usb keychain causes stoperror: problem with case or mobo?
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Posted by idiotprogrammer on September 14, 2007, 9:49 am
Please log in for more thread options I want your problem about whether whether I should replace my mobo or just transfer everything into a new case. I've been having some problems with my 3 year old desktop pc. I backed up my most important data (though not all my data) a week ago to a paid network backup service (Mozy). it's a very odd problem. I've had stoperror/bluescreens happen unexpectedly on a semi-periodic basis, with more often in the last few days. A month ago I had to change the CMOS battery, which was odd indeed, but an easy problem to fix. i initially thought this week's problem was a video card problem, but in the last three days I noticed I could replicate it by connecting a USB keychain on the front usb port on the desktop. i would connect the usb keychain, and WHAM! blue screen! I got some errors related to hardware devices, and recently a "PFN list corruption error" (which is supposed to be related to faulty RAM). I had already downloaded the Microsoft RAM checker and was about to try it out, when the system failed again. This time it failed in a very strange and interesting way. Not only did the system not boot or post, there was no signal going to the monitor. Then, I heard something very strange. I heard flickering/staticky noises from the area near the hard drives...that nearly gave me a heart attack! But I unplugged all three hard drives, and tried again. The flickering/staticky noise was still there! That led me to believe that the hard drives were not part of the problem at all. Staring further, I saw that the flickering came from a part of the motherboard connected to the case light (yes, my case had one), front fan and my front usb ports. (it's not anywhere near the DVD drives, CPU or power supply). So the problem is probably just with the motherboard (that's what I'm betting) or just with the case. So now I need to figure what needs to be replaced (and what my budget allows). If it's a motherboard problem, I would probably want to buy a: motherboard, cpu, case, RAM (at least 3 gigs), and possibly a new videocard and monitor. I have a gigantic/noisy/energy sucking CRT 21 inch monitor which I'd like an opportunity to toss out and replace with an LCD (i have a agp port video card which I'd have to replace though). I might consider buying a full system from HP or Dell; they have decent prices on monitors and financing (a big consideration), plus it would get me Vista. It would be nice to keep this system going a little longer (and if I bought a new motherboard, i would probably have to buy a brand new cpu and RAM. Do you agree that the motherboard should be replaced? Is there any reason for my faint hope it's just a problem with the case? How could I know that? Robert Nagle ****************************************************************************************** AMD Athlon 64 3500+ CPU-ADA3500AWBOX 1 286.00 2.2GHz Microprocessor, Socket 939, L2 512K, ADA3500AWBOX. Retail Box Asus A8V Deluxe Socket MB-A8V-Deluxe 1 132.00 939 ATX Motherboard, AGP8x, 1394 & USB2.0, 8ch Audio & GB LAN, S / PDIF-out OCZ 1GB (512MB X 2) DIM-OCZ4001024PDC-K 1 183.99 OCZ4001024PDC-K DDR PC3200 400MHz Premier Dual Channel Xion Mid-Tower ATX Case CS-Xion 1 69.99 *Choose Color = Blue w/ Side Window, LED Lights & 450W PS, Color: Blue, Silver, Black Zalman CPU Cooler, COOL-CNPS7700-CU 1 42.99 CNPS7700-Cu, Pure Copper, Support Socket Intel Pentium4 775/ 478, AMD 754/ 939/ 940. Retail box Asus V9520Magic/T/128 VD-V9520Magic-T128 1 65.99 Video Card, GeForce FX5200, 128MB DDR, AGP8X, TV-Out, Retail box. Western Digital Caviar SE HD-WD1600JD 2 102.00 Serial ATA 160GB Hard Drives (WD1600JD), 8MB, 7,200RPM, OEM (Shipped) UPS Tracking Number: 1Z13643W0361718196 Plextor SATA PX-712SA DVD DVR-PX-712SA 1 114.99 Dual Burner, 8MB Buffers, OEM | |||||||||||||
