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Official "I need a new PC!!" 2009 Edition

B

BravoSuperStar

Member
evil solrac v3.0 said:
finished building my new PC yesterday, when i insert the windows 7 DVD for installation, the hard drive is not detected, i checked under the BIOS and it isn't detected either.
my motherboard is an ASUS P7P55D-PRO. help.
Click to expand...

Is power plugged into it? =)

Reseat the cables, try another SATA port, and if possible put it in another PC and see if it's detected. Could be DOA though, it happens.
 
B

brain_stew

Member
evil solrac v3.0 said:
finished building my new PC yesterday, when i insert the windows 7 DVD for installation, the hard drive is not detected, i checked under the BIOS and it isn't detected either.
my motherboard is an ASUS P7P55D-PRO. help.
Click to expand...

Try plugging them in different SATA ports and try replugging the SATA cable into the HDDs again. I've had the same problem before and after hours of pulling my hair out trying to found out what was wrong, it turned out I'd plugged the SATA jack into the wrong part of the HDD in my haste to get things setup . :lol Its fair to say that left me feeling more than a little silly.

Can you hear them spinning up?
 
E

evil solrac v3.0

Member
SuperEnemyCrab said:
Is power plugged into it? =)

Reseat the cables, try another SATA port, and if possible put it in another PC and see if it's detected. Could be DOA though, it happens.
Click to expand...

yeah. :D i'm fairly certain power is connected........ but i'll go home and check to make sure....

i will test the drives at my girl's house....

Try plugging them in different SATA ports and try replugging the SATA cable into the HDDs again. I've had the same problem before and after hours of pulling my hair out trying to found out what was wrong, it turned out I'd plugged the SATA jack into the wrong part of the HDD in my haste to get things setup . Its fair to say that left me feeling more than a little silly.

Can you hear them spinning up?
Click to expand...

ok, i'll check on that. i'm also confident there are no other problems as the BIOS recognizes everything else (DVD, m/kb 360 pad, headphones) and teh PC powers on fine.
what are some good drives for games then if i have to buy new ones?
 
F

Firestorm

Member
Does it specifically say it's your hard drive? My cousins had an issue with Windows 7 installation saying device not recognized and it was just a bad disc burn. Doing it again at half the speed fixed it. Obviously not a likely issue if the disc is retail. If it's HDD specifically, change AHCI to IDE for now if that's the mode it's in.

Fake Edit: Noticed you said it doesn't show up in BIOS either, I have no clue then =P
 
E

evil solrac v3.0

Member
Firestorm said:
Does it specifically say it's your hard drive? My cousins had an issue with Windows 7 installation saying device not recognized and it was just a bad disc burn. Doing it again at half the speed fixed it. Obviously not a likely issue if the disc is retail. If it's HDD specifically, change AHCI to IDE for now if that's the mode it's in.

Fake Edit: Noticed you said it doesn't show up in BIOS either, I have no clue then =P
Click to expand...


well, what is says if i remember correctly is that there are no drivers detected as well. dont know if that helps....
 
G

Grayman

Member
Can anyone assist me?
FurMark burn mode is causing immediate rebooting.
^This happens intermittently in gaming.
Also having hard lockups while using a second monitor.


card, drivers, psu ideas?
 
Manp

Manp

Member
Grayman said:
Can anyone assist me?
FurMark burn mode is causing immediate rebooting.
^This happens intermittently in gaming.
Also having hard lockups while using a second monitor.


card, drivers, psu ideas?
Click to expand...

reboot? if it's not a bsod (make sure automatic reboot on bsod is not enabled!) then it sounds like a PSU issue

:)
 
G

Grayman

Member
Manp said:
reboot? if it's not a bsod (make sure automatic reboot on bsod is not enabled!) then it sounds like a PSU issue

:)
Click to expand...
I have the reboot on bsod checked/unchecked whichever it should show a bsod on, don't think i've seen one still (win 7 rc)

Don't think I can afford a new PSU for awhile, I believe I was told this one built in the case would be good enough when I built the computer. Will unplugging the unused dvd drive help a little? The problem was not as bad months ago and the drive and second monitor are the only major changes.
 
