so i took guitar daddy's advice and sent back the ultra 500w psu, which btw was not without a major headache. the rma guy at ultra was a complete dick, and actually hung up on me. i used to do tech support for dell, so i know there are hoops you have to jump through and rules you have to submit to if you want something returned. so after telling their support guy about the problem and step by step how ive swapped out every single part in the system besides the psu and was still having the same problem (which is almost true... ok i lied and said i had already rma'd the mb/proc and was still having the same problem) the guy said it wasnt the psu at fault and then didnt even bother to do any troubleshooting from his end.
his logic was that if the unit was powering on and running stable in most applications, then memory dumps were no indication that their unit was faulty. i guess he took me for an idiot because a computer needs alot more voltage when running graphic intense programs - like gaming on a 6600gt for example, and there are alot of ways a psu could still be at fault. even after pointing out the probability through process of elimination the guy remained unphased. so i asked the guy if he would be willing to stand behind his infinite wisdom and have ultra completely cover my 1400 dollar investment. of course, he said no, so i said fine, then give me a return number so i can send back your product and wash my hands of this terrible experience with your company. again he said no. thats when he got ugly and told me i was wasting his time and hung up on me.
not to go on a bigger tanget here, but its our right as consumers to return a product within the alotted 30 day period, and i shouldnt even have to give these bastards an explanation, but i was more than specific about my problem and i did more than my share of hoop jumping. i went through alot of hell running back and forth to best buy, using money i didnt really have to purchase an assortment of new parts in order to swap them out to narrow down the problem. at my own expense, i swapped the memory, hdd, video, monitor, backup power unit, pulled usb and firewire connections, gameport connections, tried other power outlets, yada yada yada... so yeah, i feel i did my part.
luckily for me i had used my company's corporate purchase order number to get my computer parts quickly, and since my company spends alot of money with the vendor we retail with, the sales rep was more than willing to get me the rma number and actually talked to an ultra tech support supervisor and filed a complaint for me. nothing felt better than getting that rma number despite that jerks best effort to keep it from happening. IN YOUR FACE CHARLEY MURPHY!!!
i know that calls can be irritating, and it could be that someone was just having a bad day, but this in particular really seemed to reflect a company attitude of uncompromised non- accomodation. what kind of company runs like that and how is that good business practice? god knows id be stuck with that crappy psu if i had purchased it on my own. so lesson learned....
1. NEVER BUY ULTRA PRODUCTS.
2. WHEN BUYING A NEW SYSTEM, BUY TWO OF EVERYTHING JUST IN CASE.
anyway, im waiting on my new thermaltake silent pure power 560w and it should be here tomorrow. i guess technically the problem still could be the motherboard, and knowing my luck it probably will be - you know, just to squeeze a little more lemon juice in the gaping wounds of my poor downtrodded heart. but ive got my fingers crossed and will convert to any religion to make this work.
o btw, centurychild also suggested to uninstall the nforce ide drivers. so i guess my question is what is wrong with the drivers?
any known problems?