Got my new Core 2 Duo 3ghz, Having some problems

[ctal]

One more thought. The fact that the problem appeared shortly after the mobo was transplanted into a different case leads me to wonder if it was handled during that process with proper anti-static precautions.

-- Al

[plainman007]

Ctal > 'Pure IP' is the only thing you get here in the computer market. Its for all you know pure alcohol. The thing evaporates the minute it touches your hand. I tried pure alcohol. Not available easily. Its only thru science suppliers that one can get them. So this is the substance they use to clean systems, components and ram chips etc. I asked in a renowned electronic repair store who confirmed that IP solution is nothing but cleaning alcohol and that they even use them to clean the circuitry of cd players etc. Anyway the end result is failure. I couldnt measure the temp cause the system doesnt even boot.

[ctal]

Originally Posted by plainman007

Ctal > 'Pure IP' is the only thing you get here in the computer market. Its for all you know pure alcohol.

Sounds right!

Isopropyl alcohol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

-- Al

[plainman007]

Gosh youve been doing some intensive homework there. So it is alcohol alas. But what a pity that nothing worked out. Hmmm.

[plainman007]

On a second thought. If intel does replace the board with anything other than a brand new board, do you think i can trust and take it on a mission critical application ?

[ctal]

Lots of refurbished boards were returned by the initial purchasers because they decided they wanted something else instead, or because they found it was incompatible with other hardware they already had, or because installation error caused the board to seem not to work.

I'd say that if it runs ok for a couple of weeks, including a video build or two, and several hours of running Prime95 and Memtest86+, and you see reasonable temperatures with one of the temperature monitoring programs, you could feel highly confident in it.

Regards,
-- Al

[plainman007]

Ctal > What exactly does Prime95 do ?
Also Memtest86+ is a memory integrity tester or is it a stress test ?

[ctal]

Originally Posted by plainman007

Ctal > What exactly does Prime95 do ?
Also Memtest86+ is a memory integrity tester or is it a stress test ?

Those are the two most widely used basic tests for hardware stability. The Prime95 torture test (which you can call up without getting into the prime number search things that you'll see referred to) runs the cpu, or at least one core of the cpu, at 100% utilization for as long as you let the test continue. Memtest86+ compares data written to memory with data read from memory, but does so continuously with a variety of data patterns that exercise the memory very thoroughly, again for as long as you let the test continue.

Free Software

Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

Regards,

-- Al

[plainman007]

Ctal > Thanks for the links and explanation. But these do show some re****s i guess when we do decide to stop the test. Or how do we get feedback as to how our system is performing with regards to the test ?

[ctal]

Originally Posted by plainman007

Ctal > Thanks for the links and explanation. But these do show some re****s i guess when we do decide to stop the test. Or how do we get feedback as to how our system is performing with regards to the test ?

Memtest86+ has a continuously running display of what it is doing, and the cumulative error count since the test was started.

Prime95 will show you an error count when you terminate the test. Also, (at least under default settings) it will terminate the test automatically if it senses an error. And if you are overclocked to a very excessive degree, Windows will freeze and you will have to re-boot, with no harm done. Although since you are using an Intel board you probably don't have overclocking provisions in the board, and won't be overclocking.

You should end up with settings that allow both of these tests to run for a few hours with zero errors.

-- Al

[plainman007]

Ctal > Your last line says if i have the settings right. You mean the windows and other settings Or the memtest settings. I assume you mean ive got to have my windows setup in such a way that memtest whould be able to run for hours without any errors or stops (ie. memtest with default settings) I dont think i understand clocking frequences etc in depth to be able to configure memtest etc.

Also my computer dealer says its better to go in for a ASUS board next time since they give better and faster replacements and are more legit in their warranty policies. How are ASUS boards in terms of quality, just your personal opinion Al ? Thanks.

[ctal]

Originally Posted by plainman007

Ctal > Your last line says if i have the settings right. You mean the windows and other settings Or the memtest settings. I assume you mean ive got to have my windows setup in such a way that memtest whould be able to run for hours without any errors or stops (ie. memtest with default settings) I dont think i understand clocking frequences etc in depth to be able to configure memtest etc.

Also my computer dealer says its better to go in for a ASUS board next time since they give better and faster replacements and are more legit in their warranty policies. How are ASUS boards in terms of quality, just your personal opinion Al ? Thanks.

The Memtest86+ program does not require any configuring. What I was referring to were not Windows settings or Memtest settings, but bios settings related to memory speed and timing, and any settings in the bios that relate to cpu or fsb speed. Intel boards generally do not provide much if anything in the way of adjustability of these parameters, but you had mentioned that you had been able to change RAM timings in your bios.

Re Asus mobos, be aware that this site used to be called Asusboards.com! You will find the following poll of interest:

Favorite Motherboard Brand

Most people here have used Asus boards on at least some of the systems they have had, and for the most part Asus has been a leader in terms of performance and quality. There are always exceptions with specific models, of course. I suggest that you research the user comments at newegg.com on any specific board you are considering, as well as searching here and with Google on the specific model number.

Regards,
-- Al

[plainman007]

Thanks Ctal.

[plainman007]

Hi Ctal > Finally the board that was giving problems came back from INTEL saying that its "OK". The dealer says they sometimes reset the bios etc and just return it as "OK" without specifying what they did to make it ok. It seems to work now without an issue. However one of the new harddrives seemed to not work when plugged into the system. This seems like "a series of unfortunate events". The system wouldnt turn on if the said harddrive was connected. If it were disconnected. Then the system would power up without a problem. Anyway i get a brand new drive from seagate as replacement in 3 days so thats not an issue now that the system is up. I had one doubt. Text is sorta blurred. Its a very fine thing but people like us who work on one system to another know that text is slightly off. Im unsure what resolution to set the monitor. Its a benq widescreen. I cant seem to find the damn manual. Its a 15" monitor. I dont know if its running at the wrong resolution because every time i switch on the system after i log in. The monitor hardware dialog shows up as "non-preset mode". Would this be the reason for the text looking off. Its a slight blur on text sorta like a 3d movie without the glasses but not so exagerated though. I tried monitor resolutions. I tried set clear type for text which is also in the right click desktop properties. But nothing seems to help.

[ctal]

Glad the mobo problem is finally resolved. I assume the monitor is an lcd, not a crt. If so, yes it does sound like the problem is a mismatch between the display driver resolution settings and the panel's native resolution. If you don't know what the panel's native resolution is, about all I can suggest is to try every conceivable possibility, if you haven't already. The other thing would be to make sure that your refresh rate is set to 60 Hz; if it is set too high that might be the reason for the non-preset mode indication.

If that doesn't help you might want to start another thread on just this question, and someone else might have further ideas.

Regards,
-- Al