Asus + New Monitor -- need videocard help

[Lady Dungeness]

I will soon be upgrading a computer that was built in 2002. It has an
ASUS motherboard, Series P4B533. I have re-read the manual; it
doesn't say anything about video. If the video isn't built into the
motherboard, then it's probably a videocard that was in a 1999 HP
Pavillion.

I want to upgrade to a new 21" LCD monitor. How do I find out if my
video card will work with the monitor? If I need a new video card,
how do I decide what specs I will need to be compatible with the
motherboard and the monitor?

I'm hoping to open the computer only once. I have never installed a
card before.

Thank you.

Lady Dungeness
Crabby, but the Legs are Delicious!

 

[Malke]

I will soon be upgrading a computer that was built in 2002. It has an
ASUS motherboard, Series P4B533. I have re-read the manual; it
doesn't say anything about video. If the video isn't built into the
motherboard, then it's probably a videocard that was in a 1999 HP
Pavillion.

I want to upgrade to a new 21" LCD monitor. How do I find out if my
video card will work with the monitor? If I need a new video card,
how do I decide what specs I will need to be compatible with the
motherboard and the monitor?

I'm hoping to open the computer only once. I have never installed a
card before.

Look at the back of your computer where it connects to the monitor. If
the monitor plugs into the same general area where the mouse and
keyboard connectors are, your video card is on the motherboard
(onboard). I found this link that shows a back view of a computer:

http://pompone.cs.ucsb.edu/admin/530_Workstation/2back.htm

If you have a separate video card, it will be in the AGP slot and that's
where your monitor will be connected. However, cheaper computers with
onboard video often don't have a slot for the video card so if you do
have onboard video, you really do need to open your computer and look to
make sure your computer is even capable of being upgraded.

In addition to the physical inspection, here are two free system
inventory programs which will tell you what hardware you have installed:

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html - Belarc Advisor
http://www.aumha.org/free.htm - Aida32 (hosted on Jim Eshelman's site)

I don't say this to hurt your feelings in any way but based on your
recent postings, you should consider taking the machine to a
professional computer repair shop instead. This will not be your local
version of BigComputerStore/GeekSquad.


Malke

 

[Anna]

Look at the back of your computer where it connects to the monitor. If the
monitor plugs into the same general area where the mouse and keyboard
connectors are, your video card is on the motherboard (onboard). I found
this link that shows a back view of a computer:

http://pompone.cs.ucsb.edu/admin/530_Workstation/2back.htm

If you have a separate video card, it will be in the AGP slot and that's
where your monitor will be connected. However, cheaper computers with
onboard video often don't have a slot for the video card so if you do have
onboard video, you really do need to open your computer and look to make
sure your computer is even capable of being upgraded.

In addition to the physical inspection, here are two free system inventory
programs which will tell you what hardware you have installed:

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html - Belarc Advisor
http://www.aumha.org/free.htm - Aida32 (hosted on Jim Eshelman's site)

I don't say this to hurt your feelings in any way but based on your recent
postings, you should consider taking the machine to a professional
computer repair shop instead. This will not be your local version of
BigComputerStore/GeekSquad.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

Lady...
That series of ASUS motherboards did not come with onboard video, so you are
using a graphics card that was installed in the computer. If it *is* a
graphics card circa 1999 as you suspect, I would recommend upgrading to a
newer card to be compatible with your new 21" LCD monitor. The main thing to
remember when purchasing a graphics/video card for your machine is that it
takes an AGP 4X card; the newer computers use a PCI or PCI-E video card but
that type of card is *not* compatible with your machine.

Take a look at this online vendor's site to get an idea of what's available
in a modest price range...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...E&N=2010380048+4026+1069609639&name=AGP+4X/8X

I'm assuming if you're into gaming, it's "light-duty" gaming.

Installing a video card isn't a particularly difficult or complicated
process, but since you've never done this before it could be intimidating.
So perhaps Malke's suggestion that you let a professional install the card
would be a wiser course for you. On the other hand perhaps you have a fairly
knowledgeable friend or acquaintance who could help you through the process.
Anna

 

[Ron Martell]

I will soon be upgrading a computer that was built in 2002. It has an
ASUS motherboard, Series P4B533. I have re-read the manual; it
doesn't say anything about video. If the video isn't built into the
motherboard, then it's probably a videocard that was in a 1999 HP
Pavillion.

I want to upgrade to a new 21" LCD monitor. How do I find out if my
video card will work with the monitor? If I need a new video card,
how do I decide what specs I will need to be compatible with the
motherboard and the monitor?

