So recently I decided to upgrade my graphics card so I can get better play back and be able to play more games on my computer.
I had a integrated intel graphics card before ( I'm not sure if its really considered a graphics card).
So my friend told me he purchased the Nvidia XFX 8400 510mb for 50$. I didn't know much about cards. Did quite a bit of research and saw it was a farily good deal considering the price of the other 8 series cards. So I went and purchased it. Came in a shiny and appealing box lol anyways.

Opened my computer and saw the pci-e slot.
Opened the port.
Placed the card( actually difficult because the end piece with the extending metal had trouble fitting because the board the slot was on was spaced above the metal.
Checked the insertion it looked good. So i closed up the case and turned on the computer. I still had the same cable to the monitor in the same slot.

When it got to the windows xp screen it froze. Restarted and it loaded all the way. I tried to install the drivers but it said no devices found. Did install hardware wizard didn't even recognize the Nvidia card i had just placed. I got nervous. Tried many times. I even turned the computer on when the case was open to see if the card's fan was even spinning and it wasn't.

I returned it cause i didn't wanna be stuck with a mis working card.

My system:
1gb ram
windows XP service pack 2
dell brand
power supply is 300watts.

Now I have come to some conclusions but i still need assistance.
1. The card may have been broken ( When i look at the internet picture and the real card there was 1 wire from fan to card missing)
2. I didn't deactivate the intergrated card party because i was afraid it would mess everything up because the card wasn't even recognized in the first place! But every tutorial I see it says it will do it automatically, mabey because I have DELL brand?
3. Power supply was too small. I checked with my friends they said its too small. Yet some people disagree and I went to ask FIREDOG at Circuit City if it was too small, they said they have an 8400 on 300watt powersupply.
4. Unknown problem

Please any suggestions/assistance/help will be appreciated.
I mostly want to hear some advice on what to do.

Thanks everybody, I know its a long problem but I'm very desperate to get 8 series card because the 7 series and below is just too outdated. I currently have my eye on the Nvidia 8400 GS 512mb, I'm not really interested in an ATI card.

Without putting a proven good card in your system, there's no way to know. But I'd be suspicious of the wire that was missing, if there's not at least two, it was no good regardless. Although, I'm not sure what would happen if there was no power to the fan.

Honestly, that's not a very good performing card, and you've got enough power to run a 8500/8600, the latter being a huge step from the 8400. If they're too expensive I recommend a X1950 Radeon or a Geforce 7600GT. The DirectX 10 support of the 8400 is not worth considering because the card doesn't have the power necesary to run a DX10 game.

Thanks for the insight.
The missing wire is the one next to the fan that connects to the body of the card. http://www.noteforum.co.kr/trash/5hmfyd6cdw7.jpg

I would like to get a good card but my budget is where the 8400's price is.
Also I'm not even sure if my power can handle the 8400 but it should.

Your right I should consider the 7600gt, but I think my friend said it right when he said that anything less than 8400 will be one generation older, and technically the 8400 isn't a very new card itself. Mabey I will look into ATI but I think Nvidia is better for performance and reliability.

As to what I will do next... I'm not sure.

But my integrated card isn't so bad...
I can play lfs mabey 150fps maximum average is around 40-50.
But ill tell you i want to play Battlefield 2 and Call of Duty 4, my computer wont even launch those games

if you can afford get an 8600gt it's a good card and about £60 or $120 i think

Upcoming weekend I will take action to resolving problem.
Are there any more suggestions?
I'm unsure if my power supply can support anything 8 series.
I really don't know what the problem was last time, I hope to resolve any issues.

minimum 350 Watt Power Supply required with 18A on the +12V Rail is listed as this type of card requirements - does your PSU have this or is it the stock PSU that came with the Computer?

Quote from Dru :

minimum 350 Watt Power Supply required with 18A on the +12V Rail is listed as this type of card requirements - does your PSU have this or is it the stock PSU that came with the Computer?

I've checked my power supply its 300watt.
But I see no reason why it still should not work.
Does this mean I still must replace the power supply?