B

brain_stew

Member
Grayman said:
I have the reboot on bsod checked/unchecked whichever it should show a bsod on, don't think i've seen one still (win 7 rc)

Don't think I can afford a new PSU for awhile, I believe I was told this one built in the case would be good enough when I built the computer. Will unplugging the unused dvd drive help a little? The problem was not as bad months ago and the drive and second monitor are the only major changes.
Click to expand...

That's a major red falg right there. Have a look at the side of the PSU and let us know what its average sustained 12v rail output is, and let us know your PC specs to go with that.
 
Manp

Manp

Member
Grayman said:
I have the reboot on bsod checked/unchecked whichever it should show a bsod on, don't think i've seen one still (win 7 rc)

Don't think I can afford a new PSU for awhile, I believe I was told this one built in the case would be good enough when I built the computer. Will unplugging the unused dvd drive help a little? The problem was not as bad months ago and the drive and second monitor are the only major changes.
Click to expand...

a dvd drive or hdd should make no difference... usually PSU that come with the case are pretty crappy (well not always, depend on the brand of the case). an hard reboot usually mens the PSU can't keep up with the power consumption of the system.

you can try disconnecting everything that's not essential and see, i'm not sure it would make a huge difference. too bad only thing to do is try...

:)
 
G

Grayman

Member
brain_stew said:
That's a major red falg right there. Have a look at the side of the PSU and let us know what its average sustained 12v rail output is, and let us know your PC specs to go with that.
Click to expand...
It looks like 16.5 average to me
Code: 
DC	+12V1	+12V2	-12V
Max	17A	16A	0.8A
Min	1A	1A	0A

Page 45(100 per page)
Hazaro said:
The Antec EA 430w is a solid PSU, you should have no problems.
Click to expand...
:(

specs from the last page:
Intel E5200 @2.50ghz
4gb ram
GTX 260 8.17.11.9562

win 7 build 7100
there is a rosewill cooler on the cpu
the case fan is set to low
one harddrive 640gb sata
one ide dvd drive
usb mouse ps/2 keyboard

video dvi - vga - monitor
dvi - hdmi (empty right now)


and there is also the hard lockups with graphical corruption when I use two monitors, instead of a reboot.
 
G

Grayman

Member
SuperEnemyCrab said:
I'm thinking your PS is to low on the 12v rails for your card.

Edit: Does the PS have a dedicated PCI-E output?
Click to expand...
PCI-E output? Do you mean the 6 pin connector to my video card? It has one, the video card uses it and a 6 to 4+4 adapter.
 
B

BravoSuperStar

Member
Grayman said:
PCI-E output? Do you mean the 6 pin connector to my video card? It has one, the video card uses it and a 6 to 4+4 adapter.
Click to expand...


What brand/model graphics card is it exactly? The 12v rail requirements should be listed under the info on their website.
 
G

Grayman

Member
B

brain_stew

Member
Firestorm said:
Anyone know how well a 5770 does in 1080p? =/
Click to expand...

Decent enough, depends on what your expectations are really. A 5850 would definitely be worth the extra cash if you afford it at that resolution though.
 
P

Pachinko

Member
well I got the price matching confirmation email, hopefully if all goes well I"ll have this thing on monday the 4th :D

I'll keep you guys posted on how it turns out. Hopefully that means that about a week from now I'll be posting screen caps with a windows experience rating.
 
F

Firestorm

Member
brain_stew said:
Decent enough, depends on what your expectations are really. A 5850 would definitely be worth the extra cash if you afford it at that resolution though.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I know. It was a build for someone else. She said she had a 1280x1024 monitor, but then her dad got her a 1920x1080 monitor x.x I'll just say to keep Anti-Aliasing at 4x for games. Right now I only see her playing Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, and Batman Arkham Asylum for a while...
 
