Suitable Video Card?

[kturcotte]

The video card in my computer uses a PCI-E connector. There is something wrong with it though, for some reason, it doesn't output S-Video very well to the TV. I'm not talking resolution, I'm talking rolling screens and such. I've talked with friends that know about computers, and even brought it in to be looked at, it's the PCI-E connector itself. I'd need an entire new mother board to fix it. I'd rather not go that route if I could help it. Doesn't effect my monitor for some reason though.
Anyway, I enjoy Emulators and Roms, but would MUCH prefer to output them to my larger TV. Would getting a video card with a regular PCI connector work? Could I output to both video cards at the same time? Would this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814140027 be a suitable card for emulation (Atari, Coleco, NES, SNES, GBA, N64 are what I play)?
Also, I do have a spare 64MB AGP video card lying around. Would this be suitable as well, and if so, is there such a thing as an AGP to PCI converter?

[TheCreator]

why don't you try another tv? and a seperate pci card wouldn't work with a pci-e card, they cant be used simultaneously. and the agp card won't work with a pci-e motherboard.

[Kromsligo]

well this could be a simple case of a bad cable or converter visit your local tv hi-fi store and look for a proper good quality cable ( borow / steal from a friend if you dont want to spend money )

My pc has never exactly looked good on my Tv but sometimes messing around in your driver settings can give you some results.
It depends on what brand graphics card you have but the options are mostly the same just make sure you select the right settings for your Tv ( pal i for the uk and ireland and so on )

[kturcotte]

I've tried multiple S-Video cables, all do the same thing. The video card is an ATI Radeon X600 Pro with 256 MB RAM. PCI-E. I have the latest drivers installed, and have played around with the settings. My TV is an analog SDTV, which I know isn't ideal for computer work, but I would think it would be fine for the emulation, since that's what they were originally made for anyway. But I get basically a rolling screen, or sometimes the top of the screen is on the bottom, and the bottom is on the top (Flip flopped).
I don't imagine it would make much difference, but I don't know a whole lot about computers, so here are my specs:
Intel Pentium 4 3.6 Ghz with Hyper Threading
1GB DDR RAM
160 GB SATA Hard Drive
250 GB SATA Hard Drive
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro Sound Card

[Kromsligo]

have you tried anouther tv at all ?

[kturcotte]

Yes, I have tried multiple TVs (Lugging a desktop around is real fun lol). I also normally use a A/V selector, and bypassed that and connected directly to the TV. Still had the same problem. I've been told it's the PCI-E connector on the motherboard. Don't have the money to replace the motherboard (Expecially since when I do, I want to replace the CPU and RAM as well), so a cheap PCI based video card just for the emulation would be great!

[onewecallgod]

that doesn't make sense as there's no direct correlation between PCI-E and the fact that your tv out doesn't work. the only way i could see that being true is if your the video through your monitor was garbled as well. your x600 itself is probably broken.

[Zach]

And why in the hell would you have to replace the CPU and RAM if you replace your motherboard? All you have to do is swap it out for the same model board, or for another board that supports your current CPU and RAM..

Who are you talking to about this stuff besides us? Because they are filling your head with A-Class garbage.

If you have a problem with your TV-out, it is likely your video card, as has already been pointed out. If the problem was with your PCI-E port, the card probably wouldn't work at all, or it would at least give you the same problems on your monitor

[kturcotte]

No, I don't have to replace everything, but I do want to, so I was just kinda planning on doing it all at once. But I suppose I could just get another motherboard for right now. What would be a good recommendation?
I have an Intel Pentium 4 with Hyper Threading running at 3.6 Ghz (I really want a dual core AMD with 64 bit support). It also needs to support at least 3 GBs DDR RAM (DDR 2 would be even better). Obviously a PCI-E connector. At least 4 1.5 Gbs SATA ports (3.0 Gbs would be better). IDE connector. Should have at least 1 firewire port, and at least 4 USb 2.0 ports. No need for onboard audio or video. Integrated LAN. I do NOT know the socket. I'll have to email HP for that and get back.

And why in the hell would you have to replace the CPU and RAM if you replace your motherboard? All you have to do is swap it out for the same model board, or for another board that supports your current CPU and RAM..

Who are you talking to about this stuff besides us? Because they are filling your head with A-Class garbage.

If you have a problem with your TV-out, it is likely your video card, as has already been pointed out. If the problem was with your PCI-E port, the card probably wouldn't work at all, or it would at least give you the same problems on your monitor

[TheCreator]

I don't know why you'd want to replace a 3.6 ghz Pentium 4, and it probably has EM64T anyway, making it 64 bit, plus it has HT, which is like dual core, maybe not as good but still ace. Anyway, if you really want to get an AMD 64, then you'd want socket 939 or socket 940 which is just out, and just look for the other features on the motherboard specifications you need. Just browse around on computer shopping sites (i can't recommend any US ones as i'm British). Make sure you get an atx motherboard, not micro atx, as they usually only support up to 2GB.

You should just get a new graphics card, and more RAM if you need it. You should wait for the next generation of processors to come out, as you probably woudln't see much difference in performance anyway.

here is a socket 940 motherboard model: MSI K9N SLI Platinum AM2 Skt940.