My computer was built by me almost 9 years ago. When I made it I bought a Radeon x800 card which has served me well for many years. However, the graphics card fan is starting to make noise so I fear it's on its death bed. Two options (1) Some people online suggest replacing the fan - any idea if this is actually feasible/where to buy replacement fans (2) my inclination is to buy a new card. I was looking for a recommendation for a modern graphics card that is the equivalent to what the x800 was when I bought it
Just get a new card. There are lots of cheap but good low end cards from both nvidia and amd nowadays that will not only run circles around the x800 but that also support the latest directx and opengl versions.
Nothing modern is going to be the equivalent since that card is beyond ancient at this point. Literally anything above that is going to give you a massive performance boost in terms of being a GPU. However, if you haven't changed out any of the hardware for the past 9 years, you might as well do a full upgrade. Couldn't imagine using the same old parts from that long ago now. Even a $300 pre-built computer these days will run absolute circles around that dated hardware.
Thats what i was going to say. If its really 9 years old, chances are the motherboard is so outdated it wont even accept modern video cards. If it somehow does, the video card wont perform at max due to your old processor and really outdated ram. You may want to just build a new system. Lucky for you, black friday/cyber monday are right around the corner
I would also advise for a PC upgrade. My PC is hitting 8 years soon and I'm really starting to feel it. Plus, if you really want it only for work, or something like hat, you can always just use CPU's built-in graphic card, which will save you money.
You can get a new fan for a couple of quid. Just find out the size of it. Alternatively, have you made sure that it is not clogged up with dust? A can of compressed air can go a long way!
