LGR - Repairing The Barbie/Hot Wheels Computer
Vložit
- čas přidán 28. 02. 2016
- Mattel made these unique machines through Patriot Computers, but sadly they're almost all dead now. Let's restore one of them!
● Consider supporting LGR on Patreon:
/ lazygamereviews
● Social links:
/ lazygamereviews
/ lazygamereviews
Music from Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsound.com) - Věda a technologie
had a customer come in in about 2008 with one of these and unfortunately the motherboard had failed and was un-repairable(capacitor exploded and blew some of the circuit board apart) the kid was devastated that it wouldn't be worth repairing and they left.. my employees and I talked about it a bit after they left and figured we could install an all in one VIA chipset in here which would be about 5x faster than the original(couldn't source the correct sized motherboard) so we did and called up the dad a week later they where so ecstatic, we knew the dad wasn't to well off so we didn't charge them anything for it about 7 yrs later the kid came in and thanked us as it was the most memorable thing to ever happen in her life... I know that was long but thought id share.. funny how easy it would be to "upgrade" one of these now makes me realize how small things have gotten.
You also made a young girl happy. That means a lot too.
Thank you for doing this. You made a real difference for that girl and her family. :)
This was heartwarming to read :')
@@crappyatlife always one 😂
ffs crappyatlife...
i remember being a child and thinking motherboards looked like tiny cities.
Too much Super Human Cyber Squad I imagine xD
Sharee Clifton omg same!!!
Protip: Stomping around on them and pretending you are Godzilla is NOT good for your computer!
Abdega I have to agree with this notion, & can't stress it enough either...
Sharee Clifton I'm not the only one!
My family had an Apple II that literally survived a house fire and we called it the "Baked Apple" and it STILL WORKS! The fact that you baked the motherboard in the oven was just... astounding!
Apple pie! 😂
nokia: are you challenging me?
SUN_FISHTV new Nokia’s don’t got shit
Lamar Is Not Here its an okd apple pc
Noah Ali You’re an idiot
I remember back when I worked for Patriot Computers in Vaughan Ontario Canada. We had so many support calls for these Barbie and Hot Wheels computers it was not funny we spent countless hours on the phone talking to people that had no clue what they purchased.
I remember how some customers tried to change the video adapter on them by placing a video card in the computer and we had to tell them that they are S.O.L ,they cannot change the video.
Then one evening when most of us went on lunch/dinner break and we got back we had been told sorry but we are only allowed to grab our personal items and our last pay will be sent via snail mail up to and including current day.
The fun days sorry for the reminiscing but this brought back memories from when I first got into the computer industry. 😃🤓
LGR needs to see this
I would love to find the monitor and palmrest to complete mine. It works great. Original install 3 gig HDD.
I brought this tower, monitor and expensive xerox machine from home. Don't @ me
This is truly like working on modern cars. To get "A" out, you have to remove "B". But to get "B" out you have to remove "C". And "C" won't come out until "A" is removed.
Almost a quote from my car's manual in the section "How to take out the spare tire", except the letters are up to fucking "z" or something
*****
yeah, my grandpa told me when the 1989 Buick Reatta came out and everybody wanted it because of the CRT touchscreen display... wonder how much of a bitch would it be to repair today haha
*****
yeah, me too pretty much but i wouldn't mind one of those flashy lcd displays :D
Eric Blecha in my fiat's manual the section "removing the spare tire" takes up 10 pages...
*****
yeah, just because they had to put it on the frame under the car and not in the trunk...
Ah, Doom 2. What every little girl needs on her Barbie computer.
I'm a little girl then because I love Doom 2
Princess Luna I know, right?
I mean, everyone needs doom 2, right?
what is doom 2? i've never played it and i've certainly not have played today just a few minutes before watching this video. nor have i spent over a thousand hours working on maps and mods for it. no sir.
Redneck Rampage, Postal, and Shadow Warrior would've been excellent alternatives or (realistically) additions to Doom II.
Early 2000’s computers give me the weirdest feeling of nostalgia.
Same
More like late 1998 for this one
Same
Same here, idk if it's the case design or the cheap plastic.
I especially love the round bubbly design of cars and computers of the time.
The disc: “Bowling for Screams”
LGR: “Bowling for Dreams”
Is there something you're not telling us?
Dyslexia is... actually pretty common.
