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hardcore_gamer

"You will need to buy a whole new PC"....Am I being scammed?

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So my PC was making weird noise so I took it to my local computer shop and had the guys there clean it (it was full of dust) and when I came back they said that the computer's video card's fans had gotten damaged because of all of the dust and that the video card would just break completely at some point. They also said that repairing it would cost much more then buying a new one. "Ok" I said. "so I should just buy a new one?" I asked.

They said that I could not because my video card was old (I think I got it about 2 1/2 years ago) and that newer cards did not work with my hardware. They also said that the card that I have (some Nvidia card which name I don't remember) wasn't sold anymore and that my only option was to simply buy a whole new PC.

Now, I have dealt with these guys before. My current PC was bought from them (technically I made them upgrade my even older one with lots/mostly new stuff, so it wasn't a completely new PC) in the first place, and when I did I had lots of problems. I had to re-take my PC to them many times because they kept making mistakes that caused problems and required me to buy new hardware that they never originally said that I would need. This made me very pissed at the time.

Because of this, I am having a problem with trusting these guys. I don't really buy the "this card isn't sold anymore so you can't just replace it" and "all new cards don't work with your hardware so you will just have to buy a whole new PC just cus your video card is broken" bullshit.

So perhaps THEY don't sell this card anymore, but that doesn't mean its not sold anywhere. Now, I don't remember exactly the name of the card that I have, but its a Nvidia card from just 2-3 years in the past, so its not exactly ancient and can run most modern games just fine even in high quality.

Speaking of quality, I am also dubious about their claims about my PC in that regard. After they said I should by a new PC I asked them how my own PC compares to average machines being sold today. They said that mine was rather poor and below average and that ALL machines that they were selling were better then mine. This is were I started to smell bullshit, because while I know PC hardware ages fast, my PC can still run all modern PC games and the majority of them run in high quality just fine. So while I am sure good modern machines being sold today are no doubt better, to claim that ALL machines being sold at their store at the moment are better then mine is something that I know can't be true.

Personally, I can't help but feel that I am being scammed here. Are they correct in their claim that my only option is to buy a whole new PC, or should I just look for another copy of my card (perhaps even a used one?) and ignore their claims that I can't?

Thoughts?


Actually, after doing a bit more research and after having read some of the replies already posted in the thread it turns out that it hasn't even been 2 and 1/2 years. I found out that the card was released on march 2011, so its barely even 2 years old. I also now remember buying the card and most of my current PC hardware (INCLUDING) the motherboard about a month or so before the release of RAGE, which was released in October 2011.

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hardcore_gamer said:

Personally, I can't help but feel that I am being scammed here. Are they correct in their claim that my only option is to buy a whole new PC, or should I just look for another copy of my card (perhaps even a used one?) and ignore their claims that I can't?

Thoughts?

Well, in theory you can always find suitable spare parts somewhere, but whether that's either a reasonable or a realistic option is a different story. Nonetheless, no one can tell you for certain how things are with your computer since we know absolutely nothing about it save that it's made up of a mix of new and old parts. Is the graphics card AGP or PCI-E? What's your PSU like? Is your motherboard or PSU one of the old parts? Those would be the most important questions: If you're stuck in the AGP land then yeah, good luck finding a reasonably priced replacement card. Or if your PSU itself is old or low wattage, then getting just a new card might not be the greatest of ideas.

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Is your computer about ten years old? It's possible that you have an AGP card, which is an obsolete standard - but that's neither here nor there. AGP cards can be found on eBay for $10. Your exact model may be rare, but you don't need your exact model.

EDIT: Didn't read the last paragraph. If your can play brand new games on high settings then it's definitely a PCI-e card. Some of the latest cutting-edge cards can be the most expensive part of a computer. While you may very well end up dropping $500 on a card like that, you're just not going to get the same performance for a whole computer under $500.

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Get a new card off eBay. Or buy a new PC, but build it yourself from components.

You don't give much detail about your machine - how old is it? What kind of specs is it? Is it a PCI-E or AGP graphics card? More information would help.

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Post the specs of the PC here. Post the exact components it uses if you can. You'll have a detailed answer pretty fast.

That shop sounds like they're full of crap. The only way a computer built as recently as yours can't use a new, inexpensive video card is if they built it badly. Even if they're somehow correct in this instance stop using them if you can.

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Aliotroph? said:

Post the specs of the PC here. Post the exact components it uses if you can. You'll have a detailed answer pretty fast.

That shop sounds like they're full of crap. The only way a computer built as recently as yours can't use a new, inexpensive video card is if they built it badly. Even if they're somehow correct in this instance stop using them if you can.


I don't know if those are all of the specs, but system information was at least able to provide these ones.

