OMGWTFBFGSAUCE

posted on: 2007-07-01 at 10:56:00 PM

Why do I ALWAYS have to have a fast computer? I have always been fascinated with the idea of having a nice .. envelope-pushing rig to play games and .. well I don't know. I love to tinker with settings and I love to watch things fail -- I love to hate to watch things fail even more. It's maddening. I don't know what my problem is. I have gone insane.

My latest project has proven to be the most frustrating of all time. I haven't had a fully working computer in about four weeks now-- well, not one that stayed on longer than twenty minutes at a time. ARGH!

It all started a few months ago when I got my new job at the giant computer store. I had a pretty nice computer before I started working there, but being involved in all the facets of the computer retail scene gave me WAY TOO MUCH ACCESS. THE POWER WAS TOO GREAT!

Through the span of a few months, I took my existing machine (AMD 64 5200+ Dual-Core Windsor on an Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe-WE motherboard running 2GBs of Corsair DDR2-6400 XMS RAM) and upgraded it with various bits and pieces -- and then I bought the big-daddy video card: nVidia's 8800GTS (previously, I had the 7800GT).

Mind you, I know there are MANY cards out there which are far superior to the one pictured here. I know that someone COULD spend $4000 on a video card array. I know that if one wanted, one could go supremely over-the-top and blow my computer (and most others) out of the water. In this dissertation, I am speaking of commonly available "consumer" grade products. So you geeks out there who want to show me up. Suck it.

So I had my 8800. Man oh man was I stoked. I was ready to push s0me pixels like NOBODY'S business. I was giddy with excitement as I installed the card (I had already pre-installed the drivers and many benchmark utilities and demos). I turned on my machine, booted into Windows ... well, it didn't really work right. Immediately I got flickering, missing pixels, system crashes, etc. No big deal, right? Just replace the card!

I do .. same thing. I test, I reconfigure. Days pass.

So it must be the motherboard, right? Replace that, re-install everything. Re-test. SAME THING.

I call the manufacturer's tech support (imagine that .. ME calling tech support). They say "you need a better power supply." So I get one. In fact, through the span of about a week, I get three! Why three? Because each one yielded the same results and I thought MORE POWER = LESS GAY.

The problem wasn't the motherboard (because I replaced it twice) and it wasn't the video card (because I replaced it FOUR times in the span of two months). The problem wasn't the RAM (because I tested it for 12 hours straight using MEMTEST86 - and also tried using all four DIMM slots using every possible matrix of configurations). The problem wasn't my OS (because I installed both XP and Vista -- 32bit AND 64bit!). The problem wasn't my power (because I have a quad-rail 850 watt PSU running off a battery back-up and I have physically tested all of the voltages going out to devices with a multi-meter). The problem wasn't the video card alone (because I stress-tested it in other computers with NO problems).

My house must be haunted. The computer Gods do not like me.

No matter what combination of new hardware I replace .. the SAME problem kept creeping up on me. I have a stable system for about twenty minutes .. and then I have a nice little strobe-light for a monitor and a video card that could cook an egg in under one minute. OMG WTF.

I have even gone to the trouble of using Angie's machine to build a test rig and replaced every piece of my hardware with hers, one-by-one. INDIVIDUALLY, EVERYTHING WORKS PERFECTLY. My gut tells me that there is a problem with my board (the Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Ed.) and the 8800GTS series nVidia video cards. Something with the combination of the two creates crazy heat and/or voltage issues. Scroll back up and look at the picture of the guy on the card. That picture shows what users using that card look like after they've gone through what I have! LOL!!1

Finally today, I decided to toss in the towel. I bent over and grabbed my ankles and took what was coming. Because I am stuck with my Asus board and AMD processor, I decided to back down and get a lesser video card. I suppose if I were to have replaced the board with a DIFFERENT chipset, I could have tackled the problem -- but I simply do not have that option right now. Besides, I really do like AMD.

I am now sporting a pair of 8600GTS in SLI mode and seem to have a stable computer. Stable enough to be able to write this blog right now, at least. I'm still seeing some glitchiness -- but I'm going to be patient.

I'll post scores soon. That is if I have a computer tomorrow morning. I am leaving the AC on all night and have my alarm set for 6:00am.

Labels: amd, bfg, computers, stress

posted by Carl | 1 Comments | Leave a comment

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