Solved Video card vs graphic card?

[ThrashZone]

Disable as in unplug it from power Yes you definitely want to do that
If the video card did not come with the shorter plates you can always pick them up at Radio shack or Fry's... they are cheap
The existing cable connection plate can be used as the second mounting plate for the vga port,
Take a picture of the back of your machine so we can tell how many slots are there now,
Cheers.

 

[DocBrown]

Doc Brown -- How old is your friend's computer? My Dell is a 1998.

It was a Dell XPS Gen 5 Full Tower (2005) w/ Win XP originally. 2gb memory.

It had a PCI-E 1.0 video card slot. Since it was full size I did not have to use the short brackets.

Upgraded memory to 8gb & Win7 Pro x64.

PS: Thrash, That was a nice video for installing

Are we sure this 1998 Dell has a PCI-E slot ?

I thought PCI-E first came out in 2003 ?

You may just have old standard PCI slots or maybe one AGP slot in that computer. :huh:

 

[nottaclue9]

Doc Brown -- I have no idea what this computer actually is. I can't even find out on Dell's site. By process of elimination, I figured it was an SFF.

Sorry I've been absent. Life keeps happening.

I just know y'all are going to want the photo of the back of my computer to be taken without everything plugged in, and that's a problem. There is a ton of stuff plugged in back there. Is there any possibility that you can see what you need to see with the wires in place?

Would it be better for me to take a picture of the inside of the computer? My computer guy told me I should be getting an AGP because there IS a place for it. I am really confused.

 

[ThrashZone]

Just so we can see the connections it should be fine
Post as many pic's as you want
Cheers.

 

[nottaclue9]

OK, then. I'll try to get that photo done tonight. Meanwhile, I'm trying to find the eensy hex wrench I will need to remove the face place & put the new bracket on. My dad works on clocks, and I think he's got one that will work. He'll be visiting next week. Hate to be string y'all along like this, but I live on Turtle Time.

 

[DocBrown]

Yes, take a lot of pics. Back, front, sides, inside, etc. Is there a Dell Service tag Number on it anywhere? Any Dell model #'s, Serial Numbers. Date of Mfg. ? Is the current video card in a slot on the MB ? Pic of the card & the slot ?

 

[nottaclue9]

My delusions of grandeur were in vain. I couldn't get the top (or side) off of the computer to show y'all its guts. I'll see if I can post what I've got:

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
That does confirm you'll need two short plates to mount the new card with,
Two ports probably on the one without a plate on it and one most likely vga port by it's self on the very bottom
See radio shack or Fry's... for one if you didn't receive two with the card,
The long one the card is mounted on now is junk it will not fit it's too long

But if you can't get the side wall off :/
Might be a problem
It's usually only held on by two screws on the back
Cheers I'll double check to see if I can spot them for you.

Yep,
One is behind this cable and the other is the black one,
Once you remove them slide the wall straight back towards where all of the cables are,
Reverse process to re-install it,
View attachment 338923

 

[nottaclue9]

OK, I have a photo of the inside and the two brackets. I think I know which one will fit. The problem now is that I cannot find the photos on my computer so I can post them for you. In all honesty, I have never known how to deal with pictures. The only way I've been able to post them to the forum is to do a random search through every file in my documents which usually leads me to the photos in an illogical place, then email them to myself, left-click to save them in my pictures from the email, and then finally upload them to the board that way.

But now I can't even find them. My photo manager is Windows, so one would think this would be simple. The window that opens after I insert the SD chip asks me if I want to open or save. If I save, I end up saving over 100 pictures all over again. My computer guy said to chose "open," but every single time I've done that, I've had to go hunting. This time, I cannot figure out where they are. My apologies for this detour. I'm called "notta clue" for very good reasons.

I'll keep looking.

 

[ThrashZone]

Ha I never put your user name together

I would usually use save as instead of save then name as well as possible for what it is and click the navigate to the folder I wanted the images in possibly even the Desktop so it's very easy to find but that would only be temporary save place until I made a folder or moved them to a better place after,

From a camera it's really better on the desktop for just a few files because cameras name the files 00001.jpg
Or IMG.00001....
So it does make tough to find

 

[DocBrown]

Ok we need to determine exactly what type of slots is in the two visible slot positions as viewed from the back.


The Freeware Program Belarc Adviser may identify the slots for us.

View attachment Belarc Advisor.exe.zip


UnZip it & RUN it & post what looks like identification of PCI, AGP, PCI-E slots that are listed.

 

[nottaclue9]

Well, Doc Brown -- I must be doing something wrong. I got an endless list of things called "favicons." There were over a million bytes. Is that right?

 

[nottaclue9]

Here's the inside of my Dell as well as the two brackets.

 

[AddRAM]

It should only have 2 nuts/screws holding the long bracket on the card, remove those 2 screws and put the small bracket with the 2 holes in it on. (The top bracket in your picture) You need a 3/16 " socket for them. And pull the gray vga cable off the video card too, you don`t need it.

BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN YOU PUT THE SCREWS BACK ON, DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN THEM.

YOU CAN BRAKE THEM VERY EASILY.

Then you would use a DVI cable or an HDMI cable to connect your new video card to your monitor. DVI will be fine.

Not all monitors have an HDMI input, you have to check.

Could you please post a newegg link to the exact card you got ?

 

[AddRAM]

The specs say that computer has 1 PCI-Express slot, it should be black but it could also be blue, we can`t see it in your picture, the hard drive is blocking it. That is where you put your new card in, be careful don`t brake anything, it only goes in one way.

I have an HP 6300 Pro SFF that looks just like yours, this is easier to do then you know, don`t be scared

 

[nottaclue9]

AddRAM -- I'm not finding my product at Newegg. I posted a photo of the box earlier in this thread. I guess I got the last one. They list several MSI products, but not the one I have. It cost $29.95.

 

[AddRAM]

Well then post a link from MSI, or tell me exactly what model it is, exactly.

Just type the model in Google.

I`ve been to San Antonio, I wanna go back Actually I want to move to Texas.

 

[ThrashZone]

Well it's great they sent both shorter mounting plates
Doc pointed out where they go you just need to take out the other blocked one so the vga will connect to your existing monitor just like it's connected now but now it's connected to your onboard graphic vga connection

Refer back to the video I posted for how to finish it up

 

[DocBrown]

Ok, I see an original white PCI empty, but I can not see what the second slot is, be cause it is hidden by the HD. Follow the purple circled area instructions to gently lift up th HD to view what is under it. Pic of that area will help.

Red circled area is the regular PCI slot.

 

[ThrashZone]

I believe the one missing slot cover was the Cable t.v connection card the one which is blocked in that image
Mine was the same way.