Monitor Change Question

[Ringel05]

Plug it in and turn it on, it's not going to hurt your graphics card, graphics cards do a really good job of doing that to themselves. No need of a CD, why in this day and age would anyone need a CD to add a monitor? The only reason I could possibly think of for a manufacturer to include a CD is that it's full of unneeded/unwanted bloatware.

I'd think the CD would have any drivers required for the USB style monitor....my Acer monitor had drivers on the CD according to Best Buy.

Windows or Linux? Both have built in drivers for monitors.

 

[Tumblin Tumbleweed]

I picked up a Dell 23" monitor at an estate sale for.....let's just say I stole it. There is no set-up CD with it. Do I need that CD to connect the VGA to my Dell desktop that already had a Dell monitor but an earlier one? I don't want to burn out my graphics card if I make a wrong move.

You're using VGA for a 23" monitor? Why even go that big if you're not going digital? Seems like a waste.

Everybody's got an opinion and that's yours...whatever.

Do what you want. All I'm saying is if you bought a graphics card that would support it, digital would have much better resolution on your 23" monitor.

 

[Ringel05]

If you're still using a VGA cable to connect your monitor to you computer then go to your local WalMart, Best Buy, Staples, etc and ask for a DVI cable, they're not expensive. You will see major quality video improvement on your monitor.

The Monitor has both a VGA and a DVI connection but my Desktop doesn't....thanks but I'm good with what I found out yesterday.

According to the specs I read your's is supposed to have a DVI.

Never mind, you're plugging into a graphics card that doesn't support it.

 

[Ringel05]

Holy shit is that thing an antique!!!!! Old DDR2 technology.......... Still have the original 320GB hard drive? If so I would seriously recommend backing up all your personal files at least once a week because a non-SSD that old would be past it's expected life span.

It's a fine old boy....the secret is keeping the dust blown off the motherboard...I hit it with an air hose twice a year. XP SP3 is the finest OS in my lifetime...7 is a cheap imitation and beyond that, I don't care for features I'll never use or bother learning. Since support stopped, I don't do any banking on it and I keep an eye on my control panel to make sure I don't have any visitors....oh, and re-set the registry every week or so to default. It's a tool for me, not a lifestyle...I dig mature stuff, trucks, motorcycles, even women if they're not fat.

Whatever floats your boat.

I don't do the latest and greatest but I tend to have computers that are less than 10 years old and upgrade them every four to five years till I can't upgrade them any more. I use Win 7 and Ubuntu Linux, XP is far too limiting especial with video quality.
Plus I build my own desktops.

 

[WillPower]

Windows or Linux? Both have built in drivers for monitors.

Widows but Linux will be my next stop when support for 7 (on my laptop) ends at the end of the year. I kind of suspected I had a monitor driver(s) since I obviously had a Dell monitor when I bought it in 2008. Those drivers are still in the system...the Acer I'm still using didn't change the Dell drivers. The reason I started this thread was to make sure I didn't damage my graphics card by plugging this new boy into the box...I knew keyboards and mouses were p&p but wasn't sure about a monitor.

 

[WillPower]

According to the specs I read your's is supposed to have a DVI.

Never mind, you're plugging into a graphics card that doesn't support it.

This box has been in front of me every day for 11 years...believe me, there's only the VGA...oh, and a dial-up modem just in case I wanted to leave Centurylink someday.....does MS still offer a dial-up?

 

[Ringel05]

Windows or Linux? Both have built in drivers for monitors.

Widows but Linux will be my next stop when support for 7 (on my laptop) ends at the end of the year. I kind of suspects I had a monitor driver(s) since I obviously had a Windows monitor when I bought it in 2008. Those drivers are still in the system...the Acer I'm still using didn't change the Dell drivers. The reason I started this thread was to make sure I didn't damage my graphics card by plugging this new boy into the box...I knew keyboards and mouses were p&p but wasn't sure about a monitor.

Yes, monitors are plug and play and no it will not harm your graphics card. That said the four items that fail most commonly are;
Power supply
Hard Drive (not the solid state ones)
Graphics cards
Optical drives (CD/DVD)

Not specifically in that order.

 

[Ringel05]

According to the specs I read your's is supposed to have a DVI.

Never mind, you're plugging into a graphics card that doesn't support it.

