The HARDWARE Short Questions That Don't Deserve Their Own Thread

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future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

Alfajor posted:

I currently have an Athlon 3200 with 1.5GB RAM and an Nvidia FX5700. A friend is offering a GeForce 6200 for $40.
Is it a good deal? I know I'd be much better off to upgrade to PCIexpress and all that, but that's out of budget. At the moment I mainly play CS:S and BF2, and they work fine with my current setup, but if for $40 I'd see noticeable improvement, I'd go for it. Right?

Avoid the 6200's, especially if it's turbocache. They tend to run worse than the 5700's. If it's the 128mb version it might be slightly better, but you'd be much better off spending a little more for a used 9800pro. Basically it wouldn't be worth the $40.

# ¿ Jul 14, 2006 20:59

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 23:19

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

Queef posted:

If I have a crappy old or just plain cheap video card, and I want it to last, can I reduce/eliminate the load on it by turning the monitor off, or setting the power options to do that automatically?
It seems sorta farfetched to me, but then again, it seems like there should be some way to not use the video card if you aren't displaying anything... how does that work?

Assuming you're using WinXP, go into Control Panel->Power Options-> set "Turn Off Monitor" to whatever feels right. Pretty sure it'd still send a signal to the monitor though I could be wrong. If you want to run on the safe side you could always set a blank screensaver and set it to like a 5 minute delay.

Depending on your videocard you could underclock it as well and might extend its life slightly.

Ravarek posted:

Are there any case fans or case fan manufacturer(s) that you guys would recommend? I'm looking for reliable 120mm case fans that can move a lot of air. I'm using Antec case fans right now and I'm wondering if I can do better.

Stay away from Thermaltake. Like the poster mentioned above, panoflo fans are decent. Get yate loons if you want cheap but quiet 120mm fans (although they don't blow a ton of air). Pabst 120mm fans blow a decent amount of air and tend to be quiet. However, if you want the best airflow you need to go 120x38mm and pick up either a Sanyo Denki/San Ace or one of the Delta variants (check sidewinder computers for these). If you get one of these though it's probably a good idea to pick up some fan guards and a fan controller (or 7V mod them) as they tend to run pretty fast and have a tendency to slice up roving fingers.

future ghost fucked around with this message at 06:04 on Mar 15, 2007

# ¿ Mar 15, 2007 05:54

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

Ravarek posted:

Would upgrading from a single-core Athlon to a dual-core Athlon require a reformat on a Windows XP Home machine? Or is it pretty much plug-and-play?

As long as you're not switching motherboards then you shouldn't need to do an XP reinstall. If your current motherboard doesn't support the dual-core chip you want to move to (requiring that you get a new board), then yes you'll probably have to reformat.

# ¿ May 16, 2007 00:32

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

Tedronai66 posted:

I fail to see how windows will recognize the second core automatically (then again I just always backup/format for major hardware upgrades, such as cpu/mb).

As long as your motherboard supports it and you have an up-to-date bios then it shouldn't be an issue. XP will just pop up with the new dual-core processor in device manager and task manager. Modern processors have been somewhat plug-and-play since the socket 478 Northwood P4 C's (hyperthreading/ virtual cores). Reformatting for a new mobo is always a good idea, but provided you have the support then reformatting for a new CPU should be completely unnecessary.

You don't honestly reformat when you add a new stick of RAM do you?

future ghost fucked around with this message at 21:53 on May 17, 2007

# ¿ May 17, 2007 21:49

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

^^^
It's probably just easier to use the winamp hotkeys plugin and bind a key combo to forward/backward actions. I use ctrl+alt+pageup /pagedown /space (for play/pause) personally.

# ¿ May 29, 2007 06:12

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

^^^^

Ok, that is a bit strange, but then again it's Vista (of which my knowledge is limited).

Eh, either way.. whatever works :v:

# ¿ Jun 2, 2007 19:58

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

kimcicle posted:

The Core 2 Duos come with an Intel heatsink that already has thermal paste pre-applied. Is it decent stuff, or should I use rubbing alcohol to take it off and put some Arctic Silver instead?

