Video card in dell vostro 230

[Jim Collison]

Hello,
I bought the Dell Vostro 230 and want to use a 2 monitor setup. I bought an EV3A GeForce 9800GT and installed the card but didn't have a compatible power supply feed for the card. Dell has a very thin connector that I haven't seen before, available from the hard drive power cable. Neither monitor booted at all... no mouse or keyboard too. Can the 9800GT run Ok without a separate power source and also, do I need to disable the integrated graphics card that came with the computer? This graphics card was an additional feature that I paid for but it has a DVI connector that won't fit either of the 2 connectors I tried to use with the new 19" Dell HD monitor I want to use a a second screen?

 

[ilysaml]

1- EVGA 9800 GT requires a minimum of 400W power supply with 1 PCIe 6 pin cable
2- When you install the PCIe (9800 GT) card in the PCIe x16 slot the internal GPU stops automatically, all the signal come out from the add in card.
3- if your monitor supports DVI so all you need is a DVI cable connected between the monitor and the graphics card.
4- if you don't have DVI cable, you can use the DVI-VGA dongle that converts from DVI to VGA and then you can attach your VGA cable regularly
5- if you need to connect multiple monitors you must have a graphics card from ATI that supports Eyefinity technology wich allows more than 1 monitor work together at a higher resolution

 

[rockyjohn]

Most nVidia cards - including the 9800 GT - support dual monitors:

Here is a link from the 9800 GT info at Tiger Direct:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5639261&SRCCODE=PRICEGRABBER&cm_mmc_o=2mHCjCVybgwTyz__wyCjCVqHCjCdwwp&cpncode=22-147945410-2#dualmonitors

Note that it says you need to change some Windows settings to support it. I would guess it would also be a good idea to install the most recent nVidia driver.

What size power supply do you have? That usually becomes the issue when trying to upgrade inexpensive store-bought systems.

 

[Jim Collison]

Thanks for the response. My PSU is 350w which should be sufficient to power the Nvidia card, it's just that the connector from the PSU to the other components is not compatible with the card's 6-pin connector or the 6-pin PCIe cable that came with the card. I bought an optional graphics card from Dell when I bought the computer to support the use of 2 monitors, but the DVI output won't fit the 2 different DVI adapters I tried to hook up (it's a 24 +1 spade type). Most of the adapters I see use 24+5 and even the 24+1 I bought online did not fit into the spade slot. I tried calling Dell about the type of adapter I needed and they were no help at all. My new monitor uses a VGA input

 

[rockyjohn]

Very strange.
Was the 9800GT the card you purchased from Dell?
The card should use a standard 6 pin connector from the power supply that I would think is standard on any 350w PSU sold today. However it should also have several 4 piin molex connectors and you can get this adapter to use 2 molex to one 6 pin:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812196870

You should not run the card without the additional power connector.

I am also surprised about the adapter issue on the video side of the card. Normally EVGA provides adapters. What connectors is the monitor requiring? The info should be in your manual - or available online at Dell. And I use to have a Dell 1704 FPA or something like that, that I did the same thing with.

I have a Dell 2209WA - a 22" monitor with an eISP screen - and it can take either standard DVI or VGA connectors. Actually I have two PCs connected to it and use the onscreen control to switch back and forth.

 

[Jim Collison]

Hey Rockyjohn,
Thanks for your help on this issue. I'll just recap briefly so you know what we're dealing with. The additional graphics card I bought from Dell to support a second monitor was pre-installed and is a PCIe basic card that has one DVI output. The second monitor I want to use has a VGA input only. I tried a DVI adapter my son had but it wouldn't fit into the 24+1 connector. I bought an adapter from Amazon but it didn't fit into the board either. I know there are several types of DVI connections so I did some research but still couldn't be sure which one would work. I bought the nVidia GT9800 because it has VGA, DVI, and HDMI outputs; but then I realized I don't have any Molex connections available in the computer...the PSU uses a slim connector (maybe SATA) that is not compatible with the PCIe cable nVidia supplied. I'd prefer to use the nVidia card and have the output options, however due to the issues above I'd be happy to use the cheapy graphics card I had pre-installed if I knew which adapter to get. The spade part won't fit into the slot but the 24 pins seem to align nicely. I could take a digital photo if you think that would help.
Gratefully yours,
Jim

 

[rockyjohn]

The thin power connector you are describing does sound like a SATA power connector, but you should have a 6 or 8 pin connector (often a 6+2 connector that will go either way) for a video card. Are you sure it is not tucked away someonewhere in the case - it would still be connected to PSU but the end to the card might be tucked away.

Like I said, I can't imagine a 350w PSU coming without one. What make and model is the PSU? You may have to look at the label on the PSU inside the case - and hopefully it is turned out. Is there a power cable connected to the existing (old) card that Dell installed? What make and model is it?

Its also surprising you don't have extra molex connectors unless you added quite a few optical or hard drives or other items requiring them. Most PSUs have several extras.

Wikipedia has a nice article about DVI connectors with pictures that should enable you to identify what type you monitor requires and the adapters are set up for.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface

 

[Jim Collison]

I bought an adapter from Best Buy and it did fit into my preinstalled card but the monitor was not recognized. After some more research last night I found out that the card Dell says is necessary to support a second monitor is bogus...it needs a digital monitor and it won't work while the integrated graphics are enabled. There's only one output on the card, therefore I won't ever be able to use a dual-screen setup with this card. Thanks to your suggestion I visited a few blog sites and found threads that addressed the power to my nVidia card ( the 9800 GT we discussed) and decided to go with 2 sATA to molex adapters to supply the molex to 6-pin power feed to the card. My PSU isn'y really up to the suggested requirements for the card (305w versus 350w) but several bloggers said the power should be ok based on the limited graphics demands of the applications I'll be running... no gamer here. Hopefully this will solve the problem. Thanks again for the help.
Jim

 

[rockyjohn]

Let us know how it works out. Also when you get back inside the case check out the make and model of the PSU and let us know.

Don't select a "Best Response" until after you have let us know or mousemonkey will lock the thread and you won't be able to post to it any more.