Trying to use an ATI 9200 card in a Dell 3100

900 Pound Gorilla · 25-12-2009, 12:30 AM

Hello all, Merry Christmas.
First off, the problem--when the new card is installed, all I get is a blank screen.
I'm trying to install a Diablotek Ati Radeon 9200 Graphics card in a Dimension Dell 3100. I was also coerced into getting a Diablotek 400 watt power supply which I installed in the Dell as well. This was because I was told I was undervolting the Graphics card, (not giving it enough power to be seen).
The card is Pci and it fits in the slot fine, I've tried multiple cards in there so It's not the card. I've also worked with Diablotek's tech support and tried to disable the onboard card, ( in Bios all you can choose is between Auto and Onboard, so Auto is chosen). Also, we've tried disabling the onboard card in Device Manager so the new card would be seen, but that didn't work either.
I've got the Catalyst Driver package downloaded, so the ATi Radeon card will have the proper drivers when it is finally seen. Any words of Dell wisdom out there? THANK YOU!!!!!!

Paul · 27-12-2009, 05:03 PM

Sounds to me like a faulty pci slot, or maybe the power supply is not compatible with the motherboard.

I am pretty sure that the power supply connections on the Dell motherboard are non standard.

I replaced the motherboard in a Dimension 3100 so I could use a decent AGP graphics card, and due to the non standard power supply connections I had to replace the power supply too.

900 Pound Gorilla · 29-12-2009, 07:08 PM

Paul, I've used 3 different identical model cards in 4 different pci slots on 2 different 3100's. The problem existed before the Power supply was replaced and also exists on the computer with the original Power supply. The Dimension Dell's just don't seem to see the cards even though Auto is chosen in Bios and the Intel chip is disabled in Device Manager.
Thanks for your help, this is truly a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.

spannerzone · 03-01-2010, 08:35 PM

I'm sure I read that the 9200 has some incompatibility issues... can't remember what exactly but when I was looking to get a cheapy card for a friend of mine who has a Dell 3100, I remember seeing comments about avoiding this card type. Sorry I can't remember what or why but a google may find the answer.
What I can say is that I got a cheap nVidia 5200 PCI card and it worked fine with the stanard powersupply.

I don't think the powersupply is the issue with the 9200 as it's a low power card, like the 5200.

25-12-2009, 12:30 AM	#1
900 Pound Gorilla Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Trying to use an ATI 9200 card in a Dell 3100 Hello all, Merry Christmas. First off, the problem--when the new card is installed, all I get is a blank screen. I'm trying to install a Diablotek Ati Radeon 9200 Graphics card in a Dimension Dell 3100. I was also coerced into getting a Diablotek 400 watt power supply which I installed in the Dell as well. This was because I was told I was undervolting the Graphics card, (not giving it enough power to be seen). The card is Pci and it fits in the slot fine, I've tried multiple cards in there so It's not the card. I've also worked with Diablotek's tech support and tried to disable the onboard card, ( in Bios all you can choose is between Auto and Onboard, so Auto is chosen). Also, we've tried disabling the onboard card in Device Manager so the new card would be seen, but that didn't work either. I've got the Catalyst Driver package downloaded, so the ATi Radeon card will have the proper drivers when it is finally seen. Any words of Dell wisdom out there? THANK YOU!!!!!!

29-12-2009, 07:08 PM	#3
900 Pound Gorilla Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Paul , thanks-here's some more info. Paul, I've used 3 different identical model cards in 4 different pci slots on 2 different 3100's. The problem existed before the Power supply was replaced and also exists on the computer with the original Power supply. The Dimension Dell's just don't seem to see the cards even though Auto is chosen in Bios and the Intel chip is disabled in Device Manager. Thanks for your help, this is truly a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.

03-01-2010, 08:35 PM	#4
spannerzone Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 28 Thanks: 1 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	I'm sure I read that the 9200 has some incompatibility issues... can't remember what exactly but when I was looking to get a cheapy card for a friend of mine who has a Dell 3100, I remember seeing comments about avoiding this card type. Sorry I can't remember what or why but a google may find the answer. What I can say is that I got a cheap nVidia 5200 PCI card and it worked fine with the stanard powersupply. I don't think the powersupply is the issue with the 9200 as it's a low power card, like the 5200. Last edited by spannerzone; 03-01-2010 at 08:38 PM.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

27-12-2009, 05:03 PM	#2
Paul Administrator Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 356 Thanks: 1 Thanked 26 Times in 23 Posts	Sounds to me like a faulty pci slot, or maybe the power supply is not compatible with the motherboard. I am pretty sure that the power supply connections on the Dell motherboard are non standard. I replaced the motherboard in a Dimension 3100 so I could use a decent AGP graphics card, and due to the non standard power supply connections I had to replace the power supply too.