I bought my computer a year ago, but there is something wrong with the video card or the motherboard. Will replacing the motherboard or video card be worth it? Are there companies that will give me a fair price regardless?
Answer:
Anonymous, Considering that you can buy a year old computer on dell outlet for 200 bucks in great working condition, the answer is – what most people consider a fair price for a used computer is well beyond market value. You can get a brand new e-machines computer for 350 that will be faster than last years $500 machine. The components are all cheap, but hey, if it works, it will probably keep working for quite awhile. The answer depends on two things: how handy are you at doing your own work? and how much did you pay for it to begin with? You can get a decent video card for 50 bucks. You can get a really good one for 200. You can get a decent motherboard for 200 bucks or a cheap one for just over 100. Also, if you don’t know if it’s your motherboard or your video card, then how do you even know it’s not a software issue w/ a video driver? If it were me and I were you, I’d get a decent video card on ebay. You could probably find one for 20 bucks. I’d swap it out. Then – I’d do a clean install of windows and see what happens. If it won’t even let you get that far, maybe it’s the motherboard. Those are a lot harder to swap out but if you give yourself plenty of room on a big table, and keep careful track of the parts, it’s not too terrible. Just be careful and don’t force or break anything and stay grounded. The reason I would do it this way is that motherboards don’t go bad that often. I’ve had one go out in 25 years of having computers. I know of 2 other friends that have had one go bad out of all the people I know for that same length of time. You’ll find out if this is it for fairly cheap. IF it is the motherboard, and if you got the card on ebay for 20, you can probably get rid of it for 20 as well. So – you are only out the postage and the hassle. -Kevin
