vanity11

So I was about to hit the road for another job interview today when I decided to grab my MP3 player for the ride. Ran downstairs to get it and back upstairs to the computer. Grabbed the USB cord which was already plugged in and....ZAP!

Static electricity from running up and down the carpeted steps discharged right into my USB port and into my PC. The screen froze and nothing would respond. I did a hard reboot to nothing but a black screen. My worst fears came true. It's fried. I screamed a couple F-bombs, fixed my tie, and went to the interview.

(it went well but forget that)

Afterwards I hit Frys electronics which is basically a NewEgg, but the size of Sam's Club and a brick and mortar store. It's totally awesome. I picked up a few parts just in case I wasn't sure what burnt out.

1) ABIT AB9 Pro motherboard (exact replacement of what I had)
2) 4GB of RAM in case my RAM is the problem
3) nVidia 9600GT (512MB) just in case the video card got toasted

I figured I'd start with the mobo and do tests to see what's broke. Flashed the CMOS, took the battery out, replace it...that didnt work. So I swapped out the motherboard. Well, lo and behold, the simple mobo swap did the trick. Everything fired up fine and normally. Instead of screaming for joy, I relay'd to my GF that it still isn't working yet and I'd probably need those other parts too. I feigned frustration and disappointment at my efforts.

I dumped in the RAM (I'm at 6GB now) and dropped in the 9600GT. Presto! I tell her...it works!! A wave of self admiration washes over me, temporarily drowning out the thought I just spent $460 on computer upgrades and I'm unemployed.

Well let me tell you what happened when I fired up ArmA. We're talking DOUBLE framerates, fellas. Going from 20-30fps on Low/Normal to 50-60fps on High everything. It's absolutely unreal. Thank-you Bamboo and Iceman for recommending that card. I dunno how much the extra RAM helped my framerates, but a $200 videocard literally doubled my fps. Amazing!!




*I'm gonna sell my old 7900GT for $100 if anyone is interested. It's 1 year old and works great.

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JRCOBRA

Yeah I need to do that (get better parts not fry computer) next upgrade I'm not gonna get cheaper parts I'm gonna go for the best cause I'm tired of games like Arma running slower than they are capable of.

Krako

Very clever! + rep for that!

Bamboo

Good to hear it man!!!
Just a quick question though. You didn't actually pay $200 for the 9600 did you?
They start at $150 and go down from there with rebates on newegg and clubit.com, etc.
Unless you got some monster overclocked card or something.

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vanity11

I paid $199 for the EVGA cause I wanted the trade-up program. It's $190 on NewEgg.

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westyfield

Wow... unlucky man, at least you weren't hurt, that could have been nasty.
Nice going on the upgrade though, very sneaky

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|TG-Irr| westyfield

Thanks Oldirti for this sig!
Irregular since Sept 15th, 2007
I'll procrastinate... later.

vanity11

I'm selling my 7900GT on ebay for $90. It will go until late April 1st.

PM me if you'd like the link. I don't want to spam-post it here.

*also selling COD4 (PC edition) for $25. I have that link too.

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peardog

Apparently we need a new Forum Topic... "Social Engineering for Computer Upgrades" ... This would be a nice example!..

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Have a great day! 2008!!!


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