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Epson Stylus Office BX300F   There is this Screw sitting in a recess  just inside printer. PHOTO attached

[attachment DELETED by admin to conserve space]Have you contacted Epson?It looks like a 5mm cross head.
It's the screw that keeps the doohickey from FALLING out! 

Seriously, I would need to examine the printer more CLOSELY to determine what that screw is. Contacted Epson and they say below it are wires so leave well alone.There you go

I have 8 gigs of RAM, but more than half is sitting in reserve status.  How to I CORRECT this?



[ATTACHMENT deleted by admin to conserve space]I moved this out of the FAQ section....Ok thanks.  Was searching in there and must a posted.  SORRY. No problem...Welcome Aboard !

PS...it'll get more attention here as well...Heh yea.  I actually did more searching around.  I have a 32bit system and some places are saying that 32 will only see 4GB of RAM, to have it see 8 to upgrade to 64 bit.  So there must be something else going on because I've had this build for over 2 years and no issues.  But now I get lag when I try to play a game....A 32 bit stem can use PAE to GO about the 4GB limit. However, the 32 bit systems used by most of use don't have that implemented.
PAE is possible if the CPU has more than 32 address lines. A number of 32bit CPUs have that feature and some motherboards support it.
OPERATING Systems and PAE Support
It was (is) used on system servers to improve overall performance.

From what you said, your system does not use the PAE feature.
Quote from: Shannon on March 13, 2015, 10:02:11 AM

But now I get lag when I try to play a game....

my SCREEN WAVES it is
monitor:
compaq 500
my graph.card:
is 32MB nvidia tnt2 64xTry:

• Degaussing (VIA On Screen Display)
• Lowering the refresh rate to 60hz
• Connecting the monitor to another PC, if the problem STILL OCCURS, the monitor has probably had it

hey im in serious need of help, I have a pretty good computer here is the specs:

CPU : Intel(R) Pentium(R)4 3.20 Ghz

Video : ATI Radeon X1300 Pro AGP 8x 256MB

Memory: 1024 MB

Ive spent alot of money on this computer , originally it was an HP , but i bought a new motherboard with an AGP slot in it. Then i bought the video card i have now.  About 2 months ago i got my processor that i have now.  I accidently dropped it off a table and the front part of it broke off and the the side no longer stays on due to that.  But it still worked just as good, but for the past month Ive had some serious and weird crashing problems.
                     It wont crash if i just leave it on all night and day with it just on the desktop, but it wont stay on for more than 30 minutes when im playing a game like GTA:San Andreas or Warhammer 40,000.  I think it might be the video card causing this, but I don't know.  The weird thing about it is that when it CRASHES, everything in the computer cuts off but the POWER light stays on.  Recently ive been trying to fix it, and Ive noticed that WHENEVER i start it back up immediately after the crash and look at the hardware monitor, my cpu temperature is at around 90-95 degrees celsius(about 190-200 degress fahrenheight) I dont think it is normal for it to be that hot.  One night i left it on all night and the next morning i find that it crashed overnight, and i had it in a small shed that i was sleeping in, and the temperatures in the shed were like 15-20 degrees , REALLY freezing.  So I dont know if this is a heat problem either. This is the only incident where it has crashed without having a game running. 

Can anybody give me any clues as to what might be doing this?Sleeping in a shed with your computer?

Bad power supply, heat and bad RAM are the most likely suspects. Is that the original HP power supply?

Take the side off and blow a fan directly in there while gaming.

Free RAM test download at www.memtest86.com

Post back with your responses.ok ill try the fan thing.

for the past hour ive been looking at my cpu, and the heat sync paste is pushed out around the LITTLE round copper plate on the heat sync, and when i spread it back out and stick in my computer and turn it on and play GTA for 15, it gets back up to 190 degrees and i look at the cpu and the paste is pushed to the sides again.  Why is it doing that?ok i spreaded out the paste and stuck it in, then i took it back out and the paste is pushed to the sides. how much paste is suppost to be on there?You could have looked up a guide on how to apply paste before actually doing so and saved yourself a world of hurt.

There has to be enough on there to fill the gaps, but not enough to squeeze it out from underneath the heatsink.. Quote from: psychaospath on April 20, 2007, 08:06:53 PM

ok ill try the fan thing.

Hey guys I just GOT a new computer and I had to reinstall windows xp pro now I’m installing all the new drivers but I can't seem to get the computer on to the internet I keep getting some error like "unable to contact your DHCP server. Request has timed out." I have no router I got a Rj45 going start into my comp from my modem, I did the Ipconfig /release /renew and that error came up, also I just downloaded the drivers from the MSI website for my MSI K9vGM-V mobo and I got a big rar file with lots of SMALL files and idea to how I got about installing this hoepfully this might resolve some PROBLEMS any advice would be greatly appreciated.What internet connection do you have?
What OS are you using?Hey I'm using windows xp pro and am currently connecting to Cox Communications High speed, any ideas on how i can install the drivers THERES a lot of files in this rar file?Without any details on the contents of the RAR file at this point it would be sheer guesswork.

Are you sure that file is from MSI ? ?

I wasn't aware they used RAR compression for drivers...Did you use the Cox CD to configure things? As you have no router where would your DHCP server be? More info needed.

i have a Gateway MX7122

Processor    AMD Mobile Athlon™ 64 Processor 3400+
2.2 GHz | 1 MB L2 Cache | HyperTransport™ TECHNOLOGY up to 1600 MHz System Bus

Memory    512 MB 333 MHz DDR (1 × 512 MB)
Expandable to 1536 MB
Total: 1 DDR Slot | Available: 1 DDR Slot

do you think this chip WOULD WORK in my system
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8216487&type=product&productCategoryId=cat01170&id=1166236106350
It appears to be OKAY. Try the below site.Go to memory.
Click on memory locator.

http://support.gateway.com/support/upgrades.asp Quote from: JohnnyS on April 20, 2007, 11:32:59 PM

do you think this chip would work in my system
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8216487&type=product&productCategoryId=cat01170&id=1166236106350

Please HELP me, i cant print inmy HP psc 1215 as it always says ERROR. Yesterday i perfectly ABLE to use it, but i cant. Thank you.

My old Gateway desktop crashed, is non-repairable, when I tried the harddrive into the newer Gateway, it came up blank blue screen......checking file system on G, CHKDSK verifying files.......& nothing came up on it, a computer tech at the store CHECKED it, SAID it was working & had 16G on it,.........can I buy a backup device, & try to transfer it to the working computer on a new blank hard drive?Two things you need to THINK about.
1. Data recovery. This means the simple data can be recovered.
2. Program transfer. Some programs can be transferred from one computer to another. But often not. The program is there, but it will not run.

Myself, I have given up on stuff that claims to transfer all my programs from on PC to another. They claim it works, but you have to fork up the money first to see it work. I refuse to pay for anything that is not proved to work. It it really works, they would have thousands of endorsements.  You can COPY your files off yes, but you cannot move the Windows install or programs to a new machine without properly reinstalling them.

Purchased a Corsair HX750 PSU.

Background:

1. 1st build.

2. 3 mos. ago minimal computer knowledge. Went from learning what wi-fi and Bluetooth is ---> challenging myself to do a build.

3.. Will be basic home PC. Mainly file ( pic and home video storage ), with possible gaming. Nothing crazy....?


What I have so FAR:

i7 4790k

gigabyte Z97X gaming 3 mobo

Noctua NH-D14 fan/heat sink

Crucial Ballistix ( sport) 16gb RAM - 2 x 8gb sticks

Corsair AX 750 PSU

LG Blu-Ray internal optical drive w/ burner and BDXL

Samsung 500gb 850 PRO SSD

Internal card reader (don't laugh)

Corsair 760T case


What I still need to get:

HDD - for file storage

Another larger External HD

OS _ Leaning towards Win 7. We have 8.1 -HATE it!!!

Will more then likely upgrading my exhaust fan

Would like to add an additional fan on top or underneath HDD or HDD cooler case/fan

GPU- Want to run 3 monitors. Nothing crazy like 4k or too insanely expensive. Mainly because we have lots of windows open ( online ) a time.
___________________________

I posted my specs. and needs in a prev. post and got a lot of comments that my PSU is an overkill unless I am doing gaming with a serious GPU.  I do intend to purchase a nice GPU.  I probally wont need it, but its nice to know I will have a powerful GPU in case I ever need it down the road.

Is there anything wrong with having this PSU that has more power then I need?  Will it affect the performance of my machine if this is more then I need?

If the answer is yes.  By adding a GPU will that help accommodate the power that is left?

I did purchase this big PSU because I thought it would be ncie to know I have the extra power if I need it in the future?  Wrong mentality?  Should I return? Quote from: frldyz on March 18, 2015, 03:17:24 PM

Is there anything wrong with having this PSU that has more power then I need? 

...
The only consideration is that higher wattage power supplies can often be less efficient at converting AC power to DC power when running at low loads, which could mean using slightly more electrical power than a power supply rated more closely to the actual amount of power being used.

The main advantage of the switching power supply is greater efficiency because the switching transistor dissipates little power when acting as a switch. Other advantages include smaller size and lighter weight from the elimination of heavy line-frequency transformers, and lower heat generation due to higher efficiency.

No. The amount of power wasted in a large PSU is v wry small.

The energy efficiency of a power supply drops significantly at low loads. Therefore it is important to match the capacity of a power supply to the power needs of the computer. Efficiency generally peaks at about 50–75% LOAD. The curve varies from model to model (examples of how this curve looks can be seen on test reports of energy efficient models found on the 80 PLUS website.

