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[Addnan]

I think I found an adapter. We'll see.

Problem #31 - my graphics card doesnt have a vga output. Can i just use the vga on the motherboard to bypass the card and at least try and get windows installed? Im getting pretty tired of all this and will need to clear everything from the kitchen so i can let the cat back in and i want to get as much possible done now.

You can, but make sure you use your graphics card later otherwise that's a wasted 670. Are you using a TV or an old monitor? If TV just use HDMI.

edit: as above, it looks like MSI does give DVI to VGA adapter, you can plug that into your graphics card

 

[Seanspeed]

You can, but make sure you use your graphics card later otherwise that's a wasted 670. Are you using a TV or an old monitor? If TV just use HDMI.

edit: as above, it looks like MSI does give DVI to VGA adapter, you can plug that into your graphics card

Doesnt matter. PC wont even start.

Have no idea why.

I dont think I'll ever be doing this again.

Edit - nevermind. Hold up

Ok, its starting but nothing onscreen

Exhaust fan not working either

 

[roosters93]

What's up with my GPU guys? :/

GPU: XFX7970Ghz

List of outdaded furmark scores that are somehow much better than mine

It's not only poorly performing on benchmarks, I've noticed mediocre fps ingame.

 

[Addnan]

Doesnt matter. PC wont even start.

Have no idea why.

I dont think I'll ever be doing this again.

Edit - nevermind. Hold up

Ok, its starting but nothing onscreen

Exhaust fan not working either

Are you plugging into the video card? Make sure it is seated properly and both power cables are plugged into it correctly.

 

[Seanspeed]

Are you plugging into the video card? Make sure it is seated properly and both power cables are plugged into it correctly.

No wasnt plugged into it.

And again, no clue how this exhaust fan is supposed to be hooked up.

 

[Addnan]

No wasnt plugged into it.

And again, no clue how this exhaust fan is supposed to be hooked up.

Either use a molex from the power supply directly into the fans molex or the 3 pin onto the motherboard. If the 3 pin didn't work for whatever reason try the molex.

 

[Future PhaZe]

No wasnt plugged into it.

And again, no clue how this exhaust fan is supposed to be hooked up.

It shouldn't be too hard.

Screw the fan into the opening. Plug the three or four pin female plug into a sysfan male slot on your motherboard.

Should look like this:

Don't give up. Took me many hours to build my first PC and the first issue I ran into was not getting video output.

Are their any other indications that your motherboard has power? Make sure both power supply connections are made, the 8 and 24 pin slots here:

 

[Seanspeed]

Either use a molex from the power supply directly into the fans molex or the 3 pin onto the motherboard. If the 3 pin didn't work for whatever reason try the molex.

Cool.

Ran through the graphics card - thar she blows!

@dark faze - the fan did not have a normal 3 or 4 pin connector like the other two fans. Its going now, plugged into the PSU

Shit, is windows supposed to ask me what drive to install to? My ssd is kinda floating around but hooked up since i need to buy a different sata data cable for it. Is it not recognizing it? I dont want to install to wrong drive

Ok, got it.

 

[Wallach]

Cool.

Ran through the graphics card - thar she blows!

@dark faze - the fan did not have a normal 3 or 4 pin connector like the other two fans. Its going now, plugged into the PSU

Ah, that Han Solo moment of first power cycle of a new build.

"Don't worry, she'll hold together... You hear me, baby? Hold together!"

 

[Zoso]

This is going to be my first gaming PC and first time building. I followed the OP's recommendations pretty closely, but I want to double check since everyone here is so much more knowledgeable than me on this stuff.

Anything I should change? Do I need fans or anything extra?

 

[Seanspeed]

Ah, that Han Solo moment of first power cycle of a new build.

"Don't worry, she'll hold together... You hear me, baby? Hold together!"

Feels good!

Need a few little things and more zipties to clean the wiring up, so pics will have to wait.

Thanks for the help guys. Sorry if I get freaked out easy.

 

[Addnan]

Cool.

Ran through the graphics card - thar she blows!

@dark faze - the fan did not have a normal 3 or 4 pin connector like the other two fans. Its going now, plugged into the PSU

Shit, is windows supposed to ask me what drive to install to? My ssd is kinda floating around but hooked up since i need to buy a different sata data cable for it. Is it not recognizing it? I dont want to install to wrong drive

Ok, got it.

Nice. First time is always the hardest. My first build didn't boot, thought I broke it. Turns out I missed a motherboard stand off.

This is going to be my first gaming PC and first time building. I followed the OP's recommendations pretty closely, but I want to double check since everyone here is so much more knowledgeable than me on this stuff.

Anything I should change? Do I need fans or anything extra?

Looks pretty much perfect, you don't really need a sound card though. Just make sure that RAM is the low profile stuff.

