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In July’s "Budget Upgrade" issue, we extended an offer to our loyal readers: Tell us about your best/worst PC upgrade story, and earn yourself two of the kick-ass, custom-made Maximum PC coins we featured on the cover of that issue. We had no idea what we were in for.
Hundreds of submissions later, we emerged traumatized. Drained of all emotion. We laughed. We cried. We got angry. We felt your pain. And, in more than one instance, we literally had no idea what the hell you were talking about (but thanks for trying!).
Alas, as you have no doubt guessed, the majority of the submissions weren't aflutter with touching, heartfelt stories about successfully upgrading a GPU or processor. No no. There were a few of these—and we promise to publish them next week—but not many. And you know, to be honest, we prefer it this way. We know the heartache of breaking a PC in the process of attempting to improve it. We also know the grief we give each other when it happens.
Don't get us wrong, a lot of these stories were hilarious-- full of D'oh! moments and stupid mistakes. But some of the winning entries were absolute horror stories; the type that make tech nerds ball up in their seats and bite their lower lip. You know the look a die-hard sports fan gets on their face when their home team loses? That's the look we had while reading through some of these.
That being said, we humbly present the 15 Worst User Upgrades of All Time. We wouldn't be able to do so without all you guys. Thanks for making this happen.
So back in the beginning of 2009, I decided to upgrade from my aging Pentium 4 system. I decided on going with a Pentium Quad Core setup, bought a motherboard and cpu combo from a e-tailer, and other components to follow. Well, allowing myself to get caught up in an overclocking frenzy, I decided to Lap my CPU (sanding down the processor to enable a better contact with the CPU cooler) while waiting for my other components to arrive in the mail. So once I actually received the remaining components, I put my computer together, powered it up, and got nothing (and I mean not even a POST beep!). So, after several troubleshooting sessions (which included phone calls to each of the components manufacturers) and replacing EVERY component over the course of two months (even the power supply), it finally came down to being the processor. Either it was bad to begin with, or at some point in my lapping I screwed it up. So, after two long months, several phone calls, and about $1000 dollars, I finally had my whole-computer upgrade. Lesson learned and my advice to everyone: test EVERY product before doing any type of after-market modifications (otherwise you have to buy a new one)!
-James Baker
I was reading the July 2010 issue and saw that you wanted people to send in their best/worst PC upgrade stories and thought I'd send my 'horror story' along.
I had built a computer back in 2002 it was a Soyo SY-P4X400 Dragon Ultra MoBo, socket 478 P4 2.4GHz and 1GB of RAM. It worked excellent until April of last year. I woke up one day to find that all the fans in my computer were running yet there was nothing on the monitors. I then opened up the computer to find that the plastic retention bracket that was holding the heat sink to the CPU had cracked and caused the heat sink to separate from the CPU thus frying the CPU and MoBo while I slept (I've got a picture of the CPU here if you're interested, http://twitpic.com/39tig).
I should mention that I had broken my ankle February of last year and was on Percocets at the time and that could have explained the
following: Once I found out that the MoBo and CPU were dead I then ran to the internets and found a used MoBo similar to the one I had (although it was the step down from the one I originally had) and a used
P4 since the only OEM P4s that I could find where incompatible with the MoBo. I put it all together once the parts came and I ended up having to reinstall Windows, but once that was done the computer was working fine for a while until I started hearing low fast beeping and then random restarts. This went on for a few days until it wouldn't even POST. After doing some investigating I couldn't come up with anything and decided to just retire it since I was still on workman's comp and didn't have much more money to put into it and it was about 7 years old then.
So since that day in April I've been stuck using a MacBook Pro (which I recently had to put $330 into since the graphics chip died) because I am now unemployed and too poor to build a new system. Although I do have Windows 7 on it so it's a little more tolerable.
I guess the moral of my story is that it doesn't pay to be on pain killer while trying to do an emergency 'upgrade' otherwise you'll be stuck with a Mac and OSX. If I wasn't on pain killers I most likely would have been thinking clearer and would have spent $300 - $400 on building a cheap PC for the time being.
Anyway thanks for reading my ramblings and as you can see I could really use the "handful of coins" so I can get off this damn Mac.
