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My brother in-law has a very very old computer and wants to upgrade the video card.

Tags:
  • Standard
  • Computers
  • Graphics Cards
  • Brother
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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April 22, 2014 10:36:31 AM

I know this is going to be a very broad question because I don't have any specs for it as of now. I can only tell you it's really really old. It has 512 mb and I am going to install 3gb of ram tonight. Here's my question though. We recently installed Windows 7 on it and it is now stuck on a 640x480 resolution. Upon further researched, I think we have discovered it needs more video memory. What could I use for a standard bit video card. The video card does not have to be fancy. I have a GTX 570 I am not using because I upgraded my GPU on my home computer but, I am afraid the GTX 570 would be overkill and would not even be able to work because it requires too much voltage.

I am sorry I don't have any specs. I will later tonight.

More about : brother law very computer upgrade video card

a b U Graphics card
April 22, 2014 10:43:24 AM

Without further specs, it is impossible to say.
Motherboard, PSU, etc.
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April 22, 2014 10:51:25 AM

I may come back on here tonight and post these specs. @Alabalcho, you're most likely right about it being AGP. He was using Windows XP before and had to upgrade. This video drivers were fine before but, now they're all funky (That is, if they are the problem) I'll be able to fool with it tonight.
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a b U Graphics card
April 22, 2014 10:47:44 AM

Before looking for a new video card, get exact specs - motherboard, PSU, CPU, videocard, monitor. There is a good chance existing motherboard is AGP-only, so your GTX would be of no use. Being struck at 640x480 means that the video drivers are wrong, or monitor configuration - even 15-years old PCs can get 1024x768 on supported monitor.
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April 22, 2014 4:50:34 PM

Ok everyone, I'm back. Here are his computer specs. Prepare to be amazed by its awesome power:

Field Value
Computer
Operating System Windows 7 Ultimate Media Center Edition
OS Service Pack Service Pack 1
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)

Motherboard
CPU Type Intel Pentium 4, 3000 MHz (15 x 200)
Motherboard Name Dell Dimension 3000
Motherboard Chipset Intel Morgan Hill i865GV
System Memory 512 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
BIOS Type Phoenix (11/08/04)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port ECP Printer Port (LPT1)

Display
Video Adapter Standard VGA Graphics Adapter (832 KB)
3D Accelerator Intel Extreme Graphics 2
Monitor HP 23xi IPS LED Backlit Monitor [NoDB] (3CM4020BLC)

Multimedia
Audio Adapter Intel 82801EB ICH5 - AC'97 Audio Controller [A-2/A-3]

Storage
IDE Controller Intel(R) 82801EB Ultra ATA Storage Controllers - 24DB
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive WDC WD400BB-75JHC0 ATA Device (37 GB, IDE)
Disk Drive SanDisk Cruzer USB Device (7 GB, USB)
Optical Drive SanDisk Cruzer USB Device
Optical Drive TSSTcorp CD-RW TS-H292B ATA Device
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions
C: (NTFS) 34310 MB (959 MB free)

Input
Keyboard Standard PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse HID-compliant mouse
Mouse HID-compliant mouse

Network
Network Adapter Intel(R) PRO/100 VE Network Connection
Network Adapter NETGEAR WNDA3100v2 N600 Wireless Dual Band USB Adapter (192.168.0.117)
Modem Intel(R) 537EP V9x DF PCI Modem

Peripherals
Printer Fax
Printer Microsoft XPS Document Writer
USB1 Controller Intel 82801EB ICH5 - USB Controller [A-2/A-3]
USB1 Controller Intel 82801EB ICH5 - USB Controller [A-2/A-3]
USB1 Controller Intel 82801EB ICH5 - USB Controller [A-2/A-3]
USB2 Controller Intel 82801EB ICH5 - Enhanced USB2 Controller [A-2/A-3]
USB Device HP Wireless Mouse
USB Device NETGEAR WNDA3100v2 N600 Wireless Dual Band USB Adapter
USB Device USB Input Device
USB Device USB Mass Storage Device

We are just trying to figure out the screen resolution and why it's stuck at 640 x 480.
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Best solution

a b U Graphics card
April 22, 2014 7:43:24 PM

@Skippy, first observations:
- free some space (aim for 4-5gb free space) on the hard drive. Having less than 1gb free will cause problems
- it seems this is Dell computer. Go to support.dell.com, enter the serial number (Dell call it "tag", seven letters and numbers), and check for drivers. If available, do a BIOS upgrade.
- Running Ultimate Windows on just 512mb of ram will be slow. 2GB RAM are about $30.
- The on-board video should support high-resolution displays. Check for drivers, either at Dell or Intel (search i865GV)
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April 22, 2014 8:05:12 PM

Alabalcho said:
@Skippy, first observations:
- free some space (aim for 4-5gb free space) on the hard drive. Having less than 1gb free will cause problems
- it seems this is Dell computer. Go to support.dell.com, enter the serial number (Dell call it "tag", seven letters and numbers), and check for drivers. If available, do a BIOS upgrade.
- Running Ultimate Windows on just 512mb of ram will be slow. 2GB RAM are about $30.
- The on-board video should support high-resolution displays. Check for drivers, either at Dell or Intel (search i865GV)


Thank you, I believe I've found my ram. For some reason, the resolution is still stuck. I went to device manager and went to update the video drivers that way and it said it was up to date. I don't know if this matters (in regards to this statement "Go to support.dell.com, enter the serial number (Dell call it "tag", seven letters and numbers), and check for drivers.")

Since I am unable to look at the computer at the moment, perhaps a look into dells website will help in the quest for a decent driver display.
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