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Posted by Paul on September 14, 2007, 8:38 pm
Please log in for more thread options >
> AMD Athlon 64 3500+ CPU-ADA3500AWBOX 1 286.00 > Asus A8V Deluxe Socket MB-A8V-Deluxe 1 132.00 > OCZ 1GB (512MB X 2) DIM-OCZ4001024PDC-K 1 183.99 > Xion Mid-Tower ATX Case CS-Xion 1 69.99 > Zalman CPU Cooler, COOL-CNPS7700-CU 1 42.99 > Asus V9520Magic/T/128 VD-V9520Magic-T128 1 65.99 > Western Digital Caviar SE HD-WD1600JD 2 102.00 > Plextor SATA PX-712SA DVD DVR-PX-712SA 1 114.99 When I look at a picture of the motherboard, I don't see an obvious source of noise in the lower right hand corner of the picture. You might want to try a few Google searches on A8V Deluxe, because there are the odd reports of failures. http://www.uac.co.jp/news/daily/040512/A8V_2D%20L.jpg If there was a rail to rail short inside the motherboard, that might make the motherboard get hot, but in the past, I never noticed any noise because of stuff like that. Another place you can look, to match symptoms, would be here: http://vip.asus.com/forum/topic.aspx?board_id=1&model=A8V+Deluxe&SLanguage=en-us In terms of noise makers, the Vcore circuit, and the toroidal coils, can sometimes make a noise. You might notice that the most, when running memtest or Prime95. A capacitor can make a noise, and how easy that is to do, depends on the dielectric. I don't see a reason to abandon all your stuff, that is, if a motherboard can be found. I know brand new ones with AGP slots will be scarce, so perhaps this will cost you a PCI Express video card as a replacement. So a $50 motherboard and a $60 video card. Asus A8V-VM SE http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131069 Asus A8V-XE http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131125 This third one was selling quite well on Newegg, until they sold out. The price on this one is kinda high. The "Bulk" for this one, means it is devoid of a lot of the accessories that come in the regular box, and it is still $219. So this might not be such a good deal, and is meant to show the price extremes for remaining S939. http://www.memoryexpousa.com/asa8denvnfsl.html I think, considering what it would cost to replace the whole thing, one of the $50 motherboards would be a good experiment. Just to see if the symptoms disappear or not. For any arbitraty motherboard, you should be able to do a repair install, to fix things up. Since your current motherboard is still working, I might uninstall the video card driver, before shutting down Windows for the last time, then swapping motherboard and put in the new PCI Express video card. (Repair install instructions - key here is selecting the correct option...) http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm Another thing I might try (because I already have the CDs) is a copy of Knoppix or Ubuntu Live CDs. You download a 700MB ISO file and burn a CD with it. Those two distros will boot without a hard drive being present. I like the text messages on the screen, while Knoppix is booting (knopper.net). You can watch as things like USB ports are probed and so on. The "dmesg" command will show a record of what was on the screen. For a video card, I might pick this to replace your previous one. It is PCI Express x16, to fit the new motherboard, and seems to have decent reviews. ASUS EN7300GT SILENT/HTD/256M GeForce 7300GT 256MB 128-bit $59 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121021 Paul | |||||||||||||
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Posted by idiotprogrammer on September 22, 2007, 2:35 am
Please log in for more thread options first, Paul, thanks for your excellent advice.
