Computer is completely pixelated, help please.

[generalkai]

Hey guys not sure if this is the right section, so sorry in advance. But anyway I've been wanting to fix my old gaming computer for a long time now after having to replace it with a very cheap laptop 🙁 I can't exactly tell what's wrong with it but I can provide pictures as to what's going on with it. Any help would be be appreciated.

Specs:


Model: XPS 630i

Spoiler

http://di1-3.shoppingshadow.com/images/pi/61/0d/57/83135743-260x260-0-0_Dell%2BDell%2BXPS%2B630%2BDesktop%2BComputer%2BIntel%2BCore%2B2%2BQu.jpg

Hard drive: 750gb 7200rpm

Processor: Intel (R) Core ( Duo CPU or something its too hard to read in dxdiag ) E8400 [ 3.0 GHz 2CPU's ]

RAM: 4GB 800MHz

Graphics: 8800GT ( NVIDIA ) ((after looking all over for XPS graphics cards lol))

Power Supply: 750w

This is an image taken from my BIOS.

This is the inside of my rig.

And here is the GFX card.

Again thank you for any help. [Side-Note: The second picture is a pic without the gfx card and the third one is with it in]

And if it's my graphics card that is fried or broken, can you guys suggest which card can replace it. ( and if it could run guild wars 2 decently )

 

[Sunius]

Looks like the card is dying. I'd check it in another PC though just to be sure it's not the motherboard.

What's your budget for the new card?

 

[generalkai]

I have about 150-200$ dollars for a spending limit since I'm a freshmen in college and such. And I'll go chuck it in my roommates CPU and come back with the answer.

Edit: Yep definitely the graphics card, same boot up problems it's all glitchy and stuff.

So any recommendations for a XPS 630i system? I'd prefer to be able to play Guild Wars 2 at max settings 😀

 

[coozie7]

Sadly, artifacts like that on the BIOS screen usually mean the card is due a decent funeral but before consigning it to the recyclers remove and reseat the card, it's possible the connections have taken a turn for the worse while it was stored. If there's no improvement, you should try to try it in another machine.
Toms has an article on Guild Wars, have a read and see what you think.
The CPU is quite slow by current standards, though, expect it to be close to the bottom of each benchmark chart.

 

[coozie7]

OK...OK...I'm a slow typer!
Can you take a shot of the PSU? We need to know: Its total output, amps on the +12 volt output and how many PCI-E leads it has.

 

[generalkai]

Sadly, artifacts like that on the BIOS screen usually mean the card is due a decent funeral but before consigning it to the recyclers remove and reseat the card, it's possible the connections have taken a turn for the worse while it was stored. If there's no improvement, you should try to try it in another machine.
Toms has an article on Guild Wars, have a read and see what you think.
The CPU is quite slow by current standards, though, expect it to be close to the bottom of each benchmark chart.

Well it'll be a massive improvement from playing on a Lenovo B575 series, let's just say it's poop.

Laptop specs for fun:

Processor: AMD E-350 Processor (2CPUs) ~1.6GHz 🙁

Memory: 4gb RAM

GFX Card: AMD Radeon HD 6310M ~400MHz T_T

Yes playing GW2 on that made me cry every time considering I was averaging 5-7FPS everywhere, it's amazing how I got 50% map completion with this kinda laptop. So really any kind of upgrade at this point would be massively great.

 

[generalkai]

OK...OK...I'm a slow typer!
Can you take a shot of the PSU? We need to know: Its total output, amps on the +12 volt output and how many PCI-E leads it has.

I'm guessing PSU means power supply unit? If so would you like a picture of the Power box thing?

Also link to said article regarding CPU performance on GW2 please? Thanks.

 

[womble]

I'd guess as above that the graphics card has met its maker. Could try taking it out and giving it a good clean but to be honest if it is doing that just going into the bios I can't imagine it being much of a heat issue🙁 Trying it in an a mates pc or borrowing a mates card for yours is the easiest way to confirm.

I suppose if some of the bios settings got scrambled i could effect it, but there again Dell usually have fairly simple bios.

Did it go all of a sudden or were you starting to get issues building up when gaming?

Just looking at this site there is a little roundup of cards for playing this game, that's handy.