If anyone knows of a really good way to see all of your specs, then I am happy to listen.



Also, according to system requirments lab.com my video card is:

GeForce GTX 560 Ti

Hope this helps.

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That video card is barely two years old. You should stop doing business with these guys, as they're clearly trying to exploit your lack of knowledge about these things to make money.

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Your comp is pretty much what I have, with a better GPU.

Never go to that store again.

Know your hardware, build your own rig. Maybe that's just the geek in me talking but a desktop user that can't list his computer's specs from the top of his head sounds weird to me.

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Your card is newer than my Radeon HD 5870 is. I'm pretty sure I won't have to build a new computer to upgrade my video card should I ever choose to do so (PSU, maybe, and I'll have to research the effects of using a PCI-E 3.0 card in a PCI-E 2.0 slot, but otherwise, everything else is chipper). You shouldn't either.

They were able to pinpoint the source of your problem, so they're at least good at diagnosis. As for prescription, never trust them again, since it's evident they're trying to scam you.

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DoomUK said:

That video card is barely two years old. You should stop doing business with these guys, as they're clearly trying to exploit your lack of knowledge about these things to make money.


Just how old exactly is this card? As in how EXACTLY old is it? Because I actually bought this card from them and there was suppose to be a 2 year warranty for it but they claimed to have no record of me buying it from them in the last 2 years (in fact, they even asked me where I bought my computer!). My memory was a bit cloudy about just when exactly I bought the card from them, so I was actually willing to buy their claim since I figured that I just got unlucky and that the 2 year warranty had simply expired. However if you claim that the card is "barely 2 years old" then perhaps I am wrong and the warranty is still in effect.

I think I remember buying the card (and most of my current PC hardware for that matter) about a month (or perhaps slightly more) or so before the release of RAGE because I wanted to play that game in all of its glory. How old is RAGE exactly? It hasn't been 2 years since it's release has it?

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hardcore_gamer said:

Just how old exactly is this card? As in how EXACTLY old is it? Because I actually bought this card from them and there was suppose to be a 2 year warranty for it but they claimed to have no record of me buying it from them in the last 2 years (in fact, they even asked me where I bought my computer!). My memory was a bit cloudy about just when exactly I bought the card from them, so I was actually willing to buy their claim since I figured that I just got unlucky and that the 2 year warranty had simply expired. However if you claim that the card is "barely 2 years old" then perhaps I am wrong and the warranty is still in effect.

Receipt? Warranty papers? Don't tell me you don't have any proof of purchase.

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Belial said:

Receipt? Warranty papers? Don't tell me you don't have any proof of purchase.




I am not very good at keeping my pappers around.

That said, there is a slight chance that the paper can be found in a folder somewhere. Its where I keep my PS3 and Xbox 360 warranty. If it isn't there however then I am fucked I guess :(

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Belial said:

Maybe that's just the geek in me talking but a desktop user that can't list his computer's specs from the top of his head sounds weird to me.

I'd expect someone called hardcore_gamer to be able to, at the very least :p

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Shadow Hog said:

They were able to pinpoint the source of your problem, so they're at least good at diagnosis. As for prescription, never trust them again, since it's evident they're trying to scam you.

Hardly. Any idiot should be able to figure out that a fan is dying from the sound it emits.

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kristus said:

Hardly. Any idiot should be able to figure out that a fan is dying from the sound it emits.


Indeed. I mean the whole reason I took my PC to them in the first place was because I heard that the fan was making wierd noise and because the PC was full of dust. They offered to clean the PC for me for a fee and check out the fan. I said "sure why not" since properly cleaning your PC can be hard.

EDIT: Also, for some reason the fan is no longer actually making the wierd noise now. The guys at the shop however said that the noise would contine even though the PC had been cleaned however and that my PC would run fine for a time but then cease to work after a while.

Is this correct seeing as my PC is no longer making any loud or odd noises like it did before they cleaned it?

EDIT: Though perhaps the noise is still there and it's just not as loud anymore because my PC is no longer full of dust?

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If the fan uses a sleeve bearing, after cleaning you can take it apart and re-oil/re-grease it. This might buy it some extra life (a few months, maybe a full year) before it starts doing noises again (if it got to the noisy stage it has run out of lubricant at some point).

With GPU fans it pays to do that, as they are often very specialized both in size and voltage, and finding generic replacements isn't as easy as it sounds.

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hardcore_gamer said:

EDIT: Also, for some reason the fan is no longer actually making the wierd noise now. The guys at the shop however said that the noise would contine even though the PC had been cleaned however and that my PC would run fine for a time but then cease to work after a while.

Is this correct seeing as my PC is no longer making any loud or odd noises like it did before they cleaned it?

