Help buying cheap gaming machine

Hehe, in reality I'm in way over my head but then that's how I first learned how to swim too.

I downloaded the HP USB Disk Storage Format per your advice & in the back of a drawer found a 512 MB SanDisk flash drive. I'll try to format that. I guess just plug the drive into a spare USB port & run the program.

Thanks again.
 
Questions Using the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool:

Step 1, Device: I selected my SanDisk U3 Cruzer Micro 2.15 (K)
Step 2, File System: Three choices; FAT, FAT32 and NTFS?
Step 3, Volume Label: Guess I can call it what I want?
Step 4, Format Options: two boxes highlighted;
(1) Quick Format
(2) Create a DOS Startup Disk
(I'm guessing Quick Format)
Step 5: Start

Thanks again.
 
A couple of quick notes (I don't understand your "questions"):

- Get a flash drive that you don't mind "losing," as you'll have to format it so it could serve as the boot disk.
- Keep it simple and use the same file system that's on the flash drive. (Most have the FAT file system.)
- Choose (2) Create a DOS Startup Disk. (Remember that you're trying to make something that can boot on its own at the BIOS screen.)
- If you haven't done so, download and save a copy of the Windows 98 System Files. The HP Utility will ask you for a "source" of the DOS system files (for the DOS Startup Disk).
 
My questions were about the choices posed in the HP USB Sisk Storage Format Tool, for example., which file system to choose, if an entry in the field “Volume Label” is required, and which format option to choose; Quick Format or Create a DOS Startup Disk.

You have answered everything.
-I have a 512MB flash drive I don’t mind losing (it was lost in a drawer until I found it) and to my knowledge there’s nothing on/in it.
-I’ll stick with FAT.
-I’ll choose Create a DOS Startup Disk.

I don’t understand why I’ll need to download and save a copy of the Windows 98 System Files. While I understand that this is the file which I’ll use as the “source” of the DOS system files when asked by the HP Utility, but why Windows 98 System Files? By that question I mean, why not Windows Vista System Files?

Sorry, you got the n00b of the day. I’d offer you a cold beer if I had one!
 
All you need is a series of system files that will allow you to boot into DOS. Since most people don't have a bootable floppy (or its contents) available, this is one of the easier ways to get the system files you need for the HP utility.
 
Well, I just followed your instructions and VOILA! I think I (we) done it!

The final screen repeated the name of my flash drive, told me the type of the new file systems was FAT, gave me a volume serial number, then proceded to give me the total bytes, total available, total in each allocation unit, etc.

So, we're back to the section from my ASUS mobo manual:



To update the BIOS using EZ Flash 2:

1. Visit the ASUS website (www.asus.com) to download the latest BIOS file for the motherboard.
2. Save the BIOS to a floppy disk or a USB flash disk, then restart the system.
3. You can launch the EZ flash 2 by two methods:

(1) Insert the floppy disk/USB flash disk that contains the BIOS file to the flopy disk drive or the USB port. Press<Alt> + <F2> during POST to display the follwing
(shows a graphic of ASUSTek EZ Flash 2 BIOS ROM Utility V3.06

(2) Enter BIOS setup program. Go to the Tools menu to select EZFlash2 and press <enter> to enable it. You can switch between drives by pressing <Tab> before the correct file is found. Then press <Enter>,

4. When the correct BIOS file is found, EZ Flash 2 performs the BIOS update process and automatically reboots the system when done.”



I guess 512MB will be large enough or else it will tell me.

So, correct me if I'm wrong, I can now use this (or any other similarly formatted flash drive) to download the latest BIOS from ASUS and have it ready for when I reach that point in my build (one less thing to do).
 
Just visited the ASUS Download site and for my mobo there are 40 files, 7 of them BIOS, 3 of them BIOS utilities, 6 Chipset, 1 Audio, 3 VGA, 2, LAN, 10 Utilities, and last, 8 for various language manuals.

What is the procedure for all these downloads (except the manual, that is)? For example, will I need all of them or just the most recent? For example, when I get to that point in my build will I need to download all 7 files for the BIOS or does the most recent incorporate those updates which came before? On the flash drive I (we) just formatted what do I download? I'm guessing all 7 BIOS files, then the rest later?
 
