best cheap/free scores 1.1

[Per Hansson]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

^^You can say that again

[kc8adu]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

you too?
i will post a pic of one i polymodded.
been doing it for 8 years with no comebacks.
these machines run 24/7/365.
no surprise to see the kzg popped.those die on the shelf.
but even the sanyos outside of the stupid hot zone are beat by the time the machines get to me.
and thats when it crashes several times a day and busts tooling and wrecks parts.
most of my customers know these should never lock,bsod,or spontaneously reset and they bring them at the first issue.

[mikay786]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Got another Wii, 2 remotes, few games inc Mario kart, Wii fit board and a loads of accessories for £13 might keep this one and see if the Wii fit / balance board can help with the exercise which I need to start doing!

iPod nano 2gb 1st gen - £2

Nds lite + 5 games - £15

A few ps2 and PS3 games to use with the now "repaired" PS3 from last week.

And finally all 5 seasons of x-men animated 90s series for £4.50. Loved this cartoon when I was a kid, let's see if today's kids enjoy it.

Everything works which is a nice change

[momaka]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Managed to get the PS3 up and running with a quick bake, how long it last is anyone's guess but is working perfectly as of now. Backwards compatible too just been trying some ps2 games on it.

Watching a YouTube video the other day and guy was saying baking doesn't actually fix the problem with graphics chips as the issue isn't with the solder balls, is that the case? Something about heating flip chip design chips sorts them out for short term.

Well, in the case of the PS3, Sony used a custom GPU made by nVidia based on the GeForce 7800 series. As you might have heard by now, nVidia had many problems with their GeForce 6000, 7000 and 8000 series of video cards - collectively known as the bumpgate issue. That's where the GPU die (the actual silicone core) separates from the green PCB chip it is on. And it is mostly due to the fact that the materials they used to attach the GPU die to the substrate/PCB can't handle the heat too well and will allow the die to detach or short-out its contacts over time. Baking/re-heating the chip sometimes fixes the bumpgated core for a little bit, but it's a temporary fix, unless the temperature is kept very low after that. For these bumpgated GPU chips, the temperature should be kept under 60C at all times to avoid the issue and possibly even less for reflowed/re-heated chips. That said, the PS3s run pretty hot in order to stay quiet. So one way to prolong the life is to manually crank up the fan speed with an external controller.

Also, another thing worth mentioning regarding the PS3 is that the heat spreader they used on the GPU is attached with thermal epoxy that looses its effectiveness over time, especially after a reflow/re-heat. So to prolong the life of your repair even further, you should detach the heat-spreader on the GPU, clean it from the old thermal compount/epoxy, and re-apply new thermal epoxy again.

[vinceroger69]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Well, in the case of the PS3, Sony used a custom GPU made by nVidia based on the GeForce 7800 series. As you might have heard by now, nVidia had many problems with their GeForce 6000, 7000 and 8000 series of video cards - collectively known as the bumpgate issue. That's where the GPU die (the actual silicone core) separates from the green PCB chip it is on. And it is mostly due to the fact that the materials they used to attach the GPU die to the substrate/PCB can't handle the heat too well and will allow the die to detach or short-out its contacts over time. Baking/re-heating the chip sometimes fixes the bumpgated core for a little bit, but it's a temporary fix, unless the temperature is kept very low after that. For these bumpgated GPU chips, the temperature should be kept under 60C at all times to avoid the issue and possibly even less for reflowed/re-heated chips. That said, the PS3s run pretty hot in order to stay quiet. So one way to prolong the life is to manually crank up the fan speed with an external controller.

Also, another thing worth mentioning regarding the PS3 is that the heat spreader they used on the GPU is attached with thermal epoxy that looses its effectiveness over time, especially after a reflow/re-heat. So to prolong the life of your repair even further, you should detach the heat-spreader on the GPU, clean it from the old thermal compount/epoxy, and re-apply new thermal epoxy again.

i have just acquired a old fat type ps3 and have not opened it as yet as working fine, would you recommend applying new thermal epoxy to this model too? if so have you got a ebay link of the compound/thermal epoxy you would recommend thanks.

[momaka]

Re: Your Best Dumpster Finds

http://gadgets.ndtv.com/huawei-m865-64

I still have the phone, its unstable at full voltage/stock clock now and the battery is dead.... Along with the network it ran on......

Lol, so you overclocked your phone???
Why in the world would anyone do that?!

Modern phones already have a pretty crappy battery life and almost as much processing power as some 10-year old computers. It doesn't make sense to push them further.

Testing SIMMs/DIMMs (even PCI cards) in a surplus commercial machine is foolhardy. Most sockets (e.g., DIMM sockets) are rated for a very low number of insertion cycles -- like 5 to 25! If it's a consumer class machine, figure on the lower of those limits.

Doesn't matter. The PC I set up was already headed for the recycling bin, where it would likely get crushed for valuable metals. So not that much of a big loss if I messed up the slots on the motherboard. That said, I've tested over 30 pairs of RAM modules on it, and they all passed.

But, you also might find yourself with "dubious test results" that you can't reliably (and repeatably) attribute to the DUT -- or the test rig itself.

I can, because I had a few RAM modules that I tested extensively many times and they always passed. I kept them for this exact reason - if this machine started misbehaving, I could always verify if it was the slots or not. Never got to doing that, though, because the computer ended up getting recycled shortly after I left that job. It served me well while I was there, though.

