Quick [tech] Questions Thread

[Salamok]

bleh!  So I am getting a screen full of errors after post but prior to fully booting the OS, the main focal point for me of this screen full of error codes are the following 2 lines:

[Hardware Error]: Machine Check: Processor context corrupt
Kernal panic - not syncing: Fatal Machine check

After some googling I see hints that there might be a way to decode the "Machine Check: Processor context corrupt" messages but assistance of the CPU manufacturer (Intel) is required.  The google also told me to try disabling CPU features and see if that got me any further but disabling speed step, turbo boost, and vcx extensions got me such a minuscule amount further that I feel like it is just a random fluke.  

I am running ubuntu 64 bit sans gui, basically I can get to the grub menu every single time and I either then bomb out shortly after selecting a boot option or I make it to the next step which is to enter my password to decrypt my drive and as soon as I type the first character or 2 of that password I bomb out.  I did see a comment from 1 guy saying he switched to 32 bit and it worked I guess I will try that, I also have yet to run a memtest and that is certainly on the rather short todo list.

The spidey sense is telling me this is a fried CPU with bad RAM being a distant second.

Any other suggetions?

If it is a bad CPU and I have discarded the stock cooler and box will intel/newegg still offer any sort of replacement?

This entire system is only 8 months old, it has been powered on for nearly the entire 8 months but I have not checked on it for several months now.  

I can't recall the exact numbers but in the bios the temps all looked to be within reason (cpu at 50c is a bit high but certainly not at omfg levels).

[Lantyssa]

Corrupt disk which is causing the encryption to send a sequence which puts the kernal into a panic?

Do you have a spare HD around you could do a small test install on?

[MisterNoisy]

bleh!  So I am getting a screen full of errors after post but prior to fully booting the OS, the main focal point for me of this screen full of error codes are the following 2 lines:

[Hardware Error]: Machine Check: Processor context corrupt
Kernal panic - not syncing: Fatal Machine check

After some googling I see hints that there might be a way to decode the "Machine Check: Processor context corrupt" messages but assistance of the CPU manufacturer (Intel) is required.  The google also told me to try disabling CPU features and see if that got me any further but disabling speed step, turbo boost, and vcx extensions got me such a minuscule amount further that I feel like it is just a random fluke.  

I am running ubuntu 64 bit sans gui, basically I can get to the grub menu every single time and I either then bomb out shortly after selecting a boot option or I make it to the next step which is to enter my password to decrypt my drive and as soon as I type the first character or 2 of that password I bomb out.  I did see a comment from 1 guy saying he switched to 32 bit and it worked I guess I will try that, I also have yet to run a memtest and that is certainly on the rather short todo list.

The spidey sense is telling me this is a fried CPU with bad RAM being a distant second.

Any other suggetions?

If it is a bad CPU and I have discarded the stock cooler and box will intel/newegg still offer any sort of replacement?

This entire system is only 8 months old, it has been powered on for nearly the entire 8 months but I have not checked on it for several months now.  

I can't recall the exact numbers but in the bios the temps all looked to be within reason (cpu at 50c is a bit high but certainly not at omfg levels).

Any chance you can get a spare HDD and bum a copy of Win7 and see if it'll install to that HDD and operate normally for a bit?  No need to register it or anything - just see if you get any weird hardware issues in (or installing) Windows.  It could be an OS-specific issue, since you're seemingly hunky-dory in the BIOS, etc.

[Salamok]

Not the hard drive or OS, same message occurs when I was trying to install 64bit Mint off of a bootable usb.

edit - I do have a spare sata drive hanging around so I may give a w7 install a shot, I think I will try 32bit Mint first though.

[Chimpy]

What type of processor do you have?

I know that in the past, certain processors have had issues with various 64bit distros and kernel panics.

[Salamok]

Intel Core i3-2120 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000

[Engels]

Ran memtest86 for half an hour or so? Those errors sound like memory more than CPU, even if it talks about kernel panic (I get an image of a corn kernels running around screaming).

[Ragnoros]

Sister did a budget upgrade to her PC. Went from Windows XP to 7 Pro. For some reason her games' textures seem to not be loading properly to varying degrees. Best I can describe it is they are all like the very low res placeholder textures you often see in a game for a few seconds while it loads the higher res textures, or applies meshes, or whatever the fuck video cards do these days.

My current thoughts are either driver issues, as her programs keep bitching about outdated drivers. But she has updated those and dxdiag shows they are current. Or the old PCIe 2.0 video card is not playing nice with new motherboard. FWIW she has tried both slots available to no avail. Not being on site makes it hard to do the normal poking around in bios I would usually do. Any thoughts on a good angle to pursue?

Specs.
(New) ASRock Z75 Pro3 Motherboard
(New) Intel Core i3-2120 3.3 GHz
(New) 8 Gigs Kingston DDR3 1333
(Old) EVGA GForce GTS 250
(Old) HDD & DVD Drive.
(Old) Antec 400W PSU

[Trippy]

Is AHCI turned on in the BIOS? What kind of hard drives are in there? Did she do a clean install of the video drivers? If you do a Custom Install of the NVIDIA drivers it'll be one of the options in there.

