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  • Demon-haunted computer (also, self-sighting)

    So I build computers for a hobby. No certification, but I've been doing this for a very, very long time, and I'm quite good at it. I've built almost two dozen machines in my time, and all have functioned flawlessly for a very long time.

    Except one machine.

    This machine also happens to be my personal performance/gaming rig.

    Its been one issue after another since day 1. Mostly minor issues, but there always seems to be a crisis going on. First, the OS decides it no longer wants to live, and simply offs itself. Great...reformat, reinstall, download eleventy billion patches.

    Another repeating issue is that the video drivers occasionally decide not to work any longer. Its an Nvidia card in there, up to date with the most recent stable version, but every few months the drivers get wonky, causing all sorts of boot up issues and can only be fixed by wiping and reinstalling the video drivers.

    Also, the CD drive is only detected about half the time. Some days it just doesn't want to be bothered with having a drive. Other days it will actually detect the drive.

    One of the more recent issues is that it simply decided it no longer wants to use a PS/2 connection for the old keyboard I had. Wasn't the keyboard itself, the computer just didn't feel like using that port anymore. So, I'm stuck with USB stuff now, which is fine, except that about half the time it won't detect the USB stuff either, at least not until windows fully boots up. Trying to fiddle around with BIOS settings when it won't detect the keyboard isn't very fun.

    And finally, just this last week I've been grappling with a most bizarre issue. The sound starts out fine, but after 5-10 minutes of use, the sound begins to degrade. It first gets more and more static in it, then that degrades further into various electronic squeals and garbles which are quite unpleasant to the ear. This can be "fixed" by rebooting the computer or resetting the application currently using the sound, but that only buys you another 5-10 minutes before ears begin to bleed again.

    Then just the other day I started getting all sorts of memory errors, with somewhat frequent blue screens due to fatal memory errors, followed by the memory dump and a reboot.


    All of these issues are incredibly aggravating since I can't figure out whats causing them nor how to fix them.

    * There are no viruses or other forms of malware on the computer. I've checked. Repeatedly. With just about every anti-malware program known to man.

    * The hard drives are not failing. I've done all sorts of checks and rechecks on them, they're both in perfect working order and fully defragged.

    * Its not entirely a software issue as the problems tend to reappear after wiping and reformatting the OS drive.

    * Things are plugged in properly and there are no loose connections. I've checked, spending a great deal of time with a flashlight poking around in there.

    * Its not a dust issue. I've used compressed air cans to clean out the dust on several occasions.

    * No bursting capacitors. All of the capacitors appear to be perfectly fine.

    * Its not a heat issue. The computer is running cool and frosty, even after extended usage at full capacity.



    I'm at my wit's end on this. At this point I'm convinced there's some sort of invisible gremlin inside the computer thats just mocking me.

    As my CPU is rather ancient and I need to upgrade somewhat soonish, the recent total memory failure has simply moved that timetable up. So I'm going to salvage the GPU, hard drives, power supply, and the case. This means I need a new mobo, CPU, and RAM.

    Its an 8800 GTS 320mb PCI GPU, 600w power supply, and both the hard drives and case as generic industry standard.

    Any advice on a good CPU/mobo combination for the parts that I do have?
    Last edited by Hyndis; 08-31-2008, 06:47 AM.

  • #2
    Memory Express

    Ships anywhere in Canada, if you're up here, anyway. Outside Canada, I'm afraid I haven't the faintest. And I'm sorry to hear the issues, I'd be in tears were I in the same situation!
    "FUCK NO I DON'T WANT YOUR FREAKY ALIEN MOTHERSHIP ORANGES. " - Cookiesaur
    ~~

    Munkie's NaNo WC: 9648

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    • #3
      Nah, its not too bad. The timing was kind of bad due to money issues at the moment, but it was just an inevitability for when the lemon would eventually fail completely. I've heard suggestions for a Core 2 CPU and an ASUS mobo. Mostly I just want a good bang for the buck (doesn't have to be ultra top of the line, just good performance for the value) and something that will accomodate as much of the current equipment as I can salvage. I want absolutely nothing to do with the old CPU, mobo, and RAM. I'm not even going to recycle that stuff into another machine.

      Comment


      • #4
        sounds like a faulty mobo to me. Most likely the southbridge chipset to be specific. Start off just replacing that and see how it goes.
        I AM the evil bastard!
        A+ Certified IT Technician

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        • #5
          The PS/2 ports are integrated to the motherboard..

          Is the soundcard integrated too?

          I'm in agreement with the previous poster. Replace motherboard.

          Prepare for another reinstallation of Windows and twelvety billion patches..

          Edit: Sorry, finally read the whole post and realized you want a recommendation.

          What's your budget and do you want to go AMD or Intel?
          Fixing problems... one broken customer at a time.

          Comment


          • #6
            Seems Intel chips are currently superior to AMD, and I've heard good things about the Core 2 series. Also, Asus mobos are usually pretty solid.

            I'm just curious as to the details. What would be a good gaming Intel CPU, and are there any particularly good mobo's for it? It doesn't have to be SLI ready, since I don't go for that kind of stuff. SLI is a gimmick thats usually more trouble than its worth.

            RAM is dirt cheap. Just right now there's a sale for 4gb for $50. I remember back when it was $200 for 4mb.

