I've been contemplating buying new RAMs for months and been looking for the proper brand, price, capacity & speed.
My machine, code name: Adrenalin, has 2x 1GB of Kingston RAM; they're beautiful, fast & do the job, but they're just not quite enough for my kind of [ab]usage.
I tried buying from NewEgg.com and TigerDirect.com, and as newegg was clear that they won't accept VISA, AFTER registering & reaching the payment page, TigerDirect.com failed at it, and not only that, my questions via email went unanswered for days and when got a response, it was totally irrelevant to my questions!!! The only quick response I got from them, is when I emailed them to cancel my order, in which they did within 2 hours!
Luckily, I found the same piece I was looking for on Amazon, at the same price of TigerDirect; In fact, Amazon gets the item from TigerDirect themselves!
I was after Corsair XMS2 DHX 2x 2GB kit RAM, and though the CAS latency is higher than the Kingston that I had, it wouldn't make much of a difference to me.
This piece of RAM is absolutely amazing: Not only do you get high-grade RAMs, you also get an amazing heat-sink design and a life-time warranty!
I ordered 2 kits, totalling in 8GB of RAM to fill all my 4 DIMMs, and have been waiting for them to arrive for 2 weeks, and today I got them, went back home and started the upgrade ritual.
0) Open a shell and write down the uptime: "up 42 days, 10:52"
1) Download memtest+ ISO file & burnt it
2) Shutdown machine & keep power cord connected
3) Clean dust & wash fan filter
4) Open case and touch internal metal body to discharge static electricity
5) Remove old RAMs & grab a pocket-knife & start cutting the cover of new RAMs before checking if it can be opened by hand
6) Open RAM cover by hand
7) Enjoy the beauty & smell the fresh scent of the hardware pieces
8) Anxiously & carefully install new RAMs
9) Power up & enter BIOS to make sure correct values for RAM are detected
A) insert memtest+ media to thoroughly test all RAMs -- passed
After that, I booted into Windows (XP 64-bit) to check for BIOS updates, which I found, and downloaded manually after the ASUSupdate program failed to download the needed file.
It was straight forward: Open AsusUpdate & choose "Update From File" then select the BIOS .BIN file and click away. Almost.
There was an option to reset the BIOS settings to the factory default after flashing the new BIOS version, and since I didn't want to go through the whole configuration process, I unselected it and flashed the new BIOS. After rebooting, the machine wouldn't start. PANIC ATTACK!
I thought the BIOS is being flashed after a reboot, which is not what used to happen before, and waited for 2 minutes, yet nothing happened, so I shutdown & powered up again, and nothing happened.
I run to my sister's room to find that she's not there, but her laptop is; PERFECT! I snag it and surf away to Asus's website and grab the manual, then I find that I'm downloading the Chinese manual, so I cancel & hunt for the English manual.
After the manual downloaded & unpacked, the BIOS has a recovery mode for cases where flashing the BIOS goes wrong (EXCELLENT!) -- the problem is that the screenshots assume that the machine would boot and I'd be able to see text on the monitor, which I didn't. Failure.
I go back to my room, calculating the cost of sending the motherboard to Asus and the time I'd have to spend without my baby -- then I remembered the option which I unselected.
I remove the BIOS battery & unplug the power for a minute, then put the battery back & hook the power. Power up. IT'S ALIVE!
Seems like the nwe BIOS wasn't fond of the old BIOS's settings! Anyway, I configure my stuff again and all goes smooth.
Lessons learned: None.
-> Pictures.
Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Internet Shopping: Dreaming of Things You Will Never Purchase
The Internet provided means of reaching people without boundaries, beyond borders and resulted in a huge expansion in International freight & logistics services expansion.
However, post 9/11 events, the US & EU have "tightened security", along with credit card companies, and made everyone outside their region miserable, by requireing ridiculous set of rules that reduced (if not prevented) International trade over the Internet.
Many great websites like NewEgg.com & TigerDirect.com wee considered the best places to purchase computer hardware & accessories, because of the low prices compared to the local market (assuming the local market had it in the first place) and because of the wide variety of items, that they offer. Unfortunately, due to the reasons mentioned, those websites can't sell to anyone unless they verify his/her identity, by requesting name, VISA card, social security number & residence, and all this info must match that registered on the VISA, otherwise, you're considered a fraudster and denied transaction (if not reported to VISA & police as well!!)
The problem with such websites (I had personal experience with them), is that they do not mention that they accept American credit cards or paypal accounts only, and people like me end up going through the whole search-purchase-wait-disappointment process. It would help a lot, if they would mention that fact in their FAQ or at least in the payment page... It would save us the time and look for other sites, and them the time to attend to useless orders & emails.
In the past 2 years, our local market has become a monopoly where most shops agree on a certain price for all items, and the victim is the consumer, and the only way out is to purchase from the Internet, and now that famous websites are being locked out, we're forced to turn to non-famous websites that may in fact be a total rip-off. So how did the credit card companies reduce fraud? I have no idea.
So, where do I get my stuff from? Mostly Amazon.com, which for some reason, does accept International VISA and doesn't enforce ridiculous rules on the buyers.
The problem? They're not a computer house, and even though have some things, it's just not the place for the computer-holic to get his/her dosage of hardware & accessories, not to mention price differences, as they tend to be higher than websites like newegg.
If any of you have a way to purchase things from the US or EU without pleading & begging in emails to companies, please let me know!
However, post 9/11 events, the US & EU have "tightened security", along with credit card companies, and made everyone outside their region miserable, by requireing ridiculous set of rules that reduced (if not prevented) International trade over the Internet.
Many great websites like NewEgg.com & TigerDirect.com wee considered the best places to purchase computer hardware & accessories, because of the low prices compared to the local market (assuming the local market had it in the first place) and because of the wide variety of items, that they offer. Unfortunately, due to the reasons mentioned, those websites can't sell to anyone unless they verify his/her identity, by requesting name, VISA card, social security number & residence, and all this info must match that registered on the VISA, otherwise, you're considered a fraudster and denied transaction (if not reported to VISA & police as well!!)
The problem with such websites (I had personal experience with them), is that they do not mention that they accept American credit cards or paypal accounts only, and people like me end up going through the whole search-purchase-wait-disappointment process. It would help a lot, if they would mention that fact in their FAQ or at least in the payment page... It would save us the time and look for other sites, and them the time to attend to useless orders & emails.
In the past 2 years, our local market has become a monopoly where most shops agree on a certain price for all items, and the victim is the consumer, and the only way out is to purchase from the Internet, and now that famous websites are being locked out, we're forced to turn to non-famous websites that may in fact be a total rip-off. So how did the credit card companies reduce fraud? I have no idea.
So, where do I get my stuff from? Mostly Amazon.com, which for some reason, does accept International VISA and doesn't enforce ridiculous rules on the buyers.
The problem? They're not a computer house, and even though have some things, it's just not the place for the computer-holic to get his/her dosage of hardware & accessories, not to mention price differences, as they tend to be higher than websites like newegg.
If any of you have a way to purchase things from the US or EU without pleading & begging in emails to companies, please let me know!
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