this was really a great idea to replace the motherboard with a 939 instead of trying to build a new system....but I turned out not to use it. I bought a microaTx motherboard for slot 939 for $55, only to discover that it didn't have enough SATA connections or PCI slots for me. With 2 SATA connections, I could have used a PCI SATA card, but unfortunately I didn't have that option. Now, I see I made another mistake. I bought a PCI express graphics card ( PowerColor HD 2600XT 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E Video Card, DirectX 10, CrossFire & HDCP Ready, HDMI, HDTV for $139) without realizing that to have crossfire you needed to have a slave card and an upgraded power supply. Unfortunately, my local company charges a 30% restocking fee, so I'm not sure whether to buy another ATI 2600XT card (maybe the cheapest of that chipset) or to absorb the 30% restocking fee and buy a less interesting videocard instead. Crossfire might be nice, but who knows if the video drivers actually work as planned? I'll probably have AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 6000+ Socket AM2 CPU and probably ASUS AMD Socket AM2 Motherboard M2N-E, nForce 570 Chipset, Supports Dual DDR2 800, PCI-E, SATA RAID, GB LAN with 4 gigs of RAM. so pretty current hardware. I'm an occasional videogame dude, but not seriously into it. Thoughts/ ideas/Warnings? Also, I'm going to be on Windows XP. Robert Nagle Houston Texas http://www.imaginaryplanet.net/weblogs/idiotprogrammer/ > idiotprogrammer wrote:
> > Hi,
>
> > I want your problem about whether whether I should replace my mobo or
> > just transfer everything into a new case. >
> > I've been having some problems with my 3 year old desktop pc.
>
> > I backed up my most important data (though not all my data) a week ago
> > to a paid network backup service (Mozy). >
> > it's a very odd problem. I've had stoperror/bluescreens happen
> > unexpectedly on a semi-periodic basis, with more often in the last few > > days. >
> > A month ago I had to change the CMOS battery, which was odd indeed,
> > but > > an easy problem to fix. >
> > i initially thought this week's problem was a video card problem, but
> > in the last three days I noticed I could replicate it by connecting a > > USB keychain on the front usb port on the desktop. i would connect the > > usb keychain, and WHAM! blue screen! >
> > I got some errors related to hardware devices, and recently a "PFN
> > list > > corruption error" (which is supposed to be related to faulty RAM). >
> > I had already downloaded the Microsoft RAM checker and was about to
> > try > > it out, when the system failed again. >
> > This time it failed in a very strange and interesting way. Not only
> > did > > the system not boot or post, there was no signal going to the monitor. >
> > Then, I heard something very strange. I heard flickering/staticky
> > noises > > from the area near the hard drives...that nearly gave me a heart > > attack! > > But I unplugged all three hard drives, and tried again. The > > flickering/staticky noise was still there! >
> > That led me to believe that the hard drives were not part of the
> > problem > > at all. Staring further, I saw that the flickering came from a part of > > the motherboard connected to the case light (yes, my case had one), > > front fan and my front usb ports. (it's not anywhere near the DVD > > drives, CPU or power supply). >
> > So the problem is probably just with the motherboard (that's what I'm
> > betting) or just with the case. >
> > So now I need to figure what needs to be replaced (and what my budget
> > allows). >
> > If it's a motherboard problem, I would probably want to buy a:
> > motherboard, cpu, case, RAM (at least 3 gigs), and possibly a new > > videocard and monitor. >
> > I have a gigantic/noisy/energy sucking CRT 21 inch monitor which I'd
> > like an opportunity to toss out and replace with an LCD (i have a agp > > port video card which I'd have to replace though). >
> > I might consider buying a full system from HP or Dell; they have
> > decent > > prices on monitors and financing (a big consideration), plus it would > > get me Vista. >
> > It would be nice to keep this system going a little longer (and if I
> > bought a new motherboard, i would probably have to buy a brand new cpu > > and RAM. >
> > Do you agree that the motherboard should be replaced? Is there any
> > reason for my faint hope it's just a problem with the case? How could > > I know that? >
> > Robert Nagle
>
> >
******************************************************************************************
>
> > AMD Athlon 64 3500+ CPU-ADA3500AWBOX 1 286.00
> > Asus A8V Deluxe Socket MB-A8V-Deluxe 1 132.00 > > OCZ 1GB (512MB X 2) DIM-OCZ4001024PDC-K 1 183.99 > > Xion Mid-Tower ATX Case CS-Xion 1 69.99 > > Zalman CPU Cooler, COOL-CNPS7700-CU 1 42.99 > > Asus V9520Magic/T/128 VD-V9520Magic-T128 1 65.99 > > Western Digital Caviar SE HD-WD1600JD 2 102.00 > > Plextor SATA PX-712SA DVD DVR-PX-712SA 1 114.99 >
option...)http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