Download the most recent BIOS update and any additional software you (may) need for flashing the BIOS after booting it. However, I haven't checked the Asus website, so I can't tell you what else you may need.
 
Fantastic! All the pieces of my sff build have finally arrived. Had a delay on some stuff from NewEgg bec I mailed them a WaMu low-interest-rate-offer checks for the HD and G.Skill RAM. Apparently NewEgg had some difficulty with it but we got it all taken care of. So, here’s my stuff:

109.05/Altex Ultra MicroFly (the only item I kinda got “stuck” on, price wise)
132.00/ZipZoomfly ASUS P5E-VM – HDMI
99.99/Micro Center E7200 Intel Core Duo
104.99/Buy.com Corsair HX520W (price does not reflect $15 MIR)
149.99/Best Buy Visiontek Radeon HD 4850
66.99/NewEgg G.Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800 Dual Channel Kit
84.99/NewEgg Western Digital Caviar 640GB HD OEM
24.99/NewEgg Samsung SH-S223 Optical Drive OEM
14.99/Micro Center Logisys 52-in-1 Internal Card Reader (USB 2.0)
79.99/Micro Center Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit OEM

Not really what you could call a steal but I don’t think too bad considering this is buying a computer piece by piece.

With the exception of the Ultra MicroFly and Multi Card Reader, some member of this website has either recommended the part and/or suggested where to get it for a decent price, including the HD 4850 which I found in your HOT DEALS forum. Thanks to everyone.

I bought a Logitec MX620 mouse/39.99/Fry’s and Samsung 216BW monitor/259.99/Costco in March of this year. Nothing left to go but a keyboard.

So far nothing is out of the original box except the mobo manual which I have been doing my best to decipher. Assembly will begin sometime after I get to open the boxes on my b’day, day after tmw.

Question: Since the HD and Optical Drives are OEM, there are no cables or screws. I’m guessing that I’ll find screws in the Ultra MicroFly box and cables in either/both the mobo box or the PS box so I’m not running out to buy them yet.
 
sr1230nx said:
Question: Since the HD and Optical Drives are OEM, there are no cables or screws. I’m guessing that I’ll find screws in the Ultra MicroFly box and cables in either/both the mobo box or the PS box so I’m not running out to buy them yet.
Click to expand...

The motherboard should come with all the cables you need. The case should come with all the screws that you need.
 
Had to babysit our 2 yr old all weekend so very little accomplished. I go in for an outpatient surgery next Friday & will be home for a week to recoup so hope to get most if not all of the build done then.

I did mount the PS (yes it fits just fine!), optical drive, multi-card reader and HD in the case but haven’t connected anything. Also haven’t touched the mobo, video card, cpu or RAM yet. OMG, there are so many wires and connections. The next step will be to install the mobo & attach the remaining items. That looks fun/easy. Then comes trying to figure out which wires go where. Big time intimidation. GULP!
 
Read the motherboard's manual to learn which cable goes where. The manual also includes information on how to navigate through the board's BIOS/CMOS settings.
 
Short version:

Front panel stuff:
- front panel connectors to front panel connector pins (check the motherboard manual, do this first after you get the board in place, much easier without other things in the way)
- USB front panel connectors to USB header pins (check motherboard manual), same with Firewire - to Firewire headers
- front panel audio connector to audio header (again, check the manual for location)

Power stuff:
- big long connector from the PSU (larger than all others) to similarly large socket on motherboard. It is keyed.
- 8 pin connector from PSU (that does not say PCIe on it -- important, if it doesn't fit, look for another) to 8 pin socket on motherboard. It is keyed, don't force it.
- flat black connectors from PSU to SATA devices (the are keyed, only go one way)
- molex connectors from PSU (white, 4 pin, flat on bottom rounded on top edges) to PATA devices and fans (unless fans are plugged in to motherboard fan headers)
- PCIe power cables (there are 6 and 8 pin varieties) to PCIe graphics card.

Data stuff:
- SATA cables between motherboard SATA ports and SATA devices (HDD, DVDRW). I generally connect optical drives to high numbered ports and HDDs to low numbered ports, makes sorting things out in BIOS a bit easier.
- PATA cables (larger connectors) to PATA devices (older). Don't know you have any of these to worry about

There really aren't that many cables in a modern machine.
 