This box has been in front of me every day for 11 years...believe me, there's only the VGA...oh, and a dial-up modem just in case I wanted to leave Centurylink someday.....does MS still offer a dial-up?

I believe you, just telling you what Dell lists as the specs.

 

[WillPower]

Yes, monitors are plug and play and no it will not harm your graphics card. That said the four items that fail most commonly are;
Power supply
Hard Drive (not the solid state ones)
Graphics cards
Optical drives (CD/DVD)

Not specifically in that order.

I have NVIDIA graphics driver 307.80/Inview 136.53 and Silverlight which I swear by...no matter how crappy the video is, I can tell when it kicks in and sharpens the image into focus.....Like I said, I'm happy with this set up....I can play board games with a Windows site (I'm banned at the moment) called "Zone.com" and the pinball game is fantastic. If I could combine the W98 feature of a popup window saying I had a new email, I'd never change...until this box blows up. The power supply on/off button has come loose so powering up takes a certain approach but other than that, it's still like new. I do have YouTube vids on my laptop to replace the items you mention from Amazon...there were so many of these machines made, after-market stuff is readily available.

 

[WillPower]

Yes, monitors are plug and play and no it will not harm your graphics card. That said the four items that fail most commonly are;
Power supply
Hard Drive (not the solid state ones)
Graphics cards
Optical drives (CD/DVD)

Not specifically in that order.

Exactly in that order.....shortly after starting this OP, my power supply gave out. Luckily I found the owner's manual for this computer online and C/Ped it to my laptop. Sure enough, when I tried to power up, I got nothing....repeated attempts finally resulted in a blinking yellow light. BINGO. Got one off Amazon for $40 shipped. Replaced the old one, said a prayer, and pushed the power button.....YES! I'm typing this post on the old boy....damn, I saved it's life....it's saved mine a couple times...financially.

 

[Montrovant]

Yes, monitors are plug and play and no it will not harm your graphics card. That said the four items that fail most commonly are;
Power supply
Hard Drive (not the solid state ones)
Graphics cards
Optical drives (CD/DVD)

Not specifically in that order.

Exactly in that order.....shortly after starting this OP, my power supply gave out. Luckily I found the owner's manual for this computer online and C/Ped it to my laptop. Sure enough, when I tried to power up, I got nothing....repeated attempts finally resulted in a blinking yellow light. BINGO. Got one off Amazon for $40 shipped. Replaced the old one, said a prayer, and pushed the power button.....YES! I'm typing this post on the old boy....damn, I saved it's life....it's saved mine a couple times...financially.

I have had hard drives and graphics cards go bad far more often than power supplies. I've got a PS in one of my PCs that's about 12 years old; none of my hard drives or graphics cards are close to that age, I don't think.

 

[WillPower]

I have had hard drives and graphics cards go bad far more often than power supplies. I've got a PS in one of my PCs that's about 12 years old; none of my hard drives or graphics cards are close to that age, I don't think.

The PS I replaced was 11 years old.....I've always wondered if it's better for a computer to stay on in sleep-mode or be turned off at night? The consensus opinion I've found on Google is to leave it on. I worry about overheating but my heat-sink was spotless....the PS not so much...the fan grate had a hole in the crud about the size of a dime so I bet I cooked it...Seems to me starting a machine, any machine, is the hardest thing you can do to it....car engines use more gas in starts than idling the engine for about ten minutes so I'm guessing it's the same with electrical devices.

 

[Bleipriester]

I picked up a Dell 23" monitor at an estate sale for.....let's just say I stole it. There is no set-up CD with it. Do I need that CD to connect the VGA to my Dell desktop that already had a Dell monitor but an earlier one? I don't want to burn out my graphics card if I make a wrong move.

You're using VGA for a 23" monitor? Why even go that big if you're not going digital? Seems like a waste.

Everybody's got an opinion and that's yours...whatever.

Do what you want. All I'm saying is if you bought a graphics card that would support it, digital would have much better resolution on your 23" monitor.

No, it would not. In contrast to digital interfaces, the old VGA is analog and as such doesn´t have a maximum resolution.

 

[Montrovant]

Whatever you do, don't go with Apple's new monitor. The stand alone costs $1000!

Apple wants to sell you a $1,000 stand so you can use its new $5,000 monitor