Coco what are you doing here?
bowling for soup
Lol
probably because of the black design and possibly the a bit darkish area he is in he didnt see ti was a s and not a d
doom on a barbie computer priceless
NATHAN NEVILLE i want this ! Going to put i3-7100 itx motherboard AMD gtx 750 ti low profile
Thresh The Chain Warden >amd gtx 750
KadenTT i bet he doesnt know alot about newer pcs
I'm pretty sure my 9yo would love it the way it is and play the crap out of that game : )
On the other side, Windows 98 and ME are pretty much doom in their own ;)
>playing motherfucking DOOM on the Barbie Computer
>actually having the oven fixing trick work on a dead motherboard on freaking video
One of the best videos on this channel.
George Perakis oof
I agree
It's *doom* *2*
Well skyrims probably on it
You taught me something new today, baking the motherboard for 7 minutes@ 375 degrees. I hope it works for me too.
14:39 "It's now safe to turn off your computer"
Now that's a message I hadn't seen in a really long time.
This guy is hilarious
"Guess my warranty is now voided."
"Smells like fresh barbie" doesn't sounds wrong it's just the australian way to say "Smells like a fresh bbq" XD
GermanCurl you just had to mention barbecue... dammit, now I want a steak!
YEPE.
Australia is weird
Shrimp on the barbie!
australia is weird
You sir have a lot of patience. Seriously, when I was transferring my computer into a new modern case the other weekend I was yelling at it for hours! The transfer was successful.
+ProtosMerkabah Did the yelling help?
OlafurArons Eventually
+OlafurArons it only works when paired with hitting it and crying a bit.
lol. you guys are funneh.
when i work on computers i always cut myself. Not because i'm into cutting myself, but because of the edges on the fucking computer cases. Maybe i'm just a clumsy fuck.
+OlafurArons If you're not cursing while building something, you're doing it wrong. That's just me though.
Uh oh, looks like your motherboard is not working. Best solution:
*_COOK IT IN AN OVEN_*
No joke, my motherboard wasn't working and I did it and now it works.
*SMELLS LIKE FRESH BARBIE*
Since I first saw this video I have now saved 4 motherboards by cooking them in the oven. I mean if it's dead anyway you don't have much to lose so that's why I tried it, and it works!
Normally the fix doesn't last very long. It's due to expansion and contraction during thermal change, which happens again during operarion. Lead-free solder is also more brittle., which an oven can't fix.
@@pyro226 One board I did has been working for about 3 years so far...
I'm proud of LGR because he picked the "hurt me plenty" difficulty, good job.
"Smells like fresh Barbie! Ok, that sounds wrong."
I'm dying XD
So many puns...even King Galuf of Bal couldn't PUN-ish for this...
I just thought of Barbie having a smoke and dropping the cig somewhere unpleasant when he said that. Im sick I know.
I read this just as he said it
"Smells like fresh Barbie®!" If Mattel ever does a scented Barbie, that should be it's slogan.
barbie pom dreams
Apprentice of Satan I read that as barbie porn Dreams at first. Might be a smidie outside the target demographic if it was ;)
dandanthetaximan they already made barbie perfume in the 90s!
After baking those CPU chips at 350 degrees for 15 min.
What kind of dip would you suggest.
Sour cream and onion or cool ranch?
Me my opinion Sche this deserves WAY more likes
Maybe battery acid
I prefer a 60/40 lead and tin mix
Thermal paste
He said 7 minutes. You'd likely risk melting the plastics at that long.
When are we getting a Monsters inc. bowling for screams lets play?
I had to do a double take on your comment because I actually have a Monster Inc bowling ball I use for spares. It's Mike's eye and now everyone calls it the Eye Ball cause when I roll it, Mike's eye stares back at everyone as it goes down the lane. lol.
Nothing says Barbie computer like Doom 2
Adrian Smith lmao
I mean she's been a lot of things, she was in the army, she's been an astronaut, all kinds of gymnasts and driven all kinds of vehicles, she even was president.
Judging by her credentials, and how she seems to succeed at any occupation she sets out to do, it's not far fetched to assume that Barbie actually could be a space marine. Put her on Phobos and see what she does.
someone should make a barbie romhack for doom 2
Snt. Cringe It's quite easy to modify Doom with modern tools, nothing would really stop you from doing it.
Lol
Hot Wheels PC Master *Race*
Yeah well,that's just, like, your opinion, man I see what you did there.