B

brain_stew

Member
Firestorm said:
Yeah, I know. It was a build for someone else. She said she had a 1280x1024 monitor, but then her dad got her a 1920x1080 monitor x.x I'll just say to keep Anti-Aliasing at 4x for games. Right now I only see her playing Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, and Batman Arkham Asylum for a while...
Click to expand...

Well I mean you're still going to get significatly better graphics and framerates than you would in the console version of those games, even at 1080p. For many that's a huge upgrade, for some the fact that you probably can't guarantee a constant 60fps might be a deal breaker. I'd wager most would be more than happy with its performance though tbh.
 
F

Firestorm

Member
Yeah, 30 locked is something I'm fine with and I'm sure she's fine with (yay v-sync). L4D2 and TF2 should run great at 60fps on that still I think. Well, aside from Hard Rain cuz holy shit x.x
 
N

naib

Member
Just built a new PC. Haven't done any PC gaming.. since I bought a G5 a few years ago. Last PC was a Athlon 1800+
I want to thank everyone in this thread for all the tips and suggestions. I've just been lurking and reading.

To my surprise it booted up on the first go. The front panel connections have always made me feel stupid and/or blind. lol.

Had some issues trying to get my crappy 2.1 altec setup to use both right and left channels, then I remembered my Triton AX360s.. About to play Audiosurf while I wait for Steam to finish downloading TF2. I think I have a chubby.

Z206B.png


Any new or returning PC gamers looking for some noob Steam buddies, shoot me a PM. Haven't worked out mic yet(ax360 mic cord too short) but I intend to work it out tomorrow.
 
K

Kuro Madoushi

Unconfirmed Member
Firestorm said:
The stock fan is fine unless you want to overclock. The Noctua is also very quiet if that's a concern.
Click to expand...

UGH!!!! I spent the past 3 goddamned days dealing with my stock fan. I have an older CPU, Intel C2D E6420, but if you overclock and start getting weird ass BSOD's, be sure to get a better heatsink/fan.

I got bad pool caller, driver irql not less or equal, ntfs.sys, page fault in non paged area errors.

So just a heads up so if there are any strange problems so you don't spend as much time as I did diagnosing the sucker.
 
B

Brandon F

Well congratulations! You got yourself caught!
What is the story with 59hz vs. 60hz for refresh rate? I never know what to pick when asked!

My spec:
Core i7 920
Radeon 4890
9gb RAM
Dell 2407WFP monitor
 
Nabs

Nabs

Member
i'm picking some pieces and i've arrived here:

CPU: i5 750 - http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0317379
GFX: Sapphire HD 5850 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102857&cm_re=5850-_-14-102-857-_-Product
Mobo: ASUS P7P55D http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131407
Case: Antec Nine Hundred Two http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0305999
PSU: Corsair CMPSU-650tx http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
Ram: G.Skill 4gb (2x2) DDR3 1600 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...231193&cm_re=1600_ddr3-_-20-231-193-_-Product

hopefully you guys can help me pick this apart, so I can make the best picks. thanks for the help.
 
E

evil solrac v3.0

Member
all is fixed and am now posting from my brand new built PC, thanks PC GAF!!

edit: ok, maybe not everything. i cant see my NVIDIA control panel, i already installed the latest drivers but i dont see anything when i right click on the desktop.
 
F

Firestorm

Member
evil solrac v3.0 said:
all is fixed and am now posting from my brand new built PC, thanks PC GAF!!

edit: ok, maybe not everything. i cant see my NVIDIA control panel, i already installed the latest drivers but i dont see anything when i right click on the desktop.
Click to expand...
By newest drivers do you mean what Windows 7 downloaded or did you manually install it? If you manually installed the drivers, they should show up... Windows 7 doesn't seem to grab the right ones.
 
