Advice on graphics card replacement

[piikea]

My NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti seems to be going bad (random monitor screen going dark &/or not displaying after boot) so I need an idea for a replacement card. Not a monitor problem as it works when connected to a different PC & drivers are up to date.


Not for gaming just general use - watching videos, dvds, etc. My knowledge of graphic cards is SLIM so online research hasn't found an easy answer. An equivalent but don't want to spend a ton if possible! Any ideas?



MoBo is Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H
Intel(R) Core i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz ~3.9GHz

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit


Thanks
(If I don't get back to this it died completely & I can't!)

 

[SIW2]

Not for gaming just general use - watching videos, dvds, etc.

Why not just use the graphics built into the i7-3770 ?

Unplug the graphics card from the motherboard and it should work fine.

 

[piikea]

Why not just use the graphics built into the i7-3770 ?

Unplug the graphics card from the motherboard and it should work fine.

Now that you mention it I do vaguely recall i7 has onboard graphics (or w/e correct term is). Do you mean unplug the card from power supply or have to physically remove the card itself?

 

[SIW2]

Isn't it attached to a pcie slot? Take the graphics card out of the machine, bios will notice it has gone and you can use the cpu graphics. They are fine. It is what I am using now.

That cpu has integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000. Unless you are into heavy gaming, there is no need for a separate card. You will save electricity, too.

If your monitor is plugged into the graphics card output, you need to plug it into whatever video output your motherboard has instead.

Your mobo has these video outputs on the backplate:

1 x D-Sub port
1 x DVI-D port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920x1200
1 x HDMI port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920x1200
1 x DisplayPort, supporting a maximum resolution of 2560x1600

GA-Z77X-UD3H (rev. 1.0) Specification | Motherboard - GIGABYTE Global

 

[piikea]

If your monitor is plugged into the graphics card output, you need to plug it into whatever video output your motherboard has instead.

Yes monitor is plugged into the graphics card output now. I used compressed air last night to clear built up dust on the card but it monitor went out a few times AFTER that. I haven't had a problem w/ it yet today - it's "working" so I'm afraid to mess w/ it! I can't be w/o a PC & chronic headache means I'm not quite well enough to remove the card right now but you've provided much needed clarity on the situation.



I think I'll wait until it cuts out/off again then try switching the DVI-D cable to the MoBo's DVI-D port & hope that works (w/o removing card). It probably won't due to bios as you mentioned. If not I'll be forced to risk removing it. It's happened more lately but otherwise been an intermittent issue - maybe I'll get lucky & it'll resolve itself! I'll update thread when anything changes.



Many thanks!

 

[piikea]

Isn't it attached to a pcie slot? Take the graphics card out of the machine, bios will notice it has gone and you can use the cpu graphics. They are fine. It is what I am using now.

That cpu has integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000. Unless you are into heavy gaming, there is no need for a separate card. You will save electricity, too.

If your monitor is plugged into the graphics card output, you need to plug it into whatever video output your motherboard has instead.

Your mobo has these video outputs on the backplate:

1 x D-Sub port
1 x DVI-D port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920x1200
1 x HDMI port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920x1200
1 x DisplayPort, supporting a maximum resolution of 2560x1600

GA-Z77X-UD3H (rev. 1.0) Specification | Motherboard - GIGABYTE Global

The (seemingly) no signal to the monitor issue continues intermittently even AFTER using the MoBo's DVI port. So, I've tried each of the 2 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti DVi ports AND now the Mobo's DVI port but still the same issue occurs w/ each one. When computer boots and the monitor gets a signal using ANY of these ports everythings works normally.


At times w/ NVIDIA the display will be 800x600 & system will auto "install driver software", then I reboot & will be 1920x1200. Even after I'd updated the drivers manually. Then later reverted to an older driver version.


But now w/ same thing happening w/ MoBo's DVI port - what ELSE could be the problem?


To be clear - normally I power on, hear a POST beep, then see BIOS screen where I choose which OS to boot into & all's well. When there's "no signal" (thus a blank screen) I hear a POST beep (computer, fans, etc all on) BUT nothing on screen (so it doesn't even display the choose OS screen). It used to resolve after several reboots but that last couple times it's taken 15-20 reboots. Now I just leave it on but of course I'd rather pinpoint the problem & fix it once & for all. Any other ideas?

 

[file3456]

Isolate whether it's a motherboard, monitor or OS issue by booting a live Linux disk such as Puppy Linux. If you boot Puppy Linux and you still have video issues, then we can confirm it's now either the monitor or the motherboard, not the OS. The next step would be to try another monitor, and if that too has issues then we need to move onto BIOS. In BIOS I'd select the option to load last good configuration. Or better yet, turn off the computer, then the PSU switch, pull the power cord from the computer, remove the CMOS battery while mitigating any electrostatic discharge, press the computer power button several times and wait for at least 5 minutes. Now replace the CMOS battery, reattach the power cord, turn on the power to the PSU and then turn on the computer. Do this if you suspect a motherboard issue.

If the issue is still present after all this, I suspect motherboard hardware failure. An old motherboard like that could probably be had on eBay for cheap if need be.

The thing about graphics cards now is that they are expensive as all sin due to the cryptocurrency mining craze going on. So your options would be either to A) use the CPU on-board GPU (monitor connected to motherboard) or B) go on eBay and hopefully find a reputable seller selling a cheap 560TI or equivalent. Think AMD.

I used to use a 560TI and then I was in the market for a 1060. Well, this was sometime circa 2018 and back then there was also a cryptocurrency mining craze going on. So no matter what vendor you looked at all across the Internet, you either saw "out of stock" for all 1060's or they were ridiculously priced. So my next option was to settle for a 1050TI, and that too was all sold out everywhere until I found one lone website that had one, only one available for the low, low price of what a 1060 cost at normal market rates. I knew I needed an upgrade for my GPU and if I didn't buy this over priced 1050TI I'd never have an updated GPU in I don't know how long. So I bought the damn thing for $200 +. Absolutely ridiculous.

Now currently I wanted to upgrade my GPU, but now there's yet ANOTHER damn cryptocurrency mining craze going on and there's no signs of it stopping anytime soon. I thought perhaps that would happen a few days ago when the price started to drop, but nope! It's back up there to ~$49,000 + as of this post.

Puppy Linux Home

 

[piikea]

Puppy Linux will require some investigation as I'm not experienced w/ Linux.
I was wishing I had access to another monitor to try.....but I don't so unsure about that step.
Hopefully if I get to the BIOS step it will display so I can do anything w/ it(!).
Looking around I had seen the CMOS battery possibility (& even possibility of cleaning the RAM!?).


Hopefully it won't be MoBo as that'd be a major pain.
Also changed my mind about a new GPU once I saw the prices!
I thought the onboard graphics was going to be the savior...but apparently not.
Since the choose OS screen doesn't even display makes me think it's hardware since neither OS is even loaded at that point.



Now to find time to do all this. Also if I have to shut it down for some reason & can't get anything back on monitor screen I'll really be screwed! Thanks for the ideas.

 

[file3456]

You don't need to know Linux. So long as the OS from the live disk boots with zero monitor issues that right there will narrow it down. Puppy Linux should have Firefox on the desktop so just double click the icon and do some Internet surfing to see if the monitor issue ever develops.