Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: hotel21 on 04 October 2011, 13:55:48
-
The monitor packed up on my desktop pc several weeks ago and I had to press an old CRT back into service, once I blew the dust out of it.
On Sunday evening, turned the pc back on after a weekend away and it will not power up. Starts to make the correct noises. It fails each time after perhaps a second and a half and repeats. Guessing it's the psu I went to transplant an older one and failed at the first hurdle as they are incompatible connectors.
Looks like I will finally have to move from a desktop to a laptop. Anyone got thoughts on asus as a make? Seems to be a few on offer at the mo with the i5 processor and fair ram and hard drive specs. Ta...... :y
-
Can you not just get a new monitor? your local freecycle will likely have plenty of crt's...or an lcd can be had from as little as £50...
Or is it that time for a whole new setup?
I could prob sort you out with a monitor of some descripion if the oof postal can deliver?
-
If you need spare computer or screens, I could get you an IBM Tower, DVD play (think some I have do have burners) think chipset is 3.2 Ghz with 1gb of RAM. Along with a 19" TFT, all cables ect if you need it? Not exactly lightening fast, but will surf tinterwebs quite happy. Cost to you sir would be nothing :y
-
I've not had any experience with the latest Asus laptops, but I've had a couple of work supplied ones over the years. Overall impressions were not good. Found them to have a 'cheap and nasty' feel to them. Personally I don't think you can go wrong with a Dell unit. :y
Just my own experiences and opinions though...
-
Sorry misread that the monitor had blown, not the PC itself...
-
Ive always been a fan of Dell's too..
http://www.dmxdimension.com/ is often a good starting point for seeing currrent offers.
Worth checking out the cashback sites too, often offers of £50 cashback for buying from dell.
-
Dell are apalling! the only good Dell is the Alienware n thats vastly vastly over priced!!!
Buy a mac and be done with it windows is dead and if you can't afford one do what i did and build a Hackintosh any intel based i system with the right chipset can run osx and its stable!!
is it GPU failure? my GeForce 9500GT died on saturday bringing a similar condition to yours so i removed it and am now using the useless built in intel HD graphics which can barely run the Snow Leopard visual effects Quartz etc
-
tut tut tut..... ;)
said the man typing on his 17" Mac Book Pro...
Hackintosh.... slightly outside the terms of the OSX EULA....
recommending an ex Bobby do something not entirely legitimate eh??
my aren't we rebellious today ::)
:y (cue sound of bells jingling on the end of tmx's leg, as i pull it good and proper.... )
-
http://freespace.virgin.net/matt.waite/resource/psu/atxpsu.htm (http://freespace.virgin.net/matt.waite/resource/psu/atxpsu.htm)
Might come in handy to prove the psu is foobarred.
-
Brucie the next time your in Edinburgh there's a new place opened up at Newbridge(oppisite Mc
sh**sDonalds)/Esso petrol station.
The company is called Big Offers and deals with stock thats either out of date or a company has went bust and they buy the dreggs.
They sell everything from clothes to laptops,t.v's and everyday goods :y
-
I bought a laptop a few months ago with advice from oofers and went for this:
http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=36226.15 (http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=36226.15)
http://www.dabs.com/products/toshiba-satellite-c660-155-core-i3-380m-2-53ghz-4gb-320gb-15-6--windows-7-home-premium-64-bit-laptop-7BH9.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=product+search&utm_content=Q200 (http://www.dabs.com/products/toshiba-satellite-c660-155-core-i3-380m-2-53ghz-4gb-320gb-15-6--windows-7-home-premium-64-bit-laptop-7BH9.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=product+search&utm_content=Q200)
You can get cashback via topcashback - mine just came through and do a referral via TBs link
Have a browse on dabs as I know you mentioned a slightly better processer.
The toshiba i bought performs fine but i only do surfing on it.
-
Also the bt website had some good deals
-
Dell are apalling! the only good Dell is the Alienware n thats vastly vastly over priced!!!
Buy a mac and be done with it windows is dead and if you can't afford one do what i did and build a Hackintosh any intel based i system with the right chipset can run osx and its stable!!
is it GPU failure? my GeForce 9500GT died on saturday bringing a similar condition to yours so i removed it and am now using the useless built in intel HD graphics which can barely run the Snow Leopard visual effects Quartz etc
Got to disagree. Dell provide decent desktop at decent prices. Whether for business or for home use. If you have specific needs, then custom diy is an answer, but for most (non gamers) home users, an i5 Vostro (eg, 430) is hard to beat for value.
