Anyone here know about replacing A Graphics Card?

[† Sicka]

This is what happened:

Yesterday my ATI catalyst program for the graphics card came up with an error message about 3 times during the day then i got a blue screen error message all of a sudden and when i switch on now it stays on for about 5 mins then blue screen error message again it says that a file Atidvag.dll (or something similar) is stuck in a constant loop whatever that means i Googled it for a fix and i found something to try but i haven’t yet because i need to back up some of my harddrive in safe mode first if it doesn't work then i'm going to have to buy a new one.

My Tech question:

So my question is if i buy the exact same graphics card (ATI Radeon x1300) unscrew/unplug or whatever the old one and put the new one in will it work stright away? or do i have to install software/set anything first, could swapping them damage any other part of the computer like the hard drive/motherboard etc, i'm going to back up some of my data like I said but it's a 540Gb harddrive and i only have 2gb free on it so i really don't wanna have to back everything up but if there Is a risk of losing it then i will.

I’ve never really changed a part in a computer before so I’m not sure what I’m doing to be honest although I have removed the hard drives on a couple of occasions. I've had 4 computers in the last 14 years and usually when something breaks like this i just buy a new computer but I really like that one and it also cost close to £1000 (Like $1,600) when I bought it 3 years ago 2-3 times what i paid for the other 3 and i can’t afford to buy a new one at the moment anyway so I’d prefer to fix it if its as simple as unplug old, plug in new, work, lol but if there is any thing else i've got to do like install something first/change settings whatever please let me know!

So i'd appreciate any advice or anything that would be great i can't download/upload on this slow backup machine i'm using but at least i can still use the internet so if anyone can help thanks in advance!

[idl12]

Yes, it should work, straight away, I think you'll only need to reinstall software if it's a different model and I've changed lots of parts in computers so I'm sure once you do it properly, swapping them won't damage any other part, that's actually a very strange question to ask lol. Just remember, non-magnetic screwdrivers only and touch a grounded metal object before touching any part and providing that that's actually the problem, then everything should be fine.

[Shade_13]

Sickadiscustus, it seems your problem is totally connected to the software. If your card was physically damaged, you wouldn't manage to see a thing on the monitor, well, maybe only artifacts.

Replacing a card is quite easy, but i dont think that will solve the problem whatsoever.

[† Sicka]

Thanks guys, i'm impatient and hate following instructions and installing things I just want to plug it in and get on. that’s why in the past when a hard drive failed or the motherboard failed I just bought a new computer but this one as I said was expensive and is only a few years old so I don’t want/can’t afford to replace it at the moment. sorry if that seemed like a silly question but a friend of mine told me ages ago that he changed the DVD drive in his computer and that fried the motherboard so i was worried changing the graphics card could/would do the same. But I don’t know maybe he was just talking B/S.

I’m not sure what you mean by artefacts Shade but i just switched it on and could these be artefacts?

Don’t look at it to long or it will hurt your eyes

this is what I see now when I switch it on and it’s not still as the picture, its wobbly and I think the back ground is suppose to be plain black and those lines that look white are made up of small pink and light blue squares which don’t really show up in the picture. these wern't here yesterday it just kept blue screening on normal startup and went into safe mode fine but now it's all distorted like this right from the first screen when i switch it on.

I’ve checked the monitor cable and its in properly and i've tried it with a different monitor as well same weird pink and blue squares on it. I’ve already tried re-installing the ATI software/downloading the latest drivers and no luck I also set it back to last restore point and virus/spy ware checked the hard drive and it came back with nothing I haven’t installed any new programs since April when I installed Megauploads Mega Manager so it’s not like I’ve installed anything that could be causing it. The computer never came with a XP disc so I can’t re-install a fresh copy of windows or anything which is the only other thing i can think of trying other than replacing it.

So if it is a software issue what could have suddenly started causing it?

Everywhere I look on google suggests a fix about changing the driver on the CPU to AGP Controller to the one PCI-to-PCI bridge and that might work (Haven’t tried yet still backing up data) but i will try it.

