Repair or Build?

[JimRaynor56]

Current System
Case: Thermaltake SopranoRS 101
Mobo: BIOSTAR TPower N750
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Black Edition
Memory: 4x Kingston HyperX DDR2-800 (4GB Total)
Video Card: BFGTech NVidia 9600GT
PSU: Rosewill 550W
HDD(s): 2x WD 7200RPM 250GB (SATAII)
1x WD 7200RPM 1TB (SATAII)
ODD(s): 1x LITE-ON DVD-RW/+RW (IDE)
1x LITE-ON DVD-ROM (IDE)
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
_______________

Current Problem: Video card is crapping out. Reliability Monitor shows Multiple Video Hardware Failures. Drivers are all fully updated.


The question is, should I fix it, or should I just build a new one? Or is there some really simple fix that I'm missing?


If I replace it this is what I'm looking at
Case: Antec Twelve Hundred
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R
CPU: Intel Core i7-920
Memory: 3x Kingston HyperX DDR3-2000 (6GB Total)
PSU: Silverstone 1200W
Video Card: SAPPHIRE ATI Radeon HD 5870
HDD(s): 2x WD 7200RPM 1TB (SATAIII)
ODD(s): 1x LG BD Burner (SATA)
1x LG DVD Burner (SATA)
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

 

[4GHZ_or_bust]

If you're going to replace, try this first. Get a new PSU and use that in your old PC. 9 out of 10 times old PSU are just slightly failing and may cause problem including random video problems.

Your old computer is a few years old but can still be of use as file server, media machine, folding rig, kid's gaming, etc.

 

[madhatter256]

Well it looks like it is your video card most likely. If it is still under warranty I would try and get a replacement and then go from there.

It all depends on your time and money.

If you're tight on money then I'd suggest replacing the card (via warranty or buying a new one), and also recommend a new PSU, too.

 

[Twigglish]

Before trying either of those, how old is the PSU?
Try taking out all the extras(extra disk and optical drives) and see if that seems to clear up some issues. If so, it's a PSU problem. If it doesn't, it doesn't mean it's not the PSU, just not underpowered.
Replacing the PSU and/or video card is obviously a lot cheaper than building a whole new rig. If you have a lot of money to burn and a good use for all that new power, go for it.
If you DO build new, and decide to scrap your old one, let me know

 

[madhatter256]

If you DO build new, and decide to scrap your old one, let me know

let us know lol.

 

[Younglin]

If your card isn't under warranty then how about trying the oven trick?