zactacular

I just built This PC in January all the parts brand new. Things had been great for the most part but now I am encountering a problem where my entire screen goes green, the audio freezes/repeating last noise it made to infinity, and I have to hard restart my computer (which doesn't register it as a crash). The first time it happened when watching a video on SyFy channel and I chalked it up to their bad player. A few weeks later it happened again on Youtube (but only when I had multiple youtube tabs open and if the video I was watching was not my viewed tab or I had another paused video tab. This week it happened a few times and today it happened multiple times in the same day. I tried reinstalling the drivers for my GPU and reinstalling Chrome, but now it happened for the first time in a game (Hearthstone) and I am concerned this a hardware issue. Will a fresh install of Windows fix this?

I'm currently in the process of making mine into a portable, solar powered Doomsday Computer with built in gieger counter, HAM Radio, and every other sensor I can find and figure out... So far I have the Pi, but you have to start you Life on the Command Line somewhere.

it's supposed to be a core i5 2400, the add linked calls it an i3 then shows pictures of it being an i5 and describes it as such. I know of a guy selling a few of these systems and wanted to know what a good price would be. I'm looking to use it in its current format as a platform to play around with/get used to Linux and then to eventually scavenge its CPU and other juicy parts for a console killer machine.

Looking for an appraisal for an exact twin of this machine. If you were going to harvest it for parts/upgrade it where would you start? edit: the title of the add says core i3, but the description and pictures show a machine with a core i5 2400, that is what I'm looking for info on

I think I will have to use a CD nothing I seem to do lets me even attempt to boot from the USB I made.

So I have an old Macbook 13inch I got for back in 2007. Still boots up, still runs moderately fine, but its stuck on OS X Leopard.The machine has a 2.16 Ghz Core Duo, 2 gigs of RAM, and a 120 gig HD; the screen and speakers seem to be in working order. The keyboard does not seem to work properly anymore, I have tried cleaning it out thoroughly but it seems to have crapped out over the years. I would like to convert this machine into a linux box and have a few questions about the process: Should I just use Bootcamp? I took anything of value off the HD long ago, so I could just partition Mac OS into a little closet... Am I able to boot from a USB Drive? I've tried searching for it but all my results talk about using it to boot with OS X or using a CD Will I have difficulties using a USB keyboard during installation due to lack of drivers? I have a mechanical keyboard i can hook up for the process if needed What would be a good Distro for this process? My one IRL Linux friend always says Arch, period. I liked the idea of Debian as its what Steam OS is based on, and was going to use Mint's Debian version until this weekends events. Is Manjaro a good compromise between ease of use of Mint and the control/freedom of Arch? My gut, peers, and research say I don't want an Ubuntu based distro.

I hadn't put much thought into upgradability. Since there are no K series i3, will it be fine on stock cooling? Something like This? Edit: Or This?

I want build to build a Linux based computer, capable of medium~high graphics 1080p gaming and light video editing work for under the cost of a next gen console+a year of its online subscription. (roughly $450 US in SW USA) Some more information on this build. This will not be my primary gaming rig, so it doesn't need to run every AAA title or even at high settings, as it will primarily be used for F2P games like Team Fortress, Hearthstone, DOTA, and Mech Warrior Online. This machine is mainly for A. giving me a separate computer to explore and play with Linux on (I have had bad experiences with dual booting in the past and prefer the idea of a stand alone machine) B. Show my roommate that he doesn't have to sink $1000 dollars into a machine to ascend passed his buggy, low def Xbone. C. Give me a more portable machine for "LAN" parties with my brother. There are, of course, a few catches besides just the budget of $450 US after rebates, I am funding this through a combination of my Tax Refund and the manufacturer rebates from my initial build (Not a single claim denied!) As such, I will be building the computer with a GPU coming a few weeks later. The second catch is I happen to have an unused 120 gig Kingston SSD laying around! The third catch is I am completely decided on the case, I saw it at Fry's the other day, and it's perfect! The Build Idea So Far Some reasoning for part choices that might not make sense CPU: initially I wanted to do a Pentium g3258, but I am confused as to whether they can still be overclocked to ridiculous speeds without offsetting the cost savings by needing $150 dollar motherboard, the FX 6300 looks very cost effective Motherboard: it was the only one with USB 3.0 headers and onboard graphics. Would an APU and a different board for similar cost be a better idea? Or will it set me back in the long run? I don't expect to do any gaming from the onboard graphics, just web surfing and setting up the computer for the later GPU install. GPU: mostly a place holder for the build log demonstrating the right price point. My understanding is AMD driver support on Linux is quite poor and NVidia cards are better suited for any possible video editing work

cool, and if I dont like this distro do I just reformat the thumbdrive and try again? edit: None of this matters for the time being the hard drive on the old computer I was going to use its knocking harder than the police at a frat house kegger.

