Should I move on or repair, :(

Hi guys I posted a while back when my NP8690 died all of a sudden after a gaming session. Turns out it wasnt the power supply like I was hoping it would be. I have burnt out my 5870m, now the repair guys want 300 GBP and the part direct from Clevo UK costs ~250 GBP.

Do I :

a. Repair with a reputable PC company for £300
b. Repair myself for £250 but have no warrenty come back so to speak of.
c. Or C, get a new laptop ?

I would usually repair, no questions asked, but since my GPU burnt out what damage could it have done to the rest of the computer ?

Many Thanks

Josh

 

That machine is current enough and the prices of laptops high enough, that I'd say go for the repairs. Option a) is probably the best because they'll warranty the part and handle it if there were other parts that were damaged. If it was an older machine or lower spec, then it might be worth going with option c). But the cost of buying a new laptop is going to be a lot more than the 250-300 you're looking at in repair costs.

Granted, the choice is really up to you and how comfortable you feel going with any of the above.

 

try this uk clevo repair clevoweb, the one stop source for all clevo and clevo brankded product spares and repairs
they also do a full service and repair for £99
worth a go just to see what they charge.
i have no idea what the company is like though as never used them.

 

+1 cheers for the great advice mate. Ye it isnt a bad machine not totally outdated by any strech. But for arguments sake if I had the money for a new machine would you consider it ? to be honest think I will do option a. when I get down to brass tacks.

 

Cheers mate +1 for that too, I will ring them tomorrow. If they could get the GPU and fix it for anywhere near 250 it would be a good deal.

 

I like to live on the bleeding edge and tend to like getting the new toys, but that machine is new enough that I probably wouldn't go with a new machine just yet. You could drop 1-3k pretty easily on something new that would beat yours in performance, but that's a lot to drop all at once compared to a repair.

In general, I like to keep laptops 2-3 years before replacing them so that by the time I do, the technology is pretty advanced from the last model. Some people replace theirs every year though and it really just boils down to budget and how much performance improvement you're looking at.

 

Eurocom has it on eBay for 595$ a barebone. Rather than drop a lot of money for repair I would just buy that barebone and have yours as the spare parts duplicate.

 

Agree with above if my G73JH which had the exact same spec as you at stock had not been nicked by some bloody pikey I would still be using it happily right bout now.

The 5870M is a very good card as well one of the best at release so can still handle itself. If you are going to cough up some cash to repair it might be an idea to invest yourself a small SSD 40-60GB as a new primary drive to really spice things up

 

you can get an hd 5870m for 150$ and replace it youself,
I have an extra hd 6870m if you want it , pm me

 

+1 rep to you! These cards are easy to replace as long as the heatsink is cross compatible (or you get a hold of one that fits).

 

Thanks for +1,
now +1 for you.
these cards are very easy to replace.

 

Thank for the idea mate, but if I got it of ebay wouldnt I have to pay import durty and all sorts cos its from the US, which would ramp the price up ? If not it might be a great idea!!

Shame to hear about your laptop, the bad thing is he probably doesnt even know what hes got ! and some lucky sod has bought it off him cheap.

Cheer mate, I just sent you a PM want to know how compatable the card is with my machine and if its as good as the 5870. Thanks. +1

Would I have to buy a new heat sink ? and do you know if i could use my previous heat sink, or will it be useless now the GPU blew.

Thanks to everyone for all your replys !

 

Hi Fluffy
where did you originally buy the lappy from. was it from sager in america and you are now in the uk or did you get it imported.

 

Hi mate,

I spent some time in the US so I bought it from 'Torque PC' I dunno if I get a sgaer/ Clevo warrenty or just PC torque. If it's from Torque then im stuffed becuase it will cost alot to send it back to the US.

 

If you are replacing the video card with an identical model then, yes, you should be able to reuse it. If switching to a video card model other than what your system came with, you might have to use one that is made for that card and for your notebook. Take this with a grain of salt as I have no way of knowing whether your current heatsink will or will not work with a different video card. I'll leave this to those with more experience in upgrading video cards in your notebook model.

 

pm replied, let me know if you want it and also have an hd 6970m , hd 5870m (cannot sell until I find an hd 6990m)

 

I would suggest getting the 6970m and doing a bit of modding. If you like playing games it will definitely be worth your time and money

 

Bit of an update for you, so the 300 pound repair would only get me a 260m GTS which although a dedicated 1GB card, isnt as good as my old 5870. Therefore I dont have much other options but to go ahead, buy one from here if I can find one and fit it myself.

The repair man also said that he wouldnt spend any more money on the laptop as he thought that if you repair the GPU the motherboard could go as he doesnt know how stable it is, and or what caused the GPU shortage in the firstplace.

You guys think I should still go ahead with the repair and do it my self, and just risk throwing 150-200 quid on it ??

Cheer again guys.

 

You attempted a repair and now it appears like it could cost you more in the long run and you should maybe cut your losses, the high end cards out at the moment are also double the power of the 5870M which was high end in 2010. Not to mention the sandy bridge CPU's which are going to be punching out results for many years to come as they are more than enough for anything, the 720QM sadly at 1.6ghz when at full pelt does not give the required oompf anymore with multi cored or (badly ported) games appearing on the market.

If you are considering a new Clevo in the UK PC Specialist are doing some great deals at the moment on a build.

Have a look at my build here. I got an awesome setup for just under £1500 4 months ago and the finance deal they do is very good. It may seem a lot of money but considering a G74SX in the UK is £1500 it is a bargain and I picked up a lot of upgrades and extras + the additional warranty. I pay £45 a month for 12 months interest free and then pay off the remaining £800.00 and I pay 0 interest. Or you can continue paying it monthly for a further 2 years at a low rate of interest.

I intend to pay this off at the end of the 12 months and then keep it for a further year at least so it is a worthwhile purchase, especially as the 7 series appears to be 3.0 compatible.

 

Code:

[CENTER][/CENTER]

Havent attempted the repair myself yet, but was going to slap a 6870m in and hope it was compatible with my current setup. I am really considering a new setup aftr seeing yours! The SSD alone is like 300 quid isnt it ! really shocked u got such a good price.

But sadly its going to be the big man at home which is footing the bill as I havent got the readys atm. So 150 quid over 1500 seems a worthwhile investment lol. But if you guys dont think a. the 6 series will be plug n play and b. other components will fail or make my gpu fail again then a new laptop it is.

 

If the cheaper option works then go for it always and stick with what you have.

The HyperX SSD is surprisingly cheap only £139.99 on Amazon and for hardware in the UK that is cheap. Since it released an updated firmware it has no issues at all I have not seen one problem with it yet and its super fast.

The 6870M is no different to the 5870M just relabled and lower clocks so it should be fine with just a Vbios update.

 

Cheers mate, gunna mull it over tonight and see whats the best thing to do, like I said its not my money at the end of the day

+1

 

I feel for ya and hope you get it sorted, when I lost my G73 and was just left with my Eee Pc trying to survive on games like Warcraft 3, Warhammer Dark Omen and Baldurs Gate it was a horrid time

 

yes yiddo your correct, hd 5870m is same as 6870m , both look identical.
but for 6870m some features are unlocked.

 

Is there really a bios update that supports that GPU for his laptop though?
That's the key issue. If there is go for it, if not, oh boy

I wouldn't get it until I knew for sure