It's alright and would be fine to use, but a thin layer of AS would be better.

# ¿ Jul 29, 2007 01:58

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

cosmanja posted:

I picked up this processor http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sspec=sla4t
and am wondering if its 64bit. I'm looking to upgrade to vista and can't find any information on it which leads me to believe its not. Thanks

According to newegg, yes it is.

Also, it lists Intel� EM64T support on the Intel page you linked. EM64T=64bit processor. :eng101:

future ghost fucked around with this message at 14:11 on Aug 16, 2007

# ¿ Aug 16, 2007 14:09

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

emperorj posted:

Does the amperage on the 5v rail matter? I'm wondering if I can use my old 500Watt Ultra X-Connect in a newer machine if I just get a 20->24 pin converter. My only concern is that all the new PSUs appear to have 2.5 amps on the 5v while mine only has 2. Has anything fundamental changed in the way PSUs work in the last few years or is it just the connectors you need?

You'd probably be ok with it depending on what you planned to power. The biggest issues you may have is if the new board needs an 8pin power connector you'll probably have to see if you can find a 4pin to 8pin adapter (my DS3 board uses a regular 4 pin connector and it took me a couple minutes to figure out that my OP650 PSU's 8pin connector could be split), and you'll likely need a pci-e (either 6pin or 8pin depending on the videocard) power adapter.

# ¿ Dec 16, 2007 22:32

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

Here's one (dual heatpipes, can be run passive, and $20bux):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150076

The first review states 7300GT compatibility.

There are much better coolers but this one is relatively small and should be fine for your 7300-series card (cheaper than a new card anyhow).

It'd probably be much easier to work with an Accelero S2 though, and they can be run truly-passive easily:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186017

future ghost fucked around with this message at 06:38 on Apr 3, 2008

# ¿ Apr 3, 2008 03:57

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

Spechel EDD posted:

edit: was told it wouldnt, nevermind!

Actually, you should have no problems with that RAM, although it would run at a lower speed as the maximum bus speed for your board is 333mhz. So the RAM would either run at PC2100 or PC2700 speeds in sync (at whichever ratio your board's set to) with your FSB.

The only possible issue that you may have is if you're overclocking and you mix different RAM modules you can run into stability problems, especially with all three slots filled on an older board. If you're not overclocking, or you're running at auto timings you should be fine.

future ghost fucked around with this message at 00:47 on May 19, 2008

# ¿ May 19, 2008 00:44

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

WTFBEES posted:

Could I just copy the entire C: contents to this new drive? I can't think of a reason why it wouldn't work, but it just seems too easy (and I didn't think very hard about it).

Like TheQat said, the drive wouldn't be bootable if you did this.

A free way to do it (that I've used recently for both Windows and linux), is to burn a Clonezilla livecd and transfer the entire drive's contents from the old drive to the new one. It'll only copy used data so it takes less time than a couple other apps I've used that simply copied the entire drive. If you need to later you can resize and repartition the new drive via Vista's built-in partitioner or Gparted (either from a livecd or from a linux distro livecd).

Drive manufacturers also generally produce drive cloning utilities (Seagate's DiscWizard for instance) that do this, but I've found Clonezilla to be a bit faster at it.

future ghost fucked around with this message at 02:39 on Aug 27, 2008

# ¿ Aug 27, 2008 02:37

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

^^^
I've never tried that but I will have to try a fixmbr and fixboot through the console the next time I attempt to swap a (Windows) boot drive. If anyone has actually done this successfully it'd be good to know. I've generally just used 3rd-party apps to do it as I'd have to copy the data anyways, but it's worth looking into.

# ¿ Aug 27, 2008 05:01

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

Koskinator posted:

I want to upgrade my computer's RAM. It's a couple years old, but everything is still decent except the hilariously small 2 GB RAM I have in there.

