RE: motherboards-your thoughts

Overheat is an issue because many don’t know what else to blame. Same is true of surge protectors and some idea that a true sine wave UPS will save the world.

First step is to verify the voltages on existing power
supply. Chart in this web site will help. But there is no replacement for that 3.5 digit multimeter:

Furthermore, if voltages are in the lower quarter of those limits, then other tests are required.

Of course all your peripherals are powered from same
receptacle – best if safety ground in that receptacle is intact.

If using a plug-in surge protector and suffering from that event – that typically occurs once every eight years – then you may be suffering damage even when computer is powered off.

What is connected to that computer? IOW what could be the incoming and outgoing paths for destructive currents?

You were removing power cord from wall and using some sort of static wrist strap before working on machine? More
important than the wrist strip is to remove power cord from wall – not just turn machine off.

Heat is almost never a reason for failure in a properly
constructed computer. In fact, that computer must run just fine even when in a 100 degree F room – one 80 mm fan
sufficient to move air through the case.

But heat also finds defective electronics. For example, a defective memory strip can work just fine in 70 degrees but start failing in a 100 degree room. It fails long before it reaches an upper limit temperature. Therefore it is
defective. But instead, too many solve this problem with "More Fans"! Many are so quick to blame heat – rather than the human who saved money on cheap parts. They fix the
symptom rather than reason for failure – and too often blame heat.

Start by confirming that power supply is not reasons for motherboard failures. No reason for going through 3 boards – no matter which brand name.

john allmark wrote:

Thanks for all the feedback. I’m wondering if overheating might be an issue, after all, some of my images take hours to construct so the machine runs all day. The case is a semi-server tower so there is plenty of space inside but I will be adding some extra cooling now. Given the general opinion on Asus boards, I think this is the way I will go this time, and it wont be going anywhere near the vacuum cleaner!

Thanks again

John

john allmark" wrote in message

once again I have worked my motherboard to death. This afternoon the Gigabyte GA-7DXR living in my main imaging PC gave up. This the third Gigabyte board I have gone through, and it looks like the weekend will be dedicated to rebuilding instead of steak and beer.

Does anybody have any thoughts on AMD boards? I think its time to part company with Gigabyte, before me and my workload sink into the sands of time.

Thanks Group.

Asus makes very nice boards!

How can you work a board to death?
The most usual board killers are heat and crappy energy . Sounds like you have a too hot of a case or a cheap power supply. Maybe you are plugging your vacuum cleaner to close to your machine? Don’t laugh, vacuum cleaners are bad news for computers.I blew three of them vacuuming my office!
I has a nice Belkin surge protector, should have been OK, too bad the F*****g electrician never connected the outlet’s ground to …the ground.
Stephan

"w_tom" wrote in message

Overheat is an issue because many don’t know what else to blame. Same is true of surge protectors and some idea that a true sine wave UPS will save the world.

First step is to verify the voltages on existing power
supply. Chart in this web site will help. But there is no replacement for that 3.5 digit multimeter:

Furthermore, if voltages are in the lower quarter of those limits, then other tests are required.

Of course all your peripherals are powered from same
receptacle – best if safety ground in that receptacle is intact.

If using a plug-in surge protector and suffering from that event – that typically occurs once every eight years – then you may be suffering damage even when computer is powered off.
What is connected to that computer? IOW what could be the incoming and outgoing paths for destructive currents?

You were removing power cord from wall and using some sort of static wrist strap before working on machine? More
important than the wrist strip is to remove power cord from wall – not just turn machine off.

I was under the impression that leaving the PS plugged in was a bewtter idea because this way it is grounded

Heat is almost never a reason for failure in a properly
constructed computer. In fact, that computer must run just fine even when in a 100 degree F room – one 80 mm fan
sufficient to move air through the case.

Peek in people’s computers and see how dust clogged the fans and grill are after even a year of use.
I have seen many computer standing on carpet with the front air intake obstructed by the carpet’s hair.
If you have only one fan extracting hot ait but no proper cool air entry you ask for trouble.
One fan pushing air and one extracting is a good idea. You find pretty quiet fans for $15.

But heat also finds defective electronics. For example, a defective memory strip can work just fine in 70 degrees but start failing in a 100 degree room. It fails long before it reaches an upper limit temperature. Therefore it is
defective. But instead, too many solve this problem with "More Fans"! Many are so quick to blame heat – rather than the human who saved money on cheap parts. They fix the
symptom rather than reason for failure – and too often blame heat.

What ever, if adding a fan makes it work then it works!

Start by confirming that power supply is not reasons for motherboard failures. No reason for going through 3 boards – no matter which brand name.

That’s what I said also, bad power supply or heat problem.