Doom 2 on a BARBIE computer?
Hahahahaha well played!
And make those machine to be Hot Wheel SLEEPER PC, then those PC would look badass with the new hardware in it. The Hot Wheel must need to be modified
@@aaadj2744 AND HEAVILY. You'd need an ITX mobo with M.2 support because there' pretty much only enough space for that kind of SSD, the PSU has to be mounted OUTSIDE the case because there's no power supply of that size that's safe and SFX format doesn't fit inside, you can only fit the 1050Ti sized cards at best and can only do a pull configuration on the cooling side... and I haven't even accounted the CPU cooler into this but remember there's only a hole for one 80mm fan on the back so you gotta make it bigger.
Everyone: the computer will not work
LGR: hold my oven
*dies from weight of oven crushing her*
*LGR: Hold my Duke Nukem branded beer
@@joshuamccutcheonoldchannel4769 **Duke nukabeer**
Am squish
"I have the high ground"
Man, I appreciate how much your production value has gone up over the years. You are a good dude Clint. I appreciate you and love the content. Best wishes for you and everything you do.
Fixing a 20 year old motherboard by cooking it in the oven? *SUBSCRIBED*
I love your content :) Keep up the old tech videos!
Rather fry it on the grid. It is a barbie computer.
An old Mac that had an overheating problem could be fixed by dropping it
@@jeroenjansen2709 I would take the internals and put them in a new case
Michael Martin wasn't an overheating problem, and that was actually quite a common thing to do in the early days of the personal computer. Most, if not all, of the chips on those early machines are socketed instead of soldered in place. Over time, they work loose and lose contact with the socket. Dropping the machine from a few inches will cause the chips to reseat in their sockets, and the computer will work again. Apple was the only one that made that an official troubleshooting step, which is why it's always referenced. It wasn't a Mac, either, it was some variety of Apple II.
Literally went no fucking way. Then I started to think about it. My science degree didn’t fail me on this day
I baked a graphics card I paid $350 for 5 years ago and it died after 3 years. After a bake in a $5 thrift store oven it has been up and running again for 5 months!
back in 2013 my jasper xbox 360 started dying off. i baked it and it lasted one more year. then i baked it again and it lasted 3 months. then it stopped lasting much at all so i just gave up on it. i have another one anyway.
There is a way to fix bad electronics... buy a new one instead of frying it in an oven.
There are several deep fryed cards ON THE MARKET (!) already. Let it die, don't let it suffer, if it gave up it gave up!
@@Patrik2166 lol 😆
"5$ thrift store oven"
I've been to the wrong stores.
How... How did you get a $5 oven!?
I can´t believe the oven trick works for ancient old hardware as well. I remember doing this with my artifact showing GeForce 7800 GT card back in 2012. I remember being just as baffled as you cuz it worked.
"Mmm... Smells like fresh Barbie"
My fricking sides...
What a rollercoaster ride. I genuinely felt sad when it seemed that the restoration was for nothing, and then pumped my fist when a little home cooking resolved the problem. It's a labor of love, and one that I really enjoyed watching.
I thought you were joking around with the whole baking the motherboard thing. I was waiting for the punchline until I realized that you were being serious.
I really did not know this was a thing.
Oh it's a thing. People bake their Xbox360 boards quite often, the ones with Red Ring of Death, the early model. Though there, the issue is a bit more complicated and the fix is only very temporary. On components made before 2005, the solder contains lead and becomes quite flexible when heated and can heal itself pretty well, but then they outlawed lead in the EU. The affected components are for example the large ICs on the mainboard which are connected to the board by the tiny little balls of solder, hundreds of them, and when they heat up and cool down, the chips themselves expand and contract, and thus can break the tiny solder balls eventually, but you heat it up close to melting point, and they can heal back up. On post 2006, the unleaded solder is really hard and will likely cause the internal layers of the chip to break instead, and the heat probably just warps these internal layers into temporary alignment instead, as it's not hot enough to soften the new solder ball formulation at all.
the infamous G3 white iBook from Apple had the exact same problem - they attached the graphics chip to the mother board using the solder ball method, and it got so hot inside its casing the graphics chip would lift, shutting the computer down. Some people would wedge pennies wrapped in electrical tape between the case and chip to keep the chip in position. Apple did for while offered a repair program past warranty for that model, so that's a point in their favour. I got one of those turkeys from an eBay seller that died after just a couple of hours (don't worry, I got my money back after a dispute that eBay ruled in my favour, as they did show a working iBook in the product description). I later got the G4 version and that one is very reliable.
