Should I fix it or get a new one?

lapgal · 05-12-2009, 09:54 AM

I have a Compaq laptop that is about 2 years old. The screen started getting shaky and blacking out a few months ago, so I took it to a guy who fixed the shaky problem, but the screen is now so dim you can barely see anything. He said it probably needs to have the video card replaced ,which in this case, would require the whole motherboard being replaced. He said it would cost about $200 - 300 dollars (not sure if that includes labor).

Do you think I just buy a new laptop? What would you do?

**belfasteddie** · 05-12-2009, 10:00 AM

Only you can decide as your the only one who knows how much you want to spend.
I ask, is it worth spending $300.00 on a fairly old comp, which will still be a fairly old comp when he's finished his work.
Or, buy an new comp and tell yourself I saved $300 on my new comp.

dai · 05-12-2009, 11:38 AM

if it improves if you shine a torch on it
then it is probably just the backlight and worth fixing

lapgal · 05-12-2009, 11:47 AM

I can see things better when I shine a flashlight on the screen. The guy who was working on it said he tried to replace the backlight and it didn't help though.

BTW, does shining a flashlight on the screen hurt the screen? It seemed like it was making a circular imprint when I was doing it.

SA Spurs1 · 05-12-2009, 11:51 AM

As stated Dim video usually means the back light is going out. You can verify this by hooking it up to an external monitor. If you get video on the external monitor its the LCD that is going out, if the external monitor is dim then its the video card. You can look here to see if they have parts for to way your options. If the backlight is going out you can take it to a LCD shop and see if they can just replace the backlight or just replace the whole LCD entirely.

dai · 05-12-2009, 11:53 AM

get someone else to look at it

the torch will not hurt it

05-12-2009, 09:54 AM	#1 (permalink)
lapgal Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 2 OS: Vista	Should I fix it or get a new one? I have a Compaq laptop that is about 2 years old. The screen started getting shaky and blacking out a few months ago, so I took it to a guy who fixed the shaky problem, but the screen is now so dim you can barely see anything. He said it probably needs to have the video card replaced ,which in this case, would require the whole motherboard being replaced. He said it would cost about $200 - 300 dollars (not sure if that includes labor). Do you think I just buy a new laptop? What would you do?

05-12-2009, 10:00 AM	#2 (permalink)
belfasteddie Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Belfast N.I. Posts: 1,551 OS: Puppy Linux 4.12	Re: Should I fix it or get a new one? Only you can decide as your the only one who knows how much you want to spend. I ask, is it worth spending $300.00 on a fairly old comp, which will still be a fairly old comp when he's finished his work. Or, buy an new comp and tell yourself I saved $300 on my new comp.

05-12-2009, 11:38 AM	#3 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,797 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Should I fix it or get a new one? if it improves if you shine a torch on it then it is probably just the backlight and worth fixing __________________

05-12-2009, 11:47 AM	#4 (permalink)
lapgal Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 2 OS: Vista	Re: Should I fix it or get a new one? I can see things better when I shine a flashlight on the screen. The guy who was working on it said he tried to replace the backlight and it didn't help though. BTW, does shining a flashlight on the screen hurt the screen? It seemed like it was making a circular imprint when I was doing it.

05-12-2009, 11:51 AM	#5 (permalink)
SA Spurs1 Tech Hardware Team Join Date: May 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 221 OS: Windows 7 Pro x64	Re: Should I fix it or get a new one? As stated Dim video usually means the back light is going out. You can verify this by hooking it up to an external monitor. If you get video on the external monitor its the LCD that is going out, if the external monitor is dim then its the video card. You can look here to see if they have parts for to way your options. If the backlight is going out you can take it to a LCD shop and see if they can just replace the backlight or just replace the whole LCD entirely.

05-12-2009, 11:53 AM	#6 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,797 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Should I fix it or get a new one? get someone else to look at it the torch will not hurt it __________________