Thanks. The ASUS mobo has a neat little feature called Q-Connector which I hope will make the connections for the front panel “easy.”

For the power stuff I get the 24 pin connector to the mobo. My Corsair HX520 PS also has an 8 pin and a 4 pin connector coming off of it. Not sure what either does at this moment but aim to find out.

As for the SATA connections I think I’ve got a handle on them although I do have one really, really stupid question: The PS has two SATA power cables supplied, each of them has a four pin at one end going into the PS and then two SATA plugs daisy-chanined at the other end. Can one cable be used to daisy-chain the HD AND Optical drive to the PS or do I need a separate cable for each drive? I think the daisy-chain is only for multiple drives of the same type, correct?
 
It's alright to daisy-chain drives together, but I recommend trying it for drives that are close to each other. If you have, say, the optical drive near the top of the case and the hard drive near the bottom, it may be easier (in that case) to use two separate cables.
 
Wow, how cool is that! Thank you! One less cable to worry about. And yes, the SATA power connector for the HD is only about 5 inches from the SATA power connector on the Optical Drive and the distance between the two SATA connector heads on the power cable is about 6 inches. Sweet! I thought that only two “like” drives could be on the same SATA power connector cable with two SATA connector heads, i.e., either two optical OR two HD’s but not a mix of the two.

One more quick question. On the WD HD there are actually three places to plug something in:

1) SATA power connection
2) SATA interface connection
3) 8-pin connection (w/no jumper)

I visited the WD website & it said that on SATA HD’s to simply disregard the 8-pin connection. Just want to confirm I interpreted that correctly.
 
Yah, you only need the SATA Power and Data cables (2 connections total).

Where's the pics?
 
You want pics of my build as I go along? I haven't taken any yet but will be glad to. So far I only have the drives and PS mounted. Hope to do the mobo, CPU, RAM, video card and wiring this weekend.
 
+1 for pics.

I hope you are doing all of your work on a wood or tile surface, not and carpet, that you are not wearing socks, and that you are either touching the case or are using a clip ;)
 
Ok. Will take a couple photos only I just now realized as I reply to this that I always upload all my photos into Photoshop Elements and use that program when I email a photo to someone & it gives me the option to automatically downsize the photo for email so I don’t send a mongo photo file to someone. Now I gotta find out how to downsize the photo outside Elements before attach it to my reply on Hard Forum. Also, I go in for outpatient surgery tmw so probably won’t get around to photos until the weekend.

Yes, my build is in on an old dining table (wooden) in a room with a wooden floor. The computer case sits on an anti-static pad which has a wire alligator clipped to the frame and snapped to the pad. I have also worn an anti-static wrist band also alligator clipped to the case frame but may have taken the hard drive out of the original bag without it, I can’t remember. I normally do my work wearing socks, but with rubber tennis shoes on.

Once I get everything installed and wired up I’ll want to confirm the sequence of events for power up; update bios, install windows, partition hard drive (to do or not, and if to do, how?), firewall (Vista’s or zone alarm?), run software that came with mobo to install drivers, update drivers, etc., but first I want to post a couple photos of what the wiring looks like for your perusal. Thanks again.
 
Trying to post a couple pics of my build. How do I post pics?



FAQ's say:
The administrator may allow you to use the attachment feature of this forum, which gives you the ability to attach files of certain types to your posts. This could be an image, a text document, a zip file etc. There will be a limit to the file size of any attachments you make.

To attach a file to a new post, simply click the [Manage Attachments] button at the bottom of the post composition page, and locate the file that you want to attach from your local hard drive.

After posting, the image attachments may display a thumbnail, depending on the forum settings. To view the contents of the attachment (if it is not already displayed) simply click the filename link that appears next to the attachment icon.



I don't find a "Manage Attachments" button at the bottom of the post composition page?
 
Can't do attachments here. You have to put them up on photobucket / imageshack / some other hosting service, then clock the little picture with the mountains and the sun and put the link in there to add it to your post.
 
