First timer looking to build high end gaming desktop

ksot said:
Why, is it a terrible idea to boot it briefly without one?.
Click to expand...
Extremely terrible. You may cause CPU damage that way. Don't turn on the PC anymore.

ksot said:
Can you point me in the direction of one that would fit? I don't really know what qualification to look for. I figured they were universal until yesterday.
Click to expand...
Unless you bought the CPU used or as OEM, it should have came with the stock Intel HSF that looks like this. That would have worked.

Alternatively, you can actually reuse your TRUE 120 heatsink with this bolt-through kit:
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...1366_Ultra_120_Series_HR-01_True_Spirit_.html
 
Oh whew, I did use the stock one you linked to, I just thought it flimsy and inefficient compared to the other one, but if you think it's good enough I'll stick with it. Also one of the plastic pegs bent and i cant seem to get it through the hole. But regardless I have always used it when booting.

I just tried resetting CMOS and running it outside of the case with only the mobo, PSU, RAM and cooler. No luck. It seems to be doing way less than when I first put it together, it just lights up the LED number pad and nothing else happens. Hopefully I didn't short it out somehow.

I bought a mobo speaker today, but it does absolutely nothing when plugged in, no beeps or anything.'

I looked through the manual for a while tonight and it has a list of error codes that show up on the LED number pad, but unfortunately mine doesn't even display a full number! The first number is blank and the second looks like this:

___
|
|__|

Like almost a zero or a six but can't quite make it. Very baffling. I'm going to call gigabyte in the morning, hopefully they can help me make sense out of this.
 
The problem is that it's broken and not installed correctly. That may have lead to bad cooling. Go buy that bolt-through kit ASAP.

Did you install the RAM correctly?
Did you hook up the power to the motherboard correctly?
 
I just put some extra effort into it and was able to get the plastic part through, it seems to fit in properly now. Still no help. I will buy that bolt kit regardless for better cooling when this bad boy is finally up and running.

I'm pretty certain I installed the RAM correctly and hooked up the motherboard correctly, but I couldn't say with 100% certainty of course. I do know I did it the same way I did it on the old machine that worked. I've tried swapping the RAM around to see if it would help with no luck.
 
Ok bought the bolt kit. I hope it works because the problem isn't just the screws not going in, it's their positioning. They don't quite match up with the holes in the mobo. They appaear to be a bit too far apart.
 
Oh god... things just took a disastrous turn =/

So I spoke to gigabyte tech support today and they walked me through some basic attempts to troubleshoot and when nothing worked they determined it was either the mobo CPU or PSU. So I went to bestbuy and bought a PSU to test with and long story short, it didn't work. So I decided to pack up the mobo and CPU for RMA return to newegg. I was trying to wipe the thermal grease off everything when I foolishly got too close to the pins on the mobo and bent several of them. The more I try to fix them the more I damage. It seems hopeless at this point. I am such an idiot!

Pretty sure neweggs return policy said the warranty was voided if there was physical damage. Sigh... is there ANYTHING I can do now other than swallow the $200 and buy a whole new one? Can I not just pay them to replace the part with the pins?
 
Well shit.

Contact Gigabyte and Newegg if they can do anything for you. But more than likely, you're SOL.
 
Grrrr, expensive lesson. I even got a tiny smudge on the bottom of the CPU somehow stuck between two pins which I think I managed to get out successfully, but who knows if I slightly bent those pins as well. They look alright but I don't know if it'll hold up under a microscope or whatever. ARGH!
 
Yeah that's the mobo I recommended. And yes your CPU will work, assuming you didn't damage it.
 
Newegg said they can't help but gigabyte said they will reset the pins for free if not too bad and for $45 if it is. Solid!!!
 
Thanks Danny. Disaster has struck already. Newegg is sending it back because the item was "physically damaged" which is the last thing I expected to hear. Apparently it is "dented" according to them which sounds totally ridiculous to me as all I ever did with it was unpack it stick it in take it out and repack it. I demanded they send me pictures of the dents and then after that they say they will send it back to me and I'll have to contact the manufacturer for warranty help which I probably should have done to begin with >_<

Still waiting to hear back from Gigabyte.
 
wow, epic thread. I just read the whole birth, death, resurrection, and euthanasia of a system in about 30 minutes. ksot, you should find a tech savvy geek friend that is local. Would be a lot easier to have someone there to step you through the process. I know this is too little too late, but still..craigslist man...craigslist.