ShadeSlayer1911 p
dreibel thats weird, apple released something that isn't upgradeable easily... fucking weird....
That's the slav way of doing it, the proper way is with a tool that it's meant for this, which you apply heat only onto the video chip to melt (or almost melt) the metal balls it has on the contact with the board and re-adjust it tighter to it again.
If the console or computer turns on, everything works fine but you don't see anything on the screen, %90 chance this is how to fix it.
I would like to see someone somehow turn this into a gaming pc
Same lol, that would be very entertaining to watch
I'm a Barbie Girl, in a Barbie world, RIPPING DEMONS IN TWO WITH MY BARE HANDS IN THE DEPTHS OF MARTIAN HELL WITH DOOM (2016)!!!
That's something linus would do lol.
Ultimate sleeper pc!
Sounds like my kinda challenge... I'm in
(Even though I swore my next PC build will not reuse cases, no more sleepers)
I guess with a little bit of tinkering you can force a mini-ITX with a low profile 1050/1060 inside but not sure how it would handle the heat.
When you came with the motherboard hooked up to the computer after you baked it and it worked, I was shocked. I though it was just editing until you said about the cracking of the solder.
that HotWheels keyboard looks awesome even today
motherboard was #bakednotbought
George Bamber ^ This...
WHAT THE F--- I seriously thought he was joking around when he put the motherboard inside the oven, then I said "oh, he's really going through with it... He must be really pissed about this thing"... and then WHaaaaa... that's an actual fix?? Get out of here!!
LOL
NO FREAKING WAY!!!!! I REMEMBER WANTING ONE THESE SO FREAKING BAD AS A LITTLE GIRL OH MY GOSH!!!!!!
R u sure ur not a boy
Good thing you didn’t get one
Buy one and turn it into a sleeper. Do it.
@@DinnerForkTongue These are impossible to turn into sleepers because of their case size
@@kit7une_
Not even a mini-sleeper with laptop parts?
That's actually pretty good cable management considering the space they had to work with.
My, oh my.
This video takes me back to the time I had my second computer.
12 years old me was going around scavenging parts on old computers.
The happiness I got when I bought a really old computer with 64 DIMM Ram and a "powerful" Pentium III processor.
Young me started to take that old computer apart and Upgrade my 64 RAM Celeron to a whooping 128Mb an 866Mhz of power.
Windows ME FTW!!!
Man, I was happy.
I felt my blood pressure rise when the replacement fan didn't fit, lmao
Also wtf? Heating the motherboard up!? Holy shit.
I thought he would stick it with bubblegum
Yeah its called reflowing. Basically its works like soldering back chipsets.
Watching this with very little knowledge on computer hardware and such. I found it interesting to watch. Then he put the motherboard in the oven and I was like.. Lol that's a joke? OW WAIT YES?? ITS FOR REAL? LOL!
I would like to see a sleeper build in one of these cases
You'd still be able to get something decent in there. It couldn't be something like a 1080 but, you could get something done.
i've been obsessed with your hardware videos lately. i used to only watch your sims stuff, but now i watch this. i have no idea what most of it means, but i like your voice.
Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying.
yes, we need more hard/odd ware videos.
deizi666 yes definitely.
Lazy Game Reviews I absolutely love your narration of these videos. Your channel is my new favorite to go to when I need something to listen to. You honestly have a great sense of humor and honestly have an appeal that I can't on youtube. Keep up the great work man. Also looking forward to more LGR Tech Tales videos.
Shame there weren't more of these branded computers. I have also had success with oven heating a motherboard from a Yellow Light of Death PS3
This was a rollercoaster of emotions, man.
Doom 2 in a Barbie themed PC. Nailed it :D
The hotwheels one Looks really nice. Would be cool for sind casemod Project with actual Hardware
Hot Wheel is badass
Better to have Doom on a Barbie PC than. say, Leisure Suit Larry!
Oh man, my sister and I had these when we were kids. Loved all the Hot Wheels games that came with it. Even played all the Barbie games with my sister, since she was a bit younger and needed help. Ahh, memories...
Its designed like an Alfa Romeo engine bay
Lmao.