It's a Gigabyte EP35-DS3L mobo or something very similar to that. It's got two sets of two RAM slots - one yellow and one red in each set. Right now I have two 1gb RAM sticks in the two yellow slots. I've been out of the scene for years and don't know what kind of RAM cards are out there right now. The computer gets heavy use for gaming, but not bleeding edge stuff - Starcraft 2, Team Fortress, and the like. I don't care about ultra high graphics.

1) What type of RAM should I get?
2) How should I install it? Should I add it to what I already have, move/trash the 1gb sticks, or what?

1) DDR2: 800mhz / PC6400 (check your current sticks for the listed speeds). Ideally you'd want to get it used on a FS/FT forum or SA-Mart as DDR2 will be expensive at retail.
2. If you buy a matching kit of either 1GB sticks or 2GB sticks, you can just throw them into 2 of the matching RAM slots to maintain dual-channel operation (so slots 1 & 3 will have the original 1GB sticks and slots 2 & 4 will have the new sticks). Even if you bought a 2x2GB kit, you should be able to continue using the old sticks unless they're considerably slower than the new ones.

You'll probably need to raise the memory voltage slightly in BIOS if you end up running all 4 slots filled.

wonder_bread posted:

If the controller died, easy as pie. Make an image of the good drive. Swap the controller over to the bad drive (THIS ONLY WORKS IF THE DRIVES ARE SIMILIAR IN drat NEAR EVERY WAY. But since it's OEM -- this is almost certainly not a problem). Fire up something like RunTime's RAID Recovery. Tell it to use the image file plus the physical disk. Voila!

This is so much easier than an automatic backup image, thanks.

future ghost fucked around with this message at 17:49 on Oct 9, 2011

# ¿ Oct 9, 2011 17:45

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

You should be able to remove the cooler and lube up the fan (just pick up some household oil at home depot or something). It's a temporary fix though. You might want to pick up an aftermarket cooler for the card. Make sure it's a reference PCB for clearance.

# ¿ Oct 20, 2011 03:34

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

Prime95 will stress your CPU harder than most applications (short of video encoding, IBT, etc.), so normally it will not get to those temperatures. Play a game with HWiNFO64 running, and it'll show the maximum temperatures. It'll be lower than you're seeing with Prime95.

I'm guessing you're using the stock cooler. If you're worried about the temperatures, or if you want to open up the possibility of overclocking, pick up a cheap Hyper 212+ cooler.

# ¿ Oct 22, 2011 04:32

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

From what I've read the S1 Rev2 should fit, assuming it's a reference 6870. You'd need VRM/RAM sinks (pick up one of the Accelero heatsink kits on amazon). I wouldn't try using an S1 on something like a 6950/6970, but it should work fine for a 6870 if you already have the cooler on-hand. When you're swapping the cooler, either use non-conductive TIM like AC Ceramique/MX-4, or just be extremely careful as GPU have exposed resistors/caps and can short out if you're using AS5 or whatever.

For the fans you could either use their "turbo" module fan add-on, or just get 1-2 fans to zip-tie to the S1. If you want low-profile (<25mm) fans for the project, check our performance-pcs or http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/ .

According to the technical specs on mwave the S1 is officially compatible with the 6870:
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/SKUSearch.asp?px=FO&scriteria=AA77256

future ghost fucked around with this message at 20:55 on Oct 25, 2011

# ¿ Oct 25, 2011 20:52

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

MrBisco posted:

With 11.11.11 just around the corner, I'm looking to upgrade my box to play Skyrim. I'm mostly concerned about my video card situation.

I currently have a 1GB Sapphire Radeon 5670, overclocking to 890Mhz with no problems. That said, I have no idea if this on its own is going to be sufficient to have a good gameplay experience in Skyrim.

If I need to upgrade, I want to do so for as low-cost a solution as possible. Would it be worth the money to buy a second identical card and set them up for Crossfire? Would it make more sense to spend a bundle more and buy a faster single card? I'd obviously prefer the first to the second.

Thanks for the help.

I found this review on Guru3D with crossfire 5670's:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-5670-review-test-crossfire/9

5670's have really anemic performance compared to even a 5770/6770 (half the number of shader pipelines/texture units/raster operators), and crossfire will only gain you slightly below the performance of a single 5770.