Edit: i took a clearer printscreen on a white back ground this time. the square is another folder on top of the my computer folder and it gets more pink/light blue small squares like that if you drag it.

[RikuoAmero]

judging from the screenshot, your graphics card is fucked up (sorry for the language). You will have to replace it. If you can afford a new graphics card, think of upgrading (although judging by the fact I can't even access the page for your card on ATI's own website, it must be frikkin' old).

If you do go hunting for another card, ask for ones for AGP. That's what I guess the X1300 to use. In case you don't know, AGP is the slot in your motherboard that accepts your graphics card. AGP are old slots now, whereas modern computers use PCI-Express. More than likely, go on ebay and hunt down a card. Be careful: they are old cards, so should be cheap, but also, because they're old, they're now collector's items. A few weeks ago, I read on Gizmodo.com about a guy who's collected hundreds of CPU's over the past twenty odd years.

Installing a graphics card is simple. Beforehand, download the drivers (you'll have to look somewhere else than ATI website, I've tried getting your X1300 drivers, no luck) Get a non-magnetic screwdriver. Ground yourself if you have to. Turn off your computer and disconnect EVERYTHING. Put your computer flat on the ground and open the case. Remember where your monitor cable was attached. That's the graphic card. If there is a catch, gently un-catch it, and gently lift out the card. Then replace with the new one. Then replace everything. Turn back on the computer, boot in to Windows and install your drivers.

Finally, if you don't want to get a new graphics or can't afford one, you should have a connector somewhere else on your computer for your monitor. That's for your computer's onboard graphics. It may be blocked off by the manufacturer (mine is), just unscrew the block and plug your connector in there. This of course means you'll only get basic display. Since you're using an old card, I'm gonna guess you weren't exactly playing modern games. Also, this means little to no HD playback at all.

Source: Have replaced graphics cards, power supply and Blu-ray drive, so I know what I'm doing when it comes to hardware.

[Shade_13]

Yep, man, definitely artifacts. Well, even better, this means your chances to fix the problem by changing the adapter are high.

And Rikuo, there are different types of x1300, which work on AGP and PCI-E.

[† Sicka]

Thank you for your reply RikuoAmero it's very helpful

The computer is a Phillips freevents media centre edition/XP/Dual Core/2Gb Ram/540gb HDD/ATI Radeon X1300 256Mb

The Computers not really that old only a few years I bought it the day before Windows Vista was released in the UK I don’t remember the date or even the month but I know this because the guy in PC World told me if I waited until tomorrow to buy it I could have the same model with the new Windows Vista. My impatience kicked in and I declined probably for the best though as so many people complain about it lol. Is there some way I can find out if its AGP or PCI-Express? It says in Device manager Location: PCI bus 1 does that mean its PCI-Express then? or could it still be AGP? Sorry if that’s a silly question but I just wanna make sure XD

I don’t play modern games on it no I get them for PS3 instead because I prefer a gamepad over a keyboard and I have a bigger TV than PC monitor so it looks better on the PS3 but it plays Morrowind/Elder Scrolls Oblivion/Halo without any problems that’s all I really play on it i used to play a lot of games on the computer but i don't anymore I also have Spice & Wolf Anime in 1080p MKV's which playback fine without lag/jerkyness or anykind of problem so i want it to still be able to do all that the only reason I was going to go with the same graphics card is if it was easier to replace it with the same one rather than get a upgraded/newer one I don’t have a HD screen so I don’t need anything too powerful (19” Packard bell LCD)

I can probably strech to £60-£70. If I get a newer card should I go with ATI or try a different company? 2 of the computers I had before were also ATI (Rage) graphics cards this computer i'm on at the moment is old and has a NVidia Vanta/Vanta LT but the one I had before the Phillips one had an intel integrated graphics card and I had problems playing games even though they were well below the spec of the computer that may not have been the graphics card though don’t really know. So is a ATI one the best to go with?