-Chris Stanton
I am a student in high school without a job, so most of the money I get for upgrades comes from either birthday/Christmas money or from repairing computers. This is how I got the money for my best upgrade (which also ties into my worst upgrade). I bought a EVGA GTX260 SSC Edition graphics card the week after they came out (to replace an old ATI X1550). About six months later I bought another one and put it in SLI. Overall this upgrade cost me about $500 and is by far the best upgrade I have done so far. But now comes the bad part. Recently (about three months ago) I bought a new Cooler Master HAF 932 case, AMD Phenom 9850 (to replace an Athlon 64 X2 6400+), and a Corsair H50. As I was taking the parts out of my old case to put in the new case, I started unscrewing the last screw holding the motherboard to the case, but instead of the screw coming out, the standoff screwed out. This bent my board in just the right way to effectively kill my second PCI-E slot. Now I may be running a quad core, but my second graphics card (which cost me a little over $200) will not work (yes I troubleshooted to make sure it was the board). So my best upgrade ties into my worst failure. Oh the irony.
I hope you enjoyed,
Devin Pierce
Comments are closed on this article
Philips
October 05, 2011 at 2:35pm
These coins are well crafted. The event has been great. Many laughs and wondering monents were experienced.
Glycerin
July 20, 2010 at 10:00pm
I have kept every issue of MaximumPC I've ever had, since August 1999. I'm still missing more than a few issues though :( Who wants to do the timewarp back to 2000 with me??
Mahachippy
July 20, 2010 at 6:00pm
Got my coins in the mail today and they are awesome! The pictures in the magazine didn't do them justice and I will carry them as my geek badge of honor! ;-]
Thanks again for the opportunity, Maximum PC!
wheelnut53
July 20, 2010 at 2:27am
I enjoyed reading these stories and applaud MaxPC for giving the space . I like to tell this if its Ok . I have a PSU with a clear case and for the second time I took it a part for a thourogh cleaning all went well untill it came time to power up, I got nothing . I wiggled everything checked and recheck since i dont have a car I jump on the city bus with my PSU and went to my local brick and mortar computer store . The manager plug a tester into my PSU and nothing he promptly proclaim it was dead untill I said you are not getting power, his surge protector was not plugged into a working outlet . oh he said and we went to another station and this time we got green lights my PSU was working but I notice he had plug into the 24 pin cable which I had not I was trying to explain to him that that was what it was I had forgotten but he switch into sell something mood and refuse to hear me.He told me it might look like it was working but it was not long for this world .I thank him for his time and I took my unit and left out without purchasing the canned air I wanted. Needless to say it worked and is still working and I'm looking for another store.
Shagga
July 14, 2010 at 7:27pm
Great stories, I learned a lot. Anyway, I heard somethings that brought up a few questions. I'm going to be building my first computer soon enough and was wondering: Do I need anti-static wrist wrap while assembling it? and Do I need to surge protectors?
Caboose
July 15, 2010 at 7:49am
You should ALWAYS have a properly rated surge protector. And a real one too. A powerbar is not a surge protector. Even if it's got a "reset" button.
As for the anti-static wrist strap, I've built hundreds of PC's and never used one. I find them more of a hassle than anything else. As long as you touch the case before digging inside, and ensure you leave all your parts in or on their anti-static bags/case/materials, you should be ok.
Just be smart about things, and if you're not sure, ask!
-= I don't want to be dead, I want to be alive! Or... a cowboy! =-
JustMe42
July 13, 2010 at 1:18pm
I had used a Commodore 64 from 1982 until 1993. Within that time I had read computing magazines that showed quite a few robots that looked just like rackmount cabinets with a monitor and motorized wheels, Also during that time, I saw my first portable computer, the Commodore SX-64.
It didn't seem like Commodore would be viable for the future, so I finally bought my first PC, a 386-16. I had also started reading PC magazines, especially the Computer Shopper, which had pages full of parts for the PC enthusiast as-well-as articles on building PCs. Needless to say, after reading about PCs for a while, I quickly realized the 386 was obsolete before I had ever bought it, so 2 months later, I finally bought a 486SX-20.
