"building for stability"

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November 6th, 2002, 03:14 PM
Fubarian

"building for stability"

http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/02...102/index.html

Some of toms howtos I agree with...this is not one of them. I don't know if anyone else has read the article but I personally think they focus WAY TOO much on 'air flow' and not enough on software (like a best practices template). Granted, heat does play a roll, but not as much as I think they portrey.

And noise?? NOISE?! since when does noise play a roll in system stability? (heh, I personally love that hmm you get from having a ton of fans in a computer :D )

Anyone else get this from that article??
November 6th, 2002, 03:56 PM
The Computer Valet

Noise contributes to mental instability.
November 7th, 2002, 11:08 AM
Archangel42069

Ever wonder why your computer runs so much better with the case off? No artifacting, no lockups...(ok, I know this is a dream with MS software running, but at least it's a noticable diff...) Anyway, it's all because of airflow. The biggest reason I hate proprietary comps is their crappy airflow resulting from their ultra-compact cases. True, if you run nothing but crapware, you will have stability problems. But I do think that consideration of airflow is paramount.

Just remember that every tech is a "stickler" for something, and it's usually that one thing that they look at first for every problem. Think about it - if, in your experience, the majority of stability problems are from software conflicts, then you will probably assume that is the problem first...kinda like that conditioning trick people do to get you to say you're gay or whatever. I tend to see a lot of problems with messy cables and the like blocking vents completely(and software problems, and computers that are so old they still have only 16MB of RAM and a 540MB HD, with the owner wondering why the HDD is full.....), so you can see why I would want to get inside and check for airflow first. Just my 2 scrent(go to Lafayette,LA, and get change - you'll understand)
November 7th, 2002, 08:04 PM
Radical Dreamer

Quote:

Originally posted by Archangel42069
Ever wonder why your computer runs so much better with the case off? No artifacting, no lockups...(ok, I know this is a dream with MS software running, but at least it's a noticable diff...) Anyway, it's all because of airflow. The biggest reason I hate proprietary comps is their crappy airflow resulting from their ultra-compact cases. True, if you run nothing but crapware, you will have stability problems. But I do think that consideration of airflow is paramount.

Just remember that every tech is a "stickler" for something, and it's usually that one thing that they look at first for every problem. Think about it - if, in your experience, the majority of stability problems are from software conflicts, then you will probably assume that is the problem first...kinda like that conditioning trick people do to get you to say you're gay or whatever. I tend to see a lot of problems with messy cables and the like blocking vents completely(and software problems, and computers that are so old they still have only 16MB of RAM and a 540MB HD, with the owner wondering why the HDD is full.....), so you can see why I would want to get inside and check for airflow first. Just my 2 scrent(go to Lafayette,LA, and get change - you'll understand)

I tend to disagree, true it does not help a machine much that its running hot, but I have seen machines run hot as balls and still run fine. I think it really depends on the type of hardware that is getting hot and mostly to do with the software that they are running
November 7th, 2002, 08:39 PM
geoscomp

And yet systems running hot even just sitting there with only the OS loaded can spontaneously reboot, can causeflaky processor operation, and odd non repeatable memory errors. The problem isn't a big thing with a k62400, but with a 2 ghz p4 or any one of the athlon xp series, heat can cause all sorts of problems. When you talk about the stability of a machine, I would think you would have to talk about the stability of the base product for comparison's sake..since after the machine leaves your hands (assuming you are building it to sell) whatever else is done to it is an additional factor. Certainly there is a lot of unstable software out there, but no two people use the same stuff.