Not really, no.
Besides the vertical lines of colours anyway (mostly red and purple and yellow and green).
This happens even at startup, and doesn’t progress from there.
Manx
2802
So, it doesn’t show anything? No text at the boot screen, even?
If that’s the case, your video is probably bad. Hope that it’s not onboard, and you can try to uninstall it and reinstall it which sometimes works. Very rare though. Cards can sometimes build up static electricity in the connectors. But like I said it’s rare. It’s probably shot if it’s displaying lines on multiple displays.
If you can see anything at all that is tangible, like text while the system boots, then it could be a driver issue. And yes, I have seen drivers cause corrupted display issues, including lines.
From the sound of it, you’re going to have to open it up and replace the card. If your system is a retail system, then it is probably covered under some sort warranty.
Preppy
2803
Which exact laptop brand/type is it? It should have a video output option on the backside (usually) which you can hopefully hook up to a regular monitor at a friend’s. It probably won’t do anything useful, but it might be worth a try.
I can’t see a thing. When the comp boots, black screen -> black/white/grey vertical lines -> colourful vertical lines. No words, no visible boot screen.
I’ve also tested pressing buttons, namely NumLock and CapsLock to see if they registered. They will register for a while (I can see the signal lights for them go on and off) but after a while they stop, which makes me assume that the computer has hanged.
Preppy, I’ve already tried using outputting the video on the family comp. Showed a different set of coloured lines. At least this confirms it’s not a faulty monitor that’s the problem.
I can’t recall the exact model at the moment (at family house, box at home), but I do know that the computer is from Asus, of the A8J series.
And I think my warranty expired earlier this year. :sad:
So yeah…just got some new “OCZ Freeze” thermal paste. I think I’m going to disassemble (take the heatsink off, and no I haven’t done so before, still have the stock HSF on it) my Radeon 4870 and put some of it in there, to see if I can lower temps by a few degrees. Whadda you guys think…should I do it?
OCZ Freeze is really really good btw. Much better than Arctic Silver, and non-electrically conductive. Some of you guys need to stop using AS5, that shit is NOT the standard anymore. 
Darkstalker: It sounds to me like your GPU hit a wall or something. Maybe it got too hot and fried itself to an extent. If so that’d suck, since it’s a laptop. You can’t exactly “swap out” the GPU on a laptop to my knowledge. It is apart of the motherboard itself and thus you would need to replace the entire board. I’ve no idea how difficult/expensive/practical that would be, but I CAN tell you it will be more of a hassle than doing so on a desktop system.
You may have to just get another laptop (and if you go that route I’d strongly recommend DESKtop unless you really need it to be mobile)…but I would strongly suggest letting a technician look at it. If he confirms there’s something wrong with the GPU and it would need replacing, then I’d suggest looking for a new motherboard for your laptop. Just make sure the dimensions are the same, and that it supports your existing CPU and memory so you don’t have to buy more. It’d be a hell of a lot cheaper than shelling out for a whole new laptop. Of course, all I’ve just said is theoretical, at least to an extent, as laptops aren’t my niche.
Manx
2806
L A P T O P . . .
Actually, some of them have replaceable Vid cards. But still doing laptop maintenance is a ar cry from desktop. I’m with Sixshot on this one. Unless you’re willing to change to a desktop/buy a new laptop, a mobo replacement might be best. Or… if you got a good laptop, then you can possibly replace the card.
System_1
2807
Currently I’m reading SQL Server 2005 book. Anyone have any tips on creating apps with SQL Server 2005 and/or C# together, etc…
Or just tips in general about SQL Server 2005…
ckrazy
2808
That happen to my old computer apparently the video card was dunzo. :shake:
Manx
2809
^ Actually, I was swapping out some memory in a PC at work this morning and it did the exact same thing, lines and colors at the post screen and it wouldn’t boot. I powered off, discharged the flea energy and reseated the memory and it worked fine after that. Memory can definitely cause this sort of problem, too and it doesn’t necessarily mean your hardware is broken. :tup:
Valaris
2810
What’s the best program to get rid of shit on my computer? Everytime a page opens in IE I get pop ups from random shit. I tried to find it with spybot/ad-aware/system mechanic pro but no success so far.
Manx
2811
^ look up Hijackthis. G’luck :tup:
Also…get Malwarebytes’ Anti-walware.
Damn thing saved my compulife.
