Proposed i7 system - advice needed

[Wolfdale75]

Hi Guys,

I am trying to put together an i7 build and need your advice. The proposed components are:

Computer Case: Cooler Master HAF 922M/USB 3.0 ATX Mid Tower Case (Black)
Power Supply: Thermaltake 450W PSU
Motherboard: Asus B85M-E Intel B85 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 uATX
DDR3 Memory : 8GB (2X4GB) DDR3-1600 PC3-12800 Hyper-X
Processor: Intel Core i7 4770K 3.5GHz Quad Core 8MB
CPU Cooling Fan : Original Factory Cooling Fan and Heatsink

Already owned are: monitor (1280*1024), 2 SSDs, DVD drives, keyboard, mouse, Win 7 64-bit.

I will be using the PC partly for normal office applications, but also for a certain amount of gaming (mostly strategy games).

In particular, I would like to run the upcoming "Rome II: Total War" quite well.

My questions are as follows. Your advice is much appreciated!

Will I be able to overclock this CPU on this motherboard?

Will I be able to overlock this CPU using the stock HSF? If so, what overclock might I expect?

Is DDR3-1600 (Hyper-X) still considered decent RAM for gaming?

Won't there be a clash between the mobo onboard video and the CPU integrated graphics (Intel HD Graphics 4600)? How can I resolve that clash?

Which will be better: the onboard mobo video or the integrated CPU graphics?

I have a GeForce GTS 450 (Graphics clock: 783MHz, Processor clock: 1566MHz, Memory clock: 1804MHz, GDDR5, 1GB video RAM).
Will the integrated CPU graphics be better than this video card?

Can I run a PCIe-2.0 video card in a PCIe-3.0 slot at x16?

I think that's all my questions for now. Thanks for your time!

 

[tiraides]

You need to rethink this build. It's a mismatch of parts that I wouldn't normally recommend together.

Why do you need a Core i7 processor? The i7-4770K's Hyper Threading support is useless for gaming and "normal office applications" (which are...?).

You won't be able to overclock with the Asus B85M-E. You need a Z77-based motherboard to overclock the processor.

Which model is the Thermaltake PSU? How old is it? Thermaltake is a bad choice in PSUs when there are better quality products available at around the same price.

Please answer the sticky questions. (And be specific about the parts you're reusing.) I have a lot of recommendations, but I first need to know where you're going with this build

 

[Wolfdale75]

Thanks, tiraides. I have tried to answer your questions below:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? Etc

MS Office applications, web surfing, and gaming. Especially the Total War series.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

Budget is approx. $850 including tax and shipping.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

US, Missouri, Saint Louis.

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.

CPU – I want a system with Intel Core i7 4770K
RAM
Motherboard (see requirements below)
Case – need a case with several USB 3 ports and very good cooling. (Cooler Master HAF 922M/USB 3.0 ATX Mid Tower Case looks perfect for this).
HSF – will be using stock unit initially

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

Monitor (max. 1280*1024) = HP Compaq L191s LCD
PSU = Thermaltake TR2 RX W0146RU 450W ATX12V Ver2.2 Modular Passive PFC PFC Power Supply (2-2.5 years old)
2 x SanDisk Extreme SSD 120 GB SATA 6.0 Gb SDSSDX-120G-G25
2 DVD drives
Keyboard
Wireless mouse
Win 7 64-bit.

6) Will you be overclocking?

I would like to. I would hope to get to 4GHz using the stock HSF (if possible).

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?

1280*1024. 19 inches.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

Ideally ordering the parts within a few days from now.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.

- Onboard video not needed – proposed CPU has that
- USB 3.0 – preferably 4 ports or more
- SATA 6 – preferably 4 ports or more
- RAID, Firewire, Crossfire, SLI, NOT required
- 1 x PCIe 3.0 slot and 1 x PCIe 2.0 slot
- At least 8GB DDR3-1600 RAM supported (2x4GB) – but preferably supports more
- UEFI

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

Yes. Win 7 64-bit.

 

[Wolfdale75]

Update:

- PSU should support SATA 6 (mine I don't think does, so I guess I will need to get a new PSU after all...)
- PSU should be modular
- Case should include or at least support multiple 200mm fans - front, rear, top
- My current PSU is 20+4pin and 1x12V(4pin)

 

[Dangman]

You will have to get a new PSU as Thermaltake's TR2 PSU series are very bad.

