New system build checklist.

[Jeriko]

I was wondering if you all might have some suggestions about common tweaks or often missed settings for new builds. It's been a while since I built my last system, which was Win98SE / Athlon / SCSI based, and my new system is P4 (800MHz FSB) / DDR400 / MSI 875P / Radeon 9800 Pro / SATA (Raptor) / XP Home based.

A lot has changed since then, and there may be things I'll overlook.

Should I flash the MB's BIOS (there's a new version already) from a floppy BEFORE I install Windows XP?

Should I partition off Windows XP, and if so, how much space should I give it? I've heard pros and cons, but no real conclusion.

My last system was FAT32 based, my new one will be NTSB. Having never formatted in NTSB, is there anything I should look out for? Is there a certain formatting program you would suggest, or will the format command suffice? (I have XP OEM - so I'l have to make my own disk from Win98)

Are there any ATI Catalyst settings I should pay attention to? Anything that commonly hinders performance?

Any sort of MB settings I should pay attention to? I've heard some 875 boards have troubles with aggressive memory timings on Corsair chips - well I'm using Mushkin Level II which one would think might have the same issues. The BIOS update says it fixes problems with DDR400, so this may be a non-issue, but if it is, what timings would you suggest?

If there are any more important "don't forget to..."'s that I've missed, I'd appreciate the highlights. Anything that seems like a common issue to be wary of.

-J

 

[MikeMike]

check out TweakXP for all kinds of windows tips.

flash your bios if you feel like it doesnt matter when.

partition if you feel like it (id say about 2gigs)

 

[MikeMike]

damnit double post

and i have no idea on the ati drivers, although i have heard new ones are comin out, and will be a lot better than the current ones.

 

[microAmp]

Are there any ATI Catalyst settings I should pay attention to? Anything that commonly hinders performance?

One Thread on ATi Drivers

Another

Some people seem to have problems with the new Cat 3.4's

I've been sticking with 3.2 and for the games I play haven't had any problems.

 

[Smilin]

Originally posted by: motoamd

Are there any ATI Catalyst settings I should pay attention to? Anything that commonly hinders performance?

One Thread on ATi Drivers

Another

Some people seem to have problems with the new Cat 3.4's

I've been sticking with 3.2 and for the games I play haven't had any problems.

What he said. Stick to the 3.2's. I think the 3.4's may be a bit faster but the 3.2's are problem free.


My two standard suggestions on a new machine:
1. Double check the jumper settings on the mobo, sometimes the 'factory defaults' are not actually set to 'factory default'
2. Start with cpu, heatsink and nothing else. Boot and get your post beeps, add memory, reboot, add video, reboot and so on. It doesn't add too much time to your build but will save you tons of grief if you have a bad component.

For NTFS (you said ntfb hehe) just do the format during the XP install. As for partitioning.. It's always nice to have a second partition to move data to if you have to reload but I can't think of any other good reason. XP doesn't really benifit from having the pagefile on a separate partition like linux. As long as you set the min and max on your pagefile the same it won't fragment anyway.

On memory timings just set them either low or autodetect for your install and then once things are up and running stable you can start getting more aggressive with them.

Check the fix list or readme on that bios upgrade. If any issues apply to your setup (very likely) then flash it, otherwise wait until one comes out that applies to you..