I know it’s true for ipods and cell phones but if I leave my laptop charged continuously for long periods of time does it decrease my off the charger battery life? As it is my toshiba satellite x205 barely gets an hour off the charger. If I switch off high performance the battery life doesn’t get much better and it becomes too slow anyways.
My laptop always gets really hot which I know is natural because it’s a high end laptop and there’s no cooling system outside of the standard tinyass fan built in but recently it’s been turning off or freezing completely several times a day. It gets too hot mostly on the air vents on the side and directly in the middle of the underside and I’ve noticed the number of times it turns off and/or freezes so is proportional to how hot it is. Anything I can do to fix this?
I don’t expect optimal online performance from a laptop especially since my wireless router is about 10 feet from it but anything I can do to lower my ping and lessen the fps drop when there’s alot of people on screen?
Manx
2814
^ If it’s network ping, then I suggest plugging into the NIC to play games. Wireless is subject to too many factors to be reliable.
If your network is causing FPS problems in games, then it is most likely a driver issue. I had one like that in Everquest that I could NOT get rid of without formatting. It was an audio driver issue that I could NOT get rid of by removing/installing the drivers. I’ve seen NIC drivers do the same thing, but I was able to fix that by uninstalling TCP/IP, File & Printer Sharing, MS networks and my NIC drivers and reinstalling it all. Simply installing the NIC driver was not enough.
If you’re just getting bad framerate, then just do the normal install the latest/reccomended drivers, get rid of junk programs, and lower the graphics settings to where you can stand looking at it.
Okay, since my laptop has died, parents offered to buy me new comp. I am looking at something like this:
THE MAIN STUFF
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 7200 (RM390)
GPU: Gainward HD4850 GS/OC700M/2DVI/DDR (RM655)
Motherboard: ASUS P5Q INTEL P45 1600 DCD2 PCIE GL E
Hard Drive: 320.0GB/7200/16MB/ SATAII from Seagate (RM 170)
RAM: 2x KINGSTON DDRII 667 2Gig RAM (RM 240)
DVD: SSG 22X12X22X/D-RAM SATA B BULKCPUC (RM 80)
PSU: Cooler Master 550 Real Power (RM 425)
Monitor: 19" SAMSUNG 931BW A+D 2ms L/B/G (RM 599)
And some more
Case: Whichever is a standard one (unsure, but should be around RM100)
Wifi: D-LINK 54Mbps DWA-510 (RM 76)
OS: MICROSOFT WINDOWS VISTA HOME PREMIUM SP1 (ROSE) (DVD) No Free Mouse (RM 249)
Total: RM 3449.
Anything I should change/add/forgot?
Purposefully omitting: Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers (have these already), Network Card (friends say I don’t need this…?)
Still slightly pricier than what I wanted. And of course, if you don’t know the Ringgit Malaysia denominations, feel free to ignore that aspect. All prices taken from local store near my house (want to buy from there so if there’re any problems easy to fix).
That’s entirely too much. ENTIRELY. Are you planning on playing games? Hell for $3,500 you could throw TWO 4870 X2’s in Crossfire, even including the monitor. And speaking of the monitor. $600 seems like WAAAAY too much for a 19". I mean, I got a 20.1" 4:3, for only $190 after shipping. But that’s because I still don’t like widescreen.
WAIT. You live in Malaysia? Ok maybe that’s what it is then. I’ve no idea how much something should or shouldn’t cost over there. Nevermind.
I’d get an E8400 or an E8500 before I got an E7200. Something tells me you won’t overclock anything either, which is all the more reason. Also, get FOUR gigs of RAM, not just two. And shoot for at LEAST 800 Mhz RAM, not 667. DDR2, DDR3 isn’t worth it right now. Corsair, G. Skill, Crucial, and OCZ are some of the best brands. Get a 500GB hard drive instead of a 320, they’re only like 10 or 20 bucks more. Make sure it’s either Western Digital or Seagate, honestly I wouldn’t recommend any other brand. You are on the right path by choosing an Asus motherboard, best you can get imo, overall. Cooler Master isn’t the best when it comes to power supplies, and that’s not something I’d ever advise skimping on, in terms of the quality of the internal components. If you want the best, get either a Corsair or a PC Power & Cooling. 550 watts or more.
If you play games enough and can afford an extra $80 or so, get the 4870 instead of the 4850. I was going to get the 4850 myself originally, but I got the 4870 and haven’t looked back. Specific brand doesn’t matter so much, but bear in mind that VisionTek are the ONLY ATi card manufacturers that offer a lifetime warranty. Plus their cards always have the reference look, 100%. Which looks way better if you ask me.
