Is there something wrong with my mobo or videocard?

2001 Views 11 Replies 2 Participants Last post by Tumbleweed36, Jan 1, 2010

elgorilagrande

Discussion Starter · Dec 9, 2009 (Edited)

Hi guys, I've been having a problem with my computer, I'm pretty sure it's either a motherboard or video card problem (leaning towards video card).

When I boot up, as soon as the BIOS screen comes up, the text becomes broken up (looks scrambled, and different rows/columns are misaligned).

Once I boot into the OS (whether Windows or Linux) my screen looks exactly like this:

So I unplugged the videocard's power cord and booted up. As you would expect the computer gave some message "You video card is not connected to the power supply", but the screen was perfectly clear.

Is this most likely a video card problem or is this not enough info to tell? If it is the video card, can it be fixed?

Everything else works fine, internet (LAN), sound, etc.

Hardware info
motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813180061
video card (AGP 4x/8x): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127127

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elgorilagrande

Discussion Starter · #4 · Dec 9, 2009

Thanks for the advice, but I'm almost 100% sure it's not a software problem. I've had this setup running since 2004 without any problems. I've also formatted a bunch of times since I put the computer together, and formatted once since this problem started.

Here's my power supply (Antec TRUE430 430W ATX): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817103908

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elgorilagrande

Discussion Starter · #6 · Dec 9, 2009

Tumbleweed36 said:
That additional information helps some since your info didn't include that data.

Do you have access to another video card you can slip in there to see if that is the issue?

No, wish I did. Worst case I'll buy a video card, pop it in, and if it turns out to be something else I'll eat the restocking fee.

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elgorilagrande

Discussion Starter · #8 · Dec 9, 2009

Actually I don't think it has any PCIe slots (meaning PCI Express X16 right?).

Which cards usually have a better value these days, AGP4x/8x or PCI? You're right, I checked BestBuy and they don't have any AGP cards. The cheapest card they have is a PCI for 70$, whereas Newegg has AGP cards starting at 25$. I was hoping I could find an AGP card in a store somewhere but I guess not.

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elgorilagrande

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jan 1, 2010

I ended up buying a 512MB card for $45, my system works fine now. Thanks for your help Tumbleweed.

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