Need help completing my first budget build - $500

[tinpanalley]

Ok, guys. All done. I ordered my parts in the mail on Monday and I got them yesterday. Now to assemble...

I got this guide from Toms Hardware: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/274745-31-step-step-guide-building
Seems pretty straightforward. Any advice would be welcome though if that guide seems off to you.

I can't thank you guys enough. Amazing, all the help you gave me just because we're on a forum. I know my knowledge of mobos and CPUs has grown exponentially, but I need to read more about them and find some online site that acts as a news source for these things so I can learn more and keep up to date. Any suggestions? Anyway, thanks! I'm gonna be busy today!

 

[mvbighead]

To start, make darn sure you you line up the stand-offs in the case with the holes in the MB. Once you do that, so long as you don't force anything in that isn't fitting, building should be cake with very little that can go wrong.

Also, give us a parts list and let us know what you ended up with. Should you have any questions, just let us know.

 

[tinpanalley]

This is what I ended up with:

- HAF 912 case
- GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
- SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
- Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52400
- G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9Q-16GBRL

I've read a lot about the stand-offs but have yet to physically see what it means so I'm going to study that veeeeery carefully before starting today.

 

[mvbighead]

In most cases, they are less and less of a problem any more. Look at the following picture:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ImageG...%20Motherboard

Hopefully the link works. Looks like you should have six total holes for screws. So use 6 standoffs lined up with the six holes. No more, no less. Make sure when you put the board in, you use six screws to screw it in, and not 5. So long as your six standoffs have six screws, you should be right. (2 top, 2 middle, 2 bottom).

Hope that helps.

EDIT: Crap, link doesn't work. Look at the top down view where the board is laying flat. You should see six holes, spaced in an even rectangle. That's where your standoffs should line up.

 

[tinpanalley]

Ok, cool, I saw a video on Youtube that shows the standoffs really clearly. I get it now. Stops the motherboard from making contact with the case. With the instruction manual I should be able to find the locations on my board.

 

[LuluTheMonk]

Good luck

 

[lau808]

nice looking build, and props to all that helped him. everyone seemed very willing and glad/proud to help. take step by step pics! gl sir

 

[mfenn]

This is what I ended up with:

- HAF 912 case
- GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
- SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
- Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52400
- G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9Q-16GBRL

I've read a lot about the stand-offs but have yet to physically see what it means so I'm going to study that veeeeery carefully before starting today.

Nice setup, I'm sure you'll like it once you put it together.

I can't thank you guys enough. Amazing, all the help you gave me just because we're on a forum.

No problem at all, we post here to help people out.

I know my knowledge of mobos and CPUs has grown exponentially, but I need to read more about them and find some online site that acts as a news source for these things so I can learn more and keep up to date. Any suggestions? Anyway, thanks! I'm gonna be busy today!

www.anandtech.com

 

[tinpanalley]

Stay tuned for photos of the build process...

Also, got the 'beep' of joy on my first boot, and was able to install Windows (although I did notice in the BIOS that it set my C drive as a slave - might have to mess with the jumpers) but I now don't really get something...

I have the computer running with Windows and my keyboard and monitor and I want to install all my necessary motherboard and peripheral drivers but (and I know this might sound stupid) how do I get internet running on it? By plugging in the ethernet cable from the modem? Just like that? Doesn't the network adapter need a driver too? Thing is, if I can't go online, how do I get drivers for all my stuff, right?

If I'm thinking about this all wrong, just drop me a word to guide me back onto the right path. For some reason I've lost sense of what the logical order of operations is at this point.

Thanks!

 

[tinpanalley]

UPDATE (07/24):
Alright, I just decided I was never gonna get anywhere, not even installing system protection, without getting online so I used the motherboard's disc to install drivers for the motherboard including the network adapter and then plugged into my modem to get more drivers.

I haven't added anything but the graphics card drivers, Windows, and Firefox. I'll deal with my router later and external peripherals (printers, scanner, etc) later on as well.

But the Master/Slave status of my C: Drive still concerns me. The SATA HDDs don't have any information printed on them about where to put jumper pins. Do SATAs not work like EIDEs where you had pin positions for master/slave? I'll keep researching.

 

[mfenn]

Windows 7 is pretty good about installing generic drivers for most network adapters, so I would have tried just plugging in and seeing if it worked. If not, yes, you will need to install the network adapter's drivers from the CD.

As for the HDD, you are correct there there is no such thing as master and slave for SATA drives. What is most likely happening is that your mobo is set to Legacy IDE mode where it emulates an IDE controller for the sake of old OSes. Thus, there have to be master and slave designations, though they are meaningless. I'd recommend switching over to the native AHCI mode in your BIOS. Note that you'll have to change a registry setting before you do so.

 

[tinpanalley]

Ok, cool.
Another thing... am I going to be able to register the version of Windows I was using? I mean, I get that it's only one registration per computer but isn't there ANY concession for people who's computers crash? I'm not trying to activate it on 2 computers here, I've just replaced my old computer. Am I out of luck?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Ok, cool.
Another thing... am I going to be able to register the version of Windows I was using? I mean, I get that it's only one registration per computer but isn't there ANY concession for people who's computers crash? I'm not trying to activate it on 2 computers here, I've just replaced my old computer. Am I out of luck?

Is it OEM or Retail? Retail, you can change computers/motherboards, it likely requires phone activation if it was already internet activated on a prior computer.

If it's OEM, you're out of luck, time to purchase a new license. In order to prop up their monopoly, Microsoft considers their OEM licenses to be disposable.

 

[tinpanalley]

That royally, royally sucks. I can't believe there's no better solution than to pay again.
:thumbsdown:

 

[mnewsham]

You can call up microsoft and see if they will spot you, i have had it happen where they will let it slide and give you an activation.

 

[tinpanalley]

Great... anyone know the exact number to call?

 

[tinpanalley]

Oh crap... I was just doing some basic Windows updates and this happened... what the heck could I have done wrong?? I've barely done anything?

 

[tinpanalley]

Ok, just got another wierd message about my memory. Not a blue screen. A problem booting Windows.

How do I check what specs my RAM has and how do I know where those specs get entered in the BIOS to make sure my RAM is functioning properly? Clearly, something seems to be wrong. I have NO idea what I'm doing with checking the RAM timings but I feel like something's up.

Also, according to this: http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=335
my motherboard isn't on their qualified motherboards list. Is that a problem or just an irrelevant detail?

 

[dmoney1980]

download memetest and run it for at least 20 minutes. could be a bad memory stick.

http://www.memtest.org/

 

[mnewsham]

download memetest and run it for at least 20 minutes. could be a bad memory stick.

http://www.memtest.org/

20 mins? For 8GB i would do 12 hours or more personally

 

[tinpanalley]

I just burn it to a CD-R and that's it?

 

[ElFenix]

windows built in memory test is better than memtest nowadays, iirc.


edit: http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp


to see memory timings you'd go into the BIOS/EFI. if you haven't done that yet it's running by SPD, which often is slower than the timings the memory is warranted to work at.

 

[dmoney1980]

20 mins? For 8GB i would do 12 hours or more personally

True, my mistake. Although if his memory is the culprit he might get errors before he gets to 20 minutes

 

[mnewsham]

True, my mistake. Although if his memory is the culprit he might get errors before he gets to 20 minutes

Yes i just wouldnt want him to run 20 mins see no errors and think it def isnt the RAM, when infact it still could be.

 

[tinpanalley]

Well, I'm seeing this...

I guess I wait for Pass to reach 100%?

Also why are they rated 11-11-11-28 when theyre supposed to be 9-9-9-24?

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