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First time building a rig...

A

Arquebus

n00b
Joined
Feb 12, 2010
Messages
14
My Dell died today, and I'm officially done with premades. Looking to build a computer for both moderate gaming (mostly WoW right now, but I play the occasional new release, and I like eye candy) and general household use. Budget is flexible, but preferably in the $1000 range.

I'm pretty set on a Radeon HD 5850 for the GPU, unless there is a more cost effective alternative. I'm unsure about whether to go AMD or Intel in my price range, and I can't really piece a build together until I make a decision on this. Also, how gamechanging are SSDs? I'm curious about speed, and noise. I'm willing to break the budget for one if it's going to provide a real quality-of-life improvement.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Moderate gaming, general use
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Around $1000, but could go up for the right reason.
3) Where do you live?
Washington DC
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Everything needed to make the box run- would actually appreciate advice on minor stuff I might forget. No peripherals.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Just peripherals - mouse, keyboard, monitor.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Probably, but nothing extreme.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
24", 1900x1200
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
In the next week.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Nothing special.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
No, planning to get Windows 7 64-bit.


Thanks for the help.
 
 
 
Thanks for the build. Looks like exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for.

Any opinions whether a Solid State Drive is worth it?
 
An SSD will definitely make for a more responsive system, i.e. faster boot time, quicker load times for applications, but it won't make much of a difference in your fps for games. It would be a noticeable boost for general multitasking, so if you have the money, I say go for it. That particular SSD is a great choice. It is one of the top rated SSDs currently out.
 
Yup, the X25-M is a good choice. And yah, go for the 650W combo instead of the 430W combo.
 
Thanks for the help picking parts. Everything arrived, and I put it together today. I'm having some trouble getting to to boot, however. All the relevant hardware is the same as Gwarren's post...with the EA650 rather than the EA430 for the PSU.

Everything appears to turn on fine; all the case fans, the CPU heatsink, the fan in the PSU, and the fan on the GPU all turn on and continue to run until I turn the PC off. However, I'm not receiving any output at all on the monitor, and because the Antec 300 doesn't come with a speaker (and I don't have one lying around) I don't know if it's giving me any type of error beeps.

I've been through the process in the troubleshooting thread as much as possible, though the lack of a speaker, and not having much spare compatible hardware to test, have kept me from taking all the steps. So far I've tried using both DVI and HDMI connections, unplugged all non-essential hardware, reseated the RAM in every possible configuration, cleared the CMOS, tested it with a working videocard, and unseated and reseated everything, including the CPU. I tried to test the GPU in the 2nd PCI-e slot, but it doesn't seem to be configured in a way where it even works with a dual-slot card (it's the very bottom slot, and attempting to put the HD5850 in there covers some necessary ports and runs into the PSU - let me know if I'm doing something noobish about this, please) All of this has produced no change. I'm wondering if these symptoms point definitively to a specific problem, or if I really need to procure a speaker for more diagnostics. From what I can gather it's likely either a problem with the mobo or the PSU, but I'm no expert with this stuff.

The monitor I'm working with is a Samsung T260HD...it's the only one I personally have access to right now but I could probably get a hold of one to test with if that would be necessary.

Thanks for all your help.
 
when you reseated the cpu, did you use thermal paste? have you tried having JUST the conventional drive ( no SSD ) Is the keyboard plugged in? did you make sure the PSU was set to 115v? Have you tried a video card without a power connector? if so did the fan still turn? did the mobo power light come on? Have you tried it with an older monitor? have you tried hooking a PS3/xbox 360/laptop to the monitor? did you use motherboard standoffs? did you put all screws into the correct places on the motherboard? all screws on the power supply? double checked all your power connectors? consulted your motherboard manual? Have you tried using only one stick of ram, then the other? Have you tried changing your ram to a different slot?

can't think of anything else right now, its late...
 
Yes, I used thermal paste. It currently doesn't have either hard drive hooked into the mobo or power supply, although I've only tried it as all-or-nothing, never with just the traditional hard drive. I've tried both with and without the keyboard. I'm not sure how to adjust the voltage on the PSU, and according to the manual, it automatically adjusts for the outlet it's plugged into. I don't currently have access to a GPU that doesn't require a power connector; do you mean to try a card like that, or to simply not give a power connector to a card that usually requires one?

The monitor works fine hooked up to a Blu-Ray Player. I haven't tried with an older monitor because I don't have one lying around, but I should be able to test that tomorrow.
 
1. Try with just the traditional hard drive make sure the PSU is connected!
2. okay ( shows my age lol) some power supplies have a switch for 115/220
3. yes I meant an older card that doesn't require a power connector. you could also go to your local best buy and buy one(these are usually cheap) or maybe even a PCI card. test it, then return it. most stores will let you return within 30 days.

4. so we know the monitor is probably fine, at least for the HDMI input.

5. make sure you have all the power cords plugged into the right places! also, are you using a surge protector?

6. sorry, I read on your post you tried the ram

let me know how it works?
 
Just re-jiggered some stuff, and still no go. Currently has everything but the SSD plugged into both the PSU and the Mobo, and its the same situation as before. Double-checked all my connections as well.