You have not answered Tiraides' main question: Why do you need a Core i7 4770K? Nothing you've written so far would require a Core i7. You would be fine with the Core i5 4670K. As for your plans for overclocking, you will need a 3rd party HSF in order to overclock to 4GHz unless your PC happens to be located in outdoor Alaska.

To answer your earlier questions:
1) Tiraides already covered this: You need a Z87 based motherboard in order to overclock.
2) Yes but your temperatures will be high and you may not reach that high of an overclock. Considering that a 3rd party HSF can cost as little as $30, I don't see a reason to try to overclock with the stock HSF outside of poor logic.
3) Any RAM rated at DDR3 1333 or DDR3 1600 rated at 1.5V is fine for gaming. WIth that said, the Hyper-X RAM may not be a good choice as a lot of them are rated at 1.65V, well above the recommended 1.5V. IN addition, getting a 2 x 4GB set these days isn't a good idea when single 8GB DDR3 sets are usually cheaper and allows for more RAM expansion later on.
4) No there won't be a clash: The motherboard's onboard video outputs are actually powered by the CPU's ingragted GPU. In other words, the motherboard doesn't actually have onboard GPU. It just has the ports for them. It needs to be paired with a CPU that has an integrated GPU.
5) As noted above, they're exactly the same.
6) The GTS 450 will be better than the onboard graphics
7) Yes you can.

I'm going to hold off recommending other parts until you have layed out your reasoning for the Core i7 4770K. So far, you have written nothing that would require the Core i7 4770K. Also, any plans on upgrading the monitor anytime soon?

 

[tiraides]

Which version of Windows 7 do you have?

How many USB 3.0 devices do you have?

Are simulation games the only games you're playing? If not, what else?

 

[Wolfdale75]

Thanks, DannyBui.

My reason for this CPU is to be future-proofed regarding anything I can throw at my PC for quite a long time to come. This also includes running future games which may be multi-threaded etc. I also want an excellent CPU for gaming in the present, too. I see it as an investment. Also: because I can

- Is there a particular model of Z87 mobo you can recommend that meets my stated needs?

- Is there a good HSF you can recommend for this CPU for overclocking purposes?

- Is there some good performance DDR3 1600 RAM (1x8GB) rated at 1.5V you can recommend then? Ideally it should be qualified for the chosen mobo and be overclockable.

- Is there a specific PSU you can recommend? It needs to be modular and SATA 6 friendly.

I don't have any immediate plans to change the monitor. Its ideal for my office apps and is also fine for my games (so far).

Thanks for your advice!

 

[Wolfdale75]

Which version of Windows 7 do you have?

How many USB 3.0 devices do you have?

Are simulation games the only games you're playing? If not, what else?

- Win 7 Ultimate 64-bit

- None, so far. But I see USB 3 as an investment for future devices I may buy...

- Mostly the Total War series (the upcoming Rome II is quite demanding on CPU and GPU). And some other strategy games, e.g. Civ5. I am also interested in SimCity(2013) and upcoming Stronghold Crusader 2. I have a few older flight sims and a few rather old FPS - nothing recent.

Thanks.

 

[Dangman]

Luckily for you, you have quite a lot of room to spare in your budget for your frivolous purchase of the Core i7 4770K:
$340 - Intel Core i7-4770K CPU
$140 - Asus Z87-A Intel Z87 Motherboard
$124 - Kingston HyperX Red 2 x 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$80 - Seasonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W Modular PSU
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus HSF for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156
---
Total: $714 shipped

You notice that the RAM I've linked isn't overclockable. With the current Intel CPUs, you don't touch the RAM at all when you overclock. Thus, you can actually overclock the CPU to 4.5Ghz and still be fine with RAM running at DDR3 1333 speeds. Also note that I've also doubled the RAM amount too: RAM prices have been going up over the past six months. As such, now would be a good time to get as much RAM as possible before they get even higher.

Also, note that the power connections for SATA 6.0Gb/s is EXACTLY the same as SATA 3.0Gb/s. So there is no reason to upgrade the PSU just on that PSU connector alone. With that said, that TR2 is so crappy that you really should replace the PSU ASAP.