 

[Zaph]

For those interested in ITX Haswell, Asus Maximus VI Impact now in stock in the UK (but limited, 4 available at time of posting after I grabbed one).

 

[Ron Mexico]

So I'm having an issue with my Sandy Bridge rig from 2ish years ago-- hoping you guys could help confirm what I think may be the case (I believe my mobo and/or CPU died on me)

Right now, the rig does not post at all. I've tried all 4 sticks of ram I have in every combination I can think of. Both sets in, one set at a time in each bank, etc. Nothing. Tried to reseat the CPU although the tower has literally not moved more than 6" in the time since I built the rig. Again nothing. Took the mobo out of the case, tried to start it up by sitting it on the anti-static bag on the box thinking maybe it was a short. Nada. Tried resetting the CMOS battery (no jumper from what I could see).

From doing a little research, seemed like the PSU could sometimes be the culprit, but the rest of the rig gets power (including the mobo standby etc etc).

Am I missing anything obvious here? Just emptied the bank account in closing costs on my house so the disposable income isn't what it used to be and want to make sure I've covered all my bases before pronouncing it dead.

I lurked in this thread for months before my account was approved and can honestly say the help has been fantastic, just wish this time I didn't need it :/

 

[SneakyStephan]

Feels good!

Need a few little things and more zipties to clean the wiring up, so pics will have to wait.

Thanks for the help guys. Sorry if I get freaked out easy.

From 'i'll never do this again' to 'feels good' in a day, your transformation to pc gamer was a quick one

Never underestimate the satisfaction of putting something together yourself.

 

[NinjaCatfish]

I've been hearing rumours of AMD 7000 series cards having a massive price drop in the near future thans to the announcement of AMD 9000 series coming in October. If this is true, I think I will be upgrading to a 7970

 

[diaspora]

7970 is 289.99 on ncix.ca after the mail in rebate.

 

[kennah]

So I'm having an issue with my Sandy Bridge rig from 2ish years ago-- hoping you guys could help confirm what I think may be the case (I believe my mobo and/or CPU died on me)

Right now, the rig does not post at all. I've tried all 4 sticks of ram I have in every combination I can think of. Both sets in, one set at a time in each bank, etc. Nothing. Tried to reseat the CPU although the tower has literally not moved more than 6" in the time since I built the rig. Again nothing. Took the mobo out of the case, tried to start it up by sitting it on the anti-static bag on the box thinking maybe it was a short. Nada. Tried resetting the CMOS battery (no jumper from what I could see).

From doing a little research, seemed like the PSU could sometimes be the culprit, but the rest of the rig gets power (including the mobo standby etc etc).

Am I missing anything obvious here? Just emptied the bank account in closing costs on my house so the disposable income isn't what it used to be and want to make sure I've covered all my bases before pronouncing it dead.

I lurked in this thread for months before my account was approved and can honestly say the help has been fantastic, just wish this time I didn't need it :/

... The outside of static bags are conductive. Don't ever do this. Use a cardboard box and test again. Get your hands on another psu if you can.

 

[Zoso]

Looks pretty much perfect, you don't really need a sound card though. Just make sure that RAM is the low profile stuff.

Thanks, I switched out the RAM for low profile. I'll likely be pulling the trigger on this order later tonight. I'll probably be back in this thread when I inevitably run into problems during the build.

I'm super excited that I'll finally have a competent PC! I decided to skip the next gen console launches and build this instead.

 

[Seanspeed]

From 'i'll never do this again' to 'feels good' in a day, your transformation to pc gamer was a quick one

Never underestimate the satisfaction of putting something together yourself.

Only felt good to have it running.

Currently have several frustrating problems I'm trying to figure out.

Wont let me use my HDD. Shows up in disk management but wont let me format it.

Wifi card does not work. Gonna have to wait for my powerline adapters.

Doesnt seem to recognize my graphics card.

I'm a ways from playing any games....

Edit: installed graphics cardvdrivers and now on restarting its telling me BOOTMGR is missing! Again, no clue what that is. id be screwed without this ipad to check all this stuff.

 

[Seanspeed]

Ok, how do I reinstall Windows? I fucked something up somewhere, but dont know how to start over.

Ugh.......

 

[Addnan]

In the bios change the main boot device to the disk drive assuming you are installing from DVD and restart.

 

[SGRU]

No bother at all, I just did this song and dance myself the last week or so, so it's all still fresh in my mind haha. Remaining in the realm of 1080p, the only two major things the one I recommended you doesn't cover are: it's a 60hz display, not 144hz, and the mentioned so so 3d.

