DELL stupid video

[Almost Insane]

i have a del 2350, power is good and all, but it has that worthless integrated graphics, and the agp slot is desoldered, so all that is available is pci

has anybody else had this problem? what did u do/or buy and how did it work out?

thanks folks

 

[Me__2001]

i think there was talk about this on here a while back, the only solution woud be to buy a PCI graphics card which are relatively cheap. or buy a completly new system

what is your main use of the PC, do you want to use it for gaming ?

 

[Almost Insane]

yah i want it for gaming, i got a pci card (i know pci is useless) but i tossed it in, but the integrated graphics card wouldn't disable, so that wouldn't work.

i was thinking of getting a new motherboard, but i read somewhere else that if the motherboard isn't from dell, then the dell recovery and windows disks won't install

 

[Me__2001]

you should be able to disable the onboard graphics in the BIOS somewhere

your right about the recovery discs, they will no work if you change the system specs, you could buy an OEM copy of XP or 98 to get round this, trying to upgrade would probably be pointless (depending on the system specs) so a new system may be the best bet

 

[Almost Insane]

damn, thanks anyway, im not sure what im gonna do, its ust a shame, cuz its got plenty of power, its just the whorish motherboard

 

[Me__2001]

if it has a decent spec system you may be able to get away with just a new motherboard and a copy of windows XP

if you list the spec we can give you some advice

 

[Almost Insane]

pentium 4 processor (about 2.6 GHz)
120 Gig hard drive
512 ram, DDR SD ram
64 Mb integrated graphics (horse****)

that's the essentials

 

[Me__2001]

well looking at what you've got a new motherboard, graphics card and a copy of Windows XP should do it

Motherboard: P4P800S-X its a budget board but you will still be able to make a decent system out of it, it is AGP so its not the most future proof board but it will accept CPU's up to 3.6Ghz and the new top of the range AGP cards

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Asus_Socket_478.html (bottom one)

Graphics Card: HIS 9800 Pro

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/9700_to_9800_Series.html

and windows XP OEM

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Operating_Systems_20.html

that will come in at £185 + P&P

 

[Almost Insane]

i guess that's all i can do, thanks a bunch for your help

 

[Me__2001]

before you go buying anything, did you try disabling the onboard graphics in the BIOS ?

also wait to see what the others say just to get more than one persons view

Edit: after checking the specs more thoroughly i found that this board would be alot better it does cost about £10 more though,change it to the one above the one i had previously suggested (P4P800-E Deluxe) it gives better performance in games

 

[Almost Insane]

i have tried disabling the card in BIOS, and i have tried taking it into stores, but they're not sure as to what is going on with that either

QUESTION: i know that the dell recovery disks won't run on a non-dell motherboard, BUT, im thinking that if in the windows manual they have given me there is the cd-key, then what do i need the dell disk for? could i not just borrow a copy of windows from someone else and put in THAT cd-key? then i wouldn't need any of the dell recovery disks or anything, and that should install fine correct? then buying another motherboard wouldn't be a problem

 

[ChristopherP]

No.

One key can only be used with a specific copy of XP...

 

[Alf]

heh, brilliant title
speaking of, anyone know when the longhorn OS will come out?

 

[Stevec_312003]

Hi Almost,

There is a way round this with the Dell 2350s. You need to upgrade the ROM BIOS to A01 (you can download from the Dell website) and this will enable you to disable the integrated video. Then pick up a PCI graphics adapter but be careful as the PSU in the 2350 is only 200w so it won't be able to cope with every card. About the best option I can find is the XFX GeForce 5200 PCI 128Mb card. It says in the detailed spec that you need a 250w PSU for this adapter but you'll get away with it. Cheapest place to find this card is misco.co.uk. Am I good to you or what!

 

[Almost Insane]

wow man, that's a great answer, thanks

but unfortunately i already switched to an older computer which has an AGP slot

i really appreciate the effort tho