The Coolermaster HAF 922M isn't a good choice since it lacks quite a few cable management features, is relatively cramped, and its quality doesn't match its price.
$100 - Corsair Carbide Series 400R ATX Case
$100 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Arctic White ATX Case
$110 - Antec 1100 ATX Case
$144 - Silverstone RV03B-W ATX case
$144 - Silverstone RV03B-WA ATX case
$150 - Corsair Graphite Series 600TM ATX Case

 

[Wolfdale75]

Many thanks, DannyBui, for those detailed buying recommendations. I will look into those next.

Just a couple of questions:

- Intel site says this CPU is socket 1150 - so will your recommended cooler (for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156) really work with it?

- is the HyperX RAM you mention rated at 1.5V and not at 1.65V (which you advised against earlier)?

- I may not need a new case, I have just learnt. My main reason for getting a new case was to have USB 3 ports on the case itself. But my father recommends keeping my current case (a CoolerMaster HAF which is excellent for my needs in other respects) and getting a USB 3 hub and fitting it to the back of the motherboard at the rear of the case. That should cover my USB 3 needs for quite a while.

- Btw do you know if it is possible to upgrade/refit the wires and connector to make an internal case USB 2 connector into a USB 3 one, so making the USB 2 port at the front of my case into a USB 3 one?

Thanks!

 

[Wolfdale75]

My single concern with this CPU is that it doesn't support Intel® TSX-NI.

Do you guys know if that will be an important factor in future PC games?

 

[Wolfdale75]

Update:

Have been reading some things about the Asus Z87-A. Looks very nice, but some things to be aware of:

- need to use RAM from the qualified vendors list (many have had RAM issues with this board apparently)

- need to use a PSU from a qualified vendor

I will look into these.

 

[tiraides]

Intel site says this CPU is socket 1150 - so will your recommended cooler (for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156) really work with it?

Yes. The mounting holes for LGA 1156 and LGA 1150 are identical.

is the HyperX RAM you mention rated at 1.5V and not at 1.65V (which you advised against earlier)?

Danny and I both ensure that the RAM we recommend run at 1.5V or lower. NewEgg and Kingston both confirm that the HyperX Red kit runs at 1.5V.

I may not need a new case, I have just learnt. My main reason for getting a new case was to have USB 3 ports on the case itself. But my father recommends keeping my current case (a CoolerMaster HAF which is excellent for my needs in other respects) and getting a USB 3 hub and fitting it to the back of the motherboard at the rear of the case. That should cover my USB 3 needs for quite a while.

Again, what are you USB 3.0 needs? It's one thing if you wish to prepare for the future, but it's something else entirely if you have USB 3.0 devices you wish to use now.

Btw do you know if it is possible to upgrade/refit the wires and connector to make an internal case USB 2 connector into a USB 3 one, so making the USB 2 port at the front of my case into a USB 3 one?

There's an easier way to obtain USB 3.0 ports for the front panel.

Then again, you could go the DIY route and pull some USB 3.0 ports from another item, but I don't know where to start (especially since I don't know which specific HAF case you're using).

My single concern with this CPU is that it doesn't support Intel® TSX-NI.

Do you guys know if that will be an important factor in future PC games?

From what I know right now, no game utilizes TSX-NI. I don't know when or even if future games will support it.

Why is this a concern for you?

Update:

Have been reading some things about the Asus Z87-A. Looks very nice, but some things to be aware of:

- need to use RAM from the qualified vendors list (many have had RAM issues with this board apparently)

- need to use a PSU from a qualified vendor

I will look into these.

Oh no, not the qualified vendors list...

The QVLs for both RAM and PSUs don't cover every conceivable product your considering, so don't take them as gospel.

While I couldn't find the specific model number of Danny's Kingston RAM choice in the Z87-A RAM QVL, I did find several Kingston models listed within. Unless you start tweaking the timings on day one, you shouldn't have any problems with the RAM working with the board.

 

[Wolfdale75]

Update:

Danny, I can't find the RAM you recommended on the mobo QVL. But I did find the following, which looks just as good (1.5V, CL9):

HyperX Plug n Play 16GB (2x8GB) Kit of 2 1600MHz PC3-12800 DDR3 Non-ECC CL9 DIMM Desktop Memory KHX16C9P1K2/16

http://www.amazon.com/1600MHz-PC3-1...qid=1378179599&sr=1-1&keywords=KHX16C9P1K2/16

Ideally I want to use the QVL - I've had enough problems in the past with RAM to last me a lifetime - so unless you have any objections, I will go with this...