Ok, gonna try to post url for two photos. Just had surgery today so nothing further on build. Hope to get it wired up this weekend. Will post more photos then.




 
Questions. Got most of my build put together today but have the following questions on assembly:

1. There are six SATA ports on the mobo numbered 1-6. Manual says plug boot disk(s) into ports 1/2/5/6 (red) and data disk(s) into ports 3/4 (black. So, I plugged the HD into 1 and the Optical Disk into 3. I thought I read somewhere not to skip over ports, but in this case I think it’s okay, yes?

2. The case has two fans; front 80mm and rear 120mm. The mobo has two 3-pin fan connectors labeled CHA_FAN1 and PWR_FAN. Both connectors are identical & I’m thinking it doesn’t matter which fan I plug into which connector. Neither is the CPU fan connectgor which is 4-pin & on the other side of the board.

3. USB Connectors. There are three USB connectors on the mobo labeled 910, 1112, and 78. Again I’m guessing it doesn’t matter which connector I plug the front panel USB cable into or the multi-card reader cable, although I have done it in sequence with front panel taking the 78 connector.

4. From the PS there are two +12V cables; one is 8-pin, the other 4-pin. The mobo only has a 4-pin thus I’m confident the 8-pin simply goes unused.

5. The HD 4850 has one 6-pin connector & came with a cable which has a 6-pin female connector at one end and 2 molex male connectors at the other. The PS came w/2 cables labeled PCI-E each of which has one 6-pin female connector at one end and a split combo 6+2 pin connector at the other end. I’m guessing this is the cable I should use for my video card w/the 6-pin connector into the PS and the 6-pin portion of the split 6+2 pin connector onto the video card with the optional 2-pin connector simply left unplugged.

6. Coming from the front panel is the thermal display power connector, which consists of two wires running into a 4-pin molex male connector which is in turn daisy chained w/a second molex female connector. Not sure how to connect that.

7. A single black wire from case front panel with thermal sensor which instructions say to place into the CPU’s heat sink. Just jam it in there somewhere?

Last, in the case was a box of fasteners, and two other items I’m not sure what for:

1. Red washers (plastic/fiber). I’m sure they were for the mobo screws but I didn’t use them. Should I have?
2. A very small pack of yellow stickers/labels (three I think)?

Thanks in advance. Nearly ready to power up I think. Will try to get some pics available later tonight.
 
1-5 no problems there.

6 I'm not sure either, not familiar with that case, but I'd assume just plug it in to one of the PSU's molex connectors.

7, yeah, more or less. I wouldn't try to mount the HSF on top of it -- that would mess up contact with the CPU.

Don't worry about the washers, and don't worry about the stickers. Don't need them.
 
Thanks Danny. I haven't cleaned up any wiring yet. I eMailed Ultra about how to hook up the thermal sensor diisplay's power connector to the PS and how to attach the thermal sensor into the CPU's heat sink. We'll see if they respond.

Getting anxious to power up.

BTW, where should I put that modem? Grinz!
 
The way to attach the thermal sensor is in the manual :rolleyes:
It's buried there, but I found it. You just jam it between the fins halfway up/down the heatsink (or middle side/side if you're using an upright cooler)
I ended up breaking mine, and really my case is about to fall apart.
BTW: if you have any problems with your micro fly... get them sorted out now, because ultra doesn't make them anymore and support is limited. I screwed up with a window mod on one side, and they don't have any panels to send out anymore.

If you have questions about the micro fly, dont hesitate to ask me.. i've taken the damn thing apart 20+ times, and it's showing wear.
I'm about to buy a Lanbox (w/ handle)..
 
Well, in the Microfly "manual" on p-5 shows three pics under the heading THERMAL DISPLAY INSTALLATION. The first pic, STEP 1, simply shows a photo of the rear of the cabinet and the caption reads, "Install the power supply." Not much help there. The second pic labeled Step 2, shows two hands plugging a black lead (molex) into a white lead (also molex), and the caption reads, "Connect the thermal sensor display's power connector to the power supply.

As I stated, there are two wires coming from the front panel which connect to a male 4-pin molex, which in turn is daisy-chained by 4 wires to a female 4-pin molex. Do I connect either or both of these molex connectors to the PS?

