Need Quick Answer

[DMullane]

so i just finished building my first computer. it started up and installed windows succesfully. however, i don't think my graphics card is working. I have a PowerColor Radeon HD 6870 but when I do the Windows Experience Index test thing it gives my graphics a rating of 1.0/7.9. And it doesnt seem to be registering my card. But I have my monitor hooked up to the VGA port on my graphics card and i get the picture and everything on my monitor so it has to at least be working, right? I have 2 PCI-Express cables hooked up to my graphics card from my power supply and the graphics card is firmly in place on the motherboard. what could be wrong and how can i fix it? thanks

 

[djsnipy]

Did you install the latest drivers?

 

[kajabla]

^yep
VGA port? Not DVI? Why?

 

[DMullane]

ah, ill try installing the latest drivers. no internet right now though and no optical drive. and there is no dvi port on the back of my graphics card, i have an adapter on the vga though so its ok

 

[monsta]

You need the drivers for it to operate correctly , can you get a friend to download the latest drivers and put it on a usb stick/external HD for you and install it from that if you don't have an optical drive?

 

[kajabla]

No, that VGA is not OK. VGA is limited to a maximum of 640x480 resolution. What ports does it have? A 6870's gotta have some kind of modern port.
^+1 on the flash drive. Just download the drivers on whatever computer you're using now lol.

 

[DMullane]

oh alright haha, ill go download the drivers now then on this computer. the 6870 has 2 VGA ports, an HDMI, and two labeled DP, although im not sure what those stand for (i know i should haha). My motherboard has a dvi output, if i use that to plug into my monitor will the graphics card still work or do i have to have my graphics card plugged in directly to my monitor? thanks for the fast replies! keep 'em coming!

 

[kajabla]

It must be plugged into the graphics card.
HDMI and DVI carry the same video signal. The only difference between them is that HDMI can carry sound as well. You can easily get hold of a DVI/HDMI adapter.

 

[DMullane]

alright that's what ill try to do then. i noticed the highest resolution my monitor would go on was 1400x1050 when its suppose to run 1920x1080. i was wondering what was holding it back but im guessing its the vgi. thanks mate. downloading the driver for my gpu right now, gonna try installing it in a sec and ill see if that fixes that problem. then ill try to find a hdmi dvi adapter

 

[kajabla]

It won't fix the problem, as your cable physically cannot carry that resolution. The adapter should do it, though.

 

[DMullane]

hmm well after i downloaded the latest driver the resolution automatically switched to 1920x1080 which wasnt even an option before. and the display is now crystal clear. i think i may have solved the problem or do you think it can get even clearer...

 

[monsta]

You a got a couple of optipons there with how to hook it up , get the adaptor needed for the connection you choose to go with , some cards come with the adaptors in the box, or pick one up from a electronics store or even ebay and they are cheap.

 

[DMullane]

yes monsta, ive already got it hooked up one way, from vga through a dvi adapter to my monitor. the dvi adapter came in the box. but what kaj is saying is that by having it hooked up originally to a vga output, my resolution is limited because vga is worse than dvi or hdmi

 

[monsta]

Yup sorry I just realised what you did.LOL

 

[boju]

Does your card look like this? if so those 2 outward ports are dvi not vga. Could be wrong about yours, but something tells me vga is no longer an option on recent cards.

 

[boju]

oops double post.

 

[DMullane]

bah i feel stupid, yes you are right boju. i have 2 dvi outputs on my graphics card. but my monitor only has a vga input. is it ok to convert from dvi to vga or will that limit my performance too?

 

[kajabla]

That will definitely limit the performance. VGA's the only port there is? Nothing else at all? You can get an adapter for just about any other recent port (component, etc).

 

[randomkid]

bah i feel stupid, yes you are right boju. i have 2 dvi outputs on my graphics card. but my monitor only has a vga input. is it ok to convert from dvi to vga or will that limit my performance too?

Yes, its okay to convert. Video cards usually comes bundled with DVI to VGA converter. And it will not limit the performance. The VGA can handle up to 1920x1080. Higher than that & you have to go DVI or DP.

 

[Sunius]

No, that VGA is not OK. VGA is limited to a maximum of 640x480 resolution. What ports does it have? A 6870's gotta have some kind of modern port.
^+1 on the flash drive. Just download the drivers on whatever computer you're using now lol.

You're wrong. I've been using VGA cable on my old PC for 3 years at 1680x1050.

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

The same VGA cable can be used with a variety of supported VGA resolutions, ranging from 640×400px @70 Hz (24 MHz of signal bandwidth) to 1280×1024px @85 Hz (160 MHz) and up to 2048×1536px @85 Hz (388 MHz).

.

 

[dennis555]

The 6870 has two DVI ports and one HDMI. There is a big difference between DVI and VGA as VGA is analog. However, HDMI is the same thing as DVI in terms of graphic output quality, except HDMI allows audio to be sent through the same cable (pretty useless for typical monitor speakers).

 

[kajabla]

^inb4
Oh. Thanks all. I'm edified.

 

[DMullane]

alright so i kind of got mixed answers. is it ok to use a vga converter on my dvi output to connect it to my monitor or is that limiting my graphics performance as well? im getting 1920x1080 now.

 

[Sunius]

It's ok.

 

[boju]

You'll be just fine using a converter DMullane. You'll notice hardly a difference using straight out dvi or dvi to vga at that resolution and your graphics card's performance will be unaffected.