Dim 8300 - Replace Video Card

I need a bit of advice. I'm replacing my video card in my Dim 8330. I
currently have a PCI card and am replacing it with an AGP card.

Question, to replace the card, do I need to uninstall the PCI card
first, shut down, remove the PCI card and insert the AGP card and
restart. OR - do I just shut down, remove/insert the cards and
reboot?

Any software installation required? I have not received the AGP card,
so I do not know exactly what comes with it (software wise).

Any thoughts as I prepare for the switch would be appreciated.

Thanks
Charliec
************************************************** ****
Charliec

"Charliec" wrote in message
...
I need a bit of advice. I'm replacing my video card in my Dim 8330. I
currently have a PCI card and am replacing it with an AGP card.

Question, to replace the card, do I need to uninstall the PCI card
first, shut down, remove the PCI card and insert the AGP card and
restart. OR - do I just shut down, remove/insert the cards and
reboot?

Any software installation required? I have not received the AGP card,
so I do not know exactly what comes with it (software wise).

Any thoughts as I prepare for the switch would be appreciated.

Thanks
Charliec
************************************************** ****
Charliec



Charlie -

Not sure why that machine would ever have a PCI video card in it, but I
digress..........

Power down. Unplug. Remove the old card and place the new card in the AGP
slot.

Power up. Run the CD from the card mfr. Install the driver and software.
Expect a prompt for a reboot once the software is installed.

Shouldn't be more complicated than that. Newer NVidia or ATI drivers are
probably available on the web, but if the card works as you hoped, no need
to search those new drivers out.


-Stew

"S.Lewis" wrote in message
.. .

"Charliec" wrote in message
...
I need a bit of advice. I'm replacing my video card in my Dim 8330. I
currently have a PCI card and am replacing it with an AGP card.

Question, to replace the card, do I need to uninstall the PCI card
first, shut down, remove the PCI card and insert the AGP card and
restart. OR - do I just shut down, remove/insert the cards and
reboot?

Any software installation required? I have not received the AGP card,
so I do not know exactly what comes with it (software wise).

Any thoughts as I prepare for the switch would be appreciated.

Thanks
Charliec
************************************************** ****
Charliec



Charlie -

Not sure why that machine would ever have a PCI video card in it, but I
digress..........

Power down. Unplug. Remove the old card and place the new card in the AGP
slot.

Power up. Run the CD from the card mfr. Install the driver and software.
Expect a prompt for a reboot once the software is installed.

Shouldn't be more complicated than that. Newer NVidia or ATI drivers are
probably available on the web, but if the card works as you hoped, no need
to search those new drivers out.


-Stew



PS: note any external power supply connections that might be needed per
paperwork with the new card.

Hi!

I need a bit of advice. I'm replacing my video card in my Dim 8330. I
currently have a PCI card and am replacing it with an AGP card.

To play it safe:

1. Uninstall the software and drivers for the old card (if it still works).
2. Unplug the computer from power and ground yourself for a moment.
3. Pull the PCI card. The Dim8300 has a green bracket that closes over each
card, and if you have a lot of empty slots, some of the empty blanks may
fall down. They should be put back into place.
4. Install the AGP card. You can use an AGP 4X or 8X card in the Dim8300.
I'm using an ATI Radeon X1300, for whatever that might be worth. It works
fine.
5. Put the computer back together, connect your monitor and power up.
Install the latest software from the hardware manufacturer--typically ATI or
nVidia.

William

Also: Don't worry much about any power supply requirements that are printed
on the card box. My Dim8300 has a power supply rated at 305 watts. ATI said
the Radeon X1300 requires a 400 watt supply minimum. My machine has two hard
disks, two optical drives, a floppy drive, all of its expansion slots
filled, and a ton of RAM. It began life with a 3.4GHz Prescott P4 and now
has a 2.8GHz Northwood P4 (installed because the Prescott put out an obscene
amount of heat and never performed well).

Dell underrates their power supplies quite a bit, and this one has been
going along just fine. It runs 24/7 and participates in distributed
computing all of the time it is on...so the CPU is pulling as much power as
it ever could.

William

Hi!

Not sure why that machine would ever have a PCI video card in
it, but I digress..........

To digress a little further...!

I bought a load of OptiPlex GX400 systems because they were too cheap
and had decent amounts of RDRAM in them. I figured they could be used
"for something interesting". Each and every last one--despite having
an AGP 4X slot--had a PCI video card installed.