> When I look at a picture of the motherboard, I don't see an obvious > source of noise in the lower right hand corner of the picture. You > might want to try a few Google searches on A8V Deluxe, because there > are the odd reports of failures. > > http://www.uac.co.jp/news/daily/040512/A8V_2D%20L.jpg > > If there was a rail to rail short inside the motherboard, that might > make the motherboard get hot, but in the past, I never noticed any > noise because of stuff like that. > > Another place you can look, to match symptoms, would be here: > > http://vip.asus.com/forum/topic.aspx?board_id=1&model=A8V+Deluxe&SLan... > > In terms of noise makers, the Vcore circuit, and the toroidal coils, > can sometimes make a noise. You might notice that the most, when > running memtest or Prime95. > > A capacitor can make a noise, and how easy that is to do, > depends on the dielectric. > > I don't see a reason to abandon all your stuff, that is, if a > motherboard can be found. I know brand new ones with AGP slots > will be scarce, so perhaps this will cost you a PCI Express > video card as a replacement. So a $50 motherboard and a $60 > video card. > > Asus A8V-VM SEhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131069 > > Asus A8V-XEhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131125 > > This third one was selling quite well on Newegg, until they sold > out. The price on this one is kinda high. The "Bulk" for this > one, means it is devoid of a lot of the accessories that come > in the regular box, and it is still $219. So this might not be > such a good deal, and is meant to show the price extremes for > remaining S939. > > http://www.memoryexpousa.com/asa8denvnfsl.html > > I think, considering what it would cost to replace the whole thing, > one of the $50 motherboards would be a good experiment. Just to see > if the symptoms disappear or not. For any arbitraty motherboard, > you should be able to do a repair install, to fix things up. Since > your current motherboard is still working, I might uninstall the > video card driver, before shutting down Windows for the last time, > then swapping motherboard and put in the new PCI Express video card. > > (Repair install instructions - key here is selecting the correct >
$59http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121021
> Another thing I might try (because I already have the CDs) is > a copy of Knoppix or Ubuntu Live CDs. You download a 700MB ISO > file and burn a CD with it. Those two distros will boot without > a hard drive being present. I like the text messages on the screen, > while Knoppix is booting (knopper.net). You can watch as things like > USB ports are probed and so on. The "dmesg" command will show a > record of what was on the screen. > > For a video card, I might pick this to replace your previous one. > It is PCI Express x16, to fit the new motherboard, and seems to > have decent reviews. > > ASUS EN7300GT SILENT/HTD/256M GeForce 7300GT 256MB 128-bit >
> Paul | |||||||||||||
|
Posted by idiotprogrammer on September 22, 2007, 2:39 am
Please log in for more thread options (sorry to clarify) I would preferred the older 939 mobo, but I needed
3 SATA connections, and it only had 2. The only way i could get the third one was through a PCI card, which I needed for my creative audigy sound card. i'm trying to buy locally, so my choices are limited somewhat. Robert Nagle Houston Texas http://www.imaginaryplanet.net/weblogs/idiotprogrammer/ > first, Paul, thanks for your excellent advice.
> > this was really a great idea to replace the motherboard with a 939 > instead of trying to build a new system....but I turned out not to use > it. > > I bought a microaTx motherboard for slot 939 for $55, only to discover > that it didn't have enough SATA connections or PCI slots for me. With > 2 SATA connections, I could have used a PCI SATA card, but > unfortunately I didn't have that option. > > Now, I see I made another mistake. I bought a PCI express graphics > card ( PowerColor HD 2600XT 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E Video Card, DirectX 10, > CrossFire & HDCP Ready, HDMI, HDTV for $139) without realizing that to > have crossfire you needed to have a slave card and an upgraded power > supply. Unfortunately, my local company charges a 30% restocking fee, > so I'm not sure whether to buy another ATI 2600XT card (maybe the > cheapest of that chipset) or to absorb the 30% restocking fee and buy > a less interesting videocard instead. Crossfire might be nice, but who > knows if the video drivers actually work as planned? > > I'll probably have AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 6000+ Socket AM2 CPU and > probably ASUS AMD Socket AM2 Motherboard M2N-E, nForce 570 Chipset, > Supports Dual DDR2 800, PCI-E, SATA RAID, GB LAN with 4 gigs of RAM. > so pretty current hardware. > > I'm an occasional videogame dude, but not seriously into it. Thoughts/ > ideas/Warnings? > > Also, I'm going to be on Windows XP. > > Robert Nagle > Houston Texashttp://www.imaginaryplanet.net/weblogs/idiotprogrammer/ > > > > idiotprogrammer wrote:
> > > Hi,
>
> > > I want your problem about whether whether I should replace my mobo or
> > > just transfer everything into a new case. >
> > > I've been having some problems with my 3 year old desktop pc.