Unless you can get the second 5670 for free, it's not really worth it.

Your best bet is to grab a 6850/6870 or 560 (non-ti) depending on how much you want to spend, and sell the 5670. If you have access to a FS/FT forum you might be able to snag a 460 or 5850 for $100-$160.

Even a used 4870 wouldn't be a bad performer for cheap, minus DX11 effects.

# ¿ Oct 25, 2011 23:43

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

prefect posted:

I'm thinking about building a new PC. As part of that, I'm thinking of buying a second monitor. Do I need two video cards? If I have one video card with two outputs, does that mean that I would (for example) degrade the World of Warcraft frame rate on one monitor if I decide to watch Doctor Who episodes on the other?

Thanks.

If you're only gaming on one monitor, you only need a single videocard with dual-outputs. Basically any modern GPU will have dual-DVI outputs. Performance will not be affected.

# ¿ Oct 27, 2011 18:32

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

Happy Dolphin posted:

I am currently sitting on a Sapphire XFX 5970 Black Edition, with 3 Dell 24" screens hooked up to it. I have a Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P.

I'm interested in changing to an nVidia card to try something new and because I've gotten a good offer on my old one graphic card.

Thanks to me, only checking up on ATi cards, I've gotten a little out of touch with what nVidia has to provide, so I'm coming here, to ask goons for help as to what nVidia card I should get. I only have the requirement that I can hook up my 3 screens to it, or them if SLI is required. My budget is mid to highend cards.

What in the hell are you actually having difficulty running on a 5970?
560ti's in SLI would be the lowest cards that would outright beat your current card.

# ¿ Oct 27, 2011 22:38

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

Grey Area posted:

Any idea why my new 6850 is running at 66 degrees idle?

I've tried with overdrive on and off.

I was going to suggest that the fan wasn't running fast enough, but it should not be running that hot at 64%.

Sounds like the heatsink isn't mounted correctly, or that they used too much thermal paste. Try removing the side of your case to see if that makes a difference. If it goes down drastically you have bad case airflow and you need to work on your case cooling (fans, etc).

If it doesn't go down, you can either try replacing the thermal paste if you have experience working with GPU coolers (GPU's are not covered with an IHS like CPU's, so you'd need to use non-conductive TIM like arctic silver ceramique or MX-4, and you'd need to make sure the stock thermal pads are replaced in the same position over the VRM and RAM chips), or you should RMA the card.

If you're not comfortable working with GPU heatsinks, RMA the card as you could break it if you're not careful.

Mozi posted:

I need some extra storage space so was looking at various external and internal hard drives. In a perfect world I'd go for the external in this case, but still sitting next to me is one I got a few years ago that, due to some inopportune unplugging, no longer works at all, my data trapped forever in a tortuous limbo. Are external hard drives these days still vulnerable to failing if unplugged at the wrong time?

External drives are usually just cheap internal drives in an enclosure. They're more prone to failure than an internal drive. What I do is use internal drives in actively-cooled external enclosures with Oxford chips. Even still, you'd need to keep a backup of the external in case of failure.. Your best bet is probably to look into a standalone NAS instead, preferably with the option for backing up on a second or third drive.

future ghost fucked around with this message at 02:16 on Oct 28, 2011

# ¿ Oct 28, 2011 02:11

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

Happy Dolphin posted:

I have gotten a fairly good offer for the card because my friend have one himself, and wants to run crossfire. I want to see how much I'll have to shell out to beat that performance-wise, but also to "try new air" with a none-ATi card.

Ok that makes more sense. I misunderstood and thought you were having performance issues with the card. They run pretty hot, but they're not slow, so I was confused.

# ¿ Oct 28, 2011 06:59

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

It's probably caching the disk. That's normal in Windows 7 unless you have indexing/desktop search disabled.

# ¿ Oct 29, 2011 03:37

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

StickFigs posted:

I think that there may be something wrong with my GPU, my best guess is that it might have something to do with the VRAM.

