[LBo] Why I need to cronjob a reboot

[Brice Hunt]

Sam Morgan wrote:
> Brice Hunt wrote:
>> It's a weak voltage regulator module (VRM) that's on the motherboard. It
>> might be made worse with a weak power supply.  It's a very common
>> problem with eMachines.
>>
> I thought they had finally beefed them up, after all the failures they
> had when the emachines first came out?
>
It has more to do with the original manufacturer of the motherboard than
with eMachines itself. eMachines is notorious for buying the cheapest
motherboards on the market (the ones that usually--but not always--have
problematic VRM's). Even the more recent Dell desktops have had weak
VRM's on their motherboards because they started using manufacturers
such as, for example, Foxconn.  I've found that Asus and Intel both tend
to use very reliable VRM's.  I've found that Foxconn and a few other
low-end manufacturers tend to use unreliable VRM's.

By the way, I've also noticed that the first place that most cheaper
motherboards cut corners is in the VRM as this is the most overlooked
component (yet is the most important one to keep the rest of the
computer in good condition) on the entire motherboard.  For many
motherboard manufacturers, this is a winning move.  The cutting corners
with the VRM allows them to reduce their costs, conditions customers to
accept motherboards that die quickly, and increases their own sales as
motherboards die more quickly and customers return to buy replacements.

Brice