I was sure the oven thing was a joke to get people to ruin their hardware. I'm so amazed it actually works.
I don't know why but when I watch you're videos I feel very relaxed and satisfied🙂
It's probably his soothing voice and the relaxing music.
Doom 2 is the number one game for a little Barbie fan
Doom 2 on a Barbie PC - could anything be more appropriate
kek
"*smells like fresh barbie*."
That sounded so much like someone from Barbie.
Playing doom in a barby computer? You are my hero man. 😂😂😂
*Barbie
I was supposed to have that Barbie computer. My grandmother bought it for me (and it was a MAJOR purchase that she took out a credit card to be able to afford, I think it was over 1,000 dollars), but it never got delivered, we never figured out if it was sent to the wrong address, stolen, or what, and they refused to refund her. One of the biggest disappointments of my childhood because I was tech obsessed even as a kid but we couldn’t afford most of the ridiculous prices of the 90’s and early 2000’s. I’m upset that we seem to be trending back towards ridiculously high prices 20 years on.
The moment you realize that a Barbie computer runs Doom better than your PC...
That'd be humiliating as all hell to even think about.
I got 30 frames on a good day at dogshit quality for league. Ive played at 15 frames before ans im not proud
Yeah, but we are talking about the original doom. Your computer has to have less computing power than a toaster to not run it XD
Why are you using a piss yellow-gray 1989 PC in 2018/17? How are you even on the internets?
Or were you exaggerating...
Come on man, it can even run a freaking 386.
Was kinda hoping you'd play Bowling for Screams on it, since you got the disc and everything. It seems like such an obscure game. I don't even know where I got it from. Probably a cereal box.
Megan Leet I somehow had the pinball game back then. It was pretty fun, but I lost the disc after a while unfortunately. I might find it online for a few bucks hopefully
Damn, just you mentioning getting those sorts of things out of cereal boxes immediately makes me feel nostalgic.
Oh a rena pfp nice
*talking about heatsink and fan*
"But it does fit so, that's cool!"
Was that pun intentional?
*badumtiss*
Owns Barbie PC
Has Doom 2 installed
What else?
Doom 2 is my favorite Barbie game
Watching this with very little knowlage on computer hardware and such. I found it interesting to watch. Then he put the motherboard in the oven and I was like... Lol thats a joke? OW WAIT NO?? ITS FOR REAL? LOL!
+Mysticalzelda I know right
Watch Louis Rossman's video on gpu reflowing, it only "works" temporarily and is guaranteed to break again not long after.
***** Cite a source and come back to me, please.
it will eventually break again, mainly because the solder flow is crap (and old)
***** I did exactly that for you in another comment thread and you proceeded to insult me.
You have to admire how they managed to cram so much stuff in such a small space.
SCP993
It's a beauty. all fitted nicely in such a small form and yet there was enough airflow over CPU and for power supply.
Was amazed
12:54 " *SmElLs lIkE FrEsH BaRbIe* "
“ok that sounds wrong”
Gotta say I just discovered your channel and videos like this are just delightful. Nice combination of old school reviews of games and tech. Awesome!
Always love to see an old machine brought back to life again. Clint, you're building quite the Jay Leno's Garage of computers there!
When I went to bestbuy yesterday, I saw a hot wheels tablet and a barbie tablet. I wonder if people decades from now are going to make videos restoring them like LGR did to the desktops.
Links to the tablets: www.bestbuy.com/site/nabi-hot-wheels-7-tablet-16gb-wi-fi/5580336.p?skuId=5580336 www.bestbuy.com/site/nabi-barbie-7-tablet-16gb-wi-fi/5580327.p?skuId=5580327
You're everywhere. EVERYWHERE.
Ryan H. i guess we watch the same type of videos?
A reasonable politician
yeah
Yeah and they'll be using their Barbie and hotwheel vr headsets
A reasonable politician imma do that
13:35
*LOUIS ROSSMANN WANTS TO KNOW YOUR LOCATION*
Windows ME: Windows Memory Eater
Ouch 😂
*YuM yUm FoOd*
*Gasp * FoOoOd!
Oh so _that's_ why Google calls it "ChroME", it's like a super secret Illuminati message.
