Basic PCIe video card for normal (non-gaming) computer

[Handruin]

For those who still build systems, what graphics card are you putting in machines for people who barely play games?

I'm searching for something with DVI, fan less if possible (or very quiet), would be nice if it had two DVI but not required, and also PCIe.

This is for a basic machine for every-day computing and I'd like it to have some 3D abilities, but it doesn't have to be up to par for all games...maybe for some older ones.

 

[Chewy509]

For dual DVI, Powercolor X1650 Pro, or MSI 7600GS... Most cheaper cards only have VGA+DVI...

But for non-gamers, I just stick with onboard gfx and get the DVI ADD2/SDVO adapter for HP systems we sell... (http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/intel915g/sb/cs-013296.htm)

For fanless and dual DVI, the nVidia Quadros NVS based cards fit the bill, but rarely use them due to $$$.

 

[Handruin]

I was doing some searching and found this Gigabyte GA-MA69GM-S2H AM2 AMD 690G HDMI Micro ATX motherboard which comes with built-in graphics (ATI Radeon Xpress 1250) that supports a dual port DVI and also has an HDMI output. This board is the same price as another board I was considering, so I might just go with this for now. it would have the DVI I need and should be able to play a few basic games (like diablo II)...and it is fan less.

Is this the Powercolor x1650 that you mentioned? A single DVI is fine with me, but a second one would be bonus.

 

[Mercutio]

I've been pretty happy with the $15 X700SE cards that come up on woot.com from time to time, but I don't build many systems that that kind of hardware.

 

[Chewy509]

Is this the Powercolor x1650 that you mentioned?

That's it. The onboard fan isn't noticable over the CPU/PSU fans...

 

[time]

Doug, the GA-MA69GM-S2H is a sweet deal. To my mind, it's the perfect non-gamer platform, with the option of a Micro-ATX case.

Having said that, the 3D graphics performance is the best of any current integrated graphics solution - although that's still well short of a discrete card such as an X1650.

I have one here, running XP. It's been trouble-free and I'd recommend it.

 

[Handruin]

Thanks time, I'm happy to hear a first-hand review. The reviews on newegg (taken with a grain of salt of course) seemed to be mostly positive for that board. It really does have what I need for this system I'm building. The X1650 cost almost as much as this board, but I don't think I need that much gaming power. The nice thing is that it has a PCIe 16x if it ever needs a better graphics card.

 

[Handruin]

Doug, the GA-MA69GM-S2H is a sweet deal. To my mind, it's the perfect non-gamer platform, with the option of a Micro-ATX case.

Having said that, the 3D graphics performance is the best of any current integrated graphics solution - although that's still well short of a discrete card such as an X1650.

I have one here, running XP. It's been trouble-free and I'd recommend it.

I've got the system up and running right now (actually posting from it right now) but I'm having a hard time with the video and also with several other unfound hardware in the device manager. Mainly I can't get the onboard video to run stable at 1600x1200 through the DVI connection. I've tried the drivers from gigabyte and also the latest from ATI but the video has issues at 1600x1200. It will display for a few seconds and then go black...then come back. It repeats this issue for as long as I could stand to wait for it to come back. Eventually I had to reboot blindly and uninstall via safe mode.

Did you have issues getting the drivers to work for this board? I'm also not able to get the USB working in high speed mode for USB 2.0. I can't seem to find a specific driver for this and I have XP SP 2 installed.

 

[Mercutio]

Try using the omega drivers.

 

[time]

I haven't experienced any of the problems you mentioned, Doug.

I'm pretty sure I downloaded the graphics drivers from ATI/AMD and just used the Gigabyte CD for everything else:

ATI Radeon X1200 Series
2007-07-27
8.401.0.0
Catalyst Version 07.8
Control Center Version 2007.0727.2307.39475

I'm not using the DVI connector, but I switched to 1600x1200 for a few minutes and didn't see any problems.

Device manager doesn't have any mention of USB 2.0. However, I copied 40MB of files from a fast flash drive in about a second or so, which is definitely USB 2.0 territory.

