[The Nu of Time]

Hi all, its been a little over 5 years and I am due for building a new computer. I havent followed computers much over the past 5 years so I would like a little advice on this. Here is what I think would be a good buy to start off with:

Case: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811144089

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813130468

Processor: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819103539

RAM: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820145450

Any advice on a video card and HDD? Are all of my components compatible? Can the computer be easily overclocked to a higher speed. I just need some advice on wether this is a good build or not and suggestions are welcomed. This is just my first look at parts and this is what popped out at me that would make a good gaming computer that will last me a while. Thanks to all posters that help!

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looks like your going for top of the line!
everything you listed is compatible. one thing to check is the ram, I heard that the newest amd64 needs registered ram, which means some very specific modules. I dont know the details there, as my knowledge of AMD is kinda weak.

I would suggest checking out mobo's from abit or asus. they tend to be more overclocking friendly, if your into that. another big reason is some of them are supporting the newest SATA2 standard, of 300MB/s. SATA is totally the way to, be it version 1 or 2. the newest sata2 is available, doubles the speed, and doesnt cost anymore. drives are available on newegg too.

I think some asus boards also support the newest nvidia SLI technology. this is where it has 2 video slots, and the 6600gt model and above cards can be linked together for improved performance. this could be an interesting option, as you could start with one good video card now, and later on pick up another of the same card, link them together, and have a good upgrade for less than buying a new top of the line card.

either way, you will probably want to go PCI-Express for the video, its the newest tech, and cards are generally cheaper for it than for AGP.

so theres a few ideas for you. I will leave specifics on AMD to those who know about it. hope that helps!

[audioboy]

looks like your going for top of the line!
everything you listed is compatible. one thing to check is the ram, I heard that the newest amd64 needs registered ram, which means some very specific modules. I dont know the details there, as my knowledge of AMD is kinda weak.

I would suggest checking out mobo's from abit or asus. they tend to be more overclocking friendly, if your into that. another big reason is some of them are supporting the newest SATA2 standard, of 300MB/s. SATA is totally the way to, be it version 1 or 2. the newest sata2 is available, doubles the speed, and doesnt cost anymore. drives are available on newegg too.

I think some asus boards also support the newest nvidia SLI technology. this is where it has 2 video slots, and the 6600gt model and above cards can be linked together for improved performance. this could be an interesting option, as you could start with one good video card now, and later on pick up another of the same card, link them together, and have a good upgrade for less than buying a new top of the line card.

either way, you will probably want to go PCI-Express for the video, its the newest tech, and cards are generally cheaper for it than for AGP.

so theres a few ideas for you. I will leave specifics on AMD to those who know about it. hope that helps!

[spudZ]

Hi The Nu of Time. As for AMD 64s, you only need registered RAM if you are using S940, which was mostly built for Opteron and FX series proccesors. So basically you don't need to worry about registered RAM or anything like that. Regards

-spudZ

Edited by spudZ, 26 May 2005 - 02:17 PM.

[The Nu of Time]

so the ram I am planning to get will suffice? Also what were you saying about a better overclocking mobo? I thought the neo platinum is a good overclocking motherboard but could you direct me to one thats more compatible with what I plan on getting? I like the processor at its 1mb l2 cache and its 90 nm. Tell me what you think and thanks for the help guys!

[audioboy]

hey nu-

Im sure the MSI board would be fine, I use one for my P4. again, I dont know tons about AMD, so I dont know how that board would work for OC. (I dont really mess around with overclocking either, not my thing)

I mentioned the asus and abit boards, since some of them have won awards and /or very good reviews from the overclocking crowd.
also because of the nvidia SLI thing, and the SATA2 support. not that they are needed at all, they are just things I would consider if I was building myself a new system right now.

[The Nu of Time]

ive used SATA before but never SATA 2. HOw are the two different?

[audioboy]

I havent used sata2 personally, but Im pretty sure the implementation is the same. sata2 is mostly about the increased bandwidth. now up to 300 Mb/s as opposed to the 150 of sata1.

the plans on sata say that in a few more years they will move up to the next sata standard, which moves it to an amazing 600Mb/s!

sure beats the old ATA/100 standard of IDE.

for more details on that, check out a white paper on a drive manufacturer site. I read one on the maxtor site, which explained what SATA is, and what the plans are.

[The Nu of Time]

So I went ahead and built it with the specs I mentioned. Big problem that I can't seem to resolve. The power gets turned on but nothing shows up on my monitor. I tried out diff video cards and power supplies so its not those. I tried putting only 1 ram chip in and taking out different devices (like hdd, dvd drive etc.) I am still lost. I hit the power button and the power goes on, the fans spins I heard it runnin but nothing, not even the POST screen shows up. Please help if anyone knows whats wrong!

[audioboy]

with that MSI board, it should all boot right up, providing the CPU, HSF, ram, and video are seated correctly.

check out this troubleshooter by one of our guys here, doby. this covers most new build problems.

let us know how it goes!

[Doby]

Thanks audioboy good to know that pinned is going to be used and we don't have to keep going over the same stuff over and over again

[Rockster2U]

I too will wait to see what you post after that troubleshooter (nice job Doby) and I don't want to jump the gun re: speculation but ....... I've had some problems with some Corsair modules and Newegg is pretty quick to respond. Just stumbled across this thread and it comes a bit late but this is much better memory than what you bought. I've pretty much switched back over to OCZ for OC'ed builds but still rank Corsair XMS as a favorite. I've just found a lot of variation in different XMS sticks and so now head for the best of the best. Either way NewEgg will gladly RMA this for replacement or upgrade if it becomes necessary.

Again, this should be considered pure speculation at this point - run through that link that audioboy posted before you do anything or draw any conclusions.

[The Nu of Time]

I just ran through the link and to no success. I have built computers before but am completely stumped as to what can be the problem. The specs above are what I am using plus an ATI RADEON 9600 XT 128MB video card and it works fine on my other computer. So any thoughts as to what can be the problem because again I am stumped

[Doby]

With the mbo out of the case and no drives installed please explain what is happening, still the same fans turn on but no post?

Are there any beeps?

Try and force a beep by removing the ram and turning on, if the board beeps the this indicates the board and cpu are good and you should either test the ram inanother system or try a different stick of ram.

If no beep then replace the ram and remove the video card to try and force a beep if no beeps then either bad board or cpu my educated guess is bad board because of the lack of beeps but this does not always hold true.

Maybe Rockster2U will give us some other ideas.

This is of course assuming the psu's you have tried are known working and adequate for the system. Also the other video card that you tried was known working

Rick

[Doby]

I have just had a look at the aspire psu that came with the case and its very good as far as specs but do we know if its good?
I would NOT test it in another system but if you have a digital volte meter we could test the rails to see what volts there producing.

What was the other psu that you tried?

[The Nu of Time]

I tried another PSU on the computer im on, its 350 W I believe, not sure what kind it is though but it works on the computer im using now. I just tried hooking up the computer with no RAM or Video card and I heard no beeping whatsoever. What does no beeping indicate? Which parts might possibly be bad? and if so which ones should I go ahead and RMA?