O/T Graphics card - Recommendation

[oO]

My graphics card (and therefore sound too) has went died. Basically I don't
know much about them. What I need is one that can be used for playing
graphic intensive games (counter-strike type games) and for video-editing.
Also needs on-board sound. Any recommendations? Obviously the cheaper the
better - but what is an average price for this kind of kit?

Thanks in advance.

 

[oO]

My graphics card (and therefore sound too) has went died.

That should have read "has died / went belly-up".

 

[Gavin]

My graphics card (and therefore sound too) has went died. Basically I don't
know much about them.

Erm Video cards normally don't have sound on board, are you sure
that's what you meant?

If it's on the motherboard embedded parts thats one thing, if both
cards have failed then it might not be the cards but might be the
motherboard

What I need is one that can be used for playing
graphic intensive games (counter-strike type games) and for video-editing.
Also needs on-board sound. Any recommendations? Obviously the cheaper the
better - but what is an average price for this kind of kit?

Graphicaly intensive Video editing, and cheap are usually mutually
exclusive...

 

[Cuzman]

oO wrote:

" My graphics card (and therefore sound too) has went died. Basically I
don't know much about them. What I need is one that can be used for
playing graphic intensive games (counter-strike type games) and for
video-editing. Also needs on-board sound. Any recommendations? Obviously
the cheaper the better - but what is an average price for this kind of
kit? "


I'm unsure what you mean about the relationship between graphics and
sound. Why *therefore* has your sound died too? I think something has
probably gone in your system, and you get no display, no sound and the
system won't boot. Perhaps you can enlighten us to the components you
currently have.

 

[oO]

oO wrote:

" My graphics card (and therefore sound too) has went died. Basically I
don't know much about them. What I need is one that can be used for
playing graphic intensive games (counter-strike type games) and for
video-editing. Also needs on-board sound. Any recommendations? Obviously
the cheaper the better - but what is an average price for this kind of
kit? "


I'm unsure what you mean about the relationship between graphics and
sound. Why *therefore* has your sound died too? I think something has
probably gone in your system, and you get no display, no sound and the
system won't boot. Perhaps you can enlighten us to the components you
currently have.

Sorry you are both correct. Basically what has happened is that my sound has
gone completely. Also the graphics have started messing up. When you boot
into XP it looks fine. Open a window however and a pink haze descends onto
it and then moves about when the mouse is moved. Same thing with games, no
sound and a pinkish haze which gets progrssivley worse as the more you move.
When the standard XP screensaver comes on this a distorted green fuzz around
the winxp logo. The graphics get a little better when I 'wiggle' the cable
going from my monitor into the graphics card. This leads me to believe it is
this card at fault.

However the sound is nothing to do with the graphics card as ou have both
pointed out this onboard - my motherboard.

My system is:
Athlon 3000
512mb ram
ATI All-in-Wonder 9200
Windows XP

 

[oO]

My graphics card (and therefore sound too) has went died. Basically I
don't know much about them. What I need is one that can be used for
playing graphic intensive games (counter-strike type games) and for
video-editing. Also needs on-board sound. Any recommendations? Obviously
the cheaper the better - but what is an average price for this kind of
kit?

Thanks in advance.

By the way - any difference in these two cards (apart from the price?) ??

Sapphire ATI Radeon All In Wonder 9800
£127.16
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos...8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl/026-0342458-7282820

Sapphire THE BEAST ALL-IN-WONDER RADEON
£229
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos...8-3/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i3_xgl/026-0342458-7282820

 

[oO]

Sorry you are both correct. Basically what has happened is that my sound
has gone completely. Also the graphics have started messing up. When you
boot into XP it looks fine. Open a window however and a pink haze descends
onto it and then moves about when the mouse is moved. Same thing with
games, no sound and a pinkish haze which gets progrssivley worse as the
more you move. When the standard XP screensaver comes on this a distorted
green fuzz around the winxp logo. The graphics get a little better when I
'wiggle' the cable going from my monitor into the graphics card. This
leads me to believe it is this card at fault.

However the sound is nothing to do with the graphics card as ou have both
pointed out this onboard - my motherboard.

My system is:
Athlon 3000
512mb ram
ATI All-in-Wonder 9200
Windows XP

Having a look at my device manager it says under Sound, game, video
controller -- ATI Rage Theatre Audio - Found on ATI All-in-wonder (my
graphics card). So I presume this card as the name suggests handles my audio
and video - and it is not in fact on-board sound (on the motherboard) ? This
would make more sense.

