Cheap replacement video card for old computer?

Remove all ads!

I might need a new video card on a Gateway 4200DX. It came with an ATI Radeon 3450 but the video keeps freezing, the screen goes to this weird colorful snow-like pattern, and then the computer restarts.
I opened it up last night, saw that a SATA cable had come loose and was pushing up against the video card and might have bent it. I corrected it, but did not unscrew the card from the slot to reseat it (I'm going to try that next). I'm also going to reinstall the video drivers.

I should just retire the computer, I replaced it last year, but I like having two good computers and the next best computer I've got is a Dell Optiplex GX110 from 2001.

Would this be a good choice?
https://amzn.to/2OwrZGJ
Anyways, any suggestions on a comparable or preferably better PCI-X card that is compatible with Vista 64-bit Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional that I can get for less than $50 including S&H (and tax, I'm in Illinois)? I also want to connect two monitors, one with VGA and one with HDMI. I can do two VGA instead, but one monitor is VGA-only, the other is VGA or HDMI.
I know new cards are expensive, but what about older stuff? This computer is 10 years old, I got it right before Windows 7 came out mostly because the computer between the Optiplex and this one died and I needed something better. The main issue is that the numbering scheme is a mess due to them resetting a while back, and I don't know what to look for on e-bay or other sites. Hence I'm looking for suggestions.

 

Sure, PCI is packwards compatible, and since the original card works off the 2.0 standard, the motherboard in the PC should have 2.0 slots at the very least, so the card you listed should work fine.
It even lists under one of the answered questions :

 

I'm questioning capabilities, and I forgot to search for Vista drivers when I found that one. Can I assume that the above card would be equal or better to the 3450, and would work with both Vista 64-bit Home Premium and Windows 7 64-bit Pro?
A quick search says that there are XP, Vista and 7 drivers available for Dell computers with the card. The computer is a Gateway, but I did not think that mattered in determining if Vista drivers were available as I assumed they would come with the card.

I anybody wants to suggest something else for the same price or less, I'm open to suggestions. The requirements are:
PCI-Express (circa 2009, I'll have to look up exactly what standard), 1 VGA & 1 HDMI connector OR 2 VGA connectors for dual-video, must have drivers for Vista 64-bit Home Premium and Win7 64-bit Pro, and must be equal or better than an ATI Radeon 3450. I don't care about brand or model.

 

Well, I went and got the card I mentioned in the thread. I found it for less than $20, but it was $25 with S&H.

I got it working in Windows 7 no problem. However, the computer is a dual-boot of the OEM Vista 64-bit Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional.
Vista on the other hand doesn't recognize the card as anything other than a "Generic VGA Adapter" in Device Manager despite the website I bought it from indicating "Vista or Later" in the requirements.
The CD with the drivers doesn't seem to detect the card, or at least refuses to install anything except Google Drive and a benchmarking utility called "Kombuster". It doesn't even present an option.

I tried going to MSI's site, and it seems to offer Vista 64 drivers, but not only is it the same file as Windows 7, but it also seems to be a generic legacy driver that includes support for the built-in integrated video, which is the only thing it detects. It says my 3200 graphics driver is up to date (which hasn't changed since 2013). It doesn't install the 6450 driver in Vista.

I tried turning off the integrated video in the motherboard (I had used it for the first time this week when I pulled the old ATI Radeon 3450 card out to determine if that was the cause of the crashes, they stopped when the board came out), and it still doesn't recognize the card.

I did more searching, and found this:
freedriver.org/drivers/videocard.php?v_firm=MSI&driver=000900.rar&v_model=ATI%20Radeon%20HD%206450%20R6450-MD1GD3%2FLP

Same result as MSI's site.

Any idea how to get the graphics card working in Vista? Why would they list Vista drivers that don't work? Windows 7 works fine with the drivers from the CD, but not Vista.
Here is part of the problem. Without proper drivers, I can't properly use my dual monitors, am stuck with mirroring and can't get the higher resolutions to work without causing the smaller monitor to go nuts because it is old and small, and only supports 1024x768. Nor will any games that require advanced graphics work with stuff like Direct 3D or DirectX.

If there is another source for Vista drivers for this card, please post.

I thought I chose one specifically that listed Vista, although the CD readme only mentions 7 or later, the box doesn't mention OS requirements at all.


Irony of irony, with the old Radeon 3450 card, I had little trouble with Vista, but had a hard time getting 7 to work, and never got it to work perfectly. Now with the 6450, it is the opposite.