The 80 Plus program has expanded significantly since the first specification was adopted. Valid levels now include Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and a currently unused Titanium specification level. The chart below lists the requirements a PSU must meet to be certified. ...

BC_Programmer,
I went to that site and it mows says something different. Apparently they had read my authoritative post and tinged the rowing considerably.

Lets do an example using their statements.
Let us say one has bough a 800 watt power supply that is PC compatible.  They claim up to 80 % efficiency at full power. Doing the math, you would get 800 watts out with a loss of 200  watts expected. A power factor of 0.9 is good.

What is the yearly cost of 1 watt per hour?
National average price of electricity is about 10 cents per kilowatt-hour. Running a 1-watt device 24/7 will use 8.76 kWh of energy over the course of a year, at a cost of 87.6 cents.

I have standard desktop speakers with the 3.5mm jack, which I use for music, movies, etc
I recently bought a headset which I use for skype, also 3.5 mm (with split mic and SOUND inputs. )

When I plug the headset JACKS into the front inputs, the speakers go out and all the sound goes through the headset. I understand that this is how it works, but is there a workaround that will allow to use both at the same time? Will a USB adapter for the headset (2-prong) allow me to circumvent this?


thanksNo. It is not that hard. You can use a splitter for 3.5 mm stereo cord  to allow two devices to be feed from one jack.
http://tenettech.com/product/366/audio-splitter-35mm-6in
The above link has a photo. But the price is way too high.
Amazon price is better.
http://www.amazon.com/3-5mm-Audio-Splitter-Speaker-Headphones/dp/B005GNQNHU
Notice that these are specifically marketed for what your want.
So it must work. 
A splitter will not solve the issue...get a duplex sound card to do what you want...
Probably 30 BUCKS for a decent one... Quote from: patio on March 17, 2015, 05:50:08 PM

A splitter will not solve the issue...get a duplex sound card to do what you want...
Probably 30 Bucks for a decent one...

Why not?
He just wants to hear on both the speakers and the headphones.
The splitter is for that purpose.

hey everybuddy
i hav realtek pcie fe family controller series v1.24
i get this INFO from bios
but i don't know what DDR it wants
i wan't to buy a graphic card
plzz HELP me
What?  You want to buy a graphics card and have given us the information about your ethernet controller and want to know something about your RAM?  That PRETTY much SUMS it up...yes.i hav ddr2 ram
but i want to know graphics card ddr virsion
The DDR version of the graphics card does not matter in terms of compatibility.  What defines compatibility of a video card is the slot that your motherboard has and whether your power supply can run the card safely.All you need to know is which form factor the slot is...
The DDR on the vid card does not have to match what you have...

Laptop:  Toshiba Satellite P305D-S8818
OS:  Windows 7, 32 bit, 4 Gigs ram, 300 gigs hard drive.
Battery is dead and will not charge, only able to power by adapter.
Laptop overheats and shuts off because of back light. Quote

Laptop overheats and shuts off because of back light

Hi,
I have an HP 4620 that is clogged with black INK so nothing PRINTS in black. I have tried the recommended cleanings and other suggestions but just seem to be wasting time, ink and paper.

Getting the cartridge carrier out is no EASY task, however, I did FIND an older post that gave instructions on how to do it.

The problem now is, DISCONNECTING the 3 flat wires from a small circuit board on the back of the carrier.  I tried the small one first and it came completely out of the white holder connected to the board.  I stuck it back in but I fear trying the others.  Are the white holders supposed to come off the board, or do the wires come out of the holders?

Also, besides the bottom of the cartridge being clogged, there is a bunch of shiny, wet-looking ink on the bottom of (inside) the printer case. It looks as at some point a cartridge may have leaked. (?)

Almost done buying everything needed for my BEST build.
Currently on our home PC and laptop we have Win. 8.
We are def. not fans.  And we do use the option to mimic  Win 7.
My wife and I both use Win. 7 work and are very comfortable with it.
How crazy would I be if I installed Win. 7 (64bit prof).
I understand 10 is around the corner.  And if 10 turns out to be something great I will get 10.  But until then.....
Now what is this I hear about Windows no longer offering updates for Win 7?


Thanks everyone





*Would you buy a Win 7. software package in BOX from someone online or CL?If you want you can build it and use the Windows 10 Enterprise Technical Preview for free to see if you will like 10. *There may be changes/differences between the evaluation version and the actual release, but if you want to try out 10 its free to download and test out. I have tested both the 32 and 64 bit VERSIONS. If it remains offline it will use a regular password for credentials but if the internet is found during install it will want to use a windows live or hotmail account to have authentication through one of these accounts instead of the regular username/password that most are use to. http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-enterprise-technical-preview

As far as Windows 7 goes. I would buy and use 7 if you dont want to be bothered with potential bugs of 10 as well as 7 should be more secure than 10. 10 could have flaws in it that can expose you to problems and its a use at own risk no liability on MS part if say your using it and a hacker is able to steal information through an exploit etc. Also you will eventually have to buy an OS anyways and MS is allowing Win 7 to 10 upgrades for free in the future and so you should probably buy a copy of 7 unless your trying to hold out spending the money now, but instead say buying Windows 10 later skipping 7.

Buying online I generally buy through a known business such as newegg or tiger direct etc. I have heard of people buying what should be authentic versions of windows on ebay and COME to find out they were pirate copies that look like the real deal, but are fakes. These fakes will install and run until WGA detects them and then notifies you that they are not genuine and most likely pirate copies.Thanks.
Think Im gonna go with Win. 7

I'm new to this forum.
Ok, i have an unmarked tower,with a ga-ma74gm-s2 motherboard,with ddr 1066,am2+,pciex16, d33006, m2cpu and a 400w power supply. It has (6) sata2 ports. I have a WINXP sp3 sata hard drive i'm using to get this up and working .
Not sure as to what i REALLY have with this motherboard new at building PC's.
 My problem is that everything is hooked up right,that i know of.
#1. no video to monitor( checked monitors ,video card, LOOKS good)
#2.power button does not shut PC down when pushed.( checked wiring connections,looks good.)
So why am i having problems with getting it to show on screen? And why or what is causing it to not shut down when pushed.
there are no beeps,fans are working!
 I have checked everything i know of. Help!! Quote from: barbjleffel245 on March 21, 2015, 06:22:45 PM

I have a winxp sp3 sata hard drive i'm using to get this up and working

ok my laptop is a NEC running Win 7 32 bit build 7601. ok I have a really big question and I am stumped I have no idea why my comp keeps overheating. ok this is my list of things I just did today and still I overheat. oh by the way I just installed 1 month ago a new hard drive and new memory and ram and a fresh clean install of win 7. ok my list now

1. cleaned fans and check fans to see if there running all good I have 2 fans ( results after cleaning overheat)

2.all VENTS are cleaned ( results after making sure no dust bunnies overheat)

3.replaced thermal paste for intel Pentium ( results still overheating)

4. went to programs and services and turned off unnecessary programs that are not needed such as Bluetooth,smart card,parental control etc. also changed video from aero to basic (results still overheating)

ok after all that I am stumped have no clue as to why I am overheating so if anyone has any good ideas please let me know I probably have missed something besides building a new comp by now so please help

thanks, ckch03


                                 When you say it's overheating, how do you know?  Have you checked your temperatures with e.g. hwmonitor?
One possibility off the TOP of my head is that if your heatsink uses a heatpipe, which many or even most laptops do, the heatpipe may have become faulty - most likely a hairline crack letting what's inside evaporate - meaning it won't function anywhere near properly any more.  As I say, that is just a possibility, if you can GIVE us some more information on the exact issuer you're experiencing then we'll know whether that's applicable to your issue or not.yes I am monitoring heat by crystaldisk info and I am in the red with temp. a new heat sink is next to impossible check everywhere online  for one but no parts match. anyway I find that the heatsink would be the problem as this laptop has never been dropped or misused in anyway. whats weird is when I am not online or DOWNLOADING or doing a antivirus scan my temp is fine if I watch video or right even now as I am online my temp is shooting near the red zone please let me know what more info you needWhat temperatures are you seeing, could you post a screenshot?Are you sure CrystalDisk has the matching info from that CPU ? ?
Have you checked the CPU manuf. list of operating temps ?
yes I have the right info on cpu temp and I have also tried other monitoring software such a coretemp and speed fan both give me the red light for over heatingPlease Post the system specs...we'll go from there...do you mean system info if so here ya go

[ATTACHMENT deleted by admin to conserve space]

Alright, so this is for when I first built my pc, when I put everything in the case, plugged everything up, and hit the power button it ran for a split second then turned off. Bewildered I wasted a couple seconds and without pressing any buttons or messing around in the case it RESTARTED itself, then it died again. Then It restarted again and took me straight to the UEFI bios. Is this normal (it did post everytime it restarted). Cause I built a second pc with the exact same parts and it did not do this on the first run. Motherboard is this one (bought from Newegg) : ASUS P8B75-M/CSM LGA 1155 Intel B75 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 MICRO ATX Intel Motherboard.

Note: The pc runs fine, but the real scare begins when it shuts down it will restart itself sometimes and I have no idea why. Also this is a completely reformatted hard DRIVE so no viruses could possibly be on it (has windows 8.1 on it). I've checked the power options and everything SEEMS to be in order.  Did you remember to install MBoard standoffs ? ?...Thermal paste applied properly ? ?....what brand and wattage is this PSU ? ?Don't know what standoff's are, Thermal paste was pre-applied and all temps look good, EVGA 600B 600watt power supply. Standoffs are those little Brass coneectors you use mounting the MBoard to the chassis...without them you may have a short which describes your symptoms...The OP has me dizzy.
He said it did not work,
- then he said it did.

