Tricks of the trade

Jetster · Sep 28, 2012, 02:23 AM

This thread is for tricks you use to test, diagnosis, OC or anything related. Pictures not required.

This is my favorite heat sink for bench testing a board or CPU. Just set in on the CPU, its solid copper and heavy. No TIM or screws required. Boot to post like I stated just for testing but it will keep it cool with no fans. I have used it many times over the years

What tricks do you use?

ALMOSTunseen · Sep 29, 2012, 06:14 PM

If theres one think I have to say, its to invest in a good Toolkit! I cannot amount to the numerous times I have been saved by a long pair of tweezers, and a multimetre. Like the saying goes, a bad workman always blames his tools! So don't have that excuse, if you've got the correct tools for the trade, it should be smooth sailing
Tools I'd recommend-
Long Tweezers
Multimetre
MAGNETIC screw drivers
Spare screws, bolts, nuts
Spare Thermal Paste
A 24 pin PSU jumper plug
Spare SATA cables

W1zzard · Sep 29, 2012, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jetster

This is my favorite heat sink for bench testing a board or CPU

i'm using an old thermaltake blue orb, basically the same approach as you have, but i connect the fan

a111087 · Sep 29, 2012, 07:22 PM

When I test motherboards, I use screw driver to power on and reset the system. Shut poke the screw driver at the "front panel" pins.

ALMOSTunseen · Sep 29, 2012, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by a111087

When I test motherboards, I use screw driver to power on and reset the system. Shut poke the screw driver at the "front panel" pins.

, how does that even work......

a111087 · Sep 29, 2012, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ALMOSTunseen

, how does that even work......

well, the screw driver is metal and conducts electricity. So, when you touch the right pins, the motherboard will see that as if you pressed the power button.

ALMOSTunseen · Sep 29, 2012, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by a111087

well, the screw driver is metal and conducts electricity. So, when you touch the right pins, the motherboard will see that as if you pressed the power button.

Ah woops, forgot it worked like that

theoneandonlymrk · Sep 29, 2012, 07:45 PM

usb drive and a second fully working pc are the best tools i have for pc fixing

and i have a usb microSdcard adapter with a fair few old sdcards(FROM OLD PHONES) all individually bootable but with diff uses, ie flashing card, Os rescue card , os reinstall card(win7) and a general pc diag card ,this saves time makeing them out of a fresh mem dongle each repair.

dremmels handy

and big fret saw

oh a set of fine 6" files well handy
other then that one good magnetic tip posidrive,long nose pliers multimeter

sorry for shoutin

Jetster · Sep 29, 2012, 09:08 PM

Someone mentioned putting a hard drive in a freezer after it fails. Has anyone confirmed this?
According to this video its not a good idea
Dispelling the myth of Freezer Based Hard Drive Da...

ALMOSTunseen · Sep 29, 2012, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jetster

Someone mentioned putting a hard drive in a freezer after it fails. Has anyone confirmed this?
According to this video its not a good idea
Dispelling the myth of Freezer Based Hard Drive Da...

Well, i'll get an old OEM hdd, chuck him down a couple flights of stairs, and see if we have our data, or a HDD Icepop.

punisher186 · Oct 2, 2012, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ALMOSTunseen

If theres one think I have to say, its to invest in a good Toolkit! I cannot amount to the numerous times I have been saved by a long pair of tweezers, and a multimetre. Like the saying goes, a bad workman always blames his tools! So don't have that excuse, if you've got the correct tools for the trade, it should be smooth sailing
Tools I'd recommend-
Long Tweezers
Multimetre
MAGNETIC screw drivers
Spare screws, bolts, nuts
Spare Thermal Paste
A 24 pin PSU jumper plug
Spare SATA cables

Agreed! Bonus points if you have everything within arms reach so you don't have to search for anything.

Related video: http://dsc.discovery.com/show-news/a...es-plural.html

ALMOSTunseen · Oct 2, 2012, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by punisher186

Agreed! Bonus points if you have everything within arms reach so you don't have to search for anything.

Related video: http://dsc.discovery.com/show-news/a...es-plural.html

Hmm, I may not need that many boxes

cadaveca · Oct 2, 2012, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jetster

Someone mentioned putting a hard drive in a freezer after it fails. Has anyone confirmed this?
According to this video its not a good idea
Dispelling the myth of Freezer Based Hard Drive Da...

Yes, tried it.

