Hardware Goosebumps

[turbopowerdmaxsteel 0]

Oops! I did it again.

 

In case you may have been wondering why I was gone for so long resulting in my hosting credits reach :blink -18 :blink... Well I blew one of the parts of my PCs core system. Just for the record, this ain't the first time I did it. Previously, I caused a burnt out processor when I tested my PC with the minimum components -> Motherboard, RAM & the Processor - The Heatsink. It all happened while I was doing my fortnight PC cleaning (I kinda like cleaning every bit of my PC regularly), I was almost done, when dad asked me to check one of his documents. So, without strapping on every bit of hardware, I booted the PC up. What I didn't know was that, without the Heat Sink, the Intel Processor would get fried. It didn't run for long, probably 15 seconds, before the computer turned of with a sound. I wasn't sure as to what had happened, but when I touched the Red hot processor, I felt something was wrong. When I finally took the CPU to my system administrator he asked me if I ran the processor without the fan. At first I hesitated then I accepted it. That took place some 2 years back. I got my PC in the late months of 2002. Back then my system comprised of the following : -

 

> Motherboard - Mercury KOBP4M266, 400 MHz FSB @ Rs. 4000

> Processor - Intel Pentium 4 1.7 GHz, 400 MHz FSB @ Rs. 8100

> RAM - Transcend SDRAM 128 MB, FSB 133 MHz @ Rs. 1700

> CD ROM - LG 52X @ Rs. 1240

> Hard Disk - Segate 40 GB @ Rs. 3400

> Floppy Drive - Sony 1.44 MB @ Rs. 300

> SMPS - Mercury 325 W @ Rs. 400

> Cabinet - Mercury Micro ATX @ Rs. 700

> Monitor - 15 '' LG Studioworks 563N @ Rs. 7150

> Keyboard - Multimedia Keyboard from I Key @ Rs. 600

> Mouse - Samsung USB Optical Cyber Beatle @ Rs. 1350

> Speaker - I Sound 1500 PMPO 2.1 @ Rs. 2700

> UPS - Classic 500 VA @ Rs. 3200

> Microphone - Frontech @ Rs. 125

Beore the Processor black out, I got myself a few more gizmos to work with : -

 

> Printer - HP Deskjet 3550 @ Rs. 3000

> RAM - An additional 128 MB of SDRAM @ Rs. 1100

> Keyboard - Samsung KB2M001SPAAD Multimedia Keyboard @ Rs. 500

> Mouse - PS/2 Optical from Samsung with 12 function scroll button. @ Rs. 500

 

After the blow up, I had to get a new processor, but with my Mercury motherboard, I could only have got a Celron equivalent for the Pentium's had switched to 533 MHz. So, I thought of upgrading my system and purchased the following : -

 

> Motherboard - Intel D865GVHZ, FSB upto 800 MHz with HT support @ Rs. 5200

> Processor - Intel Pentium 2.4 GHz, FSB 533 MHz non HT @ Rs. 5800

> RAM - Non Hynix DDR 256 MB, 333 MHz FSB @ Rs. 2150

> Headphone - TechCom @ Rs. 125

 

During the 865 era, I got a few other devices : -

 

> Scanner - Cannon Lide single cord USB @ Rs. 3200

> Gampad - Frontech antasy PAD @ Rs. 500

> UPS - Microtek Max Power 600 VA @ Rs. 2600

> Speaker - 4.1 Intex 3000 watt @ Rs. 2100

 

It was all running smoothly except for one hectic problem that I have faced throughout these 4 years or so; Bad Shutdowns. Earlier the computer would start on 2 or 3 attempts because of the power instability. Quite often (5 to 10 times daily), the PC would have a bad shutdown despite having a good UPS. I asked for a UPS change but that didn't help either. The Mercury Motherboard would power off for safety during a BS. The power button would have to be pressed for 3 seconds followed by again pressing the power button to power the PC back on (to many power's I suppose). But, I managed to bring the rate down, by removing the Monitor power supply from the UPS. When I got my second UPS (Microtek Max Power), I plugged in the CPU to it and the monitor to the other one. Eventually the old Classic UPS's battery got drained out and I decided to put the monitor on direct resulting in a blackout during a power cutoff. But thanks to hibernating feature, I was able to turn my PC off without being able to see anything on the screen. The BS rate was minimal during this phase. I had both speed and reliability. This went on for 2 years, with the BS rate fluctuating up and down. I was quite fed up with it and finally resorted to getting an SMPS with higher wattage (450 to be precise). It had been long since I had cleaned the CPU, so I began cleaning it with a clothe. Seeing plenty of dust on the heatsink, I unlocked it and gave it a thorough cleaning. Then I moved on to the processor hoping to gain some speed, so I moved the socket lever up and unlocked the processor. While I was giving the Internal Display card a thorough cleaning, the socket lever got stuck in the perforated clothe and flew away. It wasn't until I was done cleaning and on my way to put the processor back in its slot that I noticed the missing lever. Even at that time I didn't realize it was a serious issue, 'cause I thought it had just opened. It was only after I had failed to set it in its place despite all my efforts, that I realized that I was in for big trouble. Without the lever attached, the processor won't get locked firmly and the system wouldn't boot. I got in touch with my administrator, Piyush Jaiswal who's a GID (Genuine Intel Dealer) and told him about my misdoings. He's always been very helpful and supportive. Anyways, I brought the CPU to him and he gave it a few tries to see if the processor would somehow get locked. But I knew from having tried every possible way, that it just wouldn't do. Being of his liking that I was, he gave me the E-Mail address of Intel Customer support of the Asia Pacific region, printed some templates and gave me all the necessary instructions to contact them and ask for a replacement. He was pretty sure that if I flattered them, they would give me a replacement. I followed all the procedures and exchanged details, sent them a photo of the part and after 10 days of uncertianity the response was negative. It was disappointing, but I had to move forward. Now I had two options :-

