Does anyone here probe their computer hardware or do teardown's ?

[MathWizard]

When I get the computer upgrade bug, I pour through a lot of video's, reviews, stores, and forums. And lacking from most of it, is any sort of circuit level talk, or testing. It's all just supposed to work, so it's all about the features, or the hype.

I'd like to some some different motherboard and GPU VRM's compared on an oscilloscope. Or see how much noise makes it onto different areas of the mobo from whatever.

I'd like to see Dave do a teardown of some top PC part, and put it on a scope/etc. Be interesting to see the cheap vs massively overpriced stuff.

This reminds me I was given a nice motherboard, a few years old, but broken. I can't remember what the problem was. Probably way over my head to find, but I look forward to looking at it soon. It even has a post code. I have an old CPU and ram for it in another rig too. But just trying to find where the power goes on a multi-layer PCB would be a big job.

[daveismissing]

I did not realize johnnyguru  does no longer exist . They did some fine PSU reviews and analysis

[MathWizard]

Yeah he went to work for Corsair. They would do hotbox tests on PSU's also, that was great.

There's  guy Buildziod does some nice reviews and teardowns, but I've never seem him use a scope when he compares this stuff.

[janoc]

Yeah he went to work for Corsair. They would do hotbox tests on PSU's also, that was great.

There's  guy Buildziod does some nice reviews and teardowns, but I've never seem him use a scope when he compares this stuff.

Why would he use a scope? What for? Most of the things he does neither require it (one usually doesn't need a scope to find a blown component) nor would it make much sense when you are "winging it" without documentation (which isn't available). So he would have to reverse engineer large parts of the circuitry to know where to probe and what to expect - which on something like a GPU just won't happen.

I would be rather more wary of people who randomly poke a running card with a scope probe mumbling some meaningless jargon trying to look sophisticated - and have no clue what they are doing.

Also, going to that level of circuit analysis is simply beyond the skill and knowledge level of most people who publish these PC enthusiasts/gamer oriented videos (not saying Buildzoid's specifically but in general - he seems to know what he is doing)  - and also of the target audience that in 90% can't tell the difference between a sine and square wave - do you think they would be able to understand the scope traces shown in the videos and their possible importance?

[50ShadesOfDirt]

The secret for me is to RTFM ... start with a quality mobo, read the mobo guide to understand what cpu/ram to use in it (compatible), and then it all works. For upwards of 5 years or more. Add in only quality components (hdd's, ssd's, etc.)

Motherboards have become high quality parts from manufacturers like ASUS (my favorite), MSI, and others. Gone are the days when you had swelling caps on some mobos ...

I'm hard pressed to think of any component these days, except very old mechanical spinning things like dvd/cd-rom drives and such, that don't have a very high level of quality.

So, I'm not sure what to tear-down or investigate further ...

In another thread or two, there's talk of RFI from some systems, but I think that would be the only external thing to check, if going into a ham shack.

[janoc]

I'm hard pressed to think of any component these days, except very old mechanical spinning things like dvd/cd-rom drives and such, that don't have a very high level of quality.

And, conversely, a cheap component (plenty if not most of components on high end uber expensive PC components cost cents) does not automatically mean a substandard low quality part. One needs to understand the circuitry and the function of those components in that specific device to be able to judge anything like this. Also - where and how the card or component is installed plays a role - a high quality Nichicon capacitor next to a very hot regulator will last much shorter time than a CapXon junker but with no thermal load on it. An expensive PC part chock full of expensive components, golden connectors and what not - but poorly engineered - will still die faster and work worse than a device using cheaper components but better design.
 

So, I'm not sure what to tear-down or investigate further ...

In another thread or two, there's talk of RFI from some systems, but I think that would be the only external thing to check, if going into a ham shack.

RFI doesn't make sense to talk about unless one tests a complete system, including power supply, monitor(s), peripherals and a (closed!) case. So this would be pretty meaningless for 99% of people because they have neither the means to measure it nor would the results be applicable unless they have exactly the same machine. And HAMs are rarely gaming PC enthusiasts (and when they are, they know what to look for and how to sort out any interference issues).

[MathWizard]

The secret for me is to RTFM ... start with a quality mobo, read the mobo guide to understand what cpu/ram to use in it (compatible), and then it all works. For upwards of 5 years or more. Add in only quality components (hdd's, ssd's, etc.)

Motherboards have become high quality parts from manufacturers like ASUS (my favorite), MSI, and others. Gone are the days when you had swelling caps on some mobos ...

I'm hard pressed to think of any component these days, except very old mechanical spinning things like dvd/cd-rom drives and such, that don't have a very high level of quality.

So, I'm not sure what to tear-down or investigate further ...

In another thread or two, there's talk of RFI from some systems, but I think that would be the only external thing to check, if going into a ham shack.

What manuals are you talking about tho? There's the marketing manuals, then I guess all the IEEE standards and all the chip datasheet's if they are available, etc. Yeah I wish that was all available, and people went over that, ....For us geeks of course.

But I would like to see some of this stuff on a scope, 1 of these days I'll do just that, but it would be a lot more interesting if people actually did tear downs and comparisons of this stuff, using scopes, and all the rest.

Same for cars, I want old fashioned stats and bill of materials info, not how most people review cars, or TV's, etc.

[MathWizard]

But wait a minute......I've never really seen anyone do a review/teardown of a DMM or scope, and probe the power rails of those items either, unless maybe in a repair video.

Well I'm not going to make video's on it, but maybe I'll post a few screenshots of my DMM and scope's PSU ripple, when I open them and reduce the fan volume.