When crApple finally fully wall the Mac, only the true fanboys will still use one :-X
As to the Intel HD (which one, the old X4500, or 2000?) struggling to run the GUI, that shows how inefficient the OSX drivers are. We except Linux/Unix/OSX to be slow, due to the bloated nature of X11, but its a perfectly capable video subsystem (for non gamers), even at 1920x1080.
I agree Windows needs to add some flare, but crApple's attenpt is even staler ;)
-
The monitor packed up on my desktop pc several weeks ago and I had to press an old CRT back into service, once I blew the dust out of it.
On Sunday evening, turned the pc back on after a weekend away and it will not power up. Starts to make the correct noises. It fails each time after perhaps a second and a half and repeats. Guessing it's the psu I went to transplant an older one and failed at the first hurdle as they are incompatible connectors.
Looks like I will finally have to move from a desktop to a laptop. Anyone got thoughts on asus as a make? Seems to be a few on offer at the mo with the i5 processor and fair ram and hard drive specs. Ta...... :y
Any beep codes?
As to ASUS, wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy.
-
No beep codes, don't think it keeps powered enough to even get to the start of post. Literally, power button lights (and fan noise etc) for a fraction of a second then blanks/shuts down. Fraction later, does same again then repeats for perhaps 20 seconds total then shuts dead. Given that, thinking psu but probably just guessing.
-
When crApple finally fully wall the Mac, only the true fanboys will still use one :-X
or, those of us who have to for work..... a goodly pile of "must have" professional audio production software and hardware ONLY runs on Mac.... or, even more commonly, only runs PROPERLY on the Mac... and similarly for video and graphics....
i'm unimpressed by "lion" i have a copy installed on a drive, but won't be using it unless for some reason i have to use something that is lion only...
i'm also leary of the forthcoming iCloud.... i've been a happy mobile me user for a while, syncing studio and office macs and my iphone wirelessly for all the mundane useful stuff.... with the changes they're implementing, i stand to be a good deal less happy.... won;t move till next july when they cease Mobile me altogether...
always thought of the iPhone as a bit of a gimmick until i got one..... then I discovered all the work related apps i could run on it... and it suddenly made sense....
Ditto the iPad.
(for example, iPad can act as a wireless version of a certain well known DAW hardware control surface, total cost, about £500 for the iPad and app, as opposed to £1199 for the hardware , AND it's mobile, not tied to the desk by wires.... makes it something of a no-brainer )
got to say though, was mighty impressed when i first got my 8 core Mac pro with 16GB of ram.... the amount of grunt on tap is ridiculous...
and for someone who remembers paying ££££££ for a very early 10MB HD, frankly, the cost is pretty reasonable ;)
i would not count myself as a fan boy.... i tend to be too cynical about new shiny tricks, when all i want the thing to do is work.... which unlike so many PC's i encounter in my support role.... it does.... solidly, without fuss and bother...
and anyway What's a virus???? ;D :y
i do however, get a bit defensive when i feel PC nutjobs are being unreasonably aggressive about Crapple in general....
ultimately they produce good hardware, with a decent stable operating system.....
it's just a bloody computer ferchrissakes.... there's no real need to be actively anti either platform.
-
No beep codes, don't think it keeps powered enough to even get to the start of post. Literally, power button lights (and fan noise etc) for a fraction of a second then blanks/shuts down. Fraction later, does same again then repeats for perhaps 20 seconds total then shuts dead. Given that, thinking psu but probably just guessing.
Standard ATX PSU? 20 pin, or 24pin?
-
The Macs lost thier only advantage when they ditched the Risk micros, now they are nothing more than an over priced pc.
-
Where do the pin configs get read? It powers later drives with thin red ribbon cable rather than wide IDE style if you follow. Power connection to drive is narrow flat pin instead of older three wire White plastic connector.
-
MaxV6 - as well you know, I am currently a crApple user. And have been on and off for 15 years, having flirted with 68000, powerPC and Intel ones ::).
As to that falicy about Virii, thats what Linux users used to claim, and soon shut up :-X. I'm 99.9% certain there was a Mac PoC worm about a few months ago. If a system has access to the outside world, its vulnerable. Windows, Linux, Solaris, HP-UX, BSD, OSX, System390, anything.