Stephan

"john allmark" wrote in message

Thanks for all the feedback. I’m wondering if overheating might be an

issue,

after all, some of my images take hours to construct so the machine runs

all

day. The case is a semi-server tower so there is plenty of space inside

but

I will be adding some extra cooling now. Given the general opinion on Asus boards, I think this is the way I will go this time, and it wont be going anywhere near the vacuum cleaner!

Thanks again

John

Also, just because you have lot’s of space and a big box, doesn’t necessarily mean it is being cooled correctly. Airflow is key, not lot’s of space.

my 2 cents.

john allmark" wrote in message

once again I have worked my motherboard to death. This afternoon the Gigabyte GA-7DXR living in my main imaging PC gave up. This the third Gigabyte board I have gone through, and it looks like the weekend will

be

dedicated to rebuilding instead of steak and beer.

Does anybody have any thoughts on AMD boards? I think its time to part company with Gigabyte, before me and my workload sink into the sands of time.

Thanks Group.

Asus makes very nice boards!

How can you work a board to death?
The most usual board killers are heat and crappy energy . Sounds like you have a too hot of a case or a cheap power supply. Maybe you are plugging your vacuum cleaner to close to your machine? Don’t laugh, vacuum cleaners are bad news for computers.I blew three of

them

vacuuming my office!
I has a nice Belkin surge protector, should have been OK, too bad the F*****g electrician never connected the outlet’s ground to …the ground.
Stephan

"Stephan" wrote in message

I was under the impression that leaving the PS plugged in was a bewtter

idea

because this way it is grounded

Unh, unh. Bad idea. Even when the PC is off the power supply still transmits a small amount of electricity to the MB – removing or adding components with the power plug attached to the wall can fry them (especially true of RAM chips).

Just touch any metal part of the case to ground yourself, or wear an anti-static wrist cord. And, never, ever, work on a rugged floor.

—–= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =—– http://www.newsfeeds.com – The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! —–== Over 100,000 Newsgroups – 19 Different Servers! =—–

On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 19:01:12 GMT, "Stephan"
wrote:

You were removing power cord from wall and using some sort of static wrist strap before working on machine? More
important than the wrist strip is to remove power cord from wall – not just turn machine off.

I was under the impression that leaving the PS plugged in was a bewtter idea because this way it is grounded

And you were right. If the case which your wrist strap is attached to isn’t grounded by feeding into the socket, then wearing a wrist strap is a waste of time. In fact, you should have the PS plugged in, but the power turned off at the socket. Of course, that advice is true for the UK where we have three pin plugs including an earth. I don’t know if that’s true on the mainland or in the US.

Peek in people’s computers and see how dust clogged the fans and grill are after even a year of use.
I have seen many computer standing on carpet with the front air intake obstructed by the carpet’s hair.
If you have only one fan extracting hot ait but no proper cool air entry you ask for trouble.
One fan pushing air and one extracting is a good idea. You find pretty quiet fans for $15.

Just an aside. Vacuum cleaners. 🙂 I read what you said earlier. However, whilst that is very true for your normal household device, I have a battery operated, small, camera cleaning vacuum which, if used correctly (I.e on the air intakes, fans and case surrounds, but not the mobo or cards, RAM etc) does keep the case reasonably clean with no ill effects except your patience (As it takes a while and is a fiddly job).

—

Hecate

veni, vidi, relinqui

On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 15:00:49 -0700, "Flycaster" wrote:

"Stephan" wrote in message

I was under the impression that leaving the PS plugged in was a bewtter

idea

because this way it is grounded

Unh, unh. Bad idea. Even when the PC is off the power supply still transmits a small amount of electricity to the MB – removing or adding components with the power plug attached to the wall can fry them (especially true of RAM chips).

Well, I just disagreed with you, but it may be because we have different power supplies if you;’re in the US or mainland Europe. In the UK, we have a three pin system, the third pin is an earth, and leaving the cable in but switched off at the plug point is the recommended way to go.

—

Hecate

veni, vidi, relinqui

On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 13:52:47 -0700, "Bryce"
wrote:

Also, just because you have lot’s of space and a big box, doesn’t necessarily mean it is being cooled correctly. Airflow is key, not lot’s of space.

Good point. That’s why it’s always worth buying a quality case and siting the fans in the correct place.

—

Hecate

veni, vidi, relinqui

"Hecate" wrote in message

On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 15:00:49 -0700, "Flycaster" wrote:

"Stephan" wrote in message

I was under the impression that leaving the PS plugged in was a bewtter

idea

because this way it is grounded

Unh, unh. Bad idea. Even when the PC is off the power supply still transmits a small amount of electricity to the MB – removing or adding components with the power plug attached to the wall can fry them

(especially

true of RAM chips).

Well, I just disagreed with you, but it may be because we have different power supplies if you;’re in the US or mainland Europe. In the UK, we have a three pin system, the third pin is an earth, and leaving the cable in but switched off at the plug point is the recommended way to go.