EDIT: Though perhaps the noise is still there and it's just not as loud anymore because my PC is no longer full of dust?

Get a temperature monitoring program, grab the CPU and GPU readings for idle and load conditions. See if they are stable, compare with operating temps you can find on the web for the same hardware.

When the temps start rising during normal usage, you'll be able to tell if the fan is dying or getting clogged with dust. Cleaning the fan on my GPU is an instant 10°C drop on idle.

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exp(x) said:

You're being scammed. Replacing a GPU fan is incredibly easy and cheap.


Yep.


Also, of COURSE these guys will tell you your card and other stuff needs to be replaced, they want you to buy the replacements from them. They'll also tell you to come back when other stuff starts causing problems so they can continue suckling money out of you.

Next time, buy yourself a few of those pressurized dust cleaner cans and clean the PC yourself. I'm willing to bet it'd be a lot cheaper than whatever fee they charged you, and it really isn't that hard.


This all reminds me of that time I saw some Best Buy employee suckering a naive customer into buying a high-end gaming PC so he could play World of Warcraft.

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Caffeine Freak said:

Next time, buy yourself a few of those pressurized dust cleaner cans and clean the PC yourself. I'm willing to bet it'd be a lot cheaper than whatever fee they charged you, and it really isn't that hard.


It is? Because I asked the guys at the shop if it was enough to simply do something like that, and they said that simply blowing/spraying air into the PC to clean it just made things even worse because doing so would just cause the dust to go even further into the hardware/fans and get stuck there even more, and that I would be better of just comming to them about once a year or so and have them clean it for me.

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hardcore_gamer said:

It is? Because I asked the guys at the shop if it was enough to simply do something like that, and they said that simply blowing/spraying air into the PC to clean it just made things even worse because doing so would just cause the dust to go even further into the hardware/fans and get stuck there even more, and that I would be better of just comming to them about once a year or so and have them clean it for me.

...

I use an ordinary vacuum cleaner and toothpicks. Take the GPU out, 10 minutes of dislodging the dust from the heatsink with a toothpick, then 10 more minutes of the same for the CPU heatsink without even removing it.

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I've been meaning to take a nice, fresh paintbrush (the kind you'd use for painting walls, not fine art) and applying liberally to my CPU heatsink, myself. Maybe even taking the heatsink off entirely and reapplying some Arctic Silver or something, I dunno. Kinda want to start dabbling in overclocking it, but am uncertain how I feel about the temperatures it hits when I try Prime95 (like, around 70°C or so without overclock; normally I only see it go as high as 45°C).

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hardcore_gamer said:

and that I would be better of just comming to them about once a year or so and have them clean it for me

You really wouldn't. Do what's been suggested in this thread instead.

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hardcore_gamer said:

It is? Because I asked the guys at the shop if it was enough to simply do something like that, and they said that simply blowing/spraying air into the PC to clean it just made things even worse because doing so would just cause the dust to go even further into the hardware/fans and get stuck there even more, and that I would be better of just comming to them about once a year or so and have them clean it for me.


I don't relish telling you this, but those guys are so full of shit they probably squeak when moving around.

Even if you don't bother taking the PC apart to dust it, you will literally be able to see chunks of dust flying out just by spraying the dust cleaner tube into the fans and other components. And while it is true that maybe SOME dust particles will get pushed further in, MOST of them will end up getting pushed right out.

And if you want to do more than a preliminary dust cleaning, just take out your video card and other components and spray them individually. It's even usually possible to take the casing off your video card and dust every square centimeter of the inside of it, though it requires unfastening a ton of small screws and you have to be careful when doing so.

As for the slightly hardened accumulated dust on things like fans and heat sinks that the aerosol can won't clean, the other suggestions in this thread(toothpicks and the like) should work fine. Again, just be careful, and make sure you're in a relatively static-free environment.

And PLEASE, don't ever go to that shop again. We're talking about PC maintenance, not heart surgery. In other words, these guys aren't doing anything you can't do on your own.

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What store/shop/company/whatever is this? (so I will know to never go there).

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Archy said:

What store/shop/company/whatever is this? (so I will know to never go there).


It's a part of a chain called "Tölvulistinn" that I think only exists in Iceland. If you don't live there then you don't have to worry about it.

To be fair towards the chain, I think its very possible that only the exact shop that I visited and the guys that work there are being stupid and that it doesn't have to mean that all of the other shops from the same chain are also bad.

Though then again, I have heard some other people complain about this chain as well so perhaps its just not a good company. Though I still think this bullshit can be largely blamed on this exact shop since its always the same 2 guys working there and they have never struck me as very smart or honest.

My first ever computer was actually bought at Tölvulistinn, but it was bought at another shop then this one in another town. I never had any problems with that one (my first PC, that is).

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