So My New Computer Is Physically Complete... What Now?

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falconxxxpunch

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 18, 2008
Messages
130
OK, after a long period of building, returning broken products, and building again, my new computer is finally finished (check signature for specs). Well, finished in the most basic sense. There were a couple of problems I had, but they all (except for my video card's fan being broken) ended up just me being stupid.

One thing that I feel like an idiot about, for example, is not knowing there were important things I had to download/upload/whatever from the disks that came with my motherboard/GPU. Without some of those things I didn't realize that my computer would not have everything necessary to run at its full potential. So my first question is, are there any other primary things I should download post-build?

I've played a little Far Cry 2 on my computer, and I just put things to optimal (pretty much everything is one step down from the highest possible setting, and it seems pretty nice for the first real PC game I've ever played. However, sometimes things feel a little choppy, but I can't tell if it is: a) just me being paranoid or not used to PC gaming, b) the settings being too high and the game lagging, or c) I kind of think it may be the mouse. Is there anything I should download to make my mouse run smoother? The problem may be that I don't have a decent mousepad, and the mouse doesn't seem to glide on anything I have really well. Any good optical mousepads you guys recommend?

Also, I keep getting a "CPU Fan Error" message upon start up. I've checked the fan and used the computer for awhile after this message and nothing seems to be wrong. I'm using an aftermarket cooler, do you think the computer is just having a hard time recognizing this? If this is the case, how do I stop getting this message?

Any other recommendations for things to do (either for performance or just enjoyment) with my brand new build? This is my first time, so please don't assume I know anything!

Thanks.
 
Control Panel, Mouse - if Acceleration is enabled, I highly recommend that you disable it. Might fix some of your mouse issues.

Posting the hardware you've used in assembling your rig would certainly help us a bit. :)
 
Far cry 2 is pretty demanding maybe? It is a new game.

Your video vard drivers- You should download the newest drivers from ait or nvidia.

What resolution are you playing at?
 
JHefile said:
That's what I thought unti I seen them under his profile.
Click to expand...

Ah, nice. Well it certainly didn't show up in his sig, where most of us are accustomed to looking. ;)

EDIT - now it's showing up.
 
CPU: Intel Core i7 920, Motherboard: ASUS P6T, Memory: G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600, Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB AALS, Video Card: XFX GeForce GTX 260 Core 216, Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 590, Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 750W, DVD Burner: SAMSUNG Black SATA 22X DVD Burner, Monitor: Acer Black 22", Keyboard: Microsoft Comfort Curve, Mouse: Logitech MX518, Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit for System Builders, Cooler: Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme 1366 RT
 
Most fans for CPU coolers have 3- or 4-pin mobo connectors that are designed to fit the CPU_FAN area of the board. Check your user manual to make sure that the CPU fan's connectors are at the right place. If they are, and you're still getting the "error," you should be able to go into the BIOS and "disable" the computer from trying to hunt for the fan. (Since I know nothing about the particular BIOS that your motherboard has, again, the user manual would be the place to go for that information.)

Your mouse may be suffering from the fact that the surface you're using it on isn't good enough for it. The MX518 doesn't have the same optical capabilities of its younger siblings. Any of the popular mousepads available would work, but if you really want to support the [H], you should consider one of the RatPadz. (Get the XT! Get the XT!)

One thing that many people usually do post-build is "burn in" their processor to make sure that it's running fine. The often use programs that place a huge load on the CPU, like SuperPi or Prime95. You could also run various programs to stress-test or benchmark most of your other components, but the list would be too long (and I don't have that much time in the day...). Google "burn-in" or "benchmark" for more results.
 
Like tiraides said, you're gonna want to test to make sure your build is stable. Get prime95 for your cpu, memtest for your ram, and fur mark or atitool for your video card. Also, get rivatuner. It's used to overclock your video card and to set up its fan speed.
 
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