Unusable PC's (dead display at least)

Hi, I've just had 2 PC's wig out on me, my old faithful would not light up the display on booting yesterday (yes it worked fine prior to this including the last shut down), it says no DVI signal, I suspect the video card as it starts and lights up apart from the display.

I tried 2 more card's with the same result, so I got my daughter's system she never used as it had a dead hard drive (been like it for a few years gathering dust), it was a brand new system so has never really been used, so I got a spare hard drive and installed windows 7 to it as it's the only disc I have, and it fired up fine, just couldn't find the drivers required for parts of it, no surprise really.

I used Slacko last night too try and get the network driver (once online the rest is easy) and it didn't like what I found, so this morning I thought I would use my phone as a way to get the PC online and then I could get the right driver to continue, so fired up this PC and it froze on the window's loading screen, so I forced a reboot and now this one won't load the display, so 2 useless PC's that turn on, but show nothing, so now I am juggling between my phone and the wife's tablet to try and figure it out, and with my health it's a serious struggle.

I looked at the surge protector and it would seem that it has failed, and probably taken these parts out, it has lifelong warranty that will pay out at some point, but in the immediate I need to get back online again, now my beast has served (and still did until the display went) me well since I built it a decade ago give or take, but it is too old to take Windows 11, and the video card wasn't that special when new as I'm not a gamer, so an upgrade is needed, even though my i7 is still walking all over other typical systems, but it seems I have very few choices now.

So I am left with a quandary, do I get an upgraded card to replace the Geforce 8600 that may be fried?
If so what would fit this system?
I know I'm looking at a 2nd hand card given the age, so as such what would have been a killer card back then should be very affordable now.

Or do I get a new system?
I will need one at some point anyway, but trying to spec it on what I have is extremely hard as I can't see enough detail like available slots and port's etc, as I have a lot of drive's and kit, the query here is do I just get a motherboard bundle and card and use my case and PSU, or get the lot already built?

Any suggestions would be great, especially with a card for the existing PC because if that is all that has gone I can be up and running in no time, and that will give me the time to spec out a new system when money is not as tight, I am hoping the current spec is shown in my settings (some sites offer this), as I can't recall offhand the specifics and posting via my phone it's hard to see, if it's not listed just say and I will hunt down what is needed.

The problem with that is if it does fix it the price would be more than just getting a card on eBay or similar, I just don't know what card would be the best upgrade to fit this system, it's also a beast of a set up and is too much for me to carry being disabled now, but Thanks for the thought, I just wouldn't be able to do that.

A not-too-old high-end computer will cost a lot to replace, so it's likely that it's worth repairing.

A very old, run-of-the-mill computer is not worth fixing. Buy a new one.

Sorry I am using my phone which is extremely difficult for me as I'm disabled, I hoped this site held the spec of my system, as I have seen and done that on at least 1 site that has it, but the spec of my system will be of little use generally speaking, there are no interchangeable parts.

The only fact's that you may need are as follows;
Motherboard is an Asus P8Z68 Deluxe, and the video card is a Geforce 8600GTS.

This may well be over the hill etc, but I bought the best I could to build it, and even now it walk's all over most other systems that are new today, e.g. I had a mate ask me to get a new laptop for him, I showed him an i3 one that would blow his old one away and he went for it, he can't believe how fast it is, yet my old beast is still faster.

I'm not saying an upgrade isn't due, but timing sucks as there have been some massive bill's come in, and Xmas is looming fast, so if I can get a video card for it and that works, then I can keep going and get a new one next year, as I would be able to compare options, unlike now as the display size of a phone is impossible for me, I'm not a gamer so don't need anything special, but that said with the age now, a top end card back when I put this together is probably going to be cheap as it would be a used card, so any tips as to a good upgrade to the video card would be great.

I not dismissing a new system, my case and PSU would easily house and manage anything I get, or I may just get a custom build ordered as it's hard for me now, I just hope to delay that if possible, anything to do with repairing what I have is not worth the hassle if it goes beyond a video card, and the other system is onboard video anyway, but I can deal with that once I get something I can use, for now it's just getting online again, which is what video card would fit this board, if that fails then it's a new system, I hope that makes sense lol

Sorry for taking so long to reply, just got so much on, I had briefly mentioned at the start of this, the monitor works fine (no spare), it lights up and shows he logo, then says no DVI source and goes blank, gone through 3 video cards, but one may have been a dud already, the other system was onboard graphics, and all that does now if fire up, then stall doing a boot repeat, I'm not that worried about that for now, I know about back to basics approach to troubleshoot, I'm fairly sure it's the card, but I want to put a meter on it to check the PSU first, then get a 2nd hand card to check this.

For now, I'd appreciate any tips on a good replacement card, I'm not a gamer, but there should be plenty of ones that would easily surpass what I have currently, for not too much, so any suggestions for a card would be great for now, I'm heading up north to dog sit for my daughter for a couple of weeks, but I'll try to check back soon, if another card makes no difference I'll go for a new system, if it does work then the new system will be next year, and I'll draft up a list and will ask for advice as o if I'd ok or not, but for now, a video card suggestion for my beast would be great.