            As for the budget, no more than $300-400 for the CPU/mobo combination. I want a solid amount of power, but bang for the buck is more important, sort of like how the 8800 GTS was the sweet spot for video cards for a while. Its still a decent card, so I'll be salvaging that from the wreck. An integrated sound card is fine. Most mobo's these days have integrated sound and LAN, which is good enough for my needs. Integrated video is horrible, but then video is massively more demanding on resources than audio is.



            Also, I went to power up the computer this morning just to check to make sure all of the fans were working...and the entire thing booted up to the desktop in a matter of seconds, behaving as if everything were completely normal, and unusually speedy too. I think it knows I'm shopping for its replacement.

            Comment


            • #7
              Power Supply

              You have said nothing about the power supply voltages.

              Just because it is labeled as 600W does not mean that it can deliver that level of power.

              Since you don't have money for testing, try unplugging an item or two that you don't need have much need for and see what happens.

              When I hit the limits of my old cheap power supply the computer would work fine if I unplugged either the second hard drive or the CDROM.

              PS check your cabling is not creating a hot spot by blocking air flow.

              Comment


              • #8
                As far as a Core 2 processor, either the Core 2 Duo E8500 (2x3GHz.) or preferably the Core 2 Quad Q6600 (4x2.4GHz.). You should be able to find either for under $200.

                Motherboard-wise, since you don't need SLI or Crossfire, look into Intel chipsets, probably the G35 or P35/45. With the memory, you should be around the $300-$400 mark. Just make sure that the memory speed of what you get matches the max the board can take.

                For example, I took advantage of an Intel special, and I have the E8500 with their DG35EC board, and with a 9600GT & 2GB DDR2-800 memory, it's a great performer.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Yup, sounds like the MB to me. It's the one constant across all your troubles.

                  As for new hardware, the conventional wisdom is that quads are not worth it yet, as no current software really makes good use of them, and for most apps and games you'll get better performance from a faster dual. If you want a bit of futureproofing, just make sure you get a mobo that can take a quad CPU further down the track.

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                  • #10
                    Yep, most likely candidate is motherboard. It's entirely possible you started out with a dud mobo, unfortunate but it does occasionally happen. A suggestion, if you are not already using one I would suggest getting a UPS. A good UPS is miles ahead of any surge suppressor when it comes to protecting your computer since it also will act as a line conditioner.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Quoth RichS View Post
                      As far as a Core 2 processor, either the Core 2 Duo E8500 (2x3GHz.) or preferably the Core 2 Quad Q6600 (4x2.4GHz.). You should be able to find either for under $200.
                      I concur. I just got my Q6600, and with the 8800 I can run Crysis smoothly with all features on at 1440x800 (default for my 19in LCD). I lucked out and grabbed a Gateway right after they sold all their old stock to BestBuy, got 1TB of HD in RAID, 3GB memory, and the Q6600 all for around $1100. I had to add the 880 though, as it came with an 8500. I just grabbed a Dell open item with less HD (640GB, 2x320) but other specs the same for $580. Dropped $144 for the 9600? card and Christmas is done for one kid.

                      I've been running Vista too, btw, and have had no stability or speed issues that I can tell. I know it'd be faster with XP, but it is not bad enough to warrant me re-installing, FWIW.

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                      • #12
                        Are the quad-cores really that good? I've heard iffy things about multi-threading, where quite a bit of software simply doesn't support it, so with a quad-core machine you'd only be using one of the processors while the other three sit idle.

                        If it matters, I'd be using Windows XP along with the 8800 GTS 320mb video card.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          It's a nice bit of future-proofing, considering that's what most developers are looking to take advantage of, but as for right this moment, a dual core works fine.
                          I AM the evil bastard!
                          A+ Certified IT Technician

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Quoth lordlundar View Post
                            It's a nice bit of future-proofing, considering that's what most developers are looking to take advantage of, but as for right this moment, a dual core works fine.
                            I was thinking of future-proofing when I recommended the Q6600, but it really depends on how long the OP keeps machines before updating or replacing.

                            Well, I also thought about the stuff I've been reading and hearing on how the Q6600 is a great overclocker. With a good air-cooling solution and the right motherboard, people have been getting 3+ GHz. speeds out of it.

                            It might be better to wait now, though, if you can, because of the new Core i7 processors based on Nehalem. When they are released, the Penryn and Woodcrest-based Core 2 processors should drop even further in price.

                            The Core i7 sounds pretty good, too, if they do a low-cost version - four-core to start, memory controller and graphics (in future) on the processor, looks to Windows like 8 cores due to HyperThreading coming back, automatic overclocking if the processor senses only 1 or 2 cores are being used, three-channel DDR3...

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                            • #15
                              Quoth Hyndis View Post
                              I want absolutely nothing to do with the old CPU, mobo, and RAM. I'm not even going to recycle that stuff into another machine.
                              Other than the sound issue, a lot of this sounds like what I had when I got some bad ram. Took a month to show any problems, then gradually got worse and worse, going from occasional bizarre crashes and graphics bugs in EQ, to losing the drivers or corrupting the OS multiple times a day.
                              "English is the result of Norman men-at-arms attempting to pick up Saxon barmaids and is no more legitimate than any of the other results."
                              - H. Beam Piper

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