Posts by David Wood2

Totally fine by me.

What version of macOS are you running? Maybe take a peek at the event viewer to see if anything's popping up there... http://www.howtogeek.com/123646/htg-...ou-can-use-it/

The Intel Core 2 Duo processor in the Dell is definitely the better pick, assuming we're talking about both CPUs being in those LGA 775 machines.

Man, I really wish I could just grab a multimeter and start testing all those rails... you know, the +12V, +5V, and +3.3V ones...

Like, check the voltage while the PC is just idling versus when you're absolutely redlining it with some heavy software, just to see if the levels are holding steady or jumping all over the place.

Just pulled these parts out of an old rig and the owner's asking if they can be sold and what kind of cash we're looking at...

Motherboard: ASUS Motherboard
CPU: 3GHz Pentium 4 (LGA 775)
RAM: 2GB DDR2 Kingmax
GPU: 8400GS
HDD: 160GB SATA

I wouldn't really trust those programs when it comes to voltage readings...

There isn't really a solid way to test out a power supply unless you just swap it with a buddy's and see if things stabilize... Might be your CPU overheating though? Maybe the system is just shutting down to save itself from frying...

Jamie Green5 said:I've been sitting on this particular nuisance for quite some years now, and I was mostly just wondering if anyone else here might have run into the same thing, or perhaps has an inkling as to what the root cause might be.

To put it plainly, my system clock is running far too fast. It’s gaining, say, two hours every single day. I'm curious about what could possibly trigger such a drift. This hasn't been a recent development; it's been happening since the very first day I got this machine together, which was at least four years ago. I picked up all the parts from Micro Center and assembled the whole thing myself. I've spent a fair amount of time digging through various forums, tinkering around in the BIOS, and even running several memory tests, but I haven't managed to find a solution yet. I'm wondering if anyone with a bit of expertise can tell me whether this sounds like a software glitch or if we're looking at a hardware failure.

There's no real urgency or anything, I'm just genuinely curious to understand it.

The OS is Windows 7 32-bit. The motherboard is an ASUS A75F-A AMD, paired with an Intel Core i3-3220.

Is your PC set up to sync its time over the internet?

To me, it sounds like the RTC on the board is acting up... those ASUS boards can be full of surprises, though maybe I'm wrong...

Roger Gray8 said:And honestly, even this GeForce card isn't holding up—it's already blacked out on me twice! Like, the screen just goes totally dark while the fans keep spinning away... right in the middle of a movie! Once it happened while I was looking at a graph, and the second time it was just running on integrated graphics...

It’s definitely possible the PSU is the problem..

Yeah, that sounds exactly like a failing power supply... did the audio keep playing for a second or did everything just die instantly?
Still feels weird though, having two different power supplies fail with the exact same symptoms one after the other.

Is Windows showing that the charger is actually connected and doing its thing?

I’d say try pulling the battery out first just to see if the same thing happens...

Kimberly Gomez34 said:Me too. You've also got more PCE discount options and the ability to pay cash on delivery when your order arrives.

David Wood2, I think it would be a mistake to pass up the massive upgrade potential found in these Intel platforms. Unlike back in the Pentium 4 era, you can literally drop in a much more powerful CPU later on—even upgrading all the way up to those upcoming Kaby Lake i7s. Of course, we're talking about the distant future; just whenever the current CPU starts feeling sluggish in a few years...

Well... For the person I'm agreeing with here, being able to run their Diners card for 12 monthly installments is a huge deal. So, ordering through the internet is just off the table, no matter what. 🥱 Honestly, I doubt there will even be a need for an upgrade—this current Pentium 4 has been kicking butt for ten years now. 🤣

Thanks everyone for the comments and the advice! 👍

Look, if I actually knew what I was doing, I wouldn't be hanging out here asking for your "super helpful" advice... 🤦

I haven't really kept up with all the new hardware lately, but hey, I still know my way around a screwdriver... plugging in a processor and bolting down a motherboard is still in my toolkit! 🍿

