My life in a nutshell

[falcon409]

If it's going to happen to anyone, it'll happen to me, lol.

I was asking this past Monday about the prospect of purchasing an NVidia 450 and what opinions were out there about the card. . .the very next evening, after flying for about an hour on the server, I clicked on a file folder on the desktop and the computer went black. Here's what little I know about what happened:
(1) The Power Supply was dead (470W)
(2) Purchased a 700W to replace it
(3) Installed the new power supply, hooked everything back up and hit the switch (nothing)
(4) Took it to a local Computer Shop. . .they called that afternoon and told me the Power Supply was dead.

So, what are the odds that I would purchase the only power supply on the shelf that's faulty? Probably not. The thinking is that something else, some other component had a short and was killing the power supply. . .but which one? Motherboard, CPU, HDD's? Maybe none of those, but how do you figure that out? So, I spent money I didn't have, 3 weeks before Christmas, to buy a new computer and not even the one I would have bought if I had just gone out looking for a new one. . .just one that's basically a bit faster than what I had.

So I have two HDD's from the other system that contain "everything", but do I dare hook them up? By the way, this system, after opening the side panel, only has room for one other HDD. One of my drives had all my FSX scenery files and FS9 (600gigHDD) and the other, which contained the OS has everything else, including FSX (1Terabyte HDD).

Oh, and one final thing, I can't find anythiong on the Power Supply, or in the documentation that tells me what Watt it is. . .my guess is it isn't as good as the one I bought or the one that was originally in the old system, so even if I do get FSX and FSX installed, it probably won't be able to handle the load. . .Merry Christmas, lol.:salute:

[stansdds]

What brand name was the PSU?

[Cag40Navy]

Need a power supply? I got a 750watt if you need it. Willing to give to you if you need it. Never been used.

[txnetcop]

The use of a multimeter would tell the computer shop where the problem lay...surprised they didn't do that. The problem with most computer shops nowadays is that they are nothing but parts replacers. Sorry to hear this is happening to you.
Ted

[mmann]

The use of a multimeter would tell the computer shop where the problem lay...surprised they didn't do that. The problem with most computer shops nowadays is that they are nothing but parts replacers. Sorry to hear this is happening to you.
Ted
That is most certainly the way things are. To think that back when I had problems with my Apple II computer in the early 1980's with an expansion card, the repairman found the faulty component and soldered in a new replacement part. Now, you would have to buy a new card (of course now it would be a new component).

Regards, Mike Mann

[falcon409]

The use of a multimeter would tell the computer shop where the problem lay...surprised they didn't do that. The problem with most computer shops nowadays is that they are nothing but parts replacers. Sorry to hear this is happening to you.
Ted
Yea, I was surprised when they called and told me to come pick it up, they said unless they could get the power supply to work, there was no way for them to figure out what component was the culprit. . .isn't that one of those catch 22 thingies? lol, lol.

If you had to guess Ted, would you expect it to be the Mobo or the CPU before it would be the HDD's? I'd really like to hook them up again (at least one of the them) and get everything moved over to the new Puter. But I also don't want to hook them up and have it blow the Power Supply either (of course then I'd know for sure what caused it).:salute:

[Bone]

Sorry to hear it , Ed.

[Willy]

Ed, for what it's worth I have bought a new PS just to have it be dead on arrival. Wasn't even a happy camper.

[dougal]

Maybe stuff is getting bad again.

In the last two years I've reveived 2 mobos and a PSU that were DOA.

[txnetcop]

Something you can do to find issues early is run either a PRIME95 or OCCT(overclock testing) on a new computer. Usually you will discover mfg defects quickly. I run 72 hour benchmark tests on every PC I build either for a customer or myself. But even that is no guarantee that a component cannot fail. So far I have been very fortunate in the area of component failure. I have had two video cards fail after being sent out.

[Stratobat]

Hey Ted,


The use of a multimeter would tell the computer shop where the problem lay...surprised they didn't do that. The problem with most computer shops nowadays is that they are nothing but parts replacers.

This would be because the standards in training are not the same that they were a decade or two ago. Not only that but for such a technical field, there is an alarming rate of illiteracy (Which I have outlined below).


Four years ago I had a computer built up at a local computer shop. I gave them a piece of paper detailing every component that I was handing in, including serial numbers as well as another piece of paper that listed written instructions for them to follow.

One of the instructions was that, to fulfill warranty obligations, every piece of packaging needed to be returned to me, in the boxes provided. Long story short, they lost my graphics card box, operating system disc and cables.

I made them find the graphics card box, cables and replace my operating system disc. They signed for it and agreed to my conditions - So they were responsible for my possessions whilst in their care.

Forward to this year and again, upgrade time. I purchased the components, put everything in a box and took the whole lot to ANOTHER computer shop. Gave them a list of the components with serial numbers. Gave them a list of instructions and again, it was screwed up.

To further complicate the issue, I was charged the equivalent of $60.00 to build the machine (Labour) and I have to take it back this coming week because there is a fault.

