Computer Hardware Question

[Mike1647]

I have been having issues with my graphics card in my desktop PC. The motherboard is an older Intel DQ965GF. My problem is I have not found a replacement video card that will work. Specific question: my motherboard has a PCI-e x16 interface. Should a PCI-e 2.0 card work? I have read that the 2.0 should be backwards compatible but I have tried two cards and they do not work. All I get upon boot-up is a black screen with one small non-blinking cursor.

[greeman]

I would expect that this one would work.... nVidia GeForce 1GB VGA/DVI/HDMI PCI-Express x16 Video graphics Card+Low profile-Newegg.com

[kwselke]

Make sure your power supply can support the new video card.

[Mike1647]

I upgraded the power supply first. The card greeman linked to says it is 2.0 but backwards compatible. So I guess a 2.0 card should work in my MB, wonder why it won't. Thanks.

[Marine Corps Air]

From my experience, if a component does not work, the problem is a) hardware incompatibility, or b) software issues (also incompatibility) . I agree with the cooling fan capacity test, although many video cards run at such high temperature levels that they have their own integrated cooling fan.

Based on the responses thus far, I wonder if the software driver (that allows the video card to function correctly) is not correct for both your video card and your operating system? The correct or current drivers can usually be downloaded from the PC OEM or video card manufacturer's website. I don't believe that you have a BIOS configuration issue, although that does happen.

The operating system loads the hardware and software during the boot up phase which explains why you are seeing a black screen with a blinking cursor. The O/S cannot load the correct driver (or has an issue) and may stop during the POST (Power-On-Self-Test)

"When power is turned on, POST (Power-On Self-Test) is the diagnostic testing sequence that a computer's basic input/output system (or "start up program") runs to determine if the computer keyboard, random access memory, disk drives, and other hardware are working correctly."