How long does testing take

[PhilGP]

I had a series of emails on Friday with status updates for my PC.
I asked via email for a reason for the short times but have not had any reply. Maybe someone on this forum could answer.

Here's a summary of typical durations (taken from the flowchart on the order page)

Processing: 1-6 days
Pre-Production: up to 1 week
In build: 1-3 days
In testing: 1-2 days
In Quality Control: 1-2 days .... " your order has been tested and is now in our "hot room" where the system will remain for at least 24 - 48 hours "
Awaiting dispatch: < 1 day​

Here's my status:

Processed Date 09-11-2011
Pre-Production Date 15-11-2011
Build Date 18-11-2011
Test Date 18-11-2011
QC Date 18-11-2011
Awaiting Dispatch Date 18-11-2011
Dispatch Date 19-11-2011​

That means it was built, tested and had the hot room burn in tests all on the same day.
I am concerned that my PC has not had the full level of testing.

anyone else experienced a short build/test/QC timeframe?


The Spec - Not a complex PC at all but still worthy of full testing:

COOLERMASTER SILEO 500 QUIET MID TOWER CASE
AMD PHENOM II X4 QUAD CORE 965 (3.40GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3)
ASUS® M5A87: AM3+ PLATFORM, DUAL DDR3,SATA 6.0GB/s, USB 3.0
8GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6570 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - DX® 11
1TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD10EARX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan
Processor Cooling STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit​

 

[Corfate]

I believe they do testing and QC overnight in some cases ,so that could have happened here

Actually, scrap that.. No idea, your awaiting dispatch is in the same day..

 

[Manxjason]

I noticed that too dude, however not on my order (still in testing), just other peoples posts.

I honestly have no idea bud, but a very valid question which im sure will be answered

 

[PhilGP]

I just checked my email times from Friday (18th) ...
Build completed at 13:08
Testing + config started at 15:06 ... so for 2 hours, nothing happened to it.
Ready for dispatch 1t 16:35 ... a total of 1.5 hours in the Testing and burn in stages.

Maybe the first 2 emails arrived late ... a day late
Anyway ... it looks like it's on the road now.
I'll check it over and do my own soak tests anyway.

 

[Tehmoe]

Not exactly sure how it works but this is how mine went.

Processed Date 06-11-2011
Pre-Production Date 08-11-2011
Build Date 18-11-2011
Test Date 18-11-2011
Awaiting Dispatch Date 18-11-2011
Dispatch Date 18-11-2011

More or less the last 4 stages happened without 3 hours but What I think is that while your in pre-production most of the testing and building is done then its all signed off for at the end, could be wrong.

 

[Manxjason]

Processed Date 02-11-2011
Pre-Production Date 08-11-2011
Build Date 14-11-2011
Test Date 18-11-2011

Waiting on QC.

Not 100% on how accurate the email system/status updates are, others peoples experiences are all different. Some fly through, others don't. No idea, but I do know that I can't wait to get it.

 

[Manxjason]

Woop overnight update


02-11-2011
Pre-Production Date 08-11-2011
Build Date 14-11-2011
Test Date 18-11-2011
QC Date 21-11-2011
Awaiting Dispatch Date 21-11-2011

 

[Iceash]

had a fast test/qc stage all under 24hours but if it didn't get burned in at PCs 2 days with me playing games and it will be

and gtz manxjason nice to see yours is moving

 

[PhilGP]

I got a reply email this morning stating that the testing was fully completed.
The PC would have gone through 100 reboots during the stress testing- which normally takes up to 12 hours.
My PC was tested with the software they use for 'Fast-Tracking' - but they would not ship out a PC with a known fault.

It's wont be used for games so I dont think it will get the same stress as some builds on here.

 

[PhilGP]

not starting windows

I now have the PC but cant get Windows to load.
It fails on startup with an error...

windows could not finish configuring the system.
To attempt to resume configuration, restart the computer


That seems to me like the install wasnt finished .... so how about the testing !!?!


I have tried to repair from the DVD but that finds no faults.

next step is a re-install.

I asked for 3 partitions - they are C: D: & E: (obviously) ... but Windows has been installed on E: for some odd reason .. why would this be?

 

[Rakk]

That seems to me like the install wasnt finished .... so how about the testing !!?!

The last thing that is put on the PC is an out of box experience type thing, so that when you turn the machine on, you have to enter the name you want to give the PC and put in the CD key, unfortunately this cannot be tested since it's a one time only thing and every so often it doesn't quite work, a quick reinstall normally fixes it.