Stand Offs?
Without them, nothing can work. See images attached.

[attachment deleted by admin to conserve space]Okay all the standoff's are in the right spot for my case, and What I mean is, is it normal for a pc to restart 3 times upon first boot.  Or could I possibly have a fault in my MOBO that i need to address.It's worth trying a BIOS update - I had the exact same issue with my board when I upgraded the graphics card, turns out that there was a BIOS update to "improve GPU compatibility" which fixed it.

Hello, my Acer aspire v5 STOPPED playing back
sound after an unexpected shutdown while I
wasn't playing a game, and since then both the
speakers and the HEADPHONE jack is no more
producing sound......please help me outI moved this post to a new thread. In the FUTURE, if you need assistance please do not post in someone else's thread. Aside from anything else, your post MAY be overlooked. Thank you.

So Ive been playing on this very old laptop that can literally run no games at all and Im REALLY looking for a new gaming laptop or pc that can run games that require high performance because my laptop right now can barely run league of legends. im looking to run games like skryim,csgo,planetside,etc... Can you go with a desktop instead of a laptop? You can get BETTER performance for your money with a desktop instead of a laptop. Quote from: DaveLembke on March 19, 2015, 01:08:56 PM

Can you go with a desktop instead of a laptop? You can get better performance for your money with a desktop instead of a laptop.

What games do you plan on running and do you already have the monitor(s) or are they to be included in this budget as well?

These come with a legit install of Windows

Price:
US $365.00
Buy It Now

AMD Quad Core Gaming Desktop PC Computer 4.0 GHz
Custom Built System NEW WIN 7
Memory:    4 GB    Screen Size:    None
Hard Drive Capacity:    250 GB

Seller :
bbrenda69 (9414 )
100% Positive feedback

We offer only quality items.

Is that not true?  How would one know?

Thanks for the link. They have a phone number. They claim many happy customers.

So does Reimage.

My W key is sticking it seems on my ACER laptop. Is there anything I can do to fix this?

This is my laptop: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009JXJWZI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1Compressed air ion a can can be used to loosen dust and grime from under the keys.
Liquid solvents may do  damage to circuitry and dare to re avoided.I popped off the key, the W key. I'm thinking it may be an underlying problem. At first I'd hit W and it'd stick and so it'd essentially act like I hit W 3 TIMES when I hit it once. Well, now it acts like I haven't released it and no respositioning changes it, it goes back to this activity. Thinking the key itself needs a replacement. Thinking I might replace my entire laptop's keyboard because other keys have issues and I think it'd be easier to get a new keyboard set up...if I can.Sorry for double posting but I got relevant information.

Can a dead battery cause this kind of issues? Last night I turned off my laptop for the night and went to bed, no biggie. I just tried to turn it on and I can't get it to do so. I press power and nothing happens. It wasn't dead when I went to bed but I decided to plug the charger in and see if it was something like that.

Well not even then. I can't get the laptop to turn on now, which is reallly problematic because this has super IMPORTANT college stuff on it.

Edit - Unplugged the battery and plugged it back in. Turned on again. Quite strange but I don't know. Really interested in this key problem. I DONT think that a dead battery could cause that. You probably have a defective keyboard. For the most part laptop keyboard can be completely replaced. Also, you can try just unplugging and replugging the keyboards connection (worth a try).

Ps. I would do so only if you know what you are doing as taking of the keyboard does expose some rather sensitive PARTS (again, depending on the model)I see. I think I'm going to have it replaced. Besides this issue, some of my other keys have general wear and tear and are getting old too. I just got worried because I don't see why I would of needed to unplug and plug my battery back in, I hadn't done anything that caused it so I got worried about that.

Either way, I need a new keyboard so I'll do that. If anyone has any ideas why my laptop wouldn't turn on until I replugged in the battery (never had to do that before in the 2 years I've owned it), please PM me. Gonna mark as solved as I'm pretty sure the issue will be fixed after the replacement.
Hope you post the outcome after you replace the keyboard.  Would like to know whether that worked.

I have an ASUS K53 laptop with a built in webcam. The webcam gives very delayed jerky pictures , and I WANT to improve the quality of performance. I have an intel i3 (2nd gen) processor, 2x2.10 Ghz, casche: 3MB, and an intel HD graphic card. I don't know what kind of camera I have .

I would LIKE to know what my best OPTIONS are, i.e. buy a BETTER webcam, or buy some software, or both. I would appreciate any advice.
Or if any one has a whole load of the stuff lying around, just post it! Quote from: Rodr on March 24, 2015, 07:14:47 AM

I have an ASUS K53 laptop with a built in webcam. The webcam gives very delayed jerky pictures >:

Hello. I currently own this: http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00213821 and i am thinking about doing an overhaul but still trying to use the case and psu. I am looking at http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=13-130-755 to replace my mbb. My main question is if i stick with this case and i use the usb3.0 header can i connect that to my existing front usb ports? If so will they now be 3.0 or would i be better off scrapping the case? Thanks.No, USB3.0 headers use different connectors from USB2.0 headers.  Scrap both the case and PSU.  The PSU is old, not very good and will not have the rail weighting or connectors for a MODERN system.  Using it is only going to cause trouble.

You would be much better off selling the full machine as it is for whatever you can get, then put this money TOWARDS the new parts.  There is nothing in that system that could be reused unfortunately.Thanks again. I was kind of afraid of that. The original psu ACTUALLY went out about 3 years ago and was replaced with a more modern dynex brand psu. However seeing as that is still pretty old I will more than likely end up slowly piecing TOGETHER a rig. Been debating going full ATX anyway but now I have a reason to. Thanks again. I will open a new build thread when it comes time for me to make HARDWARE decisions.Dynex PSU?  Those are total junk - Do not even think about using that with a new PC.

The PSU is one of the most important parts of the PC, never cheap out on it.  You should only look at good brands such as Corsair, XFX, Seasonic.etc and shouldn't expect to pay less than $12 for every 10w that the unit is rated for (excluding any sale prices).

Hi all.

I'm on my phone so I'm not sure how to format this correctly or anything so I'll try to keep it short.

I haven't been able to use my computer for the last few days because it EITHER crashes and reboots straight away or just freezes at the motherboard splash screen.

I've tried starting it with no USB devices plugged in, taking out the RAM as a test (I get beeps so I'm guessing mobo works?), removing my gtx 480 and using integrated graphics (mobo is "Gigabyte Ultra Durable 3" (?)), clearing CMOS, and lastly replacing the CMOS battery (those dang things are like 5 dollars each).

None of these actions have changed anything. I have progressed to a couple of different screens very rarely. One displays the message "BIOS is updating ec firmware" and the other shows "checksum error" "post error".

My processor is an AMD Phenom II X6 1055T and power supply is TX750.

If anyone has any ideas on how to fix this or has been through something similar I'd love your help. Thank you. Try booting off of a single ram stick of the pair. If you only had a single stick to begin with then see if you can borrow one from another computer either your own or a friends.

Try booting with hard drive not connected this way your not going to get any boot level error messages from a drive issue etc.

Try a Linux Live Disc such as burn Knoppix or Linux Mint 17.1 32-bit cinnamon to a DVD and try to boot off the DVD direct and see if it works... * Do this if when disconnecting your Hard Drive it complains about missing OS.

Any other information to share about this system such as anything strange that happened leading up to the failure or a recent upgrade that might have gone bad etc, or any damage from lightning, brown out, or power surge etc.Thanks for the response. I'm very happy to have new things to try because I'm lost right now.

I have 4 sticks of "Patriot" 2Gb DDR3 1600mhz RAM. I tried booting with one at a time in different slots.

Similar thing was happening. It would crash about 3 - 5 times. Sometimes before the MB splash (so after 1 - 3 secs).

Then it would freeze on the splash screen.

I tried unplugging the hard drive and the same thing occurs. A boot LOOP then a freeze. Sometimes straight to a freeze.

Would booting from a DVD work in this situation? Can't even get to any boot options or anything. Very frustrating.

There hasn't been any power surges or anything of which I'm aware.

But for the last few months it has crashed wi the error "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered".

Sometimes the colours would go wild and it would freeze or blue screen.

I was thinking that was the graphics card going bad, none of the fixes I found solved that issue.

But taking the graphics card out and running on IG didn't change the boot error I'm having now.Might have to send the motherboard back and get a replacement. Sounds like the motherboard may have something wrong with it.I think it's about 6 years old. Is that how long motherboards usually last? Probably past warranty now, I bought the pc off gumtree. I'll send an email to Gigabyte to see how much it'll cost to replace. Hopefully that'll fix it because I really don't have much to spend. Thank you for the insight I had no idea what was going on. Is the PSU that old as well ? ?...what brand is it ?Hi patio. Good to see you're still active on these forums. I'm not sure if the PSU is the same age since I bought it from someone about a 18 months ago. It's a Corsair TX750. Model Number: CMPSU-750TXV2. Can't see a YEAR on it.Good to seeya again...i'd borrow 1 of the same or greater wattage from a buddy and swap it in there overnite...
If it still does the same thing i'm afraid David may be right...The other thing i'd try also is keep it hooked up to onboard vid...re-boot to safemode...and uninstall all instances of the vid card and drivers...
That may lend a clue as well.My mistake in thinking it was a recent build... I just recently bought a similar board brand new a 78LMT-USB3 pretty cheaply which on the outside of the Gigabyte box it stated "Gigabyte Ultra Durable 3" similar info to yours, as well as your running DDR3 1600Mhz RAM sticks which I am also running 8GB of. I guess they have been using this as a marketing term for quite a few years.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128565

If you FIND yourself needing a new motherboard in the end, this board here is a good one with options for legacy support in addition to an upgrade to a FX 8 core if that's a direction you want to go. Although the Phenom II x6 is probably plenty still for most games etc. I bought it for my AMD FX-8350 4000Mhz 8-core build and it hasn't had any issues. My prior fastest system was a Athlon II x4 620 2.6Ghz and it was starting to struggle with higher end modern games and multitasking at same time etc. The 8-core CPU I got on a deal for $139.99 which the CPU is normally $179.99 or more depending on the store etc for brand new unused.patio: a friend of mine has a high end build that I'm sure would contain a sufficient PSU for testing. Getting him to remove it and lend it to me for a couple of hours is another matter. I'll see if he's willing tomorrow (4am atm in Aus).
I haven't been able to progress to the point of having the option of booting in safe mode, even with the graphics card out.

