PC finally given up the ghost

[voodooless]

You can get a serviceable graphics card for $10 from Amazon. In fact, I have a cheap old NVidia card in a drawer that I'm not using, could mail one to you. If you only use the PC for email & web browsing, or as server on your home network, then why upgrade it?

Because its slow as hell compared to even an average phone or tablet. They are more competent than that thing (possibly less practical though). But yes, a $10 would probably fix this specific issue. There are other things to consider as well. What Windows version is running on it? Probably not very up-to-date (my guess still the original Windows Vista)? That may be a potential security issue.

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

But it is And you proposed fixing it

Ubuntu runs just fine on old machines; it's not the bloat-ware that Windows is.

That may be a better option if keeping this machine is a priority. But then save the $10 and run on the iGPU is VGA is acceptable.

 

[MRC01]

...
But it is And you proposed fixing it
...

I admit it - guilty as charged!

 

[Blumlein 88]

Yeah come on, time to say goodbye.

 

[MRC01]

I hate seeing stuff going into landfill when it could easily be repaired and put back into useful service.
This is true whether it's computers, stereo gear, appliances, cars, or pretty much anything.
And it's educational and fun to fix things of all kinds.
Too many people do the equivalent of buying a new car when their brakes squeak.
Though in this particular case the computer seems old enough it may actually be worth replacing, my above-stated biases still put me on the fence.
(says the guy with the 20 year old plasma screen, 25 year old refrigerator, 20 year old car, 18 year old washer & dryer, 10 year old computer, 40 year old bicycle, living in an 80 year old house)

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

You can get a serviceable graphics card for $10 from Amazon. In fact, I have a cheap old NVidia card in a drawer that I'm not using, could mail one to you. If you only use the PC for email & web browsing, or as server on your home network, then why upgrade it? If it ain't broke don't fix it. Ubuntu runs just fine on old machines; it's not the bloat-ware that Windows is.
I've resurrected several old PCs around my house, one needed a new motherboard, one needed a power supply, etc. They have been in service for 5-10 years and still going strong. It's educational and fun.

Nice offer MRCO1. I'm certainly happy to lay out a further tenner on the old beast. However, doesn't any replacement video card have to have an identical number of connecters to the ATI card? And a VGA connection for the telly? And ideally, no fan!

 

[voodooless]

However, doesn't any replacement video card have to have an identical number of connecters to the ATI card?

No, it just needs whatever you need

And a VGA connection for the telly?

VGA to the telly? That must be another old beast… for the last decade at least, HDMI was all the rage

And ideally, no fan!

That’s not that easy, but can probably be found. You may need to stretch your budget though.

 

[MRC01]

What kind of video connection does the old card have: VGA, DVI, DisplayPort, or HDMI? We saw that the motherboard's built-in video was VGA, but the card may have a different connector. Send us a photo of the card's external connectors. If the card has only VGA connectors, I don't have a spare for you. My drawer queens are old, but not that old. A VGA card is gonna cost you about $10 on eBay or Amazon.
Your PC has PCI and PCIE slots, so that won't be a problem.

 

[Neddy]

Oldie/codgers R us! I match all of the above, except new(er) fridge, and house is much newer.
My 'office' PC is my next upgrade challenge. It's in a beautiful but freakin huge coolermaster case in custom colors from way before I retired, so sorely tempted to gut and put in new MB, etc, but all the new crop of mini-PCs are also hugely tempting. (I love the NUC skull canyon I got for audio), but am really spoiled by all the interconnectivity options of the huge case.
It has required new power supply, upgraded (actually downgraded) video card (similar to OP's situation), and new HDs (recent drop in 2TB SS drive prices gave the thing a few more years I think). And reasonably frequent vacuuming and de-dusting, esp the CPU cooler radiator fins. Oh and magnetic snap on air filters help too.
Fun to think about, not likely to do much any time soon tho.
Why pay for new when the older stuff just keeps sold(i)ering on?
EVs keep dropping in price, so, maybe someday? Printed OLED screens will be with us in a year or so, and expect significant cost drops there, too.

 

[MRC01]

... Why pay for new when the older stuff just keeps sold(i)ering on? ...

