Video card upgrade, need advice

[oldguy]

Need advise, I'm looking at upgrading my video card, Ive been having trouble with the card thats in my machine, its a good card, but it sometimes frizzes or shuts down then the computer re boots, a windows error message pops up saying to update to the last drives for my card, I have done that, but still the same, doesn't make any dif if I roll back drivers.
Have been on a few forum sites, and most have said, that it is a driver problem, and don't know if there is a fix for it, I can't be ass'd looking for a solution, so just put a new card in.
Im thinking of an ATI X800 pro 256/256 but there are so many different models of that same card and the verying prices I don't know which is better.
Any help or advise appreciated.

Cheers John

Oh almost forgot, old skool motherboard uses AGP.

my card... ASUS V9570D

Nvidia GForce FX5700

256MB DDR interface 256 bit

[Romeo]

Power supply unit.

Tell us all the components in your system as well as the Wattage on your PSU, as the usual suspect in the exact problem you describe is a weak PSU. No point buying a new, more powerful graphics card if your current PSU wont be able to power it.

[oldguy]

Power supply unit.

Tell us all the components in your system as well as the Wattage on your PSU, as the usual suspect in the exact problem you describe is a weak PSU. No point buying a new, more powerful graphics card if your current PSU wont be able to power it.

PSU 520watt

MBoard Gigabyte GA-7N400 Dual channel DDR400

AGP 8X

CPU AMD Athlon 2400+ its running at 2.0Ghz

Ram 1.280

[boomer]

have you tried removing your old driver, then deleting any files left on the drive associated with the driver ( theres also some driver cleaners on some geek sites, search driver cleaner.. blah blah ), the n do a disk clean up and defrag...then reboot and reinstall new drivers? driverheaven has some good utils i think

failing that and your happy its ya gfx card do a search on pricespy (http://www.pricespy.co.nz/) and pick up the cheapest x800 if it'ss not for anything special.. i.e. gaming or video editing etc. They're all much of a muchness for everyday use. although there are better cards out there now and prolly cheaper too

i've got a spare x800 sat on teh shelf ive just ripped out cos i got a new mobo .. well i rebuilt my pc


* edit; heres a link to driver cleaners and driver updates for ya (http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=745)

[boomer]

Power supply unit.

Tell us all the components in your system as well as the Wattage on your PSU, as the usual suspect in the exact problem you describe is a weak PSU. No point buying a new, more powerful graphics card if your current PSU wont be able to power it.

theres tonnes of shit it could be.. ps being one but drivers get corrupt easily enough.. even his Ram or mobo.

old fella.. try testing ya ram is ok too.. leave one piece in, remove the rest and test 'em all that way

[oldguy]

have you tried removing your old driver, then deleting any files left on the drive associated with the driver ( theres also some driver cleaners on some geek sites, search driver cleaner.. blah blah ), the n do a disk clean up and defrag...then reboot and reinstall new drivers? driverheaven has some good utils i think

failing that and your happy its ya gfx card do a search on pricespy.com and pick up the cheapest x800 if it'ss not for anything special.. i.e. gaming or video editing etc. They're all much of a muchness for everyday use. although there are better cards out there now and prolly cheaper too

i've got a spare x800 sat on teh shelf ive just ripped out cos i got a new mobo .. well i rebuilt my pc

I do play alot of online games on this PC... HL2, DFBHD, CSS, DODS.

cheers boomer, will try that, I uninstall through add and remove and that never seems to remove all

[Ragingrob]

Hey don't have too much advice, but I have a Radeon proX800 256Mb and it runs really well :), so that could be an option for ya!

[quallman1234]

Your CPU is a big bottleneck right there.

You probably wont see a great deal of improvment with a new GFX card.

Possibly get a XP3200+ Might help a little bit. But its probably time to swap the mobo and cpu.

Ch ching!

Oh right your having problems.

Use driver cleaner when installing new drivers.

[boomer]

I do play alot of online games on this PC... HL2, DFBHD, CSS, DODS.

cheers boomer, will try that, I uninstall through add and remove and that never seems to remove all

in that case go to computer lounge, mt eden, ask for Paul tell him Duncan sent ya and he'll do you a good deal on a decent card..and he'll look after you in future.


you using xp i take it? remove from add/remove programs then goto to teh display driver ( right click screen, properties, and unistall driver from there. Theres also an ati folder under c:/ati or c:/programs/ati/ that will have an unistall .exe you can use to remove the thing.

anyhows.. let me know how u get on and if u do decide to buy a new card buy mainstream mate with as much ram s poss ;)

[boomer]

Your CPU is a big bottleneck right there.

You probably wont see a great deal of improvment with a new GFX card.

