[tsheeley]

I just upgraded my PCI video card from a PNY GeForce 5500 128 mb to a 8400 512 mb - but now I'm having resolution problems... the new card is defaulting to 640 x 480. I figured that because the card was newer that my monitor was too old (it was an old CRT with only VGA plugs), so I went out and got a new Samsung SyncMaster 2233SW to use the DVI plug on the new card.

With the 5500 I had my old monitor set to 1280 x 1024 - now, I can still select a higher resolution, the screen flashes like it's going to resize it, but doesn't do anything. It just stays at the 640 x 480.

I made sure I had the recent drivers for the Samsung and my old M782 from Dell... and I've downloaded and installed the most recent drivers from nvidia. I've also tried removing the card and uninstalling it and the monitor from device manager. Then when I reboot, I need to use my fiances computer to remote into mine via LogMeIn because when I put the card in it doesn't display anything until I install the nvidia drivers. Oh, and I also just reformatted and rebuilt the XP Pro install several months ago. Up until now, it's been running like a dream.

Any ideas on what to do now?

I'm buying the new card in order to play Sims 3. I have a 3ghz hyperthreading Dell with 2 gb of memory. It only has PCI slots, so if anyone can suggest a better card that's a reasonable price I'm all for it. I only have 14 more days to get this worked out before I can't return the card.

*** Update:

I played around with some stuff... removed the card, killed the drivers, dug into the Windows directory and killed the DLLs there (backed up, of course)... after I remoted in (see above) and installed the Nvidia drivers that I downloaded and rebooted, it all seems to be working fine. I've been at this since yesterday at noon... that's all kinds of love for a game.

[tsheeley]

*** Update ***

Well... some might have noticed that I took the solved flag off of this post... I'm still having issues with the card.

I've been sick this past week, or I would have updated this sooner...

Whenever I reboot the resolution goes back to the ugly 640 x 480 I mentioned above. The only way to fix it, seems to be to uninstall the video card drivers from device manager... reboot... then I go to my fiances machine and remote into mine, watch Windows install the drivers... reboot (while remoting in)... then everything is fine on mine again.

But the fix never lasts... as soon as I reboot, I have to go through the whole process again.

Obviously I shouldn't have to be doing this... are there any suggestions on how to fix this issue?

[Compiler]

I'm not going to sugar coat your issues.

You shouldn't be having such problems. And when those rare monitor problems happen - usually using the drivers takes care of it.

The easy solution is to go back to the GF5500 video card. Reason being is that the PCI bus is already maxed out with the 5200/5500 (same GPU) and nothing will make it faster. Even when the 5200 came out at $125 back in 2003, it was considered a "joke" because the GF 4200 was about twice as fast and was also $125.

In other words, the 8400pci isn't needed, other than to get rid of the "older" video cards. Bottom end video cards last the longest because they never change and are fine for non-gaming computers.

If you want to ENJOY Sims3... you'll need a newer computer - something with PCIe slots. Even an AMD X2 computer with onboard video may work for you. About a $350 AMD computer by Compaq with a $40 ATI 4550 will give you decent game play.

Here is a quote from the sim3 website: "Standalone cards that are installed in vanilla PCI slots (not PCIe or PCIx or AGP), such as some GeForce FX variants, will perform poorly." That means a slide show.

Video card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102819
Compaq PC: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....c=abcat0500000

The above is the cheapest "new & modern" solution.

[tsheeley]

Thanks for not sugar coating it. I've been wanting a new machine for a while now... but like everything else these days it's a matter of money - and I'm also now waiting for Win7 to come out. I figure why bother getting a Vista machine when the new one is right around the corner.

When I do eventually get a new box, I'm going to be gifting this one my 17 y/o sister-in-law who is also a Sim freak - so it would be nice to give her a machine that works proper when that time comes.

Is there anything that I can do to fix the issue tho? The card does give better graphics on Sims3 then the 5500 I had, and that's really the only gaming that I do on my machine... that's what I've got the PS3 for.

I found a program called Driver Sweeper... if I took out the card, then ran this and put it back in - do you think it would fix up any conflicts I have?