>
> > > I backed up my most important data (though not all my data) a week ago
> > > to a paid network backup service (Mozy). >
> > > it's a very odd problem. I've had stoperror/bluescreens happen
> > > unexpectedly on a semi-periodic basis, with more often in the last few > > > days. >
> > > A month ago I had to change the CMOS battery, which was odd indeed,
> > > but > > > an easy problem to fix. >
> > > i initially thought this week's problem was a video card problem, but
> > > in the last three days I noticed I could replicate it by connecting a > > > USB keychain on the front usb port on the desktop. i would connect the > > > usb keychain, and WHAM! blue screen! >
> > > I got some errors related to hardware devices, and recently a "PFN
> > > list > > > corruption error" (which is supposed to be related to faulty RAM). >
> > > I had already downloaded the Microsoft RAM checker and was about to
> > > try > > > it out, when the system failed again. >
> > > This time it failed in a very strange and interesting way. Not only
> > > did > > > the system not boot or post, there was no signal going to the monitor. >
> > > Then, I heard something very strange. I heard flickering/staticky
> > > noises > > > from the area near the hard drives...that nearly gave me a heart > > > attack! > > > But I unplugged all three hard drives, and tried again. The > > > flickering/staticky noise was still there! >
> > > That led me to believe that the hard drives were not part of the
> > > problem > > > at all. Staring further, I saw that the flickering came from a part of > > > the motherboard connected to the case light (yes, my case had one), > > > front fan and my front usb ports. (it's not anywhere near the DVD > > > drives, CPU or power supply). >
> > > So the problem is probably just with the motherboard (that's what I'm
> > > betting) or just with the case. >
> > > So now I need to figure what needs to be replaced (and what my budget
> > > allows). >
> > > If it's a motherboard problem, I would probably want to buy a:
> > > motherboard, cpu, case, RAM (at least 3 gigs), and possibly a new > > > videocard and monitor. >
> > > I have a gigantic/noisy/energy sucking CRT 21 inch monitor which I'd
> > > like an opportunity to toss out and replace with an LCD (i have a agp > > > port video card which I'd have to replace though). >
> > > I might consider buying a full system from HP or Dell; they have
> > > decent > > > prices on monitors and financing (a big consideration), plus it would > > > get me Vista. >
> > > It would be nice to keep this system going a little longer (and if I
> > > bought a new motherboard, i would probably have to buy a brand new cpu > > > and RAM. >
> > > Do you agree that the motherboard should be replaced? Is there any
> > > reason for my faint hope it's just a problem with the case? How could > > > I know that? >
> > > Robert Nagle
>
> > >
******************************************************************************************
>
> > > AMD Athlon 64 3500+ CPU-ADA3500AWBOX 1 286.00
> > > Asus A8V Deluxe Socket MB-A8V-Deluxe 1 132.00 > > > OCZ 1GB (512MB X 2) DIM-OCZ4001024PDC-K 1 183.99 > > > Xion Mid-Tower ATX Case CS-Xion 1 69.99 > > > Zalman CPU Cooler, COOL-CNPS7700-CU 1 42.99 > > > Asus V9520Magic/T/128 VD-V9520Magic-T128 1 65.99 > > > Western Digital Caviar SE HD-WD1600JD 2 102.00 > > > Plextor SATA PX-712SA DVD DVR-PX-712SA 1 114.99 >
> > When I look at a picture of the motherboard, I don't see an obvious
> > source of noise in the lower right hand corner of the picture. You > > might want to try a few Google searches on A8V Deluxe, because there > > are the odd reports of failures. >
> >http://www.uac.co.jp/news/daily/040512/A8V_2D%20L.jpg
>
> > If there was a rail to rail short inside the motherboard, that might
> > make the motherboard get hot, but in the past, I never noticed any > > noise because of stuff like that. >
> > Another place you can look, to match symptoms, would be here:
>
> >http://vip.asus.com/forum/topic.aspx?board_id=1&model=A8V+Deluxe&SLan...