Possibly get a XP3200+ Might help a little bit. But its probably time to swap the mobo and cpu.

Ch ching!

not for playing teh games hes playin now; granted for newer stuff yeah but thats not his problem.. his problem is a fooked rig:girlfight:


* edit.. i see you've changed ya reply now :p

[Fub@r]

I do play alot of online games on this PC... HL2, DFBHD, CSS, DODS.

cheers boomer, will try that, I uninstall through add and remove and that never seems to remove all

I would advise a major upgrade and get yourself a PCI-e gfx card, they are dirt cheap if you want to game. But it will mean a whole system upgrade

I have a AMD64 3500 with 7800GTX and I want to upgrade as its not fast enought :)

For $750 you can build an Intel Core 2, 2 gig ram, mobo, case, 320gig SATA2 HDD, 8600GT, 20x DVD burner will run your games and make you a coffee without breaking a sweat :)

[Ragingrob]

On a side note, I'm selling my comp right now on trademe...

AMD 3200+
80Gig drive
1Gig ram
Radeon 256Mb card
DVD burner
Windows xp pro
17" screen + 15"screen
Two keyboards
20 Gig music
A few games here and there like CS etc, nfs most wanted, rugby 2006.
Lotsa software.

Selling for $600 ono

[oldguy]

Your CPU is a big bottleneck right there.

You probably wont see a great deal of improvment with a new GFX card.

Possibly get a XP3200+ Might help a little bit. But its probably time to swap the mobo and cpu.

Ch ching!

Oh right your having problems.

Use driver cleaner when installing new drivers.
I do have an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ socket 939 was going to build another PC,
but then if so I would go with PCI-E

[Fub@r]

I do have an AMD Athlon 64 3200+ socket 939 was going to build another PC,
but then if so I would go with PCI-E

If you got a cheap AGP card you can get a 939 board called an Asrock Dual Sata 2. Comes with both AGP and PCI-e slots, board is under $100. Its the board I got when I still had some life left in my AGP card and didn't want to buy a PCI-e card at that time but wanted to upgrade the CPU to AMD64.

You have a few options, its just a matter of how much you use your PC, do you want to play some of the games coming up and what you want to spend. Also if you have the knowledge use Pricespy and build your own PC and save yourself a small fortune

[oldguy]

I would advise a major upgrade and get yourself a PCI-e gfx card, they are dirt cheap if you want to game. But it will mean a whole system upgrade

I have a AMD64 3500 with 7800GTX and I want to upgrade as its not fast enought :)

For $750 you can build an Intel Core 2, 2 gig ram, mobo, case, 320gig SATA2 HDD, 8600GT, 20x DVD burner will run your games and make you a coffee without breaking a sweat :)

call me old fashion, but Im a fan of AMD would go with a dual-core CPU if I had the money to build a good PC, but then thats me, I also like Honda's so what would I know.

cheers for the advise anyway

John

[scracha]

call me old fashion, but Im a fan of AMD would go with a dual-core CPU if I had the money to build a good PC, but then thats me, I also like Honda's so what would I know.

cheers for the advise anyway

John

Was a fan of AMD but the Core Duo is much better bang for buck ATM. Hopefully the AMD camp will respond with a decent processor in the next few months.

CPU may not be the bottleneck. Depends on the type of applications you're running.

>For $750 blah blah.
Where from?

[oldguy]

Old Guy is your motherboard AGP or PCI-E?

I have a 7950gt AGP 512Ram - probably the best AGP card ever made. I picked up mine for under $400. It plays all the latest games (i have a 2.8 prescott P4 CPU and 2 Gig of Ram) and bang for buck its pretty good if you dont want to replace your motherboard and CPU to get a PCI-E card (which would cost a lot more).

I will probably build a new thumping quad core machine with one of those Nvidia 9 Series Cards when they come out mid next year - about the same time i get a XB12R :)- but certainly my current set up runs all of the latest shit. I just cranked through Bioshock and Medal of Honour Airborne no problems on High Graphics.

I had an X800XT card - no comparison to the 7950gt - I would advise against getting that as it only has shader model 2.0 not shader model 3.0. This is becoming a big issue as the majority of games coming out require shader model 3.0 and they simply wont run on an X800. X800's are also little if no cheaper than the 7950gt which is shader model 3.0. thanks for the info, would have to upgrade motherboard and CPU, will see if I can sort out the driver problem for this card, if no go will just put an X800 in just so I can play the games Ive got. I have a AMD64 3200+ CPU so will build a system around that.
Will try what Boomer has said first, hope that is all that is wrong
cheers John

[Teflon]

call me old fashion, but Im a fan of AMD would go with a dual-core CPU if I had the money to build a good PC, but then thats me, I also like Honda's so what would I know.

cheers for the advise anyway

John

I still support AMD, even thou intel cpus are better value for the money (and a lot faster).