Anyways Thank you for your relpys everyone, i will look into getting another Graphics card, as it appears this one is fucked, lol thanks again guys.

[RikuoAmero]

wooo...do you talk like that IRL, without taking a breath? Space out your sentences a bit please.

Heres how to tell if its AGP. Take a look at these two cards on Amazon.co.uk.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-11129-02-20R-3650-512MB-Graphics/dp/B001HQHZ4A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1282798427&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-HD4350-512MB-DDR2-Graphics/dp/B001R5IJSC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1282798497&sr=8-1

The first one is AGP and the second, PCI-E. Look at the gold-coloured connector at the bottom, and see which one matches your graphics card.

As for a different company, well, since you're basically just watching video files, it doesn't matter. After checking Amazon.com's prices, I'd say go for a different card. I can't actually recommend one, as I'm unfamiliar with cards that low, I only ever learned about the higher end of the market. If you still want 1080p playback, go for a card with a HDMI port. That's what I run at the moment: a DVI port to my main computer monitor, at 1080p, and a HDMI to a TV, at 1080i.

[Koby]

I didn't read the whole topic.. but I will say this.

If you plug in another graphics card it will work right away. I didn't read to see what your problem was unfortunately, sorry. However I have changed out gfx cards numerous times and all it takes is one screw, pop it out, put in new one, screw in, and done. Works like a charm.

[Renzourin]

ill um say this sicka i dont know if you tried this yet but sometimes its possible for dust and/or grime to get in the spot where the gfx card connects to the motherboard try taking it out and using canned air into the slot then reseating it properly to see if that works for you if not chances are that the gfx card is indeed dying and you need a new one, even if you buy a new gfx card if your computer doesnt have the proper drivers for it, it will use basic VGA drivers in place of it giving you minimal functionality, most manufacturers usually include the disk though that comes with the card so your good to go on that end if for some reason they dont you can usually find the drivers on the official manufacturers website or via 3rd party websites

[Jinn]

I had the same issue a while back and just upgraded if you can tell me where about you are and if its agp or pci-e ill see if iv got one about in my room you can have cheap

[† Sicka]

Thanks again everyone for your help and Um yeah sorry thats how my mind works, Writing out the situation in lots of detail without pausing. I know people have said it before when i type i should try and pause abit and space out typing, but i just forget and type it how it's progressing in my mind, but i don't talk like that though, lol.

It's PCI-E judging from the 2 examples you gave RikuoAmero like this (Sorry for the size of the image's)

Thanks for the suggestion Ren it's a good thing to know for the future, but i think its knackered because the fan part in the middle is wobbly and looks barely connected to the card.

I have found a ATI GC in my local Maplins that looks and sounds good (at least to me with little knowledge of these things ) it's a ATI Radeon HD 5550 1Gb and is a reasonable £79.99.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=393151

I looked at other make cards like Nvida but they only had low spec ones like 128Mb for £30 and 512mb for a similar price and nothing better but this ATI one sounded a lot better for like a tenner more.

[RikuoAmero]

Okay, I've looked up the specs for your 5550. To compare, a few months ago, I ran a 5450. Heres what you'll be getting.

DirectX 11 support. Look up examples of DirectX 11 Unigine on Youtube, heres a link.

.

Watch for the pathways and roads. Before in games, roads are basically 2D objects with the cracks and such painted in. Now, with DX 11, they actually jut out, have real depth. Two games I know of that use 11 are BattleForge and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat.

However, I've looked up the system spec numbers on the ATI website. I ran a 5450, and judging from the engine speed, it was actually faster than your 5550. My card ran at 650 MHz, while yours is 550 MHz. My card was terrible at rendering DX 11 at any decent speed. It could do it alright, but the Frames per second was just terrible.

If you're playing Dragon Age Origins, Mass Effect 2, Empire Total War, etc, you should be able to do close to highest graphics. On my 5450 (remember, its slightly faster than your own, I could do the above three games on highest settings, although I ran them at a resolution of 1024x768 or 1200 x800.

