It Started With A Little OC.....

[Alaric]

First , I picked one of the worst chips to learn with (Phenom X4 9850) , then I went through 3 POS PSUs , discovered my mobo was marginal and used soon to be obsolete RAM (DDR 2) , and topped it all off with the worst performing air cooler I've ever seen in action. Instead of a ribbon , I wrapped it all up in some cheap case that wouldn't flow air if I nailed it to a tree during a hurricane with the side panel off. I decided to be an "Overclocker!" with what was a very anti-OC pile of parts. If enthusiasm were cash and knowledge I would have built a Cray........
Fast forward to one year ago-after a series of disasters I have no internet , no money , and up to my neck in in-laws. This intolerable situation finally seems to be turning into a funny story instead of a living nightmare. Four years after (I thought) I had begun this journey , I'm assembling a starter rig! I might play around a little with clock speeds , but this time I know the limitations going in.
New gear!!!

And my poor , beat to h*ll old case , already modded for water cooling. The side panel was the only place it would fit. If my budget doesn't allow for a new case , I'll probably "adjust" the top panel to accomadate the radiator and get a new piece of plexi for the side , or just screen it for airflow. The slots in the now red metal arm were cut freehand with a dremel , as was the opening for the Corsair H100i.

Now I have to figure out how to convince Mr. Gate$ that he should activate my Win 7 again , because it isn't really a new computer. I mean , it's the same case fer cryin' out loud! Right ? I'm hoping that all the WHEA-Logger AMD Northbridge failures in the event viewer will convince M$ my CPU was a goner-and no AM2+ processors available from AMD meant I had to go AM3+ for a new one , requiring a motherboard , and DDR3. Hope it works , I'm too old to learn Linux......

 

[Theocnoob]

That was a nice story. I didn't get whether there was an actual question or not though? Is there anything you want to ask?

Cool mod to fit the rad on the side panel BTW.

 

[Alaric]

Thanks! I'm open to any advice/experience with getting M$ to OK activating a "repair" that turns into a new computer. I really didn't have a choice. Dying CPU necessitated the motherboard which demanded the RAM , etc..
I've been scouring the motherboard and FX posts for a couple weeks , so I officially have far more questions than answers! Any advice or knowledge that is thrown my way I would be grateful for. Trying to OC that Phenom about took it all out of me!

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=2400472

 

[Theocnoob]

If you have a retail or OEM physical copy of Windows, you can install it on a new machine with no issues. It might not want to activate but if that happens you just call MS and they will activate it. You're not breaking any rules. Odds are it will activate with no issues.

 

[Alaric]

I have an install DVD , and a perfectly legitimate product key that I still have the receipt for. It was first activated in 2010 , and after a HDD and RAM replacement recently , my OS demanded to consult with the Mother$hip about my shenanigans , so as to verify that I wasn't in violation of my $100 lease agreement. XP did that to me once because I upgraded a Dell CPU and HDD.
The problem isn't a new install , it's my recent reinstall. I currently have a fresh , updated (lot of updates after SP1) OS that does what I want and has the programs and settings (and pictures and documents and video and etc.) I want. My OS is going to go to sleep and wake up wondering what the heck happened. When they get confused they want to call home. When I had the 'XP incident' , I was told the OS looks at 7 parameters when deciding if the license is being used improperly. I just went through it after the graphics card/RAM/HDD replacements a couple weeks ago. It kindly got itself reactivated , but I'm betting there is going to be a phone call involved when Seven wakes up in the 21st century and discovers DDR3 1600 , 6 CPU cores hauling butt at 4000 MHz in a strange motherboard , and a steady supply of sufficient voltage. "We can rebuild him. Make him stronger , faster."
OK , maybe the bad 70s TV analogy was a bit much , but I forgot to budget for a new product key while buying parts , a laptop for the wife , and fixing two other laptops. Even if I had an extra $100 after all that I probably would have bought a second graphics card (on sale at my corner BB!) and a Crossfire link.....LOL
I guess I could try selling the previous card , it only has about a week at stock speeds on it , but a R7 240 isn't exactly a gold mine. I'll have 8 GB (4x2) of DDR 2 PC2-6400 with a couple weeks usage. I guess I could collect aluminum cans!

 

[Alaric]

And here we go......Gonna be a long week.

 

[EarthDog]

Again, CALL MS. They will activate it.

Basically, try to activate it. It will say it can't and give you a phone number to call and a long arse list of numbers you need to input. 5 mins. Done.

 

[Alaric]

I'll probably call them tonight. I'm just being neurotic because Win 8 wasn't exactly the hit M$ had hoped , and I hope they don't see it as an opportunity to sell another Win 8 key. LOL Thanks for the advice, Your confidence does make me feel a little better about the call.

 

[Theocnoob]

I'll probably call them tonight. I'm just being neurotic because Win 8 wasn't exactly the hit M$ had hoped , and I hope they don't see it as an opportunity to sell another Win 8 key. LOL Thanks for the advice, Your confidence does make me feel a little better about the call.

If you own an OEM key, you own that key. You have the right to install it (one instance at a time) on "Your PC". Laptop, desktop, doesn't matter. Bought a whole new desktop or laptop? Doesn't matter. You own the key. Will windows be a jerk and not validate sometimes? Absolutely. That doesn't change the fact that you own that copy of Windows. An annoying and possibly lengthy call to Microsuck will solve the problem. Even if you input the list of numbers and it doesn't work, call back, and press 1 to talk to an "actual person".

 

[Alaric]

I had thought they changed a lot of those terms after XP? Oh , well. I have to find out regardless. Time to activate......

 

[Theocnoob]

I had thought they changed a lot of those terms after XP? Oh , well. I have to find out regardless. Time to activate......

Can you be more specific? I hadn't heard anything.

 

[Alaric]

Well , it was less painful than having a tooth pulled. I could have done it with the automated call , but my daughter's cat knocked my phone in to a glass of tea. For the last couple years my life has been a Saturday Night Live skit-the ones with Chevy Chase.
Theocnoob , I was told (by M$) that after XP I would only get one "hardware" activation , and if I changed anything else that upset my OS I would have to buy a new one. That was a few years ago , and it seems the info was inaccurate. Sorry for the misinformation. You and Earthdog nailed it. That's why you guys get the big bucks. Or , in my case , the big
Now I'm going to return to finding out what all this stuff is in my new BIOS. Got it here just stumbling around!

 

[Theocnoob]

Have you stability and temperature tested your overclock yet?

 

[Alaric]

Running Prime95 right now. Temp is 49C. I haven't touched any voltage settings , so I'm hoping my cooler can handle it.

 

[Alaric]

Ten minutes in.....

 

[Alaric]

Twenty minutes of Prime95. With pretty low voltage , too. I'm liking all these numbers so far. I have four other programs running (including IE) and I haven't noticed any drop in performance. Whoops! Just noticed I dropped a worker. #6 dropped out. Considering the temps , I may try a little voltage bump and see what happens. Overall , I'm still happy with what I have so far with really minimal effort.