Built my 1st system!! Looking for programs/sites to check if I did it right!

[Metropolis2000]

Hey All,

Thanks to the inciteful knowledge of this forum and helpful members like crzyc, sohcrates, Cenalian, and others I got up the confidence and motivation to build my first system. I'm sooo glad I did. It was a great feeling of accomplishment to fire that puppy up and watch it boot! I can't emphasize how important it is to research the compnents you will use. It pays dividends not only financially but also time-wise. Here's what I put together:

All components from Newegg (except where noted)

Case: Enlight 7327 w/300W p/s
Mobo: Epox 8K7A
CPU: AMD 1.2GHz TBird (266FSB)
H/S Fan: Thermoengine (from Sidewindercomputers.com)
Case fan: Sunon 80mm
RAM: 256MB DDR (from Crucial)
HDD: IBM Deskstar 60GB 60XGP
Video: ATI Radeon LE 32MB DDR
Sound: Turtle Beach Santa Cruz (from mwave.com)
FDD: Mitsumi 1.44
CD-RW: from old pc

The most nerve-racking part was mounting the heatsink. It took using a screwdriver for extra leverage but it's on there to stay!
I also got some freeze up errors after a day or two but I had the IDE cables for the CD & HDD going into the wrong channels.
Works fine now. I haven't overclocked or tweaked the Radeon LE yet. I want to make sure everything is stable for a few weeks.
Which brings me to my question(s):

What is/are good programs or websites for testing the system to make sure I have set it up correctly?

I can see the CPU is at 1.2GHz, but I want to make sure the bus speed is correct, the HDD is running ATA/100 (if that makes sense?),
the video card is at 32MB, etc.

Also, for you TB Santa Cruzers out there: Is it just me or is this card not very loud?? In the Santa Cruz control panel I have the Master Volume maxed out, the WAV volume maxed out, the CD Volume maxed out and when I listen to mp3's or CD's it really isn't that loud. Yes I also have the volume for Winamp and the CD Player up very high. I dunno, I just thought it would be incredibly loud with headphones. My old machine (Compaq presario w/onboard ESS audio) was louder and so is the onboard sound with my laptop at work (Thinkpad 600X).

Anyone know of any soundcard tweaks/hacks/overclocks?

Thanks again to everyone!

 

[huanaku]

If your software is up and running, then the computer is fine. Try using all components, if they function, you did a good job.

I can see the CPU is at 1.2GHz, but I want to make sure the bus speed is correct, the HDD is running ATA/100 (if that makes sense?),

The bus speed is correct. On the epox mobo, your cpu will run at 12x100 by default if it is a 1.2x200 mhz. if you had a 1.2@133 fsb, it would show up as 900 mhz unless you changed the fsb swithc to 133 mhz.

 

[edfcmc]

try Sisoft Sandra

 

[edfcmc]

For initial burn-in, i usually run documemory (documemory is a floppy based memory checker ) for a couple of hours to make sure ram is stable at whatever clock speed I set. Then for burn-in, i use sisoft sandra burn-in wizard to stress the other components. Then i usually run dxdiag.exe to see the microsoft diagnostics for directx. (It is on your harddrive already) I believe the ATI radeon also has a built-in diagnostics you Can access from device manager. Dont forget to run 3dmark2001 for your 3dmark score. After all thats done, I then test my system out by playing hours and hours of counter-strike and max-payne.

for a whole suite of benchmarking, diagnostics, burn-in type programs goto

www.tweakfiles.com

If you run into a problem, double check all your hardware manufacturers websites for driver updates and bios upgrades.

But sisoft sandra will tell you all you need to know.


But if you want to check quickly, take a quick look at your POST screen when you boot, you should see UDMA 5 (that means ATA 100) next to your harddrive.

Congratulations on your first PC build!!!!

 

[EliZ]

Can you give me a link for that sisoft thingie please?

 

[edfcmc]

get sisoft sandra here

LINK FOR DOWNLOAD

 

[EliZ]

Thanks. This program is great!
The first thing I'm going to run when I get the new computer. 🙂