So for me, that's two out of two computer shops I've done business with within five years that don't know their left "tee i tee" from their right elbow!

Regards,
Stratobat

[falcon409]

Just a little update, I should have known that the new system wouldn't have a "High Watt" power supply. . .after a fair amount of digging (no info that can be seen on the actual PSU, I found that it comes with a 290Watt supply, lol, lol, just enough to power up the computer. . .so I'll be having to do some swapping there before I get FSX and FS9 reinstalled. Sheeesh! lol

[Stratobat]

Hey Falcon,

I apologise for momentarily hijacking your thread. I just have a very low opinion of computer shops at the moment and the situation is further exacerbated by the fact that I want to carry on building the Curtiss AT-9 Jeep I'm working on in Gmax and I can't because the machine is out of action - It always seems to be an uphill battle.

Regards,
Stratobat

[falcon409]

Hey Falcon,

I apologise for momentarily hijacking your thread. I just have a very low opinion of computer shops at the moment and the situation is further exacerbated by the fact that I want to carry on building the Curtiss AT-9 Jeep I'm working on in Gmax and I can't because the machine is out of action - It always seems to be an uphill battle.

Regards,
Stratobat
No apology needed there Stratobat. I understand your frustrations.:salute:

[JoeW]

Ed .........
I have a EVGA GeForce 9500 GT w/ 1 Gig ram. It still has the clear wrap .... never opened.if you want it.
PM me your address.

[txnetcop]

Falcon I'm gonna hijack your thread for a minute. Folks if you want to run FSX optimally you must have a power supply that is at least 500 watts but the most important part is the +12v rating it should be above 25A on two rails or 45A on a single rail. I always order a modular unit that is around 650-700Watt minimum and 45A or better on +12v on a single rail unit. for my computers. Always make sure it is SLI or CROSSFIRE ready and 80+ Certified or better. Make sure it says these words if you live in an area that has frequent power issues :
Active Power Factor Correction provides more efficient power frequency by up to 99%. Industrial-grade protection guards your components from damage caused by short circuits, over circuits, excess voltage and other hazards.

Second: Never try to use a 128bit interface video card with FSX and make sure it has at least a 256bit interface and 512 MB of VRAM(video ram) on board(1GB or more is even better). The higher the interface the better...more bandwidth available for use with FSX...FSX is a bandwidth hog! That is not bad it is normal because of everything it takes into consideration when painting a horizon.

Memory: Always buy top quality memory. And make sure they stay cool so a cool case is necessary. Memory gets hot and becomes inefficient. Don't buy ValueRam make sure it has a good heatsink. Also the lower the CAS rating the better for FSX! I never use less than 800mhz memory but generally use 1200mhz or better on 775 socket sytems and 1600mhz on i7 and i5Core units. On a 775 socket 4GB Dual Channel is the minimum on a i5 Core 4GB Dual Channel is the minimum on and i7Core core board 6GB triple channel memory is the minimum!

Motherboards should always have a good heatsink on the southbridge it gets hotter than hell when gaming. Heat is your enemy. Always get a good heatsink for your Northbridge OEM is unacceptable for gaming! I also always buy Taiwan motherboards they are the best! If it says China, India, or Malaysia-RUN to the next motherboard. I have never had a computer failure because I always run at least a 12hour stress test. I run a computer 72hours under varying conditions before it goes out the door.(This is not a rash statement I have people in here who have my units and they have never failed in two to three years)

Make sure and insist on the boxes and all material that came with your unit if you have one built by a computer shop! Warranty is only done well in the original boxes. Register your components immediately.

I hope this helps
Ted

A good, easy to understand link on video card architecture http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1730266/128bit_versus_256bit_pc_video_card.html?cat=15

[falcon409]

Ed .........
I have a EVGA GeForce 9500 GT w/ 1 Gig ram. It still has the clear wrap .... never opened.if you want it.
PM me your address.
Thanks Joe, but I already have a 9600GT card. As Ted has mentioned, the 128bit cards just don't do well with FSX, so my next card will be at least a 460 (When I can afford it).

Thanks for the offer though.:salute:

[JoeW]

Well ....... It was free ...... I was gonna send it to you. If you didn't like it then you could have bought another when you could afford it. I have a twin in mine and I get 25 fps in PNW fairly steady.

[gigabyte]

Falcon409, I feel for ya and I can relate to Ted's comment "Parts replacers" - oh yeah soo true.

One thing you might want to check on to recover the data from that HDD, - sorry it means more $$$ but not much, go get yourself a HDD Dock. I purchased a couple for work and they are great, you should be able to find one at a very reasonable cost - I paid $49.00 Cdn fir the ones I use. The beauty is they run on their own exterbal power supply so if the drive is bad you are not in any danger of damaging the computer, oh and if you blow the PS for the Dock they run about $10.00. The other real great thing about them is they provide access to another drive if you want to use your old 1 TB for backup - very handy.