 

[Ian]

Sorry you are both correct. Basically what has happened is that my sound
has gone completely. Also the graphics have started messing up. When you
boot into XP it looks fine. Open a window however and a pink haze descends
onto it and then moves about when the mouse is moved. Same thing with
games, no sound and a pinkish haze which gets progrssivley worse as the
more you move. When the standard XP screensaver comes on this a distorted
green fuzz around the winxp logo. The graphics get a little better when I
'wiggle' the cable going from my monitor into the graphics card. This
leads me to believe it is this card at fault.

However the sound is nothing to do with the graphics card as ou have both
pointed out this onboard - my motherboard.

My system is:
Athlon 3000
512mb ram
ATI All-in-Wonder 9200
Windows XP

Hi!

Has this PC been "made" for you by a friend or have you put it together
yourself, or is it from a shop. The only reason I ask is because what you
are describing is what happens when a power supply can't cope. The 3000XP
takes a fair amount of power, so anything other than around 350watts is not
going to power the PC properly when you think about the fancy stuff you have
plugged in.
If the power supply can't cope, usually you start noticing screechy or
non-existant sound, or broken/distorted sound after a few minutes or when
you move the mouse. The video display can be the same, distorted and going
off after a while.

What you need to do is look at the wattage of the power supply, i would
suggest someting above 300w, maybe nearer to the 500w mark. www.aria.co.uk
were selling some cheap 550w power supplies a while back. Often it's
cheaper to buy a case with a power supply included.

I found the above problems using an ASROCK motherboard and Athlon 3000XP. i
had installed everything into a case that had only a 200w power supply and
thought at first it was the board, then the sound, then the video side of
things. All mine were built in to the main board. The case and power
supply had happily run the Athlon 750 for years, so it was only when I
looked at the specifications I realised it was the power supply.

I had contacted ASROCK and spoken to people on newsgroups ad the usual
"EXPERT" advice was - install the latest drivers, don't plug the mouse into
the USB port, shut windows down and start it up again. Loads of the usual
rubbish !

So before spending loads, check your power supply and see if you can borrow
a better one. You will also need to go into the BIOS by holding down DEL,
F1 or F2, whichever it is on your board. Check you have the devices
switched on. The fact you said you HAD sound at one point makes me think
you have the drivers installed, so no need to check all that again - unless
you have done something to it.

Good luck!

 

[Phil Weldon]

'oO' wrote, in part:
| The graphics get a little better when I 'wiggle' the cable
| going from my monitor into the graphics card. This leads me to believe it
is
| this card at fault.

_____

Your problem definitely seems to be with hardware, but the fault could be
the cable, or the connector, or that the card is not firmly seated in its
socket. All of these causes are more likely than a failed, or intermitent
card (though the card could be at fault.

If the monitor cable or monitor cable connector is at fault, it is likely to
be infeasible to replace the cable. Check carefully and methodically to
determine and confirm exactly what is causing the problem. To diagnoise
* Remove the video card then reseat carefully
* Unplug the monitor cable, then reconnect carefully
* Examine the monitor cable carefully for signs of stress near the monitor
and near the connector; a common cause of monitor cable failure is too
sharp a bend at the connector or at the back of the monitor. A 3 inch
radius turn is a good idea
* Try using another known good monitor with your system
* Try using another known good video card with your system

As for recommendations, pick a card suitable for video-editing based on the
editing software you like. The requirements for video editing will also
depend on the format of your source video. The best gaming cards are not
necessarily the best video editing cards.

I suggest you post information about the video editing software you wish to
use, the input video format, and your price range.

Phil Weldon

 

[oO]

Hi!

Has this PC been "made" for you by a friend or have you put it together
yourself, or is it from a shop. The only reason I ask is because what you
are describing is what happens when a power supply can't cope. The 3000XP
takes a fair amount of power, so anything other than around 350watts is
not going to power the PC properly when you think about the fancy stuff
you have plugged in.
If the power supply can't cope, usually you start noticing screechy or
non-existant sound, or broken/distorted sound after a few minutes or when
you move the mouse. The video display can be the same, distorted and
going off after a while.

What you need to do is look at the wattage of the power supply, i would
suggest someting above 300w, maybe nearer to the 500w mark.
www.aria.co.uk were selling some cheap 550w power supplies a while back.
Often it's cheaper to buy a case with a power supply included.

