How can I tell what graphics card I need? (please)

quidsinquentin

Hi guys

Can anyone tell me how to work out what graphics card I need for a pc please?

My OHs desktop pc needs a new one, she uses it for very basic stuff, no gaming at all, no high end processing.

The pc is a Dell 5100 still working very nicely.

I've seen this one: http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/-/3319/2586/-/3432514/PNY-Verto-Geforce-8400-GS-PCI-E-256MB-Graphics-Card/Product.html

Cheers

Q

23n1th

With out trying to sound like a nob, if its working very nicely why does it need a new graphics card?

Naf

That one should do you nicely for basic stuff. What makes you think it needs one though? Because for anything other than gaming/video editing/CAD pretty much any card would be fine.
Just looked and the existing onboard that you're already using should do the job anyway.

quidsinquentin

23n1th wrote: »

With out trying to sound like a nob, if its working very nicely why does it need a new graphics card?

Sorry, I meant the pc itself is working nicely, but the graphics card is going/showing faults. I've seen it before on a different machine.

Apologies for the confusion.

quidsinquentin

Naf wrote: »

That one should do you nicely for basic stuff. What makes you think it needs one though? Because for anything other than gaming/video editing/CAD pretty much any card would be fine.
Just looked and the existing onboard that you're already using should do the job anyway.

Ta - my tech-speak is limited, so - as above - when I said the pc was working nicely I meant that even though it's an old machine (relatively) it's fine for what she needs it for.

I've occasionally seen people say that if you're going to pay £30 for a new graphics card in that machine you may as well buy a new pc.

Naf

what are the faults you're seeing? It might just be software. I've only had one graphics card fail on me, and it was almost 10 years old.
Always remember that the machine will need replacing at some point, and if you're not that savvy (I kept a mish-mash of bits amalgamated from numerous different machines over the years going 'till it was 8/9 years old - long past when most pre-built systems would show wear and be replaced) you'll look at replacement much sooner. Its up to you, but lets hear the faults and see if it isn't something that could be fixed, or something that won't be fixed by replacing the graphics card.

macman

Does your machine have integrated graphics? If so, just switch to those. For the functions you describe, you don't need anything more.

spannerzone

The Dell 5100 uses PCI-Express slot for graphics so a low spec basic card should do fine... personally if it were me I'd get a fanless (silent) card if I wasn't playing any games or doing heavy duty graphical work etc.

User manual for the 5100 here (page 71 shows graphics card/pci-e access)
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim5100/en/om/T8144bk2.pdf

I'd agree with above that it's unusual for a graphics chip to fail (other than some high performance cards that get very hot) so it might be Windows or a graphics driver issue. Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling the driver or done a manual windows update (use advanced option) to see if any graphics updates exist?

Macman also raises a good point, that machine has onboard graphics that would be disabled if an optional plug in graphics card was fitted. Dell will usually fit a plastic cover over the onboard graphics 15 pin socket so you don't plug into it (as it's disabled when a PCI-E graphics card is inserted) - so if you have a plug in graphics card, maybe remove it, connect to the onboard 15pin socket then power on, let Windows find the 'new' hardware and try that.

Naf

The spec has it only using the onboard anyway, so it could be a problem with all sorts of things on the motherboard.

quidsinquentin

Thanks guys - I'll get back to you with the details.

Cheers