FWIW, I have damaged a few components during my early days of building PCs, and really I guess that is the best way to learn. When you get comfortable with it you'll be buying used parts for next to nothing for your next builds to shave costs. Cheers for being willing to dig in and learn something new. Good luck in the future!
 
damn man.....now iam afraid too to assemble by my own the parts :eek:.

Good luck with your build man
 
Thanks :)

Last Monday Newegg told me they had the CPU still and that they would send me pictures on Wednesday. Friday comes still no pics I call them and they say there's no record of pics being requested and that they've shipped the CPU back to me!!! But that at least they'll have those pics to me by Monday. Tuesday comes with no pics I call them again this time they look into it more and tell me there were no pics taken??? WTF who diagnosis physical damage and doesn't even take a pic? And why did they tell me on numerous occasions they had pics? What a horribly disorganized company. Then the kicker, I get the CPU back and it is sitting in the box, out of it's little plastic casing, next to the heavy pointy metal CPU cooler for god knows how long. If it wasn't damaged before (which of course they didn't truly test) it very well could be now. Speaking of which, I looked over the CPU carefully and I see no "dents" whatsoever. I called and complained about their packaging and they said to send them a picture of how it looked but I'm guessing it'll go nowhere. I think I'm going to leave newegg over this, it seems like they just want to shift all warranty claims on to the manufacturers. I've read numerous other stories about them making false physical damage claims in ripoff reports. It's a shame because they've been nothing but professional to me before this.

Anyway, I'm now at the point where not having a desktop is effecting my work. I can't get my second monitor to work from my laptop for the life of me and I really need two running. I think it's time to buy a backup system. Danny (or anyone he trusts lol) could you maybe recommend a cheap and older mobo/cpu/ram combo I can put in my old tower? I will swap in the old PSU, GFX card, and HD for now until I finally get all my new parts together again. If there's any combination that will allow for my old RAM (G.Skill F3-10666CL9T-6GBNQ 3 x 2GB DDR3 1333) and CPU (Intel Core i7 920) which I think are both still good (?) to save me from buying new ones, that'd be amazing. I don't need anything monstrous, just something that will let me dual monitor while I play poker and watch porn :p
 
Go to the FS/FT subforum and look for the cheapest LGA 1366 mobo you can find. You should not pay more than $100 for one. Any more and you might as well go for a new system altogether.

As for the second monitor issue, does that monitor work with another PC?

What about your RMA to Gigabyte? And did you ever replace your PSU?
 
Ah willdo on the FS/FT hunt, good idea!

It is one of the two monitors I have used for years with both my desktops and my previous laptop, both 27" Samsung Syncmaster 2433 LCD. For some reason this Toshiba Satellite laptop doesn't want to work with them. The output I get is very dark and blurry and doesn't work at all on most resolutions. My friend has a different type of Satellite and he plugs his in using HDMI which I think may work better but alas my monitors are from before that time and I have to use the standard blue monitor connector. Unless there's a 3rd way to connect a 2nd monitor I wouldn't know about? I tried updating the graphics drivers and various other troubleshooting steps I googled for the issue but I just wasn't getting anywhere. The graphics card is a NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M by the way.

RMA to gigabyte, as expected they said the pins were bent beyond repair and I agreed to pay them $45 for it. However just today I got an unexpected email from them saying that since there was physical damage the warranty is void and it's now repair only status... so I guess now I'll be paying for whatever made it dead in the first place....... FML!

Corsair sent back a new PSU right away. Only thing that's gone right so far hehe!
 
ksot said:
Ah willdo on the FS/FT hunt, good idea!
Click to expand...
Alternatively, if you really just need a system to watch porn and play poker and nothing else, you could go for this system:
$67 - Intel Pentium G860 CPU
$65 - MSI B75MA-P45 Intel B75 mATX Motherboard
---
Total: $132 shipped

You can see from the above why I don't recommend spending more than $100 on a used LGA 1366 motherboard.

