SuperDaddy

Hi, I am having some difficulties as to why my new video card won't work. My son has been bugging me for days asking for a new video so he could play some games. so I finally went out and bought a low-profile AGP video card since his computer is old... its a shitbox basically haha. Its a Dell Optiplex gx150 which came with a graphic card of 32mb and ram of 256mb.
Here are the details.

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System Information
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Time of this report: 8/31/2008, 17:26:40
Machine name: RICHARD-E4B12D931A
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp.080413-2111)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Computer Corporation
System Model: OptiPlex GX150
BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A11
Processor: Intel Pentium III, ~1.0GHz
Memory: 254MB RAM
Page File: 341MB used, 282MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.5512 32bit Unicode

This computer is pretty slim, so I needed a low-profile card, and it doesn't have a PCIe slot or anything so I figured AGP was the way to go. I went to TigerDirect and found XFX GEFORCE 6200. A low-profile AGP 8x card with 256mb DDR2.
The computer doesn't have 8x slot, only a 4x slot, but the video card box says that the video card is also compatible with 4x.
So I opened the computer and took out the old video card and tried to fit in the new one but the metal bracket on it was too big. So I took off the metal bracket and it fitted in perfectly. I turned on the computer and BAM! nothing happens -.-
The front LED light is solid yellow and the monitor is just .. blank..

I put in the old video card and turned on the computer, and everything worked fine. I even uninstalled the old video card driver and put in the new card, and same thing is happening... i even upgraded windows xp from SP2 to SP3 because I thought that maybe the video card wasn't even getting detected.
I have seriously tried everything!!! and my son keeps whining more and more each day!

I know the card works fine because I tried it on my other computer...
i'm guessing that the problem is maybe power shortage? I don't know how much power it has but the minimum requirement of power for this card to run is 250 W. But I don't think that should be a problem because a friend of mine has the same computer with the same card, but I think his card is 128mb not 256mb.
This has me stressing for DAYS and I honestly have tried looking for a different card but I can't find any that would be suitable for this slim-case computer.

ANY SUGGESTIONS? I would greatly appreciate it
Thankyou

IModIntel

Well first of all, you have to understand it's a Dell and even though it has universal interface, it means in no way that itMll be compatible with such a card. To be quite frank, I believe that 250 w (even though it's weak) should be plenty for this system. If your computer doesn't boot at all after installing the new card, it has nothing to do with your OS. I know that there is also some Low Profile ATi Cards out there, so perhaps you should these two things before returning your card: try a different power supply (i doubt, but it'll be a try), and try the card in another computer to see if it's the actuyal card that's defective. Hope this helps.

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syntax

I doubt its the power supply either, even if the psu barely meets requirements it usually displays at least for a moment, it also depends on the brand of psu, a large cheap psu such as my own works stable, the psu demand is fairly low though, in 8400gs's case its a 350w w/12v 20amp. I remember years ago I had some trouble with a 5500FX card that required a 250w psu at the min. on a computer meeting just that min. req. using a budget psu. It could be the power supply, if not unfortunately you'll probably either want to return or resell the card.

I'm not sure but since the 6200 is a 256mb card and the turbo cache is probably 256mb, that in combination with the computer only having 256mb of ram; I havent accually tried installing a geforce 6+ card in a system where the turbo cache would absorb all the standard ram. You can find an interesting guide on agp compatibility here.

Best Regards

witek

I agree with syntax. Try to get more ram and check if it will work. I have a 6200 TC in my other rig with 256+512mb. So as soon as I can I'll check it.

Gamer Z

Guys, come on. Anyone out there will agree that its not the mem, os, or power. it is is in fact the mb. it is not compatible with that video card. even though its a low end video card to us, its a high end to that guy.(believe me, i had the same thing happen to me) the only other option for that guy if he wants to still use the video card, is to upgrade his board.

Unixlord

Do your son a favor and buy him something remotely recent.

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witek

Just checked. Every thing went sooth and the system loaded without any problems. So Gamer Z must be right. Don't get me bad but maybe just thing of buying a new rig for your son. You can get really good stuff for a low price nowadays.

syntax

It could be worst