 

[Wolfdale75]

Danny, regarding the PSU you recommended, it sounds ideal apart from one thing:

(from Newegg)

"The 24-pin and 8-pin cpu are NOT modular. The cables provided and even the 24/8 pins are extremely short. For perspective, the 24-pin would not fit in my antec p280 (MSI Z77A-G43 ATX motherboard) if I were to wire it through the cable management holes. The 8 pin wouldn't fit at all!"

This could be a real problem, because in my case the PSU is right at the other end of the case from the 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector...

This aside, I first need to check whether this device is on the QVL.

 

[Wolfdale75]

Thanks tiraides for your latest explanations!

 

[Wolfdale75]

Update:

Just put my proposed new system through this calculator:

https://www.asus.com/support/Power-Supply-Calculator/

Included my Nvida video card, 2 DVD drives, 2 SSDs, 4 USB devices, and 5 fans.

The minimum PSU they recommend is 550W.

Looks like I need to rethink the PSU...

Otherwise we are almost there. Thanks a lot guys!

 

[Dangman]

Update:

Danny, I can't find the RAM you recommended on the mobo QVL. But I did find the following, which looks just as good (1.5V, CL9):

HyperX Plug n Play 16GB (2x8GB) Kit of 2 1600MHz PC3-12800 DDR3 Non-ECC CL9 DIMM Desktop Memory KHX16C9P1K2/16

http://www.amazon.com/1600MHz-PC3-1...qid=1378179599&sr=1-1&keywords=KHX16C9P1K2/16

Ideally I want to use the QVL - I've had enough problems in the past with RAM to last me a lifetime - so unless you have any objections, I will go with this...

Overpriced as hell considering the specifications. I would not recommend that RAM at all unless it is $20 cheaper than stated.

I don't think the QVL issue is as big as you think it is. Otherwise, literally 95% or more of the builds we've recommended here in this forum alone would not work if the QVL was a major requirement. Not to mention that I've seen firsthand that even products on the QVL don't always work well with the motherboard.

Danny, regarding the PSU you recommended, it sounds ideal apart from one thing:

(from Newegg)

"The 24-pin and 8-pin cpu are NOT modular. The cables provided and even the 24/8 pins are extremely short. For perspective, the 24-pin would not fit in my antec p280 (MSI Z77A-G43 ATX motherboard) if I were to wire it through the cable management holes. The 8 pin wouldn't fit at all!"

This could be a real problem, because in my case the PSU is right at the other end of the case from the 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector...

Which case are you talking about now? With the P280, that's understandable considering how much of a distance there is from the bottom of the case's cable management hole to the top of that motherboard's cable management hole. Unless you've found a review that specifically mentions your case or any of the cases mentioned here, I'm not seeing an issue here.

This aside, I first need to check whether this device is on the QVL.

Again, noted earlier: QVL is not that big of a deal.

Update:

Just put my proposed new system through this calculator:

https://www.asus.com/support/Power-Supply-Calculator/

Included my Nvida video card, 2 DVD drives, 2 SSDs, 4 USB devices, and 5 fans.

The minimum PSU they recommend is 550W.

Looks like I need to rethink the PSU...

Otherwise we are almost there. Thanks a lot guys!

For someone who has been here for 3.2 years, this should have been something you should have learned by now just by perusing the forums: Those PSU calculators tend to over-inflate PSU recommendations to account for the multitude of shitty power supplies out there. When they say "550W" they mean "a 550W SHITTY power supply". Your proposed setup would actually run fine on a good quality 380W.

Also, you didn't answer Tiraides' earlier question regarding TSX-NI.

 

[Wolfdale75]

Thanks a lot, DannyBui, I really appreciate it

My case is a slightly older version (but essentially the same) of this:

http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?product_id=2919&product_name=HAF 922

As you can see, the PSU is bottom mounted, a long way from the mobo. Do you think I will have problems with these "short" power connector cables on the Seasonic PSU? Others apparently have.

In a Newegg review, a tech support guy mentioned ASUS had a QVL for PSUs for the Z-87A. I have written to them to clarify this. The guy noted that this board is quite particular about which PSU it uses.

Thanks for your explanation on the wattage calculator. Yeah, I've been a HardForum member for a few years, but I rarely read the boards, so I wasn't aware of this...

Tiraides doesn't seem to think TSX-NI will be an issue for games for some time to come, if at all, so that's good enough for me

I know it's a bit anal, but I think I'm gonna stick to that RAM. I want to use a QVL for my parts, where possible. Ideally it should mean less can go wrong later, and if it does, I can always protest that I used qualified parts. I've had enough PC hardware conflicts to last me a lifetime and some of that was because I didn't use parts the manufacturer recommended.

