Sigh... What to do now?

[orange12]

Hey everyone! I could use some advice (and maybe some consoling). So last night, in the middle of fighting those damn Jerries (playing Company of Heroes), my screen suddenly goes dark and my monitor goes into power save mode as if it was unplugged from my computer. Uh...oh. Naturally, I checked all the cable connections and upon rebooting the system, my mobo gives me the voice warning "system failed VGA test". Each reboot after that, with the 6800GT plugged in, gave the same warning and my monitor doesn't turn on. Long story short, (and saving me the anguish of having to recount the terrible hour that ensued) I'm pretty sure my GeForce 6800GT is dead. I have an old GeForce 2 substituting in right now and it barely drives my 21" widescreen so I need to either fix the 6800GT or buy something new. My question is two fold: 1) has anyone had a similar problem or maybe can suggest some way to check whether my card is truly dead (I have no other computer to test it on) and 2) what is the best buy for me now?

My system:
Asus K8V SE Deluxe
Athlon 64 3400+
1 gig DDR-SDRAM
Dell 2001 FPW

As a note, I only have AGP, no PCI-e, so i guess top of the line is not an option. ANY advice would be great. Thanks alot everyone.

 

[ebeattie]

Whose the manufacturer?

 

[Captante]

About the only way to be certain your GT is dead is to try it in another PC, but since you have another AGP card working in the same PC it was installed in I'd say its a very good bet that it is.... you can take it to a local computer store & have them test it for you or try it in a friends PC if you want to be 100% sure.

If you end up needing to replace it, I'd start by looking through the FS/FT section & see if you can find a decent used 6800GT to replace yours for roughly $125 ... a used X800/850XT would also work very well & should be slightly faster too. If you want to get a new card I'd say either a 6800GS, X850XT or a 7600GT would be the best bet.

Edit: ebeattie has a good point & its possible you are still under warranty so thats the first thing to check!

 

[akshayt]

1950pro

 

[Vinnybcfc]

Originally posted by: akshayt
1950pro

One problem with that.................

It's not AGP

 

[imported_Crusader]

This is why I only recommend buying Evga or BFG products. Both lifetime warranty with great service.

It would cost you a $5 RMA fee to replace this card through Evga and nothing through BFG.

 

[John]

Originally posted by: Crusader
This is why I only recommend buying Evga or BFG products. Both lifetime warranty with great service.

XFX trumps them all with a double lifetime warranty

 

[buzzsaw13]

RMA if possible, no use wasting money when you can get a replacement for shipping costs.

 

[Nightmare225]

Originally posted by: John

Originally posted by: Crusader
This is why I only recommend buying Evga or BFG products. Both lifetime warranty with great service.

XFX trumps them all with a double lifetime warranty

Well, if the link worked I could make assumptions, seeming as it doesn't, I still think EVGA has the best support through facts and experience.

 

[m21s]

Originally posted by: akshayt
1950pro

:disgust:

 

[imported_Crusader]

Originally posted by: John

Originally posted by: Crusader
This is why I only recommend buying Evga or BFG products. Both lifetime warranty with great service.

XFX trumps them all with a double lifetime warranty

I dont consider XFX myself because I've heard their service is not anything like BFG/Evgas.. which is superb in my experience.

2 RMAs to Evga, 1 StepUp to Evga
1 RMA to BFG

No hassles, no problems.. hardly any waiting.

WELL worth the extra $50 or whatever I paid over the other brands.

Refuse to buy anything else but Evga/BFG. And if they both went to making ATI boards.. I'd continue to buy Evga/BFG because their warranty means THAT much to me.

Evga/BFG is the ownage and IMO you'd be a fool to buy anything else. Saved me hundreds, and I've definitely came out on top.

 

[buzzsaw13]

XFX's RMA process is horrid. A friend of mine had to RMA something and it took them 3 weeks after receiving the card to ship it out.

EVGA is great as long as the card isnt registered, and BFG is fine if you're okay with waiting 5 billion years on the phone for them.

 

[secretanchitman]

leadtek 7600GT agp from newegg?

or even a 7800GS would be nice...

 

[imported_Crusader]

Originally posted by: buzzsaw13
XFX's RMA process is horrid. A friend of mine had to RMA something and it took them 3 weeks after receiving the card to ship it out.

You just confirmed all the other rumors I've heard about XFX.
Will no longer be recommending them. Thanks.

EVGA is great as long as the card isnt registered, and BFG is fine if you're okay with waiting 5 billion years on the phone for them.

On the EVGA, if its registered to you.. there should be no problems?

BFG doesnt seem to care who owns it and if its traded hands, they just cover the card.. which is why I go BFG 1st (I buy way to early on product cycles for StepUp to mean much..)

With BFG, I never got on the phone. I think my RMA was done totally online?
It was free to RMA to BFG, Evga charged me $5.

Either way, both of those companies are worth buying from, even if you want an ATI card.. they are that good. If you arent in the USA its a different story, but for an American to buy a product from anyone but Evga/BFG defies my logic (unless you are buying 2nd hand).

 

[TheRyuu]

Originally posted by: m21s

Originally posted by: akshayt
1950pro

:disgust:

lol, read OP???

You might be able to find a cheap X850 somewere.

Or a 6800GS (and maby unlock it), and the mother of them all is the 7800GS but I just don't think it's worth the money for AGP.