I found the above problems using an ASROCK motherboard and Athlon 3000XP.
i had installed everything into a case that had only a 200w power supply
and thought at first it was the board, then the sound, then the video side
of things. All mine were built in to the main board. The case and power
supply had happily run the Athlon 750 for years, so it was only when I
looked at the specifications I realised it was the power supply.

I had contacted ASROCK and spoken to people on newsgroups ad the usual
"EXPERT" advice was - install the latest drivers, don't plug the mouse
into the USB port, shut windows down and start it up again. Loads of the
usual rubbish !

So before spending loads, check your power supply and see if you can
borrow a better one. You will also need to go into the BIOS by holding
down DEL, F1 or F2, whichever it is on your board. Check you have the
devices switched on. The fact you said you HAD sound at one point makes
me think you have the drivers installed, so no need to check all that
again - unless you have done something to it.

Good luck!

Excellent information. Thanks for taking the time out to give me all that.
Very helpful. I think you might have cracked it. I will take a look for a
beast of a power supply and see how that goes. Thanks again!

 

[oO]

'oO' wrote, in part:
| The graphics get a little better when I 'wiggle' the cable
| going from my monitor into the graphics card. This leads me to believe
it is
| this card at fault.

_____

Your problem definitely seems to be with hardware, but the fault could be
the cable, or the connector, or that the card is not firmly seated in its
socket. All of these causes are more likely than a failed, or intermitent
card (though the card could be at fault.

If the monitor cable or monitor cable connector is at fault, it is likely
to be infeasible to replace the cable. Check carefully and methodically
to determine and confirm exactly what is causing the problem. To
diagnoise
* Remove the video card then reseat carefully
* Unplug the monitor cable, then reconnect carefully
* Examine the monitor cable carefully for signs of stress near the
monitor and near the connector; a common cause of monitor cable failure
is too sharp a bend at the connector or at the back of the monitor. A 3
inch radius turn is a good idea
* Try using another known good monitor with your system
* Try using another known good video card with your system

As for recommendations, pick a card suitable for video-editing based on
the editing software you like. The requirements for video editing will
also depend on the format of your source video. The best gaming cards are
not necessarily the best video editing cards.

I suggest you post information about the video editing software you wish
to use, the input video format, and your price range.

Phil Weldon

Thanks very much for taking the time to reply. Here's an update I have
removed the ATI all-in-wonder video card and replaced it with an Nvdia card
(very basic one). I no longer have the corrupted/distorted display problems.
However still no sound. I think the all-in-wonder had some kindof on-board
sound chipset. Anyway the system is now using the motherboards on-board
sound as 'legacy audio' appears in device manager. I can't work it out why I
have no sound. However I'm thinking this could be a software fault/setting.
I've been through all the audio settings in XP but with no luck.....

 

[Flip]

Thanks very much for taking the time to reply. Here's an update I have

removed the ATI all-in-wonder video card and replaced it with an Nvdia card
(very basic one). I no longer have the corrupted/distorted display problems.
However still no sound. I think the all-in-wonder had some kindof on-board
sound chipset.

Anyway the system is now using the motherboards on-board sound as
'legacy audio' appears in device manager.
I can't work it out why I have no sound.

If your All-In-Wonder was providing the sound, then wasn't your audio
cable plugged into it... ? Assuming it was, you have now plugged the
audio cable into the on-board sound connector, haven't you ?

 

[Gavin]

Having a look at my device manager it says under Sound, game, video
controller -- ATI Rage Theatre Audio - Found on ATI All-in-wonder (my
graphics card). So I presume this card as the name suggests handles my audio
and video - and it is not in fact on-board sound (on the motherboard) ? This
would make more sense.

The All in Wonder does not handle audio unless it's on a TV signal,
It'a called an all in wonder as it has a tuner to recieve / record the
tv and play it back later.
The audio card you have (either on the motherboard or as an add in
card) should be listed under sound devices, check that, if not look at
the card and try locating and re-installing drivers.

If you cannot see it and it's a card, take it out of the PCI slot and
reinsert it, if that faile move it to another slot and see if it's
detected then.

 

[oO]

Hi!