After having a PC for a year and having read many articles on building PCs, I finally decided to take the plunge and assemble a system. Now, since I had enjoyed reading about the robots from the 80s and I thought the Commodore SX-64 was pretty neat, I decided I was going to make a portable computer for myself. The goal was to get a full tower case with casters on it and put a small monitor into it so it would look like a mini 80s robot and have the small screen like the SX-64. So, I specc'd out my parts, sent my check out, having to wait the week for the check to get to the company, another week for it to clear, and yet another week to get the parts, after the 3 day burn in. After weeks of waiting, I finally got my Cyrix processor, RAM, Floppy drive, Trident video card, VIA motherboard, Maxtor hard drive, Soundblaster sound card, and full size tower case in the mail. Woo Hooo!
I checked and double-checked every component, making sure al the screw were tightened down properly and reseating the components to make sure they were in properly. The moment of truth was here, so I put my MS-DOS floppy disk in and flipped the power switch and prayed that everything was connected properly. POST. Ha Ha! Sucess! The PC boots up, I get DOS and WIndows 3.1 installed, then the drivers. All that stress and it worked, but the glaring silence indicates something is wrong. No Sound! After 8 hours of DOS, Windows, and driver reinstalls, with Tron playing in the background to keep me inspired, it hits me; Check IRQ and DMA settings. Sure enough after switching the IRQ and DMA, the sound worked brilliantly.
Proud of my accomplishment, I wheel my "portable" computer into work to show it to my friends and to let them see the innards of a PC. With the computer on and the case cover off, I point at the various components, indicating what it is and does. During my presentation, I brush my hand against a loose Molex connector, which swings freely, then makes contact with some exposed pins on the motherboard. Sparks fly and the screen goes black and I quickly rush to turn the power off while my friends laugh hysterically at my untimely light show. So, there I stood with the sense of dread, thinking of how long it would take to send the parts back and get the replacements, if any would be issued. I could claim defect, but the scorch marks would definitely indicate incompetence. So, with heavy heart, I secure the Molex connector and flip the power switch so the POST beeps can mock my pain. And then...POST. Yes!!
The PC lasted for a few years and to this day, I still I check for conflicts with IRQs, loathing that PnP doesn't do a good enough job with IRQ allocation.
michaelh
July 13, 2010 at 10:06am
I'm surprised after all these comments that nobody's corrected the misunderstanding about lapping. Lapping's not really the right word when it comes to this due to the process involved, but it's done to the heatsink not the CPU.
Not sure where Shrody got "belt sander" from, but you use a very fine sandpaper to smooth the heatsink to a smooth polish, leaving fewer grooves and pits that can trap air bubbles (a good heat insulator). This, along with staining the heatsink surface and applying the right amount of thermal paste can do wonders for temperatures compared to a poor installation.
OCNoob
July 14, 2010 at 7:26pm
You can lap a CPU that has a heatspreader on it. It helps when the heatspreader has large dips and peaks.
Devo85x
July 12, 2010 at 11:09pm
People seem to be putting more hate comments in this article than any other MPC article I have ever seen. First of all, people aren't stupid for making mistakes... second, why are so many people bitching about proper English when the writer still got the point across? and third, don't post hate comments just because your epic failure didn't make it in the 15...
lunchbox73
July 13, 2010 at 7:21am
What's the point of speaking clearly when you can just grunt and point? Gets the message across right? What's the point of upgrading from fuzzy rabbit ear TV reception to HDTV? You still get the point of the TV show right? right? RIGHT?!?
Devo85x
July 13, 2010 at 10:12am
Except we aren't talking about that stuff... we are talking about a misspelled word or a missing apostrophe...
Shrody
July 12, 2010 at 8:58pm
Why in the world would you ever use a belt sander on a cpu? To make it faster? You would get a hell of a lot better preformance by spending another 50 bucks instead of trying to shorten the physical distance between the cpu and socket. Really I mean, I have a hard time believing that.
Caboose
July 12, 2010 at 3:07pm
I've got a story for you guys.
I work as the PC Admin for a medium sized company. I've done some "personal time" computer work for a few co-workers. And only if they ask politely first. I refuse to help those that just demand, or suddenly appear with a computer in hand and ask me to fix it.
So this one co-worker, I've done a little PC work for him in the past. Rebuilt his machine this past January (Win7 64bit and new HDD). Everything was working fine until 2mo ago, when the display driver was randomly crashing during playback of HD video and games. I took the PC in, cleaned out the dust that was building up, and ran a number of tests. I never got the display driver to crash once. I played HD video (720p & 1080p), and spent a few hours playing some Half-Life 2 Ep.2. I even launched WoW (for an entire 45 seconds). Nothing. I performed a full system update (Incl. BIOS) as well. So I returned the PC and chalked it up overheating. My co-worker said that he'd make a few changes to the computer desk that the PC lives in.