 

> Get the board fixed via chip level repairing

> Get a new motherboard

 

Being the gizmo freak that I am, I chose the latter and resorted to getting the following : -

 

> Motherboard - Intel 915GAG, FSB upto 800MHz with HT @ Rs. 4900

> Processor - Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz, FSB 800 MHz with HT @ Rs. 8300

> RAM - DDR 512 MB, 400 MHz FSB @ Rs. 2125

 

Now, my system's super fast, but the BS(Bad Shutdown) rate has gone tremendously high, 20 - 30 per day.

 

Here's my power supply configuration : -

 

> AC 230V

> 5 KW Automatic Stabilizer from Sen & Pandit

 

Can U pundits tell me how do I minimize the BS rate. Also, are the costs of my last buys genuine?

 

Here's some other information.

 

> When the 5 KW stabilizer is turned off, even though the voltage is very less, fluctuations are less and so is the BS rate

> When using a manual stabilizer, the BS rate is less

> BS rate increases with the number of stabilizers in series and number of accesories that are along the same socket.

[smcentral 0]

wat is it with people loving Linux then windows windows is much better what do you think

[turbopowerdmaxsteel 0]

wat is it with people loving Linux then windows

 

windows is much better what do you think

 

Well, my interaction with Linux is too meager to compare it with Windows. But, I presume Windows is better. How can the FREE thingy be better than the one people pay for?
Edited March 28, 2006 by turbopowerdmaxsteel (see edit history)

[wutske 0]

So you're telling me that you have serious powerfluctuations? I'd go complaint at the firms that provides your electricity.Now, I don't know that much of electricity, but maybe the main fuse is too small??? I don't know, that's the first thing that came to my mind.Other thing that might cause shutdown problems (but not related to electricity) is the cpu overheating, wich might happen if you're still using that microatx case. Try to check the cpu temp. I don't know how you'll have to do it in linux because I'm more used to windows, but I managed to do that w/ Superkaramba and some plug-in for Superkaramba.

[KazDoran 0]

Well, I'd suggest you get a new power supply, because when I bought my P4 @ 2.4 GHz some 4 years ago, I took a 330W power supply and it all worked fine. I have reasons to doubt a 230W power supply will be enough for the latest CPUs.

 

And it isn't just the main components that pull the power. USB devices (especially those without their own power supply) tend to add to the... umm... sucking.

 

As for the stabilizers... meh... check them after you got a new power supply, but they may be responsible for some of the major fluctuations when the power supply it's giving enough juice.

 

 

In other news:

Well, my interaction with Linux is too meager to compare it with Windows. But, I presume Windows is better. How can the FREE thingy be better than the one people pay for?

 

Let's just say UNIX/Linux is under development since the early 60s or something. It's safer, faster and (mostly) most stable than Windows. Plus, you may be getting the meaning of "free" wrongly. It's not only "free" as "no payment" but it's also (and most importantly) "free" as in "free speech" because the community can develop on it by themselves, since it's open-source, thus innovating and adding to the overall functionality and stability of the core system and additional features.

 

Give it a try. It's worth it. And I bet you won't want anything else afterwards (OK I admit I have to play games on Windows, but it's mostly the developers fault and recent software can make Windows games run on Linux).

 

Off with the off-topic!

[Grafitti 0]

a 230W power supply only meets the bare minimum for a computer today, and is only workable if you don't use any greedy apps, or open alot of windows. With a PCI-e card, 3 hard drives, 3.0Ghz processor, and 2 extra fans in my case i've found that even a 450W is simply "enough", and that a 500-550W supply does a better job of making sure everything runs stable, even with lots of apps open. that could also be because the city electric supply fluctuates all the time, even through the stabilizer, and the more powerful power supply simply has that extra oomph to kick through the bad spots.

[roggle 0]

I can't advise specifically as I am lacking some information but some things you might want to checkout...

I didn't notice what graphics card are you using?

Is it onboard graphics?

If you have a dedicated graphics card especially a high end one you might need more power.

The other major concern I have is you say you bought yourself a 450 W power supply. What brand is it? There are tons of crappy power supply manufacturers that overstate what they actually provide...In fact your 450 W supply may be just worth half of that.

Brand matters here. Enermax, Antec, Akasa, PC Power and Cooling are all good brands that don't overstate their power ratings. You pay for what you get so cheap ones which obscenely high wattage ratings are almost guaranteed to be fakes.

http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ is a guide to choosing a power supply. Weight matters as well .

My only guess at the moment is that your power supply is a crap one but until you provide me the brand or your power supply and whether you have a dedicated graphics card I can't say too much. Otherwise I don't see why you should be having power issues as besides the Pentium IV, you don't really have that much high end power guzzlers.

I'm also assuming you didn't overclock anything.

Also get a program that monitors your temperature of ur cpu and graphics card and see if anything is overheating. http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php I think does it and it's freeware.

Edited April 25, 2006 by roggle (see edit history)