Windows' biggest problem, security wise, was that most users felt it cast doubts on penile length if they didn't run as Administrator, thus opening the OS to the level of intelligence of the user. Always tears before bedtime. So MS came up with the excellent UAC, which every moron "my penis is bigger" idiot disabled. They get what they deserve, shame they are allowed to bred.
-
Where do the pin configs get read? It powers later drives with thin red ribbon cable rather than wide IDE style if you follow. Power connection to drive is narrow flat pin instead of older three wire White plastic connector.
Ah, Sata drives. Adapter available from egay, molex to sata.
-
You concur with psu diagnosis then? If so, can get Frankenstein5 back to life.... ;D
-
You concur with psu diagnosis then? If so, can get Frankenstein5 back to life.... ;D
Its a possibility. If its an old P4 or Athon, could be CPU fan, or potentially systemboard failure. I'd try a 'spare' PSU if you have one, even if you can't plug in the drives, just to prove.
-
Suppose effect would be the same if drives were unplugged and pc powered up then....
-
Currently typing this on a 6 year old ASUS A6R laptop.
It's never given me a problem.
-
You concur with psu diagnosis then? If so, can get Frankenstein5 back to life.... ;D
Its a possibility. If its an old P4 or Athon, could be CPU fan, or potentially systemboard failure. I'd try a 'spare' PSU if you have one, even if you can't plug in the drives, just to prove.
Agreed. Worth taking the lid off and blasting the dust out with some compressed air, then checking all the fans attempt to start. I have had PSUs that have done the same thing when full of dust too.
Quite often the caps in the standby supply part of the PSU fail, so it can't supply enough power to pull itself out of standby. The caps are all sh1te quality and the standby PSU is always on so these fail first.
-
You concur with psu diagnosis then? If so, can get Frankenstein5 back to life.... ;D
Its a possibility. If its an old P4 or Athon, could be CPU fan, or potentially systemboard failure. I'd try a 'spare' PSU if you have one, even if you can't plug in the drives, just to prove.
Agreed. Worth taking the lid off and blasting the dust out with some compressed air, then checking all the fans attempt to start. I have had PSUs that have done the same thing when full of dust too.
Quite often the caps in the standby supply part of the PSU fail, so it can't supply enough power to pull itself out of standby. The caps are all sh1te quality and the standby PSU is always on so these fail first.
Sometimes, even when still working, you can see the little tinkers bulge, and wonder how the hell it can still work ;D
-
Been thinking this through tonight and recon a lappy would be more convenient in a number of different ways, given my semi retired lifestyle and hobo movements!
Looked at a dell i7 Inspiron 17r, I think it was, and seems to fit the bill. With discounts, takes it below £700 and that, currently, is doable. 6 meg ram and 640'g hard drive.
Yea or nay?
-
H21 - don't know your needs, so probably best clarify:
Games?
'laptop' or 'tabletop'?
Main uses?
-
Laptops good portability but can be expensive to repair, also to easy to drop.
Desktop rugged and reliable, easy to maintain but remain static. I would get the desktop repaired then consider the replacement if needed.
-
Lap/tabletop. Pikey palace for downloaded dvd's and music. Spreadsheets and word as well as specific software for various pastimes. Looking tomget a modicum of future proofing, as well as I'm able.
-
Lap/tabletop. Pikey palace for downloaded dvd's and music. Spreadsheets and word as well as specific software for various pastimes. Looking tomget a modicum of future proofing, as well as I'm able.
Not convinced you'll see the benefit of i7 over i5, given your usage. 6G RAM is probably excessive, but memory is cheap ;D. Ensure the processor is a 'Sandy Bridge' version of i5/i7. Discrete graphics can reduce reliability, and kill battery life, unless you really need it, I'd probably stick to HD2000 graphics (built into Sandy Bridge CPUs.
Given the potential reliability of laptops, which can get knocked etc, dont rule out extended warranties, as much as that might pain your Scottish Wallet ;D
Those 'widescreen' ones, often having a keyboard with a numeric pad on the right, can be a bit bulky for lap use - personally I can't get on with them.
Brands I tend to like are HP (though who knows how long they will be making PCs for!), Dell and Toshiba. I am currently on an HP Compaq 6720s - old, but suits my needs.
