Identifying a video card

[strep3241]

I have a spare video card and I am trying to find out what kind of card it is. It does not say ATI or Nvidia anywhere on it. I am assuming it is an ATI card since it is red. There are several numbers on this card. On the top side, it says 8885 ver 200. On the backside, there are two barcode labels one with the number MS-88850211187173 and the other is 2b00134480. Printed on the card itself is N1996. There is also a green sticker that says N8885, MS200. It only has one 15 pin vga connection and an tv-out connector. It does not have a fan on it. Is this enough info to identify this card? I can post a pic if needed.

 

[VirtualLarry]

pic needed

 

[strep3241]

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Take off the heatsink and literally read what is printed on the GPU itself. And make sure you let us know what it is after.

 

[strep3241]

Does thermal paste need to be reapplied just like a CPU? If so, would CPU thermal paste be fine?

 

[Athadeus]

yes, yes. I would think that the device manager basic info would give some hint as to which company it belongs to without having the driver installed.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Yes reapply the thermal paste and you can use the same stuff you use for a CPU.

 

[strep3241]

yes, yes. I would think that the device manager basic info would give some hint as to which company it belongs to without having the driver installed.

That is not always true. I did not try installing this card but I have another card that was not labeled anywhere besides the GPU itself and device manager did not give any clue as to what kind of card it was. All it said was standard vga graphics adapter.

So I took the heatsink off, which was stuck on there pretty good, and it looks like it is a Nvidia G Force4 MX 440. Why do they make some Nvidia cards red and some ATI cards green? I have an ATI 9250 that is green. I don't know about you guys but when I see a red card, I automatically think ATI and Nvidia for a green card.

What is the best way to clean off the old paste? Should I just use rubbing alcohol and just use reapply with cpu paste?

 

[Athadeus]

91% preferably, and really the specially formulated stuff some companies sell for cleaning it really would be best though I don't know anybody who has ever had that stuff. I just use tough paper tower with it, as there is no way I would use my nice cleaning cloths and get them goopy with that stuff.

 

[Raswan]

I've also heard coffee filters work well, and I've used a q-tip (I know, I know) any number of times without problems.

 

[Schmide]

My google powers say it's a HP radeon x300se

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&biw=1920&bih=987&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=hp+radeon+x300se&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

 

[strep3241]

My google powers say it's a HP radeon x300se

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&biw=1920&bih=987&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=hp+radeon+x300se&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

It can not be that card because the card I have does not have a dvi port, just the standard 15 pin vga port. Also that card is PCI-e while my card is PCI.

BTW, how does that heatsink help keep the card cool since it does not have a fan?

EDIT: How do I tell how much memory it has?

 

[WelshBloke]

Take off the heatsink and literally read what is printed on the GPU itself. And make sure you let us know what it is after.

I'm going with this as well.

That cards pretty old so it would do it some good to get the paste changed anyway.

Edit: GPUZ give you any information?

 

[VirtualLarry]

That is not always true. I did not try installing this card but I have another card that was not labeled anywhere besides the GPU itself and device manager did not give any clue as to what kind of card it was. All it said was standard vga graphics adapter.

No, you don't just look at what Device Manager calls it, you look under advanced properties, under hardware ids. Once you get the VEN and SUBVEN codes, you can search that string with google, and it usually comes up with drivers. At least the VEN code will give you the mfg of the card.

I'm guessing it's some sort of Radeon 9200 PCI card myself, but it could be newer.

 

[WelshBloke]

No, you don't just look at what Device Manager calls it, you look under advanced properties, under hardware ids. Once you get the VEN and SUBVEN codes, you can search that string with google, and it usually comes up with drivers. At least the VEN code will give you the mfg of the card.

I'm guessing it's some sort of Radeon 9200 PCI card myself, but it could be newer.

Vga and TV out, I'm going older. :sneaky:

Edit: you could be right, half hight card and all. It looks a funky size to me.

 

[Arkaign]

That's a PCI FX5200 Nvidia card.

 

[strep3241]

According to the GPU chip, it is a Nvidia Gforce 4 MX 440.

 

[Arkaign]

According to the GPU chip, it is a Nvidia Gforce 4 MX 440.

Ah damn. Close.

It looked exactly like a crappy FX5200 I had. The 5200 on the bios chip looked the same.

A similar one :

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q.../factory/Ondata/0605/pic/508_onda_pci-e_2.jpg

 

[strep3241]

I am trying to get the old paste off and that stuff is tough. I tried taking it off with 91% alcohol and it does nothing to it. Should I try letting it soak in alcohol?

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Yeah soak it, do multiple passes, use a coffee filter as a scrubber resort to acetone...

 

[Zap]

I don't think the GPU will get hot enough to matter. Just slap some new thermal paste over the old stuff and call it a day.

 

[postaled]

I had to use goof off to clean some old thermalpaste off once... worked like a charm but I was very very careful with it.

 

[strep3241]

Well, I may have just damaged the heatsink. In all honesty I am not to worried about it. I tried soaking the heatsink in alcohol overnight and did not do anything to the paste. So I tried some concentrated cleaner we have, let it soak and 30 minutes later, it literally took the finish off but did nothing to the paste. It is now a silver color. Did I just ruin the effectiveness of the heatsink? I may just put it back on the way it is and see what happens. If it hurts the card, it hurts the card. Like I said I am not to worried about it since I wasn't even using it anyways.

I know now not to use that cleaner anymore on anything important.

 

[betasub]

^ LOL, you've simply removed the oxide layer (or tarnish) from the metal's surface. At least it is now clean and ready to perform as new

 

[Athadeus]

I wonder if that is a ceramique based TIM or something, because I've been able to clean TIM off many heatsinks fine with rubbing alcohol and a little wiping pressure. I still think you should clean it well and reapply before putting the heatsink back on.

I used a GeForce MX 440 in a Dell Dimension from ~98-03 before I built my first computer It was probably the fourth video card I ever bought.

This is one of the products I mentioned earlier that should do the job very well if you cared enough.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ic%20clean