The third pic on p-5 of the "manual" is called STEP 3 and it shows a hand holding the end of the thermal sensor in the vicinity of the CPU's heat sink, and the caption reads, "Place the thermal sensor into the CPU's heat sink." I guess this means just as it says, jam it in there somewhere and hope it stays there w/o any tape, glue or other connecting/securing device.
 
Received a reply from Ultra Products Tech Support. This is the answer I got to my two questions:

"Thank you for contacting us. If you have any further inquiries please reply to this email."

I think we have a communication problem here.
 
Aw hell, I jammed the thermal coupler sensor in between the vanes of the cpu coler and plugged the male end of the molex connector into my power supply. Will see what happens when I turn it on. Which leads me to my next question:

What is the first thing to do upon power up? Mobo manual says to run the ASUS update utility which will allow me to: save the current BIOS file, download the latest BIOS from the internet, update the BIOS from an updated BIOS file, Update the BIOS directly from the internet, and, view the BIOS version information.

It says to load the support CD and the Drivers Menu will appear. Then to click the Utilities tab and istall ASUS Update. Then the Update utility is copied to the system.

Then it gives me the option of updating the BIOS through the internet, which is the way I’d like to do it, but I haven’t loaded Vista or have an internet connection established yet.

Guess my question is, should I load the operating system as the first thing and THEN do all the BIOS and driver updating?
 
I'd say go ahead and install the OS to get the rig up and running. And do NOT update the BIOs directly from the 'net. If your internet connection dies while updating the BIOs via the direct from net method, you just bricked your motherboard.

But first, download the latest drivers for your motherboard manually on another PC. Then install the OS and the drivers afterwards.
 
Thanks Danny. Appreciate it. That will wait until tomorrow. Have a sick kid tonight.

Anyway, here are a couple more pics w/my attempts at cable management (thanks to an open drive bay).





 
Sweet, more pics for the album :D

Hope the kid gets well!
 
Thanks Danny. Mom took the day off & is bringing Jr. to the Doc. Hopefully she’ll either come back with a prescription or instructions to ride it out if it’s a virus and that’ll be that. I’m on crutches temporarily so not much use to anyone, that’s why I have some time to futz around with my build.

Ok, so to cut back on the number of posts I’m going to try to condense everything that comes to mind into this one. This should demonstrate the pitiful little knowledge I really have about computers.

1. I’m ready to turn on my box for the first time and the plan is to load the operating system so I can download all the drivers, etc. So what do I do first/what will happen first when I turn this thing on? Let’s say, for good luck, that I’ve connected everything properly and it powers up normally?

Here’s what I think will happen and my plan. The computer turns on and I probably won’t see anything on the monitor, so I’ll open the optical drive and load the Vista DVD. Then I’ll probably have to shut off and restart and wait for a message that asks me to boot from the DVD drive & if that doesn’t show up I’ll probably have to shut off again and restart holding the <DELETE> key to launch the BIOS to change the boot priority of my system drives. Sounds easy enough!

Before I started this project I never saw or opened a BIOS in my life so a little nervous about this bec I can’t afford to screw up a new computer.

Does all this sound ok or am I missing something?

2. As Vista loads will I have to make decisions about partitioning or just aim everything at the lowest disk number w/zero partitions, (C:)? Reason I ask is that most of the pre-builds I looked at in the stores had the hard drive partitioned into two, with one part for the operating system.

3. Will I need to know anything about FAT or FAT32 or NTFS in the Vista set-up?

4. Is the Windows firewall adequate to go on-line for updating drivers, etc., or I’ve heard Zone-Alarm might be a better choice?

I guess that’s it. If I get this far I’ll probably be spending the rest of the week updating drivers, loading programs and transferring files between computers. Just need to dig the 19” analog

P.S. I still need to download the bios update onto this computer & put it on a flash drive.
 
1) Download the drivers first on another PC and put them on a flash drive or CD. That way you'll get your system up and running faster.
2) Make one partition
3) No. Go with NTFS if it asks
4) The Windows firewall is adequate. Don't go with Zonealarm. It's a total POS. Comodo Firewall is pretty good.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top