 

[coozie7]

@GeneralKai: Yep, that's the thing, get a good clear shot of the rating label.

 

[generalkai]

I'd guess as above that the graphics card has met its maker. Could try taking it out and giving it a good clean but to be honest if it is doing that just going into the bios I can't imagine it being much of a heat issue🙁 Trying it in an a mates pc or borrowing a mates card for yours is the easiest way to confirm.

I suppose if some of the bios settings got scrambled i could effect it, but there again Dell usually have fairly simple bios.

Did it go all of a sudden or were you starting to get issues building up when gaming?

Just looking at this site there is a little roundup of cards for playing this game, that's handy.

It gradually got worse and worse when I was playing Age of Conan way back when lol.

Also do you think a GTX 550 Ti would work for my rig?

 

[generalkai]

@GeneralKai: Yep, that's the thing, get a good clear shot of the rating label.

Alrighty hold on a bit I'll add it in an edit shortly.

Edit: Imgur isn't working for me right now so sorry about that :[

 

[coozie7]

And let us know what resolution you're using, higher resolutions will need more graphics power than lower ones.

 

[generalkai]

And let us know what resolution you're using, higher resolutions will need more graphics power than lower ones.

The monitor I will be using will be 1680 x 1050 (32bit) (60Ghz) Thank you.

 

[coozie7]

Not to worry on the PSU front, according to Google the XPS630i uses a 750 Watt supply so it'll run ANYTHING you care to put in there.

 

[generalkai]

Not to worry on the PSU front, according to Google the XPS630i uses a 750 Watt supply so it'll run ANYTHING you care to put in there.

Yes! So do you think I can slap a GTX 550 Ti in there? 😍

 

[Sunius]

Sure you can! Though I'd suggest HD 7770 instead: faster and costs the same.

 

[coozie7]

^+1

 

[zcosmin]

i had the exact same graphics card as you and the exact same problem, i replaced the card and it worked fine..

 

[generalkai]

Sure you can! Though I'd suggest HD 7770 instead: faster and costs the same.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/XFX+-+Ultra+Overclock+Edition+Radeon+HD+7770+1GB+DDR5+PCI+Express+3.0+Graphics+Card/5619352.p?id=1218677497053&skuId=5619352&st=HD%207770&cp=1&lp=1

Is this what you are referring to?

What brand is it? XD Asus, XFX, or VisionTek?

 

[coozie7]

It's XFX.
And i's quite expensive.

 

[vrumor]

That is a ridiculous price for that card. Save yourself $60 and order one from NewEgg or whatever online retailer you are familiar with.

 

[generalkai]

That is a ridiculous price for that card. Save yourself $60 and order one from NewEgg or whatever online retailer you are familiar with.

Being from Hawaii and with no credit card what so ever, I'd rather pay the upfront cash.

 

[generalkai]

It's XFX.
And i's quite expensive.

And thanks for the recommendation and the help, much appreciated. But would the HD 7770 even fit in my computer? It looks rather large from a side angle haha.

 

[coozie7]

Although you may not be able to purchase from the 'Egg their site can be helpful in other ways, they often give the size of each card on offer, for example so you can use a tape measure to see if a given card will fit.
Even so, the XPS series were designed as gaming rigs so I doubt you'll have any problems.
This is a little more wallet friendly:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+AMD+Radeon+HD+7770+1GB+GDDR5+PCI+Express+3.0+Graphics+Card/5716954.p?id=1218686513662&skuId=5716954
And if you check the size under 'details' it's quite compact:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121559

 

[generalkai]

Although you may not be able to purchase from the 'Egg their site can be helpful in other ways, they often give the size of each card on offer, for example so you can use a tape measure to see if a given card will fit.
Even so, the XPS series were designed as gaming rigs so I doubt you'll have any problems.
This is a little more wallet friendly:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+AMD+Radeon+HD+7770+1GB+GDDR5+PCI+Express+3.0+Graphics+Card/5716954.p?id=1218686513662&skuId=5716954
And if you check the size under 'details' it's quite compact:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121559

Would you recommend the Asus HD 7770 with a 200$ spending budget? I would prefer the biggest bang for my buck. Or should I just stick with the XFX HD 7770 / GTX 550 Ti? I am heading to bestbuy on friday to look at some cards, so let me know if you can