Computer problem solved

A few days ago I was commenting that one of the "new" computers I just built was continuously crashing and having problems . Sent the motherboard back to the vendor , who tested it and found it was bad . New board on the way . I used the same board in another comp , and it runs great , stable and doing well . I'll be glad to get everything organized and settled again . New RAM is on it's way from HK so I can max out both comps . I like the vendor , he/they messaged me asking questions about the motherboard and processor . They wanted to be sure their RAM is compatible with my equipment before they shipped it . I like that , and it's probably at least part of the reason they have a 100% satisfaction rating . Vendor is computex_tech on ebay . -- Snag

Reply to
Terry Coombs
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I've bought all my memory from Crucial and never had a problem. They have a program you can use to check compatibility with your machine.

Reply to
Frank

If I work on a machine for someone else, I usually go for the best parts possible...but for one of my own machines, at least one that is not critical, I sometimes take chances.

On eBay I saw some super cheap RAM ...from China...that said it would only work with an AMD CPU. Since I had a few machines with AMD processors that needed more RAM I decided to order some...it was only $2 a stick.

When I placed the order they did not process it at first ...they emailed me to make sure I understood it was AMD only and only after I told them I understood...did they process the order.

One of the sticks was bad and when I informed them I told them that for $2 they need not send a replacement but to my surprise they immediately refunded $2.

The rest of the RAM has been running fine for about a year now...

I suspect the RAM was cheap simply because they did not have a quality control department.

Bottom line though, I was dealing with China and they were pretty good about their dealings.

Reply to
philo

I've had both good and bad dealings with Chinese merchants . Some bend over backwards to please , others act like you've insulted their family for the last 3 generations by even hinting that their product is less than perfect .

Reply to
Terry Coombs

The only problem I had was with a motherboard MFG. It was a major name but I can't recall now.

I did a BIOS upgrade and when I got done flashing it I got a message the the upgrade failed . I got scared that I bricked the thing but it worked and the new BIOS was installed.

I contacted tech support to tell them about the bug but there was probably no one there that understood English. Basically, no matter how many times I contacted them I got one of four different canned responses having BIOS in the context.

Reply to
philo

I think it is a crap shoot looking for cheapest stuff. I've never shopped ebay but my brother-in-law has bought stuff for my wife which turned out to be crap. Chinese stuff might be good or bad and US stuff may even be the same but quality control should be better and they filter out the bad. Worth paying for.

Reply to
Frank

Here is where it all started for me.

I do a lot of computer repair work and one day the unbelievable thing happened...I ran out of CMOS batteries!

No big deal, I'll just run over to the local drug store and pick one up, I'll pay a bit too much but big deal.

A battery which should have been may $2.50 was marked $7 !

No way could I do that.

I went on line and ordered from China.

Price was $2.58 but that is not the whole story. $2.58 for TWENTY of them and that INCLUDED shipping!!! 13 cents each I guess

They arrived in ten days and they are A-1 .

Identical as far as I can tell to the $7 drugstore variety.

Reply to
philo

Drugstore is the last place to buy batteries. If I could use 20 I'd probably look at Amazon. This type battery might not matter even if 19 were bad you made out.

Reply to
Frank

I've had at least as much trouble buying chinese crap from american suppliers as from Chinese. The pros? Faster shipping from US resellers (when they have stock) Cons? Pay 4 or 5 times as much, PLUS shipping. Don't know how the Chinese can ship half way around the world for free on a 50 cent part that costs me 5 or 6 bucks from Texas or California, plus 9 bucks or more for shipping - - - -

As far as computers are concerned, I've given up building them - I buy ready built with a warranty and I keep my hair!!!

Reply to
clare

I've had rare failures on both Crucial and Kingston. VERY rare - but they do happen occaisionally.

