Poll of the Day > This is why people buy consoles/prebuilts

(+) Yeah! (+)

So my computer starts turning off during an intense video game, especially when I set the graphics to high. Great, that's just the PSU dying. Pretty obvious issue/fix. One day the computer just doesn't turn on.

I buy a new PSU, and nothing. It's still dead. The MB won't even spin up any fans. So I guess the MB must be dead.

I buy a new MB, and the MB boots up, but no output. The "BOOT" and "VGA" psc leds are lit up. I do everything I'm supposed to, remove all drives, swap out RAM, go down to one stick on different slots with different sticks, unplug everything, reset the CMOS, and nothing changes.

Great. I guess the MB is dead on arrival. Or my CPU is dead. My $350, AMD 3700X that I just bought. I have no way of telling.

Guys... The graphics card power cable wasn't plugged into the PSU...

Yellow posted...

Guys... The graphics card power cable wasn't plugged into the PSU...

Consoles don't work if you don't plug them in either

Oh my god it actually worked. I figured at this point, even though I had replaced everything, the broken soul of the old machine transferred to the next because I didn't replace everything at once.

Theseus computer

a tip that I never do myself and always regret is to take a picture (or many) of the initial setup so that you don't forget anything.

I moved a motherboard from a SFF case to a mid-tower that it did not belong in and everything went pretty smooth except for connecting the case to the motherboard. the front-panel connector in particular is important if you want to turn it on with the power switch. but the Acer motherboard and old case had different sized front-panel connectors from the new case (the new connector was 3-pins less wide IIRC). I tried putting it on all the way to the right and that did nothing, but it did turn on with it on all the way to the left. not sure if the speakers work though since I think they are mostly on the pins that didn't get connected. there is also a 2-pin red cable that I skipped and have no idea where it would go.

Yellow posted...

So my computer starts turning off during an intense video game, especially when I set the graphics to high. Great, that's just the PSU dying. Pretty obvious issue/fix. One day the computer just doesn't turn on.

Actually, my first thought when reading that was overheating or connection issue which...

Yellow posted...

Guys... The graphics card power cable wasn't plugged into the PSU...

Turned out to be right. PSU is usually the last thing to die on a computer. I am still using the same PSU from like 16 years ago in mine.

Consoles malfunction too, and are usually harder to fix. My Wii U destroyed its own graphics card just by sitting unplayed. I turn it on and there's glitchy yellow bands/splotches all over the screen, and the other colours are all messed up too.

Dikitain posted...

Actually, my first thought when reading that was overheating or connection issue which...

Turned out to be right. PSU is usually the last thing to die on a computer. I am still using the same PSU from like 16 years ago in mine.

The connection issue wasn't until I had set up the new MB.

I think the old MB is dead, and the PSU is dying. But I won't throw away either.

I've been using a laptop for 6 months now. It's pretty great to not be confined to that tiny laptop screen anymore! And my GPU, I can run games above 480p again, with my 2070!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcreG-bhRRA

Dikitain posted...

PSU is usually the last thing to die on a computer.

why would you say this? I think the only thing that fails more than power supplies are hard disk drives. although from my experience I think they might actually fail more than HDDs.

next would be motherboards. after that almost nothing. maybe RAM very very rarely. CPU basically never. optical drives basically never (probably don't get used though not sure about heavy use). video cards almost never. (I guess overclocking could change CPU and GPU rates; I don't do tons of overclocking.)

but power supply... if the computer lasts long enough I know I will have to replace it eventually. same as HDD. (like 3/4 on my own PCs and one of the most common failures on other people's PCs. I just changed one the other week which was the above story (had working full size PS but failed SFF one so had to move motherboard to a larger case.))

Sahuagin posted...

why would you say this?

Because

Dikitain posted...

I am still using the same PSU from like 16 years ago in mine.

And a lot of my friends have similar experiences. One of my friends is on his 4th build and is still using the same PSU from early 2000's. Like, seriously, those things never fail.

But yea, once a computer hits about 5-6 years old, I know I am replacing the HDD. Although I have never had an SSD fail on my yet. Oldest one is about 10 years old, and it still works. My work computers are even worse, never had a HDD last more then 4 years on one of those.

Sahuagin posted...

(the new connector was 3-pins less wide IIRC). I tried putting it on all the way to the right and that did nothing, but it did turn on with it on all the way to the left. not sure if the speakers work though since I think they are mostly on the pins that didn't get connected. there is also a 2-pin red cable that I skipped and have no idea where it would go.

...

you had a single connection for the front panel?

it's usually in most cases just 4-6 individual pins.

what the fuck case was it

You're lucky it just stopped running and didn't try to melt your entire system.

ConfusedTorchic posted...