Mine: Use plain white toothpaste to "buff" out scratches on discs.

CASE SPEAKER FOR POST CODE BEEPS!!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jetster

This thread is for tricks you use to test, diagnosis, OC or anything related. Pictures not required.

This is my favorite heat sink for bench testing a board or CPU. Just set in on the CPU, its solid copper and heavy. No TIM or screws required. Boot to post like I stated just for testing but it will keep it cool with no fans. I have used it many times over the years

http://img.techpowerup.org/120927/Capture010.jpg

What tricks do you use?

Quote:

Originally Posted by W1zzard

i'm using an old thermaltake blue orb, basically the same approach as you have, but i connect the fan

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/T...comparison.jpg

Ha!

I have the Fatal1ty version of that Zalman!

sneekypeet · Oct 2, 2012, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cadaveca

CASE SPEAKER FOR POST CODE BEEPS!!!!

That right there would save users a ton of time, but is almost something that nobody offers these days. It also makes no sense to me that the motherboard makers don't include them, it is the chassis makers that do

Wrigleyvillain · Oct 2, 2012, 05:16 PM

Even moreso if you ever need to work on other's systems and deal with data not your own but every one of "us" should have a USB to SATA/IDE/PATA adapter.

http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Adapter-...78?ref=prid-20

Jetster · Oct 4, 2012, 02:58 AM

Not really a trick but a suggestion. A problem I'm seeing more and more these days with multiple drives

When you do a clean install only have the one drive connected to you system.

Not only do you not risk deleting your data on a second drive but if Windows 7 sees a boot sector on another drive. It will write the to the boot sector to that second drive. So when you unplug the second drive. No boot

Sep 28, 2012, 02:23 AM	#1
Jetster Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Oregon Posts: 2,876 (2.35/day) Thanks: 935 Thanked 865 Times in 633 Posts System Specs	Tricks of the trade This thread is for tricks you use to test, diagnosis, OC or anything related. Pictures not required. This is my favorite heat sink for bench testing a board or CPU. Just set in on the CPU, its solid copper and heavy. No TIM or screws required. Boot to post like I stated just for testing but it will keep it cool with no fans. I have used it many times over the years What tricks do you use? Last edited by Jetster; Sep 28, 2012 at 02:28 AM.

System Name:	Delta // HTPC
Processor:	Intel i7 3770K // Intel i3 550 3.2Ghz
Motherboard:	ASRock Z77 Extreme6 // Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2H Socket 1156
Cooling:	Corsair H100 // SILVERSTONE NT07-1156 90mm
Memory:	Corsair Vengeance 1866 16gb //Corsair DDR3 1600 4 Gb
Video Card:	HIS 7950 3 Gb //Sapphire 6670 1 Gb
Hard Disk:	Samsung 840 250 SSD, WD Caviar Blue 500// Corsair M4 64 Gb Solid State, SAMSUNG F4 2 Tb, WD 1 Tb
Optical Drive:	LG DVDR 24X // Lite on DVDR 24X
CRT/LCD Model:	HP 23xi IPS 1080p" // 50" Samsung Plasma 720p
Case:	Corsair Obsidian Series 550D // Silverstone Granada GD05
Sound Card:	ASUS Xonar DS // HDMI Bit Stream to Yamaha RX V571
PSU:	Seagate M12II 750 // Corsair CX 430
Software:	Windows 7 64bit // Windows 7 64bit with XBMC Eden
Benchmarks:	I scored P9327 in 3DMark 11

System Name:	The White Breeze\|\|Mr.Crunchy(HTPC/Cruncher)\|\|Medion Akoya Ultrabook
Processor:	i7-3770k\|\|i7-2600K\|\|Core i5-3317U
Motherboard:	MSI Z77 MPOWER\|\|Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3\|\|Laptop?
Cooling:	Corsair H100\|\|Cooler Master V8\|\|Laptop?
Memory:	16GB Kingston HyperX @ 2133MHz\|\|8GB Corsair Vengeance\|\|8GB SDRAM
Video Card:	MSI GeForce GTX 680 Lightning\|\|MSI GTX 570 Twin Frozr III Power Edition\|\|Intel 4000
Hard Disk:	Corsair GT 120GB, WD Caviar Black 1TB\|\|OCZ 60gb SSD, WD Caviar Blue 1TB\|\|500GB HDD with 32 MSATA
Optical Drive:	LG 24x\|\|Liteon\|\|DVD drive interchangeable with 3 cell battery
CRT/LCD Model:	Medion 23" LED\|\|14" LED
Case:	NZXT Switch 810\|\|Antec 100\|\|Laptop shell?
Sound Card:	Gamecom USB 7.1 virtual surround Sound\|\|Dolby Home Theatre V4
PSU:	Seasonic XP-860 Platinum\|\|Antec High Current Pro 750w\|\|Laptop Power Brick
Software:	Windows 7\|\|Windows 7\|\|Windows 8