So the machine has been tested, just the out of box experience bit hasn't, so don't worry.

 

[PhilGP]

not convinced about the testing. apparently there should be a log file from the test on HD - I'll see how long it was tested for.
Just doing the Win 7 install now ...

 

[PhilGP]

firstly, the PC is now working.
But I think the fault is with the DVI output on the Radeon 6570 card.

I have two monitors on my old PC - one via DVI and one via VGA.
When I unpacked the new PC, I put the DVI connection into the new PC and powered it all on ..... nothing on screen.
After a while I guesses a clean boot needs VGA so I tried the other monitor - thats when I saw the error messages.

Now (3 hours later) I have re-installed Windows and the MB drivers (to get LAN access) and the AMD video drivers.
The PC still refuses to recognise the DVI connected monitor.

The monitor on the DVI connection has a VGA input but I use a DVI-VGA cable (not a short DVI/VGA adaptor)
My VGA monitor has a sealed cable so I cant swap cables.
I do have some old VGA-VGA cables and a seperate convertor somewhere in the house - time to go looking for them.

I see a couple of possible faults...
1. The DVI output is not working/enabled/faulty
2. The cable is faulty - but the monitor works fine on the old PC

EDIT: I checked out a DVI-VGA adaptor and two different cables - all with no progress.
My conclusion is that the card is faulty.
I have posted the details in the tech support section of the forum and updated PCS via email (4th one tonight)

I am a bit dissapointed so far. The speed of the testing was my first doubt, then the faulty install of Windows, now the broken (possibly untested) video card. I havent even checked any of the other hardware yet.
I did find a log file on the hard drive but it was only 3 mins long so nothing to do with testing.
I know PCS use WinStress (not on my PC though) but thats expensive - anyone got any other tips on stress software?

 

[Rakk]

From your other thread

I have now managed to test with a pure DVI monitor at work (i.e. not VGA converted to DVI)
The output is working.

So the problem is in the conversion from DVI to VGA - or both of my monitors at home.

From this thread

I see a couple of possible faults...
1. The DVI output is not working/enabled/faulty
2. The cable is faulty - but the monitor works fine on the old PC

EDIT: I checked out a DVI-VGA adaptor and two different cables - all with no progress.
My conclusion is that the card is faulty.

So it does work to a newer monitor that happens to have a DVI connection, therefore it may be nothing to do with the card.

Is it possible that the monitors you are using are just so old (how old are they?) they can't cope with what the graphics card is sending? (I haven't heard of this before, so it's speculation on my part, but it's the only thing I can think of, analogue/digital issues maybe).

 

[PhilGP]

It's a valid point. Both monitors are old - I dont have a huge budget for anything these days

They do both work on an older Radeon X1660 card in another PC. The 'detection' works and identified the models.
I would assume that the new card should use the same basic detection methods - but it may not.

 

[Rakk]

Well as I said it was pure speculation on my part, are there any other monitors you could try to use and prove/disprove my theory?

 

[PhilGP]

I've been in communication with PCS this morning and I have now found the cause.
The card supplied has DVD-D which is digital only ...
http://www.powercolor.com/Global/products_features.asp?id=373#Specification

 

[Rakk]

I've been in communication with PCS this morning and I have now found the cause.
The card supplied has DVD-D which is digital only ...

And I'm guessing said older monitors of yours will only take analogue?

And looking at it, I think VGA may only do analogue anyways, but I'm not totally sure.

 

[PhilGP]

yup - my monitors are both analogue only

I just tested dual display - one 1920x1080 DVI and one 1024x768 VGA ... all works fine with dual monitors.

So now I have two options ...
1) try to get an alternative card .... still chatting with PCS
2) skip the wife's xmas present and gas bill and get a new monitor .... something I had planned for 12-18 months time (the monitor, not skipping xmas gifts)


I do need two screens for my photo editing (sales of which, financed this purchase!).
I will eventually get new monitors so I still want DVI.

 

[Gorman]

Quick note here.

The out of box fault you described can and will happen when a machines first boot is interrupted.

If i was to put out there the following scenario:

• Monitor plugged in etc and machine powered on for first boot.
  
• No display due to analogue issue and the machine is then reset / rebooted in an attempt to resolve the monitor issue. This interrupts the essential first boot.
  
• Next boot with digital capable monitor gives "windows could not finish configuring the system. To attempt to resume configuration, restart the computer" error message.

Would i be wrong?