Ok so i've got a situation with my wife's computer that i haven't been able to figure out yet, and i'm hoping someone can help...
She's got a Dell XPS desktop, its fairly old (5-6 years old)
A while back, i upgraded her 7300LE video card to my old 8800GT.
It was working fine for a while, but after a few months the monitor would randomly just go to sleep. The computer would stay on, but the monitor was in standby. I thought maybe it was the video card, so i put the old one back in (the 7300LE) and it was working fine for a while. After a couple months with that one in, she started getting artifacts on the screen (pink/green squares). It's been getting progressively worse.
I have cleaned out her computer, the PCI slot, all the fans, the video card, etc.
I thought maybe the video card wasnt getting enough power, so i installed a bigger (brand new) power supply. Same problems were happening.
When i put the 8800GT card in the computer will boot up and the monitor will shut off after just a couple minutes. Now, with the 7300LE in, the computer is displaying crazy characters and patterns all over the screen, even before the boot into Windows.
I have also tried a different monitor and monitor cable which i know to be fine, same problem. So its not the monitor or the cable, or the power supply.
I guess its possible that both my video cards are bad? Or maybe the PCI slot itself is bad... (new motherboard)?
Can anyone help?