[Compiler]

Nothing can be done with the computer unless it has an AGP slot. PCI PCs with PCI video cards make very poor gaming PCs. There can't be a worse combo other than ISA which is long dead as its 80's~90s tech.

The 8400 is not considered a gaming card even for PCIe, much less PCI.

[tsheeley]

That's not really all that helpful... and actually a load of hogwash and poppycock to tell someone that there is absolutely nothing they can do without an AGP slot when obviously the card works, as Sims3 plays fairly well - once I can get it to an acceptable resolution. The only issue I have is that when using 3x speed in the game it doesn't really speed up that much, but that's because I have an old machine, not the video card.

While I haven't fully fixed the issue yet, I've at least managed to take out the step of using my fiances machine to remote into mine to do the last reboot. To fix that I disabled the on-board video in Device Manager. Maybe I'll try backing up my important stuff, nuking the drive and starting fresh.

I did try putting the older card back in, and it did the same stuff with the ugly resolution - so it's obviously a driver issue. I tried using Driver Sweeper - but it wouldn't kill a couple of prefetch files. Can those be killed without hurting anything?

[Compiler]

Prefetch files are a kind of "temp" files. You may delete them, they will come back when you reboot.

Do you have onboard video? If so, revert back to that. Sounds like you've cleaned your drivers, I've not personally experienced the kind of problems your having with the constant BAD video res, other than its a problems with the video and/or monitor drivers. Also go into Device manager and REMOVE the devices (video card and monitor).

While the 8400 as more "visual" features of the much older 2002 GF-5500, the amount of data that the card get get to process video is very poor. That *IS* a fact. The 8400 was already a "junky" GPU for a PCIe. Look up Wikipedia on SLOTS: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_device_bandwidths And go down to "Computer buses"

PCI desktop standard is 133MB/s (Even the 1990 Amiga was 150mb/s)
AGP x4 (Typical) = 1,067 MB/s
PCIe 2.0 (x16) = 8,000 MB/s (Standard on current motherboards) (1.0 = 4,000)

So, how is your computer going to pump several hundreds, if not thousands of MB worth of data to the video card? Kind of like trying to force 8 lanes of hwy traffic down an alley way. Hence, PCI is fine for what it is, but for a gaming computer - its horrible.

Again, THE quote from The Sims3 website: "Standalone cards that are installed in vanilla PCI slots (not PCIe or PCIx or AGP), such as some GeForce FX variants, will perform poorly."

I'm shocked that anyone bothered to make the 8400 work on PCI, the company that made it might have made a "converter" chip to make it work on a PCI bus. It wouldn't be the first time that a company will do this. Just like ASRock made a mobo that can do both AGP and PCIe... but the AGP was limited to PCI performance since it was re-wired.

I'll stand by my statements. You may get Sims3 to work, somewhat with what you have. But it will take a modern system with a PCIe slot to make it enjoyable... allowing you to raise the resolution and game details. Once you get a dozen or so characters on your screen... you'll be back to a slide show.

[tsheeley]

I had tried removing both the new monitor and the card from device manager before... and removing the card itself... and then ran Driver Sweeper, that's how I found out about the prefetch files. The card is made by PNY... so I'm not sure about the whole converter chip issue.

I think I might just be SOL as far as getting this to work right. It's ok for right now... sitting at a beautiful 32 bit 1920 x 1080 - but I know if I was to reboot right now it would revert back to the 640 x 480. Then I'd have to uninstall the drivers, reboot again, and then it fixes itself when XP reinstalls the drivers. I'll probably go and nuke this machine and rebuild it once I have a new one and see if it fixes itself with a clean drive.

I saw on some Yahoo thing today that you can buy a new machine now (or within the next few weeks) and get a voucher to upgrade from Vista to 7 once it's out. I'll prolly have to just bite the bullet and get a new machine early and then just do the upgrade when it's out.

Like I said, Sims3 does work... and actually quite well, and is quite enjoyable... it's really pretty. It does take a minute or two to load up the textures on new areas that I visit... and it doesn't really speed up at the 3x, but if I go to an unpopulated area and zoom in on some grass it helps out a lot.

