hi,
new to ocuk forums but bought plenty of kit from here and getting quite addicted to pc modding even though my knowledge on the subject is fairly limited
here's something to get your teeth into...
i've been plagued by an ongoing problem with my rigs, hopefully someone can help me as its been happening for over 2 years..
1) i get a 'fluttering' noise on all fan based components with both new and used components from previous builds. in my current rig i have a capable gfx card (purchased new) from my old rig.
2) playing an fps game causes the image to 'stutter', most noticeable
when panning left/right with mouse. the quicker the movement, the more
its noticeable (vsnyc off/on its the same, tried other drivers, o/s's,
configs, etc etc). framerate is solid. same effect online and offline.
3) gfx card and lcd monitor both make a similar high-pitched whine only noticeable if i put my ear close to them. video playback is stuttery when i believe it shouldn't be.
4) using mouse and keyboard feels 'floaty' instead of solid.
the visual effect causes me eye-strain, sometimes i have to look away from the screen as it can make my eyes hurt. its not terrible, but enough to become a nuisance over a short period. imagine an animation with extra offset frames being added in when not needed, you'd end up a chuggy/flickery effect. sounds crazy i know, but is one way to describe the problem.
admittedly i never use a grounding wrist strap, but have at least always been overly careful when handling kit and since last year grounding myself on the psu beforehand. is it absolutely paramout to have a wrist strap or just a precaution? i find it hard to believe that every time i handle a component i somehow cause a fault considering my first build seemed solid in performance and i could play games and watch videos happily for hours.
fan/hardware noise never seemed to be an issue on my first build. nowadays if i listen to my pc it doesn't sound 100% healty. to me an electrically normal pc system, given quality hardware, should sound smooth and relatively quiet, aside from any normal 50hz 'hum' from the mains. quite possibly all the above problems are related, having tried so many different setups. yet i've been through 3 entirely different brand rigs and changed all components since this started (even switching between amd and intel, and ide hdd, sata, then ssd, even crt monitor to lcd) without eradicating the problem.
last week my mains electricity was tested and the electrician found a slightly loose earth connection from the waterpipe to fusebox, stating that this can cause 'arcing' although he was unable to confirm if this would cause any of problems i've had. he also found a loose fuse that if wiggled caused the lights to flicker. lights are on a different ring, but i digress. maybe the electrics have had an effect, maybe not.
also a m8 tested my lcd on his pc with the same game and we found that the frames dropped when standing still in one area. switched back to his monitor and in the same area after a fews secs the frames stabilised to normal. maybe his gfx card couldn't quite cope with a slight jump in res from 1680x1050 to 1920x1080, but needless to say my monitor is now shelved (it also made a slight, high pitched whine that to me didn't sound right, see point 3 above).
after excessive googling, testing and replacing hw all i can understand from this is that:
1) mains electrics were dodgey since living in this building and have damaged various components.
2) i'm a highly statically charged person (no feet dragging on carpet habit)!
3) all nvidia drivers are useless (have yet to try ati)
have never used a multi-meter, could anyone recommend one thats good for testing pc hw, or any other useful testing gadget that gives you peace of mind before installing hw? i've heard about psu testers.
current system specs:
case: coolermaster elite 430
psu: ocz modxtream pro 500w
mb: gigabyte g41m combo
cpu: intel e6600 2.4 (2nd hand, known to work in m8's pc without issue)
mem: ocz gold 2x2gb ddr3 1333 (1066)
hd: ocz onyx 32gb ssd
gfx: gt240 512mb
mon: lg w2261vp lcd. mitsubishi diamond pro crt
mouse: logitech mx518
kb: logitech ultra-flat
cans: trust usb
o/s: win7 32bit home
thanks
new to ocuk forums but bought plenty of kit from here and getting quite addicted to pc modding even though my knowledge on the subject is fairly limited
here's something to get your teeth into...
i've been plagued by an ongoing problem with my rigs, hopefully someone can help me as its been happening for over 2 years..
1) i get a 'fluttering' noise on all fan based components with both new and used components from previous builds. in my current rig i have a capable gfx card (purchased new) from my old rig.
2) playing an fps game causes the image to 'stutter', most noticeable
when panning left/right with mouse. the quicker the movement, the more
its noticeable (vsnyc off/on its the same, tried other drivers, o/s's,
configs, etc etc). framerate is solid. same effect online and offline.
3) gfx card and lcd monitor both make a similar high-pitched whine only noticeable if i put my ear close to them. video playback is stuttery when i believe it shouldn't be.
4) using mouse and keyboard feels 'floaty' instead of solid.
the visual effect causes me eye-strain, sometimes i have to look away from the screen as it can make my eyes hurt. its not terrible, but enough to become a nuisance over a short period. imagine an animation with extra offset frames being added in when not needed, you'd end up a chuggy/flickery effect. sounds crazy i know, but is one way to describe the problem.
admittedly i never use a grounding wrist strap, but have at least always been overly careful when handling kit and since last year grounding myself on the psu beforehand. is it absolutely paramout to have a wrist strap or just a precaution? i find it hard to believe that every time i handle a component i somehow cause a fault considering my first build seemed solid in performance and i could play games and watch videos happily for hours.
fan/hardware noise never seemed to be an issue on my first build. nowadays if i listen to my pc it doesn't sound 100% healty. to me an electrically normal pc system, given quality hardware, should sound smooth and relatively quiet, aside from any normal 50hz 'hum' from the mains. quite possibly all the above problems are related, having tried so many different setups. yet i've been through 3 entirely different brand rigs and changed all components since this started (even switching between amd and intel, and ide hdd, sata, then ssd, even crt monitor to lcd) without eradicating the problem.
last week my mains electricity was tested and the electrician found a slightly loose earth connection from the waterpipe to fusebox, stating that this can cause 'arcing' although he was unable to confirm if this would cause any of problems i've had. he also found a loose fuse that if wiggled caused the lights to flicker. lights are on a different ring, but i digress. maybe the electrics have had an effect, maybe not.
also a m8 tested my lcd on his pc with the same game and we found that the frames dropped when standing still in one area. switched back to his monitor and in the same area after a fews secs the frames stabilised to normal. maybe his gfx card couldn't quite cope with a slight jump in res from 1680x1050 to 1920x1080, but needless to say my monitor is now shelved (it also made a slight, high pitched whine that to me didn't sound right, see point 3 above).
after excessive googling, testing and replacing hw all i can understand from this is that:
1) mains electrics were dodgey since living in this building and have damaged various components.
2) i'm a highly statically charged person (no feet dragging on carpet habit)!
3) all nvidia drivers are useless (have yet to try ati)
have never used a multi-meter, could anyone recommend one thats good for testing pc hw, or any other useful testing gadget that gives you peace of mind before installing hw? i've heard about psu testers.
current system specs:
case: coolermaster elite 430
psu: ocz modxtream pro 500w
mb: gigabyte g41m combo
cpu: intel e6600 2.4 (2nd hand, known to work in m8's pc without issue)
mem: ocz gold 2x2gb ddr3 1333 (1066)
hd: ocz onyx 32gb ssd
gfx: gt240 512mb
mon: lg w2261vp lcd. mitsubishi diamond pro crt
mouse: logitech mx518
kb: logitech ultra-flat
cans: trust usb
o/s: win7 32bit home
thanks
