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Baron replied to Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

in General Computer & Tech Discussion

06-23-2013, 08:52 AM
Re: Cleaning Motherboards - ATTN SMOKERS!!

Just to chime in.....a bit late............but when I do my annual strip down and cleaning session on my PC on a nice warm/hot summers day, which here in England is a rare day.

Since I am a dreaded smoker, I find that the combination of cheapo paint brushes, canned air and Baby Wipes do an excellent job of cleaning things like fan frames and blades, memory sticks (body and 'seating pins'), the Corsair (3 x 40mm fan) memory cooler and all the other parts than can be removed for cleaning.

Baby Wipes are...

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Baron replied to Death of the desktop PC

in General Computer & Tech Discussion

01-04-2012, 04:42 AM
Re: Death of the desktop PC

All the time manufacturers are selling newer cases, PSU's, motherboards, memory, graphics cards etc I can't see desktops hitting the dust.
I can't see the point of trying to browse the internet with 4" screen or something, or even reasonable games..
To me a mobile phone is just something to send/receive phone calls and the occaisonal text, written in full, not teenytext.
But then I am old fashioned that way.....

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Baron replied to heads up!! Samsung looking to sell storage line.

in General Computer & Tech Discussion

05-06-2011, 02:46 AM
Re: heads up!! Samsung looking to sell storage line.

Reviving an old thread...........I have a Maxtor Diamondmax Plus9 -120GB (originally one of a pair for Raid0 - don't remember what happened to the other one) dated 28.6.2004 that is still in daily use (for storage now) on my other skt939-XP machine..........I can't complain about that.
Currently I have one 1TB Seagate USB drive for films/doc's about a year old, a Samsung 1TB F3 for backups May 2010 - 2 x 300GB WD V-Raptors June 2008, and a WD 500GB Cav Green from Jan 2008.
Only ever had one HDD fail on me some...

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Last edited by Baron; 05-06-2011, 03:01 AM. Reason: Typos
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Baron replied to What PC games do you people currently play?

in General Computer & Tech Discussion

10-04-2009, 03:42 AM
Re: What PC games do you people currently play?

I have installed, the UT series, C&C Generals/Zero Hour, CNC3 + Kanes Wrath, BF2, BF2142....but at the moment my favourites to play (not online) are three mods for BF2....i.e. Desert Combat, Mercs 10 and AIX2......I prefer AIX2 and can be pretty hard on 'expert' ( for me being a doddery 63 year old) even against the computer but great fun.
I used to play BF2142 online, but my mouse hand is not as quick as it used to be, so I get shot.......a lot

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Baron replied to Another Example of Apple's Superior Operating System

in General Computer & Tech Discussion

10-04-2009, 03:06 AM
Re: Another Example of Apple's Superior Operating System

I rather like Vista.....
I've gone from W98 then 98SE, on a 486 box.
I could shut down at night, and switch on in the morning and it had gone tits up overnight....
Then I got a much better PC and got XP Pro.
That I liked as it was much harder to break.........I am good a screwing up the OS.
From there I built a much faster machine......I got the 'building my own bug' and as I had the money I bought Vista32 and 64 versions.
Much more stable and ran 32 bit for a while.....still...

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Baron replied to My TFT monitor sometimes blacks out...

in Troubleshooting TVs and Video Sources

10-11-2008, 06:41 AM
Re: My TFT monitor sometimes blacks out...

Thanks mate.
Having a new toy to play with, I was a little unsure of the display.
I have got used to it now, and it appears to be doing its job.

Ummm...silly question I guess, but isn't a Line Conditioner the same as a UPS but without the battery back up...generally ?

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Baron replied to My TFT monitor sometimes blacks out...

in Troubleshooting TVs and Video Sources

10-10-2008, 11:57 AM
Re: My TFT monitor sometimes blacks out...

Noted.......cheers

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Baron replied to My TFT monitor sometimes blacks out...

in Troubleshooting TVs and Video Sources

10-09-2008, 11:36 PM
Re: My TFT monitor sometimes blacks out...

Thanks Wizard.
I am trying to get a reasonable case to put to my Electricty Board for them to come and check out the wiring.
No problem found = I have to cough up a large amount of money for them to come out
Problem found = free fixing
So, I am kind of wary.....

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Baron replied to My TFT monitor sometimes blacks out...

in Troubleshooting TVs and Video Sources

10-09-2008, 11:15 AM
Re: My TFT monitor sometimes blacks out...

Thanks again for replies.

I don't think it is my PSU........it is a Corsair HX620.... (I don't have another PSU to test it out)
It could be the GF7800GTX, but it is a BFG model..... (No spare gfx card either)

Since installing my APC, for two evenings (when I use the PC) I have not suffered any blacking out....................showering etc.

So, it is either down to the APC unit, or, because there is now a different power cable to the monitor.
But, if it works and 'fixes'...

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Last edited by Baron; 10-09-2008, 11:19 AM.
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Baron replied to My TFT monitor sometimes blacks out...

in Troubleshooting TVs and Video Sources

10-08-2008, 02:42 PM
Re: My TFT monitor sometimes blacks out...

