Ok so a couple weeks ago my computer shut down . . . wow whats so frikkin special about that? Well I didn’t tell it to! When it started up it took f o r e v e r and said, “Windows has recoverd from a serious error.” So I thought whierd and went about my day, but nothing would work and I mean nothing I couldn’t even reformat the HDD!
So I looked around and was absolutly disgusted with what we had in town, the custon built major brands (dell, hp, acer, lenevo . . . ) All cost over $2,000 for what I want, and then I found this.
Now you may wonder why I just rambled on about this, well if dell and hp can’t sell it to me for under 2 grand what’s wrong with this computer? Is it just they don’t advertise (I’ve never heard of them) and pass the savings to you, use ultra cheap components, or is compatiability a female doggy, what is it?
I want to know what you think about this computer.
Does it look good to you?
Would you buy it?
Does anything look really wrong with it?
I’m pretty sure I want to get this but I just don’t know if it’s quality.
P.S. I don’t need a monitor or speakers, and what do you think hapend to my computer?
Unplug the hard drive data cable and the power plug to the hard drive. Then power on the computer and see how far it gets in the POST test (the BIOS startup tests). See if you can get to the BIOS setup screen. Look through the BIOS setup screens to see if reports any problems other than the lack of a hard drive.
If it’s just a hard drive failure then a replacement hard drive would seem to be the answer rather than a whole new computer.
Does anything power on? Are you not even able to get to the BIOS setup?
The primary suspects would be hard drive failure, CPU failure, or power supply failure. Do you have a spare power supply or have a friend that has a spare power supply? Try swapping the power supply and see if that works. Or pull the power supply out and take it to a repair shop that has a power supply test rig. Find out if the power supply has failed.
Even if the power supply turns on and has a light on it may not be putting out enough power to actually run the computer.
Replacing a power supply is fairly easy. The hardest part is routing the wires around and tying and bundling the wires so it is neat.
I’ve had hard drive failures and power supply failures on my home computers. It happens. Power supply problems are easier to fix than hard drive problems.
Ok maybe I should of stated that my computer is a 6 year old piece of junk that isn’t worth saving because most of the programs that I have struggle to work on it.
That being said when it starts up is says it’s missing files for the operating system. I’ve installed the OS again and it still didn’t work.
Edit: It has a new power supply because the old one fried.
Before I reformatted the HDD it wouldn’t even start the bios.
Ok then. What is it you’re looking for in a new computer? Gaming? Are you going to overclock? Any special uses? Do you care about fan noise from the computer? Do you want it to be reasonably quiet?
When I got my current computer I went with an HP Pavilion then replaced the power supply, the CPU cooler, and added a graphics card instead of the built in graphics, and replaced the case fan with a quieter fan. That was cheaper than getting a computer speced to those parts from the start or buying from a local computer builder.
I’m not a gamer. My needs are reasonable performance, quiet operation, and the ability to run a dual monitor setup. I chose a power supply that is quiet and efficient. I chose a graphics card that uses heat pipe cooling and no fan (similar to this).
This computer will be used for Gaming, CAD software, Engineering software, and schoolwork. I will not overclock, don’t want watercooling, and fan noise is acceptable but quieter is better.
First thing to figure out is if you need the graphics performance of the dual graphics card setup. That adds complexity and cost. You’ll need a bigger power supply to handle two graphics cards, you’ll need a more expensive main board, and you’ll have to deal with the configuration hassles of a dual card setup. Not all regular (non-gaming) software behaves well on a dual card setup so sometimes you’ll have to disable the second graphics card.
Things that strike me as not so good on that computer are all the fans. No thought was given to efficient cooling. There is a computer cooling article on Silent PC Review or a similar site that a fan on the top of the case (like this computer has) actually increases the internal case temperature rather than lower the temps. Four fans on the side of the case is excessive. The two fans on the back of the case is more than adequate to cool the computer. I doubt they’ve given any consideration to fan noise. When you get to college and want to put the computer in your dorm room, fan noise is going to be an issue. No one wants the roommate with the turbo gaming system that sounds like a jet airplane.
Other issues. The power supply is only 65% efficient. That’s bad. Generates more heat, wastes electricity, generally a sign that the power supply is of poor quality or designed by lazy engineers. Look for a power supply that meets the 80 Plus power supply program or at least comes very close to qualifying for the 80 Plus program.
Also realize that those big 600+ watt power supplies are not going to be efficient under regular load. A power supply is only going to be efficient when running at at least 30% of the rated capacity. Under regular average use load a computer uses surprisingly little power so that big power supply is only going to be lugging along at 10% or 20% or maybe less of its capacity and running at its lowest efficiency level. Not very “green”.
I think I’m back to building my own. I just need to decide on the motherboard.
I’ve decided on a single 8800 gts graphics card, e6850 processor, midtower case with powersupply, and crucial ram, any suggestions for a moterboard? It need to be SLI compatible and fairly upgradable but not obsesivley expensive (stryker).
Early on in reading the thread I was going to suggest a Mac, which I usually do. Less maintenance. But you listed games first, so you’re probably stuck with a PC. CyberPower is a well known brand, it’s just not as big as the better-known ones. There are lots of reputable brands out there, but in PCs it’s more about the components themselves, and whether they are appropriate for your needs. Your old machine was too old to bother trying to upgrade so it seems like a perfect time to start from scratch.
Whatever you end up narrowing down to, make sure they are components that will “play well” together. It would be a shame to mismatch some of the hardware bits so they can’t operate at their full potential.
Here’s some ideas that you can factor into your cost benefit equations:
Look for a case that has a 120mm rear fan rather than 80mm fan(s). 120mm fans are quieter since they can spin slower to get the same air movement (CFM). They also cause less turbulence in the air flow. Here’s a sample case with a 120mm rear fan (and a 120mm side fan).
If you have a side fan put it on a switch so you can turn it off for when you don’t need it. Side fans cause the side of the case to resonate and make noise. The side of the case acts like a drum head that resonates with the fan.
I’ve had good luck with the quieter Scythe fans. Though there are other quiet fans. Some are quieter than others.
Look for a quality power supply that meets the 80 Plus program. I like the Seasonic S12 series. I have a Seasonic S12 in my computer. The S12 430 is the smallest one that supports SLI.
Western Digital just released their Green Power series of hard drives. More info here. Currently available in 500GB, 750GB and 1TB capacities. Currently Newegg only has the 1TB version. They were just released this month. Other HD companies are starting to offer similar green drives.
Performance for the green drives is a little less than the regular drives since the green drives use smarts to spin more slowly at times rather than staying at 7200 rpm. Power use is less so you can use a smaller power supply. Heat generation is less so cooling is easier. All in all a good thing.
Here’s some power supply info and power supply calculators:
You’ll probably find the Seasonic 430 to be plenty adequate for your computer. Keep in mind that 430 Seasonic watts is worth more than 430 generic power supply watts. The Seasonic actually delivers on the 430 watts.
See how much you can go green on the computer and also see how much you can work on making it quiet. Both are worthy goals when building up a computer. Going green will save you in electricity and has the side benefit of being quieter with less cooling needs.
Another idea if you’re competent at building the system (which it sounds like you are) is just buy a power supply, mobo, ram, and processor. I just built a gaming system, used old dvd drives, a 10 year old case, and you prolly already have a monitor keyboard & mouse.
If the hard drive works in another machine you can keep that and just replace the other parts. Oh, and if you’re looking to save money go with AMD, it’s not quite as high-performance, but they’re damn good for much less $$.