>
> > In terms of noise makers, the Vcore circuit, and the toroidal coils,
> > can sometimes make a noise. You might notice that the most, when > > running memtest or Prime95. >
> > A capacitor can make a noise, and how easy that is to do,
> > depends on the dielectric. >
> > I don't see a reason to abandon all your stuff, that is, if a
> > motherboard can be found. I know brand new ones with AGP slots > > will be scarce, so perhaps this will cost you a PCI Express > > video card as a replacement. So a $50 motherboard and a $60 > > video card. >
> > Asus A8V-VM SEhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131069
>
> > Asus A8V-XEhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131125
>
> > This third one was selling quite well on Newegg, until they sold
> > out. The price on this one is kinda high. The "Bulk" for this > > one, means it is devoid of a lot of the accessories that come > > in the regular box, and it is still $219. So this might not be > > such a good deal, and is meant to show the price extremes for > > remaining S939. >
> >http://www.memoryexpousa.com/asa8denvnfsl.html
>
> > I think, considering what it would cost to replace the whole thing,
> > one of the $50 motherboards would be a good experiment. Just to see > > if the symptoms disappear or not. For any arbitraty motherboard, > > you should be able to do a repair install, to fix things up. Since > > your current motherboard is still working, I might uninstall the > > video card driver, before shutting down Windows for the last time, > > then swapping motherboard and put in the new PCI Express video card. >
> > (Repair install instructions - key here is selecting the correct
option...)http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
>
> > Another thing I might try (because I already have the CDs) is
> > a copy of Knoppix or Ubuntu Live CDs. You download a 700MB ISO > > file and burn a CD with it. Those two distros will boot without > > a hard drive being present. I like the text messages on the screen, > > while Knoppix is booting (knopper.net). You can watch as things like > > USB ports are probed and so on. The "dmesg" command will show a > > record of what was on the screen. >
> > For a video card, I might pick this to replace your previous one.
> > It is PCI Express x16, to fit the new motherboard, and seems to > > have decent reviews. >
> > ASUS EN7300GT SILENT/HTD/256M GeForce 7300GT 256MB 128-bit
$59http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121021
>
> > Paul
| |||||||||||||
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Posted by Paul on September 22, 2007, 6:11 am
Please log in for more thread options idiotprogrammer wrote:
> (sorry to clarify) I would preferred the older 939 mobo, but I needed
> 3 SATA connections, and it only had 2. The only way i could get the > third one was through a PCI card, which I needed for my creative > audigy sound card. > > i'm trying to buy locally, so my choices are limited somewhat. > > Robert Nagle > Houston Texas > http://www.imaginaryplanet.net/weblogs/idiotprogrammer/ > > Does the microATX motherboard have a PCI Express x1 slot ? The following card could have a Jmicron chip on it (a guess based on the presence of a PATA connector plus two SATA connectors). The card features jumpers for selecting either the internal or external connectors, so you can disable the external connectors and use the two internal connectors instead. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815283005 I'm surprised there aren't more cards around (and I'd really rather have some more choices than just the one card), with PCI Express to SATA for low end applications. There is this chip for example, and you'd think they could make cards with something like this. The SIL3112, another Silicon Image product, was very popular when it came out. (SIL3132 PCI Express x1 to dual SATA) http://www.siliconimage.com/products/product.aspx?id=32 As for the video card, I think I'd return it, and get whatever you think is the right solution. Going from the V9520 to a 2600XT should be a large step. The reason I suggested the 7300GT is because I thought it might have about the same performance as your old card. If your objective is to build a gaming system, maybe you should sit back for a few moments, and