simpswr

When I click them, it get this for the address:

http://jbrlsr.com/?aid=5336121828&bi...520CMPSU-850TX

Majingbu

Well...since the links are refusing to work...I could post Item #'s from NewEgg...

Or is there an easier way to go about this that I don't know? I really don't understand why the links aren't working this time...

Jimmy

wrench97

Mobo> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128375

The only difference is that the boards are now SLI and Xfire Capable so no more different SKU's for each setup.

Majingbu

Hey Wrench :)

So I went and did some reading about that motherboard you recommended. I'm a little pessimistic by nature, but some of those people REALLY hated that board.

Do the benefits and ease of use with that board outweigh the negatives? Or is that "best for the buck right now" for i7 boards? Most of the products that have been recommended to me haven't had quite the depth of complaints, so I'm wondering if this is the new technology (i7) or just personal gripes.

I'm not opposed to spending a little extra cash on a MoBo that is going to be more stable, offer less "potential problems" and allow this new build to be fairly smooth.

Also, with the other tech that I was thinking of buying, it sounds like this might not use all of it. I was planning (reluctantly) on buying a fresh Vista OS, but some of the reviews said that Vista only recognizes the first 4 Gigs of RAM? Or is that only true for Vista 64? If that's true, I'm also kind of at a loss for which OS to use.

Unfortunately, my tech level is really low. I'm more of a software guy, but even that falls short at Operating Systems. Layman's terms are my forte, not all the technical mumbo jumbo that a lot of the reviews and website explanations offer.

Makes my brain hurt...

Any further input or advice you can offer would be awesome. Thanks!

Jimmy

wrench97

When you read the write ups remember the most likely to take the time to write them are people who had trouble, The tech is new and people will complain when it doesn't work the same way as their last 2 boards.
Any 32 bit operating system will only mathematically have address space for 4gig total including address space needed for add in cards like video, audio and drives. In order to use more ram you need a 64bit OS Vista or Win 7 is the one to use XP64 never had wide spread driver support.

The UD3R would not be my choice it's the direct replacement for the one you had listed earlier.
For X58 I use either this one> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128374 or the Asus P6T Deluxe > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131365
All though I've had a couple of issue with the Asus board it's still a good board in my opinion.

When you read the review of the UD4P the first "reviewer" obviously doesn't realize that a PCIe x1 card will work in any of the PCIe slots as they are downward compatible(a x1 card can be used in any PCIe slot x4, x8, or x16 so their really isn't an issue if you know the cards your using ahead of time research and plan accordingly as your doing.

Did I cover everything?

Majingbu

Okay, so I think I'm going to give the X58 you recommended a try. One of the reviews I read said that your video card should be no longer than the PCI port itself, so that might be a concern unless I read it wrong. Would you guys mind taking a look at my (hopefully) final build and letting me know what you think? If you guys think it's going to be peachy, I'm going to start ordering parts here very soon, as I'd like to get this build finished up. Here's what I've got from the most current advice you have provided.

MoBo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128374

Tower - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129042

Processor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...tel-_-19115202

RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145236

Power Supply - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...%20CMPSU-850TX

Vid Card - http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...jjW72PUGZCYAog

DVD R - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151175

Hard Drive - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...%20Black%20640

Case Fans - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835209005

I think that's everything I need to actually build the computer from the ground up. I guess the only question I have for you guys is this: Is everything compatible and will there be any "space issues" between the different parts?

Finally, being a gamer, I'd like your take on how solid a build this is for hardcore gaming. I don't intend to overclock, but I wanted to build a solid gaming rig that would stand the test of time (at least until the next greatest thing comes out.)

Again, thanks for all your time, advice, and patience with a hardware-dumb gamer...wait, is there such a thing?

:D

Jimmy

wrench97

Your good except for the IDE DVD burner you want a Sata interface> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106289

Watch Tiger make sure you get the card you ordered they tend to swap parts when out of stock.

Majingbu

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130492

Is that a comparable/worse/better card than the one I'm looking at from Tiger?

I'd rather deal with newegg anyway. They seem to have the best rep...

Jimmy

wrench97

This is the overclocked edition from EVGA> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130493

Also have a look at the GTX275 there is a lifetime warranty compared to 2 years on the GTX280. What did the BFG card have?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130475

Majingbu

Wrench,

Hey, I dig both of those cards.

The BFG also had a lifetime warranty, but I'm not sure I want to wrestle with a company that's going to swap parts on me if they're out of stock. Going with one of the EVGA cards will make my entire order come from newegg, and that makes me happy.

Noticing a lot of people saying that the cards all have a massive heat output, but like most of them say, that's to be expected when you're cranking up the video settings...

With the set up I'm going for, the heat issue shouldn't be too huge, since I'm packing the case with fans.

The other thing I wanted to ask, and it doesn't seem like it, but is there a huge technology gap between a 275 and a 280? Like I said, it doesn't seem like it, but do you think with high-end games and settings I'll notice a huge difference? I'm not opposed to buying the 275, I just want to make sure that whatever I load into my system is going to perform. Seems like it will, just wanted to know the difference, really...