Thanks for your further thoughts!

 

[Dangman]

Thanks a lot, DannyBui, I really appreciate it

My case is a slightly older version (but essentially the same) of this:

http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?product_id=2919&product_name=HAF 922

As you can see, the PSU is bottom mounted, a long way from the mobo. Do you think I will have problems with these "short" power connector cables on the Seasonic PSU? Others apparently have.

I don't think it'll be an issue. With that said, if you can get the Corsair HX750 750W for $110, then that'll be the next bang for the buck upgrade over the Seasonic SSR-550M and does have longer 24Pin and 4+4Pin connectors than the Seasonic:
$110 - Corsair HX750 750W Modular PSU

Again however, that HX750 is overkill for you in terms of power. You would need to add another 4 x GTS450 cards to your system in order to make that HX750 worthwhile power wise. But it at least has longer 24Pin and 4+4Pin connectors.

In a Newegg review, a tech support guy mentioned ASUS had a QVL for PSUs for the Z-87A.....The guy noted that this board is quite particular about which PSU it uses.

One review out of how many have specifically said that? For all we know, this "tech support guy" could have been using defective or crappy PSUs with the Asus.

I have written to them to clarify this.

The PSU QVL list is right there in the same link area as the RAM support list.

I know it's a bit anal, but I think I'm gonna stick to that RAM. I want to use a QVL for my parts, where possible. Ideally it should mean less can go wrong later, and if it does, I can always protest that I used qualified parts. I've had enough PC hardware conflicts to last me a lifetime and some of that was because I didn't use parts the manufacturer recommended.

All righty then. Still think it's waste of time and money but your choice.

 

[Wolfdale75]

Thanks again.

None of the Corsair or Seasonic PSUs on the ASUS QVL are modular. And most seem to be out of stock anyway.

I will ask ASUS about the Corsair PSU you recommended. In a Newegg review, the ASUS support guy said the following:

"Haswell boards start up with a very low power state that some PSU are unable to go down to this low power level.

Here is a link below of our QVL list [link is dead but I got the QVL from the ASUS site - thanks DannyBui]. Make sure the PSU you have is listed. If the PSU is not listed, you can go to the support site of the PSU company to see which other models are Haswell compliant."

One further question: if I get this 750W PSU does that mean it will constantly suck 750W or will it only use as much wattage as my system needs at any time?

 

[Dangman]

In a Newegg review, the ASUS support guy said the following:

"Haswell boards start up with a very low power state that some PSU are unable to go down to this low power level.

Here is a link below of our QVL list [link is dead but I got the QVL from the ASUS site - thanks DannyBui]. Make sure the PSU you have is listed. If the PSU is not listed, you can go to the support site of the PSU company to see which other models are Haswell compliant."

Most good non group-regulated PSUs will be able to handle the low power states just fine. None of the PSUs that I've linked so far are either low quality or group-regulated.

One further question: if I get this 750W PSU does that mean it will constantly suck 750W or will it only use as much wattage as my system needs at any time?

As much as the system needs.

 

[Wolfdale75]

Update: I have found out from the Corsair website that the HX750 is 100% compatible with Haswell CPUs.

Anyway I will wait for the confirmation from Corsair tech support just to be 100% sure.

If yes, I will go with the Corsair PSU

 

[whitewater]

Jesus Christ!

Someone make this man buy a decent GPU + monitor. This is possibly the worst and weirdest build I have seen in a while.

None of the office applications will be faster because of the CPU, only an SSD will make them snappier. What will make you massively more productive is a bigger/higher res monitor.

The only use case you have that would use a CPU like that is gaming, but you should be spending roughly 60/40 split between GPU and CPU (GPU is more important for gaming - for total war series, having a decent CPU is more important than usual, so maybe 50/50)

But seriously...GPUs you're pairing the CPU is literally about ~10% the power of a decent GPU, and you're spending a huge price premium for what will give you a ~1% improvement and then watching everything unfold in a blurry mess.

If you want to see a good balance for gaming you need only look at next gen consoles- they have decent GPU (way more powerful than what you intend to have) and a CPU with significantly less power than what you have.

 

[Wolfdale75]

Hi whitewater,

Thanks a lot for your analysis.