think it through, as to how much you want to spend, and what games you plan to play. You can get some benchmarks for video cards, here. http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=858&model2=712&chart=287 I personally would never buy two video cards, for either Crossfire or SLI. There is application compatibility to consider (the use of "profiles" prepared for each game). There is also the issue of driver quality (Vista for example). And there is the issue of what benefit do you get - does it always double the performance, or does it occasionally fall down on the job. I'd much rather buy a card I know I'll be happy with, than buy half a card and then be forced to buy a second one, just to barely keep up. There are web sites, like Xbitlabs, that have measurements for video card power consumption, and you can get some idea how much power they'll draw, by using the Xbitlabs search engine. I don't see a measurement there for the 2600 XT though. They do have some interesting articles, though: "DirectX 10 Games vs. Contemporary Graphics Accelerators" http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/directx10-games.html This isn't DX-10, but has a pretty good kick. 7900GS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150174 A 7900GS draws 45 watts. http://www.xbitlabs.com/images/video/x1950pro-gf7900gs/7900gs_pwr_full.gif Paul | |||||||||||||
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>
> I want your problem about whether whether I should replace my mobo or
> just transfer everything into a new case.
>
> I've been having some problems with my 3 year old desktop pc.
>
> I backed up my most important data (though not all my data) a week ago
> to a paid network backup service (Mozy).
>
> it's a very odd problem. I've had stoperror/bluescreens happen
> unexpectedly on a semi-periodic basis, with more often in the last few
> days.
>
> A month ago I had to change the CMOS battery, which was odd indeed,
> but
> an easy problem to fix.
>
> i initially thought this week's problem was a video card problem, but
> in the last three days I noticed I could replicate it by connecting a
> USB keychain on the front usb port on the desktop. i would connect the
> usb keychain, and WHAM! blue screen!
>
> I got some errors related to hardware devices, and recently a "PFN
> list
> corruption error" (which is supposed to be related to faulty RAM).
>
> I had already downloaded the Microsoft RAM checker and was about to
> try
> it out, when the system failed again.
>
> This time it failed in a very strange and interesting way. Not only
> did
> the system not boot or post, there was no signal going to the monitor.
>
> Then, I heard something very strange. I heard flickering/staticky
> noises
> from the area near the hard drives...that nearly gave me a heart
> attack!
> But I unplugged all three hard drives, and tried again. The
> flickering/staticky noise was still there!
>
> That led me to believe that the hard drives were not part of the
> problem
> at all. Staring further, I saw that the flickering came from a part of
> the motherboard connected to the case light (yes, my case had one),
> front fan and my front usb ports. (it's not anywhere near the DVD
> drives, CPU or power supply).
>
> So the problem is probably just with the motherboard (that's what I'm
> betting) or just with the case.
>
>
> So now I need to figure what needs to be replaced (and what my budget
> allows).
>
> If it's a motherboard problem, I would probably want to buy a:
> motherboard, cpu, case, RAM (at least 3 gigs), and possibly a new
> videocard and monitor.
>
> I have a gigantic/noisy/energy sucking CRT 21 inch monitor which I'd
> like an opportunity to toss out and replace with an LCD (i have a agp
> port video card which I'd have to replace though).
>
> I might consider buying a full system from HP or Dell; they have
> decent
> prices on monitors and financing (a big consideration), plus it would
> get me Vista.
>
>
> It would be nice to keep this system going a little longer (and if I
> bought a new motherboard, i would probably have to buy a brand new cpu
> and RAM.
>
> Do you agree that the motherboard should be replaced? Is there any
> reason for my faint hope it's just a problem with the case? How could
> I know that?
>
> Robert Nagle
>
>
>