I say it's 99% certain that your power supply is the problem.

Upgrade to at least 500W (more if poss, at least your future proof then) and make sure it's a good brand.

Do your research on PSU's. DONT buy a cheap unknown brand, it's the worst thing you can do. They usually cant hold a steady ampage on the 12v rail, and have a tendency to blow up easily, often resulting in taking half your components with it.


..and BTW, there's only room for one Moose round here

Yea I agree with moose, a good 500W+ PSU is great. I am using an 8800GTX, with 4 ram sticks, and 2 PCI cards, and my Antec NeoPower 550W handles it just fine.

A good PSU such as mine is more effecient and saves money on the electric bill.

Also as moose said, read reviews on the PSUs beforehand to see if they hold stable 12V rails.

Thanks for helping everybody.
I bough the NVIDIA 8600 GT and it works with 300watts.
The problem was a broken graphics card I assume. I didn't have to disable anything it just worked the first time I tried.

On a good system it will look the same as an 8800 would and can easily average 150fps and y21

Quote from Lost Moose :

Thanks for helping everybody.
I bough the NVIDIA 8600 GT and it works with 300watts.
The problem was a broken graphics card I assume. I didn't have to disable anything it just worked the first time I tried.

Good for you, great choice. I'm running a 8600GT myself, with a 400w PSU, no problems. What brand, did you grab an overclocked one? If not you'll have lots of headroom to OC it, unless you have a super quiet fanless version. I'm running 600 core, 800 memory.

Yes, usually it's a good idea to get better powersupply than is actually needed, but in that case you really need to do some backround research and make sure it's a reliable one that won't break down after two years. There's plenty of reviews around the web so it shouldn't be a problem to find some info.

Been using same 430W powersupply since '03 when I went from 900Mhz Duron to AXP 1800+.
Doesn't seem to be heating up or droppng voltages even on current system with C2D E6750@3,2Ghz and x1950Pro@XT

I say that the 8600 is a good choice.. i bought the OC'ed version about 6 months ago and its the best one I'v ever had but I do suggest upgrading your power supply...you might be playing a game and your graphics card might pull more power and short out your other pc components.

My cousin is running a nearly identical system as mine, same overclocked 8600GT, 6400+, and a 300W PSU. I wouldn't recommend it, but it works. I guess it depends on the quality of each one too, not just rated specs. I'd recommend a good PSU when you get the chance, it's important, and then you'll be future proof for years! If it all works fine for now though, I wouldn't sweat it, the 8600GT runs off the PCI-E slot's power alone, so you may actually get away with the 300W you have, lets just hope it's a reasonable brand.

Quote from scoobyrbac :

I say that the 8600 is a good choice.. i bought the OC'ed version about 6 months ago and its the best one I'v ever had but I do suggest upgrading your power supply...you might be playing a game and your graphics card might pull more power and short out your other pc components.

Ahh, you got the 256MB version, is it GDDR2 or GDDR3, HUGE difference in performance. For the 8600GT's I can't recommend anything less than the 512 version with the GDDR3, it needs it with only 32 unified shaders. The bandwidth of the ddr2 memory can really hurt in newer games, but for LFS, I doubt it even matters, be that the case, shoudln't be an issue.

The slow bandwidth of the 8600GT makes it pretty useless full stop.

I'd never recommned one when things like the 7900GS are faster and cheaper...

Its 8600GT ddr3 super clocked.

You know I was actually looking at the 7900. I have a friend who I asked and he said it was simply a better idea to get a newer card. Not that it was better or worse, but simply for the fact its newer, which I think its better in the long run.

As for fps,
battlefield 2- everything on high I run at average 100 fps.
Call of duty 4-everything on high i run at 100-125 mabey 130-140 maximum.
Lfs runs 140+ on the blackwood straighter way, but it slows down to about 60 when I go to pits in full room.

Thanks for helping everybody, only one problem thats the missing case sticker, but thats not so important for me.