Dave: I'm not sure of the model number for the MB but it is indeed very similar to the one you linked, similar layout and all, but your one looks more modern and is coloured better. Yeah the setup I have seemed to run fine with games like Dead Space 3 at max settings. All I really wanna play in the future is Diablo 3, which isn't demanding at all. I mostly use my computer to edit videos. When I get full time work and manage to save up I'll just build a new one from scratch. In the meantime I feel like I'll be having to get a new motherboard! Depending on how this test with a different PSU goes. Thanks for the link. Quote

(4am atm in Aus).

Background:
1. 1st build.
2. 3 mos. ago minimal computer KNOWLEDGE. Went from learning what wi-fi and Bluetooth is ---> challenging myself to do a build.
3.. Will be basic home PC. Mainly file ( pic and home video storage ), with possible gaming. Nothing crazy....?

What I have so far:
i7 4790k
gigabyte Z97X gaming 3 mobo
Noctua NH-D14 fan/heat sink
Crucial Ballistix ( sport) 16gb RAM - 2 x 8gb sticks
Corsair AX 750 PSU
LG Blu-Ray internal optical drive w/ burner and BDXL
Samsung 500gb 850 PRO SSD
Internal card reader (don't laugh)
Corsair 760T case

HGST 4tb HDD 7200rpm

What I still need to get:
Another larger External HD
OS _ Leaning towards Win 7.

GPU- Want to run 3 monitors. Nothing crazy like 4k or too insanely expensive. Mainly because we have lots of windows open ( online ) a time. Do not intend to game with 3 monitors unless Im able to without going crazy $$$



_______________

1st of I know this build is way more massive and $ as I need.  I know that.  But I've been purchasing these products when they have a great sale.  And a lot of advice I got from some builders " you'll always wish you would of  got something BIGGER and better".  So yes I know what I jave here is more then adequate.  But you never know I might realy get into this PC stuff ( I already am) and ID rather have an overkill now then redoing in the future.



That being sad.



Next on my purchase list is a GPU.  I'm looking the MSI 970.  Built for more then I need.  But like I said above.  What's everyone's opinions on this GPU?

I do intend to run 3 monitors.

Greetings Retro world!

Bear with me as i explain my idea and what i wish to achieve after my term is over!
I recently acquired a Quicksilver Power Macintosh. PC FANS DONT BE ALARMED! its dead. It overheated. All i care about is the case i want to throw in a Pentium 2 or 3 motherboard in there and make a speedy windows 98 gaming machine!

I have currently 2 motherboards from that era. A Asus P2-99 and a ABIT BX-6 and i have a few slow CPUs. I think the biggest being a 550Mhz a 350 and a 266.

Sadly none of the following boards have USB headers to put front usbs in... I was wondering was there motherboards of this era with that? or am i searching for something that doesnt even exist?

I have a Few Pentium 4 boards as well.... but i think thats a bit too much power for classic dos and windows games... I have a Asus P4P800-SE, 2 Hp Dc533SFF boards and even a Asus p4p i want to say MX? its the smaller version of the SE....

The P4s have usb headers but i think thats overkill and not retro really... So are there P2 P3 boards with USb headers out there or am i just being fussy and killing time searching for something that does not exist? You're potentially looking for something not very common due to the fact that USB2 was released as the Pentium III was starting to die out.  I've checked a few different socket 370 boards, some from as late in its lifespan as I could find, and can't find any with USB headers.  That's not to say they don't exist, just that they're at the least not very common.

Are you sure the standard boards will fit in that case?  I'm not familiar with older Mac hardware at all but unless you're planning on some cutting ANYWAY, you may want to double check whether the current board is a standard size or not and whether the standoffs will line up, etc, before you COMMIT to anything.Thanks for the reply.. being only 19 i was YOUNG during that time period so only familiar with what i see.. I would like some headers just to make it easier to copy games from USB onto the system..

My backup plan would be taking the USB PCI card that i have un soldering the USB facing inside and then making an extension to the front or just buying a USB extension cable but its not going to be good when it comes to power consumption.
And im not looking for USB 2.. just a header on the mobo for USb to the front.. I was once given a little HP that had that.. it had one USB out back and a header for the second one on the front.. sadly i threw it out last year ;(

As for the case mod.. i know im going to have to do some work to the case as you are correct, the stand offs are completely different. Ive looked inside the case and it shouldn't be hard to drill small holes and screw in standoffs where i need them. The more difficult task will be the I/O shield on the back side of the mac. I know i have to CUT the current one out and fabricate a new one.. I want to use the Zip drive opening for the USB and solder the connections to make the power and reset buttons work without replacing them..

As for PowerPC mac FAN boys.. ITS A DEAD MACHINE. I bought it dead tried to revive it as its a nice Dual Processor at 1GHz 2mb cache, 1.5GB ram.. but sadly no dice. its either the CPU or motherboard.. So i figured a Pentium 2,3 wont make too much heat and i love the design of the case and i want a retro ish gamer so why not?

[attachment deleted by admin to conserve space]This might be a solution for you: Rosewill RC-103 - 4 + 1 USB 2.0 PCI Adapter (Four External + One Internal Ports)Super Socket 7 motherboards sometimes had 1.1 Headers. It's notable that even though the motherboards supported them, typically the components weren't actually placed. I had a Super Socket 7 Motherboard which supported it but no header was actually installed to hook up the circuitry. Quote from: soybean on March 23, 2015, 02:19:49 PM

This might be a solution for you: Rosewill RC-103 - 4 + 1 USB 2.0 PCI Adapter (Four External + One Internal Ports)

In your opinion ishttp://m.newegg.com/Combo/ComboDetail?comboid=1705016&combotype=2 worth the price increase over http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=83-266-600 assuming i already have an os handy? If so why? Are better systems available for around $500? The $533.99 is a little more than i really want to spend but I will if it really blows the other away. I mainly plan on using this system for video conversion and possibly 3d printing.That link you gave shows a price of  $479.99 for a Lenovo H50-55

That brand is well known and is considered a good choice for most home and professional needs.

How much experience do you have in video editing?  Some professional video software is rather expensive.I went to a trade school about a decade ago and was in a multimedia class for about 4 years. Of course back then the main focus was converting vhs tapes to digital format using a system known as AVIO. I haven't done anything like that in quite some time although now I plan on using Adobe Premiere for the video editing and AVS4U to convert to/from different formats. I would like a system that can not only handle these TASKS but also can handle rendering 3d objects and animations made in Blender 3D, MAYA or CAD. Here is the second link isolated for clickability. http://m.newegg.com/Combo/ComboDetail?comboid=1705016&combotype=2For most video applications you would be better off focusing to get the most powerful CPU you can afford and not worrying about a graphics card (most video editing software is reliant on the CPU and you can always add a GPU in later when you have more money if your software does SUPPORT GPU acceleration).

Therefore I would be more inclined to go for something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883266875 which has a powerful CPU but you aren't spending loads of money on a GPU.  You can always upgrade it down the line to fit a GPU when you have more money if you feel that you need one.I agree with camerongray on that PC, I personally use AUTOCAD myself on  intel laptops and desktops and for the most part, they never pass 50 of my cpu load. If you do purchase camerongrey's pc suggestion just plan on investing on an extra 4gb ram card if you are going to do any HEAVY autocad (or similar program) editing. The last thing you want is for your computer to start using virtual ram while rendering a large model.Awesome. Thanks for the feedback. I do plan on doing some CAD type renderings so i will keep the extra memory upgrade in mind. I'll let you know how it goes.

Im looking some sites for Win 7 64 bit professional.
I see some sell a green box, some sell a blue box?

Also some say SP1?The green box is Home Premium, the blue one is Professional.  Why do you need professional?  If you aren't connecting it to an active directory domain or using multiple physical CPUs then there is no real need to do so.

Also remember that Microsoft set the pricing for Windows, if you see it being offered insanely CHEAP SOMEWHERE it is probably a SCAM.  You shouldn't expect to much less than $100 for Home Premium.  Stick to reputable sources like NEWEGG or Amazon.What camerongray said is true.
 You may also consider using windows 8./1 instead of Windows 7. It seems that Microsoft would rather give away Windows   8.1 rather than drop the prrice on Windows 7.
Myself, I see no reason to prefer any version of Windows 7 over Windows 8.1 at this time.  If you are willing to try Windows 8.1, you may like to READ:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2139286/the-windows-xp-upgrade-question-windows-7-or-windows-8.html

EDIT: My profile says windows XP.  But actually I'm  using windows 8.1 at this moment. And I am using speech recognition to finish this bit.

Quote from: frldyz on March 24, 2015, 04:03:52 AM

Also some say SP1?

I have INSERTED my mini pci-e card into its respective slot. My computer detects for few seconds and then it is undetected.What is it ? ?mini pcie to pcie wireless adapter.It likely requires drivers then.but before installing drivers it has to be DETECTED first? INSTALL the drivers...they will pick it up....it says "Device UNPLUGGED"Install the drivers...if they don't pick it up then it's defective and should be returned...