[Lantyssa]

Although my GPU works pretty well (GTS 250), I'm considering an upgrade.  Looking in the $150 range, must be Nvidia, and I like quiet.  This leads me to believe a GTX 560 is the likely choice.

Any suggestions on which should be at the top of my list?  Quiet trumps price, as long as it's not excessively more expensive.

[Sheepherder]

The 560 Ti is reputedly pretty sweet.

[MisterNoisy]

Although my GPU works pretty well (GTS 250), I'm considering an upgrade.  Looking in the $150 range, must be Nvidia, and I like quiet.  This leads me to believe a GTX 560 is the likely choice.

Any suggestions on which should be at the top of my list?  Quiet trumps price, as long as it's not excessively more expensive.

I've bought two MSI Twin Frozr 560tis and have been happy with them, though as long as you get one with a twin-fan custom/non-reference cooler, you're likely to be okay with the purchase if noise is a priority.  They're currently a bit more than $150, but I'd skip lunch for a couple of days to get the ti versus the 'plain' 560.

All that said, The 660ti is where it's really at, but that's another $150.

[Trippy]

Although my GPU works pretty well (GTS 250), I'm considering an upgrade.  Looking in the $150 range, must be Nvidia, and I like quiet.  This leads me to believe a GTX 560 is the likely choice.

Any suggestions on which should be at the top of my list?  Quiet trumps price, as long as it's not excessively more expensive.

Yes the GTX 560 is your best choice performance-wise barring some sort of special sale / rebate on the 560 Ti. For quiet something like the Gigabyte GV-N56GOC-1GI is pretty good.

[MisterNoisy]

Now that you mention it, I've got a 560ti (one of the MSI Twin Frozr units I mentioned earlier) that I'd be willing to pack and ship for $100+(likely ~$10) shipping costs, since that'd take the edge off replacing it with a 660ti in my LAN party box.

If you're interested, let me know.

[Lantyssa]

That's a far better deal than I'd find in a store.  As long as it's not on its last legs, I'll take it.

You've got PMs blocked.  (I didn't even know that was possible.)  Otherwise I'd send you details in one.

[MisterNoisy]

That's a far better deal than I'd find in a store.  As long as it's not on its last legs, I'll take it.

You've got PMs blocked.  (I didn't even know that was possible.)  Otherwise I'd send you details in one.

I wasn't aware it was possible either.  :/

At any rate, I think Ive turned that off - if you're still interested, let me know and it's yours.  The card hasn't been overclocked or anything, so it should be fine.  I'm not aware of any issues with it beyond having to dust it off every now and then.  :P

[Sky]

Although my GPU works pretty well (GTS 250), I'm considering an upgrade.  Looking in the $150 range, must be Nvidia, and I like quiet.  This leads me to believe a GTX 560 is the likely choice.

Any suggestions on which should be at the top of my list?  Quiet trumps price, as long as it's not excessively more expensive.

Consider the awesome aftermarket coolers I always pimp here. Then when you can upgrade the gpu, you can transfer that forward.

The Twin Frozr is decent, but quite audible under load (from GW2, say). The Accelero is not.

[MisterNoisy]

Consider the awesome aftermarket coolers I always pimp here. Then when you can upgrade the gpu, you can transfer that forward.

The Twin Frozr is decent, but quite audible under load (from GW2, say). The Accelero is not.

That would damn near double the cost of the card!  :P

That said, my TFII-cooled cards have been quiet, though I'm running them in cases with a LOT of airflow and not packed right up against each other in SLI.  Worst case scenario, just use Afterburner to tune the fan noise/heat tradeoff to your liking.

[Sky]

That would damn near double the cost of the card!  :P

Amortize it out across several builds!

She said quiet was important, and that cooling is the quietest you're going to get short of messy liquid tubing stuff. Without any sacrifice to performance, indeed it lets you push cards beyond what you can do with stock cooling without budging the temps, because it's also an amazing performer. My TF2 card gets hotter and is noisier. Sure, SLI is part of it, but the card that's getting the massive heat intake is the one with the Accelero and it's running cooler and quieter, at half the rpms of the TF2!

Ok, I'll let off for now. It's just such an amazing upgrade, I wouldn't be without it. I mean, look at everyone with the hyper212s. Same damn thing!

[Lantyssa]

It's not like I actually push my graphics cards very hard.  I'm still running 1650x1080.  When the new card comes in and it's loud enough I can hear it, then I'll consider an after-market cooler.

[Salamok]

Ran memtest86 for half an hour or so? Those errors sound like memory more than CPU, even if it talks about kernel panic (I get an image of a corn kernels running around screaming).