All was fine up until 2 weeks ago, when the same co-worker came to me, and said that he's not getting any image on the screen. The PC "turns on" (no post Beep), and the fans spin up but nothing else. I gave him another DVI cable as well as a VGA to DVI adapter just in case it was a cable or adapter issue. I even suggested testing on a 2nd monitor. He came back a few days later and reported that there was no change. So I took the PC in to run some tests.
First tests pointed me towards a bad PSU, but the PSU tester I used indicated that it was fine. So I told the guy that he needed a new motherboard. Purchase one and I go to work. I rebuild the entire machine, get everything all working just great and go to turn the PC on and I get... nothing. Fans spin up, no post BEEP, no image. Nothing. So I think that it IS the PSU. Walk over to work, grab a PSU off the shelf and some new RAM just in case and return home. I connect up the new PSU and the PC boots! AWESOME! So, now I start to second guess myself. Maybe it was the PSU. I reconnect the 2nd HDD... AND THE DAMN THING DOESN'T BOOT! SO I figure there's something wrong with the HDD and the PSU. I'll replace the PSU (the 2nd HDD wasn't really used).
The next day I purchase a brand new Thermaltake 750w modular PSU. Install it and... THE DAMN THING DOESN'T BOOT! So yell, crush my empty pop cans, then start searching for the ram I borrowed from work. Install it, and... THE DAMN THING BOOTS UP!
At this point I'm pretty pissed off. "Alright... Lets just get this thing working" I say to myself, and grab my Win7 install disc and the key from the PC and start to rebuild the PC. Windows installs, I load up drivers, and get everything working happily. I reconnect the 2nd HDD and... the PC freezes at the Windows splash screen. At this point, I've given up for the night. I let the machine run a full memory and HDD test (primary HDD) overnight. At one point the test freezes, so I just power off the system and call it a night. (the next day was Sunday. I spent it drinking beer, playing STO and watching all 4 Terminator movies)
The next day before work, I decide to re-hook my fiancee's PC back up, and what do you know, her monitor doesn't want to turn on, it just sits in standby the entire time. I know her PC works. Maybe it was her monitor all a long... No... It's got to be the PC. So I get to work and explain whats going on to my co-worker. He discusses with the Minister of Finance (aka his wife) about putting more money in to the PC to get it fixed, and she agrees, so we purchase a brand new LGA775 dual-core CPU (E6300) and a 2GB kit of Muskin DDR2-800. I get the parts home, install them in to the motherboard, connect the PC back up (to my fiancee's monitor) and....
NOTHING! Not a damn thing! No beeps, no bloops, nothing! It just sits there and hums (fans spinning). I'm just about to give up and call it quits.
As a last ditch effort, I decide to hook the PC up to my monitor and just see what happens. If it doesn't boot, I'm returning all the parts. And guess what...
The godforsaken thing boots up. And runs fine! 2 nVidia cards, 2 HDD's, new CPU, RAM and mobo. Everything runs fine!
So my co-worker, his son and his wife are all happy now. The PC's running along smoothly with it's all brand new parts, and a used 8800 GTS, with it's existing 8800GT acting as a dedicated PhysX card.
Some days, I absolutely hate computers. Other days, I can't imagine a world without them. This must be why I keep coming back to doing tech work!
-= I don't want to be dead, I want to be alive! Or... a cowboy! =-
PawBear
July 12, 2010 at 2:59pm
Hey, come on, who hasn't made some of these mistakes, except for you "smart" people.
Lesson one: don't work tired
Lesson 2: always use a back-up power supply - especially in Texas
Lesson 3: expect the worst, hope for the best
Lesson 4: experience counts
Lesson 6: wifes always know best
I'd like to read the funny ones.
"Either we conform the Truth to our desires or we conform our desires to the Truth."
dentaku
July 12, 2010 at 2:36pm
I couldn't read most of these. They where just long and boring stories of people who didn't know better and ended up breaking stuff.
If it doesn't "just work" don't bother messing with it, it's not worth the trouble.