Are there any programs out there that can test my GPUs VRAM for any problems like how MemTest can test regular RAM?

What GPU and what do you mean by something wrong? Artifacts? Stuttering? Game CTOD's?

If your card has GDDR5, usually it will not cause artifacting as instead graphical performance will slow down while the VRAM attempts to compensate (stuttering). If it were serious VRAM issues with GDDR5, you'd see major graphical corruption before the OS boots (cooked VRM's can also do this). Artifacting in games would point to issues with the GPU core (possibly voltage or overheating), and artifacts on the desktop can occasionally indicate serious GPU core damage (aka RMA time).

Still, test with either Furmark as Factory Factory suggested, or use MSI Afterburner and run Kombuster via the "K" button on the left. This will also allow you to monitor temperatures and GPU usage during the test.

future ghost fucked around with this message at 03:34 on Nov 5, 2011

# ¿ Nov 5, 2011 03:31

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

StickFigs posted:

It's a GeForce GTX 460 and I think it might be VRAM just on a hunch. What's been happening is randomly my screen will go black when I have a bunch of stuff open and the HDD access light stays on flickering indefinitely and none of the keyboard inputs I do seem to affect anything. The only way to get out of it is to hit the reset button on my PC.

I'm also getting this error in TF2 when I load a different map for the 3rd or 4th time:
code:
Can't load lump 53, allocation of <some random numbers here> bytes failed.
Which sounds like a memory-related issue.

The reason I suspect it's the GPUs VRAM is because of the black screen thing which reminds me of when the nvidia drivers crash but I could be wrong.

This doesn't really sound like a VRAM issue.

Check your hard disks with CrystalDiskInfo (use the portable version) for errors. What power supply do you have? Have you tested your PC's RAM with memtest, or if you're overclocking, with stress-testing tools like Prime95 or Intelburntest?

Does the audio cut out or lock up when the screen goes black? You're sure it's not just the monitor going out?

ALSO: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=5724-WAGJ-0918

# ¿ Nov 5, 2011 17:23

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

Agreed posted:

Weird choice to suggest an eraser. I mean, I can see why, but that's definitely not the usual route.

If you're using the thermal adhesive, your suggestions are fine. If you're using thermal tape for a card or on board mosfets you absolutely need to use an eraser (particularly on the VRMs) in combination with rubbing alcohol or the tape won't hold.

It's kinda weird that they'd suggest it though for the adhesive, but it's probably just to be 100% sure it'll adhere properly.

# ¿ Nov 6, 2011 04:31

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

Red Robin Hood posted:

Windows 7
core2duo e7200 2.53
4gb ram
9800gt 1gb

It is time to get my poo poo together... this system ran things pretty well up until now but Battlefield 3 has shown me that it is no longer acceptable, so I'm replacing it piece by piece.

I'm picking up a 5770 from a goon and want to use it as my main video card. Right now I have a dual monitor setup. Once I get the 5770 I would like to keep my normal setup but include a third monitor. Will this work? How should I go about installing the video card drivers? How should I use the video cards? I want to use one for my main screen, gaming and main web surfing, my secondary screen for other tasks and surfing on the side, and the third monitor for watching movies.

Thanks in advance!

You'll need another card for a third monitor. 5770's support eyefinity as far as I'm aware, but the resolution might be asking alot out of the card. I've never tried eyefinity personally so this is just conjecture, but the 5770's not a super-powerful card and it has a 128-bit memory bus, so it might take a hit trying to run 3x monitors without knowing your resolution.

If you have 2x PCI-E 16X slots on your board, just look for a cheap passive 5 or 6-series card on used forums or SA-Mart. PCI-E cards can also be used in PCI-E 4x or 8x slots, but they would need to be open-ended and there needs to be clearance for the card on the board with no capacitors, etc. in the way. You would run either the third or the second and third monitors off the secondary card. You would not run the two cards in crossfire mode.