[Compiler]

A clean install maybe best... you could have infections that have damaged the OS.

The Voucher for Win7 "free" upgrade begins in July. The PC makers don't want people NOT buying computers for the next 4 months... They actually have to spend $20 extra per PC to include the voucher, hows that for a rip?

Use the links above for the cheapest functional computer. The $250 Celeron PCs are not worth the pain.

[tsheeley]

Thanks for the help and advice.

If I can hold out for 4 months, I will... I'd much rather have a machine that 7 is already pre-installed on then having to work with an upgrade copy. And it sure isn't going to be one of those cheap $250 machines... I'm an expensive date.

[Compiler]

Yeah, that won't be a bad idea. Of course Hpaq/Dell doesn't like that... oh well, their problem But yeah, it would be nice if Win7 came out before School season.

So, you're looking at a $300 computer?

I was at Costco. They had an Acer PC for about $320... not bad for the price. Another once was $400 with an easily faster dual core CPU and a 18" LCD.

You should be able to get something for about $350~500, then ADD a $50 PSU to allow the use of a more powerful video card.

[tsheeley]

It'll more then likely be around $700 or so once I get done with some minor tweaks... which is why money has been an issue with getting a new machine. I could go do a $400 one right now with no problem... but $700 is a bit harder to drop all at once.

I do luck out tho... my fiances work offered to let me use their HP credit card to get a machine. So I'll just have to make the payments on it... which will take a lot of the sting out of it, even if it does end up costing slightly more in the end.

[tsheeley]

It would figure... now my DVD drive is dead. I think the computer figured out that it's being replaced and is telling me to go screw myself.

[Compiler]

Pretty much any HPaq/Dell PC for under $1000 is not a gaming PC... but those of us who build our own computers can get away with spending $400~600 for a good low end unit or $700~1000+ for top end.

So... spending $800 on a HP may not be much better than a $400 unit.

Like Compaq has a NEW model computer (PC companies make new cases it seems when there is a NEW OS) http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218093382970

Its $370, has an excellent low-cost dual-core CPU. Its internals are standard (easy to replace) and includes the free Windows7 coupon. Since its an HPaq, you HP deal will work. Looking on Best Buy's shopping list... HP's next PC that is faster is about $550~650 and up. As for other brands, you can have to spend $450~550 to be equal or faster. Most people don't know whats really "faster". ;(

But yeah, that $370 Compaq is better than the $560 Quadcore HP (But it has 1GB more RAM $20 and a 500GB HD $50 vs the 320GB in the Compaq) Both PCs use the exact same motherboard. The actual costs difference in the CPUs is $40. Compaq is the "low name brand" version of HP, but its the same on the inside. So for about $50~60 HP's costs, they charge almost a $200 difference in price

Here is that HP: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218041999474

So... $370 for the Compaq. Then add a good PSU and GPU and you're in business.

Price here is the lowest I would go:
$ 40 PSU (after rebate) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817153052
$ 60 GPU (after rebate) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161252

Thermaltake in this price range is a good deal, I wouldn;t get anything cheaper.
That particular video card has a special cooler which you REALLY should have in such a small case - its quiet and will help keep the computer cool. There are better video cards for $100, but with the games you list. It should be fine for now. Newer cards are coming out this winter. The 4670 is about 50x more powerful than what you have now.

So your total END costs is about $470... WOW, not bad for a gaming PC... that would have cost you $1000 3 years ago.

[tsheeley]

Wow... that's not too bad at all.

I was starting to do some pricing on HP and was looking at the $699 range models. I didn't realize prices had dropped that low on things. I do remember when it was that $1000 for a decent machine - I paid about $700 for my Dell.

I see on the graphics card that it's crossfire supported. What's the deal with that? You can share the load with two cards on the same monitor? How would it fair for playing various online RPGs like Entropia? Sometimes I get a bug to try stuff like this out.

There is one thing I like about the HP tho... it can have up to 8 gig in memory - the Compaq only goes up to 4. What does Vista and 7 top out at for memory? - I know XP only sees up to 3.