In addition, computers haven't gotten much faster in the past 10 years. More parallel, yep. Marginal speed improvements, sure. More RAM and storage too. But performance improvement is nothing like it was in the 90s and 00s when progress was so fast you needed to get a new computer every 2 years.

 

[Blumlein 88]

In addition, computers haven't gotten much faster in the past 10 years. More parallel, yep. Marginal speed improvements, sure. More RAM and storage too. But performance improvement is nothing like it was in the 90s and 00s when progress was so fast you needed to get a new computer every 2 years.

Yeah, but this is 15 years in this case. Maybe this is not the equivalent of asking if you should keep a model T on the road, but it is like asking if a 1936 Ford is fine instead of moving to something newer.

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

Okay guys. Connecters on the old card, images.
It is a VGA connection on the telly.
I have windows 10, purchased three or four years ago. Always been not quite right!
Just started in Windows. Doesn't look as though it can do much. Good grief. Vivaldi via Windows has opened! BBC News working. Amazing!!!
(Not the actual news, you understand)!

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

I have also emailed PC Specialist, a UK company which my eldest son has used successfully.
Possibly my VGA, and rather a lot of oblong usb ports, request may complicate matters. Between £350 and £400.

 

[bennetng]

This board has an external north bridge chip which really showed its age. Even if everything is working properly, that ATI era Radeon card would not decode H.265 and such, and definitely not via software decoding with mainstream CPUs in that era.

£350 and £400 is enough for building a completely new PC with CPU+built-in GPU, motherboard, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, power supply and chassis.

 

[MRC01]

Okay guys. Connecters on the old card, images.
It is a VGA connection on the telly.
I have windows 10, purchased three or four years ago. Always been not quite right!
Just started in Windows. Doesn't look as though it can do much. Good grief. Vivaldi via Windows has opened! BBC News working. Amazing!!!
(Not the actual news, you understand)!

That graphics card has DVI connectors. Where did VGA enter this picture? Were you also using the VGA connector from the motherboard?

 

[Blumlein 88]

That graphics card has DVI connectors. Where did VGA enter this picture? Were you also using the VGA connector from the motherboard?

Yeah those are DVI. I have had two early LCD HD TV's that had a DVI input. Maybe he has one of those. That PCIE slot would take a newer video card with different outputs like HDMI and Display port. Plus adapters for another connection are cheap from those two.

 

[MRC01]

DVI, DisplayPort and HDMI are all digital and you can get converter dongles for $5-$10.
VGA is analog and DVI also supports it, so converting DVI to VGA is also easy with a cheap dongle.

 

[MRC01]

Yeah, but this is 15 years in this case. Maybe this is not the equivalent of asking if you should keep a model T on the road, but it is like asking if a 1936 Ford is fine instead of moving to something newer.

I see it more like the 2004 Subaru that I resurrected for my daughter. Nearly 20 years old but runs like new with fresh timing belt, pulleys, water pump, coolant, etc. She should get another 100k miles out of it trouble-free.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I see it more like the 2004 Subaru that I resurrected for my daughter. Nearly 20 years old but runs like new with fresh timing belt, pulleys, water pump, coolant, etc. She should get another 100k miles out of it trouble-free.

I disagree. The PC equivalent of the 2004 Subaru is newer than 15 years. Probably something like 6-8 years old.

In any case I think the slot for the video card will be a 2nd gen PCIE x16 slot. So anything fitting that should work. The manuals from Dell should give details to be sure. It might even be an early 3rd gen, but I think it is too old for that.

In any case PCIE gen 4 cards are backwards compatible all the way to gen 2 slots. They'll just run a bit slower on the slower buss speeds. So easy to replace if the OP wants to.

 

[MRC01]

Either way, looks like he can get this computer going again for a total cost of $10-$15 to replace the graphics card. He's quoting prices in pounds, so it would probably be more expensive for me to mail him one, than for him to buy one locally.
However, there is always the risk that this won't actually fix it - you never know for sure until you plug in a new card and see what happens.

 

[voodooless]

Yeah, but this is 15 years in this case. Maybe this is not the equivalent of asking if you should keep a model T on the road, but it is like asking if a 1936 Ford is fine instead of moving to something newer.

Today the GPU, next week the RAM, next month the HDD, then the power supply..