I'm hoping to open the computer only once. I have never installed a
card before.

Thank you.

Lady Dungeness
Crabby, but the Legs are Delicious!

I think you should plan on acquiring a new video card. Both the
possible on-board video (vintage 2002) or the possible HP video card
(video 1999) almost certainly will not support the wide aspect ratio
video that you need to work with the new 21 inch LCD monitor.

Your new 21" monitor will almost certainly be a wide aspect model
(16:10) designed to work at a resolution of 1680 x 1050 and you need a
video card that is capable of providing the exact resolution that the
monitor is designed for. Otherwise you will end up with distorted
video (circles will show as ovals, people will appear 30% overweight,
etc.)

Good luck
Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2008)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[Paul]

I will soon be upgrading a computer that was built in 2002. It has an
ASUS motherboard, Series P4B533. I have re-read the manual; it
doesn't say anything about video. If the video isn't built into the
motherboard, then it's probably a videocard that was in a 1999 HP
Pavillion.

I want to upgrade to a new 21" LCD monitor. How do I find out if my
video card will work with the monitor? If I need a new video card,
how do I decide what specs I will need to be compatible with the
motherboard and the monitor?

I'm hoping to open the computer only once. I have never installed a
card before.

Thank you.

Lady Dungeness
Crabby, but the Legs are Delicious!

These 21" monitors all list 1600x1200

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...90020+1309821324&Configurator=&Subcategory=20

At least some of them have both analog (VGA 15 pin) and a
digital (DVI) input. The analog input allows them to be used
with older video cards. I recommend having analog input as
an option, so the monitor can be used with any computer.

"Input Video Compatibility RGB analog (75 ohms, 0.7/1.0 Vp-p)
Digital (TMDS, 100 ohms)
Connectors 15-pin mini D-sub,
DVI-D"

You can do the upgrade incrementally. Purchase a monitor that
has both analog and digital input. Connect the monitor to your
existing card and try it out. Even if the existing card won't
run at the native 1600x1200 resolution, you'll still get a
display. The monitor will resample the analog input.

If you don't like what you see, and/or the resolution of the
existing video card doesn't go to 1600x1200 (for display in
native mode), you can upgrade. Here are a set of links with
background info.

*******
Your motherboard has an 845E Northbridge. This is the mobo user manual.
http://dlsvr03.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/sock478/p4b533/e1148_p4b533.zip

The 845E has the same AGP capability as the 845.
http://compare.intel.com/pcc/showchart.aspx?mmID=199,1616&familyID=11&culture=en-US

The 845 means your motherboard type is "AGP 1.5V Motherboard".
There are several useful tables on this page. Not every available
video card is listed, but enough to see you have many many options.
http://www.playtool.com/pages/agpcompat/agp.html

And that means anything in this list should fit the video slot
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...80048+1069609639&Configurator=&Subcategory=48

For DVI outputs, there are a few cards with DVI quality issues.
And this is the part of the selection process that is hard,
and the reason I stopped at this point, rather than pick out
a card for you. In the following section, I show an example
card, just for the hell of it.

http://www.playtool.com/pages/dvicompat/dvi.html
*******

Newegg has reviews for the cards. So you can get some idea of
how well they work, what driver problems etc. This would be
an example of an AGP card you could use.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16814127219

You can get power consumption numbers fro Xbitlabs. The 7600GS
is a bit lower than some other cards.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/power-noise_6.html

Note, in this picture, there is a disk drive power connector in
the upper right hand corner. You plug a spare disk drive connector
in there, to give the card some power.

http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/14-127-219-10.jpg

If you don't have a spare disk drive connector, this will make a
spare for you. It is a "Y" cable.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812189002

When you get the video card, this is what you do:

1) Don't do anything yet. Boot computer with old hardware in place.
Go to "Add/Remove" and remove the video card driver for the old
video card.
2) Select shut down, and shut down the computer. Switch off. Disconnect
the AC power cable. Sit the computer on your lap, have a Philips head
screwdriver in hand. Pull out the old video card. Plug in the new one.
Secure the screw to the faceplate. Plug in the disk drive power connector
(if one is needed - not all cards have them).
3) Plug in computer and boot. You'll be in a crappy 640x480 screen.
Install new video card driver. Reboot. More resolution settings
should now be available. Select a higher resolution.

HTH,
Paul

 

[Lady Dungeness]

Thank you everybody, and a special note of appreciation to Paul, who
has written a personal guide for me! I shall print this out and go to
work on it - hopoefully over the weekend.

Lady D