many videocards

Can I install 2 videocards in one computer? It has 4 pci slots still available. I want to test them.

 

Depends on your OS, but I believe from Win98 and onwards there's built in support for multiple graphics cards.

 

The reason of the question is I have a nvidia geforce2 32mb RAM which worked fine in one machine but when I installed it in a Dell Optiplex 733mhz 512mb RAM(a better machine) it refused to work: I didn't even got the BIOS screen, totally black right when I rebooted after inserting the card into the slot.

 

But if that's the problem, you probably need to disable the built-in graphics card in BIOS before you can use the GeForce card.

 

re: videocard problem

How do I do that? I didnot see anything else than the standard display VGA which I suppose is not the one you suggest?

More info: although nvidia did not work but ATI worked fine but it has only 16mb. The nvidia card has 32mb.

 

First of all, does the Optiplex have a built in graphics adapter, i.e. a chip on the motherboard, or does it have a separate graphics card?

The ATI that you mentioned is that the standard graphics card for the Optiplex?

The standard dsiplay VGA is shown in the Device Manager in Windows, right?

That's not where you disable an on board graphics chip, you need to do that in BIOS before the Operating System has loaded.

 

videocard problem

>First of all, does the Optiplex have a built in graphics adapter, i.e. a chip on the motherboard, or does it have a separate graphics card?

It is probably the "Intel Graphics Chip Accelerated VGA" which according to the Optiplex's specs a 4mb agp chip.

The ATI that you mentioned is that the standard graphics card for the Optiplex?

No. It is another pci card.

>The standard dsiplay VGA is shown in the Device Manager in Windows, right?

correct.

>That's not where you disable an on board graphics chip, you need to do that in BIOS before the Operating System has loaded.


There doesn't seem an option to do that in the BIOS. I looked in the "integrated devices" and found 2 options that may be relevant:

Primary Video Controller(auto,onboard) and Video DAC Snoop(?). Other than that there is another option to change the irq of all devices.

 

I don't know about Dell but with a IBM Aptiva on some models there was a jumper on the motherboard to disable the onboard video. Also with the Aptiva I have a lot of video cards will not work with it. You just get a black screen and can not even get into the BIOS.

 

re: nvidia problem

Thanks, Russ. I have problem to regconize the agp chip.