Metal Gear Windows 3: Memory Eater
pimping a barbie computer. Thug life
it's actually great that you restored it with og parts and didn't upgrade. I remember my first computer in 1995, an IBM Aptiva that cost like $1,000 at Radio Shack. It was awesome, but so slow. I remember teaching myself HTML on that and started building websites. To be 11 again and get my first taste of technology, it was so amazing and opened up a new world for me.
That motherboard looks delicious! Make a video on LGR foods showing us the full recipe.
I'm Amazed you got that machine, I never got mine the company went backrupt before mine showed up
omg did u pay for nothing
it
Oh, the unspeakable horror of when your pc doesn't boot
Ah, nothing like a Barbie-cue.
one of these cases deserves a Sleeper Build put into it. Heck I'd do it if I got hold of one of those.
This Computer in a nutshell:
"Part A needs part B to be removed, part B requires part C to be removed, part C requires part A to be removed.
Odd thing is ,after watching this video i got so intrested in pcs that i actually built one myself
That's awesome!
all I have to say is, welcome....
i can't build pc's (isntalling ram is as far as i'll go) because my hands are huge and i'm too afraid of breaking something.
so what i do is to choose the parts i want and have someone else build it.
Sweet. What's your specs?
Anthony Seboe im a poor fuck so dont judge me,i had a pc with a c2d e8600 4gb ram ,it was okay for youtube ,facebook and that kind of stuff but not for gaming. So i bought a r9 270x used for a really good price. Im also about to upgrage to a g4560 because my poor almost 10yr old cpu isnt up for the task of gaming anymore
score for the solder re-flow! thanks for saving these 2 pieces of history :)
LGR I LOVE THESE repair videos theres just something cathartic watching these vids.
Fantastic! The baking especially!
10:35 Even the screwdriver set matches the Hot Wheels color scheme :)
I just watched Linus's video on the oven method and he fixed his 780 ti with it! XD
Same
+SargentTNT same lol
same
+SargentTNT DUDE. Same here. What as small world, huh?
+SargentTNT Chef Gates will present his finest cuisine
Lawl jk
So much nostalgia when that sound played on start up
Great videos man I loved the Doom 2 benchmark on the Barbie. Keep em' coming!
MMMM... baked motherboard, just like mom used to make...
Why do you think it's called a MOTHERboard?
LGR Foods at its finest!
Hot damn! We bought the Hot Wheels "accessory pack", had two speakers, a mouse pad & mouse all with the same blue & flames, didn't even know there was a whole computer! The accessories were on sale around 2005-2010 for something like $5 for everything, a deal so nice I bought it twice (and some for gifts ;-)
I have nothing to say about Barbie or Hot Wheels computers except that I love it when Cliff does this with old tech.
If i see a computer like that and it has all Doom games and Grand Theft Auto. I would laugh out loud
Person. not a DVD, a game
Person. stop arguing
I must be the only one who still uses DVDs and CDs
Christian Thompson nope, I have a whole wall of them in my living room. I strongly prefer having a physical copy rather than downloading or streaming stuff.
Imagine turning this thing into a really great gaming PC playing god damn Just cause 3 or Wolfenstein: The New Order at 60 fps on the highest graphics settings while all you're friends see is you sat there on a barbie computer with blood and explosion all over the monitor!
Wow does that bring back memories lol. I bought 40 barbie PCs to resell and almost half wouldn't boot because the cmos batteries were dead. I remember all the same frustrations of working on those but I never put a motherboard in the oven. Thanks for the video!
The joy in your voice after you got it working again! =D
I've learned so much from this video! Thank you for making all the videos you do!
Quite welcome!
A barbie pc with Doom 2 on it... XD
I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about, nor do I know why it was in my recommendations, but this was really interesting to watch😂
aw man... the win 98 bootup, the window layout, damn right in the nostalgia feels!!!
I'll never accept those boards which use slanted RAM slots. They just don't sit well with me. (You see what I did there?)
+ATCRyderX© Hahaha!! lol
+ATCRyderX© It ain't right.
show yourself out
*slow clap*
**slower clap**
I will never complain about disassembling a slim computer ever again.
This video was the first time I had seen the "cook motherboard" concept, and it still blows my mind.
This is such an awesome enthusiastic video.
I really admire how people can just mod and completely switch out computer parts... I think it's something I'd like to try out, but I wouldn't know how to get started OTL how did you get started?
Justin A that makes sense, we do have a couple old consoles we don't use anymore, so maybe I could start there. I've been watching so many of these electronics modding videos and I just really wish I could do the same.
