Just how stable IS Windows? Results inside

[[XC] Oj101]

One often hears geeky Mac users comparing their uptime to see who has the most stable system. I decided to see what Windows 7 is capable of doing, so as of June 16 I have not performed a single restart or shutdown. Of course it isn’t much of a challenge to do so with an idle machine, so I had my CPU sweating it out running World Community Grid. That alone wasn’t enough, so I gave the graphics card its own workout using Bitcoin...

Read more (http://flyingsuicide.net/articles/windows-without-restarting-for-45-days)

[soya_crack]

I switched from a Z68 system to a socket 939 manchester sys without reinstalling and win7 is still rock solid.
just give a crap what some fanboys say - from both sides actually.

[Gamekiller]

Is it to be understood in that article that the Mac OS can run in the same conditions without issue for 45 days? Or is it just supposed to be surprising that Windows 7 doesn't crash in 45 days? :D

[IFMU]

I seriously fail to see the point of that article/blog/failed experiment. I can easily go a month and a half without a restart. That is on a machine running Firefox, Trillian, WCG, mIRC, uTorrent and other programs non-stop for the entire time. I rarely close out any of those programs. Not to mention the numerous other programs I use off and on. Ranging from simple, cpu-z to Adobe Photoshop/Paint Shop Pro to Media Player, Winamp and dozens more that I use off and on for short time frames for this or that.

I honestly do not understand 'fanboyism'. Macs have things they do better than standard PC's and the same in reverse. Use what you want and let others use their own preference and leave it be ffs. :rolleyes: (that statement is not directed at any one person!!!)

Sitting here trying to understand the purpose of that little write up and I just cannot see it.

[sergiu]

Nowadays Windows is quite stable. If there are no hardware/driver issues, it can technically survive forever (if there are no "suicide counters" in it). Even old XP is able to match the test from the link without any issue.

[OldChap]

The only reason I restart win7 on my laptop is updates or if I need to take it with me. currently about 3 months running wcg and mj12 + a bit of browsing.

7 has been good for me, no issues at all. Maybe the Mac user's last windows encounter was early Vista.

[STEvil]

Nowadays Windows is quite stable. If there are no hardware/driver issues, it can technically survive forever (if there are no "suicide counters" in it). Even old XP is able to match the test from the link without any issue.

I had an old Win95 OSR 2 machine. Went years without a format. Ran loaded 24/7 the entire time. There were months at a time when it wasnt rebooted..

[NEOAethyr]

It all depends on the user and there experience and knowledge.
An avg user can screw over any copy of windows within hours, it doesn't mean it's not bootable, just virused out and pointless to continue using.

I prefer to do a fresh install every other month though.
Like right now for instance, I need to go back to x86., x64 sucks.
So in a few days maybe I'll copy over x86 to a usb stick and re-install.
I can't burn ANYTHING right now, my stupid system is not stable enough to burn even a simple dvd with videos on it.
I did find some silicone and baby powder I gotta try making my own tim, using my nf2 lpb as a test bed, if it works good and hangs for a month, I'll use it on my ch4's chipset and the x6, hopefully I won't have any more probs with my tim leaking all over the darned place.

[IFMU]

It all depends on the user and there experience and knowledge.
An avg user can screw over any copy of windows within hours, it doesn't mean it's not bootable, just virused out and pointless to continue using.
very true. i've seen installs that got so 'dirty' so quick no system could be usable. (at least to anyone even semi used to a decent pc.)

I prefer to do a fresh install every other month though.
i thought i was overzealous with doing fresh installs. i normally go every few months, but it just depends on how the system is running, what software i've installed/un-installed

Like right now for instance, I need to go back to x86., x64 sucks.
you've really noticed that much of a difference between the 2? i've yet to really notice any difference between the 2.

I did find some silicone and baby powder I gotta try making my own tim,
buh duh huh?!

[NEOAethyr]

I usually don't re-install for 3 months like you, it just depends.
If I bloated it out trying lots of new software, or got done with alot of new tweaks, then I'll re-install.

The x64 os, aida benchs a bit higher with it.
But last month it was acting sluggish for no reason, right it's now it's fine, my x86 never did that though.
The main reasons why I'll be switching back are:
Media playback issue in x64, I can't play back old realplayer files at all in x64.
MPC-HC-BE x64 can't play back avs files, the x86 ver in win7 x64 does fine though...
A usb wireless g stick I'm borrowing to make a direction antenna out of doesn't work at all in x64, go figure, I can find dialup modem drivers, but no netgear wireless g drivers :\.

In all there was a handful of media playback issues, plus some encoding issues (actually I can't use x64 for encoding at all, I gotta use x86 stuff for that, so there was no point in win7 x64 in that respect :( ).
I can't remember all those off hand it's annoying enough to the point where I have to switch back.

In real usage terms, I haven't seen anything that runs faster in x64 compared to x86 so far.
Except on older pc's with 512m of ram, it was comparing the same pc to 1gig of ram (x64 512m vs. x86 1gig), the x64 would win in terms of video thumbnail extraction speed in explorer.
But when it comes to recent systems liek my ch4 and x6, I haven't really noticed much of a diffrence.


My tim comment thing.
I have issues with artic silver compounds, that brand.
I've been using the ceramic for a few years now, while it was better then silver, it still leaks all over even while it's still in the tube because of the ambient heat.
It's gotta beable to sustain around 110f before it's even powered on, because I tend to run at those types of ambients once in a while.
I'm "hoping" that if I make my own tim, it'll fare better.
Right now I'm stable enough to do generic things and play games but, I can't burn dvd's, and sometimes I see corruption in media playback even though the files check out.
It's really annoying, I've had this board for a year now, never gotten it stable.
And right now it's the worst time, I can't be wasting time on it anymore, right now I've got $45,000 in dept to deal with, a house and bills all in my name now since the begining of this month.
$2,700 is from the ER a few weeks ago, even though they couldn't figure it out, they just had me drink a cup full of coke lmao.
I finally got a real appointment for a doctor though on aug 9th, finally..., on the sliding fee scale.
I just got so much crap to deal with right now long term pc stability testing is something I just can't do right now.

I have a bunch of silicone calk, transparent 100% dow corning stuff.
And I finally found a BIG thing of zinc oxide baby power in my mom's bathroom when I was cleaning up the house after her death.
I got all the ingredients to make my own tim ;).
So what I'm gonna do is test that 512m stick of mushkin bh5 I got a while back on my nf2, and test the tim thing too while I'm doing that for the heck of it.
If it works out, I'll redo my main system with it and I won't have to buy artic silver brand stuff anymore :D (it's just not good enough, seperates to easy...).
It's the only thign I'm really in the mood for in terms of pc testing, I know the nf2 in and out and I can test for 100% stability within an hour and a half or so.
Unlike this board, the asus ch4, which takes me 4 days just for a single test run, only to find it it's still not right lol, I'de like to smash this stupid thing but I can't afford a new board.

Sorry for the offtopic rant lol ^^ :)

[STEvil]

caulk dries out, it will act as even more of an insulator than normal TIM does. Zink oxide powder is crystals and will create a thermal boundary layer due to thickness, if you're lucky.

TIM's are inefficient most of the time. If they decrease the amount of heatsink area touching the IHS or reduce pressure they are decreasing thermal transfer rates. The less TIM you have between an IHS and a heatsink the better.

[vab206]

110f ambient? your desk in the desert?