So something in my computer is going bad, video car, or monitor?

[Plissken99]

Lately I don't like turning my monitor off, because when I turn it back on, it takes 3-5 minutes to get sync back from the computer. I've seen a lot of BS computer issues, and this is a new one on me. I figure either the monitor or the video card is going bad.

Any thoughts?

Hopefully it's the video card, been a needing a better one anyway.

[Godstar]

If you have another PC, hook the monitor up to it and see if it works alright. If the problem persists, then you have your culprit, otherwise it's your card. That's the only way you'll be able to debug this issue.

I'm leaning towards the monitor.

[Favelle]

Yep, run another monitor (or TV or projector). See if you can replicate the problem.

[Plissken99]

Well I got interupted by a two week vacation. When I got back the monitor no longer turned on, so that made it simple. So today I just got a sweet 24in Asus LED monitor with a 50,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

New problem: I connected it over DVI, like with my old monitor, and I get green sparklies all over the screen, plus it blinks when opening new windows(signal issues obviously). I tried swapping out for the new DVI cable that came with the monitor, same result. I then remembered that the computer has onboard video which sucks majorly, but I rebooted and enabled it. It uses HDMI by the way, so I booted up, and viola, a perfect image.

I'm toying with buying a DVI to HDMI cable and see if that works, otherwise it's looking like a new freaking video card.

[Favelle]

Well I got interupted by a two week vacation. When I got back the monitor no longer turned on, so that made it simple. So today I just got a sweet 24in Asus LED monitor with a 50,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

New problem: I connected it over DVI, like with my old monitor, and I get green sparklies all over the screen, plus it blinks when opening new windows(signal issues obviously). I tried swapping out for the new DVI cable that came with the monitor, same result. I then remembered that the computer has onboard video which sucks majorly, but I rebooted and enabled it. It uses HDMI by the way, so I booted up, and viola, a perfect image.

I'm toying with buying a DVI to HDMI cable and see if that works, otherwise it's looking like a new freaking video card.

If its not for gaming, just get a $15 Radeon 6450. It has full HDMI out and supports 7.1 lossless audio. Problem solved.

[Blinx123]

Specs would be nice.

[Plissken99]

Specs on what? My PC has an Intel i3 3.20ghz processor, with 8GB of ram memory(maxed out).

As for the card, it should at least be able to run Half Life 2 capably. I don't do much PC gaming anymore, but every now and then I get the urge for Half Life. Plus I wouldn't mind playing Crysis 2, I enjoyed the 1st one.

[Badger3920]

So the machine is definitely used for some 'hd gaming' here and there, but it's not a huge focus?

[Plissken99]

Not so much anymore. I miss pc gaming, but it seems these days most good games are on the consoles.

[Badger3920]

Not so much anymore. I miss pc gaming, but it seems these days most good games are on the consoles.

That's all up to your preference. For anyone to be able to help here, you need to decide what your budget is for a new GPU and whether or not you're going to want to game on it. You can get a decent card that will game for around $100 if you don't mind gaming on settings other than ultra/high

[Plissken99]

I could handle something around the $200-$300 range. I do like my settings on high when I play.

[Favelle]

The 2 best choices are:

Under $150 = Radeon 6870 (will still play BF3 on high!! Insane for the price).
Under $250 = GTX 570. Once a $500 video card. This thing is a BEAST. Extreme value for under $250.

[Plissken99]

Awesome, looks like the Radeon would do nicely...

Now for the latest in the circus of bullshit... I had ordered a DVI to HDMI cable in the hope it might solve the problem. Well I dug around in some bins where I kept old wires, and managed to find one. I got it all hooked up, and there are no green dancing pixels on the screen!... however now the image doesn't fill up the screen.


There's about an inch gap to the left and right, and a half inch on top and bottom. What? The? Fuck?

EDIT: HUZAA! I found scaling options in the ATI Catalyst control center, the screen is now full, it was set to underscan for some reason. Aren't computers a just a fucking blast?

[Favelle]

Awesome, looks like the Radeon would do nicely...

Now for the latest in the circus of bullshit... I had ordered a DVI to HDMI cable in the hope it might solve the problem. Well I dug around in some bins where I kept old wires, and managed to find one. I got it all hooked up, and there are no green dancing pixels on the screen!... however now the image doesn't fill up the screen.


There's about an inch gap to the left and right, and a half inch on top and bottom. What? The? Fuck?

EDIT: HUZAA! I found scaling options in the ATI Catalyst control center, the screen is now full, it was set to underscan for some reason. Aren't computers a just a fucking blast?

Yeah, overscan. A relic of the old CRT days. Easy peasy.

[Plissken99]

I will keep those cards in mind, as the video card IS the oldest part of the computer. It's a Radeon 2900, and still allows me to run Half Life 2 with all settings on high.