Video card might be dead. please help me buy a new one or help me fix the old one.

delphinus

Im not as tech savvy as I used to be, but i had an EVGA8800gt that i think just died. every time i try to connect the PCI-E power cord to it, the computer doesnt turn on. But it turns on without it while its plugged into the motherboard, while making that horrible high pitched sound to tell me that it doesnt have enough power.

took it to a repair shop and they told me its probably dead and I have to buy a new one. I dont want to second guess the guy, but i did do the inspection about 10mins after the shop was supposed to be closed.
Im thinking theres a chance he might be wrong.

But in case he is right, can someone recommend a video card equal or greater in strength that doesn't rape wallets? Im checking all around and stores are only selling the EVEGA 8800GTX or the ultra.
im having trouble finding the original 8800GT that i have.

I have an ASUS p5k
500W PSU
Dual Core p4
4x 1gig OCZ

thanks

PS. Please recommend something that isnt going to require addition purchases to my setup.
Thanks in advance

Enos316

Odd problem. Have you tried a different PCI-E power cord off your PSU? Even if the video card was dead, I would think the PC would still turn on (at least a POST beep), just not have any video. The fact it doesn't turn on almost sounds like something is grounded maybe?

If you are looking for a new one I actually recently upgraded my 8800 to a 9800gtx and I am very happy with it. I got the MSI model, but they are around $150. Granted I haven't looked in a few months and there may be some new awesome shit out there, so YMMV. It worked fine with all my existing hardware. The only addition was it needed 2 PCI-E power connections.

Newegg Link to a 9800gtx

delphinus

who new posting from a wii could be so hard with jittery coffee hands?

yeah ive tried both PCI-E cables and a video card that worked in the repair shop. im pretty sure its the EVGA thats busted. weird thing is that ive opened it up and no capacitors or anything seemed out of place. so im slowly coming to terms with it being plain broken.

i was looking into the 9800, im gonna be doing a lot of 3d rendering soon and i need to know that its gonna be a step down. on the plus side, 150 sounds like a reasonable price for video card.
so ill be putting 9800gtx on the maybe llist. is there a way to gauge performances (im not the overclocking type, if the 9800 turns out to be a step behind the 8800gt)

Enos316

Toms Hardware is a great place to start when looking at new cards. Here is a link to their performance recap on the 9800gtx compared to similar cards:

Toms Review

I mainly just play games, so if you need something for rendering it might be something else. But look around the site and check out some benchmarks.

vonPoonBurGer

Enos316 wrote: »

Toms Hardware is a great place to start when looking at new cards.

Make sure to check out their monthly "best video cards for the money" articles. Here's the one for March. They break down various best cards at various price points. You decide how much you're willing to spend, and they tell you which card is best for that amount of money. It's always a good idea to look at it from that angle, because with price cuts it's sometimes worth buying a higher-end card from one generation back.

delphinus

solved.
thanks to enos and vonpoon
picked up a GTS 250 (basically a rebranded 9800+)

thanks to all!