ksot said:
It is one of the two monitors I have used for years with both my desktops and my previous laptop, both 27" Samsung Syncmaster 2433 LCD. For some reason this Toshiba Satellite laptop doesn't want to work with them. The output I get is very dark and blurry and doesn't work at all on most resolutions. My friend has a different type of Satellite and he plugs his in using HDMI which I think may work better but alas my monitors are from before that time and I have to use the standard blue monitor connector. Unless there's a 3rd way to connect a 2nd monitor I wouldn't know about? I tried updating the graphics drivers and various other troubleshooting steps I googled for the issue but I just wasn't getting anywhere. The graphics card is a NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M by the way.
Click to expand...
Did you try using a different VGA cable? Also, again, did you try the monitors with a different system altogether?
ksot said:
RMA to gigabyte, as expected they said the pins were bent beyond repair and I agreed to pay them $45 for it. However just today I got an unexpected email from them saying that since there was physical damage the warranty is void and it's now repair only status... so I guess now I'll be paying for whatever made it dead in the first place....... FML!

Corsair sent back a new PSU right away. Only thing that's gone right so far hehe!
Click to expand...
Jeez, your luck is crap, man. Sorry to hear that.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Hmmmmm poker and movies is pretty much all I do anymore. Actually I've been playing Civilization 5 lately >_> Could those parts handle it as long as I'm still using the GTX 295 I have? Also would my old RAM work with that board?

I haven't tried a different VGA cable, I will! Don't have any on me but I'll try radioshack tomorrow. As I said they are the monitors I've used across multiple systems for years. If you mean have I tried them on another system recently then no, haven't had a chance.

Oh yeah I saw a guy on FS/FT with a G1 assassin 1366 which I remember is compatible with my CPU being sold for $120. Every other thread about it seemed like WTBs. Maybe I'll offer him $100?

Thanks so much for your continued help Danny. Where would I be without you?
 
Last edited:
ksot said:
Hmmmmm poker and movies is pretty much all I do anymore. Actually I've been playing Civilization 5 lately >_> Could those parts handle it as long as I'm still using the GTX 295 I have? Also would my old RAM work with that board?
Click to expand...
It'll handle it but you won't get that high of a performance. Considering how cheap the CPU is, your old RAM should be fine to use even if its RAM voltage is above the recommended voltage.
ksot said:
I haven't tried a different VGA cable, I will! Don't have any on me but I'll try radioshack tomorrow. As I said they are the monitors I've used across multiple systems for years. If you mean have I tried them on another system recently then no, haven't had a chance.
Click to expand...
Then try them on another system ASAP to make sure that it's actually some weird laptop issue and not an issue with the monitors themselves.
 
Ok I'm going to err on the safe side here and ask you first. I just got my Mobo back from gigabyte who claim they've tested it and it works. Before going through the process of trying to RMA the "dented" CPU with Intel, I was going to try to test the system again with the new motherboard and the CPU that might work for all I know. But I'm a little concerned that if the CPU is broken it could short out the motherboard? Is that a concern and I should RMA the CPU before anything, or should I proceed with the test?

Thanks.
 
Just RMA. At this point in time and considering your luck so far, just RMA.
 
Fair enough lol. Hope they don't decide to cry physical damage as well >_<
 
:eek:

OMG this thread...

Slow down with your replacement parts and ask questions / watch videos. We'll help make sure this doesn't happen again. Remember building a computer is like making love to a fine woman - take your time and enjoy the experience. It's not supposed to be a $10 quickie in the parking lot! :)
 
Haha I'm a very impatient person :p Plus I need my computer to make money! But I get what you're saying and appreciate the help.

I sent the CPU to intel today, I expect the new one in about 2 weeks. In other good news, I'm buying the G1 Guerilla board from someone in FS forum for $100, so now I will have two different systems. One of them is bound to work XD

By the way, the guy from intel asked me about all the other parts I used with the CPU and he mentioned that the RAM I have has a higher voltage (1.65v) than is recommended for the CPU (1.5v) and that might have caused the problem. Does that sound possible to you all? It'd suck to have bought RAM I can't use.

Edit: I see Danny specifically said 1.5v. I screwed up forgetting that when I bought it. Now I know what Kongar means... turns out it's more negligence than bad luck after all >_< Should have just got the one tiraides linked to instead of price shopping for myself >_< I guess that really may be the root of the problem, at least! Probably too late to exchange with Corsair for something 1.5v but I'll ask. Maybe I'll try to sell them here but... could they possibly be damaged now as well? I wouldn't want to rip anyone off.

Double edit: Ok so BEFORE I actually buy it this time, I will make sure. Is this RAM ok?

