Environment Testing

Through the tempered glass of the large environmental testing chamber, we can see a network card plugged into an Abit motherboard. This motherboard will be subjected to temperatures from 0 to 40 degrees Celsius while running a benchmark software like 3DMark. Within a few weeks, Rolly anticipates updating these testing chambers to run the same stress tests from -40 degrees Celsius to +70 degrees Celsius. This practice of environmental stress testing is a relatively new practice and only a handful of manufacturers have adopted it.




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This testing chamber is just under 20 degrees Celsius right now; it will climb to 40 degrees before the test is complete.




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Other motherboards are selected after this procedure for other more specific quality assurance tests. These include drop and vibration tests. Fully packaged and unpackaged motherboards will be subjected to stress tests similar to rough shipping and handling in order to assure your disgruntled postman delivers the motherboard fully functional.

Database and Video Cards Research and Development
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  • KristopherKubicki - Sunday, June 13, 2004 - link

    Got it, thanks.

    Kristopher
  • kalaap - Sunday, June 13, 2004 - link

    "This is actually the second over on the production line; the first is used right after SMT."

    I think you meant second OVEN.
  • AtaStrumf - Sunday, June 13, 2004 - link

    Right Click --> Save Target As... ---> save to disk and play from there. If its still not working you need a new player. Real One Player is preety good.
  • roostercrows - Sunday, June 13, 2004 - link

    can someone tell me which video players you guys use? i couldn't get my realplayer to download the videos. thanks
  • DonB - Sunday, June 13, 2004 - link

    "...why there are more women than men". Women have much better manual dexterity than men. Remember typing classes in high school? I remember in my class, after the first semester, the females were typing around 40-50 wpm while the males were typing around 25-35 wpm, almost without exception.
  • CurtOien - Sunday, June 13, 2004 - link

    "The machine technician and the traditional visual inspectors are paid about the same; usually around $100 per month with lodging."
    I wonder how much the executives make?
  • AtaStrumf - Sunday, June 13, 2004 - link

    The problem that I see with their testing procedure is that they probably only test at default settings, which is just not good enough for an enthusiast targeted motherboard. Sure my KT7 A worked fine at 100 MHz FSB, but it didn't at 133 MHz FSB, and my latest AN7 works fine at default BIOS setting, but when you change something strange things start to happen.

    I understand that they're in a hurry, but they should at least test at the most stressful settings that the mobo is supposed to function properly i.e. 200 MHz FSB and not 133 or. 166 MHz. What good is a 24 h burn-in test if it's done at 133 MHz FSB, and I'm gonna be using a 200 MHz FSB.

    For instance this AN7 that I have now, works perfectly if I OC my 2500+ with the default offered 3200+, but if I change the FSB manualy to 200 its totaly unstable. How strange is that?
  • KristopherKubicki - Sunday, June 13, 2004 - link

    artifex: I have not heard that reason for using women over men in facilities.

    What other economic information were you interested in? I can add it to the article.

    Kristopher
  • artifex - Sunday, June 13, 2004 - link

    I couldn't get the n7_fail image to load (ironic), but other than that, everything was good.

    Is it still true that another reason why there are more women than men on the assembly line is because womens' hands are generally thought to be smaller, and more adept?

    I'd like to see more of the background economic information like what you provided for this story, next time you do a plant tour, too.

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