So confused about my Graphics card and driver

Hello,
I'm somewhat new to computer details, so please bear with me if I am asking elementary questions.

This is how it all started:

I bought a brand new Dell XPS 8100 Desktop computer. Here are the basic specs:

-Studio XPS 8100, Intel Core i7-860 processor(8MB Cache, 2.80GHz)
-6GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz-2X2GB/2x1GB
-nVIDIA GeForce G310 512MB DDR3
-750GB Serial ATA 2 Hard Drive 7200 RPM

Now, I uploaded all my software, did all my updates and then I noticed that my sleep button was grayed out (which it wasn't before because I used it). I looked up on some forums to find an answer, but none worked. Though a few spoke of updating the graphics card driver. So I looked into that and followed the instructions to do it... This is where I got confused.

In the Device Manager it says under Display adapters: Standard VGA Graphics Adapter. The forums said to find out what graphics card you have check that area. So I clicked on the "Standard VGA Graphics Adapter" to find out the Manufacturer and it says (Standard display types). According to my spec sheet for the computer I bought it said I have a nVIDIA GeForce G310 512MB DDR3. So if that is my card, then how come it isn't showing that that is what I have? My thought was that maybe the driver is a generic driver or somehting (since it says the driver provider is Microsoft -under the Driver tab) and that was what the info was showing, not the card itself. So I went to nVidia's site to get a driver for this but it didn't even show it as an option to select for their Graphics Card Drivers.!.?.

I don't get it. I can't seem to find a driver for my graphics card, and my computer isn't even showing that I have that card in there.

Please help me.!

Thanks,
Kevin


Oh, and by the way, I happened to pass the place on my computer where Microsoft rates your computer for how good it is for Windows 7 and in the areas dealing with my graphics card it was a 1.0 (which it says is the lowest)... I can't see how that is possible for being a brand new, good computer. That makes me think something is wrong.

That might be an OEM chip, so only Dell will have the drivers, get them from Dell's site for your model. The 1.0 score is a result of a generic driver. Welcome to the Forums!

I can't help with your sleep problem, but in general, that video card or video chipset is really going to hold your otherwise-stout PC back in the graphics area. It's not a good graphics card at all. I'm surprised Dell would even put such cheap graphics on an XPS system.

For $125 or so, you could probably get a decent midrange graphics card like an ATI 4850+ or Nvidia GTS250. Those aren't exactly high-end, but they are good enough for most games.

Zathras said:

I can't help with your sleep problem, but in general, that video card or video chipset is really going to hold your otherwise-stout PC back in the graphics area. It's not a good graphics card at all. I'm surprised Dell would even put such cheap graphics on an XPS system.

For $125 or so, you could probably get a decent midrange graphics card like an ATI 4850+ or Nvidia GTS250. Those aren't exactly high-end, but they are good enough for most games.

Good info, but irrelevant to the OP's question - for now.

The G310 is supposed to be a re-branding of the 210. (nVidia has good products, but they also have a history of dubious marketing. The Geforce4 MX series, for example.)

There are drivers for your card at Dell:

Drivers & Downloads=

I hope that they fix your problem. They are the nVidia 191.23 version. The latest at nVidia (196.23) don't list the G310. They ought to support the card, but the installer might have to be hacked to support your card's hardware ID.

I have read of other people with motherboards with onboard graphics (like your H57 chipset) sometimes having trouble with discrete graphics cards. I hope that you are not one of them.

I also called Dell, but they could not figure it out. They tried to do everything I already found on the internet to do.

bobkn said:

The G310 is supposed to be a re-branding of the 210. (nVidia has good products, but they also have a history of dubious marketing. The Geforce4 MX series, for example.)

There are drivers for your card at Dell:

Drivers & Downloads=

I hope that they fix your problem. They are the nVidia 191.23 version. The latest at nVidia (196.23) don't list the G310. They ought to support the card, but the installer might have to be hacked to support your card's hardware ID.

I have read of other people with motherboards with onboard graphics (like your H57 chipset) sometimes having trouble with discrete graphics cards. I hope that you are not one of them.

I tried to download that driver but when I did it said there was nothing to download.?,.!? My only guess on why it said that was maybe that driver is already loaded. So I don't know what to do now except maybe get a new video card.

Any suggestions?

I asked Dell about putting a new graphics card and what kind would be compatible, but when I looked up the ones he said, I wasnt sure if they were right. I looked them up on newegg. Here are the ones he said would be compatible at around the $150-$200 range.
$159 - ATI Radeon HD 2600xt 512mb
$205 - GeForce GTS 250 1GB DDR3

When I typed that into newegg I found that there were different kinds of manufacturers for those specs, so I wasn't sure if it mattered what I got.

Do any of you know what kind of Graphics Card I should get to replace my nVIDIA GeForce G310 512MB DDR3. ? And do you think that this may also end up fixing my sleep button issue

I'd return the system and build a new one - if not we need your system specs - fill them in with the help of the preparation section of the troubleshooting guide in my sig.