I’ve been chewing on that idea of grabbing a new motherboard and CPU just to get onto the latest RAM generation... but honestly? Since I’m gonna push this setup to its absolute breaking point and probably never touch an upgrade again (just like my current Dell Inspiron😁), I’m not sure if it’s even worth paying extra for future-proofing... 🤔

I was thinking specifically about 6GB. 4GB feels way too stingy for the long haul, but then again, 8GB is basically stepping into hardcore gaming territory. 🤔

So, I’ve been tasked with putting together a PC for browsing the web (you know, the usual stuff), running Microsoft Office, and maybe the occasional game of Solitaire. 😁

The only place I can actually order from is Best Buy (since nothing else really exists around my neck of the woods...).

Here’s what I’ve pulled together—I have a bit of a thing for Dell motherboards and an Intel processor. Also, definitely going with an SSD because I am way too old to be dealing with 60s-era tech.

Mobo:

CPU:

RAM:

PSU:

SSD:

Total comes to $550.

I went ahead and grabbed a power supply that's probably overkill, but hey, better safe than sorry! And I figure the integrated graphics should totally do the trick. Already got the case and optical drive covered.

Is 4GB of RAM enough, or should I play it smart and grab 6GB for the long haul?

Let me know what you guys think! Is this build solid for what I need it for?

Anyone down to give me an estimate on this old-school gaming rig?

Motherboard: MSI P67S-C43

CPU: i5 2320 @3GHz

GPU: Sapphire HD7850 1Gb.

RAM: 2x4Gb DDR3 Kingston

PSU: http://www.realpower.de/details.php?...2#.Google It’s not some big-name brand, but man, it handles everything just fine...

So I picked up this junker to clean up some viruses, but besides a massive pile of malware, the damn thing won't connect to the internet. Like, Windows says it's totally connected, no errors popping up, and the Sent/Received stats are climbing like everything is fine. But my antivirus can't hit the server to update, Windows update is dead too, even browsers aren't loading anything... Tried both Ethernet and Wi-Fi, but nothing works.

As for the viruses, I managed to knock those out using CCleaner on a bootable USB—I just update it on another machine first. Now I'm just stuck with this weird connection issue...

The thing is, I've still got a few sketchy processes hanging out in Task Manager that look super suspicious because they don't show a developer and I can't kill them. Specifically csrss.exe, winlogon.exe, and atiedxx.exe. I know the first two are standard Windows stuff and the third one is usually graphics related, but on this specific rig, there's zero data listed for any of them...

If it had been anything else, I totally would've pulled the trigger. But man, I'm so impatient... I just couldn't wait around to order it. 😁
It looks like they cut corners somewhere to keep the price this low, but honestly? Since everything's running smooth, I'm pretty stoked.

Thanks!

A. Enivej, so I finally picked up a new PSU, and ended up grabbing an EVGA 500 W XFX since nothing else was in stock and I didn't really have a choice... Never actually heard of this brand before, but the guy at the shop—who's a buddy of mine—told me to go for it. So, here's the lowdown on this thing...

It’s got active PFC, 33A on the 12V rail, an 80 Plus Bronze rating, and all that good stuff. Plus, it was super cheap. Snagged it with a 15% discount for $93. Visually? I'd give it like a +3 or maybe even a -4... The connector plastic feels pretty cheap, honestly, with these sharp, rough edges. Clearly, their quality control isn't exactly top-tier. It's also pretty light compared to my old EVGA unit... maybe just a tiny bit heavier than some Codegen or other no-name junk. On the bright side, all the cables are sleeved, so they're a breeze to manage inside the case. My old Chief didn't have that, and it only had two SATA connectors, which sucked. This one is that "gamer" style 😬 black. The Chief was more of a professional 😬 gray.
Technically speaking, it runs pretty quiet, though it definitely runs hotter than the Chief both at idle and under load. It handles my overclocked i5 at 3.5GHz without breaking a sweat, though...

So how's that split up? Like, which components are getting the 15A and which ones get the 14A? My guess is they've got the transformers and stabilizers totally separate...