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I bought my Medion desktop PC about 9 months ago (basic spec info below). Since upgrading the modest Geforce4 MX420 graphics card it came supplied with, I've had nothing but trouble with the replacement cards.
First up was an Albatron GeForce4 Ti4280 (128MB). It lasted about 6 weeks before the boot-up screen began to scramble and strange specs of colour began appearing on the Windows XP desktop. When I ran 3DMark, there were lots of weird blue dots everywhere and the dragon sequence caused the PC to crash.
I took the Albatron back to the store and it was replaced with an "equivalent" ASUS GeForce4 Ti4200 (128MB). This card gave sterling service for nearly 6 months before the same problems re-occured with it. When I took the ASUS back to the store, it was suggested I had been very unlucky and the ASUS card would be sent to the manufacturer for repair. This could take 6 weeks. I blew the dust of the MX420 (again) and waited in eager anticipation of the ASUS's return. Almost 7 weeks later it eventually returned from repair (what they repaired is anyone's guess) and it seemed to be working perfectly again - until 2 weeks later. Once again, the tell tale breakup of the boot-up screen, flecks of colour on the XP desktop and bizarre blue dots appearing all over the place in Medal Of Honour.
I took the ASUS back to the store and demanded a replacement, I wasn't waiting another 6-7 weeks for a repair. The store agreed and now I have an "equivalent" Jetway GeForce FX 5600 (128MB) however, I suspect if this one packs in, the store will tell me to get lost next time I go back.
I'm very confused and worried about these failures. I'm not brave or knowledgeable enough to do anything to my PC that could provoke these occurances (i.e. overclocking, etc) and my PC has a fairly easy life. It's used primarily in the evenings and at weekends as a games machine and to process my digital photographs. I do play a lot of Battlefield 1942, Quake3 and Medal Of Honour - I like "full detail" thankyouverymuch and the PC casing can get quite hot - however there is plenty of ventilation around the PC and there are two empty slots below the graphics card. In any case, the store said both cards had suffered RAM chip failures and apparently they don't even get hot.
What's also strange is that the little MX420 card has exhibited none of the above problems either during it's initial pre-upgrade service or whenever it's recalled into action for one of it's knackered bigger brothers. I'M TEMPTED JUST TO LEAVE IT IN NEXT TIME!
The store has suggested that if the Jetway packs in, I should consider looking at the power supply in my PC as perhaps it isn't capable of handling the larger, more demanding graphics cards. I also leave my PC on all night as that's when my virus scanning software and Windows updates are scheduled to run.. I wondered if this wouldn't help matters? Do I sound like a desperate man clutching at straws? Good, because I am.
Does anyone have any experiences, suggestions, or words of comfort? I'll happily provide more information about my system if required - but bear in mind I'm not a dabbler, meddler or a tweaker. If it's too complicated, I won't understand so please be patient with me!
First up was an Albatron GeForce4 Ti4280 (128MB). It lasted about 6 weeks before the boot-up screen began to scramble and strange specs of colour began appearing on the Windows XP desktop. When I ran 3DMark, there were lots of weird blue dots everywhere and the dragon sequence caused the PC to crash.
I took the Albatron back to the store and it was replaced with an "equivalent" ASUS GeForce4 Ti4200 (128MB). This card gave sterling service for nearly 6 months before the same problems re-occured with it. When I took the ASUS back to the store, it was suggested I had been very unlucky and the ASUS card would be sent to the manufacturer for repair. This could take 6 weeks. I blew the dust of the MX420 (again) and waited in eager anticipation of the ASUS's return. Almost 7 weeks later it eventually returned from repair (what they repaired is anyone's guess) and it seemed to be working perfectly again - until 2 weeks later. Once again, the tell tale breakup of the boot-up screen, flecks of colour on the XP desktop and bizarre blue dots appearing all over the place in Medal Of Honour.
I took the ASUS back to the store and demanded a replacement, I wasn't waiting another 6-7 weeks for a repair. The store agreed and now I have an "equivalent" Jetway GeForce FX 5600 (128MB) however, I suspect if this one packs in, the store will tell me to get lost next time I go back.
I'm very confused and worried about these failures. I'm not brave or knowledgeable enough to do anything to my PC that could provoke these occurances (i.e. overclocking, etc) and my PC has a fairly easy life. It's used primarily in the evenings and at weekends as a games machine and to process my digital photographs. I do play a lot of Battlefield 1942, Quake3 and Medal Of Honour - I like "full detail" thankyouverymuch and the PC casing can get quite hot - however there is plenty of ventilation around the PC and there are two empty slots below the graphics card. In any case, the store said both cards had suffered RAM chip failures and apparently they don't even get hot.
What's also strange is that the little MX420 card has exhibited none of the above problems either during it's initial pre-upgrade service or whenever it's recalled into action for one of it's knackered bigger brothers. I'M TEMPTED JUST TO LEAVE IT IN NEXT TIME!
The store has suggested that if the Jetway packs in, I should consider looking at the power supply in my PC as perhaps it isn't capable of handling the larger, more demanding graphics cards. I also leave my PC on all night as that's when my virus scanning software and Windows updates are scheduled to run.. I wondered if this wouldn't help matters? Do I sound like a desperate man clutching at straws? Good, because I am.
Does anyone have any experiences, suggestions, or words of comfort? I'll happily provide more information about my system if required - but bear in mind I'm not a dabbler, meddler or a tweaker. If it's too complicated, I won't understand so please be patient with me!
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