If its just surfing/email, given your Pikey tendencies, tablets? I'm kind of hooked on my tablet, which has surprised me, as they are a bit, errr, gay. My HP tablet crashes when I try to ban users on OOF though ;D
-
How about a decent desktop for any real work and a netbook for a bit of armchair OOFing or even passing the time on train journeys.
-
How about a decent desktop for any real work and a netbook for a bit of armchair OOFing or even passing the time on train journeys.
I don't really use my Netbook - too small to use on lap. But it is very portable :y
-
I was thinking a netbook cause they can be had cheap second hand. Comes in handy for "My Naff Code Reader" too, not that B would need that capability with a Tech2. As you say dragging a 17" screen lappy out to the car is a bit of a pain. Reading an ebook in bed netbook wins again.
-
If I was looking at Netbooks (sold my last one as I couldn't get on with a teeny tiny 1024x768 screen) I'd look at the Asus Transformer or Slider, tablets with real keyboards (detachable and hidable, respectively)
But I suspect, since H21 said he wants to run 'proper' apps for 'various past times', he needs a laptop/desktop not a tablet (or, probably, a netbook)..
Dell have been decent for me, and one has survived being bounced around & abused in the MR2 as a tuning device (granted I've only got recent experience of the business models at work).
-
Have you tried pressing and holding the power button for 5secs whilst it powers up?
I found that this sorted my pc when it decided to have a wobbly.
-
Gave the box a damn good blow out today. Tried to boot with the drives all disconnected and no luck, no noises, no lights, nothing.
Connected it back up and tried again and still nothing. Dead as a dead thing....
Tidied up the area of the dining area where it normally sits and found an envelope with some bonusbond vouchers from work. Not enpugh to buy a new lappy but certainly enough to make it worthwhile!
Restricted to buy from Argos or Comet so range availability was in there as well. Ended up with an i5 HP with enough memory and storage to keep me happy meantime so, thanks for all your input folks. Will rescue the data off the hard disc of the desktop at some stage and get it stored on an external drive.
Bit of a buggeration to loose favourites and stuff though was due for a tidy out!! ;D
-
Gave the box a damn good blow out today. Tried to boot with the drives all disconnected and no luck, no noises, no lights, nothing.
Connected it back up and tried again and still nothing. Dead as a dead thing....
Tidied up the area of the dining area where it normally sits and found an envelope with some bonusbond vouchers from work. Not enpugh to buy a new lappy but certainly enough to make it worthwhile!
Restricted to buy from Argos or Comet so range availability was in there as well. Ended up with an i5 HP with enough memory and storage to keep me happy meantime so, thanks for all your input folks. Will rescue the data off the hard disc of the desktop at some stage and get it stored on an external drive.
Bit of a buggeration to loose favourites and stuff though was due for a tidy out!! ;D
I use Google Chrome, it syncs bookmarks across all computers its installed on. As its with Google if you loose a PC then you don't loose them all.
Original offer stands, can get you PC IBM tower, along with 19" flat screen. I work at a part time job which has loads going spare :)
-
Gave the box a damn good blow out today. Tried to boot with the drives all disconnected and no luck, no noises, no lights, nothing.
Connected it back up and tried again and still nothing. Dead as a dead thing....
Tidied up the area of the dining area where it normally sits and found an envelope with some bonusbond vouchers from work. Not enpugh to buy a new lappy but certainly enough to make it worthwhile!
Restricted to buy from Argos or Comet so range availability was in there as well. Ended up with an i5 HP with enough memory and storage to keep me happy meantime so, thanks for all your input folks. Will rescue the data off the hard disc of the desktop at some stage and get it stored on an external drive.
Bit of a buggeration to loose favourites and stuff though was due for a tidy out!! ;D
I use Google Chrome, it syncs bookmarks across all computers its installed on. As its with Google if you loose a PC then you don't loose them all.
Original offer stands, can get you PC IBM tower, along with 19" flat screen. I work at a part time job which has loads going spare :)
Cheers Tunnie. Appreciated. I have a couple of older boxes kicking around which just need suitable adaptors inserted to power up the errant drive. The Iiyama 0.24 DP CRT is LARGE but does give a cracking screen quality and resolution so just need to get off my harris and actually do the deed. Might just press a clever friend who lives nearby into service. He's retired from being an IT manager at a uni and relishes little brain stretchers now and again... :D
-
I use Google Chrome
I'm guessing that Hotel21's crusty old desktop was probably a bit long in the tooth to run that particular piece of bloatware ;)