Hello all am new to the forums and looking for some advice in building a budget pc... I live in the bahamas an was told that tigerdirect might be the best option for me to ORDER from since it closer to me but am open to opinions.

I am trying to build a nice pc for abit of gaming,converting movie files to burn to DVD blanks.. I am looking for some thing that can handle those with not much a trouble. Am working with a budget of 400 US, so far this is what i came across so far what do you guys thing an what would you change to stay in that price range..

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3M7wZLDo you have an existing computer your upgrading from to reuse OS and the DVD Burner from? No DVD-RW drive is listed in your parts list and no OS. If going with Windows your looking at like $120+ for the drive and OS on top of what you have listed if having to buy all this. If going with Linux OS its free and your looking at probably $20+ for a burner depending on which one you go with.i already got a cd drive an os cd with me Any specific games you want to play and any specific performance requirement such as playable or playable with ultra graphics and 60+ fps?

If your games are not that demanding and regular graphics settings are fine, then more money can be invested into a better CPU vs cutting corners on a CPU as a means to include a better GPU.

I have been having pretty good luck using middle range video cards that are inexpensive that can play the games for say 2 or 3 years before a newer game title requires a better video card in which the same system can just get an upgrade to the next best mid range video card inexpensively. I have also BOUGHT high end video cards used for like 25% of the cost new which are someone elses prior gaming card which are generally better performance for the same money as a new mid-low range video card.

Have you considered buying any of your parts used to save money vs new, and do you want Intel or AMD for the CPU? Quote from: DaveLembke on March 26, 2015, 01:04:15 PM

Any specific games you want to play and any specific performance requirement such as playable or playable with ultra graphics and 60+ fps?

If your games are not that demanding and regular graphics settings are fine, then more money can be invested into a better CPU vs cutting corners on a CPU as a means to include a better GPU.

I have been having pretty good luck using middle range video cards that are inexpensive that can play the games for say 2 or 3 years before a newer game title requires a better video card in which the same system can just get an upgrade to the next best mid range video card inexpensively. I have also bought high end video cards used for like 25% of the cost new which are someone elses prior gaming card which are generally better performance for the same money as a new mid-low range video card.

Have you considered buying any of your parts used to save money vs new, and do you want Intel or AMD for the CPU?

My old pc had a intel quad core processor i had that pc lets say about 8 years now.. The cpu still is good but the board is dead.. Am just mostly intrested in converting movies to burn to dvd's.. As for gaming right now i only play a only game called pwi,but who knows i just might venture into playing something else

Now that you mention it am wondering now if i should just get me a board an continue to use the cpu i have now its a CORE 2 quad Q6600.. Since its still working

I have just started to look at the function of the camera(s) on my fairly new Tablet (Windows 8.1).  I have discovered that while it works in video mode, it will not take shots in still mode.  I have tried a few different photo apps and the result is the same.  I get error messages referring to an 'exception Breakpoint' having been reached.  I have not come across this before.  Can anyone enlighten me?  And suggest what I might try to get the camera(s) working correctly?

Clayto2  Have you tried to update the camera drivers? You can check on the companies website or just revert to the generic drivers by update driver<< find on computer<If you have a link to the USER manual, please give it.
Thanks for the responses.

My Tablet is a Quantum View 8.1 (only released last summer. See the videos about it on YouTube).  Do Tablets usually have a manual, nowadays a pdf on the internet?  Mine does not.  It had a very SMALL (one of my few criticisms of the product)  introductory booklet packaged with it, which I have been told is commonplace --- nothing about the two CAMERAS in that.  There is a website with some FAQs --- I could probably post question on that, and also see if the company rep could give advice (he has sent me a helpful email in the past)  ---- but I rather thought it was an a software issue with Windows rather than hardware.  Am I wrong?

Did anyone make sense of the error message I quoted?  What is a 'breakpoint'?

Clayto2Sorry, I missed the point on Drivers.  I have recently had all my Drivers scanned by a program called Driver Assist and a few updated Drivers installed remotely by a technician as they would not install automatically.  The SCAN did not reveal any problems with the camera drivers but it is an issue I will look into.

Clayto2 Check and see what warranty limits on on that brand. Recently some major outlets are putting a limit on return or  warranty for some makes of Tablets. Did you contact the vendor?

Thanks for the advice.  I am sure now that it is a software fault with the Windows Camera app itself (the error message referred to a problem with the app).  I now have the camera(s) working perfectly well with other, much better, apps which I have installed from the Store. I would have liked to get the Windows app working but I probably would not have used it now anyway, it is very basic and I found alternatives which are far superior.  If I understand correctly, the Windows app is part of the Windows OS, it has no uninstall / reinstall option which I have used SUCCESSFULLY with other apps from the Store if they malfunction.

claytoYou should be able to set the camera to automatically use the app of your choice...Hello patio

Oh? That could be handy if I could do it.  Can you give any advice on how to make an app the default program for using the camera(s)?

clayto

I have recently built my own computer. (About November Last Year)
Parts: HTTP://nz.pcpartpicker.com/user/PinkCreeper/saved/yVkqqs

Recently, over the last MONTH, Ive noticed a red flashing light on the case (Zalman Z3 Plus)
I know it is means to SHOW a harddisk problem, but i just hoped it was lying.

Ive had two blue screens now in the last week and Im not sure what to do.

Could it be a lose cable? Could the harddrive be faulty? Which ONE? The SSD or HDD?Cases don't have lights on them to indicate hard disk problems. The HDD light indicates that the drive is being read from or written to. Your BSOD's may be unrelated.

You can use BlueScreenView to retrieve recent STOP (BSOD) Errors, they would be useful to determine the problem. Quote from: BC_Programmer on March 26, 2015, 12:54:54 AM

Cases don't have lights on them to indicate hard disk problems. The HDD light indicates that the drive is being read from or written to. Your BSOD's may be unrelated.

You can use BlueScreenView to retrieve recent STOP (BSOD) Errors, they would be useful to determine the problem.

Start an elevated command prompt and run SFC /SCANNOW, update your AMD drivers, then see how things run from there.

The question I have is will the Intel stock heatsink suffice if I am not overclocking, and is there anything I can improve on?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($104.95 SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($78.98 OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($62.99 Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card  ($202.98 Newegg)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case  ($37.99 Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($20.99 NCIX US)
Total: $498.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-27 11:35 EDT-0400I would advise going for an Asus or Gigabyte board if possible, not a fan of MSI - ditto with the graphics card, I'd ditch MSI and go with another brand.

Other than that your build looks decent for your budget, if you can squeeze an SSD in there at all I would absolutely recommend it, if not maybe drop one in later.  The stock heatsink will be fine as well.  Thinking about if, if you're not overclocking (you can't with that CPU anyway) you could get a non-Z97 board to save some cash if you WANTED, but if you're planning on maybe upgrading to a K-series CPU and overclocking it later than keep the Z-series chipset.I revised it a bit.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qDHbD3
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qDHbD3/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($99.99 Micro Center)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($70.98 Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix SPORT 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($56.99 Micro Center)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card  ($211.99 NCIX US)
Case: Corsair SPEC-03 Red ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($43.00 Newegg)
Total: $532.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-29 09:33 EDT-0400PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7mXdcf
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7mXdcf/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($109.99 SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($82.98 Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($54.99 Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card  ($192.98 Newegg)
Case: Corsair SPEC-03 Red ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($53.98 Newegg)
Total: $544.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-29 11:19 EDT-0400

Can the house ( frame ) of Noctua case fans be painted?



right now I got a white/red theme going on inside my case.

Planning to add an extra fan inside and upgrade the exhaust fan on my case.  But IM not a big fan of the tan color?

Would the fans need to be taken out?  Would this affect the fan?



Im am NOT going to PAINT the actual fan itself.



Thanks everyone.



*** Are Noctua fans PWM?  Or can the RPM only be adjusted with the 3 RPM 3 different connectors given with the fan?



Thanks everyone.
While you can, you would really be wasting time and definitely VOID the warranty on the fans.  Why not just GET a fan in a colour that suits you?  Noctuas are good but there are plenty other fans that work just as well.  Besides, it's a case fan, the DIFFERENCE between fans when used in cases is minimal.Thank you?

My Computer: HP Pavilion p6310y, Win7 64bit 10 GB de ram
AMD Athlon II X4 630 2.8GHz
Graphic card: Nvidia GeForce 9500 GT 1G in the pcie slot and NVIDIA GeForce 9100 on the motherboard (is the pcie one BETTER or weaker?)
With the most decent updates and directX 11

Cause i tried running Ori and The Blind Forest that requires a minimum of :

OS: Windows 7
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 2.2GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ 2.8 GHz
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce 240 GT or Radeon HD 6570 – 1024 MB (1 gig)
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Hard Drive: 8 GB available space

The game run slooooooooooooooooowwww, so do i not have the minimum hardware required? Did i miss a step? I have never tried a game that requiered a powerful video card, so i need pointers.

I don't know how to compare
Your CPU is OLD yet still usable, certainly meets the requirements for that game.  However, your video card is very old and wasn't PARTICULARLY special when new - You WOULD need to upgrade this in order to run that game reasonably well.  It really depends on your budget but SOMETHING a GeForce 750 would be a reasonable upgrade to that PC without going overboard.Likely a new PSU as well since it's an HP...

I am planning to buy a new graphics card. Please help me

computer specs
i3 2100 3.10GHz
4GB ram
21.5 inch led monitor supporting full hd 1080p

I would like to play games in full hd. I have been playing them at a lower resolution till now. And now would like to play them at full hd... Please help.. Thanks in ADVANCE..

