Another local source to possibly consider for parts or complete in-house-built systems is JL Computer Services (http://www.jlcomputerservices.com/), formerly The Computer Place, in Gaithersburg. --Daniel
On Mon, Jun 12, 2017 at 10:18 AM, Emery Rudolph <erudo...@umd.edu> wrote: > Good morning Howard, > > My assumption is that you are not doing any intensive computing on this > machine given its age. Modern video card connections are some flavor of > HDMI, DVI, Display port. Not many cards still provide standard VGA, as that > has been deprecated for some time now. Modern display cards also use PCIe > buses, so depending on how old your motherboard is, this may not be an > option. You may find budget graphics cards that provide good performance for > watching videos or streaming media and only require the computers bus, but > many graphics cards need more power than is supplied by the bus and thus > require dedicated power using a special connector that in most cases comes > directly from the power supply. > > I can tell you that most modern cards are full graphics cards with discreet > processors driving much higher response and resolution. I used to build all > of my computers years ago, but finally settled on Sun Microsystem Ultra > 40-M2's in 2007. Luckily it was modern enough to allow me to upgrade > components. Over time I upgraded the video card to a fast NVidia GeForce > with 700 cuda processors and moved from mechanical to solid state hard > drives. This sped things up quite a bit, but I could still sense a lag > simply because the system itself was too old to provide the throughput for > modern day performance. So, earlier this year I bought all new case, > motherboard, processor (Intel Kaby Lake), etc .... and a new ultra-wide > monitor. The difference in clarity is tremendous. Modern Linux kernels > generally recognize all modern components (except printers) without the need > to install additional drivers. I currently use Linux Mint, but have used > other flavors dating back to the first releases of Slackware on floppy disk. > > I am one of those people who does not believe in upgrading things just to do > so. 10 years was enough time to notice enough of a difference to make the > leap worthwhile. The good news is that you do not have to build your own > system. I would stay away from Best Buy and other chain retailers and take a > trip (assuming you are in this area) to Microcenter in Rockville. This is a > great place to browse around and you will find their staff truly > knowledgeable in computer parts and assembly. Before you make any purchase, > I highly encourage you to make one visit. They have low cost complete > systems if you want turnkey or all the parts you need to assemble one, if so > inclined. BTW - I do not work for them or have stock in the company! > > Hope this helps. :-) > > > > > ---------------- > Very Best Regards, > > Emery Rudolph > Director, PDAA > Division of Information Technology > University of Maryland > (301) 405-9379 > > > > On Mon, Jun 12, 2017 at 8:58 AM, Judah Milgram <milg...@cgpp.com> wrote: >> >> 1) the flat panel monitors I've had so far plug into the video card just >> like a tube monitor. Nowadays they also have other, more modern options that >> your video card may or may not support but I think VGA is almost always >> available. Not sure if there's such a thing as a USB video connection. >> >> 2,3) pass >> >> 4) most flat panel monitors can be removed from their desktop stands and >> mounted on various articulated stands that attach to desk or wall. The >> mounting screw pattern seems somewhat standardized. Pretty nice to be able >> to swing them out of the way now and then. >> >> >> >> On 06/11/2017 07:49 PM, Howard Sanner wrote: >>> >>> Once again I'm going to presume upon your collective good nature. >>> >>> My home computer has an intermittent video problem. The monitor is a NEC >>> Multisync FE700+ connected to some kind of video card. The symptoms are >>> that sometimes when the video is restored after the screensaver has >>> kicked in the image is very bright and lacks contrast. Focus also seems >>> to be affected. For a while, powering down the monitor for half an hour >>> or so would take care of the problem. The last few days I've had to >>> power down the whole computer and even then sometimes the problem >>> persisted. >>> >>> So it's clearly time to get a new video setup, even if I don't like the >>> flat screen monitors. I've had this stuff since ca. 2000 and it doesn't >>> owe me a thing. >>> >>> Questions: >>> >>> 1. How do currently made monitors plug into the CPU? Is it by USB >>> connector? (I'm assuming I really don't need a video card, but maybe I >>> do.) >>> >>> 2. What's going to be involved in getting a two-odd year old version of >>> SuSE Linux to recognize the new video configuration and work properly >>> with it? >>> >>> 3. Any suggestions for specific hardware? >>> >>> 4. What else do I need to know but am not smart enough to ask? >>> >>> Thanks for your help. >>> >>> Howard Sanner >>> apxl...@terrier.ampexguy.com >>> >> >> >> -- >> Judah Milgram >> milg...@cgpp.com >> 301-257-7069 > >
