Computer A-Go-Go. (Comic Delays)

[RobbieThe1st]

Well, it sounds like its the power-supply. At least, in personal experiance, when a motherboard fails, or some critical card, it starts up, yet doesnt POST (the *beep*), and no video.

I would suggest getting a *good* 500watt or 600watt power-supply, and that will cost $50-100. The $29.99 power-supply's will *not* work well at all. They *might* deliver enough power, but they aren't very stable, and can cause other parts of your computer to fail.

Personally, I use an Antex TruePower 480watt power supply, which has run perfectly for over 3 years now. I could not find that model on newegg.com(not surprising, being at least 3 years old), however, this model looks comparable: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817103937

I hope this helps.

-RobbieThe1st

[Tezkat]

Indeed, although if I remember correctly, she's on a dual-CPU rig with gobs of ram, so...

Really? Amber didn't strike me as the multiprocessor type...

Ah well... the point I was trying to make was that the "recommended" power ratings you see bantered around are way out of whack with what PCs actually use. 350W powers my older workstation (fast P4 with several hungry graphics/PCI devices and a half dozen drives) without complaints, even running cool enough to operate in fanless mode for a while when I need super quiet for recording. The dual core 8800 GTX rig I described above doesn't draw 400W under load. I recall reading about a quad core 8800 GTX SLI system pulling over 550W in lab tests, but that's not a real-world usage scenario. Even gaming rigs usually idle at under 100W. If you've got the money for a few extra watts, sure, but...

It's worth noting that power ratings don't always mean the same thing. A good PSU will have an efficiency in the neighbourhood of 80% at its max rated load and still be good for more. Many crappy generics can't even satisfy ATX specs at 75% load, let alone 100%, and they also have pathetic efficiency (i.e. hello big electricity bill). Most of the "power" problems in PCs stem from crappy PSUs with poorly balanced rails. You get what you pay for.

In other words, it's worth spending a little extra for a good PSU, but you don't necessarily need a big one.

Well right now I'm letting mah pc baby sit on a table with the case open and unplugged.  Also gonna air-blast parts though it really isnt extreme dusty.  Well...its dusty...but you know what I mean. 

In a few hours I'll probably plug her back in and try turning on to see which fans are the ones that are running...since that might help clue in to what the problem is...maybe. I dunno.

Worst comes to worst, I can prolly rig my scanner to Mason's computer and try colouring off of this.  But I figure I'll wait and see what Friday's assessment brings.  If its going to need to be in repair for a few days, then I'll work something on Masons.

Either way I'm not too too worried.  From what it sounds, the hard drive should be safe and sound. The only aggravating aspect is the possibility of plunking down $300 or so to repair.  Especially since I'm currently saving to afford driving and car bills.  Really the worst part is just that cosmic "HAW HA" as I feel really lame doing a drive and then suddenly this hits me left field.

I suspect that your PC isn't on warranty with anyplace local to your current residence. PSUs and even motherboards aren't necessarily super expensive to replace (unless one uses the latter as an excuse to upgrade CPU/RAM/GPU/etc.), but the cost of having someone at a shop poke around in it could easily run as much as the actual hardware that needs replacing. Hopefully, you can have the problem diagnosed before spending too much of that nice auction money...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002

That's a Corsair model that's gotten great customer reviews.  620W, $150 after rebate, SLI certified.  That should be enough to easily power even Amber's fairly fast machine with juice to spare.

I own one of those, so I can vouch for it--very quiet, and it has nice long modular cables.

[King Of Hearts]

o yea... this is the same affliction with my old comp.

I just keep kicking and messing with the power wires until something happens.

[Fuyudenki]

Ah well... the point I was trying to make was that the "recommended" power ratings you see bantered around are way out of whack with what PCs actually use. 350W powers my older workstation (fast P4 with several hungry graphics/PCI devices and a half dozen drives) without complaints, even running cool enough to operate in fanless mode for a while when I need super quiet for recording. The dual core 8800 GTX rig I described above doesn't draw 400W under load. I recall reading about a quad core 8800 GTX SLI system pulling over 550W in lab tests, but that's not a real-world usage scenario. Even gaming rigs usually idle at under 100W. If you've got the money for a few extra watts, sure, but...

OK, they don't like us discussing this stuff here, so one last comment, then I'm done.

Gaming rigs may idle under 100W, but I've seen a lowly GeForce 4 MX card(equivalent to a GeForce 2) send a computer into "mystery restarts" when the gaming gets tough, on a 400W PSU.  Those "mystery restarts," as I eventually tracked down, are what happens when you stress a system to the point where it's asking for more power than the PSU can supply.  Eventually, you go over, and end up powering everything with not quite enough.  The result is just like slapping the "reset" button on the front of your case.(assuming you have one.)

I upgraded to a larger power supply, and it stopped happening.

I'm done.

[Turnsky]

given the plethora of problems comic genesis has had lately, i can't help but feel in the same boat, to be honest 

[Damaris]

Okay, it's been figured out, so we're cutting you tech geeks off now.

Go admire the iMow.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

we stopped already, yesterday, dammit ;-]

[Damaris]

*technically* speaking, you're right. :p Fine.  However, I know how you geeks are.  You're like a dog with a very tasty bone, and tend to come back to things over and over.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

there's no marrow left in this one. Her machine is already fixed, and she's not going to let us overclock it, so... :-P

[Netrogo]

there's no marrow left in this one. Her machine is already fixed, and she's not going to let us overclock it, so... :-P

We could TOTALLY do that. We can get a liquid cooling system and a 30,000btu cooling fan and then overclock the shit outta that thing.


Seriously though, Amber needs a Cintiq. I saw someone with one at my film school and it's just WOW when it comes to art on a comp.

[Paul]

Seriously though, Amber needs a Cintiq. I saw someone with one at my film school and it's just WOW when it comes to art on a comp.

I've tried a Cintiq. It's nothing short of lovely. I'm not totally convinced it's worth the obscene amount of money it costs compared to a Wacom Graphire tablet, though. But it is a very sweet piece of equipment.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Out of interest, Amber, what -was- the issue?

I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who wants to know what the actual problem was... If only so next time, we have more information for the next person who has a machine break like this...


Pwetty pwease? *cutesy eyes*

[Naldru]

there's no marrow left in this one. Her machine is already fixed, and she's not going to let us overclock it, so... :-P

We could TOTALLY do that. We can get a liquid cooling system and a 30,000btu cooling fan and then overclock the shit outta that thing.

I remember a British computer scientist who included overclocking in with the "free beer and sex" options.  The idea was that it sounds very tempting but will get you in very deep problems later.

[Netrogo]

Unless you can afford to replace the parts every so often. Then overclocking isn't an issue, much like racecar drivers having to replace tires and such more frequently then a normal driver.