1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Hardware Show us your hardware horrors

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by arcticstoat, 8 Mar 2011.

  1. Xir

    Xir Modder

    Joined:
    26 Apr 2006
    Posts:
    5,412
    Likes Received:
    133
    not when they're in the airflow of the boxed, downflow cooler, no. :D
    As you've chosen to go with watercooling though...

    So little pictures, I thought this was a picture contest, not a story contest
     
  2. BlackRaven

    BlackRaven Freaking printers!

    Joined:
    20 Feb 2010
    Posts:
    89
    Likes Received:
    0
    No pick but I was working in a steel factory around 10 years ago. Anyway I got called on to repair a broken siemens pc that was on the production floor.
    Long story short the whole thing was coated in metallic dust.
    There was a special card in the pc that was linked in to the production unit. I replaced the pc and got lucky as the board had not failed. PC had to be sourced trough siemens and cost 5000 euro since it was the only one that would work with the card. This thing had been in the production floor for close to 5 years.
     
  3. manowarrior

    manowarrior What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    9 Mar 2011
    Posts:
    7
    Likes Received:
    1
    They wouldn't accept a return because it was just out of warranty, doubaly rubbish because it was a Christmas gift one year and it went kaput just before Christmas the next year (thats christmas just gone), HOWEVER it was purchaced in November so I was left in need of a paddle.

    They refused to send out a replacement fan because XFX's support is an unfunny joke.
    Because the cooler was not a stock one I was unable to use an aftermarket cooling option, so I got handy with my drill.

    I'll never purchace an XFX card again.

    Moral of the story is gon't go for the cheap option, spend the £20 more for a better card with your perfered chipset.
     
  4. Xir

    Xir Modder

    Joined:
    26 Apr 2006
    Posts:
    5,412
    Likes Received:
    133
    I wouldn't wonder if the fan you bolted on was stronger and quieter than the original.
    That's not a mishap, that's a successfull mod :thumb:
     
  5. Action_Parsnip

    Action_Parsnip What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    3 Apr 2009
    Posts:
    720
    Likes Received:
    40
    Ah thanks for explaining!

    Yeah my 4870 512mb died pretty much exactly 2 years to the day I bought it, had a budget of £120.00 max to get a replacement, only option at the time was the 5770 - this was a while ago - so I found one of the _very_ last 4890s in the country. Didn't know it was a non-reference pile of poo. Im hoping it dies within the 1 year warranty period so I can get them to replace it with something less awful to listen to. :duh:

    Is the mod any better than the stock fan??
     
  6. Wicked_Sludge

    Wicked_Sludge My eyes! The goggles do nothing!

    Joined:
    15 Aug 2010
    Posts:
    2,232
    Likes Received:
    80
    i thought all of xfx's cards had a double lifetime warranty?
     
  7. Xir

    Xir Modder

    Joined:
    26 Apr 2006
    Posts:
    5,412
    Likes Received:
    133
    in the US, maybe ;-)
     
  8. Pot Of Jam

    Pot Of Jam What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    6 Sep 2010
    Posts:
    58
    Likes Received:
    0
    I remember at a LAN party we had this guy, wouldn't call him a friend maybe "someone I have come to know". But he was one of these people who talked the talk but when it came to it knew nothing about hardware.

    So on this LAN he was installing a new HSF, for reasons I can't remember, but after he installed it and booted up his PC all looked well. Till we could all smell burning plastic... Yes you guessed it, the nonce had left the plastic cover on the HSF. We have a picture of the exact moment it had dawned on him. Classic photography and classic idiocy. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy either!

    And Steve if your reading this don't deny it, we have the evidence!
     
  9. Xir

    Xir Modder

    Joined:
    26 Apr 2006
    Posts:
    5,412
    Likes Received:
    133
    well in with the pic, that's what this thread is for!
     
  10. Pot Of Jam

    Pot Of Jam What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    6 Sep 2010
    Posts:
    58
    Likes Received:
    0
    Well I'm typing this on my iPad, pics at home so I will post when I have it ;)
     
  11. .//TuNdRa

    .//TuNdRa Resident Bulldozer Guru

    Joined:
    12 Feb 2011
    Posts:
    4,046
    Likes Received:
    109
    Probably the best abomination (Or hardware win, depending on how you look at it) is the old motherboard in the loft somewhere. The HDD was knocked on it by an ickle me, cracking it in two. What happens? Dad Solders the damn thing together with a chunk of cabling. I still do not know, to this day, what other witchcraft was done to make it work.

    I suspect I used to have siblings, though.

    Need to go up there with my camera at some point. Perhaps when i'm rifling through for old parts again for whatever reason.
     