If you're willing to pay a bit extra, get this card,

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=397083.

Its close in power to the one I'm running now (I do a 5770 atm) and if I guess right from the specs, it should handle Crysis nicely if you want.

Or if all you're worried about is media playback, then the 5550 you picked out should do nicely.

IMPORTANT: Check your power supply. You need at minimum 400 Watts

[† Sicka]

This is my power supply 300w http://www.power-on.com/atx12vg300bt.html I take it that’s no good then?

This is why I usually just buy a new computer when things go wrong it's never simple just plug it in and get on with it theres always another problem. I guess it's back to replacing it with the same model card then, since that was working in it. Thanks for your continued help man i appreciate it.

[RikuoAmero]

Replacing a power supply is easy. What I did was I bought my new one, opened up the computer, gout a vid camera, noted where all the cables from the power supply went and then replaced it.

If you don't want to change power supply, then I suggest getting the 5450.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=390530

I just checked my old power supply. It's a 300 Watt, and the 5450 ran fine on that. Oh and remember what I said earlier, the 5450 is actually faster than the 5550, so it runs on less power, but is better, so double bonus there!

Where are you by the way? If you happen to be in Dublin, Ireland, we could meet at the weekend and I could do all the hard work for you.

[† Sicka]

Ok great guess I’ll try the 5450 then if its better and works with this power supply, I don't really want to buy/install another power supply as well unless i have to. They didn't have the 5450 in the shop but it's instock on the site so i'll order it from there then.

Unfortunately I live in London, England XD but i appreciate the offer.

[† Sicka]

Sorry for double posting but i need help again.

I got my new graphics card this morning and have opened up the computer ready to put it in and in the instructions it’s going on about adding two 6-pin Pci express power supply cables to it WTF the old one never had anything like that in it I just unscrewed it and pulled the thing out of the motherboard and was expecting to just push the new one in the motherboard and just screw it in as well.

I looked at the wires coming out of the power supply and there is one coming out of it that looks like it could be what there talking about but I can’t see a second one and have no idea if it’s the right one or not and to get to it i'm going to have to snip off the cable ties holding the power supplys wires together. Like I'm sure i said before I have no idea what I’m doing, i also have no idea what any wire in here is or is suppose to go to and wasn't expecting this.

[Koby]

Never heard of having to do that... Can you show pics of the plugs on the GFX card.. and pics of the cables you are talking about?

[† Sicka]

My digital Camera's batteries are dead so this isn’t my card or even the same model, just a pic from google but those 2 black ones are the connecters they are talking about I hadn’t taken my one outta the bag yet i was reading the instructions first to make sure i do it right, but now that I look at it I can’t even see those connectors on it maybe it doesn’t apply to this card then it applies to a different model. I.e the one in the picture.

The wire (part on the right)

I did the unmanly thing of reading the instructions first, lol but came to a problem, frantically looked around in the computer for what they wanted and couldn't find it but didn’t look at the graphics card before posting sorry should have looked at it first.

So if it doesn't seem to have them on this card i guess i can just put it in the motherboard and switch it on?

Edit: this website says i don't need it http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/279391-28-power-requirements-specs-popular-graphic-cards-guide

Radeon HD 5450 (cedar) 1GB 64-bit DDR3 & 512MB DDR2 Low Profile $42.99 to $69.99

* They suggest 400 watt PSU but I have no doubts that you can run this with a 300 to watt PSU

no 6 pin connector needed. No crossfire for this card.

So i'm going to go try it now.

FINAL EDIT:

Success!!!!!!!

I'm typing from my proper computer again!

Lol thanks eveyone who took there time to help me out here especially RikuoAmero it's much appreciated I'm a complete noob (as you could probably tell XD) when it comes to the parts of computers, Thanks again.

[Shade_13]

Welcome back, Sicka. Now you can't call yourself a complete noob in that area either, can you.