What is better to do? Cash the 10,000 sierra madre chips in for pre-war money or keep them as chips?

You get more every few days once you're back to the Mojave.......just make sure you break the bank at the casino and complete as many Sierra Madre challenges as you can....so I'd cash 'em all in, or at most keep 1-2000. It's a unique opportunity to make a massive profit as those pre-war moneys sell for 10-12 caps each back home, but chips are effectively worth 1-3 caps each in the vending machine.

alright thanks, but now i have a new problem where i can't even leave after the dlc is completed. I can't even get to the bunker. The game just freezes after leaving the gates.

You got a bad save, the horrors of DLC testing I guess.