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Some questions for Software on New Rig - first time builder.

B

bunit

Member
Hi guys

Rig:
Gigabyte GAZ68-MX-UD2H-B3 mATX mobo
Sparkle GTX 560 Ti (ref)
i5 2500k
8gigs sniper ram
1TB F3 Spinpoint
etc...

finally got Windows 7 installed, activated, updated, and so now: a few questions

-if I'm getting a GTX 560 Ti in the mail tomorrow, should I bother installing Intel Graphics Media Accelerator drivers at all? I'm running a Z68 board. I figure might as well? Or would they cause possible conflicts later on...
-Out of the Gigabyte Utilities "6" CD...what stuff is worth installing and whats junk? I've mostly just installed drivers for now (Realtek HD...gotta have that sound..LAN drivers, USB 3.0 drivers, etc other stuff that seemed essential)
-Any websites/guides to make the process easier? I've heard of ninite, any good or no?
-Should I be manually DL-ing drivers?
-Any suggested software? 🙂
-Anti-virus ASAP a good idea? (Was thinking MSE)

Thanks
 
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It probably will not cause a conflict in Win 7 having both graphics drivers installed, Win 7 is pretty good about dealing with that kind of stuff. I would disable the Intel graphics via the bios when you get the new card though.

Ninite can be useful if it supports most of the software you need to install. It's mainly just personal preference.

Those motherboard utility CDs are usually a waste of time. Sometimes they have a very easy to use program for bios flashing the motherboard from within Windows which is useful.

It's a good idea to manually download the latest video card driver instead of using the one that comes on a CD with the card.

Microsoft Security Essentials is a very solid antivirus choice. I have been using it since it came out a long time ago and have been very happy with it.
 
the motherboard CD's usually have the drivers for the various components on your motherboard - USB, LAN, Video, etc - I install them on all my builds

yes, MSE is an excellent choice - can't beat the price/performance

Ninite is a big time-saver for sure.
 
Thanks for the responses


Installing MSE now, about to use ninite too.

A somewhat related question:
Should I have set my HDD as AHCI before I installed Windows 7? The mobo prompts me at every start up whether or not I want it as AHCI or IDE. Did I do it wrong? Cause I just left it as default...and if so should I change it now (also to make the bios prompt screen go away) or nah? Completely re-install W7?

If there's newer drivers on the Gigabyte website for things like the Realtek LAN driver/Realtek HD Audio driver/etc should I bother downloading the newer versions as opposed to the older ones I already installed from my cd?
 
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For drivers, i would install the latest versions available since you are just starting out.

Also, I would set the drive mode to AHCI before installing windows, otherwise switching afterwards almost always gives problems like blue screens.
 
Darn...I already installed Windows 7/downloaded some stuff. Should I bother re-installing or will it not make much of a difference unless I get an SSD?


Also...not entirely related to software but might as well post here:
I'm installing my GTX 560 Ti in a couple of hours and so I should disable the Intel graphics via bios, then power off/unplug, install card physically, install nvidia drivers (already dl-ed), then I should be good to go? No need to sweep drivers because it's just Intel graphics right? or should I be doing the whole driver cleaner/cc cleaner process...

Also...my monitor is an older Viewsonic 2255wmb. Problem is Viewsonic doesn't have Windows 7 drivers for it...and I've read online about people having compatibility issues with the 1680x1050 resolution. Right now the monitor works fine with Intel HD Graphics (although it's not really recognized/treated as more than just a generic plug n play monitor, so I can up the refresh rate beyond 60Hz which is a bummer) ...am I likely to run into issues after installing my new card/nvidia drivers? Some people said switching from VGA to DVI seemed to solve some problems...not sure why though
 
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If you can reinstall and it doesn't take 2 days, that's the route I would go, since you're building a new system anyway.

Also, what you said about installing the video card should be fine.

not sure about the monitor though...
 
Thanks for all the help everyone.

Everything went fine minus some stubborn PCI-e 6 pin connectors. Temps good, not OC-ing yet but will run some stability tests just to make sure everything really is good. Only thing that's annoying right now is all the HDD activity (noise) from what I think is probably W7 indexing?

I'd reinstall but after downloading everything/setting everything up/drivers working out I'll probably just leave SATA in IDE mode until I get an SSD as my OS drive when prices drop a bit more (will they ever?)

Monitor is treated as generic but it works at native res so that's all I need I guess.
 
The noise is both indexing and Win 7 loading data for superfetch, it's perfectly normal. Glad you have been successful. :thumbsup:
 
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