DIY
The video blew on my son’s computer. He asked if he should replace the computer. After we discussed it and he weighed a new computer against a $30 video card and free labor, the choice was simple.
Best price I found on a new AGP card is at Buy.com. They have a 128mb gfx5200 for $29.00 including shipping.
http://www.buy.com/prod/evga-geforce-fx5200-128mb-agp-8x-video-card/q/loc/101/202902698.html
.buy.com/prod/evga-geforce-fx5200-128mb-agp-8x-video-card/q/loc/101/202902698.html
I looked around on eBay and other places for a cheap AGP but this was the winner. I am gradually replacing my son’s computer piece by piece. His use is modest, he doesn’t need to buy some mammoth Vista machine and what he has is substantially better than the $399.00 discount house machines. Too many people get wrapped up in the “must have the newest, fastest, slickest machine” trap. When selling computers I often lost a sale because I tried talking someone out of buying new just for the sake of being new. Look around; there are a lot of folks tightening their belts because of the economy, mortgages, high gas prices etc. There is no shame in saving a buck. Replacing a video card is not difficult. Make sure you are grounded and static free when working on the computer. While you are in there, vacuum the dust bunnies out. Dirt on the motherboard and components acts like a good insulator. You insulate when you want to trap your heat but in a computer that is the most frequent cause of component failure, too much heat. Read the instructions, yeah, I said, “READ THE INSTRUCTIONS,” on the video card and load the drivers. You will probably need to get on line and download the most recent driver but again, not too difficult. So save some space in the land fill and keep using the computer you have, you can do it.
The video blew on my son’s computer. He asked if he should replace the computer. After we discussed it and he weighed a new computer against a $30 video card and free labor, the choice was simple.
Best price I found on a new AGP card is at Buy.com. They have a 128mb gfx5200 for $29.00 including shipping.
http://www.buy.com/prod/evga-geforce-fx5200-128mb-agp-8x-video-card/q/loc/101/202902698.html
.buy.com/prod/evga-geforce-fx5200-128mb-agp-8x-video-card/q/loc/101/202902698.htmlI looked around on eBay and other places for a cheap AGP but this was the winner. I am gradually replacing my son’s computer piece by piece. His use is modest, he doesn’t need to buy some mammoth Vista machine and what he has is substantially better than the $399.00 discount house machines. Too many people get wrapped up in the “must have the newest, fastest, slickest machine” trap. When selling computers I often lost a sale because I tried talking someone out of buying new just for the sake of being new. Look around; there are a lot of folks tightening their belts because of the economy, mortgages, high gas prices etc. There is no shame in saving a buck. Replacing a video card is not difficult. Make sure you are grounded and static free when working on the computer. While you are in there, vacuum the dust bunnies out. Dirt on the motherboard and components acts like a good insulator. You insulate when you want to trap your heat but in a computer that is the most frequent cause of component failure, too much heat. Read the instructions, yeah, I said, “READ THE INSTRUCTIONS,” on the video card and load the drivers. You will probably need to get on line and download the most recent driver but again, not too difficult. So save some space in the land fill and keep using the computer you have, you can do it.
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