computer troubles

[Ctn]

Its either the psu or the bios.

 

[andrzejpw]

you've tried reseting the bios, right?

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally posted by davidcotton Only thing I'd change with that set up (don't know much about athlons tbh!) is the graphics card. If it isn't one you've just spent the $$$ on then I would get something like the TI 4200 which is the bargain basement of the ti range which is far superior to the mx range.

I agree; 64MB Ti 4200's are far better choices than any GF4 MX. But higher up the GeForce 4 line the choice between a 128MB Ti 4200 and the 128MB Ti 4400 is starting to become extremely murky - almost as murky as the sound from the *choke*MDR-V600*choke*. At a Best Buy superstore the Ti 4400 sells for just $20 more than the 128MB Ti 4200 - and on top of that price difference there's a $50 rebate on that Ti 4400 this week, to boot, bringing the after-tax (based on my local sales tax) total difference to more than $28 in favor of the Ti 4400. Thus, choosing the Ti 4400 over the 128MB Ti 4200 is a no-brainer!

 

[andrzejpw]

True, but if its 128 meg 4200 vs 64 meg, go for the 128.

btw, did you see the new asus deluxe version?

3.3 ns ram, iirc!

 

[zbuddah]

Quote:

Originally posted by Duncan David, I've got the 19" VM Pro 450, connected via BNC Okay... now my turn, for a 'potential' problem After buying my Graphics card, and CPU... all seems great apart from one thing, massive amounts of heat... where my System used to run at 35 degrees C it now runs at 55 +/- and the CPU which used to run at +/- 45 degrees C now runs at 75-80!! I have got the correct CPU fan (XP2100+ compatable) and have got 4 fans in my system... so, is it safe to be running so hot? - it has crashed a couple of times in use... which i'm pretty darned sure is heat related... HELP!!

If i'm understanding this correctly your old cpu used to run at 45C and with the new cpu xp 2000+ it runs at 75-80C? Ouch that is extremely hot for your cpu. I have one of the hottest AMD cpu a 1.4 t-bird and as I am typing this message it is around 45C.

what kind of heatsink fan combo are you running? is it stock? what you need is this:

Alpha 8045 with a 80mm panaflo fan
or
Swiftech MCX-462U or MCX-4000 (retail boxed) or MCX-4000 (bare heatsink) with 80mm panaflo fan

that should keep your tempertures nice and cool and that should keep your cpu much more stable also and would probably lower the noise level coming from your computer.

You should prbably pcik up some thermal compound too if you shop at those places.
Artic Silver 3

There are other good solutions out there such as the thermalright but those almost require insanely loud tornado fans to get good temperatures, and would likely to suck with a low cfm fan.

hope that helps

 

[Ctn]

Jeese I have a 1G tbird at 1.4 and mine is under 40 degrees full load with a thermoengine + ystech fan.

 

[acs236]

Update:

I'm still working on the problem. I think I eliminated the following parts: CPU, Power supply, bios.

When I came back from being out of town, and not having fiddled with the computer for a week, something different happened. The bios beeped and I got the start screen. I thought "woohoo!" for a second, but after the memory test, it said "Invalid CMOS" and the screen blanked. I cut the power and tried booting up. This time, no video at all. I was able to repeat the failed startup, only by letting the computer sit for a couple hours. I tried replacing the bios, replacing the CPU, and replacing the power supply. I can't help but think something is overheating -- but what? What would cause it to work once (at least partially) only every couple hours? I admitted defeat, and have ordered a new motherboard. Sigh...

 

[grinch]

Quote:

Originally posted by acs236 "Invalid CMOS" and the screen blanked.

you need a new motherboard.. what i said originally *cough*

good luck with it, i hope you get it all sorted out! computer troubles are always a pain in the ass, i just had to order a new scsi cable because the rounded one i ordered originally is screwed and can't sync my drive faster than 40mb/s (should be 160mb/s!). so i had to order a new one, sucks when scsi cables are around $40 a piece, plus shipping.. just a pain.

 

[Duncan]

My Update...

I now have a huge (comparatively speaking) heatsink, from Titan... with my own 80mm fan running at 4500rpm...

For some reason the original fan was blowing air INTO the heatsink, contrary to anything else i've ever seen... does this sound right??

As to the temperature... its now sitting at about 45-50, and I also have an exhaust system blower which has cooled down the system temperature...

acs236

Bios / mobo... either way, its not healthy... if you look at one of my original posts, I was saying that I could boot every now and then too, and my screen then bummed out...

Either way, time to spend some cash

 

[acs236]

Quote:

Originally posted by grinch you need a new motherboard.. what i said originally *cough*

You were right, but you can't blame me for reach for the $12, or $50 solution first. It's complicated by the fact that I don't want to upgrade memory or have to reformat the harddrive, so I had to get the same motherboard, which was hard to fine. And I overpaid.. ohhhh...

 

[acs236]

Quote:

Originally posted by Duncan Bios / mobo... either way, its not healthy... if you look at one of my original posts, I was saying that I could boot every now and then too, and my screen then bummed out... Either way, time to spend some cash

Done and done. It just pisses me off that I had to pay so much for an old motherboard.

 

[grinch]

Quote:

Originally posted by acs236 You were right, but you can't blame me for reach for the $12, or $50 solution first. It's complicated by the fact that I don't want to upgrade memory or have to reformat the harddrive, so I had to get the same motherboard, which was hard to fine. And I overpaid.. ohhhh...

i didn't mean to be gloating or anything and i certaintly would go the power supply switch, etc. before buying a new motherboard. very good diagnostic tactics.

sucks about buying an old mobo.. sometimes when hardware dies it's just a sign from the gods to upgrade! personally i'm hoping my dual 933 will last until clawhammer comes out..

 

[acs236]

Quote:

Originally posted by grinch i didn't mean to be gloating or anything and i certaintly would go the power supply switch, etc. before buying a new motherboard. very good diagnostic tactics. sucks about buying an old mobo.. sometimes when hardware dies it's just a sign from the gods to upgrade! personally i'm hoping my dual 933 will last until clawhammer comes out..

And I didn't mean to imply that I thought you were gloating.

(this is getting complicated!) The reason why I wasn't tempted to upgrade is that I was planning on upgrading my other system first -- it needs it. It's a P3-550!!!!!

 

[Ctn]

it really sound likes some power regulators and/or caps on ur mobo went bye bye dude.

 

[acs236]

This is the final update. Apparently, the damage was caused by a power surge that fried the motherboard, the video card AND by some miracle, the first replacement motherboard I purchased!

I bought an MB from a local shop, but when I installed it I was getting a very similar problem -- no video, booting -- nothing!! Imagine my frustration after hooking up the motherboard and getting what appeared to be the same area -- swear words were spoken. Anyway, I had a MB overnighted and this one worked. It's back up and running. Now I'm stuck with a $100 credit at a local shop. www.datavis.com -- if you're board and have any suggestions on what to spend it on, I'm open.

Thanks for everyone's help!