Processor:	Intel Core i7-2600K @ 3.4 GHz
Motherboard:	ASUS P8Z68-V Pro
Memory:	3x 2048 MB Mushkin DDR3
Video Card:	ASUS GeForce GTX 670 Direct CU II TOP
Hard Disk:	Crucial C300 128 GB, WD6400AAKS 640 GB, WD15EADS 1.5 TB
Optical Drive:	BenQ DW1640
CRT/LCD Model:	Dell U3011 30", 2560x1600 + 19" 1280x1024
Case:	NZXT H2
Sound Card:	On-board Realtek HD
PSU:	Kingwin Absolute Platinum 550 W
Software:	Windows 7 64-bit

Sep 29, 2012, 07:22 PM	#4
a111087 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: US Posts: 2,521 (1.12/day) Thanks: 240 Thanked 190 Times in 157 Posts System Specs	When I test motherboards, I use screw driver to power on and reset the system. Shut poke the screw driver at the "front panel" pins. __________________

Sep 29, 2012, 06:14 PM	#2
ALMOSTunseen Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Sydney,Australia Posts: 669 (2.61/day) Thanks: 246 Thanked 275 Times in 190 Posts System Specs	If theres one think I have to say, its to invest in a good Toolkit! I cannot amount to the numerous times I have been saved by a long pair of tweezers, and a multimetre. Like the saying goes, a bad workman always blames his tools! So don't have that excuse, if you've got the correct tools for the trade, it should be smooth sailing Tools I'd recommend- Long Tweezers Multimetre MAGNETIC screw drivers Spare screws, bolts, nuts Spare Thermal Paste A 24 pin PSU jumper plug Spare SATA cables

Processor:	Intel Q9400
Motherboard:	asus p5q-pro
Cooling:	Ultra120
Memory:	6GB ddr2
Video Card:	NVS 290
Hard Disk:	3TB + 1.5TB
Optical Drive:	ASUS DVD burner
CRT/LCD Model:	Samsung F2380
Case:	Silverstone Fortress FT02B
Sound Card:	Creative X-Fi
PSU:	750W PC P&C
Software:	win 7 ultimate 64bit

Sep 29, 2012, 07:45 PM	#8
theoneandonlymrk Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: republic of mancunia UK Posts: 2,218 (1.90/day) Thanks: 846 Thanked 365 Times in 304 Posts System Specs	usb drive and a second fully working pc are the best tools i have for pc fixing and i have a usb microSdcard adapter with a fair few old sdcards(FROM OLD PHONES) all individually bootable but with diff uses, ie flashing card, Os rescue card , os reinstall card(win7) and a general pc diag card ,this saves time makeing them out of a fresh mem dongle each repair. dremmels handy and big fret saw oh a set of fine 6" files well handy other then that one good magnetic tip posidrive,long nose pliers multimeter sorry for shoutin __________________

System Name:	Quad GT V evo / eeaaagle
Processor:	FX8350 @ 4.9 / PII 960T 3.6
Motherboard:	Asus Crosshair V formula/ asus 970A-DS3
Cooling:	240+320 rad, cpu,5870,5850,NB/Vrm blocks all EK /Hyper212 TT mod'd
Memory:	2x4Gig Mushkin blackline 2133 @2133 cas10/ ocz flex2 2x2Gb
Video Card:	5870+5850 960Gpu 1200mem gtx460x2(physx)/ nVidia GTs240
Hard Disk:	2xsamsung 840(std), WD 1Tb+2Tb grn/ Revox2 120Gig ,2xWD 250's raid 0
Optical Drive:	pioneer dvd writer/ pioneer dvd writer
CRT/LCD Model:	HannsG 23" sony bravia 32", hd ready projector (footy)/headless(24/7) + sony tv
Case:	Custom(modded) thermaltake Kandalf / random black rubbish
Sound Card:	Xfi creative 7.1 on board / low fi realtek onboard
PSU:	corsair 1200AX / modded corsair 850TX
Software:	Win8 Pro.win7 Ultimate x64 licensed
Benchmarks:	13.62K best overall sandra so far, Unigine 2500 @1680x1050 default, 3dmark11 8534 3dmark firestrike