...
you had a single connection for the front panel?
it's usually in most cases just 4-6 individual pins.
what the fuck case was it

I don't know what you mean by single connection. there were four larger connectors total, one of which was front panel (and 2 USB and something else I can't recall), and two smaller 2-pin connectors (one chassis intrusion, one unknown, could probably look it up, 2-pin red + black; maybe fan or LED? not sure.).

the case front-panel was I think 14-pin (2x7 but some blocked), but the motherboard had something like 20-pins (2x10). I knew the motherboard model and could look up its pinouts, but not the case. it worked with the 14-pin connector on the left (or bottom) side of the 20-pins but not entirely sure why. I was just glad it worked. power button turns it on and HD light blinks. if I had more time I could do more research and maybe figure it out better.

(this is something like putting an Acer motherboard into an HP case or vice-versa which is possibly why it didn't match. or if the case connectors are standard I'm not familiar with them. the other connectors for USB and whatever the other one was were an exact match to the motherboard but not the front-panel one. if I had the case manual if there is one it would probably be more clear.)

Dikitain posted...

Because
I am still using the same PSU from like 16 years ago in mine.
And a lot of my friends have similar experiences. One of my friends is on his 4th build and is still using the same PSU from early 2000's. Like, seriously, those things never fail.

my previous PC had a PS fail, this PC had one fail, my current work PC had one fail, I just had one fail the other week, and I find it's a very common, maybe the most common, reason for a PC to fail. definitely one of the more common repair jobs I have to do. I mean there's a reason a power-supply tester is a thing.

actually just had a ~54V adapter fail yesterday which is almost the same thing. that one was interesting because when you plugged it in it would read like 53.6V, but would tick down very steadily about 0.1V per second almost like a clock. 52.0V, 51.9V, 51.8V, 51.7V down and down all the way to 13.2V, 13.1V, 13.0V, and on. but unplug it and plug it back in, and it's right back at 53.7V and counting down.

power supplies fail all the time

some more spectacular than others, though

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aACtT_rzToI

Lokarin posted...

Consoles don't work if you don't plug them in either

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/2/26ed2664.jpg

Dikitain posted...

But yea, once a computer hits about 5-6 years old, I know I am replacing the HDD. Although I have never had an SSD fail on my yet. Oldest one is about 10 years old, and it still works. My work computers are even worse, never had a HDD last more then 4 years on one of those.

I'm still using the 500 GB HDD I put in this machine in 2011. It and the case are actually the only remaining original components, after I replaced the mobo, CPU, and RAM a couple months back. Meanwhile, I'm on my third SSD. On the flip side, the HDD that came in my laptop died in like a year and a half, but the one I replaced it with in 2017 is still going strong (well, as strong as anything in that laptop goes, but I never use it anymore). It can be a bit of a crap shoot.

faramir77 posted...

Consoles malfunction too, and are usually harder to fix.

Indeed. By and large, I find consoles fail less often, but when they do, it's harder to fix them and you're mostly reliant on the company honouring their warranty if you don't want to just buy a new one (if that's even an option anymore). PCs have more frequent problems, but you can usually fix them yourself if you're reasonably competent.

PC sucks. Also my NES I've had as a kid still works meanwhile I've had a tower and two laptops die on me the last 20 years.

That reminds me, I need to register my computer.

Yup, I bought a prebuilt for my last computer.
I could have spent a few hours putting it together, and then 4 hours fixing what I did. Or I could just have someone hand it to me all complete happily.

now that I think of it, what does buying a "prebuilt" do that avoids these problems? you avoid putting it together at first but it can still fail and need repair. prebuilt or not, the components can fail, require diagnosing, and replacing.

a big difference is whether it's a modular system (PC) or not (console, though I think they're a tiny bit more modular these days). but prebuilt PCs are still PCs (and still modular). (right?)

Sahuagin posted...

now that I think of it, what does buying a "prebuilt" do that avoids these problems? you avoid putting it together at first but it can still fail and need repair. prebuilt or not, the components can fail, require diagnosing, and replacing.

a big difference is whether it's a modular system (PC) or not (console, though I think they're a tiny bit more modular these days). but prebuilt PCs are still PCs (and still modular). (right?)

If I purchase a prebuilt, and it doesn't work out of the box, I can send it back and get it replaced/repaired happily.

And prebuilt PCs are still modular, yes. I can swap out my GPU happily.

Lots of computer stores will let you buy custom PC's too, build it for a fee but then include a 1yr warranty on the whole box. Doesn't always have to be pre-built.

At least where I am.

Prebuilt PCs usually come with some kind of support warranty from the vendor, at least for the first couple of years. It's still a modular system and diagnosing/fixing problems involves figuring out which part is responsible, but you can often just get somebody else to handle all of that for you. Build it yourself, and you get warranties for each part, but you've got to figure out which part's warranty you need to cash in on.

shadowsword87 posted...

And prebuilt PCs are still modular, yes. I can swap out my GPU happily.

well

not always

dell and hp use really stupid proprietary power supplies that can't really be upgraded since the motherboard is what does power delivery to the components, so good luck getting a better gpu in there while the power supply can't power it because it doesn't have a second pci-e 8 pin, and one you buy off the shelf doesn't have the stupid motherboard connection they use

not that i'm saying you'd get an hp or a dell, but those two are typically the most commonly bought prebuilts

Sahuagin posted...

now that I think of it, what does buying a "prebuilt" do that avoids these problems? you avoid putting it together at first but it can still fail and need repair. prebuilt or not, the components can fail, require diagnosing, and replacing.

a big difference is whether it's a modular system (PC) or not (console, though I think they're a tiny bit more modular these days). but prebuilt PCs are still PCs (and still modular). (right?)