I can AFFORD about rs.8000...but around rs.5000 would be good Is this computer a custom built computer or a computer you purchased from a computer manufacturer? If it was from a computer manufacturer please provide make and model. From this info we can better assist you as for not every video card will fit in every computer. There may be spacial limitations on the size of the video card you can stuff into the box. If you have plenty of room and a PCI Express slot available, then it comes down to having the proper power supply to power the system with that performance video card.

Do you have a video card in mind?

Is there a list of games you will be playing at high graphics settings so we can make sure the card is a good match to your needs?

Do you have a preference of nVidia or ATI (AMD) video cards?

Do you have a fps REQUIREMENT, if so how many fps are you looking for with the games in mind at high settings?

Lastly something to consider would be that if you go too powerful of a video card or too HEAVY of resource requirement games, there is the potential for the video card to be of greater performance than the Core i3 CPU in which the Core i3 would be a bottleneck for system performance, as well as the Core i3 can just struggle no matter what video card because the video game is very demanding of processing power. A Core i5 would be better, but thats not to say that this Core i3 wouldnt play the games you want to play etc. Knowing what games you have in mind we can determine if the Core i3 is going to struggle or be a significant bottleneck or not.

Hello all, I'm hoping for a little help from anyone who might be able.
I am trying to install 4gb of Ballistix Sport pc3 10600,ddr3 -1333 in my Acer Veriton M275.
Everything I can find about it says it is compatible with my machine the Crucial website says it is using my machine's model number.
However when I install it I get the annoying long beep of memory sadness. Won't even post.
Link for service manual with pics of bios setup pages- http://www.manualslib.com/manual/232986/Acer-Veriton-M275.html

I have the default 250w psu.
E8600 cpu
Chipset is Intell G41
Windows7 64

Thanks in advance for any help. What chips did it have before?
Quote from: Geek-9pm on April 01, 2015, 04:06:05 PM

What chips did it have before?

What chips did it have before?

Well, I don't really understand. You should  be able to used either type.
Here is a video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D8fhsXqq4o
Watch it to the end and another clip comes on with more information. Then comes even more. But only some of the info would apply to you.
Anyway, you need to talk to Crucial and find out what went wrong.

Neither did I! 
According to all memory sellers including Crucial I should be able to use it...
....
From what I can tell tho it's not going to use Non ECC memory and must have registered memory.

Can you see in the BIOS if there is a way to disable ECC?

It uses non ECC memory so your assumption is off base...
Is the new RAM 1066 ? ?
And each slot only supports so much.

That being stated that'sn about the worst written User Manual i've seen in 5 years...

I basically have a HP Pavilion a706n. I had it plugged into a surge protector but when I came home the electric company was doing work right by my house and said the electricity would be off. Iv never been able to turn my computer on since. It was working ok before but recently the nvidia graphics CARD had stopped working and I had to remove it and go back to the original....it's an old desktop but it still worked fine for me. Now there's no sign of life, just won't turn on at all, no light on the power supply or anything. I have very limited funds and so I just wanted to try and get my files out of the hard drive if possible? At least see if they are still available? I have done some searching online and from what Iv understood I would need this or something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000J01I1G/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Is this correct? Is this a good choice of product? My harddrive says ''Barracuda 7200.7 160 Gbytes model: ST3160021A''
 
Iv tried finding information myself but would appreciate someone confirming this for me. Is there anything else I need to KNOW? Thank you for your time. Exactly the gadget that I have used in the past....GREAT thinking...Keep at it...

Wishing you well...BlairI hate to point it out, but you will also need another computer to transfer your data to. That device is great because you can use it for eide and sata drives. If you know you will only be working with sata drives, you can search get this one - http://www.amazon.com/Patuoxun-Converter-Adapter-Cable-Drive/dp/B008ASF5MC/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1427901975&sr=1-3&keywords=usb+to+sata+cable and it will save you a bit of coin.Hi

Your drive is an IDE so stick with your first choice. The HP would have been using Cable select. 
When you use a USB to IDE adapter like the Vantec you need the drive jumped for master.

The manual for your drive is here http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/manuals/ata/cuda7200pm.pdf

And the jumper settings are on page 21
Th item below cots less and does the same thing.
http://www.amazon.com/New-Wayzon-Adapter-Converter-External/dp/B001OORMVQ/ref=pd_bxgy_e_img_y

Awhile back some of these were junk. But Amazon is rather sharp about shifting thru the junk. For occasional backup with a spare HDD, it will work fine. That is the kind of thing I use for backup. 

Note: This kind of thing has no enclosure. And no power switch.  Be careful Do  plug in the drive before plugging in the power to the wall outlet. Th HDD connectors are NOT hot swap connectors and are not fool PROOF. And don't place a  naked drive on on top of loose metabolic objects like paper clips, thumb tacks and metal bottle CAPS.

Hello, I'm having a problem with my computer in which it decides to REBOOT itself or disconnect all the connected ports forcing me to manualy restart it. this usualy happens within an hour of starting the computer.
Build consists of
Windows 8.1
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770S Cpu 3.10 Hz
16GB DDR3 Ram
1TB Hard drive
150GB SSHD
500W power supply.
NVIDIA Geforce 660So it is a new build that has never worked okay?No. it is not a new build. I bought the pc about two years ago and it worked fine up until TODAY. I haven't made any CHANGES to it

I'm still having a hard time choosing between Win 7: home vs pro. for home PURPOSE computer.



I thought I read Win 7: home limits you to 16gb of RAM anf pro 192gb?



I assume this is the amount of RAM you put in your MOBO?



Other then then this and the encryption THING with Win 7.  Does anyone realy see an advantage to using Win 7 pro. for home use?  Or just buy the home premium?
Unless you plan to use features SPECIFICALLY unavailable in Home Premium (such as more than 16GB of RAM or features such as BitLocker) Home Premium should MEET your needs fine.

I cannot think of any particularly good reason to get Windows 7 Pro for a typical Home User.Video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwrFEYVGUBo
But no need to worry. It only refers to RAM, not storage.
As BC said, unlikely a home user WOULD ever need more RAM.

I'm hoping to put a larger HDD in my laptop and just wanted to check if the speed 5400 or 7200 is important in other words if my EXISTING one runs at 5400 will I have to replace with another running  at the same speed?

I assume that I can FIT a slimmer HDD OK say 7mm rather than a 9.5mm but am I CORRECT in that assumption?

Any help gratefully RECEIVED.

 Yes...slimmer is no issue at all as once it's mounted it makes no difference...
As to the speeds you will see a bit of a performance increase with 7200 vs. 5400...
Nothing earth-shattering...but worth it. Quote from: patio on MARCH 29, 2015, 03:31:33 PM

Yes...slimmer is no issue at all as once it's mounted it makes no difference...
As to the speeds you will see a bit of a performance increase with 7200 vs. 5400...
Nothing earth-shattering...but worth it.

I have bought a slim external USB CD/DVD Drive (read and write) for my W8.1 TABLET.  It  is recognised in Devices with an appropriate icon, the light comes on, the tray opens and a disc can be inserted, there are no error messages, the Troubleshooter does not detect any problems (eg. with the Driver, as it did on another Drive for which this one is a replacement) yet I cannot get it to play, whatever disc (CD or DVD, music, computer files) I insert.  When I click on open or play in a menu (eg.a mouse right click) it ejects the disc (as does eject).

Neither Windows Media Player or VLC recognise the Drive's existence or list the disc's contents or play any of the songs on a music disc.  There is quite a lot of bleeping from the Driver but no sound from any disc.

IT is some years since I used a CD/DVD Drive and I am wondering if there is some basic procedure I have overlooked?  Can anyone give advice, please?

Clayto2Some things are not perfectly USB compliant. You may have to use an external power supply with he CD/DVD player. It may be taking the limit of power that comes out of the USB port. The limit is 500 MA.   If the drive goes bit over that for more that a fraction of a second, the port shouts down.

Is this drive powered by the USB port?  It is possible the power output of your tablet isn't sufficient to fully run the drive.

-MalekeHi

You WOULD need a powered USB hub to get enough power for the DVD drive.
Also can you please try using a pen drive on the tablet and see if you can open and run say a movie or music.
If it works with a pen drive it should work with a DVD drive attached via a powered hub Hello

Thanks for the various suggestions.  Here is an update:

My faulty CD/DVD Drive has been replaced by the supplier.  The second Drive behaves quite differently to the Drive it replaced yet  is still not working.  It  is recognised in Devices with an appropriate icon, the light comes on, the tray opens and a disc can be inserted, there are no error messages, the Troubleshooter does not detect any problems (eg. with the Driver, as it did on the other Drive) yet I cannot get it to play, whatever disc (CD or DVD, music, computer files) I insert.  When I click on open or play in a menu (eg.a mouse right click) it ejects the disc (as does eject).

Neither Windows Media Player or VLC recognise the Drive's existence or list the disc's contents or play any of the songs on a music disc.  There is quite a lot of bleeping from the Driver but no sound from any disc.

Like the first Drive the new one has a second USB cable / socket to supply additional current if it is necessary (other users of the same Drive say they have not found it necessary.  My Tablet seems quite happy running 3 or 4 Flash / Pen Drives from an unpowered hub.)  I am afraid the manufacturer's name is unknown, there is just a reference in Properties to 'a standard CD device'.