NicciAdonai
July 15, 2010 at 1:37pm
I can't decide whether this post is funnier if you actually meant it or if you were poking fun at iPeople. Either way, thanks for the laugh.
This is not flamebait, by the way. Apple's products are simply made for a certain type of consumer, and I'm not that consumer. Apparently I may never be, seeing as being that type of consumer apparently includes, among other things, leaving the computer repair business because none of the stuff people pay me to do "just works," and throwing away hundreds of dollars of my own perfectly fine equipment if one component gets twitchy.
Much love to all the iPeople, though. Apple and Microsoft keep each other on their respective toes.
cc3d
July 12, 2010 at 12:25pm
just kill that article, those were some of the worse stories ever (not because of what happens in them, but because they are just terrible stories.) Put me to sleep.
Even the number one story, sorry buddy, you just sound like a freakin' idiot! (if I belive the story)
lunchbox73
July 12, 2010 at 1:30pm
Yeah, I don't understand what could get "messed up" to force you to use water cooling. Wouldn't that be the opposite? And when you say the "damn thing broke in half" are you talking about the mobo breaking in half? How could you possibly do that just trying to fit a dimm?
Caboose
July 12, 2010 at 2:39pm
Ya, the last story sounds like my fiancee's step-brother. Thinks he knows all, but in reality is clueless as all hell!
-= I don't want to be dead, I want to be alive! Or... a cowboy! =-
zippzom
July 12, 2010 at 11:27am
Why is the grammar so bad in some of these? It was difficult to read them as the grammar and spelling were so poor. I'm not usually a nitpicker of such things, but couldn't the MPC staff proofread them a little bit? The last one, while nothing was really wrong with it, was written in a format more suitable for texting. Nevertheless, interesting stories, good tales of poor judgements that can be looked in a humorous light.
goom9er
July 12, 2010 at 4:02pm
Fair enough. But I do have a retort. Many non-native English speakers speak and write better English than a bulk of native speakers do. Furthermore, based on my experience seeing native Chinese, German, Spanish, and French speakers write in English, the mistakes they make are often with verb order, subject-verb agreement, tenses, and conjugation. The mistakes in these stories, however, did not fit into these categories, for the most part, but were instead just plain sloppy errors that appear to have been made by native speakers.
Rocketpop
July 13, 2010 at 3:58am
You must be new to the Internet, since you just stated something so fundamental to it that I can't believe the site didn't crash. Don't worry, you'll get used to seeing this strange new phenomenon soon.
goom9er
July 12, 2010 at 3:38pm
Unfortunately, the MPC editors erred too. I assume the headings were written by MPC staffers. Notice #14's use of "Percocet's"? Using an apostrophe to pluralize a proper noun? On a general note, while it is easy to harangue high-schoolers for their poor grammar, adults tend to be just as inept and careless (LOL's notwithstanding). Apathy has killed grammar, and blame for that is squarely on parents, educators, and society at large.
Regarding the stories themselves, two or three of them are decent. They are the ones that are just bad luck or regrettable mistakes that even seasoned geeks can make. But a vast majority of the stories were just illustrations of epic ineptitude by people who did not belong inside a PC chassis (at least unsupervised or without help from a knowledgeable person). These stories hardly deserve space on a site like MPC; rather, they may belong on a site for beginners or a tech site named "Minimum PC."
I don't mean to belittle the authors of these stories. I have made plenty of bone-headed techy mistakes; that is how I learned to use and fix computers and other electronics. But there are two categories, at least, of stories like the ones here. There are the rookie mistakes that are uninteresting and unhelpful to most MPC readers. Then there are the screw-ups and ill-fate tales of woe that can befall even the pro; those stories merit mention on a site like this. Those stories would entertain and educate.
titan8813
July 21, 2010 at 5:48pm
You point out an improper use of an apostrophe (Percocet's), then repeat the error (LOL's). Zoinks, Scoob.
lunchbox73
July 12, 2010 at 1:31pm
Why? Because most people under 20 either don't give a damn about spelling or grammar anymore or they don't know any better. When you call them on it you'll get every excuse in the book like "I didn't know this was suppose to be a term paper" or "it's just the internet, who cares" or "I'm more concerned about getting my point across than wasting time checking spelling" etc, etc.
It's getting worse...
