9 Legend

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16.3K Posts

April 19th, 2014 19:00

Dell (and most OEM's) does not provide continuing and ongoing driver support for all their products ... usually once they stop selling a product, they stop developing and testing drivers for them.

You can try this one to see if it works better than the native/generic Windows driver:

http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/04/DriverDetails?driverId=R86319

 

April 19th, 2014 20:00

Thanks but I've tried that one already. I'm very disappointed in Dell where I have long been a supporter of them. Just another way to get more moola from us po' folks.

6 Professor

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8.8K Posts

April 19th, 2014 21:00

Sparkle 8400GS PCI.

It's not Dell's doing, it's Intel's. The onboard "Intel Extreme 2" graphics hardware is not DirectX 9-compatible, a prerequisite for the Windows 7 'Aero' user interface, and Intel decided not to provide a Windows 7 driver for it. I've heard rumors that HP provided such a driver, but I never looked into it. I installed a Sparkle in my Dimension 2350 and that worked out well.

4 Operator

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5.2K Posts

April 19th, 2014 22:00

Agree with rdunnel. I use a 1905 with a d9100 and a low end Nvidia card. Have had no problems with Vista, Win 7 or Win 8.x. You really never need to upgrade a monitor driver. The newer OSs recognize what monitor you have and make any adjustments, if necessary. You can get some cheap cards to solve this.

April 19th, 2014 23:00

Question from dummy. What 'cards'?

4 Operator

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5.2K Posts

April 20th, 2014 00:00

Video graphics cards to substitute for the graphics capability built into the CPU.

6 Professor

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8.8K Posts

April 20th, 2014 10:00

Question from dummy. What 'cards'?

There are a few low-end PCI video cards on the market that will retrofit your Dimension with modern, Windows 7-compatible graphics. I think the Zotac GT610 even has an onboard audio device, in case you want to connect to a monitor with built-in speakers, or a surround sound receiver.

These video cards will also accelerate stream-ing video, like online news broadcasts, Hulu and Netflix.

9 Legend

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47K Posts

April 20th, 2014 13:00

The cost of these cards means that you could have purchased an OPTIPLEX GX620 or better tower with the ability to use a much faster video card and ram etc.

Its Generally not economical to go with 32 bit  33mhz PCI 2.3 card.

I routinely buy GX620's with 2 gigs ram and windows 7 for under $130 in my area.  Lowest cost of just the software is $99 for windows 7.

 

 

April 20th, 2014 14:00

Inside of my Dimension3000, is there an actual video card or are is is an integral part of the motherboard?

I'm almost to the point of going back to XP... too many problems.

4 Operator

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5.2K Posts

April 20th, 2014 18:00

Could be either. Tight click on the desktop and look for the video control panel. This will tell you what you have. Can also go to the Device Manager.

6 Professor

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8.8K Posts

April 20th, 2014 21:00

Inside of my Dimension3000, is there an actual video card or are is is an integral part of the motherboard?

If it's bone stock, it will be integral.

The video card is easy to install and brings with it pluses like video support.

April 20th, 2014 23:00

Bone stock?

Can I install a new video card if the old one is integral to the motherboard?

What would I need to purchase?

9 Legend

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47K Posts

April 22nd, 2014 07:00

Its non windows 7 compatible INTEL Integrated Video.  Expansion is 32 Bit PCI and the cards cost almost as much as a newer system with 256 bit PCI -E and DDR2 Ram.  Add $100 for windows 7 and you have paid for a newer 4 to 20 times faster machine.

4 Operator

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5.2K Posts

April 22nd, 2014 10:00

Yes, graphics should default to the new board. Just make sure you plug your monitor into the new board. Also make sure the connectors on the board are compatible with those on your monitor.

April 22nd, 2014 10:00

First, thank you for taking the time to answer these dummy questions.

1) I already have Windows7 installed.

2) In my Dimension3000, the graphics portion is part of the motherboard.

3) I can get a PCI graphics board with 256K for under $30.

4) I don't need faster, better..I don't do games just basic office stuff.

Question is, will a separate board work when the original graphics is part of the motherboard. I REALLY don't want to invest in a new computer when my old one is still working fine. If I can't get the graphics working under Windows7, I will go back to XP, understanding any possible security risks.

Thanks again for you time and suggestions.

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