actually lost my motherboard last week coz of a surge. now i went to walmart and spent $10.

Wasn't there a sift talk post in the last several months from a sifter who had serious computer damage from a power outage, like their motherboard was fried? (It was a different post from Nibiyabi's above-linked harddrive-on-fire post.)

Where I live outside of San Francisco, we have momentary power outages several times a year. I'll enjoy not having work disrupted by my computer turning off whenever that happens.

My understanding is that power disruptions aren't very good for electronic equipment, and some people claim they can occasionally contribute to harddrive failures.

>> ^deathcow:
I've been running Windows 7 x64 in a virtualbox session for a week now.
First blue screen - I found it ran a bit slower when I allowed it access to all 8 CPU threads (i7 processor = 4 core + 4 HT) So I changed virtualbox settings to only give it 4 cores. Blue screen, unrepairable. Rebuild.
Second bluescreen was trying to find audio drivers for Intel motherboard (again through virtualbox). This I used windows restore point for and it did restore. Still no audio though.
I think these are both my fault, as its a bit unfair to fluidly adjust the number of CPU in your system and expect Windows to compensate. And, virtualbox audio drivers are a bit weird I guess so i cant fault it there. Still, a bit disheartening to see blue screens still, you would have thought they would have at least changed the color to get away from the stigma of it : )
On the plus side its very responsive even though running in a virt machine. I am able to play HD video for example. The core i7 cpu has VtX extensions which I suppose help a lot. I am not used to all the new interface quirks yet.

well, you are running thro virtualisation.

Apparently you can put it on shite little netbooks, that impresses me.

I've been running Windows 7 x64 in a virtualbox session for a week now.

First blue screen - I found it ran a bit slower when I allowed it access to all 8 CPU threads (i7 processor = 4 core + 4 HT) So I changed virtualbox settings to only give it 4 cores. Blue screen, unrepairable. Rebuild.

Second bluescreen was trying to find audio drivers for Intel motherboard (again through virtualbox). This I used windows restore point for and it did restore. Still no audio though.

I think these are both my fault, as its a bit unfair to fluidly adjust the number of CPU in your system and expect Windows to compensate. And, virtualbox audio drivers are a bit weird I guess so i cant fault it there. Still, a bit disheartening to see blue screens still, you would have thought they would have at least changed the color to get away from the stigma of it : )

On the plus side its very responsive even though running in a virt machine. I am able to play HD video for example. The core i7 cpu has VtX extensions which I suppose help a lot. I am not used to all the new interface quirks yet.

I just think it mental that if you have a device that you use daily for very important things that you wouldn't understand its basic operation. Evan the most retarded of car users should know how to change a car tire , refill it with fule , lock the dores,check oil. the basic functoins of a laptop are as simple if not more simple."

Except with those basic things... like... lock the doors, you're talking about Turning the pc on and off, opening Word and Excel, sending email, running their virus scanner etc.

Opening up a pc and changing the ram is more like opening up your car and changing an oil filter. Not rocket science by any means, but you can't expect everyone who drives a car to know how to do those sorts of things.

In a perfect world you might, but each and every car does things differently, and things are in different places, use different tools to get to etc. etc.

Same with PCs, different brands (or the same brand over the years, Dells keep mutating their insides) have different layouts and different methods of getting things in and out.

Just because YOU find doing those things on a PC easy DO NOT assume that everyone does, or should.

Plenty of people who do not know how to do those things with a PC know a damn sight more about science or other technology than you ever will, so don't think that they are stupid or ignorant for not knowing, they just spend their time knowing other things.

The point being is that we have service stations and garages to take our cars to when they need a service and we SHOULD be able to trust them.

Same with computers.

And trying to suggest that people know what the beeps mean when a computer doesn't POST is ridiculous. I have to look them up because every damn motherboard/BIOS is different and if it's your only pc that's just done it, how are they supposed to be able to look it up?

It's insane assumptions like that which show that you expect ridiculous things of people, just because YOU happen to know about a certain field.

Ahem - let me correct some of this attempted nerditry.
Yes hard drives do contain powerful magnets but they are shielded pretty heavily to prevent data corruption via electromagnetic fields. The way data corruption would occur is either on the silicone of the motherboard (or other cards) OR through the ide/sata cables (in both cases they are shielded but not as much as the hard drive and thus are more susceptible to EMF)

Thanks everybody. I really wasn't expecting such nice replies. I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy. Wanna feel?


>> ^Deano:
Even though I stopped building PCs a while ago this sort of thing fascinates me. But I hate the bit when you fire it up and nothing happens....

Tell me about it. I'm so excited, but also very worried about finally try booting up tomorrow. I have most components put together and all my cables are nice and tied together. I'll definitely have to take pictures when I have it complete.


>> ^rougy:
I am so totally turned on right now.
Oh, I'm drooling!

Hehe. Thanks! Yeah, those blue lights are pretty, but I'm more of a practical techie than an aesthetic one for my own builds. That lighted case fan is already too much as far as I'm concerned.


>> ^blutruth:
I would say two things:
First, make sure the UPS you purchase has a connected equipment replacement warranty...

Thanks a lot. Them's be some very useful tips.


