

I didn't see a power connection on the card, but it mentions needing a 350W power supply. BTW I seem to recall replacing the PS shortly after the 1 yr mark, but don't recall the rating, I'm sure at least 350 tho. It's been on for 15 min so far, and so far so good. need to play a game now and see what happens.

Your welcome. The 9500's don't need an extra power connector (9600's and better do). They aren't really considered a gaming card but I guess it depends on what you are playing and your expectations. In case you are curious, Newegg indicates the power requirements for the card you got as: 350W PCI Express-compliant system power supply with a combined 12V current rating of 18A or more"

Good luck with the new card.

hey keep me in your thoughts if you ever trade up that 8800GT, i would like to get another one to SLI them.

Sorry, not likely any time soon... I just built the box with that card 3 months ago and it's actually more powerful than anything I'll ever need. I only occasionally dabble in games... I do more AutoCAD, Paint Shop Pro, Video Editing, etc...

 

[CrashNburn]

lol, thats ok, i will just put it on my xmas list. ive got the SLI connector just sitting here waiting to be used. eventually i will run dual SLI 2G dedicated video ram. and then get a 1TB internal HD and 2 more G of ram. then i PC will be pretty much maxed out.

 

[RobtRoma]

Sweet :thumb: I've got 4 gig RAM and two 750 GB drives in a RAID 0 configuration as my system (C drive... and I just purchased a 1.5 TB drive for backup and storage. I've got way too much sh*t... :bang:

 

[CrashNburn]

Sweet :thumb: I've got 4 gig RAM and two 750 GB drives in a RAID 0 configuration as my system (C drive... and I just purchased a 1.5 TB drive for backup and storage. I've got way too much sh*t... :bang:

what drive did you get for your backup? im thinking of getting a 1TB networking HD, i was just reading that i should only run 3x500G internals in my system. i guess i should have checked before i posted that i want to put a 1TB internal in eh lol./ :tease:

 

[RobtRoma]

I got the Seagate Barracuda 1.5 gb on sale at a local MicroCenter about 10 days ago. I've read some bad things about the larger drives and their failure rates (the main reason I purchased locally). Especially in RAID setups. You are better off with 3 smaller drives vs 1 large one. Are you looking at a RAID 5 setup? I've only used RAID 0.

For me, this desktop will only be used 8-10 hours per week. It's not a workstation, it's a really powerful home PC. I should be fine with the larger drive so long as I don't have any of the "freezing" issues I'm now reading about. :roll: I've really got to get that thing in my PC before the return policy expires...

 

[08HybridOK]

12+ hrs so far, and only one BSD but it could have been me, I was streaming a NBC show, had a few programs open, downloading a game, and started something else, I don't recall exactly. But AOE III plays fine, the can I run it? website says I can run Ultimate something 3, which is suposed to have similar requirements to Stargate Worlds. But I doubt I'll ever play, I can't get into those games, to many buttons & options to remember what does what. I need pacman, & pole postion style games! :lol:

But it does seem to really help in graphics, like opening a folder of 100's of pics, I get thumbnails almost imediatly vs like 1 a sec! I haven't doen any photo or video editing yet, but imagine it'll help there too. That stuff is just so time consuming, like convering a DV tape to a DVD... :wall: (<couldn't find a pulling hair out)

now to swap out my dual analog tuner for a HD one, because 2 HD tivos (2 tuners each) and a Dish HD dvr is just not enough HD recording capacity! :lol: :yahoo:

:wave:

BTW I used to build my own PC's, back in the 386/486 SX/DX era. Back when I had a brain & options were limited & pricy. There was what ISA only slots and a choice of a 10M HD or a 20M Scsi drive, and memory was 1 stick at a time, like 2-8M sticks.

Since then it's easier to buy a pre configured with what I want then try to figure out what parts work with each other.
This PC I'm using now I inherited with the house when my fater in law passed, so it's not what I may have buildt, but seems pretty good. A dual core 2.8 intel cpu & 2G ram with a 225ish G sata HD in raid 1(where it's duplicating everything). I think I'm going to change the setting to 2 seperat HD's so I have more storage.

 

[RobtRoma]

BSoD's can happen when a card isn't getting enough power. Have you checked the power supply yet to see if the 12v rail is providing 18 amps? If you get more BSoD's, this might be the problem. Too much going on usually just locks things up. You can also see if there is an updated driver at the manufacturer's site.

Agreed about the games. I just like to look at the graphics. It amazes me. The 1st person shooters get me dizzy really quick. I miss Q-Bert and Xaxon.

Dang... you must watch a lot of TV. 5 DVR tuners aren't enough?! I have 3 (single tuner TiVo and a dual tuner Cable box). Monday night is the only night I wish I had another.

I built my first PC 15 years ago. It was easier to select parts but tougher to configure. It's still not that bad if you are careful and do some research. The worst part is geting the CPU fan installed... :rant:

 

[CrashNburn]

i have mine set up, at 2 separate drives, all my downloading goes on one, is scanned then tested before its moved to the primary drive. my computer has been on almost 24/7 since February 06, and i just did my first upgrade (the Vid card)
you have a regular tuner card for sale perhaps? i dont need HD.