Quote from Jakg :

The slow bandwidth of the 8600GT makes it pretty useless full stop.

I'd never recommned one when things like the 7900GS are faster and cheaper...

I wanted an 8 series card because of it's unified architecture, and I absolutely hated the 7800GSOC card I owned previous to my 8600GT. It was three times the size, made three times the heat and hogged way too much power, and didn't perform as well as the 8600GTOC, and certainly not with my present OC. Anyways I think I remember the 7900GS being 17.8% faster than the 8600GT in 3dMark, so I figure my OC'd version should be nearly equal. Jeez I really ramble on don't I, I'm really really bored and wide awake.

I would suggest any overclocked version of the 8600 series over any 7 series(except the uber 7 series models if they can be had at a good price)

But, after playing Bioshock on my 7800GSOC like, 15 times thru the demo, then checking it out when I got the 8 series, I couldn't believe how much better it looked. Because it only uses "some" DX10 effects and not all out DX10, the mid range 8600 series can handle it, ran it perfectly on highest settings. The 7800GSOC struggle very badly at my monitors native resolution.

For LFS, whichever is cheaper lol, won't make any difference I bet.

/me receives award for longest and most pointless post/rant evar:sleep2:

EDIT: Right before I got the BFG 7800GSOC, I had a 7600GT, no OC out of the box at all, for the money, it was the most impressive card I've ever bought. I took one hell of a beating, the OC I got out of it was down right mean, and it ate it up and lasted, still runs to this day in my cousins machine. Until the release of the 9600GT, it was IMO the best bang4buck card period, I can't even imagine what the superclocked was like.

Thanks for the help guys.
Everythings working great, I get such good video quality.
I enjoy playing lfs on max resolution, using the g25 at the same time feels like a real race car

Well I got curious the other day, and I opened the case to see what had gone on in 2 weeks of use.
I touched the card and I couldn't help but noticing it was pretty warm.

Should I get a fan for the graphics card, The card has on board fan but I'm not sure its working so well as the card was pretty hot.
I understand about all the hazards that can happen if the card heats up too much.

Oh and guys 1 more problem:

Not all the time, but OCCASIONALLY when I'm not rendering 3d textures in a game, just surfing the internet or doing school work, the screen goes a bit blurry. When i go back in game it fixes it self. I'm not sure why this is happening but I'm worried this might cause a problem in the future.(This generally happens right when I turn the computer on or right after I leave a game, it hasn't happen today though.

Get a good PSU as soon as possible. I know from personal experience that keeping a cheap PSU with an aftermarket card isn't really good. I had a 180W power supply in my old computer and was running a Nvidia 5700GX on that. Six months later, the PSU blew out and took my mobo with it. Now I got a Nvidia 7600GT Superclocked and I bought a 750W PSU. No problem at all and it'S been 8 months now!

You made a good buy, the 8600GT 512MB GDDR3 Overclocked is superior to the 7900. The unified architecture alone makes it a better card, plus is uses half the power.

Quote from Lost Moose :

Well I got curious the other day, and I opened the case to see what had gone on in 2 weeks of use.
I touched the card and I couldn't help but noticing it was pretty warm.

It's normal, nowdays graphics cards generate more heat than anything else inside your case.

"Pretty warm" = OK
"Oww.. my finger" = Could consider improving the cooling. First thing would be to check how airflow inside case could be improved.

Ok, card is working great, Ive been looking around for a power supply, the only brand i can really find in stores is Antec. I was wondering if this is a good brand. Im looking to get around 500 watts.

Antec is a good brand, but don't buy based on wattage alone. High wattage is generally good, but some companies use cheap parts and disingenuous test conditions to achieve unrealistically high wattage ratings. More important is amperage, especially on the +12V rail. Check the box for the ratings on each rail (3.3V, 5V, and 12V) and get the highest ratings you can afford. A good PSU should deliver at least 25A on the +12V, preferably 30 or more. I bought mine a few years ago and it does 34A on +12V, so a newer one should have no trouble doing that.