>> ^Edeot:
Which video card did you choose?
What's the final cost of the build? (I'm too lazy to punch it all into Newegg.)
Why didn't you spring a little extra for a Core i7? Sure it would cost more on the CPU and motherboard, but at least you'd be future proof on RAM and processor upgrades.

Re: Video card: See update above.

Re: Total price: I think it was roughly $600. A bit more than I was aiming for, but there were a few unexpected costs (like the $100 video card and the pair of IDE to SATA adapters). Yeah, the i7 would definitely have been a nice purchase, but I already put the stretch to my dollar to afford the Q9400, so an extra $60 was pretty much out of the question.

Oh, and I scrapped the floppy because I didn't want the cable running through the middle of the beautiful open space and obstructing airflow. Finally got my first USB thumb drive instead, just so I can be sure I'm able to easily flash my BIOS.

Few questions -

Which video card did you choose?

What's the final cost of the build? (I'm too lazy to punch it all into Newegg.)

Why didn't you spring a little extra for a Core i7? Sure it would cost more on the CPU and motherboard, but at least you'd be future proof on RAM and processor upgrades.

This looks very very similar to the machine I built about a year ago, and I've been extremely happy with it. The only thing I wish I installed was a hardware RAID, since the soft RAID that came on my motherboard doesn't play very well with Linux. One of my three hard drives died about 3 months in -- luckily I had it doing nightly backups so it wasn't a big deal, but that is exactly what a RAID array would help with, not to mention a nice speed increase.

>> ^RedSky:
Pretty sure most computer manufacturing goes in more developed Asian countries like Taiwan and South Korea. China generally sticks more to basic manufacturing.


Really? Let's start by looking at Foxconn, which according to their homepage, mainly manufactures in China, and is the largest exporter there.

"Foxconn is the largest manufacturer of electronics and computer components worldwide, and mainly manufactures on contract to other companies. Although sometimes referred to as an original equipment manufacturer, Foxconn would be more accurately described as an original design manufacturer. Among other things, Foxconn produces the Mac mini, the iPod and the iPhone for Apple Computer; Intel-branded motherboards for Intel Corp.; various orders for American computer retailers Dell, Inc. and Hewlett Packard; the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 for Sony; the Wii for Nintendo; the Xbox 360 for Microsoft, cell phones for Motorola, and the Amazon Kindle." -Wikipedia

I'm sorry RedSky, but you don't know what your talking about. While companies like Foxconn and Asus have headquarters in Taiwan, the vast majority of computer manufacturing takes place in China.

>> ^joedirt:
Please read the article and change this BULLSHIT title lies
Of course the server isn't 99.9% efficient. It used almost standard SMPS that puts out +12V. Hello??? How efficient do you think those are.
The 99% efficient comment is talking ONLY about the mini-UPS on every rack.

Efficiency is another financial factor. Large UPSs can reach 92 to 95 percent efficiency, meaning that a large amount of power is squandered. The server-mounted batteries do better, Jai said: "We were able to measure our actual usage to greater than 99.9 percent efficiency."

Meaning, they have a freaking 12V battery on every motherboard. Since the Motherboards only use +12V.. (they removed all the custom voltages and +5V) DUH, of course it's pretty efficient. It's a 12V battery providing UPS with no need to provide AC (which would go through the SMPS for even more losses)
In the very same article there is a LARGE PICTURE that says the PUE is 1.2??!!
That means the server uses 120 Watts to power 100 Watts of servers.

I don't know what the hell any of that means but...OH SNAP IN YO' INEFFICIENT SERVER SUBMITTIN' FACE, SON!

Please read the article and change this BULLSHIT title *lies

Of course the server isn't 99.9% efficient. It used almost standard SMPS that puts out +12V. Hello??? How efficient do you think those are.

The 99% efficient comment is talking ONLY about the mini-UPS on every rack.

Efficiency is another financial factor. Large UPSs can reach 92 to 95 percent efficiency, meaning that a large amount of power is squandered. The server-mounted batteries do better, Jai said: "We were able to measure our actual usage to greater than 99.9 percent efficiency."

Meaning, they have a freaking 12V battery on every motherboard. Since the Motherboards only use +12V.. (they removed all the custom voltages and +5V) DUH, of course it's pretty efficient. It's a 12V battery providing UPS with no need to provide AC (which would go through the SMPS for even more losses)

In the very same article there is a LARGE PICTURE that says the PUE is 1.2??!!

That means the server uses 120 Watts to power 100 Watts of servers.

Yes, just because you have a surge protector does not mean it is safe from surging.

I heard a story once of a surge hitting the surge protector and redirecting down the line, and hitting the cable coax, firing up to the cable modem, and then through the Ethernet cords right into the comp towers...

In some cases, electricity is like water, you can dam it up, but it will still find a way.

Sounds like the connectors coming from the motherboard to the hard drive where screwed up. The copper lines that you see on a mother board, they do conduct electricity very well.

ASRock is not the best motherboard manufacturer out there, in case there was any doubt in your mind.

I played COD4 on occasion online, then I realize my reflexes aren't what they used to be when I was 16 playing Counter-Strike. Thus I turn off my old CRT monitor, cool down the vaccum tubes on the motherboard, take the COD4 punch card instructions and go back to my rocking chair.