Has this PC been "made" for you by a friend or have you put it together
yourself, or is it from a shop. The only reason I ask is because what you
are describing is what happens when a power supply can't cope. The 3000XP
takes a fair amount of power, so anything other than around 350watts is
not going to power the PC properly when you think about the fancy stuff
you have plugged in.
If the power supply can't cope, usually you start noticing screechy or
non-existant sound, or broken/distorted sound after a few minutes or when
you move the mouse. The video display can be the same, distorted and
going off after a while.

What you need to do is look at the wattage of the power supply, i would
suggest someting above 300w, maybe nearer to the 500w mark.
www.aria.co.uk were selling some cheap 550w power supplies a while back.
Often it's cheaper to buy a case with a power supply included.

I found the above problems using an ASROCK motherboard and Athlon 3000XP.
i had installed everything into a case that had only a 200w power supply
and thought at first it was the board, then the sound, then the video side
of things. All mine were built in to the main board. The case and power
supply had happily run the Athlon 750 for years, so it was only when I
looked at the specifications I realised it was the power supply.

I had contacted ASROCK and spoken to people on newsgroups ad the usual
"EXPERT" advice was - install the latest drivers, don't plug the mouse
into the USB port, shut windows down and start it up again. Loads of the
usual rubbish !

So before spending loads, check your power supply and see if you can
borrow a better one. You will also need to go into the BIOS by holding
down DEL, F1 or F2, whichever it is on your board. Check you have the
devices switched on. The fact you said you HAD sound at one point makes
me think you have the drivers installed, so no need to check all that
again - unless you have done something to it.

Good luck!

Just had a look it seems the power supply is a measley 250w!!

 

[Phil Weldon]

'oO' wrote:
| Just had a look it seems the power supply is a measley 250w!!
_____

A 250 Watt power supply may be entirely adequate
Follow a step-by-step diagnosis.

A better, more powerful power supply may be a good thing, but it won't
necessarily help.

And PLEASE post the resolution of your problems!

Phil Weldon

..
..
..

 

[oO]

'oO' wrote:
| Just had a look it seems the power supply is a measley 250w!!
_____

A 250 Watt power supply may be entirely adequate
Follow a step-by-step diagnosis.

A better, more powerful power supply may be a good thing, but it won't
necessarily help.

And PLEASE post the resolution of your problems!

Thanks fill. If I get it sorted I will certainly let you know. As it stands
I've put a new graphics card in. Looks like its ok UNTIL I play video. The
colours are messed up. Haven't tried a game yet - but I expect it won't be
pretty. Still no sound. I'm trying EVERYTHING. No problems reported in
device manager, no conflicts, all drivers reinstalled. Everything appears
fine but clearly isnt.

 

[Colin Wilson]

Thanks fill. If I get it sorted I will certainly let you know. As it stands

I've put a new graphics card in. Looks like its ok UNTIL I play video. The
colours are messed up.

What format is the movie in ?

You can use a small util called GSPOT to check out which codecs are
required to play it back successfully - if you have the wrong codec for
many xvid encoded movies it`ll look like crap.

 

[Phil Weldon]

'oO' wrote, in part:
| As it stands
| I've put a new graphics card in. Looks like its ok UNTIL I play video. The
| colours are messed up. Haven't tried a game yet - but I expect it won't be
| pretty. Still no sound. I'm trying EVERYTHING. No problems reported in
| device manager, no conflicts, all drivers reinstalled. Everything appears
| fine but clearly isnt.
_____

* Have you tried a different monitor?
* And have you tried wriggling the video connector/cable when useing the new
card?
* And is the new card 'known good'?
* Have you tried the 'Hardware acceleration' slider in
[Control Panel] [Display] [Setings] [Advanced], choosing a lower
setting for acceleration

This last suggestion is really the FIRST thing to try when experiencing the
sympotms you've reported (sorry.)

Write down the steps and results of each thing you try. Eventually a
picture will appear - but it will be all pink and sparkley B^)

Think of this as a character building experience.

Good luck.

Phil Weldon

 

[DaveW]

NO video cards sold include on-board sound card circuitry. You need two
separate cards.

 

[Dexter]

A better, more powerful power supply may be a good thing, but it won't
necessarily help.

And sometimes it helps a great deal a friend bought one of these cards
a little while ago 256MB XFX GeForce 6800 ULTRA DDR 3 Tv/DVI
and the only way he could get it to work has it should was by taking
out his 400 supply and installing a 450 ,250 PSU's are total crap to
power todays computers with .