Not 100% sure if this is the right forum but mods can move it if they feel it fits better in a different forum.
My computer has no video. I turn it on, it lights up, the fans and drives whirr, but no picture. I got my old computer out and plugged it into the same monitor, using the same monitor cable, and it works fine. So it’s not an issue with the monitor or cable. I’m thinking my graphics card died. I can not pull the video card out of my old computer and put it in the new one because it’s an AGP card, and the newer computer does not have AGP slots.
My computer has an ASUS P5Q Pr0 motherboard with 2 PCI Express 16x slots. It supports Crossfire but not SLI. I would imagine it works with Nvidia cards, just not dual SLI setups, right?
I’d like to get a new video card that will still allow me to play new games. It doesn’t have to last 5 years, or play new games a year from now, I just want to play a few new/recently released games like the new X-Com, Guild Wars 2, and a few others. The numbering system used for video cards is horrible, and I haven’t kept up with video card happenings since I did research to buy the current machine (about 4 years ago).
Can the dopers recommend a new video card for less than $100 that will allow me to play my games? I’d like to spend as little as possible due to financial constraints and have seen some for $60 on newegg but don’t know if they’re decent cards or not. I had a Radeon, I want to say 4850, in there, but I’m not married to Radeon cards. Thanks!
This seems to be a good card. From what I’ve gathered from the reviews, Crysis would probably kill it on max settings. But it should satisfy your needs rather nicely.
From that list I think the GTX 550 ti or the HD 7770 would be my recommendations, though if you can spare the extra $20 I’d definitely try to get the 7770.
The best bang for your buck card overall is the 7850 1gb - regularly available for $160 or less after rebate.
For $100 or less, I’d get the 7750. No need for PCI-E power connectors and not a huge power draw so it should work regardless of how crappy the power supply might be in your current system. The fastest card that hits your $100 price point (after rebate) is the 7770 ghz edition, if you have a PCI-E power connector and a decent power supply SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7770 Video Card 100358L - Newegg.com
Note that your CPU could hold you back in modern games even if your graphics card is enough. Your board is LGA 775, so if you have a Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad you probably are ok (although games will play somewhat slower than with a current processor) - anything slower could cause issues with the CPU limiting your performance on some titles.
The power supply is a Corsair 750TX, not the modular one. Supposed to be a nice durable, reliable PSU. Wish I’d gotten the modular one though, my PC suffers from Cable Hell. One card, 2 drives, and 20 cables
CPU is a Core2Duo. I bought the mobo thinking I could upgrade to a Quad once games really started taking advantage of the extra power. Are we there yet?
The dead card is a Radeon 4870 HD, I think 512mb, don’t remember how fast the memory on the card was but I think DDR3. Other than more memory, how do the cards listed stack up? Even the $60 cards recommended would be an upgrade over my 4870, right?
My motherboard supports PCI-E 2.0. What are the advantages you get from 3.0 (I’m assuming a bigger “pipe” to send data down?). Would it be better to get a nicer 2.0 card or one of the lower end 3.0 cards? I am assuming I could use a 3.0 card on my 2.0 board, even though the system might not take full advantage of it.
Yeah, I went modular a few years back. Never looking back.
I think we are. Multiple cores are starting to equate with noticeable improvements in game performance.
However, the improvement you would get from moving up to a Core 2 quad vs the cost of a core 2 quad (new egg doesn’t even carry them anymore - you’re looking at amazon for a used one or a way overpriced new one) wouldn’t be worth it. If you want to upgrade your CPU, you’re best value for the buck is looking at moving to the new ivory bridge architecture. A nice mobo + i5 will set you back $350 for a huge boost in performance. Definitely don’t bother with a move to a core 2 quad unless you find a second hand processor for really cheap.
Looks like it’s more of a lateral move. Newer architecture is likely to mean lower power draw, more efficient rendering in newer API’s (DX 10/DX11), some new features, and better performance due to better driver optimizations.
The HD7770 will move you up in terms of performance on paper as well as provide all of the above.
Yeah pretty much 3.0 = double the bandwidth of 2.0. Right now, that’s really only going to matter to SLI/xfire systems where two or more cards can possibly saturate a 2.0 bus. There might be latency improvements as well, but I’m not sure.
Ok we’ve had some issue with one or both of us being sick, my wife spent some time in the hospital, etc, so I’ve not gotten the video card until yesterday. Installed it…and still no video…
I am using an old computer to post this. This comp has AGP slots, a different CPU slot in the motherboard, etc, so most of the stuff in this old comp is completely incompatible with the newer one for testing purposes.
The old computer is using the same monitor cable and is connected to the same monitor. So the problem is not the monitor or the monitor cable.
I put the new video card in and no dice. So the problem is not the video card.
I had an old power supply that came with my case. I decided to get a beefier power supply because I had that 4870 and was considering crossfiring a second 4870 at some point. Last night I removed the shrink wrap from the power supply that came with the case and installed it, with no luck. So it’s not the power supply.
I am at my wits end. The only two things left I can think of are the motherboard or the CPU. I tried connecting the new video card to the second PCI-E slot (where you’d put a second card if you were using crossfire). Still no picture, but I’m not sure if you HAVE to use slot 1 if you only have 1 card? The motherboard is discontinued but you can get one on ebay for around $130. We’re behind on bills because of the medical issues and I can’t afford a new mobo right now.
I can get a LGA 775 core2duo CPU used for $30. If a CPU is fried, you would get the symptoms I am having now, right? Case lights up, drives are humming and all fans seem to be spinning, but no picture whatsoever. When you first boot it, everything lights up for about 10 seconds, then shuts off for a few seconds, then starts back up again (but no video at any point).
So I’m thinking about just getting a replacement CPU for $30 since that’s cheap. If that’s not the problem, maybe wait a month or 2 until we’re a bit caught up in our bills then try a replacement mobo.
Any advice or comments? It HAS to be the mobo or CPU right? I’ve replaced the video card, video card cable, computer cable, power supply, hard drive and dvd drive (drives about 1 weeks before the video issue). I don’t know what else it could be.
The motherboard does not have onboard video. I haven’t heard any beeps on startup, I will check to make sure the case speakers are installed.
The PS was replaced. Granted the one I replaced it with was a 530w to the 750w that was in there when the video died, but I don’t have that huge 4870 in there anymore, and only a dvd and one hd, so it shouldn’t be drawing that much power. It is suspicious that it shuts off for a few seconds when first booting though
It is working. I took pretty much everything out of the case including the motherboard and CPU, and gave it a good cleaning. It wasn’t that dirty but there was some dust behind the fans. Re-seated everything, reconnected the CPU (including thermal paste), and reconnected everything. Then I changed the jumper to reset the bios, took the CMOS battery out and put it back in, and put the jumper back. Works fine now.
A couple case fans were not working, but I took a case fan off the old comp and stuck it in. The other fan had a pin loose in the molex connector and it was starting to come out. I pushed it back in with needle nose pliers and it worked fine after that.
No, but my DVD drive died so I installed a new one. Then I decided to get a larger HD because I was running out of space on my old one. Then I upgraded to Windows 7. All the new devices were working fine for about 2 weeks when it died. I guess it’s possible that I bumped a connector loose or something. It’s been working fine for a couple days so hopefully it will stay that way for a while.