For the drivers, download the latest version from AMD/ATI and install. The 5 and 6-series cards will use the same generation of drivers, so there shouldn't be any conflicts. Within Windows you would go the the display section of the control panel and organize the screens in the order you need them.

future ghost fucked around with this message at 06:13 on Nov 6, 2011

# ¿ Nov 6, 2011 06:08

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

Red Robin Hood posted:

Right, sorry I guess I didn't explain myself well enough. I would like to start using the 5770 as my main card just running the one monitor off of it and use my current 9800gt to run the other two monitors... since they are different brands altogether my question was mainly: will they both work in one system?

Under Windows 7, yes, you can use both cards. Uninstall existing videocard drivers in control panel, then run driver sweeper with ATI/AMD graphics and Nvidia graphics settings toggled. Reboot. After this install the Nvidia drivers, reboot, then install the ATI/AMD drivers.

Make sure that the 5770 is set as the primary monitor and that the 9800gt is handling the other two in control panel.

# ¿ Nov 6, 2011 06:22

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

zachol posted:

Is there a specific kind of eraser you should use? Most of the erasers I have would probably leave some sort of gunk behind. Do you just mean a rubber eraser or what?

I just use standard #2 pencil erasers and clean it up with 91% rubbing alcohol. You'll want to spend more time on the VRM's than the RAM chips as the VRM's are small and kinda a PITA.

MikeC posted:

thanks for the suggestions, I may be screwed up though. The glue came in 2 packets that had to be mixed.

The ram chips seems to be holding tight but the heat sinks on the voltage regulators do not appear to be sticking.....

The cure time is 5 hours and the mixture has sat for 30 min so its not like I can reapply it again.

If I wake up tommorow morning and find that its not sticking, what are my options here?

Dogen had something similar happen a couple pages back and he managed to resolve it. I'd suggest checking for his solution if they haven't adhered properly. Otherwise if you can still use any of the adhesive you'd have to reapply and try again. If you can't use the adhesive you'd need to get some decent thermal tape (I like sekisui as mentioned previously - don't use 3M thermal tape, it's terrible) and try again.

Just make sure it's set as well as can be and let it cure overnight for now. It might just take longer due the VRM's having less surface area.

# ¿ Nov 6, 2011 07:03

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

MikeC posted:

2 dvi ports both tried no results. Its an ATI 5850. Everything seems to tell me its booting up properly except no video.

So basically i hosed my card?

edit and no the led light that comes on if the card is not inserted correctly is not on.

edit: Bit of an update if it helps anyone generate a solution or firm answer.

I know know for a fact windows boots up fine. If I turn it on for 5 min, leave it alone and depress the power button, the computer goes through its shut down cycle and powers down in about 30 seconds which is normal. Will a dead video card even allow a full bootup like this?

I have some info to provide here (it's not good):

This is not because of the power plug thing. That's OK.

What will do this is if you connected the VRM heatsinks incorrectly. If you managed to connect the VRM heatsinks to a resistor, it would short out the card. The adhesive itself is NOT electrically conductive, so spillage wouldn't do this. This actually happened to me on a 4890 when I connected a VRM kit that wasn't sitting correctly, and yes, it booted to Windows (with no video). The area between the VRM's and nearby resistors is very small, so it's not hard to "cross the streams" as it were.

There is a small VRM chip for the RAM to the left of the RAM chips (on Reference PCB cards). You did put a heatsink on that chip as well right? If there's no heatsink there it might be messing things up, but beyond that, try re-seating the card and resetting CMOS on your motherboard. If that doesn't work, reseat the VRM heatsinks completely with new adhesive if possible (VERY Carefully attempt to twist off the heatsinks). The bond shouldn't be super-strong, so they should be removable with some effort, but just take extreme care when attempting this.

future ghost fucked around with this message at 17:25 on Nov 6, 2011

# ¿ Nov 6, 2011 17:22

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

MikeC posted:

Thanks for the response, I do apreciate any help I can get. Assume I screwed up and shorted something. The damage is fatal? THis most likely the case since I have a single heatsink over the 3 VRMs to the right of the RAM chips. When I was doing the prep, it appeared that it would clear any transistors but i guess I was wrong here.