Oddly, though, the monitor does seem to recognize a difference between when the computer is on and off - when the computer is off it displays "Check signal cable" but when I turn the computer on it displays "No signal." This only occurs using HDMI.
 
The only camera I have with my is on my phone, unfortunately, so the quality is terrible. Better than nothing, though...what exactly do you need a photo of?
 
The cable management is a ridiculous mess at the moment...been more concerned with making it work than making it pretty/efficient.

IMG00023.jpg
 
Yeah, once I get the computer working I'm planning to fix the wiring, but at the moment I'm constantly moving stuff around, and I may have to RMA something, so it hasn't been worth it to spend time on cable management.

I built it barebones, outside the case on top of the mobo box, and the situation is the same.
 
1. hmmmm... so the processor fan spins, so we know the mobo is getting power... have you gotten a chance to try another monitor yet? try just VGA if you can.

2. you said you tried another known working GPU...no change. We still cannot rule out a faulty GPU.

3. i'm inclined to think its a mobo issue. I have not used the 1156 socket so I don't know but did you make sure to line up the arrows when seating the processor? did you not force it? ZIF socket = zero insertion force = shouldn't have to force anything.



@shiro... Why aren't you running that ram in dual channel? Use slots 2 and 4 if the heatsink is in the way!
 
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FWIW, I have my PC connected to samsung T220HD using HDMI, and it sometimes tells me "no signal" when I switch it on, or switch from wacthing TV to using PC, and I have to cycle the signal inputs to get it to display my desktop. So I think it's worthwhile to give it a try on another monitor.
 
Just got back from Best Buy with some spare parts and cables. The situation is the same when using VGA as with DVI. Going to try it on an older monitor in a bit, will report back. Thanks for all the help so far.

When inserting the CPU, I lined up the arrows, and just kind of let it fall into place, no pressure. I did, however, apply force to the locking mechanism - nothing superhuman, but a substantial amount of pressure.
 
How long have you let it sit after powering the system on. On the first boot, sometimes it can take a little while for the motherboard to initialize the gpu and everything. Maybe about 30 seconds or so? There could also be a delay in the monitor getting a signal from the gpu..

Do you get any audible signals from the board? Most modern boards can produce audible beeps if there is an issue or even during boot.
 
Just tested it on a working CRT, and same situation.

I've let it run for >30 seconds a few times, though not in every configuration I've tested it in. Should I redo some tests and give it more time?

I haven't heard any sounds coming from the board. I don't know if that's because it can't, or it just isn't, and the manual doesn't provide any clarity; it just contains a list of what each beep code means.
 
And also no LED block for error detection. This is not a good board for a begginer, even though it is priced as such. I recommend for the OP to read the manual thoroughly and look for any info relating to boot diagnostics, whether it's colored LEDs or whatever. There has to be some way to troubleshoot it.
 
Did you try using only one stick of ram?

I've had similar problems before with new builds, and just on my most recent build, taking out all but one stick of ram fixed it, then after I got everything going, I put the rest of the ram in with no issues.
 
Oh yeah! The other thing to do is to follow the procedure for a CMOS reset in the manual and see if that gets it to boot.

The one RAM stick idea is great too.

The other thing to do is disassemble or at least check all the connections to the motherboard and make sure nothing is loose, bent, broken, sitting at a funny angle, etc..
 
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I've been through the manual for the mobo pretty thoroughly, and it's not very helpful. The only LED it has is called the "Phase LED" which is apparently supposed to display the load on the CPU; there are four lights, and the more lights that come on, the higher the load on the CPU. Turning the computer on causes all 4 of these LEDs to light up. The troubleshooting section of the manual consist of a chart outlining the same basic process recommended in the troubleshooting thread here, and a chart mapping beep codes to problems.

As per Falcon's suggesstion, I've tested the setup with a GPU that doesn't require a separate power connection (Radeon HD4350) and the fan does run on it. However, the overall performance of the machine is identical; no video output, and a change in message from "Check signal cable" to "no signal" when I turn the PC on using HDMI. This is true with the new card in either PCI-e 16x slot.

I'm considering just returning this mobo and stepping up to a better one, due to the poor diagnostics, Falcon's suspicions that the mobo is the problem, and the realization that it can't physically fit a 2nd dual-slot GPU for Crossfire down the road (which I always knew would be inefficient due to the second PCI-e running at 4x, but I at least thought would be possible). I have the money to do so; does this sound like a reasonable next step? If so, what are some good options in the ~$100-150 price range that would work with the parts I already have?

edit: Yes, I've tried it with only one stick on RAM, and I've reset the CMOS.
 
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Thanks for the mobo suggestions. A few questions, though..

I noticed that two of the mobos you linked are Micro ATX rather than full-size ATX. Does this affect anything, aside from them having fewer PCI slots?

Also, how is EVGA's reputation for mobos? I've only ever dealt with their videocards. Those EVGA boards you linked seem like a pretty phenomenal value after the MIR, but I'd rather have good reliability and strong support than save a few dollars.

And I'm still really confused about the fact that my monitor displays a different message when the computer is on than when it's off; I feel like this has to have some meaning, but I don't know what it is. Does anyone have any insight about this?
 
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