Installing a Video Card

Hey guys,

quick question, Im trying to learn as much as I can about computers. I had installed a video card on an old pc I had, it worked fine and played any game i wanted on it.

I upgraded to a new pc and the graphics card is integrated, now what I wanted to know was IF I install my old video card on this new pc and don't set up the video card as my main video output or w.e is called (maintain my integrated card as my main source for graphics) would my pc put the old dedicated video card to use when I run programs or games on it?

thanks and I apologize for being a little ignorant on this lol I some what know about PCs but this question has had me going crazy for a few months because I can't find an answer and than I remembered ATS

reply to post by ^anubis^



if you put the new one in it wont work unless you download the drivers for it from the website of whatever kind it is and then hook up to it. it will be like it isnt there otherwise

Why do you want two separate video sources?

No that will not work as you monitor only has one input, i.e. one video connection and it will be connected to one or the other (on-board video or the installed video card) the only way that could work (if your OS would even allow it) would be to use a video switch.

yeah installing the drivers and everything but not using it, and its not that I want 2 separate ones, i just wanna know if my graphics would improve at all

Will most likely crash your computer because the pc is now going to use its resources for the old graphic card.

It would improve graphics if the old graphic card is better than the integrated one.

reply to post by ^anubis^


I'd think you would need two monitors to do that, I mean that or you'd have to unplug the monitor from the integrated vcard on the mobo and then plug into your video card...


so probably best to just dl drivers and plug into your old card, unless its a total pos then it might be better to stay with the integrated, hard to say with out more info.

*btw, I am far from being an expert on this subject.*

reply to post by ^anubis^


if you install drivers it will make the onboard ones not work. most of the time a card is better graphics then onboard anyway so you should want to hook up the card

reply to post by ^anubis^


Can you post mother board specs, the specs on your old card...

also to answer your question you can put the card in your pci slot, however your system will recognize it and you can switch between the two outputs on your display controller, or catalyst controller... however if you dont properly install the card and update it with the latest drivers it could have unwanted display effects, like 256 colors, limited resolution, and a variety of other problems such as your display drivers crashing unexpectedly....

reply to post by perpetrator76

Specs:
HP Pavilion p7-1234 (couldnt get the link to work but this is my new PC for some gaming

Video Card: www.geforce.com...

To have two video cards for the same monitor you would need twin SLI video cards in order for that to work.
But if you have two monitors you can hook them both up for separate displays.

After installing the second video card and drivers (and checking that both cards show up in BIOS), go into display settings (depends on which OS you use) and select either extended or dual desktop.

disable the on-board video
find a video card with dual output (almost EVERY card has that)

run 2 monitors.

if its enhanced performance you need, try as another poster suggested DUAL cards ins SLI.

more ram can help free up video and cpu too.

Originally posted by ^anubis^
I want to plug and install the drivers of my old video card (even though my onboard is better, so it says on some websites) and what I was thinking and I think im wrong is that it would enhance my onboard graphics card

I'm sorry but yes, you are wrong.

You cannot install the driver for your graphics card and have it be recognized by your onboard graphics or affect the output from your onboard graphics. They are two different products.

Everyone else: Guys, he said it wasn't about running two monitors.

Originally posted by ^anubis^
its not that I want 2 separate ones

reply to post by ^anubis^

OP I went to college for computers and worked as a quality ebgineer for Foxconn at their HP manufacturing plant, I read a couple of the responses, and it seems they aren't sure, so I will tell you everything you need to know for now and future reference.

I will assume it is in the pci16 slot correct?

Now a video card will onlh work if your moniter is plugged directly into it, it doesn't help support and improve the performance of your onboard graphics card. It is either or.

If you want to juice up an added card, they make many that can be hooked together to increase performance as 2 are better than one, but they are not all capable of such feats and or made for it, also 2 different cards will not work in tandem most of the time, it is a rare exception when they will.

Also all graphics cards are not compatible with all processors and chip sets. So you may need to get a new one for better perfomrance as the onboard cards are usually junk.

Your best bet if your not knowledgable is to take it or your comps specifications to a pc supplies store and ask for help from the customer service rep.

Hope this helped.

reply to post by ^anubis^


They would need to be compatible and have an SLI bridge connecting the two.

Just plugging the old one into a spare PCI slot won't help in any way, your computer won't use them both.

The only reason I can think to plug both in is if one is good at some tasks like gaming and the other is good at other tasks like video compression. But you would need to constantly switch over, not worth bothering imo.

I'd just like to point out that the OP never asked how to set up dual monitors. Seems, Polar Warrior and I are the only ones that noticed that. What's going on with this thread?

His question was about if he adds a graphics card to his computer, which has onboard grahpics already, would it make his onboard graphics better. And the answer to his question is no, it will not affect the output of the onboard graphics.

If you are asking whether or not you can install the old card and use it instead of the onboard graphics built into the new motherboard then the answer is yes. Assuming the new motherboard has a compatible slot that will accept your old card then you can install that card and have it assume graphical processing. Your thought process makes sense as onboard graphics are weak and dedicated video cards will usually outperform onboard. You don't need SLI or anything of the sort(meant for 2 video cards installed separate from the motherboard graphics but you only want your one prior card if I'm not mistaken).

*Keep in mind new(last 4 years) motherboards have shifted to PCI-ex from the old AGP slot so if your old card was AGP it most likely will not have a spot in your new system. If you still have the old box, manual or model number you can find out if it was an AGP card.

*If you have an OS from the last decade then driver installation is not required prior to the card install. Worst case scenario is that you'll boot up into a low resolution then you can install the drivers and it will correct the resolution.

--I just upgraded from a GTX560TI to a GTX670 ... big difference

You should install the 9600 in your hp. The 9600 is far better than the onboard graphics. The 9600 will support two monitors. One will be a DSUB/VGA and the other is a DVI. You can us an adaptor to go from a DVI to VGA.

Your HP integrated will support two monitors in the same way the 9600 will. The bad news is that your integrated graphics will be disabled if you install the 9600. Get the drivers from nvidia.com. The latest driver is 306.97.

Integrated Graphics
*Integrated video is not available if a graphics card is installed. Supports PCI Express x16 graphics cards DVI and VGA ports (Use of both the VGA and DVI ports at the same time is supported)

HP MOBO INFO

Nvidia 9600

ok here it is any graphics card will be better than on board graphics card , on board will use system memory and slow down your comp. you will need to go into your bios and disable your on board graphics card or set it to auto and make sure your monitor is plugged in to your non on board graphics card you should get way better performance.

Originally posted by ^anubis^
I want to plug and install the drivers of my old video card (even though my onboard is better, so it says on some websites) and what I was thinking and I think im wrong is that it would enhance my onboard graphics card

I've said this three times now, why are you guys not understanding this?

The OP doesn't want to know which card is better. He doesn't want to know how to set up dual monitors. He wants to know if he, adding a graphics card to a computer with onboard grahpics, will make the onboard graphics better.

He never asked which is better.

Deny Ignorance.

Originally posted by ^anubis^
I upgraded to a new pc and the graphics card is integrated

This is what confused me at first was when he said card, I thought he meant his new computer had a graphics card already in it, not on-board graphics. Maybe others didn't realize he said "integrated" and "on-board" further down in the post and that caused all the confusion about 2 graphics cards. Either that or people just skim-read too much.