Faulty Graphics Card? need help ASAP

[Zenax]

Hey,
I need a bit of help. My friend of mine has given me a pc that he didnt want, and I went to look at it early and there isnt any signal coming from the graphics card. I have connected it to two different monitors, with different cables and I get the same result.

The graphics card is an Palit 7600GS. (http://shop.key.ru/photo/items/57746.jpg)

I am basically wondering if I should just replace it with a nice newer model.

Any ideas on how to fix this problem or should i just go ahead and replace it?!? If so what models would you guys reccommend. I got around £50 to spend for it and I want a nice decent model.


Need a reply ASAP please

 

[Smith6612]

1: In the past, has that card been known to artifact or suddenly shut down due to high temperatures? I had a friend who owned a GeForce 7800 in the past and it died pre-maturely due to high heat. He purchased a 9800GT to replace it.

2: Is the card getting power and did you try reseating it?

 

[farscapeone]

Card on the picture you posted seams to have a separate power supply connector (look at the picture below). Do you have it and did you connected it properly.

 

[wongers]

or alternatively, does the fan still spin?

if fan spins = card has power
if fan does not spin = card does not have power.

then you move on to the next thing to check for.

this is what we call troubleshooting

i like oranges

 

[tmaloof]

Go with Matrox! I stand by their video cards 100%

 

[Zenax]

The picture I posted I think is slightly misleading either that or the extra power is missing.

When I plug the graphics card in the fan spins so I assume there is power going to it.

It actually looks more like this: http://cokupic.pl/i/c_big272380.jpg

Am I going wrong here?!?

Plus I have reseated it many a time. I am trying a few different things before I majorly condemn the card or the MOBO. According to my friend it was working fine at his house so I think I have gone wrong somewhere

 

[Smith6612]

Next question. Since the fan is spinning, the card obviously is powering up. Have you checked the condition of the pins on the card? It's a PCI-E 16x card. Make sure they are in good condition and nothing is snapped off. Also, have you reset the CMOS on the motherboard? Lastly, is the graphics card giving off heat? If it is, it shows the card still has some life in it since the VCore is working.

Here's a page that shows the pins for a PCI-E 16x port and what each one does. http://www.interfacebus.com/Design_PCI_Express_16x_PinOut.html

By the way, if the PC has on-board video, after resetting the CMOS and using on-board video to reconfigure the BIOS, disable the on-board video and make sure "PEG" or PCI-E is set as the first video device to start up.

 

[Zenax]

The one really annoying thing about this motherboard is the fact that it doesnt have onboard graphics. So I therefore cant get anything out of the computer at all. There is another computer in the house but taking it apart is out of the question as its a family computer! All ideas greatly appreciated!

After checking the graphics card, all the pins seem to be fine. One thing is it could be a dead mobo?!?

 

[Smith6612]

The one really annoying thing about this motherboard is the fact that it doesnt have onboard graphics. So I therefore cant get anything out of the computer at all. There is another computer in the house but taking it apart is out of the question as its a family computer! All ideas greatly appreciated!

After checking the graphics card, all the pins seem to be fine. One thing is it could be a dead mobo?!?

Might be. If you remove the RAM and try POSTing the PC does it start beeping? Or should I say, does it show any signs of completing POST when you power it on?

 

[Zenax]

I can't really tell. Going to have to get back to you on that one. (I need to wire the speaker in lol)

I think I might order a new graphics card. If that one doesn't work then I am going to assume that the mobo is dead and replace that.

 

[Smith6612]

I can't really tell. Going to have to get back to you on that one. (I need to wire the speaker in lol)

I think I might order a new graphics card. If that one doesn't work then I am going to assume that the mobo is dead and replace that.

Alright. Let us know how the progress comes.

 

[Zenax]

I am trying to boot it with no RAM, no HDD or anything connected and still no picture. I think that the graphics card is dead. The only way is for me to have another computer together. I got plenty of spare parts so I might be able to knock one together lol.

 

[farscapeone]

If you have a spare graphic card you could try it. That way you'll know if that 7600GS is broken or not.

 

[The Real Rebel]

Doesn't sound good, the best thing you could try is as leviathon said try a spare graphics card!

 

[krofunk]

Possibly to late to mention however I used to have an ATI x1950 PRO (AGP) and that had 2 molex power connections at the rear of the card, The fan would spin when I turned the computer on but it wouldn't display anything. Something to note from this is that the machine failed to boot into Windows when the power was disconnected from the card.

I only know Windows didn't boot because there wasn't any login jingle you normally get when XP displays your desktop.

The other thing I want to ad is that my nVidia 9400GT wont run unless I connect it to the S/PDIF on the motherboard as well as the pci-e slot

Good Luck.

 

[stesouthby]

is it the graphics card on the board or one that been fitted if it is remove it and use the motherboards graphics and see if you can get a signal from that if you find one thats compatible and bang it in but you might be wasting your money if your still not getting no signal are you getting any beeps when you turn it on because your mother board might be dead?

 

[Hoobrum]

could use a voltmeter to see if it's pulling in electricity.

 

[mac173]

I did not see this asked, so here goes.

Does your video card have one power connector, or 2?

If one, do you have the Video card on its OWN 12 volt rail, or is it shared? My 7800 card would not display anything until I put it on its own 12 volt rail. If your PSU has a single rail, this does not apply.