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Venge...9&keywords=8GB+DDR3+1333+or+DDR3+1600+RAM1.5V

Thanks guys.
 
Last edited:
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
ksot said:
By the way, the guy from intel asked me about all the other parts I used with the CPU and he mentioned that the RAM I have has a higher voltage (1.65v) than is recommended for the CPU (1.5v) and that might have caused the problem. Does that sound possible to you all? It'd suck to have bought RAM I can't use.

Edit: I see Danny specifically said 1.5v. I screwed up forgetting that when I bought it. Now I know what Kongar means... turns out it's more negligence than bad luck after all >_< Should have just got the one tiraides linked to instead of price shopping for myself >_< I guess that really may be the root of the problem, at least! Probably too late to exchange with Corsair for something 1.5v but I'll ask. Maybe I'll try to sell them here but... could they possibly be damaged now as well? I wouldn't want to rip anyone off.
Click to expand...

So bad luck combined with negligence. Just keep the RAM.
ksot said:
Double edit: Ok so BEFORE I actually buy it this time, I will make sure. Is this RAM ok?

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Venge...9&keywords=8GB+DDR3+1333+or+DDR3+1600+RAM1.5V
Click to expand...
While that RAM does have the correct voltage, it's not a good choice at all for the following reasons:
- It's overpriced since one can easily get 16GB of DDR3 RAM for ~$120 these days. So an 8GB set of RAM should be around ~$60
- Its tall heatsinks will interfere with most 3rd party HSF
- It's a 2 x 4GB set which means that it will limit your future max RAM upgrade to 24GB of RAM at most. So you should be aiming for a SINGLE stick of 8GB of DDR3 RAM rated at 1.5V.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
All right to save you the trouble:
$60 - Corsair CMV8GX3M1A1600C11 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Thanks LMAO. I appreciate you wanting me to try, I would have kept going till I hit bingo XD
 
Got a new CPU on the way and Corsair was nice enough to exchange my two sticks for the one you linked to Danny. Good company!

Edit: TERRIBLE phone support actually, but generous policies at least.
 
Last edited:
ksot said:
Got a new CPU on the way...
Click to expand...

Intel rma'd the "dented" CPU?

I guess you learned the hard way - VERY easy to bend those pins on the motherboard. Good that Danny is in your court helping out!!!

We're rooting for you! Hope you get the system up and running asap!
 
Yep, intel did thankfully. They didn't mention anything about physical damage either.

I read that it's very easy to bend the pins back but you should see how many I messed up in all different directions trying to "fix" it like an idiot haha.

Terrible news... just got the last part in (the RAM) and tried a very cautious barebones installation with only the mobo, CPU, heatsink and RAM. The mobo is still doing the exact same thing as before, endless boot cycle with gibberish non-alphanumerical error code... Don't know what I'm doing wrong :(

Gonna call Gigabyte and see if they can help troubleshoot. SIGH.
 
The tech support basically had no clue. He said it possibly seemed like a power handshake issue and to try another PSU, this time a thermal one? Guess I'll head over to best buy and pick one up to test tomorrow... Not feeling confident about it =/

Finally got money uploaded to Amazon Payments and sent it to the guy on here, so I should have the G1 Guerilla mobo soon enough for my backup. Also I bought a HDMI to DVI converter cable and my second monitor works like a charm with my laptop, so at least I'm able to work freely now!
 
When I had a mb with bent pins that's how it behaved - endless boot cycles. Changing the PSU didn't help. I'm not saying that's our problem now, but hope the G1 Guerilla will get things working,
 
Last edited:
They put in a brand new socket so I would certainly hope there aren't any bent pins. I guess anything is possible though. The fact that it's doing the same thing it did before I bent the pins in the first place makes me think something else is definitely wrong.
 
I'm thinking I'll try the new PSU tomorrow and if that doesn't work I'll bring the parts in to the local PC shop I went to last time I had problems and give them $30 to diagnose the issue. Sound like a good plan?
 
ksot said:
I'm thinking I'll try the new PSU tomorrow and if that doesn't work I'll bring the parts in to the local PC shop I went to last time I had problems and give them $30 to diagnose the issue. Sound like a good plan?
Click to expand...

Just test the PSU. If still the same rebooting/garbage, I don't see an option but to have them take a look and it will be more than $30 likely.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top