Sorry to drag this up again, but I finally got round to getting a new video card hoping it would be the cure, I got a GeForce GTX 650 Ti 2gb Boost Graphics Card and it made no difference, but because I did it when it was dark, I noticed something for the first time, because of the heatsink overshadowing the board and looking in daylight previously I didn't see it, but the CPU LED was flashing, and the post code(s) were 20 and 16 last time I saw it, and this time it was 20 and 14, both sets of numbers flashing from one to the other quickly, so would I be right in thinking my CPU is toast?

Assuming I am then it's a new system, I was hoping to get a pre-built one as my fine motor control is really bad now, but I can't find one with the spec I want, not that I can afford anyway, but I have spec'd a few systems that would have what I want, and I have seen many new features I have not seen before, if I put up a typical list of what looks good to me, would you guys mind seeing if I am on the right track or not?

I should also point out that I have 2 options, either a full system, or a hardware bundle, I have a TJ09 Silverstone case, and an XFX 750w modular PSU, so I have the space and power to house it easily, but I will be looking at an i9 set up, my i7 has lasted a good decade at a guess, because I get the best I can afford, so it lasts much longer than some cheap option, I am also not a gamer, but I do go for fast options, plus I need a new system anyway because my system is not able to run windows 11 as it does not meet the hardware requirements for it, I have to get my Covid jab tomorrow, hopefully it will go OK, but with my health and rare condition no one knows how it will hit me, so I'll see what I am like after that.

- - - Updated - - -

OK here are a selection of parts that look good to me, but with the new features such as Thunderbolt etc, if there is something better then I'm happy to look at other thoughts;

CPU
Intel Core i9 14900KF, S 1700, Raptor Lake Refresh, 24 Cores, 32 Threads, 6.0GHz Turbo, 36MB Cache, 125W
Or
Intel Core i9 14900K, S 1700, Raptor Lake Refresh, 24 Cores, 32 Threads, 6.0GHz Turbo, 36MB Cache, 125W

CPU Cooler
Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML240 Illusion White, 240mm All-in-One Hydro CPU Cooler, 2x120mm Fan, ARGB LEDs, Aluminium
Or
Thermaltake TH240 ARGB Sync Snow Edition, 240mm All-In-One Hydro CPU Cooler with ARGB, 2x 120mm PWM Fans, Intel/AMD
Or
Fractal Design Celsius+ S24 Prisma 240mm All-in-One Liquid CPU Cooler

Video
Quick thought here, would the new card above work in this? that way I can get that at a later date.
Zotac GeForce GTX 1650 AMP Core 4GB GDDR6 VR Ready Graphics Card, 896 Core, 1485MHz GPU, 1650MHz Boost
Or
MSI NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 4GT LP OC 4GB GDDR6 Graphics Card, 512 Core, 1815MHz Boost

RAM
32GB (2x16GB) Corsair DDR5 Vengeance Black, PC5-57600 (7200), Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 34, XMP 3.0, 1.45V
Or
32GB (2x16GB) Corsair DDR5 DOMINATOR Platinum RGB Black, PC5-57600 (7200), Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 34, XMP 3.0, 1.45V

Motherboard
Gigabyte B760 AORUS ELITE AX Intel Socket 1700 Motherboard
Or
Gigabyte Z790 GAMING X AX, Intel Z790, S 1700, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, SATA3, 4x M.2, 2.5GbE,WiFi 6E/BT, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, ATXL
Or
Gigabyte Z790 UD AX, Intel Z790, S 1700, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, SATA3, 3x M.2, 2.5GbE, WiFi 6E/BT, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, ATX
Or
MSI MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WIFI ATX Motherboard for Intel LGA1700 CPUs

M.2 Drive
1TB Crucial T700 Heatsink, M.2 (2280) PCIe 5.0 (x4) NVMe SSD, 11700MB/s Read, 9500MB/s Write, 1400k/1400k IOPS
Or
1TB Crucial T700 Heatsink, M.2 (2280) PCIe 5.0 (x4) NVMe SSD, 11700MB/s Read, 9500MB/s Write, 1400k/1400k IOPS

About finding the correct drivers. Make sure you look up the make, model, numbers, etc
and then cross with Operating system. You could search on another device/pc and thing bring it over
via USB or whatever method.

Alan22 said:

I have two machines that does not work

1. Please list in detail the
A. Cpu processors
B. Memory loaded
C. Drives ( assuming the drives are not damaged )
D. GPU ( if any asides on board )
E. Any other devices
F. Make and model of the machine and year released.
2. i7 are not old, at least it is not an i5. Yes i9 is a possibility but again we have to think about budget.
3. If it was me, I would stick with SATAII or whichever that I could pop into most labtops and desktops.
Possibly max-out the memory. If I am going to be using this machine for _____ I would consider
why I would need any GPU at all.
4. About operating systems to install. There are tons of Windows 10 variants flying around the place. You could just
go straight for Android x86 9.0, or even Linux of choice ( like Ubuntu because why not ).

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Have fun