It is some years since I used a CD/DVD Drive and I was wondering if there is some basic procedure I have overlooked but I cannot think what it could be, I have tried everything I can think of.  I had hoped to try it on my WXP Laptop but unfortunately I found that the CD / DVD Driver has got corrupted, it shows up in Devices with (from memory) a yellow ! MARK and the Troubleshooter says it is faulty.  I uninstalled the Driver and reinstalled it but the result was the same.  The Driver for the XP will be quite old but I have a file with a host of up-to-date Drivers for the XP but I dont know how to tell which one is for the CD / DVD or how to INSTALL it ---- can someone advise on that?

Clayto2h

 Correction.: the manufacturer etc of the Drive is MatshitauJ-840D. I just going to do a search for that.

ClaytoI had never heard of Matshitau but there is plenty about them on WWW, and Drivers to download for the-840D.  Would you advise me to try installing that?  The firm seems to be associated with / possibly taken over by Panasonic.

ClaytoJust for the record I have learned that Matshitau is the original name of Panasonic, it is the founder's family name.  Anyway, I am sending the Drive back to the vendor for a refund, having tried everything I could to get it going.

Clayto For the record I never did get that CD/DVD Drive to work, even had a tech working REMOTELY to install new Driver (he concluded the one I already had, supplied by MS, was the best available.  Both the Drives have been returned for s full refund.  No problems.  I have ordered a Samsung replacement ---- I do hope that is OK as if not the fault may lie in the computer,

Clayto2

ok my laptop has a cooling fan which is failing and I need a 3 pin Panasonic UDQF2ZR13CCM. the problem I have is no one has this cooling fan. there is one person but he wants over 40 dollars for it. I think thats a little extreme price for fan. I checked almost everywhere online but I cannot find and alternative part to this fan. in other words cannot find a cross reference list for this fan. there must be another type of fan that I can use for my laptop. anyone have any answers I will GLADLY hear them.

oh by the way yes my fan is clean How much would you have to pay for a new laptop if a cheapo fan should crap out on you and cause something to die?
I'd remove the fan and take it to a big box PC store to match it up...Computer makers don't use over priced products. If that's the type of fan it uses, I'd buy the same.
well genius I think your wrong and there must be a cross reference fan somewhere and the only fan I can find is on ebay and the dude is in new Zealand and he want 40 for the fan plus 29.99 for the SHIPPING so my guess is you have no idea what your talking about if this was your comp would you pay that much for it. I doubt it. unless you make really good money and trust an ebay transaction from somewhere in the middle of nowhere.ok patio your about the only one so far that makes sense. I took it to 3 shops ALREADY and no good. they tried to locate a fan OEM but no luck finding it. so right not I got a laptop cooling pad underneath and a house fan together helping my ailing cooling fan Quote from: ckch03 on April 03, 2015, 07:00:05 AM

my guess is you have no idea what your talking about

I always keep an ACRONIS copy of both my C drive and data drive.  I make this copy every month.  This month while copying the C drive Acronis stopped at the 3% mark and said that the sector on the C drive was unreadable, Retry, Ignore or Ignore All.  Retry didn't work.

When I hit Ignore All, the copy stayed at 3% permanently.  When I hit Ignore, I had to do it over and over and over as different sections kept showing up.  Finally after 30 minutes I hit Ignore All and it stalled again at 3%.

I attempted a CHKDSK of the C drive with the F option (I have Win XP) and was told that it would begin at the next bootup.  Well it did, but the results flew by so fast all I caught were the words "Bad SECTORS".  Evidently the F option wasn't in play because the problem persisted.

Today I tried booting up using the disk that I was attempting to copy to, but that disk is now unbootable.

So I'm working with the same C drive but I'm flying without a parachute.  How can I GET a successful copy of this drive?

Thank you.You can not.
You can do this:
A. Buy another HDD.
B. Use the backup to restore an earlier version to the new drive.
C. Using the new drive, attempt to copy specific files you really need.
Reason:
The old HDD has errors that are beyond usual recovery. A forensic recovery is moire costly than what most users  users would pay. An attempt to repair that old HDD is pointless. 
For future reference, the command you wanted was chkdsk /r, not "f". The "r" switch would have attempted to recover the data on the bad sectors, relocate it to good sectors, and mark the bad sectors as unusable in the future.

What you want to do now is go to: http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287
Make sure you select the tool which is APPROPRIATE for the brand of your hard drive.
Depending on the program, it'll create bootable floppy, or bootable CD.
If downloaded file is of .iso type, use ImgBurn: http://www.imgburn.com/ to burn .iso file to a CD (select "Write image file to disc" option), to make the CD bootable.
For Toshiba drives, see here: http://sdd.toshiba.com/main.aspx?Path=ServicesSupport/FujitsuDrivesUSandCanada/SoftwareUtilities#diagnostic

Run the diagnostic and see if can repair your drive.
Both solutions sound complicated to me and perhaps beyond my abilities.

Here's an idea - can i put my C drive in another computer and execute a CHKDSK /R on it?

Would that work?There's nothing complicated about downloading a diagnostic utility, burning it to cd, and running it. It's certainly easier than what you're thinking about doing. It will also provide a more comprehensive diagnostic and repair attempt than checkdisk.Allan:

I'm already confused.  I went to the tacktech site, looked at the section TITLED Diagnostic Tools and Utilitites and selected WD (the brand of my current C drive).  I am now am looking at a sheet of various programs, all have the same description with different dates not listed in chronological order.
I selected the top one since this is a 320 GByte drive.

From that I selected the drive using the model nr.  Not knowing exactly where to go from here, I selected Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows.  Do I download this and run a diagnostic?

I didn't see anything regarding the creation of a bootable CD.

Geek:

How do I use the backup to restore the drive to a new HDD?  What procedure/software do I use?You want the data lifeguard version for dos. Burn it to cd, boot to it and run it.bullwinkle,
My assumption was that you had a backup system image on a backup drive created by Acronis.  And you have the Acronis recovery CD.
https://kb.acronis.com/content/4828

But go ahead and  do what Allan aid about using a bootable HDD diagnostic for a WD HDD. If that works, it would be the  the best solution. 
And as Geek said - if you do have a usable image then you can restore it to a new HD. It seems you multiple options.I do not have an Acronis bootable recovery CD.  I will try and execute Alan's plan as best as I can later tonight.

I am sure I will have further questions.  Thanks to both of you for your help in this.I should mention that if your hd is badly corrupted it's very possible that even the manufacturer's utility won't help. But it is your best bet.

BTW, I'm a bit confused. I thought you said you've been creating images every month. You should have an image you can use if needed, no?What I do every month is clone my 2 drives to 2 duplicate drives.  I don't have a bootable CD. Quote from: Geek-9pm on March 29, 2015, 01:32:16 PM

...
My assumption was that you had a backup system image on a backup drive created by Acronis.  And you have the Acronis recovery CD.
https://kb.acronis.com/content/4828
...

Hi ,

I have an Intel LGA 775 heatsink. One pushpin has been damaged. I know just the pushpin is sold separately by piece and it is CHEAP. The problem, I do not know how to remove the pushpin from the heatsink to replace by another. Can seome tell me how to do that? I do not want to buy a new heatsink, it is worthless in this situation.

ThankYour best bet would be to replace the whole unit...
Thermaltake makes bolt thru replacements but i've read nothing but horror stories on them...Never seen replacement push pins for the socket 775 heatsinks as for each socket 775 with cheap or oem Intel heatsink were slightly different so that such as a bad heatsink with a seized up fan couldnt be used to take the pins off of that heatsink and use on another with a broken push pin unless the exact same heatsink, and STILL you would probably break the pin TRYING to remove it from the pin donor heatsink.

Does the manufacturer of the push pin replacements have any documentation to describe how to use their product?

I am curious as to how these push pins are going to work out as for I have seen a variety of different pin lock mechanisms with the socket 775's and push pin lengths depending on the heatsinks dimensions and type. 

I agree with Patio that best bet is a cheap replacement. The last socket 775 heatsink I got for my wifes computer was $12 at newegg with free shipping.The push pins are more than that....

Quote

I do not want to buy a new heatsink, it is worthless in this situation.

At $1.10 a piece you are taking a gamble that they will actually hold...
Get a new cooler...
The fact the 775 is outdated in regards to possibly frying a perfectly good CPU/MBoard...

The last socket 775 heatsink I got for my wifes computer was $12 at newegg with free shipping.

I have a problem with USB connection to external Hard Disks. 

The problem is that after some time - I don't know exactly how long, maybe an hour or two, maybe VARIABLE - the USB connection is dropped/disconnected and the HD disappears from the system - My Computer, DiskManagement, Device Manager.  Sometimes it spontaneously reconnects, and autoplay starts (this may have something with my activating the PC, as I am always absent when connection is dropped. I need to move & click the wireless USB mouse to wake that up on returning), sometimes not.  Sometimes the power to the disk needs removing and reconnecting to get it recognized again, after which it behaves 'normally' (if I am lucky) . 

It occurs in Windows XP (have not checked other O/S).  I have set Power Options to 'Always On'

I am using a 'universal'  (SATA or PATA / 2.5 or 3.5 in any combination, various connectors) to USB adapter, and either an external PSU or connecting power from the computer's own PSU.
The problem occurs on two separate computers, with different adapters, cables etc).

I am testing a number of hard disks, using typically SeaTools for Windows and HDTune; scans with these may take many hours, too long to sit by the PC and wait; that is why I have no data on how long before the connection drops out.  It's pretty annoying to find a 500GB disk that was ok with SeaTools suddenly become continuously half full of bad blocks with HDTune; you don't know where you are after 24 hrs of testing.  The only indication given by the testing programs unless you restart them is the sudden occurrence of bad blocks/sectors; they keep scanning even after the disk isn't there.

This problem doesn't seem to happen with my WD Elements, which I use for back up which sometimes takes a while.

