Replacing onboard graphics with new card!!! PLEASE HELP :)

ok, so my friend just gave me his old video card, and i want to put it into my computer. i currently have onboard graphics ATI 3200 HD, and want to disable these graphics and put in the new card which is a x1900 xt from ATI. How exactly do i do that? also, what are the safe power requirements for the card. my psu is about 650 watts, and i have a x4 core processor which is water cooled, and 8 gb of RAM. even if the psu cant handle it, what are the risks im taking by doing this? please good answers, i really dont want to screw up. Thanks

 

no risks. If you want, u can go into the bios, and disable the onboard graphics from there, but i bet it will do it automatically. just pop the card in and make sure you connect the power to it, and turn it on. is your water cooler on it's own power?


edit:
well there is always a risk, but if you do it properly, then you shouldn't have any problems. your PSU seems to be fine for that card.

 

There are some companies (example: Gateway and Dell that I am aware of and possibly more) that once you install a video card, the bio's automatically disables the onboard video.

But, thesmokingun is on the money with the bio's switch. :dood

 

To minimise your risks:

- Unplug the rear power and then press the on button, this removes residual power stroed in the capacitors.
- Place case on side and ground yourself by touching the case, removes any potential static electricity charge from you.
- Plug Video Card into slot and connect PCI-e socket from PSU (I assume this is a PCI-e card?)
- Pre-test, while cover is still off plug in rear power and switch on (don't need monitor or anything else at this stage)
- Are you getting a single BIOS beep?
- Is the Video Card Fan spinning up?
- If yes, switch it off and follow first step again, put it all back together and follow the steps mentioned by tsg.

 

no, the water cooling is also on the psu. also, where would i connect the video card? it has a 6-pin power supply cable with two output wires with 3-pin connectors. i can post pictures if its necesary, also how do i get into the bios setup? and what if the video card breaks? can i get onboard graphics to work without a working video card? thanks so far!

 

also when i put in the new video card, will i have a functioning computer where i can get the drivers off the internet? and how does not having the latest drivers limit the card, and where can i get them?

 

Hi Chrustay,

The system always boots using a very basic Video driver located in the BIOS. Windows will continue using very low resolution and colors until you load the proper video driver for the card. You can get the drivers from the maker of the card. Failing that try the maker of chip set on the card. Get info off the large chip on the card. They furnished the driver to the card maker. Also try sites on the net like 'Driversguide.com'.

Good Luck, Jim

 

here's the specs of that (yours might be alittle different but just about the same)
http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonx1900/radeonx1900xt/specs.html

this is an example of the x1900xt
http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=3&id=1808
looks like it uses the 6 pin connector which is pretty standard on most modern power supplies. If you don't have one, you can get a 4pin molex adapter
http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuoverload/adapter.jpg

 

yea thats exactly mine. now do i hook it up to 2 free spots on my psu? the ones that are free have 4 openings but this has only 3 pins.. does that make a difference?

 

should have 6 pins...you might need to attach a pic.

 

Recently I installed a Video Card (AGP 3650) into a neighbours PC that actually required to be connected via the Floppy Drive power connection so you may need to post a pic if you can so we advise on which sort it is.

 

nonono, on the other side of that cable. the card has 6 pins,im talking about the other side of the cable you posted. here are some pics, the first few are just of some things that will clarify whats going on, and the configurations are there since i also found that my psu has two 6-pins coming out directly from it which fit perfectly directly into the card. which is the better option? thanks! btw, my motherboard is here - http://www.tul.com.tw/global/Product_Detail.aspx?folderid=2&cat1=59&cat2=161&cat3=389
and it has a pci-e slot

nevermind, it wont allow me to upload the pics, they are here instead -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/43684883@N07/?saved=1

 

ok, yeah, it's an adapter. you will be fine, if you notice, the other end has six pins to connect at the end of the card. connect both

 

Yes those adapters are fine sometimes you can have only 2 pins (the minimal you really need) but the will readily plug into the the 4 holes of the Molex socket, it can only go in the way one due to the shape of plug and socket.

You can still get your Drivers from ATI (AMD/ATI) for the 1900 series:

http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.aspx

Once your into the OS just chose your OS etc etc and away you go.

 

Hi,

Just a thought: Three pins mean that they only ran one return lead instead of two (Blacks). The blacks all go to the same place in the psu. Best to use two, especially for high current devices. Two pins indicate that only one of the voltages are used, Red = +5V and Yellow = +12V.

Jim

 

Actually, if you look at the picture, there are black wires and yellow wires in the adapter. Thus, the graphics card does not require +5V power as that has not been provided (red cable)

 

Hi Collins,

My info covers all possibilities not just the ones here. May help someone someday.

Jim

 

hey, one last question guys, can i install the drivers before i put in the card or just put it in and install with the new card in the comp? thanks, ill tell you how it turns out. putting it in tomorow!

 

As stated earlier Windows OS (XP, Vista, etc etc) will have a "basic driver" and you will be able to install the Video Card, boot into the OS and then DL the driver.

The specific driver from ATI will be better because it is optimised for that Video Card compared to the generic Windows basic driver. Furthermore, if you try and install a driver but there isn't the hardware there (the Video Card "not installed") I have had the driver install process "abort/stop" because "Hardware Not Detected".

So card first then driver and you should be fine.

 

ALL'S GOOD! thank you guys!