  12. NickCPC

    NickCPC Minimodder

    Joined:
    8 Apr 2009
    Posts:
    260
    Likes Received:
    52
    I tried to fix a no-display 4870X2 about a year ago with the oven method after successfully resuscitating a couple of dead 8800GTs. Set it up as I usually did, stripped everything off the card, laid it face down on 4 small foil balls and fired up the oven. Smelt the solder so knew it was nearly done (i.e. less than a minute to go), but my phone rang. After answering and literally just saying "I'll call you back" i turned the oven off and retrieved the 4870X2 only to see three capacitors simply drop off while being moved to the tabletop, along with the 6 pin plug. I managed to get the plug soldered back on but the caps were a lost cause, and the X2 was dead as a dodo.

    Still, worth a shot as it was only £20 off eBay!
     
  13. .//TuNdRa

    .//TuNdRa Resident Bulldozer Guru

    Joined:
    12 Feb 2011
    Posts:
    4,046
    Likes Received:
    109
    I'm also reminded of the hackery I had to do to one Bitfenix Spectre Fan (200 MM) to get it to fit to those "200mm" fan mounting holes on the side panel of the NZXT Phantom.

    Trying to punch through ABS plastic with nothing more than a set of screwdrivers takes friggin' ages.
     
  14. Xir

    Xir Modder

    Joined:
    26 Apr 2006
    Posts:
    5,412
    Likes Received:
    133
    Well, get up there, that sounds like what this is about! :thumb:
     
  15. SMIFFYDUDE

    SMIFFYDUDE Supermodders on my D

    Joined:
    22 Apr 2009
    Posts:
    2,898
    Likes Received:
    104
    I've just baked my 8800GTS back to life after reading this.
     
  16. Nexxo

    Nexxo * Prefab Sprout – The King of Rock 'n' Roll

    Joined:
    23 Oct 2001
    Posts:
    34,731
    Likes Received:
    2,210
    [​IMG]

    Yeah, that's smoke coming out of my PC Power & Cooling PSU. The PC kept running though.
     
  17. Action_Parsnip

    Action_Parsnip What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    3 Apr 2009
    Posts:
    720
    Likes Received:
    40
    ye gads ive got a PC Power & Cooling supply!
     
  18. moo123

    moo123 What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    19 Mar 2011
    Posts:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Been following this site but I had to make an account to vent my recent frustrations as soon as I saw this article.

    My motherboard went kaputz 2 weeks ago (won't turn on) so I went out to buy an Asus Sabertooth X58 since it was the least expensive board on the market and I didn't want to sink any more money into an end of the line socket.

    When I got the system up and running I realized my tower was emitting this annoying whine. Originally I thought it was the PSU but after testing with another unit and seeing the same problem I suspected it was the motherboard. It took me about a week to diagnose the problem as C1E whine (board automatically underclocks the CPU when its not loaded, the fluctuating power draw causes the coils to whine). Seeing nothing of the matter on line, I decided to return the board to the retailer in hopes of getting it replaced. However, they ended up scrutinizing every little detail and managed to find a pin just SLIGHTLY bent and says its considered physical damage and I had to send it back to Asus.

    I figured I might as well just turn C1E off and forgo RMAing the board so I put the system back together. As soon as I turn the computer on I see smoke coming out of one of the DIMMs and the scent of burnt IC flooded the room. Turn the computer off, remove the middle DIMM, boots into Windows no problem - with 2 GB of RAM. Turns out another DIMM socket also blew out but there was no smoke.

    So now I have a board going back to Asus and hopefully RAM going back to OCZ (who just pulled out of the RAM business). Great, what started out as a broken motherboard might end up costing over 400 dollars in parts and shipping.

    [​IMG]
     
  19. .//TuNdRa

    .//TuNdRa Resident Bulldozer Guru

    Joined:
    12 Feb 2011
    Posts:
    4,046
    Likes Received:
    109
    Hokay, Whilst I was up and moving I thought i'd provide a little demonstration:

    This, Children, is why you are supposed to use a Dremel:
    [​IMG]
    Looks fine at first, huh?
    The screws that are in tell the same story.
    [​IMG]
    Then there's the hole where the screw wouldn't fit...
    [​IMG]
    Yeah. Hand-gouging your way through 1-2 mm of plastic using nothing more than a set of screwdrivers takes friggin ages!

    I would take more pictures of the fan off the panel, but because of how hard it was to get the screws in the first time (Because of the diameter of the holes in relation to the screws) I'm not sure I can actually get the screws back out again...

    EDIT: Whoops~ Left the camera in 16:9 mode. (Also, is the limit 800X600, or 640X480 for images? Sorry if I've broked it)
     
  20. andrew8200m

    andrew8200m Multimodder

    Joined:
    4 May 2009
    Posts:
    2,499
    Likes Received:
    255
    Heres a few funny ones.. Not funny in terms of cost mind lol.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    The joys of smashing the end of a 5970.. All you have to do is drop the PC with the card installed.

    And the damage to the gigabyte X58 UD5 pci-e slot.

    [​IMG]



    Theres been worse..
     
Tags: Add Tags

Share This Page