The asus VG248QE would cover you on both of those but you would be looking at moving a decent punch above the budget you wanted to stick to for it, and 144hz then becomes a question of having a gpu that can push framerates that high. If you're really interested in 3D it's a much better recommendation, but at the price you said, I think the VG23AH is a good shout

EDIT: Oh, and both have built in speakers, if that makes any difference at all.

I'm not interested in 3D or anything above 60 Hz, so...

 

[brentech]

Edit: installed graphics cardvdrivers and now on restarting its telling me BOOTMGR is missing

What kind of setup are you doing? SSD and HDD?
Did you install windows with only the SSD plugged in?

Make sure BIOS primary drive is the drive you installed OS on.

Dual booting OS's can also cause the error (until fixed). Kind of a slew of things that can cause it.

 

[Seanspeed]

Just reinstalled windows but its still not recognizing my hdd. Windows was installed on my ssd. Its there in disk management but i cant format it. Last time i messed with it i fucked it all up so im scared to do anything without knowing it'll solve the problem.

Its saying my hdd is active. Is that the problem? I tried to fix that before but obviously it didnt work.

 

[asdad123]

MSI 7950 for $180 after rebate.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?SID=eha1OgBKEeOJ5sKe19bShw0_IARf3_0_0_0&AID=10440897&PID=1225267&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-cables-_-na-_-na&Item=N82E16814127737&cm_sp=

Mighty tempted to pick this up to crossfire with my sapphire 7950 that I have. Have the new drivers fixed crossfire?

 

[brentech]

Just reinstalled windows but its still not recognizing my hdd. Windows was installed on my ssd. Its there in disk management but i cant format it. Last time i messed with it i fucked it all up so im scared to do anything without knowing it'll solve the problem.

Is the drive named? Right click it and name it or give it a letter so it can be used and formatted

Edit

Had to look it up, right click and it will say, 'new simple volume'. Max size it and assign drive letter and it will promptly of to format.

 

[kennah]

Just reinstalled windows but its still not recognizing my hdd. Windows was installed on my ssd. Its there in disk management but i cant format it. Last time i messed with it i fucked it all up so im scared to do anything without knowing it'll solve the problem.

Its saying my hdd is active. Is that the problem? I tried to fix that before but obviously it didnt work.

You have to Partition before you can format.

in other news - my fans arrived today.

 

[Seanspeed]

Is the drive named? Right click it and name it or give it a letter so it can be used and formatted

Did that before and it didnt work.

Its saying both drives are primary partitions? Is that an issue?

 

[kennah]

Did that before and it didnt work.

Its saying both drives are primary partitions? Is that an issue?

Each drive would need a primary partition yes. There also needs to be active partitions to boot from.

Really your best bet would be to unplug your old hard drive and then reinstall windows from scratch onto just the SSD. It should automatically set itself up if there is only one hard drive to install onto.

 

[Seanspeed]

Each drive would need a primary partition yes. There also needs to be active partitions to boot from.

Really your best bet would be to unplug your old hard drive and then reinstall windows from scratch onto just the SSD. It should automatically set itself up if there is only one hard drive to install onto.

Ok, I partitioned and formatted the HDD.

But it says that system reserved is my active and system drive. Is that ok? I really dont want to reinstall again......

 

[kennah]

Ok, I partitioned and formatted the HDD.

But it says that system reserved is my active and system drive. Is that ok? I really dont want to reinstall again......

Yep, just checked mine and it says the same thing.

 

[Seanspeed]

Yep, just checked mine and it says the same thing.

Sweet. Things starting to come together.

Thanks.

What sort of fan is that?

 

[kharma45]

This is going to be my first gaming PC and first time building. I followed the OP's recommendations pretty closely, but I want to double check since everyone here is so much more knowledgeable than me on this stuff.

Anything I should change? Do I need fans or anything extra?

Change that PSU as well http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00918MEZG/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[kennah]

Sweet. Things starting to come together.

Thanks.

What sort of fan is that?

Effizio SilenX 120mm. I needed yellow to compliment the blue of my case.

Pics 'when it's done'

 

[Zaph]

Has anyone here used websites like this to buy a Windows 8 product key? Are they legit?

Also, will I be able to install Windows 8 straight, or do you have to install 7, then upgrade?

 

[kennah]

Has anyone here used websites like this to buy a Windows 8 product key? Are they legit?

Also, will I be able to install Windows 8 straight, or do you have to install 7, then upgrade?

I personally wouldn't trust that...

 

[News Bot]

Is it normal for programs like CPU-Z and RealTemp not to detect overclocks? I overclocked to 4.4GHz @ 1.3V for testing but neither shows it even though BIOS and System Information do.

 

[MetatronM]

Seems like a similar kind of build that I just did, except you have a better board and chipset. I was pretty amazed at how easy it was to build. I honestly thought it would be much harder. I basically unboxed everything yesterday morning and by nightfall was ready to test boot. By 11 PM the computer was ready to rock. This thread is absolutely wonderful for information and suggestions.

