Need a GPU for home upgrade project

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DellInspiron530

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Dec 28, 2012
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Ok so I have a Dell Inspiron 530 G33M02 motherboard.

I have installed an E8400 processor running a 3gz, 3MB of DDR2 Ram and 5.1 audio card.

Bought a Sparkle Geforce 8400GS but it won't work, found a note on the box quoting Intel i7 processor which is way out of my PC's capability.

So I'd like some help for a budget GPU to plug into a large TV, don't want top spec, just something to play some older games on such as Star Wars Galaxies, Evil Genius, City of Heroes and just to watch DVD's.

Running Win XP and might wish to instal a blu-ray player at some point.

Thanks for any help
 
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cTs Corvette

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The 8400GS came out way before the Intel i7, so whatever you are reading, it's not minimum requirements for that card.

If I had to guess, your card works just fine, but you need to go into BIOS and change your display output from the onboard to the PCI slot.
 
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DellInspiron530

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I have tried a hell of a lot to try and get this card working but I get stuck in a bios reboot loop, have changed bios option from onboard to pci and pcie options, tried fresh windows instal without installing the dell graphics driver in order to instal my graphics card but it still gets stuck in the bios reboot loop.
 
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cTs Corvette

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Well that's a lot different than I "found a note on the box quoting Intel i7 processor which is way out of my PC's capability." Granted, you might have assumed that was why it wasn't working, but still, some more details would have been helpful.

You want a PCI-e video card, not PCI. PCI is much, much slower than PCI-e and your motherboard has PCI-e slot. As far as HTPC, I don't know what card would be best for that application, but there are lots of cards that meet your criteria, anywhere from $200 cards to less than $100. If I was you, I do some research and see which one fits your budget best.
 
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DellInspiron530

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After trying eveything I could think of, and seaching troubleshooting forums and google for issues I assumed that this note on the box was the reason I couldn't get the blasted thing working!
 
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DellInspiron530

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And I didn't open this thread to troubleshoot the problems with the graphics card so any info on my previous attempts at installing it were not neccessary as the thread was to ask for compatible graphics cards for my set up.

Newsflash, this thread is part of my research!
 
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cTs Corvette

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Well excuse me for thinking that you might want some help getting the video card you already bought working, or that you might want to do some troubleshooting to see if you have a problem with your system before you spend more money on another card that may or may not fix your problem.
 
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DellInspiron530

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You telling me that the card isn't a complete write-off?

Because I'm strugglng to understand why sometimes it will work in safe mode but never work in normal mode!

I've just become so frustrated with the bloody thing
 
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cTs Corvette

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You really haven't given enough details. You said the card didn't work, it gets stuck in a BIOS loop, but now you say it sometimes works in Safe Mode. Generally when something works in Safe Mode but not in normal Windows mode, it's a driver conflict.

When you say it get stuck in a BIOS loop, what exactly do you mean? Does it attempt to load Windows and restart? Does it not even get as far as loading Windows? Did you have any issues with your PC before you installed this video card? Do you have another PC you can test the card in, or another card you can test in your PC?
 
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DellInspiron530

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There was no problem before installing the graphics card. When I place the card in and turn on the PC it boots to the Dell logo screen, shortly afterwards it reboots and starts the load up again. This time after the Dell logo screen it gives me the option of safe mode, safe mode with networking, safe mode with command prompt, last known settings or boot in standard mode.

I booted in safe mode with networking, installed the CD driver, restarted. Dell logo screen hits then reboot, dell logo screen then the options as listed above. Again safe mode with networking and sought updated driver online.

Installed this but the computer will still not start in normal mode.

Any other info needed?
 
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cTs Corvette

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The fact that it works sometimes and doesn't work others is troublesome. It could be a bad video card, or it could be a bigger issue with your computer. Without you having either another video card to test in your system or another system to test your video card in, there really isn't any way to know for sure what the problem is. Buying a different video card may or may not fix your issue.
 
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DellInspiron530

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I have another system I could check the gpu in but not sure if it would be a fair test as the other system is quite under spec of my current system. Will try it anyway
 
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cTs Corvette

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If you can afford it, I'd probably go with something like Radeon 6850 or the GTX 560. If you want an older/used card, the 9800GT or the GTS250 (same card, different names) should be a pretty reasonable deal. Or a GTX 460 if you can find a good deal on one. The 8800 isn't too bad, but it's going to run hotter and be noisier than the 9800 or 250.
 
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