Some still do, my Magical Box Of AGP Video Cards had mostly 1X/2X
cards in it that would not do.

William

On Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:41:18 -0500, "S.Lewis" wrote:


"S.Lewis" wrote in message
. ..

"Charliec" wrote in message
...
I need a bit of advice. I'm replacing my video card in my Dim 8330. I
currently have a PCI card and am replacing it with an AGP card.

Question, to replace the card, do I need to uninstall the PCI card
first, shut down, remove the PCI card and insert the AGP card and
restart. OR - do I just shut down, remove/insert the cards and
reboot?

Any software installation required? I have not received the AGP card,
so I do not know exactly what comes with it (software wise).

Any thoughts as I prepare for the switch would be appreciated.

Thanks
Charliec
************************************************** ****
Charliec



Charlie -

Not sure why that machine would ever have a PCI video card in it, but I
digress..........

Power down. Unplug. Remove the old card and place the new card in the AGP
slot.

Power up. Run the CD from the card mfr. Install the driver and software.
Expect a prompt for a reboot once the software is installed.

Shouldn't be more complicated than that. Newer NVidia or ATI drivers are
probably available on the web, but if the card works as you hoped, no need
to search those new drivers out.


-Stew



PS: note any external power supply connections that might be needed per
paperwork with the new card.


Thanks Stew
************************************************** ****
Charliec

On Fri, 13 Mar 2009 04:44:49 GMT, "William R. Walsh" m wrote:

Hi!

I need a bit of advice. I'm replacing my video card in my Dim 8330. I
currently have a PCI card and am replacing it with an AGP card.

To play it safe:

1. Uninstall the software and drivers for the old card (if it still works).
2. Unplug the computer from power and ground yourself for a moment.
3. Pull the PCI card. The Dim8300 has a green bracket that closes over each
card, and if you have a lot of empty slots, some of the empty blanks may
fall down. They should be put back into place.
4. Install the AGP card. You can use an AGP 4X or 8X card in the Dim8300.
I'm using an ATI Radeon X1300, for whatever that might be worth. It works
fine.
5. Put the computer back together, connect your monitor and power up.
Install the latest software from the hardware manufacturer--typically ATI or
nVidia.

William


Thanks William
The card I am getting is the XTASY Radeon X1300 256 MB DDR2 AGP
Graphics Card

Charliec
************************************************** ****
Charliec

On Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:01:42 -0700 (PDT), "William R. Walsh" wrote:

Hi!

Not sure why that machine would ever have a PCI video card in
it, but I digress..........

To digress a little further...!

I bought a load of OptiPlex GX400 systems because they were too cheap
and had decent amounts of RDRAM in them. I figured they could be used
"for something interesting". Each and every last one--despite having
an AGP 4X slot--had a PCI video card installed.

Some still do, my Magical Box Of AGP Video Cards had mostly 1X/2X
cards in it that would not do.

William

Thanks William
************************************************** ****
Charliec

William,

A quick question below

Charliec

On Fri, 13 Mar 2009 04:44:49 GMT, "William R. Walsh" m wrote:

Hi!

I need a bit of advice. I'm replacing my video card in my Dim 8330. I
currently have a PCI card and am replacing it with an AGP card.

To play it safe:

1. Uninstall the software and drivers for the old card (if it still works).
2. Unplug the computer from power and ground yourself for a moment.
3. Pull the PCI card. The Dim8300 has a green bracket that closes over each
card, and if you have a lot of empty slots, some of the empty blanks may
fall down. They should be put back into place.

William - I opened the case - laid it flat on its side so I could pull
the card straight up. I disconnected the monitor cable and tried to
pull the card from the slot. I could not get the card to come out -
the front end (close to the monitor connector) came out but the back
end would not release. I pull a bit hard, but did not want to pull
too hard in case I would break something. Is there a "catch" or
something you have to release to get the card completely out. Any
suggestions appreciated.

4. Install the AGP card. You can use an AGP 4X or 8X card in the Dim8300.
I'm using an ATI Radeon X1300, for whatever that might be worth. It works
fine.
5. Put the computer back together, connect your monitor and power up.
Install the latest software from the hardware manufacturer--typically ATI or
nVidia.

William

************************************************** ****
Charliec