Sep 29, 2012, 09:08 PM	#9
Jetster Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Oregon Posts: 2,876 (2.35/day) Thanks: 935 Thanked 865 Times in 633 Posts System Specs	Someone mentioned putting a hard drive in a freezer after it fails. Has anyone confirmed this? According to this video its not a good idea Dispelling the myth of Freezer Based Hard Drive Da...

Processor:	AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
Motherboard:	ASUS M4A88T-M
Cooling:	Stock HS and case fans
Memory:	G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) F3-10600CL8D-4GBHK
Video Card:	EVGA GTS 450
Hard Disk:	Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB
Optical Drive:	TSSTCorp TS-H492A
CRT/LCD Model:	CML 154XW
Case:	Cooler Master Elite 310
Sound Card:	Onboard VIA VT1708S
PSU:	Antec Earthwatts 430W
Software:	Linux for computing, Windows 7 for gaming

System Name:	Eyefinity Gamer
Processor:	Intel i5 3570K @ 4.6 GHz
Motherboard:	ASUS Maximmus V Formula
Cooling:	Corsair H100
Memory:	16 GB G.Skill F3-2666C11Q-16GTXD
Video Card:	AMD Radeon HD7950 3GB x2 w/AMD Catalyst 12.10
Hard Disk:	OCZ Nocti 60GB mSATA, Crucial M4 120GB x2
Optical Drive:	LG BluRay/HD-DVD
CRT/LCD Model:	3x Dell U2412M
Case:	LianLi T60
Sound Card:	N/A
PSU:	Silverstone Strider 750W GOLD
Software:	Windows 8 Pro
Benchmarks:	Benchmarking is for suckers. ;)

System Name:	His
Processor:	Intel i7 3770K Cooled with Swiftech Apogee Drive II
Motherboard:	Asus Maximus V Extreme
Cooling:	Swiftech MCR-320 Cooled With Corsair SP120 Fans
Memory:	4X4GB Corsair Dominator Platinum 2666 C11
Video Card:	Asus GTX680 Direct Cu II TOP
Hard Disk:	Corsair Force GT 180GB / Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB
Optical Drive:	- - - - - - -
CRT/LCD Model:	Samsung 40" 120hz LCD
Case:	SilverStone Temjin TJ11
Sound Card:	Realtek on board > Sony receiver > Cerwin Vega's
PSU:	Corsair AX1200
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate 64

Oct 2, 2012, 05:16 PM	#15
Wrigleyvillain Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Chicago Posts: 4,503 (2.20/day) Thanks: 1,525 Thanked 1,576 Times in 1,119 Posts System Specs	Even moreso if you ever need to work on other's systems and deal with data not your own but every one of "us" should have a USB to SATA/IDE/PATA adapter. http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Adapter-...78?ref=prid-20 __________________ “i dont care what consoles have they dont have mouse and keyboard” -crazyeyesreaper

System Name:	DarkStar
Processor:	i5 3570K
Motherboard:	Asrock Z77E-ITX
Cooling:	Apogee HD White/AC Nexxos 120/XSPC H2O 750
Memory:	8GB Samsung Green 1600
Video Card:	MSI HD 7950 TF3
Hard Disk:	OCZ Agility 3 240GB
Optical Drive:	Asus Blu Ray burner
CRT/LCD Model:	23" Apple Cinema Display HD Aluminum
Case:	Bit Fenix Prodigy (Yang)
PSU:	NZXT Hale82 650W
Software:	Windows 7 x64

Oct 4, 2012, 02:58 AM	#16
Jetster Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Oregon Posts: 2,876 (2.35/day) Thanks: 935 Thanked 865 Times in 633 Posts System Specs	Not really a trick but a suggestion. A problem I'm seeing more and more these days with multiple drives When you do a clean install only have the one drive connected to you system. Not only do you not risk deleting your data on a second drive but if Windows 7 sees a boot sector on another drive. It will write the to the boot sector to that second drive. So when you unplug the second drive. No boot Last edited by Jetster; Oct 4, 2012 at 03:07 AM.

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