Yeah, so far it's been pretty straightforward. I made a couple of mistakes along the way (accidentally forgot to put in the standoffs before I put the motherboard in and was having a hell of a time trying to figure out why the last couple of screws were being so problematic and things weren't fitting right, oops), but so far so good.

Mobo and processor are in, RAM is in, heatsink is in, PSU is in, front I/O is all hooked up (except for the fan control, which has really stumpy little cables...not really sure what I do with that just yet). SSD and Blu-ray drive are in place but haven't been wired up yet. All that's left is to put in my second hard drive, wire up the drives, and install the video and sound cards, all of which should be pretty quick.

And then hope it works.

The only other issue is that I'm not super duper confident that both of the 4 pin plugs for the ATX power connected properly, because that cable was barely (and I mean barely) long enough to get there when snaking it back behind the motherboard. I think it's in but won't really know until I try it out.

 

[RSTEIN]

Is it normal for programs like CPU-Z and RealTemp not to detect overclocks? I overclocked to 4.4GHz @ 1.3V for testing but neither shows it even though BIOS and System Information do.

You mean you're running Prime95 and CPUZ is stuck at your base clock? Then you've definitely messed something up with your OC. Your BIOS will only show the theoretical clock, not the active clock @ full load. So the ratio is, say, 44, but the comp is obviously not running at 4.4 GHz while in BIOS.

 

[News Bot]

You mean you're running Prime95 and CPUZ is stuck at your base clock? Then you've definitely messed something up with your OC. Your BIOS will only show the theoretical clock, not the active clock @ full load. So the ratio is, say, 44, but the comp is obviously not running at 4.4 GHz while in BIOS.

Hmm... not sure what the problem is. Gah.

 

[RSTEIN]

Hmm... not sure what the problem is. Gah.

What about load line calibration? Set that to high.

 

[News Bot]

What about load line calibration? Set that to high.

No option for it in the MSI BIOS, although there is a Vdroop offset. I set that to 100%. Voltage is going through as I'm getting the temperatures you would expect (in the 40C range) but still not OC.

 

[RSTEIN]

No option for it in the MSI BIOS, although there is a Vdroop offset. I set that to 100%. Voltage is going through as I'm getting the temperatures you would expect (in the 40C range) but still not OC.

Did you set the master ratio or each core's ratio? Make sure you only set the master ratio.

Is there an auto OC option for this MOBO? Like a turbo setting? Try turning on the turbo setting and then run CPUZ to see if it overclocks. Then go back to and try to fiddle with a manual OC.

 

[News Bot]

Did you set the master ratio or each core's ratio? Make sure you only set the master ratio.

Is there an auto OC option for this MOBO? Like a turbo setting? Try turning on the turbo setting and then run CPUZ to see if it overclocks. Then go back to and try to fiddle with a manual OC.

Master, and yeah it has OC Genie and it does show up in CPU-Z when I use that. But I even mimicked all of its settings and still can't get it a manual OC to actually show.

EDIT: Huh... it's fine if I modify the OC Genie settings themselves. Seems it's the only mode overclocking is acceptable on.

 

[RSTEIN]

Master, and yeah it has OC Genie and it does show up in CPU-Z when I use that. But I even mimicked all of its settings and still can't get it a manual OC to actually show.

EDIT: Huh... it's fine if I modify the OC Genie settings themselves. Seems it's the only mode overclocking is acceptable on.

I'm not familiar with this mobo but that would be pretty strange if true. I'm sure there's some stupid, hard to find setting that hasn't been switched on that is preventing you from doing a manual overclock. Hopefully someone else has an answer for you.

 

[Hazaro]

I'm not familiar with this mobo but that would be pretty strange if true. I'm sure there's some stupid, hard to find setting that hasn't been switched on that is preventing you from doing a manual overclock. Hopefully someone else has an answer for you.

IIRC the MPOWER uses Offset and LLC(?) to achieve overclocks and lacks a distinct manual setting.

 

[RSTEIN]

IIRC the MPOWER uses Offset and LLC(?) to achieve overclocks and lacks a distinct manual setting.

interesting, didn't know that!

 

[News Bot]

Going good now though so I think I can leave it alone for a while and focus on getting the "sweet spot."

Seems to be running stable @ 4.4GHz averaging 55C at full load, with 1.18V. Time to crank up that clock little by little.

 

[RSTEIN]

Going good now though so I think I can leave it alone for a while and focus on getting the "sweet spot."

Seems to be running stable @ 4.4GHz averaging 55C at full load, with 1.18V. Time to crank up that clock little by little.

Nice