6800GT or 6600gt would still be a good cheap upgrade.

[Fub@r]

I have a AMD64 3200+ CPU so will build a system around that.


Just another thing for $130 you can buy an AMD64 4000+ will be a massive improvement on what you have now and also that 3200+ CPU

Like you I'm an AMD fan, but Intel has leap to the front this year leaving AMD behind. Likewise I hope they come back with an answer to Intel.



>For $750 blah blah.
Where from?


CPU = $120

Mobo = $80

320gig Sata2 HDD = $130

DVD Drive = $60

2x 1gig ram = $160

8600GT = $150

[oldguy]

Thanks for the help guys, some good ideas for building another machine, food for thought. Thanks boomer did what you said, seem to be running fine so far, been playing Splinter Cell, will give Unreal 2004 a little run be for I bugger of to bed, but so far so good.

Thanks:2thumbsup John

[scracha]

CPU = $120

Mobo = $80

320gig Sata2 HDD = $130

DVD Drive = $60

2x 1gig ram = $160

8600GT = $150

But he'll probably need a new case and he'll almost certainly need a new 24pin power supply. Also, as he's no Linux hippy he'll need a copy of Vista Home Premium ($180) or Business ($220) unless he wants to run his no doubt OEM copy of XP and ring up Micro$haft to get it reregistered after telling them a few porkie pies.

DVD Drive = $50 these days
2 x 1gig ram = $90
The drive at that price will be some Western Digital or Hitachi $hite.

I'm genuinely interested in who can supply the following at these prices :-
Core 2 duo mobo for $80?
Core 2 duo processor for $120 ? E6550 is good bang for buck.
8600GT for $150

There's sod all to be saved by buying the bits separately these days. Most of the suppliers will assemble them, bung on the OS and test it for less than 50 bucks.

[Teflon]

B Also, as he's no Linux hippy he'll need a copy of Vista Home Premium ($180) or Business ($220) unless he wants to run his no doubt OEM copy of XP and ring up Micro$haft to get it reregistered after telling them a few porkie pies.


http://www.mininova.org/tor/683777

Updates works. Fuck paying for shit.

Note: If you decide to injstall MCE, fully update xp before installing rollup 2. Check for updates after installing step 3 etc.

And fuck microsoft

[Fub@r]

But he'll probably need a new case and he'll almost certainly need a new 24pin power supply. Also, as he's no Linux hippy he'll need a copy of Vista Home Premium ($180) or Business ($220) unless he wants to run his no doubt OEM copy of XP and ring up Micro$haft to get it reregistered after telling them a few porkie pies.

DVD Drive = $50 these days
2 x 1gig ram = $90
The drive at that price will be some Western Digital or Hitachi $hite.

I'm genuinely interested in who can supply the following at these prices :-
Core 2 duo mobo for $80?
Core 2 duo processor for $120 ? E6550 is good bang for buck.
8600GT for $150

There's sod all to be saved by buying the bits separately these days. Most of the suppliers will assemble them, bung on the OS and test it for less than 50 bucks.

The prices lists were off the top of my head as I couldn't lay my hand on the invoice. A Core 2 Duo can be built for under $750 if you don't mind buying from multiple suppliers.

As for $750......I have built 2 machines in the last month, identical with all the parts I listed above from one supplier for $764 incl gst close enough.

Here is an invoice for the last PC........which is a complete, functioning case. Plug in a KB, Mouse and monitor and your away.

Products
------------------------------------------------------
2 x Silicon Power DDRII 800 1GB Lifetime Warranty () = NZ$116.00[Tax exc.]

1 x Seagate 320GB Serial ATA II hard drive () = NZ$109.00[Tax exc.]

1 x Lite-on LH20A1S SATA 20X Dual DVDRW,(Black&Silver&Bezel) () =NZ$39.50[Tax exc.]

1 x .Scooter LH5807 Case With 420W PS () = NZ$42.00[Tax exc.]

1 x PALIT 8600GT DDR3 256MB 128Bit HDTV, Dual DVI, PCI-E(NEW) () =NZ$153.00[Tax exc.]

1 x .Foxconn 945P7AE-KS2H Core 2 Duo/DDR2/SATA2/Gbe Lan () = NZ$100.00[Tax exc.]

1 x Intel Dual Core Processor E2160 1.8GHZ 1M 800FSB LGA 775 () =NZ$119.00[Tax exc.]
------------------------------------------------------
Sub-Total: NZ$678.50
Pickup Rate (Pickup): NZ$0.00
GST: NZ$84.81
Total: NZ$763.31

[scracha]

The prices lists were off the top of my head as
I wasn't having a go, I was genuinely interested.



