jamespetts-2
n00b
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2016
- Messages
- 34
I have a self-built PC from late 2010 which has been upgraded over the years: it is an overclocked first generation i7 with Windows 7, 12GB of RAM, 2x 980Ti in SLI and various peripherals.
Over the last year or so, there have been increasing problems with the computer, mainly in the form of random crashes/BSOD errors. I replaced the original 850w PSU (which had visibly melted capacitors when I removed it) with a new 1200w PSU, but this seems to have made no difference. The blue screen errors continue to occur mostly at random, but they tend to happen more often when the computer is performing a computationally intensive task and in warm weather.
Having ruled out the PSU as a cause, I tried running the latest version of Memtest86 to see whether the RAM was the problem but, running it overnight for 6 passes on the default settings, no errors were detected. Similarly, running Windows' own memory checking software found no errors. Either, therefore, there is a problem with the RAM that this software does not detect, or the issue is with the motherboard/CPU.
Thoughts turn to starting again with a new computer - I can salvage much of the hardware (including the new PSU), but I am concerned about modern operating system choices. Windows 7 does not seem to be a sensible long-term option for a new PC, and running Windows 10 as my main operating seems to be insane given the sinister level of control over other people's computers that Microsoft have arrogated to themselves.
Linux has much going for it - I use it (Ubuntu 18.04) on my Skylake NUC that I use in work quite successfully, but there are a number of things that I will not be able to use with it, including using Lightroom (or perhaps Capture One Pro - I know that Darktable is a thing, but, having tried that, it pales in comparison to Lightroom in terms of develop tools), Visual Studio, certain games, and some fairly obscure software such as SONAR Artist (MIDI software), Traincontroller Gold (model railway control software) and possibly Premiere Elements (although I am not sure how good that Linux's video editing tools are these days). Also, I am not sure how well that Linux will work with my new multifunction printer/scanner with its two sided scanner, which I find very useful for scanning documents sent to me by post very quickly.
Some of the specialist software can possibly be run successfully in a Windows 10 virtual machine under Linux (I have tested Traincontroller with this, which seems successful so far, although this is not very computationally demanding), but photograph editing is potentially more of an issue, as Lightroom/Capture One Pro are very computationally intensive and it is painful to use them if they are other than very fast.
Ideally, it would be good to be able to continue to use my current computer for another year or two while Windows 7 remains supported by security updates and I have more chance to test using Windows 10 under a virtual machine on my Skylake NUC, by which time the upgrade options would have become a little better (I am most interested in the large number of cores being offered by the latest Ryzen CPUs, as some of the amateur open source game development work that I do on a game called Simutrans-Extended is both very computationally intensive and capable of a high degree of parallelisation).
I should be interested in anyone's thoughts on the various issues mentioned here, as it is difficult to know where to start with the virtualisation and fault diagnostic issues in particular.
Over the last year or so, there have been increasing problems with the computer, mainly in the form of random crashes/BSOD errors. I replaced the original 850w PSU (which had visibly melted capacitors when I removed it) with a new 1200w PSU, but this seems to have made no difference. The blue screen errors continue to occur mostly at random, but they tend to happen more often when the computer is performing a computationally intensive task and in warm weather.
Having ruled out the PSU as a cause, I tried running the latest version of Memtest86 to see whether the RAM was the problem but, running it overnight for 6 passes on the default settings, no errors were detected. Similarly, running Windows' own memory checking software found no errors. Either, therefore, there is a problem with the RAM that this software does not detect, or the issue is with the motherboard/CPU.
Thoughts turn to starting again with a new computer - I can salvage much of the hardware (including the new PSU), but I am concerned about modern operating system choices. Windows 7 does not seem to be a sensible long-term option for a new PC, and running Windows 10 as my main operating seems to be insane given the sinister level of control over other people's computers that Microsoft have arrogated to themselves.
Linux has much going for it - I use it (Ubuntu 18.04) on my Skylake NUC that I use in work quite successfully, but there are a number of things that I will not be able to use with it, including using Lightroom (or perhaps Capture One Pro - I know that Darktable is a thing, but, having tried that, it pales in comparison to Lightroom in terms of develop tools), Visual Studio, certain games, and some fairly obscure software such as SONAR Artist (MIDI software), Traincontroller Gold (model railway control software) and possibly Premiere Elements (although I am not sure how good that Linux's video editing tools are these days). Also, I am not sure how well that Linux will work with my new multifunction printer/scanner with its two sided scanner, which I find very useful for scanning documents sent to me by post very quickly.
Some of the specialist software can possibly be run successfully in a Windows 10 virtual machine under Linux (I have tested Traincontroller with this, which seems successful so far, although this is not very computationally demanding), but photograph editing is potentially more of an issue, as Lightroom/Capture One Pro are very computationally intensive and it is painful to use them if they are other than very fast.
Ideally, it would be good to be able to continue to use my current computer for another year or two while Windows 7 remains supported by security updates and I have more chance to test using Windows 10 under a virtual machine on my Skylake NUC, by which time the upgrade options would have become a little better (I am most interested in the large number of cores being offered by the latest Ryzen CPUs, as some of the amateur open source game development work that I do on a game called Simutrans-Extended is both very computationally intensive and capable of a high degree of parallelisation).
I should be interested in anyone's thoughts on the various issues mentioned here, as it is difficult to know where to start with the virtualisation and fault diagnostic issues in particular.