Even more, ran through 10 reps and it was clean.  I am fairly certain it is the cpu but a bad motherboard might be possible as well.  Still not sure if I can get the cpu swapped after tossing the factory heat sink, I am contemplating buying the same CPU and grabbing the heat sink off of that so I have something complete to exchange.  I would then have a spare cpu at least, the downside is I don't really want to shell out another $125 for a part that is only 8 months old and if I did I would rather throw in another $10 and get that new 35w core i3.   

Anyone know if the following 2 processors would have the exact same heat sink?

Intel Core i3-2120 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000
Intel Core i3-2120T Sandy Bridge 2.6GHz LGA 1155 35W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000

[MisterNoisy]

Anyone know if the following 2 processors would have the exact same heat sink?

Intel Core i3-2120 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000
Intel Core i3-2120T Sandy Bridge 2.6GHz LGA 1155 35W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000

Based on a little googling, there do seem to be some differences:

2120T - All-aluminum, spiral fin design, Delta fan - images taken from a 2012 forum post:

2120 - All aluminum, straight split-fin design, NIDEC fan - images taken from HardwareCanucks review in 2011:

[Strazos]

Not exactly a PC issue for once...

I've had one of these (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00627UOK6/ref=oh_details_o06_s03_i00) and it seems the disc drive died (it always kind of made odd noises anyway).

What would be the best thing to replace it with? The speakers are actually OK enough for me, so I'm definitely not looking to buy a whole new system - just need something that can do Blu-ray, run the speakers, and hopefully accept my 360's optical connection as well.

[Chimpy]

You are probably going to end up having to buy a new system if you want something that will drive speakers and have a built in drive. They don't typically sell the head unit stand alone.

Since you only have one input on that unit you can't just buy a stand alone blu ray and plug it into the system.


Does your TV have an optical audio out? You could plug your 360 and a stand alone blu-ray into HDMI on the TV, then use the optical out to go from the TV to that unit to do audio only.

[Strazos]

The port on the back is called "Digital Out" but it would appear to be the same asymmetric shape that Optical uses. The original head unit appears to work, except for the drive. I tried opening it up today, but wasn't able to access the innards of the drive without breaking things (was hoping something would just be out of alignment or caught somehow).

I guess it's worth a shot anyway. Any particular players better than others at this point? I don't think I'll be using any of the BD Live or other online functions anytime soon.

[Hawkbit]

Any recommendations on starter capture tablets?  I'm sketching for the next two semesters of graphic design classes, and would like to supplement my physical sketchbook with a digital. 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823100093 - $67

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823100088 - $90

[apocrypha]

I've got an Intuos 4 M and I love it, although it took me a lot of getting used to. If you are already good at drawing you may find the learning curve less steep :)

I would say that I could probably have got away with a smaller one than the M, mostly because of the huge amount of desk space it takes up.

[Soln]

1) Not sure how many times in my life so far I've had to ask this, but here we go again:  what's a reliable (non malware!) good DVD Ripper?

2) Also, lubuntu:  good and reliable, or not?  I need a reliable, lightweight distro for an x86 laptop.  Options?


Thank ye.

[Trippy]

1) Not sure how many times in my life so far I've had to ask this, but here we go again:  what's a reliable (non malware!) good DVD Ripper?

DVD Decrypter

[Soln]

Thank you Sir.

[Strazos]

So what's the latest whizzbang on laptops? I'll be back in the US in a week or two (probably) and will be picking up a laptop of some sort. I'm either going to go with a simple netbook, or more of an actual laptop.

If I go netbook, are there any that are generally better than the rest? How do they perform with gaming? I recognize I would have to keep it to simple stuff from Steam or GOG.

If I go laptop, I don't need to be able to play Crysis-level stuff, but maybe WoT or something of that caliber would be nice.

Suggestions?

[Trippy]

Obligatory "what's your budget" reply.

[Strazos]

Um...under $1000? It's really going to depend on what I am seeing - I've never owned a laptop of any sort.

[Trippy]

Um...under $1000? It's really going to depend on what I am seeing - I've never owned a laptop of any sort.

You do not want a netbook. The CPUs on those things are incredibly gimpy (typically an Intel Atom or the AMD equivalent) even for doing basic things like Web surfing.

I would use this new model Dell Inspiron 14z Ultrabook as the basis for comparison:

http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-14z-5423/pd?oc=fncwt23b&model_id=inspiron-14z-5423

$899
~ 4 lbs
i5 2.6 GHz GPU
14" screen (only 1366 x 768 though)
AMD 7570M dedicated GPU
Okay battery life

[Strazos]

Hmmm...

Seems nice, but the problem is that (as per the link) it takes more than a week to ship the thing. I'm only back in the US for 3 weeks, and I'm not even going to be in the same place the whole time - in DC for a week, then on leave for 11 days in 2 locations, then back to DC.

Is it possible to buy something like that at a brick and mortar shop, or is it online only?

If I was going to get that, how good is the video card? I'm not familiar with mobile chipsets.