Console disassembly and reassembly is a lot more difficult than a PC. Try use an old PC
You could start by taking a few discarded old computers that were probably thrown away as "defective" and seeing what's up with them, try throwing components around. I seriously don't recommend poking consoles at first, some are easy enough, others require a bit of attention and special procedure, and you're not going to be able to accomplish a whole lot, as they are tightly integrated. In contrast, PCs are somewhat robustly made, they are built to be disassembled and reassembled, and contain a lot of components that are compatible and can be replaced, and usually if something will fit in a connector, it will also work there, unless you apply too much force and break something, physically, there's little to go wrong. How did i learn? Well... i think when my parents bought a REALLY shitty computer and then getting tired of bringing it in for repair every few weeks. It was really a piece of work. They fleeced us on the graphics card, put in a really cheap ISA Trident instead of a PCI something something, their power supply would do crazy shit like totally turn off if you turned on a Panasonic dot matrix printer that was connected to the same power strip while computer was on, the optical drive had broken end switches and the centre spindle would eat holes into disks, and the RAM was faulty and would cause software errors. I think i got adopted by a small PC boutique eventually after poking them with questions, and a few years later i found myself as an editor of a local computer magazine, responsible for hardware benchmarks.
Though now that i remember, i used to have an 8-bit home computer that someone built, and i did replace a few socketed ICs there when i was like... 10? It also wasn't reliable, but i tried. At least i didn't break it, no more than it already was when i got it. It was a ZX Spectrum clone, but it didn't really have a name, nor a known author, people just copied it as sets of schematics and board layouts from each other, so one needed to etch the boards, solder, buy about 45 to 60 individual ICs and an assortment of other minor components, have someone else program the ROMs that were distributed on like 16 pages of prinouts using special hardware. It was retroactively named "Pentagon 48" for the distinctive shape of ground trace around the back of the PCB by a magazine editor eventually. I got a discarded one that didn't work properly, because well, where i'm from, as an individual you could only buy discarded ICs that couldn't be used in the industry, so of course the quality was questionable and many such builds failed. Don't worry too much, when you're buying new PC parts, they actually usually come tested, at least somewhat, so they should just work. Like mainboards are usually run on a test stand for 24h before being packaged, other major expensive components might have a few minutes or hours of testing.
Most people start by upgrading one component in their PC. Say their graphics card is too weak, or they need a larger or faster hard disk, or they need more RAM, which totally makes sense, nobody can faithfully predict how good of a computer they will need, and the GPUs currently have a much shorter product cycle than any other component of the PC, newer and better ones just come out so often. The mainboard manual that generally comes with the PC if you bought a boutique assembled computer, or can be downloaded from the board manufacturer website otherwise, will usually be the first place to start, it shows how everything goes together and gives basic safety precautions. So you would probably want to open up your computer, shine a light into it and see whether you can read the designation of the mainboard, or you could even use software like REALiX HWiNFO without opening the machine up at first. But don't be afraid, usually it's a few screws at the back, and then some panels can be slid off, you're not disturbing anything inside by taking off the lid. But after one component upgrade comes another, and then another one, until they are pretty comfortable with how the whole thing works.
And ask questions. Right here is fine by me.
Siana Gearz u got adopted by a pc place? I think u meant "it"😂😂😂
If you are really serious about it, you could look around for an old and cheap PC in working condition to learn. Sometimes you find early-mid 2000 PCs for as low as $20. First I would disassemble and reassemble it and see if I manage to do that without breaking it. Then I would try with a broken one and try to replace components and see if I can bring it back to life, researching the time frame it was made and the kind of hardware it would have used. From what I've seen, a lot of times those computers fail because the power supply fails and doesn't provide enough power to make it work properly.
If you want to mod consoles, on the other hand, you could start by trying to add standard RCA outputs to an SNES or N64 or maybe even a first-generation PSX. It's an easy mod and it's useful as cables are known to wear out, original replacements are sold quite expensive and in dubious condition and aftermarket cables are usually crap. I myself added RCAs and S-Video (original S-Video cables for the Nintendo consoles are hard to find and insanely expensive!) to my consoles and I have pretty much no soldering skills, so if I can do it, anyone can!
You actually did it. *YOU MANIAC.*
2020 saying that linus techtips is looking for these