5 beeps on startup and no display

[phillpower2]

Any update Nic?

[Nic]

Any update Nic?

Not yet. My PC is still at the shop. Was hoping to hear today. I’ll call em up tomorrow.

[Nic]

The guy at the repair shop thinks it’s most likely a faulty video card. He said he would test it out with a spare today to be sure. Still no definitive answers, it’s taking pretty long…

[Rustys]

Thank you for letting us know and let us know what you find out.

[Nic]

Ok so update… The issue seemed indeed to be down to a defect video card. They returned my pc with the video card removed and it works again now (hallelujah!).

However I will need to buy a new card now. I may as well ask you guys for suggestions on which one to buy. My old one was a Nvidia GTX but I don’t know the specific model. I don’t think it needs to be particularly high end but it should at least be able to handle photoshop (my work depends on this software) very well and I need another hdmi/dvi outlet for my wacom cintiq anyway.

Please let me know your thoughts!

[phillpower2]

To be able to suggest an appropriate video card we will need some additional info;

The exact model of Dell XPS, we need to check the specs of the CPU, RAM and the size of the case, some GPUs are quite long and most take up two slots on the MB.

The PSU that is in the computer, if it has never been upgraded we can find this info using the model of XPS info.

Your maximum budget.

[Nic]

To be able to suggest an appropriate video card we will need some additional info;

The exact model of Dell XPS, we need to check the specs of the CPU, RAM and the size of the case, some GPUs are quite long and most take up two slots on the MB.

The PSU that is in the computer, if it has never been upgraded we can find this info using the model of XPS info.

Your maximum budget.

The model I have is a 8700. I don’t think I’ve ever upgraded the PSU. Not sure on budget as I’m unfamiliar with how price ranges go for graphics cards. Maybe around $100??? I won’t need to play games on this computer so it doesn’t have to be extremely high end. Just whatever is recommended for photoshop I guess…

[phillpower2]

Specs required for Photoshop here

Least expensive appropriate GPU I could find is here disregard the fact that it says gaming card as it is a sales ploy, we are only interested in it having 3GB of VRAM and the fact that it will not need a PSU upgrade as it will be fine with the stock one, it is a dual slot card which if you have no other add on cards does not matter.

[Nic]

Thanks for the suggestion, Phil. You are sure this one will fit correctly inside the case?

[phillpower2]

You need to confirm this for yourself Nic because as mentioned in my reply #23 you may have something in the first PCI-E X1 slot that may need to be moved to the second PCI-E X1 slot, the suggested card will 100% fit in your system though, you can check the measurements at the links below + use the attached video for how to fit any new GPU, not all steps at the video will be required as there is no additional power dongle required etc but do note the dimensions of the GPU that is being fitted, the suggested GTX 1050 is minuscule compared to the GTX 970 in the video.

Original GPU specs

Suggested GPU specs

Card in the video specs

Video of upgrading a Dell XPS 8700

[phillpower2]

Any update Nic?

[Nic]

Any update Nic?

Yeah, no sorry. Been very busy and still will be for a few weeks. I’ve yet to buy a GPU but I will probably order the one you suggested. Feel free to close this thread down or whatever if you want. Thank you very much for your help and suggestions. Really appreciate it! Hopefully the information here can be useful for other people asking for help in the future.

[phillpower2]

No problem and thanks for getting back to us Nic (y)

Should you need the thread reopening send one of us a PM and we will duly oblige.

You are welcome btw and you are spot on, updating and/or concluding a thread is valuable information in one way or another.