Anyone explain or/and offer a (simple !) fix please ?  This case is slightly different to others I have read about on the internet (and in this forum)

Dumb_Question
28.March.2015

Compaq Presario S5160UK DT261A under XP/SP3
Processor - Celeron 2.7 GHz
Motherboard - MSI MS-6577 v2.1
RAM - 2GB (1GB +1GB max) DDR PC2700
PSU - OCZ 500W
Nvidia GeForce 6800GT graphics card in AGP slotYou have the problem on two computers. THEREFORE it is hardware. Replace the adapter. And the power supply.Thank you for your answer Geek-9pm. 

I have not forgotten this problem, it has not gone away.

I plan to look into the matter further in the next few days; I have another adapter of the same design and a 2.5" SATA<->USB enclosure to try out

Dumb_Question
2.April.2015

Compaq Presario S5160UK DT261A under XP/SP3
Processor - Celeron 2.7 GHz
Motherboard - MSI MS-6577 v2.1
RAM - 2GB (1GB +1GB max) DDR PC2700
PSU - OCZ 500W
Nvidia GeForce 6800GT graphics card in AGP slot

From my mishaps I have learned that s few adapters are not reliable. Often there is a power issue. The USB ports and a PC are meant to stop when something goes wrong. Often it is power related.

Also, some of the power adapters for hard drives overheat. You can tell by unplugging the AC cord for a few minuteness and try again. Sometimes that solves the problem. So I stop using the weak power supply.
 Hi Geek-9pm

Further to my experiences...

I too suspected a power issue (IDK why, maybe it's because I used to operate on Energy Star; now I use Always On for disk testing).  That's why I went over to using the internal PSU from my PC for power, it has (like the original separate PSU) both 5V and 12V when needed (for both 3.5"/2.5" as needed).  The disk is always powered through a separate power source (not USB 5V) connector to a Molex -> SATA power adapter cable (passive, wires only).  Power isn't the issue. 

The original PSU supplied does get hot, I thought it might be a fire hazard, but no fires yet.  After 12 months of operation on the PC with case closed (no access to internal PSU) one gave up on me...this is now in the pile of 'things to investigate'

I thought it might be a design issue in the SATA/PATA<->USB adapter, that's why I am GOING to test with the enclosure/built-in SATA only <-> USB adapter.

For various reasons (not all of which are simple USB drop) the time for USB to drop out varies, from short (2 minutes) to...never

Dumb_Question
3.April.2015a picture of the adapters I am using (an attachment) - I think many adapters contain the same chip which does the conversion (with an oscillator)

No power cable is attached - that is separate.
The USB I/O is clear; 44-pin and 50-pin PATA I/O (for 3.5" and 2.5" disks) are visible along two long edges, SATA I/O for data cable you can just make out on the face near the bottom

Dumb_Question
3.April.2003



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Pretty much DONE buying everything I need for my build.
Just addinf the final touches.

My CORSAIR 760t case comse with 2 x 140mm intake fans   and 1 x 140mm exhaust fan. These are Corsair fans.  Im not sure what KIND they are.  After looking them CLOSELY and the pics of their other fans they appear to be AF fans...?

Correct me if Im wrong. Aren't SP fans more ideal in an exhaust if the air is potentially being restricted by something in front of it ( like the exhaust grill? )  Same with the intake.

If SP fans are more ideal.  Would I be between off swapping out the 140mm fan it comes with now for a Corsair 120mm SP fan?  Same with intake?*** The reason I want to replace the exhaust fan is because the inside had a red/black theme.  And the black fans with red rings would look great.

Yes.. I am nieve Your exhaust fan doesn't need high static pressure, static pressure really only comes into play when you're talking about getting air through a restriction such as a heatsink or radiator.  It'd be unusual for any intake or exhaust fan to be so restricted that you'd need good static pressure to improve airflow, most grilles or filters just aren't that restrictive.  So, what I'm trying to say is that you wouldn't gain anything from swapping the fans, but if you want to SWAP them to suit your colour scheme then go ahead

I have a AMD FX(tm)-8350 Eight-Core Processor 4.00 GHz and I like to KNOW when should I be worried.

When I play GAMES it goes up to 10-20% and I like to know If I should be concern or should I take more action. (I mini my CPU Usage a bit already)

If not when should I be worried at what percent?There is no percentage that you should be worried about, you should only even be looking at that if you are actually experiencing problems.  It's not like your CPU is going to explode if you reach 100% usage, in fact it is totally normal to reach 100% usage if you are doing something that involves heavy processing.Yeah, as camerongray stated, I don't think there is a magic percentage once your CPU hits that you need to be worries about. What you SHOUD watch out for is high cpu usage during time which it shouldn't such as when your PC should be idle and even then that could just mean you have a lot of background things running.

The only real substantial thing I could find about it on Wikipedia's article about CPU time:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPU_time

It states that, "When the CPU usage is above 70%, the user may experience lag." It crealy states "May experience" so its definetly not indicative of a true benchmark.

ok thank guyshere is Raymond Chen's notes on the subject of CPU usage.ok guys I played some games on highest settings then my cpu got lot then pc shut off completely and I have to wait 30 minutes beofre starting it again I have my side of the computer open so the air can get out faster but that didn't work, Is there anything that may work?

http://www.game-debate.com/games/index.php?g_id=2252&game=Planetside+2&p_make=AMD&p_deriv=FX-8350&gc_make=Nvidia&gc_deriv=GeForce+GTX+760&ram=8&screenRes_width_FPS=1440&screenRes_height_FPS=900&checkSubmit=#systemRequirements

This is a link I used to see what will the performance beUse a program like HWMonitor (http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html) to find the temperature of parts in your system when running a game and post back.  It would be also useful to know what you have in terms of CPU cooling.

Running the PC with the side off can actually hurt temperatures as it messes up the AIRFLOW through the PC caused by the fans.  You should always run the PC with the side on for optimal temperatures.Ok i got sick and tried of this so I opened up my computer and to see what is wrong with the cpu the gel for the cpu came out because there was a bubble allowing the cpu to be heater then it should so I put more on and that fixed it completely.

The gel is called Nexx-Tech Heatsink Compound. It worked, thank you so if anyone else is having over heat problems the issue cloud be the gel came out and so you have to clean up the OLD and put in some now one.

OK thanks.

This means the push button found on most current Desktop PCs.
The link I SHALL give is beery s confusing.  Let me explain. SOOTHING has HAPPENED to the way electrical switches WORK mechanically.

In early years most electrical and electronic things would work with a simple on/off switch. Up is on, down is off. Or left and right. Either way, the switch was in one physical state or the other for the duration of a period of time.

Then CAME push button switches.. Push once, it goes on and the button reverts to idle state, but the device stays on. Push again, the device goes off ant the button goes back to the idle population again.

Now lets say one m blind man wanted d to make sure a light switch is off. If it was a push-on push-off thing, that man would not know. Or be right halt the time.

A similar problem and happen with a computer. The monitor may already be off, but the computer t is still running. When the background noise is high you would not know it is running. So does one hit the button once and see if it turns on the monitor? If it does,  one should  hit it again to shut the PC down.

Some have hoped they could go back to the standard switch for a personal computer. Two reasons.
1. Some military switches look real cool for a DIY PC. Great for a gamer!
2. With a standard switch, off is off and on is on.  With that there is no guess work.

Now here is the link where one use posted his problem and never got a really good answer. But the photos ware nice. Take a look:

http://themodzoo.com/forum/index.php/topic/389-diy-guide-install-fighter-pilot-toggle-switch/

Google this and find lots of similar things. Maybe more that one person wanted to do this. Is there a way to do it right? I believe there is, but never found it in a search.
So, the question is:
How to put a real on/off switch on a new computer that has a push button?
(Go ahead, say it is near impossible.)   

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Hey guys, so i accidentally ordered a Fractal Design Define XL R2 on ebay.
I thought it was an R5.. They look almost identical.. I requested the seller to cancel my order politely, but that's completely up to him, he isn't obliged to cancel it. I payed 354$ in total for the shipping and import charges with the case included. I'd be hella' depressed this turns out to be a bad decision. (Which is cheaper compared to our local prices)

My QUESTION is, should i be worried?

Is the R5 that much different from its older brethren, the XL R2?

What do you think?There are a few differences of course but they're both great cases.  I have owned a few Define R2s/R3s and a Define XL , have also built tens of systems in Define R2s/R3s and was very happy with them.
The only things I can see the XL LACKING is that the Define R5 has spaces for TWO bottom fans and 3 top fans, vs the XL's one bottom fan and two top fans - a little odd given the XL is larger, but also unlikely to be a deal-breaker.  The door on the R5 can also be changed so it swings the other way whereas the XL's door is fixed.

Other than that I can't see any real disadvantage, they're both solidly built cases with room for expansion and the R2 is larger so you do have the option of using E-ATX or XL-ATX motherboards in the future should you need it.Thank god the seller was understanding. I was able to cancel my order, i'll be getting an R5. Most reviews state that it's one level higher in every department compared to the R2 XL and R4. 

Also, wouldn't applying extra fans on the top destroy the case's purpose of keeping everything silent? I don't get how that works.
I'm planning on over-clocking BASICALLY everything i can. Do you recommend buying and adding extra fans?$354.00 for a case ? ? Quote from: Mansa on May 11, 2015, 11:54:27 AM

Thank god the seller was understanding. I was able to cancel my order, i'll be getting an R5.

Also, wouldn't applying extra fans on the top destroy the case's purpose of keeping everything silent? I don't get how that works.

I'm planning on over-clocking basically everything i can. Do you recommend buying and adding extra fans?