Can't Get Dedicated Graphics Card To Work on G23

[Matt411]

.he cable in there now is VGA to VGA with that DVI adapter which gives the weird screen and MLD doesn't get recognized. I'm like 99.9% sure it's not a monitor or video card issue: MLD + everything showed normal when plugged into motherboard. I've also tried several of the e4690 cards. I want this card because lots of games lagged running from motherboard graphics, even non-mld ones, even with 4gb ram and SSD in 625 brainbox.

I even tried this cable from amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X41K6NF?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

which RB said was wrong cable, that gave me the pixelation issue, but MLD games worked + everything else ran smooth + menu looked normal (except screen was extra dim + pixelation). this cable was plugged into graphics card. I've tried multiple graphics cards with same result.

The closest I ever got was the first straight vga to dvi-i cable I got from ebay, but the screen was yellow with that cable - when loaded tho, games showed MLD + menu layout was fine.

[Yoeddy1]

So you’ve tried:

Multiple video cards
Another 625 CPU
Multiple cables

Kind of getting to the end of the line.  Backplane?  Another monitor?  Can you get a 660 CPU? 

Jason

[Matt411]

Ive really only tried one "correct" cable according to RB but that gave the yellowish screen, mld worked and menu layout normal tho, hope it was just a dud cable. Got 2 more on the way from ebay (24+5 dual link). The photo i posted above, guy sent vga to vga with adapter which I didn't want, ebay listing totally wrong. Millionaire has cable which he confirmed 100% works on his so will try if these next 2 dont work. I have a 660 cpu with card i already tried and had same results with either an adapter or that dvi-d (24+1) cable from Amazon.

I just spent 1k on this monitor kit so i dont have another mld, but ill never deal with ellary gaming again as tons of stuff to make this work was not included. I just cant see it being a monitor issue tho when it works fine in motherboard ports (games just lag). Different cables and adapters are yielding different results. Im convinced no 2 cables are alike, especially in this day where im really noticing quality control of just about anything has totally gone down hill.

[474lsa]

90 percent of the issues i have had with these cards and mld have been dirty connections between the cable and the card.  Even minute amounts of scuzz in the ports will cause poor connections and all manner of on screen issues.  My recommendation is to puchase some deoxit and after applying it to both the cable and the card, plug and unplug the connection several times to clean the contact surfaces.

[Matt411]

FINALLY SOME GREAT NEWS!! 

SOLUTION:

Got a Ugreen DVI I 24+5 Male to VGA HD 15Pin Male Adapter Dual Link Video Cable 1080P from Ebay. I'll post photo as this was just a 1 time auction. IT WORKED!!! First when I booted the machine I did notice the cable had the same issue at first of being very touchy, I would sometimes lose a color but was at least able to get it to full color. I got a weird error at first, not sure if it was the monitor going in and out of signal, but it eventually booted normally after clearing error. But I turned machine off, got some of that amazing Deoxit Liquid from Amazon, put some on the dvi end of the cable, then just went to town plugging in and unplugging the cable - at least a dozen times. I did notice after a while it seemed a little easier to seat in the graphics card port (weird cause the bottom cable that goes to my top monitor isn't touchy like this one) Once I got a good connection, I screwed it into the graphics card port for super secure connection, booted back up - menu normal, MLD games showed normal, everything worked FINALLY as it should!! And all games ran buttery smooth!

I do have another cable from ebay coming but am gonna keep it given the fact these cables seem touchy for some reason & always good to have a backup.


FINAL POINTERS & NOTES:

* THESE VGA TO DVI CABLES ARE NOT ALL THE SAME!!! Even the same type of cable; brand to brand can yield different results - keep buying & returning until you find a winner!!

* DVI I 24+5 DUAL LINK as seen in photo below worked for me!! ( the 2nd one did)

* AVOID ADAPTERS!!! I've had nothing but issues with them - some ppl claim they use them, I had no luck. Just get a straight vga to dvi cable - one less connection to break & diagnose, PLUS with adapters the cable sticks very far out of the brainbox + is hard to shut the bottom door unless you really bend the cable (which isn't good to do)

* Did I mention not all cables are the same?! The first correct cable from ebay yielded me a yellow screen (no matter how much cable jiggling, unplugging and plugging back in I did) - probably just a bad cable. I'm not sure how others claim to get away with non-dual link cables but mine caused pixelation issues and a dimmer mld screen. See RB's post a few pages back on the different types of DVI cables.

* DEOXIT DOES WONDERS! I used this on my audio jacks for brainbox and I no longer have to twist em back + forth to get audio from all speakers - this also seem to help with the connection to the E4690 graphics card! Put on the ends of the cable and plug and unplug a dozen times or more. Also make sure to screw in once you get a good connection.

* For whatever reason, some E4690 cards require the MLD to be plugged in up top DVI port - this was the case of mine - if plugged into bottom you might get after booting, the game goes to the top screen, just switch the cables around. No clue why it's different on some machines but if it works, who cares.

* Other non correct DVI cables the 24+1 cable - (the one that caused pixelation issue for me) also made Fortune Ingot slot weird - every other spin the screen would go black for a half second then come back (but my other mld games worked with the cable, just pixelated + dim screen) - This is another reason why the correct cable is important!! Fortune now plays smooth as butter, no glitches. (had major lag thru motherboard video even with a SSD + 4GB RAM).

* I DID have 1 bad graphics card (the one the company sold me with this MLD monitor kit) as I bought another brainbox from ebay for spare parts and was able to test it.

* The ATI 3650 card DOES NOT WORK in 3.0 brainboxes - which makes sense why it didn't work in mine and I thought I had 2 bad cards. Fan was spinning but no image outputting. So don't try this card if you have a 3.0 (AVP 625) brainbox.

* It SHOULD be plug & play. I did notice like the red screen I got would randomly come up sometimes after changing cable types, could be something software related but just turn jackpot key + let it boot - if it says "initalizing" and machine boots all the way, should be good to go, and future boots from power off should be normal.



OVERALL:

This graphics card update is completely worth it. ALL games run smooth now - I even had max 4gb ram and SSD before this graphics card and games and bonus rounds would either be choppy / lag, especially Stinkin Rich for some reason. And while a headache to finally get working, I taught myself so much just tinkering around with my new machine. And of course, big thanks to everyone on this forum once again!

I hope this can help someone else in the future! <3

[reactorpwr]

Good stuff! Grats for getting it going despite all the set backs. Like you, i am thankful for all the helpful users on these forums.

[KAD]

This thread may come in handy for me. My cable connection on my G23 brain box is real finicky. Cuts in and out if you wiggle it. Thanks,KAD

[millionaire2k]

Glad you got everything working as expected.  Issues can be VERY frustrating, but it's all worth it in the end.

[Tilt]

Congratulations    Glad you were finally able to get it working correctly!  It's been a long road for you.  Thanks for posting your summary too, it may help others in the future.