Video Card Issue.. can anyone help mee? <3

[Tyrion]

Okay.. so calling all computer nerds..

If you have a video card that seems to slowly die on you, and you buy a replacement, put it in the same slot, and it ALSO doesn't work (there's lines all over the screen), does that mean that it's probably not the video card but the motherboard? I even moved the new card to another slot and still had the same issue.

Strangely if I pushed up on the card.. and held it there.. the lines went away and it looked fine.. but as soon as I let go the screen glitched up again. It seems like a loose connection.. but in both slots? It's not making any sense to me.

Can anyone provide insight to this. Is my motherboard going? I know it's not the monitor..

Of course it's finals week... btw.. and my computer is now dead. Luckily I have a macbook.. but it's so slow.

Any help will be much appreciated!

[dfiant]

It is so hard to diagnose problems like this without being able to see/feel the problem.

Archiving (Line's all over the screen) can be anything from a software to a hardware problem. I assume that you had the power off to the computer and the power lead disconnected from the wall. I also assum that you shorted yourself by holding the metal frame of your computer before touching anything inside your computer?

There is also a clamp on the back end of the card, is that secure and clamped down?

The front end that goes on the back of your case needs to be fastened with a case clamp or a screw very securely, any movement can cause archiving and can damage the socket.

It would be extraordinary for both slots to go at the same time. The onboard sound or southbridge for example would be expected to go first, and when they stop working, they simply stop working.

So it comes down to physical damage by forcing the card in or software/drivers malfunctioning.

[Tyrion]

Thanks for your response. I'll check about the clamp tomorrow.

To be honest, I'm great with software, but not with hardware. I feel like a complete novice when it comes to replacing hardware.

As for the onboard sound.. it does work, which is odd. Though I have had some strange issues from the beginning with this computer.. such as the onboard network card randomly disabling... the sound being distorted.. etc. I could have a defective motherboard... maybe... but it may be my error too.

I'd take it into the computer shop.. but as of now I can't afford it. Next month, however, I can.

Anyway, I'll take a look again in the morning. I know it isn't the software, though, because I get the lines straight from startup.. even at the bios screen.

[dfiant]

Yeah, definately sounds like hardware. If I could see and touch it I could be more help, but what I suggested was the best mental image I could get of what I would be looking at.

I have built many computers in my time and am about to build another shortly.

Also glad it isn't software because I would assume you are using windows and windows problems are usually greeted with a blank stare as I am an avid Linux user

[Tyrion]

I do use windows for school.. I have to use most of the adobe programs.. which don't work well in linux...
but for normal use I am actually a linux user as well :p. I dual boot.. and try to stay in Linux as much as I can.

[dfiant]

What flavour do you prefer?

I have always been Ubuntu until the Unity disaster around the time Gnome 3 came out. I couldn't understand how people could prefer Gnome shell over Unity.

I then moved to Mint 12, then the following 2 updates were a disaster and never worked for me. Now running Mint 15 flawlessly.

[Tyrion]

Personally I'm not a gnome fan.. for whatever reason. I tend to like KDE.. on the right distro.. :p

As for the right distro.. i've kind of yet to find it. I alternate between kubuntu, opensuse, and arch...

Mint is a good one though. I recently tried it and was pretty impressed.

[Shiner]

What linux would you recommend to a new user that is looking to learn about it? I know its off topic from the original post, but I wouldn't mind exploring it on an older system (I have enough bits and bobs to probably make 3 systems)

[Kuja2013]

What linux would you recommend to a new user that is looking to learn about it? I know its off topic from the original post, but I wouldn't mind exploring it on an older system (I have enough bits and bobs to probably make 3 systems)

I tried many varieties of Linux over the past few years and I actually enjoyed using PcLinuxOs mostly. They set up a nice package, gnome and KDE is included last I recall in their distro. I took some time out and emulated the look and feel of win xp on my set-up. Depending on your computer specs you might be capable of installing it to the max, you could even try it off a burnt DVD. Most distros offer that option too.

Oh they also have an awesome community that I had found to be very user friendly, especially for new users.


Have a fun walk down the Linux path

[Southpaw]

I was working on Ubuntu 12.10 with KDE interface for a while last year, then I upgraded the hardware in my PC, turning it into a true gaming desktop, so I went back to windows just because support for many games is worthless on Linux distros. I now am running a Core i7 4770k stock processor, no overclocking, yet, on a Gigabyte motherboard, with a Visiontek Radeon HD 7950 GPU overclocked to 975 MHz with a VRAM speed of 1425 MHz, and a Fractal Design case which is absolutely gorgeous. Also has a 1 terabyte hard drive, 16 gigabytes of Crucial Ballistic dual channel memory, and a 700 watt modular power supply. That rig flies. Holds 60 FPS in Far Cry 3 with V Sync enabled, same in Skyrim, Crysis 3 pulls about 40-50 FPS. Bioshock Infinite and Total War: Shogun II also pull 60. I can also run X-Plane 10 flight simulator at full settings and get a reasonable 40 FPS.

As for the original post, it definitely is a hardware problem, it's odd that it happens in both expansion slots, however, that could be a result of failing connections on the card itself. Best way to test that is to use a test rig, someone else's computer or what not. If you're unable to do that, I would recommend reverting to onboard graphics if your motherboard supports it, or if not, go to your local Microcenter and buy an affordable GPU. If that doesn't fix it, it's a motherboard issue, and you can always return Microcenter parts which is nice.