Fear of Stability

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PrometheuSBoxeR

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 21, 2005
Messages
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After doing a lot of reading, and testing. I seem to still have a fear for stability. I am still a junior overclocker. I have only had 2 custom PC's, an alienware PC, and a DELL. My first PC was a DELL which was bought refurbished and has served its purpose. My second PC was a Alienware, I was still very young (I am only 18 now) and had the "Alienware" fetish. Don't get me wrong they are rock solid when it comes to preformance and stability for the most part. They do a nice job. However it does not justify the price. As I got more and more interested PC's I decided to take on the challenge of building my first custom PC.

You can take a look at it here if you would like:
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=363783

I decided I wasn't satisfied with what I had there, I had to keep going. After paying nearly an est. 1700 dollars for that PC, I got my 6+ months use of it. I resold the entire PC for 1400 dollars. So I would say I got my moneys worth for sure.

I decided to build a second custom PC this time with a lot more knowledge, experience and a head on my shoulders.

You can take a look at it here:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=970078

So to get to my point, Stability is definitly my number one issue when it comes to computers. You can have a great PC and great components but its rendered useless when stability simply dosen't exist. I am one to definitly not overlook stability. Reading your article pointed out a few things to me.

I am currently waiting for my RAM to be sent back through Crucial because it seems I had a defective stick. With no hassle they are sending me back my set after my RMA. So hopefully this friday I will have all my components back again and working.

I am going to treat this situation like its my first time getting the parts. I am going to take everything apart, put everything together and reformat. I want to start out fresh and put my past experiences behind me. Now I come to you for this help. I have no problem hooking everything up correctly, its getting past that part that I fear I make a fatal mistake. Because I have had problems with this before the RAM was defective.

So here are a couple questions I leave to you
1. In what order do I want to install the drivers? Also are there any things I need to leave out?
ie. IDE-SW should be left out when installing chipset drivers.
2. Are there crucial drivers that need to be installed to eliminate possible errors to come?
ie. DELL 2405FPW Drivers? AMD 64 X2 Dual Core Driver?
2. What "third-party" programs or applications are needed to be installed for complete stability. (Besides Prime951, 3DMark01 SE, Memtest86+)
3. Do I need to mess with anything with paging file for memory? Or anything special that needs tweaked such as this.
4. Have you read/heard of any important BIOS settings for DFI SLI-DR that need to be enabled/disabled.
ie. Cool n' Quiet: Disabled, Erratta whatever its called?

I think I get my point across. I am basicly looking for a second opinion and or facts to ensure that I do everything correctly. We all know with computers, if you do one minor thing different or wrong it can become very problematic and lead to critical errors.
I want my relativly new PC to give me no troubles wether im gaming, burning DVD's, or listening to music.
 
So here are a couple questions I leave to you
1. In what order do I want to install the drivers? Also are there any things I need to leave out?
ie. IDE-SW should be left out when installing chipset drivers.

- i normally install the nic drivers first (need internet to get the latest drivers), then video (so your windows won't be laggy while surfing for drivers), then chipset/mobo and then sound. as far as order, i dont think there is a real order that needs to be followed.

2. Are there crucial drivers that need to be installed to eliminate possible errors to come?
ie. DELL 2405FPW Drivers? AMD 64 X2 Dual Core Driver?

Drivers from our LCD is not a must, some don't even have it. Just do your windows update, if its there, why not? As far as crucial drivers, there are no drivers for RAM, its plug and play.

- X2 cpu- not sure, haven't played with this yet.

2. What "third-party" programs or applications are needed to be installed for complete stability. (Besides Prime951, 3DMark01 SE, Memtest86+)

- all the programs you listed above does not make your sytem stable. there is no such thing as any program that makes your sytem stable or more stable. Prime95 test to see how stable your pc is and its a tool to help you make your system more stable if you learn how to use it. Same thing goes for Memtest. 3dmark 01-05 is just to benchmark your video card and see what kinda of scores you get compared to others. Overclockers use this stricktly for comparision and to see if their video cards is stable after they overclocked their cards.


3. Do I need to mess with anything with paging file for memory? Or anything special that needs tweaked such as this.

- there are many windows xp tweaks, page file shouldn't be used unless you have 1gig of ram or more and experienced. tweakxp.com for more info

4. Have you read/heard of any important BIOS settings for DFI SLI-DR that need to be enabled/disabled.
ie. Cool n' Quiet: Disabled, Erratta whatever its called?

- There is many settings in BIOS that will help your system run better if your overclocking. dfi-street.com/forum/ for more infomation


hope this helps.
 
I'm afraid of stability too. That's why I push my system to the edge where it will fail every now and then. :)
 
For Dual Core Driver Information: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=983781&highlight=Driver .

Paging does not really need to be touched. But if you really wish to, the norm is this: create a static value (e.g. 1024 / 1024) that is a little over your maximum Commit Charge (K) Peak. Usually set the static value after you install everything, including your games. Games take up the most memory so you can easily see what static value to put in after playing.

-J.
 
MaMMa said:
So here are a couple questions I leave to you
2. What "third-party" programs or applications are needed to be installed for complete stability. (Besides Prime951, 3DMark01 SE, Memtest86+)

- all the programs you listed above does not make your sytem stable. there is no such thing as any program that makes your sytem stable or more stable. Prime95 test to see how stable your pc is and its a tool to help you make your system more stable if you learn how to use it. Same thing goes for Memtest. 3dmark 01-05 is just to benchmark your video card and see what kinda of scores you get compared to others. Overclockers use this stricktly for comparision and to see if their video cards is stable after they overclocked their cards.

hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I already knew that. They are the 3 programs that most people use to test stabilty. Thats what I was getting at. Prime95 for CPU and even RAM, Memtest for RAM, and 3DMark01 SE Nature Test for GPU.
 
PrometheuSBoxeR said:
Thanks, I already knew that. They are the 3 programs that most people use to test stabilty. Thats what I was getting at. Prime95 for CPU and even RAM, Memtest for RAM, and 3DMark01 SE Nature Test for GPU.
Click to expand...


didn't seem like it the way you asked the question. your welcome.
 
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