I basically installed heatsinks on all parts covered by the stock heatsink supplied so its not like I didn't apply it to something. If this is simply a result of a shorted card, I might as well get a cheap replacement for it. Till I figure out when and how much to spend on a new system as I am not buying a new card for my Core 2 duo based system.

Try reseating the card and make sure the PCI-E power connector(s) are inserted fully. Make sure all VRM chips are covered with heatsinks (including the one to the left of the RAM chips if applicable). Reseat the VRM heatsinks to the right of the RAM chips if you have more adhesive.

If that doesn't work, the card may be permanently cooked. On the plus side you didn't do what I did and completely fried a resistor to the point of sparks... did you know that they can explode?

# ¿ Nov 6, 2011 17:48

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

Stickfigs posted:

What does "Reallocated Sectors Count" mean?

It means the drive is failing and will need to be replaced.
It's very likely still under warranty at least.

The power supply is a good model so you should be alright. You might want to use HWiNFO64 and check 12V voltages under load while running OCCT's standard 1hour test. The 12V listing should be at or very close to 12V min/max when running the stress-test. 11.8 is too low which would indicate a (unlikely) issue with the power supply. A little bit above 12V is fine.

future ghost fucked around with this message at 19:50 on Nov 6, 2011

# ¿ Nov 6, 2011 19:48

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

Alereon posted:

Keep in mind that since you're copying from a drive that's failing, any system problems due to corrupted data are going to remain after you image the drive, since the data will still be corrupted until you reinstall.

From the other thread, the drive only has a single reallocated sector (for now) so cloning the drive should still be relatively safe. A month from now? Maybe not so much.

# ¿ Nov 7, 2011 03:42

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

I mean, it's not good, and the number will very likely increase over time.
Ideally you wouldn't use it at all, but you can continue to use it for awhile with the caveat that each additional reallocated sector equals cumulative corrupted data on your drive. The data loss is quasi-random, to the point that maybe you'll lose one of your animu pics, or maybe you'll lose a critical OS file instead.

Also the longer you continue to use it, the less likely you'll be able to clone to a new drive instead of doing a full reinstall. If you don't mind doing a complete OS refresh, and you have all of your important data backed up, then it's not a problem and you can continue using it until you can replace the drive & reinstall.

Edit: took too long typing.

# ¿ Nov 7, 2011 05:00

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

^^^
This is more accurate. It's indicating a possible failure, but your animu pics are safe for now.

Walked posted:

So 7 reallocated sectors = dead drive coming?

Got an older 1tb with 7 sitting there. Doesnt have anything vital on it; but not good to hear either.

Yes. RMA it if it's under warranty. If there's anything you want off of it (you said nothing vital but just in case), get it fast.

# ¿ Nov 7, 2011 05:03

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

StickFigs posted:

So does this mean that the problems I was was experiencing in my original post may not be due to the dying HDD if reallocated sectors means nothing horrible has happened (yet)?

Or could these issues still be a result of something bad with my HDD?

That I do not know for sure. It sounded like a PSU issue but that was ruled out. Replacing the HDD will help in the long-term. Your original issue though was that games were going to a black screen after periods of low usage/cutscenes, which could point to a problem with the card, maybe with voltage changes at different GPU load levels?

It might be a good idea to make a HOTS thread with the original question & your system specs/relevant information.

Stump Truck posted:

Speaking of hard drives, I'll hopefully be finishing my first build tomorrow. An SSD isn't in my budget right now, but if I get one down the road, what's the best way to copy a windows installation from an HDD to an SSD short of reformatting and reinstalling everything

Clonezilla or Acronis Disk Director (this will preserve partition alignment). You'd then run the Windows Experience Index after the disk is cloned over.

future ghost fucked around with this message at 07:23 on Nov 7, 2011

# ¿ Nov 7, 2011 07:21

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

MikeC posted:

Just wanted to say thanks to you and the others who helped me out. In the end the card is indeed fried but still I appreciated the help. Turns out all my fretting over the heatsinks not sticking resulted in me moving one of them and conntected 2 black chips together. Removed heatsink and retried, still no dice.

