PC startup problem

I need some help to fix a startup problem on my desktop pc. It's about 7 years old now but I want to see if it can be rescued.

Before the pc broke, the graphics card (GeForce 8600GS type) was overheating all the time - I think I saw temperatures of 120+C . So I've always assumed the graphics card was what broke down.
When I went to startup the machine all I got was 3 beeps: one long and 2 short.

I bought a new video card. Research suggested that all PCI cards are backwards compatible so I didn't worry too much about how much development the new cards had gone through. When the new card (GT630) came, the connector strip was about half the size of the slot but I trusted the backwards compatibility and threw it in there.
The computer still won't startup, but I no longer have any beeps. All fans seem to whirl, I see LED lights on and can hear discs spinning up. The light on the monitor stays amber.

So is the problem that I have the wrong video card or is it that something else has been the problem all along?
Next to the graphics card slot on the motherboard is printed PCI-E1_16x
I thought the card I bought is a PCIE 2.0, the box says nothing about the connector type.
At first I was going to buy graphics card + PSU but this Silent card has no fan. When I looked at the ASUS specs they reported up to 75W power use. But box reports 300W minimum and my PSU is only 250W. Is this stopping the card from operating? http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/GT630SL1GD3L/specifications/
All the pc has is HDD, DVD drive and TV card inside.

Anyhow:
I thought the problem was borked video card. The new one I have should be compatible but doesn't look the same and doesn't fix the problem. The pc still isn't starting up.

Any ideas would be welcome. My knowledgebase is laughably small and I've gone wrong somewhere
tid

 

You have instructions on how to start with onboard video? There's no monitor connector except through a video card, and with the new card inserted I get nothing on the monitor to be able to see BIOS.

It used to be the monitor started with an orange light then as part of POST (or right afterwards) that turned green and we had pictures. Now all I get is orange.

Sorry I don't have much in-depth computer knowledge

 

Apologies for that, it's a Packard Bell iXtreme 2712
I can link to a page that lists the specs and even has a picture of the motherboard

(http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?67708-Packard-Bell-IXTREME-2712-mobo-gfx-RAM-Upgrade)

 

In case it would be useful I removed the cmos battery for half an hour.

If I startup with no video card there is 1 long and 2 short beeps
Using the old card I get the same
Using the new card there are no beeps

But the monitor never goes off standby mode, only orange light shows.
Using another monitor with different cables has the same result.

When the monitor isn't connected to a graphics card it has a green light and shows: No Signal, check cable.

I think I hear differences in the computer now but it may just be coincidence or imagination. The fan on the old video card spins today, yesterday it didn't + it seems the disc drives spinup for longer, maybe even long enough to believe that Windows is loading.
It's probably just wishful thinking.

 

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pci-e#PCI_Express_2.0

I think that this means you don't have to worry about your new graphics card's compatibility with your motherboard. That your computer doesn't beep when you have your new graphics card in is, I suppose, a good sign. As when you are in the BIOS editor is one of lowest PSU load states that you can have, I'm slightly surprised that your PSU isn't up to operating you system in that state, but what do I know ? What about drivers for your graphics card ? If you do not have the right ones installed your card will not work properly, though I can't see a way of installing them and carrying out any necessary set-up procedures if you can't see the screen May this is a red herring tho'.

I couldn't find your PC on http://www.packardbell.de/pb/en/GB/content/download. You might try contacting them or Asus for information about PCI-E slots, particularly Asus who might confirm that the graphics card you have bought is compatible with all earlier PCI-E standards (card's performance may not be optimal though).

I don't know how plodr was able to tell what beep codes meant without knowing your computer model or motherboard; my impression that they were individual to each motherboard must be wrong.

Assuming your monitor is good (have you got/can you borrow a spare with a spare cable you can test that isn't the monitor ?), then it might be that your PSU isn't giving out enough juice. The reason that a 300W PSU might be recommended when you graphics card uses only "75W" is because this is what the card manufacturers reckon the total (minimum) draw of a system into which you might place a GT630 is at least 300W. Have a play with the PSU requirement calculator - http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp for an idea
Additionally the same goes for another graphics card (from various posts in various posts around the internet it does indeed appear that your motherboard has no built in graphics capability, to back up plodr's finding [if that were necessary]). The same goes for the PSU, if you can test the hypothesis that a higher power PSU will enable your computer to start up before investing in one, by trying it with a spare/borrowed one, it might save you some ££

The fans and LEDs etc are only an indication that your computer is getting power (which is a good thing).

Dumb_Question
5.June.2014

 

Many thanks for your help, the time and effort you gave are much appreciated. What you say above seems to be the solution.

(Oddly, using DumbQuestion's link to wattage calculator the new card ought to use less power than the original. I guess it all goes towards working the fan.)

Back to the drawing board then, probably need to suck it up and buy a new pc

I'm grateful to everyone who contributed, good luck and best wishes

 

You may find that that newer graphics cards (and CPUs) consume less power than older ones and have better performance, because companies have decided (concluded) that lower power = better (less power = less heat, less cooling needed, less space required cheaper PSU, in laptops longer battery life, cheaper to run etc), and so have evolved design methods to suit.

Dumb_Question
6.June.2014