Thanks for all the replies.....I am a bit late....I have been playing with my new Logitech G9 mouse and G15 v2 keyboard

Yep, the heating boiler is gas fired, and the electricity is used to first turn on a fan for a second(ish)to clear out any residue of fumes before a spark is applied to the gas burners.

My Sony that was repaired, still suffered from the blackouts, but I don't know what repairs took place. All I know is that although it would turn on (I could see the edges of the screen lit, all I got...

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Baron started a topic My TFT monitor sometimes blacks out...

in Troubleshooting TVs and Video Sources

10-05-2008, 02:10 AM
My TFT monitor sometimes blacks out...

Not sure if I have mentioned this before....but,
I am in the UK...if that helps..........what seems to happen is that when the heating boiler (gas fired) is turned on......for hot water, or a shower, the monitor will go blank for a second or two and them come back on again. It can do this a few times and can last for a few minutes.

Now you can appreciate that this can be a bit disconcerting when I am playing BF2142 online, as I get killed...a lot !

I have just ordered an APC 600va line conditioner to see if that may help, and plug my PC and monitor into...

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Baron replied to small 3-pin fan connector

in General Computer & Tech Discussion

11-24-2006, 01:41 PM
Re: small 3-pin fan connector

I think 'quite noiseful' sounds rather good

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Baron replied to Killer Computer Cases Research

in General Computer & Tech Discussion

10-17-2006, 11:25 AM
Re: Killer Computer Cases Research

Or a Thermaltake Xaser III......bomb proof and heavy, and even worse when filled with parts
I have the Kandalf, which is pretty much the same as the Armour (I think) but it has a front door. But, this can be removed so that it just has the two 'wings' like the Armour....

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Baron replied to Killer Computer Cases Research

in General Computer & Tech Discussion

10-06-2006, 02:54 PM
Re: Killer Computer Cases Research

I have the TT Kandalf (ali) case, which to me is much the same as the Armour, but with front doors.
However, these can be removed, just leaving the two small 'wing's like the Armour.
What I like is the ability to mount stuff in the front of the case in whatever order you like.
The case comes with one 3 hdd cage + 120mm fan that sits in the front. I have since bought another cage, so my 4 drives are now in those.......2 drives per cage, so there is plenty of airflow over/around the drives.
I removed the small 3 hdd cage...

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Baron replied to Monitor goes off briefly.........

in Troubleshooting Computer Displays

10-06-2006, 02:15 PM
Re: Monitor goes off briefly.........

Thanks dood, that is something I had thought of, as an all round solution/protection.
From what I can gather, one with about 1000VA and AVR would be good ?

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Baron replied to Monitor goes off briefly.........

in Troubleshooting Computer Displays

10-04-2006, 12:42 PM
Re: Monitor goes off briefly.........

Thanks for the reply.
My monitor display just goes black for a second and then the display returns, just as if it is switched off and then on again.
I live with it, but it is annoying in games as you can probably imagine
I will look into all the suggestions........thanks again for taking the time to reply.

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Baron replied to Monitor goes off briefly.........

in Troubleshooting Computer Displays

10-03-2006, 03:38 PM
Re: Monitor goes off briefly.........

Thanks for taking the time to reply, and explain things.
I attended a LAN 24hr party some time ago, and I had no problems with the monitor, so it must be the freezer kicking in that upsets the monitors innards.
It has a built in power supply.
I am not clever enough to modify the monitor, and would probably blow myself and/or the monitor up if I were to meddle with it.....
But, getting something like the 'inrush current limiter' or the like sounds like a good solution.
I will have to ask around to find out...

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Baron started a topic Monitor goes off briefly.........

in Troubleshooting Computer Displays

10-03-2006, 11:36 AM
Monitor goes off briefly.........

My PC etc is downstairs, and plugged into the same ring main as my freezer, kitchen appliances etc...
What appears to happen, is that when the thermostat clicks on the freezer, my monitor goes blank for a second and then comes back on again.........darned annoying when I am playing a game

It is a Sony 17" HS73 LCD model.

The rest of the computer is not affected, only the monitor.
I have installed surge protectors from two different wall sockets, so that the load from all the components are taken from two different wall sockets, so the monitor...

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Last edited by Baron; 10-03-2006, 11:39 AM.
Baron replied to Capacitor life....

in General Computer & Tech Discussion

09-29-2006, 10:38 AM
Re: Capacitor life....

Many thanks for taking the time to reply and explain things........
According to the reviews, the primary is a 470uF 400V Hitachi AIC.
which I gather is a good make and rated at 105C, and the secondary caps are Nippon-Chemicon, so the innards of this PSU appear to be high quality, and I believe its rating is at 50C.
So, the caps have a good life expectancy, and the unit should/will outlive the 5 year warranty......thanks for cheering me up

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Baron started a topic Capacitor life....

in General Computer & Tech Discussion

09-28-2006, 11:46 PM
Capacitor life....

Just curious as to the life of capacitors.
I know that is a bit of a 'how long is a bit of string' type question, but for example, in my Corsair 620W it has a Hitachi capacitor (at least the reviews show that) and apart from all the other components, I just wondered what its life expectancy is ?
The unit does have a 5 year warranty, would it be near the end of its life by then anyway ?
Thanks...

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