1 x Seagate 320GB Serial ATA II hard drive () = NZ$109.00[Tax exc.]

Where from? That can't be an official import at that price surely? Would be useful to know as it'll help shift more of my NAS's.



1 x Intel Dual Core Processor E2160 1.8GHZ 1M 800FSB LGA 775 () =NZ$119.00[Tax exc.]

Hmm..be a tight squeeze but I reckon you could do a low end core 2 duo for around 750. Wow.

Come on though, name who's doing the video card, case with PSU and hard drive for them prices. Fantastic.




http://www.mininova.org/tor/683777
Updates works. Fuck paying for shit.

Too much hassle. Much easier to just write down COA from some random office machine you visit and then ring up Micro$haft and push the numbers to tell the robot you're reinstalling it. Not that I would ever do that professionally (seriously, I won't...some customers get real $hitty when I refuse to install dodgy copies of XP/Vista/Office).

[Fub@r]

Where from? That can't be an official import at that price surely? Would be useful to know as it'll help shift more of my NAS's.

I purchased a Seagate Sata2 few months back at this price. HDD prices have plumeted recently. I will get the name of the company if you want to buy parts.

The case is really cheap and light weight. When mate brought around the case I thought it was empty but all the bits were in it. It was so damn light. Unlike my Thermaltake Shark case which weighs a ton but it has all the features

Products
------------------------------------------------------
2 x Silicon Power DDRII 800 1GB Lifetime Warranty () = NZ$116.00[Tax exc.]

1 x Seagate 320GB Serial ATA II hard drive () = NZ$109.00[Tax exc.] http://www.pricespy.co.nz/pno_9774.html

1 x Lite-on LH20A1S SATA 20X Dual DVDRW,(Black&Silver&Bezel) () =NZ$39.50[Tax exc.]

1 x .Scooter LH5807 Case With 420W PS () = NZ$42.00[Tax exc.]

1 x PALIT 8600GT DDR3 256MB 128Bit HDTV, Dual DVI, PCI-E(NEW) () =NZ$153.00[Tax exc.] http://www.pricespy.co.nz/pno_10540.html

1 x .Foxconn 945P7AE-KS2H Core 2 Duo/DDR2/SATA2/Gbe Lan () = NZ$100.00[Tax exc.]

1 x Intel Dual Core Processor E2160 1.8GHZ 1M 800FSB LGA 775 () =NZ$119.00[Tax exc.] http://www.pricespy.co.nz/pno_10700.html
------------------------------------------------------
Sub-Total: NZ$678.50
Pickup Rate (Pickup): NZ$0.00
GST: NZ$84.81
Total: NZ$763.31

[boomer]

Thanks for the help guys, some good ideas for building another machine, food for thought. Thanks boomer did what you said, seem to be running fine so far, been playing Splinter Cell, will give Unreal 2004 a little run be for I bugger of to bed, but so far so good.

Thanks:2thumbsup John

is it fixed...??!!!


WHo da man!??!! say it... say it... Who da man!?

;)

ps.. the invoice is in the post

[Teflon]

Too much hassle. Much easier to just write down COA from some random office machine you visit and then ring up Micro$haft and push the numbers to tell the robot you're reinstalling it. Not that I would ever do that professionally (seriously, I won't...some customers get real $hitty when I refuse to install dodgy copies of XP/Vista/Office).

That sounds like a hassle. I have legit copy of XP that i don't use anymore. No more activation, install on multiple machines with no activation problems.

Sounds like you do this for a living, maybe wise not to install pirate copies..

[Kwaka14]

Go to Toms hardware page on the net if you want some decent video card comparisons

[scracha]

That sounds like a hassle. I have legit copy of XP that i don't use anymore. No more activation, install on multiple machines with no activation problems.

Depends if you've got OEM, retail, corporate or enterprise edition. Does it do the Windoze Genuine Advantage thing on these machines afterwords OK?



Sounds like you do this for a living, maybe wise not to install pirate copies..
Definitely mate...I try and tell them nicely that I just can't do it and it's nothing personal. To be honest, the whole Microsoft licensing is a complete @#$ckin nighmare and I don't pretend to understand half of it. The customers running cracked MS Software have a whole lot less hassle than those trying to do it legit.

One thing I will say in their favour is that they do massively discounted licensing for charities.

[oldguy]

is it fixed...??!!!


WHo da man!??!! say it... say it... Who da man!?

;)

ps.. the invoice is in the post

You da man:not::not::not: going sweet as, cheers mate. I O U a :drinkup:
Now for the other 10 thousand question I have???