No, we’re three pinned here too. If you could detach the two *power* pins, leaving only the ground attached, then I’d completely agree with you. The problem is the PSU still gets electricity from a live socket if left plugged in – and if you have any leaks in the PSU (not all that uncommon), you’ve got residual power to the MB, which is the problem. (Not to mention the fact that you are touching, with your bare, sweaty hands, a box that just might be carrying enough juice to give you a *really* bad hair day…)

However, if you simply switch off the breaker for that wall plug, then you have it right on the money. And, if this is what you meant by "switched off at the plug point", mea culpa.

—–= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =—– http://www.newsfeeds.com – The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! —–== Over 100,000 Newsgroups – 19 Different Servers! =—–

The Brits have little tiny switches on the wall plates of each outlet. I’ve wondered why go to the trouble, and this is the perfect reason (even though I’m sure no one anticipated computers at the time).

Of course, relieving the static potential between the person and the chassis is the most important – and a finger left on a metal part of the chassis prior to any internal touching will do the lion’s share of protection.

Grounding the chassis but reaching into the guts with a hot personal charge is asking for more trips to the parts shop.

On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 17:11:47 -0700, "Flycaster" wrote:

However, if you simply switch off the breaker for that wall plug, then you have it right on the money. And, if this is what you meant by "switched off at the plug point", mea culpa.

On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 17:11:47 -0700, "Flycaster" wrote:

Well, I just disagreed with you, but it may be because we have different power supplies if you;’re in the US or mainland Europe. In the UK, we have a three pin system, the third pin is an earth, and leaving the cable in but switched off at the plug point is the recommended way to go.

No, we’re three pinned here too. If you could detach the two *power* pins, leaving only the ground attached, then I’d completely agree with you. The problem is the PSU still gets electricity from a live socket if left plugged in – and if you have any leaks in the PSU (not all that uncommon), you’ve got residual power to the MB, which is the problem. (Not to mention the fact that you are touching, with your bare, sweaty hands, a box that just might be carrying enough juice to give you a *really* bad hair day…)
However, if you simply switch off the breaker for that wall plug, then you have it right on the money. And, if this is what you meant by "switched off at the plug point", mea culpa.

Yes, it is. Can you tell I’m not an electrician? 😉

—

Hecate

veni, vidi, relinqui

Having the computer connected to safety ground for static protection is not necessary. First the circuit. Static electricity is a charge buildup between human foot and beneath shoe. To protect electronics, this static discharge must not travel through semiconductors.

Touch that metal door. Static charge passes through arm, into door, into carpet, and connects to bottom of shoe. A complete circuit necessary to have the electric current of a static discharge.

Touch computer chassis. Discharge from arm, through
chassis, through table, etc. Again static discharge. No where is AC electric ground part of the discharge circuit. But better electronic shops make static discharge even
easier. They put pink poly on table tops that connect to floor.

Attaching a wrist strap to computer chassis is very
effective protection. First, any static is discharged through table. Second, static discharge has no reason to find a connection bottom of shoe via semiconductors since human body is already connected to other side of those semiconductors via wrist strap. Wrist strap connected to computer chassis either directly or via table is very effective static protection. But and again, the secret to understanding why is in the complete electric circuit – which need not use AC ground.

What is grounded to static electricity? Bottom of shoe. Grounding static electricity is about connecting charges in arm to ground charges – underneath shoe.

Since AC ground is not necessary, then power cord attached to computer when servicing the computer is dangerous to
electronics. Power cord attached to computer adds no
protection especially is already using a wrist strap attached to computer chassis.

Hecate wrote:

On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 19:01:12 GMT, "Stephan"
wrote:

You were removing power cord from wall and using some sort of static wrist strap before working on machine? More
important than the wrist strip is to remove power cord from wall – not just turn machine off.

I was under the impression that leaving the PS plugged in was a bewtter idea because this way it is grounded

And you were right. If the case which your wrist strap is attached to isn’t grounded by feeding into the socket, then wearing a wrist strap is a waste of time. In fact, you should have the PS plugged in, but the power turned off at the socket. Of course, that advice is true for the UK where we have three pin plugs including an earth. I don’t know if that’s true on the mainland or in the US.

Peek in people’s computers and see how dust clogged the fans and grill are after even a year of use.
I have seen many computer standing on carpet with the front air intake obstructed by the carpet’s hair.
If you have only one fan extracting hot ait but no proper cool air entry you ask for trouble.
One fan pushing air and one extracting is a good idea. You find pretty quiet fans for $15.

Just an aside. Vacuum cleaners. 🙂 I read what you said earlier. However, whilst that is very true for your normal household device, I have a battery operated, small, camera cleaning vacuum which, if used correctly (I.e on the air intakes, fans and case surrounds, but not the mobo or cards, RAM etc) does keep the case reasonably clean with no ill effects except your patience (As it takes a while and is a fiddly job).

—

Hecate

veni, vidi, relinqui