- Aug 29, 2013
- 8
- 0
- 10,510
I have a Gateway DX4860-UB32P with on-board Intel HD 2000 graphics. Intel Core i3 2120, 6GB DDR3 SDRAM. 300W PSU. Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit. Display is VGA. More specs here:
https://www.cnet.com/products/gateway-dx4860-ub32p-core-i3-2120-3-3-ghz-6-gb-1-tb/specs/
The on-board graphics just died. When I turn on the monitor, I get a signal for a split second, then it shuts off (monitor's blue power light stays on, but the display goes dark). I have tested with a known-good monitor and different VGA cable, and the known-good monitor/cable combo does the same thing. Beneath the near-darkness, it still boots fine.
I'd like to add a basic video card, but based on what I'm reading online, I need to get into the BIOS to enable the PCIe slot if I go that route. And I'm not sure how I'll do that if I can't see the display. The split seconds aren't long enough to get any meaningful work done -- just moving the mouse to the proper place to shut it down properly took a few minutes. I can't imagine actually going into the BIOS, which I have rarely ever done on any computer, and am not familiar with navigating. Even getting into Device Manager, if that's an alternative, would be really, really difficult.
Since I'm a bit suspicious that this might be a first sign that the motherboard itself isn't long for this world, and since I don't really do any video-intensive activities (no major gaming), and since I believe the power supply is the 300W stock one that came with it (I'm the second owner, but I doubt the first owner upgraded), I'm looking for something basic and cheap that won't require a new PSU. I just want to get in there, back up my files, then warily use it for as long as the motherboard survives -- which I know could be anywhere from a day to a decade. I'm thinking along the lines of a GEForce GT430, which says it will run on a 300W PSU, and which I can pick up for about $25 on eBay.
However, will this require me getting into the BIOS or Device Manager? And if so, how do I do it if I can't see the monitor?
If I were to just buy an old PCI (not Express) graphics card, would that avoid the BIOS-changing issue? i.e. would it recognize it and use it as soon as I booted up after installing it? If so, are there any minimum specs that I should look for so as to at least match the old Intel HD 2000 on-board graphics? I'm guessing that some of the old VGA PCI cards out there are *really* old and I'm afraid they'd wind up slowing the graphics down.
I've also considered a VGA to USB adapter, but I'm unfamiliar with those and don't know whether those things actually work (or are compatible with USB 2.0, which is I think all I have).
Thanks!
https://www.cnet.com/products/gateway-dx4860-ub32p-core-i3-2120-3-3-ghz-6-gb-1-tb/specs/
The on-board graphics just died. When I turn on the monitor, I get a signal for a split second, then it shuts off (monitor's blue power light stays on, but the display goes dark). I have tested with a known-good monitor and different VGA cable, and the known-good monitor/cable combo does the same thing. Beneath the near-darkness, it still boots fine.
I'd like to add a basic video card, but based on what I'm reading online, I need to get into the BIOS to enable the PCIe slot if I go that route. And I'm not sure how I'll do that if I can't see the display. The split seconds aren't long enough to get any meaningful work done -- just moving the mouse to the proper place to shut it down properly took a few minutes. I can't imagine actually going into the BIOS, which I have rarely ever done on any computer, and am not familiar with navigating. Even getting into Device Manager, if that's an alternative, would be really, really difficult.
Since I'm a bit suspicious that this might be a first sign that the motherboard itself isn't long for this world, and since I don't really do any video-intensive activities (no major gaming), and since I believe the power supply is the 300W stock one that came with it (I'm the second owner, but I doubt the first owner upgraded), I'm looking for something basic and cheap that won't require a new PSU. I just want to get in there, back up my files, then warily use it for as long as the motherboard survives -- which I know could be anywhere from a day to a decade. I'm thinking along the lines of a GEForce GT430, which says it will run on a 300W PSU, and which I can pick up for about $25 on eBay.
However, will this require me getting into the BIOS or Device Manager? And if so, how do I do it if I can't see the monitor?
If I were to just buy an old PCI (not Express) graphics card, would that avoid the BIOS-changing issue? i.e. would it recognize it and use it as soon as I booted up after installing it? If so, are there any minimum specs that I should look for so as to at least match the old Intel HD 2000 on-board graphics? I'm guessing that some of the old VGA PCI cards out there are *really* old and I'm afraid they'd wind up slowing the graphics down.
I've also considered a VGA to USB adapter, but I'm unfamiliar with those and don't know whether those things actually work (or are compatible with USB 2.0, which is I think all I have).
Thanks!
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