[momaka]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

If it hasn't failed/YLODed yet, just replace the white thermal compound on the CPU and GPU with something better and crank up the fan speed. That alone should help it work a little longer. If you feel adventurous, you might also want to change the NEC/Tokin caps with MLCC and Tantalum ones (though you could just wait 'till you get a YLOD before attempting that).

As for thermal epoxy, I've only done/used that a few times. It was made by Artic Silver, IIRC, and came in two syringes you had to mix (so pretty much like regular epoxy). Good stuff, but quite expensive. I haven't tried the eBay thermal epoxy compounds, though I am certainly thinking about getting some cheap ones to try out in the near future, as I have some boards and video cards that need heatsinks glued.

[goontron]

Re: Your Best Dumpster Finds

Lol, so you overclocked your phone???
Why in the world would anyone do that?!

Modern phones already have a pretty crappy battery life and almost as much processing power as some 10-year old computers. It doesn't make sense to push them further.

Modern it is not. It's 10 years old, runs Android 2.2. At the time low-mid range Android phones like this were single core ARM v5. AKA, slower than shit and no acceleration. To put battery life in perspective, the battery is only a couple hundred mAh smaller than my current phone.

[momaka]

Re: Your Best Dumpster Finds

Ah okay, shows how much I know about phones.

Still... overclocking any kind of mobile device seems a bit crazy to me. The manufacturer probably had the CPU running at some frequency that was already producing marginally-dangerous temperatures on the core. So pushing it further probably did not help. And you drain your battery faster.

No acceleration? F**k it, it's a phone - it's meant for calling! (Wait, does anyone even do that anymore, lol?)

[Johndill]

Re: Your Best Dumpster Finds

Someone was throwing out a Samsung 40" 2011 Series 6 Smart TV UN40D6000 that would turn on for 1 second then loose power and shut off, an easy fix that I was going to do myself but I contacted Samsung support and told them my model TV was was turning on then off and the support guy said it was a manufacturing fault on that model and they will repair it for free, so I took it to my local Samsung authorized repairer to take care of it and a few weeks later they called me and said Samsung told them the part is no longer available and offered me a brand new Samsung 43" 2017 Series 6 UHD 4K TV MU6100 as a free replacement!! Not bad for free!

[Per Hansson]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

you too?

Yea, this one was beyond repair though.
The VGA chip had a hole through it, so probably everything connected to 5v got toasted with the caps failing...
Board was a PC104 SBC, an Advantech PCM-5862E

[Per Hansson]

Re: Your Best Dumpster Finds

Haha wow, and who said you can't polish a turd?

[stj]

Re: Your Best Dumpster Finds

i did that with about 6 sony monitors once - a company threw them out without realising they had a 3 year warranty from the date on the back!

[Curious.George]

Re: Your Best Dumpster Finds

Doesn't matter. The PC I set up was already headed for the recycling bin, where it would likely get crushed for valuable metals. So not that much of a big loss if I messed up the slots on the motherboard. That said, I've tested over 30 pairs of RAM modules on it, and they all passed

I "process" >30 machines in a single day! Attached are some photos of the "giveaways" headed out the door. The photos are ~10 years old, which explains the "vintage" of the machines. Typically, they are retired (given away) after 1.5 - 3 years. E.g., we're retiring i5's and i7's, now.

The initial obvious approach of setting up dedicated machines to test disks, memory, monitors, etc. quickly showed the flaw in relying on "consumer kit" for test fixtures (i.e., the "test fixtures" couldn't stand up to the sort of use -- connectors and cables -- to which they were subjected).

Instead, stuff components that you hope to be operational into a machine and test the machine as a "finished assembly" (since each cable/connector will eventually need to be mated prior to final assembly, mate them exactly once!). If something fails, toss it in the scrap pile and move on to the next subassembly/component.

[kc8adu]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

mine are all 558's.
and the video on those seems to be proprietary.
these things are never cheap when you need one.
much nicer being on the supply side of the deal.
btw i got funny looks from a friend when we picked up this load of scrap.
he watched me put all these in a box along with their cables and put the box in my trunk.
along with some 10" mono crt monitors.
i will get the last laugh out of this though.

[jiroy]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

It was a very busy week , As people are returning from summer vacations and students are returning to school ..Been dealing with at least 15 laptops and desktops repairs ..
I've been working from seven to eleven (with the kind permission of Led Zeppelin , lol ) ..

This week , I've got for free one Sony HCD-GRX8 complete with speakers . Really funny , but it's the same problem as last week's one .. All belts are melted ... A battle against Asphalt , lol , and it's fully working .
Two hp printers PSC -1510 . One Viewsonic monitor ... Will check them later ..

See ya

[kc8adu]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

got a free centipede.
will haul it home over the weekend.
the guys original intent was to have me repair it but now he has to move to a new job.
told me to come haul it off.

[stj]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

not the Atari one?!!!!!!

[momaka]

Re: Your Best Dumpster Finds

Instead, stuff components that you hope to be operational into a machine and test the machine as a "finished assembly" (since each cable/connector will eventually need to be mated prior to final assembly, mate them exactly once!).

That's what I did most of the time. My "dedicated" RAM/HDD/PSU test rigs were not meant for testing every single system component that passed through the shop, but only the occasional component that I couldn't verify in any other PC/system. Otherwise, yeah, I see what you are saying now - you thought I was taking the RAM out of every system and testing it into that test PC. - Ha, no way I'd do that. Takes too much time and we had way too many systems per day. Indeed the connectors won't stand a chance with that kind of "traffic" through them.

[kc8adu]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centipede_(video_game)

not the Atari one?!!!!!!