I'm already running Windows and all my apps - including games - on 2 dedicated SSDs.

I know my video card ain't the best. I do intend to upgrade it down the line when I have more funds. Until then I'll have to make do. The multi cores on the CPU should give me at least a 26% boost compared to my dual core in Rome II - so I've read.

You all are right I guess, I should think about a monitor upgrade too. Again, that will be when funds permit. At the moment my display does all I need it to.

I'm upgrading from this setup (a build from 2008):

Intel Core2Duo E8600 @ 3.3GHz
Asus P5B Deluxe
8GB Kingston HyperX DDR2-667

New system should be quite an upgrade, no? And be highly future-proofed

 

[whitewater]

Hyperthreading makes little difference in gaming (sometimes 3% better, sometimes 3% worse, 95% of the time it makes no difference)

If you cut down to 8GB of RAM and buy a 4670k instead, you could buy a much better graphics card with the same budget. You will have a MUCH better system. I really don't understand why you're chasing 1% gaming improvements when you have a 400% improvement staring you in the face for the same amount of money.

 

[Wolfdale75]

Hi whitewater, thanks for your thoughts.

If I bought 8GB of RAM and the 4670k I would save ~$180.

Not bad, but I don't know if I could get a really top video card for that?

 

[Dangman]

Hi whitewater, thanks for your thoughts.

If I bought 8GB of RAM and the 4670k I would save ~$180.

Not bad, but I don't know if I could get a really top video card for that?

Yes. You can get the HD 7870 2GB for $185 shipped.

However, I do not recommend doing that GPU upgrade until you get a new monitor as that HD 7870 2GB would be wasted on that small monitor. A new 21.5" to 23" LCD monitor with a resolution of 1920x1080 would cost about $120 to $150.

 

[Wolfdale75]

Thanks Guys, I now have my new i7-4770K system. I bought all the parts I said I would.

Unfortunately, I am getting regular OS crashes and so need help with my woes elsewhere on these forums...

 

[tiraides]

Tell us what (specifically) you bought again.

How did you try to install the OS?

 

[Wolfdale75]

Thanks, guys.

By taking the video card out and using the on-chip graphics I have determined the problem is the video card.

I guess I will have to buy a new one...

 

[tiraides]

"Thanks, guys"? Why aren't you answering my questions?

 

[Wolfdale75]

Hi Tiraides,

I bought the following:

- Intel Core i7-4770K
- Asus Z87-A mobo
- 16GB of Kingston HyperX DDR3 1600MHz RAM
- 750W Corsair HX750 PSU
- CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Plus cooler

I installed the OS the same way you always install it? (Win 7 Ultimate 64-bit).

I reused the video card, case, monitor and SSDs from the old system. As I said, I have determined the freezing was caused by the video card...

 

[Wolfdale75]

Well, I removed the video card and uninstalled all its drivers. No more freezes.

But now I am getting BSODs.

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[tiraides]

Enter Safe Mode.

Disable Windows from restarting after a BSOD.

The next time you receive a BSOD, write down the error code.

Search for BSOD error code on Google.

 

[Deleted member 88227]

Are you running the OS on the SSDs? If so, their is a known BSOD issue with SF-2281 controller which your SSDs use. You might want to try to update the firmware on them and/or try a different drive to boot Windows from for testing purposes.

 

[Wolfdale75]

Thanks Skillz! Yes I am running Windows on the SSD.

Can you tell me how to update the firmware on the SSDs?

 

[Wolfdale75]

I have downloaded a program called BlueScreenView.

It says I keep getting a crash of ntoskrnl.exe in ntoskrnl.exe+75b80 - I am getting these crashes even in Safe Mode with Networking.

Does anyone know what this means?

I can't see anything about event ID.

I am not overclocking anything...

My HDD is a Samsung SSD 128 GB. It's new and the Windows install is only about 13 days' old.

Update: I looked in Event Viewer.

The Error code I keep getting today is 7001

Critical Errors I am getting is 41 Kernel-Power

 

[Deleted member 88227]

Well if you're using a Samsung SSD then I doubt it's related to what I posted earlier.

Get a dump file of that BSOD and post it here.

 

[Wolfdale75]

Hi Skillz,

Sorry my mistake, it's a SanDisk SSD.

It turns out my D drive needs a firmware update. But the program fails to create a bootable USB stick with the program on it and when I create a bootable CD, the OS won't boot from it.

I don't know what to do...