 

[time]

I have no idea if this is even possible, but you did use the Win2k/XP driver CD and not the Vista one?

It might be worthwhile shorting out the CMOS and reloading the BIOS defaults.

 

[Handruin]

I'll try Mercutio's suggestion first with the omega drivers and then I'll try the D-Sub connection at 1600x1200 to see if that works fine.

I was able to get the USB fixed. After trying a bunch of different bus drivers, etc, nothing seemed to install it correctly and in a moment of frustration I simply deleted/uninstalled the unrecognized USB device out of device manager. Within 30 seconds of doing that XP automatically installed it correctly...I hate you windows. Now the USB works fine in high speed mode.

Otherwise the system runs fine at 1280x1024 under the DVI. I even tried going into the bios an allocated more memory to the video (256MB), but figured anything past that is a waste for simple desktop use. If none of the above fix the video, I'll keep searching for others with similar issues and try your driver version to see if that solves the issue.

 

[Handruin]

I have no idea if this is even possible, but you did use the Win2k/XP driver CD and not the Vista one?

It might be worthwhile shorting out the CMOS and reloading the BIOS defaults.

I checked and only installed for Windows XP. I even downloaded from amd's website and specifically picked winXP...I was almost burned by downloading the vista drivers from gigabyte (as you might have thought), but noticed in the file name that it said Vista. I didn't even try installing them so I don't know if it's possible under XP.

 

[time]

If the graphics problem is the only one left, then unfortunately, I'd suggest faulty hardware.

I've absolutely no idea why it would make a difference, but what about a different DVI cable?

Display refresh is set to 60Hz, isn't it?

 

[Handruin]

Yes, the display refresh was set to 60Hz, I'll see if I can find another cable. I'm not sure if it's worth anything, but the same cable works fine at 1600x1200 in my main machine...but it's obviously a different graphics card and system.

 

[Handruin]

I tried the omega drivers and at first they weren't recognized. I had to uninstall the video card and let windows rediscover it. Then it asked my for drivers and I pointed it to the omega folder. None the less this graphics card seems to have issues at 1600x1200 using the DVI port even with the omega drivers installed. It still flashes all black after a few seconds and continues to do so while using the computer at the desktop. I'm going to try it using the other connection to see if it is any better.

 

[Bozo]

I have been using this MSI/ATI card. Can't beat the price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127276R

Bozo :joker:

 

[ddrueding]

GA-MA69GM-S2H

Do you know how many of the video options it can drive simultaneously? DVI, VGA, and HDMI? It would be sweet to drive all three from the onboard video...

 

[Handruin]

I believe the manual states only one at a time. The DVI and HDMI cannot be used at the same time as I currently understand it. There is also a component out breakout card that is connected to the board, but I believe it falls under the same category.

 

[Handruin]

I haven't experienced any of the problems you mentioned, Doug.

I'm pretty sure I downloaded the graphics drivers from ATI/AMD and just used the Gigabyte CD for everything else:

ATI Radeon X1200 Series
2007-07-27
8.401.0.0
Catalyst Version 07.8
Control Center Version 2007.0727.2307.39475

I'm not using the DVI connector, but I switched to 1600x1200 for a few minutes and didn't see any problems.

Device manager doesn't have any mention of USB 2.0. However, I copied 40MB of files from a fast flash drive in about a second or so, which is definitely USB 2.0 territory.

time, is there any chance you would be able to test yours with the DVI cable connection at 1600x1200? I checked mine using the d-sub connector at 1600x1200 and everything works fine. Right now I'm running on the DVI at 1600x1200 and it seems to be working slightly. The screen will occasionally go black, but the monitors standby light does not go on. This seems to indicate that the monitor is still getting a signal, but it's not displayed correctly. I'm going to try and find another DVI cable from someone to see if I continue having the same issue.

 

[time]

Unfortunately, I don't know anyone nearby with a 1600x1200 LCD monitor.

I just read some hairy things about Dual-Link et al, including the fact that the graphics card may choose to change to Analogue if it considers the dot clock will be too high for Single-Link.

Are you using a DVI-D or DVI-I cable?