So I am somewhat confused from the instruction on the site as to how this works. I have a fresh USB thumb drive I would like to use as a bootable thumb drive. I don't want to use it on the PC I am using to make the thumb drive a bootable. Do I need to go through the steps of rebooting this PC and selecting the drive, or can i just run the process to complete, take it out, stick it in a different PC, and boot from it then? Or does the process not complete until I restart this PC?

Well GPU choice is really just going to come down to what is the best for the cost when I buy one as it would be an after thought for the machine. At this point I don't have a lot of confidence in that power supply, and without that added convenience there's really no point using that terrible old case. Taking what you have said into account I'm thinking something more like this, adding whatever the most cost effective GPU is down the line.

I'm a little confused by this comment. GPU wise I have no preference, I've heard the driver support for Linux is better on Nvidia cards, but I chose the 750Ti as it was what minor research told me was the best for around 100 dollars. CPU wise I don't have much reasoning for wanting an Intel over an AMD I was just finding a lot of good info about that Pentium for the price point and it having a lot of overclocking potentia. My main concern now is if this case power supply combo is safe to use, or if I should just forget about this and save the SSD and recycle the old stuff. Is there a way to test the power supply for safety/stability/loss of power output?

looking at the serial number this is the power supply. I cant find anything about an 80+ rating, and it is 7 years old now. If this power supply is not worth keeping/ unsafe for further use, then its kind of a moot point as I'm not sitting with Case PSU and SSD spare but just an SSD. Assuming it is safe, I'd prefer to keep this an Intel build, though I'm not against onboard graphics as it would give me the option to have something to play around with Linux for the lowest cost before eventually adding a true GPU for more intensive games.

Preface: So about 7 years ago I got a Psystar Hackintosh. Loved it. Eventually it became a real PC, threw in a GT 520 and overclocked the CPU and gamed on it through 2012 until finally it just couldn't keep up with any games I wanted to play and I retired it to my facebook/email checker. Recently I built a brand new gaming PC, and since finishing it I have had an overwhelming urge to build more! Now the Old Hackintosh wasn't really worth upgrading. The 2.0 Ghz Core Duo has been overclocked to 2.6 on the stock cooler for about 5 years, the Motherboard only has 2 DDR2 Ram slots, the 500 GB HD has a noticable knock, and the GT 520 is a GT 520. But the case is in great shape, and has a intergrated 350W PSU that still works great and a spare 120 gig SSD laying around. So I figured why not build the most budget minded machine I can? But since I don't really need another, far less powerful gaming PC, I figured I could kill numerous birds with one stone here. The biggest bird being Linux. I have been a nerd my whole life but I have never had the fortitude to sit down and really learn and live Linux Command Line. After numerous failed and souring attempts with dual booting and hard drive partitions, I decided I would prefer to do this on a separate machine. So hardware with Linux friendly driver support is a must.The next priority would be a spare PC for roommate/friends to use for low intensity games like DOTA, CSGO, and TF2 and medium settings with no hick ups and high frame rates; and for emulators of classic games running on a TV instead of a monitor. This isn't intended to be a true console killer initially, so I'm not particularly worried about future proofing, as after a year or so I'll probably harvest half the parts for a true console killer in a sexy new small form factor case. PC Part Picker List The basic idea is CHEAP while recognizing the limitations of the case (space for the cooler, case fan spaces) So subtracting cost of owned parts this comes in at just shy of 300 dollars. I think these components give me a platform to learn Linux command line, lots of overclocking potential/fun with limited financial risk, and a reliable spare gaming platform/emulator. The GPU will be bought later than the other components, so whatever is best in the 100 US dollar range that week is what I will choose. My main concerns are choice of CPU, MB, and GPU, the idea going cheap with the first two and then eventually harvesting the GPU for a true console killer later on. TLDR: I have this Case/PS and SSD sitting here, I want to learn Linux and have a spare CSGO/DOTA box for LAN parties, and want to keep it super cheap. edited: grammar, missing info, better title