Well, if I couldn't fix it right there, I might have just taken it to a repair shop and hope I wouldn't get ripped off, because I didn't have any tools to tell if the CPU was dead or not. That, or I could just take the $100 that would have costed, and bought another CPU just for testing, and I don't even know where that would leave me, because I would be down a ton of money because part of PC repair is the assumption that you have tons of spare parts sitting around, still needing another expensive CPU to actually use. (I generally give away my used PC parts to family/friends)

But there are some people who do subscriptions to companies like ibuypower(?), where they return their computer every year and get an upgraded one for a decently fair price. I don't think I'd go through that hassle tbh though, I genuinely don't care about having bleeding edge hardware.

It's blasphemy to me or you, but if *I* feel like I'm getting in over my head, then your average FIFA playing chum is probably going to say no thank you. The part of my brain dedicated to endlessly messing with electronics, in other people's brains is dedicated to other, possibly more important things.

All that's to say that I don't think consoles/prebuilts are completely useless anymore, like I did at a certain point in time. 2 years ago I would have said a PS5 is just a waste of time.

it sounds like you get a warranty with a pre-built, but otherwise it's still just a PC and still requires the same repair that any PC would get. or what would a pre-built have changed? is it a nearly new PC? mine is 12 years old at this point so warranties are long long gone.

Sahuagin posted...

it sounds like you get a warranty with a pre-built, but otherwise it's still just a PC and still requires the same repair that any PC would get. or what would a pre-built have changed? is it a nearly new PC? mine is 12 years old at this point so warranties are long long gone.

In a scenario, if I'm some kind of therapist or doctor and technology is completely alien to me, I couldn't care less about it as long as it shows the Amongus on screen. I wouldn't even dream of opening up the case, or I'd risk messing up the alien technology inside. I'd get a prebuilt and send it off for repairs when it breaks. Inconvenient, but it's not like I have any other choice.

In another scenario, I am a former computer technician, and I've moved on to a different well paying career, I have so much money I don't know what to do with it. I've had a lifetime of fiddling with computers and I'm done with it at that point, I have enough money to just skip putting the thing together altogether and prefer to pay someone else to do it for me.

yes, it skips having to assemble it; I get those scenarios. but your motivation for the thread "This is why people buy consoles/prebuilts". the problem that you had here, it being a pre-built would not have changed this situation, right? unless it's very new and would have been under warranty?

except for the warranty you cannot escape the fact that the computer can fail and you can choose to repair it yourself or take it somewhere to be repaired. that's always the case. (except with a console you may actually lose the ability to repair it yourself.)

Yellow posted...

In another scenario, I am a former computer technician, and I've moved on to a different well paying career, I have so much money I don't know what to do with it. I've had a lifetime of fiddling with computers and I'm done with it at that point, I have enough money to just skip putting the thing together altogether and prefer to pay someone else to do it for me.

In my experience, those are usually the people who spend upwards of 5 figures on a build every 2-3 years and upgrade to the latest and greatest video card when it comes out. So a pre-built is pretty much a moot point because they can't keep up with how powerful they want their PC to be.

Sahuagin posted...

yes, it skips having to assemble it; I get those scenarios. but your motivation for the thread "This is why people buy consoles/prebuilts". the problem that you had here, it being a pre-built would not have changed this situation, right? unless it's very new and would have been under warranty?

except for the warranty you cannot escape the fact that the computer can fail and you can choose to repair it yourself or take it somewhere to be repaired. that's always the case. (except with a console you may actually lose the ability to repair it yourself.)

I guess it wouldn't matter if this computer was prebuilt in my case, because I'm fixing it, but it goes along with the sentiment of "I'm not touching that" mentality that I think can be valid.

k thanks. just didn't see the connection to your situation.

it does make sense for that subset of people that have a need/desire for an especially decent PC without needing to be a computer person themselves.

also I do know the stress of having your own PC die. it's like having to do surgery on yourself sort of, where you have to apply your skills while crippled.

At least I had my laptop, which has a crack in the MB such that if I bump it the wrong way it blue screens. That's what I used to develop all of MNES so far, lol. The 1080p screen on 150% zoom. I almost miss it now. This screen real estate feels absurd to me now, and I haven't even set up my second monitor yet.

I still have to create some test ROMs for graphics output, that's what I'm going to do next, is a simple ROM that scrolls a background horizontally.

Sahuagin posted...

also I do know the stress of having your own PC die. it's like having to do surgery on yourself sort of, where you have to apply your skills while crippled.

i straight up just bought a new computer because i didn't want to deal with my own shenaniganery

i don't even think it's dead, i just know that i took a lot of shortcuts when i built that thing and over the years it's been fiddled with and sloppily moved between cases and i just don't care to get mad at past helly