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Monitor suddenly goes very pale, hardly readable.
My Dell Inspiron 580MT is 6 years old. Recently the monitor has suddenly gone very pale with text hardly readable. Two weeks ago, someone lent me another monitor to try and eliminate the problem and that seemed to cure it. No further problem until now. The problem has happened again! Could it be a sick graphics card? Occasionally the problem rights itself and the picture returns to normal for a short time with a little flickering.
The card is 1 GB ATI Radeon HD 5450.
I didn't know which forum to post to, but thought I would start here and hopefully someone will redirect me. Any help would be much appreciated - not too technical please.
Peter
gregory.jones
412 Posts
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June 17th, 2016 09:00
Honestly, if that's it, I say just take that graphics card out & use the integrated graphics.
gregory.jones
412 Posts
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June 17th, 2016 06:00
Hello Peter,
When you borrowed the second monitor, did you swap out the VGA/DVI/HDMI cable (I'm not sure how yours connects)? If you are using one type of cable & you have another port available (such as HDMI instead of VGA), does that make a difference?
If you've had no success doing that, you can remove the graphics card and use the integrated graphics as a test. Look at the "PCI and PCI Express Cards" section of the user manual found here:
downloads.dell.com/.../inspiron-580_service manual_en-us.pdf
Hope this helps! Let us know how it turns out.
peter2305
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June 17th, 2016 09:00
No, I am not a gamer! I simply use it as a video output so I can use my computer; I just play solitaire occasionally, but usually too busy with matters to do with volunteering, and writing music on Sibelius for instance. I watch a fair amount of Youtube videos,
gregory.jones
412 Posts
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June 17th, 2016 09:00
It really comes down more to what you do with it. If you're not a gamer & are just using it as a video output so you can use your computer, the built-in graphics will probably be fine for you.
For a replacement you can get the exact same thing for sure, Amazon or some other retailer will have some I suspect. Dell probably has some of the exact model on their site, as well.
I can get you a better answer if I have a better idea of what you use the computer for. I'm not assuming gaming given our conversation, but if so - what games?
peter2305
9 Posts
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June 17th, 2016 09:00
Hi Jim
Thank you so very much for your answer. I obtained an HDMI > HDMI cable and used the HDMI port on the graphics card and monitor, and so far so very good. I think this suggests that the graphics card is probably dying and I should think about changing it. Should I get exactly the same card in replacement - I'm thinking about the connection of card to the pc? Or is there a better alternative having regard to the age of the component?
peter2305
9 Posts
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June 17th, 2016 10:00
OK Jim - thank you very much for your advice and interest.
shesagordie
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June 17th, 2016 13:00
peter2305
I would suggest replacing the video card, with a new card similar to the following, that will work well with the default 300w PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127689
I've just installed the same card in a 9 year old Inspiron 530 MT with the same 300w PSU, without any issues.
Bev.
peter2305
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June 18th, 2016 11:00
Many thanks Bev for your helpful suggestion. Let's hope a new video card like this will breath a little new life into an old pc.
shesagordie
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June 18th, 2016 14:00
peter2305
It sure will, I also installed a hybrid hard drive and this made a big difference in the 530 performance.
Bev.