Oh well, lesson learned but I am far better equipped to do this kind of thing in the future.

Sorry it turned out toasted, but it's good you'll be able to build past it. In the other thread you asked about the PSU & GPU -- Crossfire 6870's are faster than a single 6950, but it's pretty relative. Up to 1080p a single 6950 will rock, and it leaves you open to getting a second one of those later on if you even need to (you won't, not any time soon) rather than being stuck on 6870's. The PSU will be fine even if you end up doing a full PC rebuild, assuming 2500K, etc.

Replacing GPU cooling gets easier with practice. I toasted an x850pro (cracked the GPU core) awhile back but once you know what to look for it's not that hard. There's definitely alot of room for error though, so when looking at a new card, grab a 6950 with a decent cooler. You'll only need a 1GB version.

# ¿ Nov 8, 2011 06:27

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

MikeC posted:

Just out of curiosity and for future reference how exactly did you crack it? did you screw the new heatsink on too tight? This is one of those things that you sort of get contact and its done with?

The x850pro used ATI's older mounting setup (more narrow than the HD1900> series'). The problem with this is if you used an aftermarket cooler like the V1 Ultra that I was using, it was very easy to put too much pressure on one corner. It basically took a chip off of the exposed GPU die, which was more than enough to kill the card.

With most modern coolers and wider modern mounting setups, unless you have something under the heatsink mount or blocking the heatpipes, it's very difficult to overtighten a single corner. So it's really nothing to worry about as long as when you're installing a GPU cooler, even the stock cooler, tighten each mounting screw a little at a time in sequence. Never fully-tighten one screw before moving onto the next one.

Also, be 100% sure you have clearance before you install an aftermarket GPU cooler, especially if you have a non-reference card, as aftermarket GPU coolers and waterblocks are nearly always designed for reference cards (unless they're sold as "universal" coolers/blocks where it's less important to have a reference card). As long as nothing is in the way of the mounting setup, fins, and heatpipes, you're generally good to go.

E: When I broke the x850pro I was stuck on an old 9000pro for awhile. Put the V1 on it and overclocked to insane levels. Played through Chronicles of Riddick and MW4 with it, so it wasn't all bad.

future ghost fucked around with this message at 06:21 on Nov 9, 2011

# ¿ Nov 9, 2011 06:17

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

Too Poetic posted:

Not sure if this is the best place for this but I didnt want to start a new thread.

Has anyone been having issues with the latest ATI drivers? A friend and I have both been having display freezing/crashes since updating. It'll just freeze up for awhile and then start up a bit later, is my graphics card dying or are the newest drivers just total poo poo?

No, I haven't been having trouble with my 6950, 4850, or 4870 since updating, thanks for asking.

What GPU model(s), what power supply do you have, which catalyst drivers did you update to, did you do a clean install or an in-place upgrade, are you using the CCC or just the display driver? Does it glitch out when gaming or on the desktop? Do you have a custom fan profile, and are you overclocking? What OS? What BSOD codes are you seeing?

Details man, details.

Also, maybe this would be better for HOTS.

# ¿ Nov 10, 2011 19:32

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 23:19

future ghost: Dec 5, 2005; Gun Saliva

Cwapface posted:

AI Suite is giving me occasional 'warnings' about +12v and +5v (whatever they are, I guess sort of routes of power on the mobo) being at 0.000v. Whenever I go to check those voltages, they're fine, at 5 and 12 volts give or take 1% respectively. I guess they're temporarily just losing all power and regaining it before I can check, but I've been assuming AI Suite is full of poo poo, because if what it was saying was true, certain p
arts of the mobo would have no power, right? So it couldn't be running to give me those warning if they were actually true.

Asus P8Z68-V Pro mobo
Corsair HX850 PSU

It's bullshit. Your pc wouldn't boot without either being powered. Download hwinfo64 and watch the voltage sensors sections.

# ¿ Nov 13, 2011 19:20

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > The HARDWARE Short Questions That Don't Deserve Their Own Thread

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