Spilled coffee on my laptop – what now?

Greetings.

I could use some advice 😁 regarding a recent mishap—my father spilled coffee all over my laptop (an Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro Black Edition), and predictably, the keyboard is now acting up. It isn’t completely dead, but the upper left section is totally unresponsive while the rest seems fine. I took it to a local repair tech who estimated a keyboard replacement would run me about $333. Honestly, that wouldn't be the end of the world since the machine is relatively new—only about a year old. My tech friend returned it over the weekend, claiming there might be a slim chance the keyboard survives as is. However, I have a nagging suspicion that the graphics card might have taken a hit too; the system seems to have defaulted to integrated graphics, as games that used to run smoothly at 120 FPS (Dota and Fortnite) are now capped at a dismal 30. Is it actually possible for the system to automatically switch to integrated graphics if the dedicated one fails? And if my GeForce GTX 960M is indeed fried, what kind of damage am I looking at if I wanted to swap out the GPU? Is such a repair even feasible, or is it one of those situations where it's more logical to just cut my losses and buy a new laptop?

Since your laptop is brand new and definitely wasn't cheap, you really should have considered taking it to an authorized service center. I'm not saying they'll automatically cover it under warranty, but at least let the pros take a look and see what's going on.

As for the keyboard, there’s a chance the ribbon cable connecting it just got a bit damp—it happens, and it isn't always a disaster. However, if some amateur technician opens up the chassis (assuming they haven't already), you're going to void your warranty instantly.

It feels like a bit of a trek to send this thing all the way to New York City since I’m stuck out here in rural Pennsylvania—not exactly a quick trip. xD To be honest, I’m also a little unsure if the warranty even applies anymore; I picked up the laptop back in July 2016, and the receipt doesn't explicitly state the duration (I’m assuming it was just a year), plus I have a sneaking suspicion that this specific type of hardware failure isn't even covered. Regardless, what I really want to know is if anyone knows whether it's actually possible to swap out the graphics card—and if so, what kind of damage we're talking about to simply install the same model (GeForce GTX 960M).

The minimum warranty duration is set at two years within the European Union, regardless of whether a manufacturer attempts to insist on a single year. You are certainly welcome to try and push back, though I am quite certain they won't be able to deny you coverage under those terms. As for the 960m modification, anything is technically possible, but it would likely prove to be prohibitively expensive, making it rather impractical in the end.