VGA output dead - what's my best option?

[Fafnr1984]

So, this is probably going to be a looong question, but I'd really appreciate the input of the Anandtech braintrust.

I have an ageing Core Duo laptop that I've been using as a media center. (It's a Dell 6400 with a T2400 CPU - not flashy, but good enough for me!)
Unfortunately, the VGA output suddenly stopped working. Suddenly my TV just said "no input" on the VGA port. (I know it's the VGA output that's the problem, because I've used another Laptop to test, and that throws output to the TV just fine - as a side note, if anyone knows how to fix the VGA output on an old Dell, they're very much invited to participate in this discussion )

Anyway, the question is - what to do now? The laptop itself is fine. It plays what I want fine - but it's pretty useless if I can't get it onto my TV.

One option is something like the WD TV Live - it's the equivalent of about 150$ where I live, so not exactly cheap... But not a bad solution, other than me now having yet another thing to plug in.

I've also been looking at external video cards, but they're pretty expensive - again, around 150$, and it somehow seems wrong to spend that much on a fairly knackered old laptop, and not even get HDMI in the process...

I've also considered taking cannibalizing it for parts, and building a desktop with what I have. (I have some spare parts around that means I basically just need a motherboard and a video card). But, I'm having a hard time finding Socket M motherboards in a reasonable price-range. (The one I found was around 220$! Insane.)

Lastly, I could try to sell the laptop for scrap and get a media-center in the form of an Atom + ION combo or something similar. This is pretty expensive, and I don't know if it plays nice with MKV files and similar which is a must...

There might be even more options I havn't thought of - and I'd welcome thoughts, ideas, musings and even the occasional limerick!

Thanks in advance!

 

[mpilchfamily]

Looks like you have a good handle on all your options. Now to decide which one works best for you.

one question, Do you do alot of plugging and unplugging of the VGA port? If so the connector may just be loose on the main board. In which case it could possibly be soldered back and everything is fine. There should be no reason why your able to get an image on the laptops monitor but not threw the VGA port.

 

[Fafnr1984]

It's possible the connector is loose - but it's sort of hard to say.
I did think this was possible, so I took the laptop apart to have a look. Unfortunately, it's soooo hard to see anything there. The connectors seem to come up from below the motherboard in the form of metal pins, that then bend in a 45 degree angle. Some hardware was also a bit in the way, making it hard to get a really good look. (Possibly the graphics-chip, actually)

I hadn't - to my knowledge - jiggled it, but what should I look for wrt. breakage in there? I have time, so I might as well open 'er up again.
Also, can the connector itself break?

Thanks a lot for your answer!

 

[mpilchfamily]

It could be as small as a crack in teh solder joint you may not see. Soething like this you can't tell till the solder joints have been reheated to get them to come together again. But if you have no experience with soldering then i wouldn't try it.

 

[Fafnr1984]

I havn't soldered for ages, but I have done it before. My main obstacle would be that I don't actually have a soldering iron, so it'll be a bit hard to manage without?

At the moment the computer is actually pretty useless to me. I doubt I can sell it, and if I can't get it back in working order wrt. the VGA connector, I'll basically have to either give it away or throw it out, so I think I'll give it a try, if I can manage to lay my hands on a soldering iron...

 

[RebateMonger]

That laptop has an SVideo output, too. Have you tried that?

 

[Fafnr1984]

No - I thought the video quality of SVideo was horrible, so I just immediately dismissed it... :/
I'll have to give it a try now you mention it, though!

 

[Fafnr1984]

I just tried SVideo and - it works! It's not very nice, though. Max resolution is 1024 x 768... On a 40" screen, that looks like... Well, not very nice.

Thanks a lot for the idea, though!!

 

[RebateMonger]

That SVideo port will also put out Component video (with the correct adapter) and S/PDIF digital audio. Component video was the standard for "hi-def" video for a long time and looks as good as digital on my 32-inch LCD TV.

 

[Fafnr1984]

Ah, the cable I have is just wrong, then. I had it in the AV3 port, not component (as the s-video exited as an AV cable).

I'll have to try the adapter tomorrow - everything is closed ATM, and I don't have one on hand... Thanks for the tip though - I'll update ya once I get my grubby little hands on one

 

[Fafnr1984]

Having just borrowed a Composite cable from a mate, I'm still nok happy with the picture quality, unfortunately
I think this has to do with the laptop, though - the picture isn't just low-res, it also flickers on and off with no provocation.

I think I'll have to face the fact that it's just "dead"...

I've been looking for alternatives, though, and a friend suggested I look at AMD's Athlon II X2 processors, more specifically the x2 240e which is just 45w.
With what else I have on hand, I can build my mediacenter (with a mobo with HDMI output and a HD3200 ATI gfx processor on board) for the equivalent of about 250$.

This seems like the best option to me - and because of the low wattage, the X2's cooler should be fairly quiet?
I havn't been able to find anyone using this setup via a quick google-search though - does anyone here have any experiences with such a setup?

 

[gsaldivar]

Just a thought:

On Dell laptops, there is usually a keystroke (Fn + F8 for the 6400 I think) that toggles between one of three possible modes:
1. Laptop Display Only
2. Laptop + External Display
3. External Display Only

Is it possible that the screen died, and the laptop is stuck in mode #1 for some reason? Have you tried using this keystroke to redirect output to the VGA port? I know it seems like an obvious question, but it's certainly something easily overlooked, and should be checked if you haven't done so already.

Good luck!

 

[Fafnr1984]

Hey gsaldivar,

I just tried the fn + f8 thing (it is indeed the "switch mode" hotkey for the 6400!), but unfortunately, it did no more or less than changing the display-settings like the Windows or Intel way, unfortunately

Thanks a lot for the suggestion, though - I honestly hadn't even considered it before you mentioned it...!

 

[RebateMonger]

Having just borrowed a Composite cable from a mate, I'm still nok happy with the picture quality, unfortunately

Do you mean "Composite" or "Component"? They are vastly different. Component video uses three cables, one for each of the primary colors. The video quality is quite good. Composite video, done with a single cable, sucks.

 

[Fafnr1984]

Sorry - I meant component. I think because I've cobbled together the solution from a couple of cables, it just isn't that good... I couldn't find a dedicated S-Video -> component cable :/

 

[gsaldivar]

That SVideo port will also put out Component video (with the correct adapter) and S/PDIF digital audio. Component video was the standard for "hi-def" video for a long time and looks as good as digital on my 32-inch LCD TV.

Awesome!!! I wasn't even aware that a S-Video to Component conversion was possible! I guess you really do learn something new every day

OP: You will definitely want to give option a try. I checked Ebay and there are S-Video to Component (not Composite!) cables listed for less than $5.00 with free shipping. If this works, it should give you near-VGA quality on the last remaining video output port that you confirmed is working on that laptop.

Good luck!!

 

[GaryJohnson]

I've also been looking at external video cards, but they're pretty expensive - again, around 150$, and it somehow seems wrong to spend that much on a fairly knackered old laptop, and not even get HDMI in the process...

One of these doohickeys can do USB to VGA for $50:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815158162

What's the resolution on that TV? Is it 1080?

 

[Fafnr1984]

Thanks for the tip, Gary - unfortunately I don't reside in the US, and that item isn't available where I live.
Having it shipped from the states would be very costly as well -especially if customs get their grubby little hands on it, and they've been focussing on that lately.
And anything that does the same thing costs at least the equivalent of 100$ :/