Thanks!

Jimmy

wrench97

The 275 is actually newer and is about equal to the 280, the 280 was replaced by the 285 which is more powerful, that's why Tiger is saying while supplies last.........They are also operating under the Comp USA and Circuit City names on the Web.

Majingbu

Okay, so if I did all my reading, research, and reposting correctly, the following should be my final build setup. Wrench if all looks good to you and there's no further conflicts, I'm going to order as soon as the money is in my account. On final look, and hopefully (crosses fingers) I won't be bugging you for more advice. Thanks a ton for your patience and effort so far!

Vid Card - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130475

MoBo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128374

Tower - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129042

Processor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...tel-_-19115202

RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145236

Power Supply - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...%20CMPSU-850TX

DvD Burner - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106289

Hard Drive - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...%20Black%20640

Case Fans - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835209005

Monitor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236033

Keyboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16823126018

OS - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116488

Cleaner - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835100010

Thermal Paste - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835100007

Final Cost: 1641.76 before shipping

That, my friend, is absolutely everything I intend to order. I have the mouse already, so I didn't miss that. One final "heave to" from you and this build will be on it's way!

Thanks again! :D

Jimmy

wrench97

Looks very good press the order button:)

Majingbu

*Cheers*

The computer parts arrived yesterday! HUZZAH!

Okay, so this was my first attempt to build a computer completely on my own. Now an issue has arisen that I'm hoping is "operater error" and not "broken parts."

I followed the instructions to get everything installed, wires running where they needed to be, etc. Got the computer plugged in, cables to the monitor, keyboard and mouse plugged in, hit the power button and BAM! The computer whirred to life and purred like a kitten.

...and the monitor said "No signal."

I swapped out VGA, DVI, and HDMI cables, plugged them into both ports on the back of the video card, and nothing. Not a blip on the screen. I made sure to swap both the cables and the input on the monitor, but still to no avail. I hear whispers here and there about disabling the on-board video, but there's no input in the back other than the vid card for video, and I can't change anything if the screen won't let me see what I'm doing.

I'm at a loss.

I'm going to try and have a friend of mine come over today and take a look at it to make sure I wasn't just a newbie and installed something wrong, but I'm fairly certain I did everything correctly. Any advice on what might be wrong would be awesome.

I also did some reading on the thermal paste instructions and how to do it with an i7. I ended up doing the "dab of cooked rice" method mentioned earlier in this thread. Since I'm not overclocking and have the stock heatsink on the core, should this be sufficient or should I strip the paste and put more on there?

Newbie is afraid questions that I hope have simple and straightforward answers, but life wouldn't be fun if it were simple, would it?

Majingbu

Oh, one more thing...can I use the arctic cleaner directly on the core if I have to redo thermal paste? Or is there a different method to cleaning the processor?

wrench97

Do you have 2 6pin power connectors plugged into the video card, 1 24 pin main and the 8 pin CPU power to the motherboard?

Try clearing the CMOS if you have all the power connectors hooked up.

Majingbu

All right, well, it's all hooked up and I managed to figure out what the problem was with the system.

The RAM wasn't installed correctly.

Instead of going 1,2,3,4,5,6 across the board, the MoBo has been built with a 2,1,4,3,6,5 configuration for RAM sticks. I read something about it when I was shopping but didn't get the configuration correct when I installed. Once I placed them all in the right position, things were peachy. Now, I have a new issue.

I installed something called EasyTune6 to monitor things like core temperature, etc. The instruction manual for the i7 core says "To ensure that this Intel processor will operate within thermal specifications, an internal ambient temperature at or below 38C is required."

Looking at EasyTune6, it's saying that system temperature is currently at 36-37C, but the core is up to 46-47C, spiking to 50 on occasion. Is that normal? Or did I screw up thermal paste/something else?

Sorry for all the questions and concerns. I'm kinda nervous about this, being my first build and price tags and all. Please forgive the incessant questions >.<

Jimmy

wrench97

Ambient is the room temp the PC is operated in 38c is about 100F.
The CPU and chipset(system) temps look good well within normal range.

Majingbu

Okay cool, sounds like I managed to build everything without creating a home made nuclear weapon. *laughs*

Just for my own education, what's a good "window" for temperatures for both the core and the system? I don't ask out of concern, but more so to know down the road if my temperatures go up (due to gaming or whatever) what is "healthy" for the system, and when I cross into the "caution" threshold.

Thanks again Wrench, you've been awesome and extremely patient.

Jimmy

wrench97

For the i7 max at 65c but you should see mid to high 50's under load. The chipset should max out in the mid 50's. Ambient will control a lot of the highs if your somewhere hot with room temps in the 90's the system will run warmer then room temps in the 70's.

I once had a system driver me nuts, build and delivered in June ran cool all summer then client brought it back in late Oct. complaining it was running hot, I ran it all was good, fourth time I made a house call to fine the system on the floor in front of the heat vent, gee I wonder............:)