I’m pretty sure I’ll stick to the graphics card (80 USD more is a few hundred more for me, and I’m already spending enough), as for the rest…
I am getting four gigs ram. 2 x 2Gig Kingstom Value RAM = 4 gigs, correct?
Will performance be that much worse by going with an E7200? I was looking at E8400, it’s about 150 ringgit extra, and this is quite expensive as it is for a replacement comp. Basically, I asked at a forum which to skimp on (CPU or GPU) and they said if I had to skimp on something, lose a bit out on CPU rather than GPU.
500 gig Seagate is 50 ringgit more (which is about 10 to 20 USD I believe). Will ask, but least of my concerns, as I backup disks frequently and I don’t use that much space (like if I download a TV series I burn it ASAP once I reach 4.7 gigs).
About PSU, I have not seen any shops nearby that serve Corsair or a PC Power & Cooling. This is unfortunate. I have read good reviews of Cooler Master 550W Real Power though (only this particular model) so hopefully that works out.
…anyway, this is what I plan to propose to my parents, who will be the ones paying. The final decision will be up to them.
lol you should be fine then, with an E7200. It’s still a 45nm Intel dual core. BUT if you like to play games, and just want a slightly faster PC overall, I WOULD try to get the E8400. That thing is quick, 3 Ghz stock.
If you don’t have a whole lot of stuff to save then yea, 320GB should be enough for the hard drive. But then I probably need more room than you, why I said 500GB.
I must’ve misread the amount of RAM you listed. Yeah, 4GB kit, 2x2GB is good. Kingston is decent, not the best though. Corsair is the very best I’d say, but also the most expensive. Personally, I like G. Skill and Crucial (Ballistix). Whatever you get make sure it’s at least 800Mhz (PC2-6400). And make sure it has heatsinks/heatspreaders on the side.
That particular power supply might not be that bad. I was just saying that in GENERAL, Corsair and PC Power & Cooling are the best. PC P&C are supposed to be the very best, but are also the most expensive, when they may be just SLIGHTLY better than Corsair.
Okay, about the RAM…
It’s Kingston DDR2 667, which is 120 Ringgit. I assume 667 is the speed. Is there a huge difference between 667 and 800? There is also KINGSTON DDRII 800 for an additional 5 ringgit each. Then there’re HYPER-X/Pair or something. Any particular difference?
To sum up, 667 and 800 have a 5 ringgit difference for each unit (negligible) but the Hyper-X/Pair 800 is like 60 ringgit more expensive apiece.
Sorry if I sound noobish. First time I’m ever doing this. I’m a bit paranoid and my father is insanely paranoid. He’s had two custom pcs die before, hence his worry (and it has invoked FEARRRRRR in me, I admit). Anyway, he’s pushing for a branded desktop but people say that if I’m buying branded, I might’s well get a laptop. Desktops, I should go the custom route. Would you agree?
EDIT: One more thing. About monitors, there is RF, which I think stands for refresh rate? Is the HIGHER this number the better or is the lower the number the better? The current model I have selected says 2ms for it.
For…let’s say, $1,000, that Dell or Hewlett-Packard you may be thinking of won’t be NEARLY as fast or as capable or as nice in general as hand-selecting the components yourself and putting it together.
People make it out to be harder than it is. Do a little research, watch a couple videos on building computers if you need to. In the end you’ll be glad you did.
Yes, 667 refers to the speed…667Mhz. 800 is slightly faster, as you’d imagine. It is worth whatever it costs extra, 100%. In fact, since your motherboard will probably support it, I’d get 1066Mhz RAM. It probably won’t cost that much more than 800Mhz RAM, but will be a little faster/more stable still.
Refresh rate refers to the hertz (LCD’s run @ 60 hz, this is standard). Pay no attention to that statistic (if it’s even listed). What you are talking about is response time (ms). Lower is better, yes. I believe 2ms is the fastest you can get, but there is also a good chance you will pay out the ass for a monitor with a 2ms response time, and it would totally NOT be worth it. I’d recommend 5ms. Try to avoid 8ms, but even that isn’t so bad. Just don’t go any higher (slower) than 8ms. Contrast ratio is another spec you may want to look at. Not all that important though. Higher is better, so 900:1 > 700:1. Again though, NOT very important, don’t stress it too much. Other than that it’s the native resolution which the monitor runs at. Obviously higher is better.