Reply to
clare

Of course it is but it is two blocks from my house and until I saw the price I wanted it ASAP

Reply to
philo

I've nipped over to my local Princess Auto store (Canadian version of "Harbour Fright" and picked them up 10 or 12 for $2.99 on sale. - no waiting.

Reply to
clare

I still build them myself. Since I already have a lot of cases, hard drives and power supplies I can build a decent machine for $200.

The one I just built is a quad core CPU with 16 gigs of RAM and my total cost was just under $200. A new Dell is about $1000 though I'm sure I could find machines for half that price, I'd rather do it myself

Reply to
philo

With on-line shopping so easy I hardly ever take the car out to go shopping. Though I wanted to get the battery right I way I did not /need/ to get it right away.

Reply to
philo

I gotta say Oren , I have less than that in all 3 machines . They all have at least 8 Gb RAM , quad core processors . the media box has 2 1T drives and the other 2 both have a 320 main and at least 250Gb aux storage . 2 have new mobo's , all have (or will have when it arrives) new RAM , "new" processors , and 64 bit OS's .

Reply to
Terry Coombs

I buy glasses on-line from Zenni Optical in China. Wife criticized me for not buying here but I showed her glass case from pair costing 7X as much in US and it said, "Made in China".

Reply to
Frank

LOL.. Okay. I know alot of people who say that, but, I wind up working on their shit outright and/or assisting them when they get way in over their pretty little heads. But, I'll humour you on this one.

Are they CR16 or CR32? :)

Shit. If I needed it that day for something, I would have spent the extra few dollars. It wasn't that much of a difference in the grand scheme of things. You are billing these people aren't you? Surely your hourly rate/job rate would have covered the additional expense.

How long had they been sitting in storage? How many volts present on them when you took them out of the packaging? Did you test ANY of them with an actual battery tester? It puts a small 'load' on the battery to determine it's actual available power. Rather than using a DMM to test; since the 'load' they present is negligible.

Maybe, maybe not. Do you know how old they actually are from date of manufacture? These are things to consider when replacing laptop battery packs, too. Sitting on a store shelf, kills them, over time.

Reply to
Diesel

I'll never buy a Dell. I buy a brand new Acer Veriton 4630g I3 with 4GB of RAM,a 500Gb SATA drive, DVD drive, and Windows professional with a 3 year warranty for $423.50 CANADIAN. That's something like $310.95 US at today's exchange rate.At that rate, wht would I ever build one? (or buy a "Dell from Hell"?)

My experience with custom building is you often end up with one bad or incompatible part. If you are building more than one at a time you can determine which part is BAD pretty quickly by substituting in - but on a one-off you are stuck. I've had too many "infant mortality" or "dead in the box" components to make it worth the hassle. If the Acer doesn't boot up and work perfectly it's back in the box, and back to the warehouse for another one next day if I want to drive 1bout 25 miles, or 2 days door to door. I've built way too many in my lifetime to bother with it (worked for manufacturer for 5 years and either built my own or rebuilt machines for my own use for 20 years - even when I could have expensed a new one against my business)

Reply to
clare

When a customer is waiting for their machine 10-40 days on the "slow boat from China" isn't an option, and PA isn't much farther than a local computer supplier where my wholesale price is about $2.99 each.

When I'm "on the clock" it's still cheaper to even grab one at a drug store than to drive an extra 8 blocks for a $2.99 battery - as difficult as it is to get my head around THAT some days!!!!.

That said, today was the last day of 1/3 of my working life going to the same office every morning (16 years of my 48) for 8:30. One more step towards retirement. I'm not quite retired yet - just tired!!!!

Reply to
clare

Used to be I could make a 50% profit on a machine - either pre-built or self assembled. And that was 50% of a lot more than what I sell one for today. Today there is barely $50 in a high end machine. I'm better off to sell it at cost and bill my time spec'ing and ordering it at $50 an hour. I don't even advertise selling computers any more - just "technical services and consulting". The web-site still mentions "Computer and Network Sales and Service"

Reply to
clare

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