[VE9KK] Followup on computer issue.

[VE9KK via rec.radio.amateur.moderated Admin]

VE9KK Blog

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Followup on computer issue.

Posted: 26 Oct 2020 09:26 AM PDT
http://ve3wdm.blogspot.com/2020/10/followup-on-computer-issue.html


A few days ago I posted regarding a computer issue I was having and asked
for some input regarding it. On my blog, Amateur radio.com and a computer
geek site I subscribe too I received lots of great feedback. The consensus
seemed to be I was having graphic card issues or maybe RAM
issues.........or both! Yesterday I decided to haul the PC tower out from
within my roll top desk. It's a real pain to do as I have to get in behind
the desk and remove off the cabling........but it is what it is. The plan
was to take the most common advice I received and look at the graphics card
and the RAM. I also updated the graphics card software as it was out of
date.
Right off the but I noticed the graphics card was seated but one clip that
snaps the card in place was not engaged and the card seemed loose. I ended
up removing both the 2 RAM cards and the video card, cleaned them off and
replace them. The inside of the PC was dust bunny free as it was just a
short time ago I had it open and cleaned it with compressed air. Once
everything was back in place with the side covers still off I started the
PC just to make sure the 3 cooling fans, CPU fan and graphics card fan were
all running and they were.
Everything is back together now and it's a wait and see game to see if the
issue happens again. Some of the advice I received was that it was about
time to purchase a new PC. I agree that mine is not lightning-fast and by
no means do I need a gaming computer so it was off to the internet for
input. I came across WA7EWC post regarding this very subject. He has great
information in his post and one tidbit was regarding the benchmark of your
processor. He suggested anything between 3000-8000 and you should be good
to go. I bench-marked my processor and it came back with a score of 5340.
It seems I am middle of the road and I am happy with that.
For me to upgrade and with what I want to spend I am just moving up the
ladder a tiny bit regarding processor speed and so on. To tell you the
truth sometimes you can get lost in the PC specs and speed and the reality
is I may not even notice a difference in the speed. To move up to something
where I notice a difference means spending close to or over 1,000.00 and I
am not prepared to do that. I may end up getting a solid-state hard drive
as an upgrade but first I want to make sure the graphics card or whatever
the issue is has been solved. I also can overclock or as AMD calls
it "turbo speed" the PC to 4 GHz from 3.5 but again that would mean
spending money on a new CPU fan as the stock one I have won't cut the
cooling required............and will I notice a difference between 3.5 and
4.0 GHz?
This PC was built by me and I like doing it that way as I get what I want
and can tinker with it. I have noticed brand name PC's on the market now
there is little room for expanding and I am not too keen on that.