Need video card advice

exbass94 · Mar 26, 2009

My sister just gave me her old computer. I want to hook it up to this old Gateway LCD monitor I have. The monitor only has a DVI-D input (digital only) and the computer only has a VGA analog output. So I was thinking about just installing a video card that has a DVI-D output.

I don't know too much about computers, and next to nothing about video cards. What specs/features should I look for? This comp will NOT be used for gaming or anything, just mostly surfin TRS and using Word. So I don't need a fancy expensive card, just something that will let me hook up my monitor for as cheaply as possible.

Does it matter which computer I have, or will pretty much any card fit and work? It's a (I think) Dell Dimension 2000, built circa 2005, with Windows XP.

Jaymz9350 · Mar 26, 2009

If you just need it for basic apps all you need is the cheapest card you can find with a DVI port (almost all now will have one). We would need to know the exact model of the pc or a picture of the mother board to know what interface you'd need (AGP, PCI-Express, or PCI) because if it's from around 2005 thats around when the switch from AGP to PCI-E was being made and not all Dell's have a slot for a video card aside form a basic PCI slot.

To make things simple any cheap PCI card should work no matter what.

exbass94 · Mar 26, 2009

Just had a thought, would I be able to take the video card out my old computer and use it? It's an old Gateway circa 2000 with Windows 98. Since that card came with that old computer, I don't have any software for it.

On the new computer, I had already installed a wireless internet card about a year ago and I *think* it used a standard PCI slot, but it might have been a PCI express. I'm almost positive it was not AGP though.

fleck · Mar 26, 2009

You know they make adapters right? It'd be like 5 or 10 bucks. Check your local tech shop(s), someone's bound to have it.

exbass94 · Mar 26, 2009

Yeah, they make adaptors ford DVI-A and DVI-I, but not DVI-D, which is what I need. DVI-D is an all digital signal, and VGA is analog. To adapt them, I would need a digital-to-analog converter, which is too much money. I'd be cheaper and easier to just get a video card.

fleck · Mar 26, 2009

Alright, I didn't notice the -D at the end there, so yeah. OK, well, first thing you need to do is crack the system(s) open and see what the form factor is, if it has AGP or PCI-E, most likely I'm thinking it will have AGP. If it's AGP then your best bet to get DVI out would be a Radeon card, as ATI/AMD kept making some of their higher end cards for PCI/AGP for quite a while (still might make a few models, in fact).

We can talk more about what you should do next once you've got it figured out. Learning the difference in look between PCI, AGP and PCI-E is pretty easy, all you have to do is look it up. Looking up the model number of the desktop should also yield a spec sheet with the required data, which would be the fastest way to go.

exbass94 · Mar 26, 2009

Well I found that it's definitely PCI, not AGP. I typed in the service tag on the Dell website, and it's Dell Dimension 3000. Here is the page with all compatible accessories for it. I think I might go with this one.

fastpakr · Mar 26, 2009

For what you're doing, something like this should do fine.

fleck · Mar 27, 2009

Eh he should stick with the 6200, the more performance you can squeeze out of your system the better!

Ric · Mar 28, 2009

Will this plug into it? Looks like basic DVI to me. I have adapters for days here. Take a picture of the port and post it. No need in forking out money for nothing. If I have an adapter for you, you can have it.
Caleb knows his ish but, I wouldnt go lower than an 8600 GTS or (GT if your PSU doesnt have a 6 pin). I'm sure ATI has good stuff, I just never use it as nVidia has always done what I needed. 30 bucks to 60 bucks-ish... but the difference is surely measurable.

Again, let me see the back of that PC.

Jaymz9350 · Mar 28, 2009

Ric said:
Will this plug into it? Looks like basic DVI to me. I have adapters for days here. Take a picture of the port and post it. No need in forking out money for nothing. If I have an adapter for you, you can have it.
Caleb knows his ish but, I wouldnt go lower than an 8600 GTS or (GT if your PSU doesnt have a 6 pin). I'm sure ATI has good stuff, I just never use it as nVidia has always done what I needed. 30 bucks to 60 bucks-ish... but the difference is surely measurable.

Again, let me see the back of that PC.

he has an analog output out of the pc and a digital input on the monitor. they don't make simple adapters for that. the adapters they give with video cards to let you plug a vga (analog) monitor into the dvi port works because the dvi port on the card usually) sends out a analog signal also.

fastpakr · Mar 28, 2009

Ric said:
Caleb knows his ish but, I wouldnt go lower than an 8600 GTS or (GT if your PSU doesnt have a 6 pin). I'm sure ATI has good stuff, I just never use it as nVidia has always done what I needed. 30 bucks to 60 bucks-ish... but the difference is surely measurable.

Don't give me too much credit on this one. My gaming pretty much ends at Minesweeper. Most everything I do on a PC doesn't push the video side of things at all (except maybe Compiz in Linux). For what I do, the lowest end non-integrated card is usually adequate.

fleck · Mar 28, 2009

If there is a PCI 8600GTS go for it. I recommended ATI because I thought they still had the only PCI cards around. I prefer and use nVidia because I like the quality of their products and drivers.

exbass94 · Apr 3, 2009

fastpakr said:
For what you're doing, something like this should do fine.

Thanks for the help everybody. I ended up going with the card fastpakr suggested. Just gotta wait for shipping.

Need video card advice

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