Any computer gurus?

[TJVapes]

I'll vent even if anyone can't help! I have a Dell XPS 720 that is eating video cards like light snacks!! I have a warranty but I'm reluctant to have the Dell guy out to try and fix it again. The last time he ended up coming to the house 4 times. Replaced the mother board with an added fan, hard drive, video card of course, new I/O switch, and I don't know what else. He fixed it a couple of times but the video card is dead again!

Is it going belly up because my teenage daughter is a Sims 3 freak or because my 2 year old watches bowling on You Tube all the time or is it the Scooby Doo movies? I had to drag the browser back and forth to read and print a label I needed.. that was fun, but at least it will boot this time! Now I'm on my 1999 Dell Dimension work computer that obviously needs replaced all together! Need a cheap windows 7 32 bit. Anyway, any ideas on what else I can do that might help my XPS get over the munchies?

 

[RobertY]

Possibly the vid card is having heat problems. If the case is a tight fit and the vid card is being smothered it will over heat and go kaputz. If a lot of vids are being watched then that may be the culprit.

 

[TJVapes]

Would it be unreasonable to cut a hole out in the side and point a fan at it when videos and games are going.. or not effective enough? At the current rate I would be buying video cards every 2 months.

 

[RobertY]

I think it would be easier to just take the side off. There should be thumb screws or something.

Wait a minute. You have a 2 year old. DO NOT remove the side panel. A curious 2 year old can get burnt or even severely shocked to the point of death by poking inside an open PC case.

Since it is still under warranty can it be returned? I am not saying positive that heat is the culprit. But it is highly likely. But it could also be the power supply lead to the card is bad. Maybe spiking the voltage to it.

It is obvious something is wrong. Possibly you can ask them to give you a better vid card that has its very own fan. But that will not help much if the case is small and crowded and the vid card is sandwiched between other cards.

That is why when I have a PC built for me I make sure the case is airy and roomy with lots of slots so I can space my cards. LOL!

 

[TJVapes]

It's under warranty but still 2 years old... maybe even older actually. I'll have to check the inside out later but if I remember right it's not between other cards but in a small space. Maybe this time I'll replace all the power supplies and cords that I can replace too. This just started happening in March, so for about 2 years I've had flawless use out of it and hoping to get it back on track. Right now I can get video cards from Dell, but the warranty is up in February.

 

[VpnDrgn]

There are 4 basic things to check in this case. The video card, the mother board, the power supply, the software.
You have stated that card and mb have been replaced, what about the power supply? There may be a short in the
power supply and your video card is taking the brunt of it. Have you changed any settings for your graphics?
If you set some settings too high, it will still work but burn itself out trying to keep up. Change settings back to
default. A least likely problem is the case. It may be shorting out somewhere or not properly grounded.

 

[RobertY]

Oh and another thing to do if you have got the case open. Blow it out really good with canned air. Make sure that you keep the can in an upright position. A lot of dust can cause over heating which greatly shortens life of PC parts.

 

[Sedateme]

+1 to VpnDrgn's suggestions. If you have had multiple hardware replacements on the vid card, and the motherboard has been replaced, the likely culprit is the power supply.