H

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
Grayman said:
Can anyone assist me?
FurMark burn mode is causing immediate rebooting.
^This happens intermittently in gaming.
Also having hard lockups while using a second monitor.


card, drivers, psu ideas?
Click to expand...
Sounds like your card is going out because of the second monitor issue. Your PSU is still fine. (In terms of wattage/quality)

Clean off the dust with air from the card (and the rear ports) clear your drivers and update to 185.85
Also make sure all your connections are secure.

From my experience with nVidia drivers (which have been fine except that tf2 seems to like to crash). These have not given my any problems at all.

What kind of crashing are you getting? Hard reboot? Blue Screen -> restart?
 
spons

spons

Gold Member
Firestorm said:
I personally <3 this case if $130 is your price range:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129061&Tpk=antec p183
Click to expand...
I'm actually going to get that case soon. Doesn't seem to be any comparable cases in that price range (all the Lian Li tower cases are about the same but overpriced). Most other cases of this type have absolute terrible 'gamer' design with leds and what not. There's probably a market for that shit but I hate it.
 
E

evil solrac v3.0

Member
Firestorm said:
By newest drivers do you mean what Windows 7 downloaded or did you manually install it? If you manually installed the drivers, they should show up... Windows 7 doesn't seem to grab the right ones.
Click to expand...


no i manually grabbed, don't know why but it was missing some stuff from the file so i just re-downloaded them and am good to go now.
where can i buy SLI bridges? i have a tri-SLI bridge but it cant reach to the second card (something to do with the way the ASUS Mobos are built) i need one thats 4-5 inches or so....
 
G

Grayman

Member
Hazaro said:
Sounds like your card is going out because of the second monitor issue. Your PSU is still fine. (In terms of wattage/quality)

Clean off the dust with air from the card (and the rear ports) clear your drivers and update to 185.85
Also make sure all your connections are secure.

From my experience with nVidia drivers (which have been fine except that tf2 seems to like to crash). These have not given my any problems at all.

What kind of crashing are you getting? Hard reboot? Blue Screen -> restart?
Click to expand...
I have had the reboots when running 3d applications. With dual monitors I would have some corruption of graphics, usually a brown monitor, and a system locked right up that I have to reboot with the power button or switch on the back.

I have not been able to reproduce either today while I could cause reboot on command yesterday. I seem to get fits of one issue or the other for a day or two then they go away.

In the morning I'll check connections and dust. If I get the dual monitor to bug out again i will downgrade the drivers. Problems with two monitors did start after a driver update. My second monitor is a tv across the room that I was not using constantly so i did not notice right after whichever driver update did it.
 
G

GamePnoy74

Member
I'm planning to build a new PC myself soon, just curious on how many watts my new box should be running...

Planning to have the following:
- CPU: Intel i7-860
- Motherboard: ASUS P7P55D-E (newer LGA 1156 board with USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s support)
- Graphics Card: XFX HD Radeon 5850
- Hard Drive: 1TB WD Caviar Black SATA HDD (maybe also a smaller-sized HDD as well)
- Memory: Corsair XPS 4GB (2x2GB)

Is a 650W power supply good enough for this? I'm not really planning to overclock my system (maybe a very mild overclock if anything). Thinking about getting a 650W PSU either from Corsair (CMPSU-650TX) or the newly-released one by XFX (P1-650X-CAG9).

Thanks! =)

edit: fixed name of hard drive I'm planning to use :lol
 
A

Annihilator

Member
naib said:
Just built a new PC. Haven't done any PC gaming.. since I bought a G5 a few years ago. Last PC was a Athlon 1800+
I want to thank everyone in this thread for all the tips and suggestions. I've just been lurking and reading.

To my surprise it booted up on the first go. The front panel connections have always made me feel stupid and/or blind. lol.

Had some issues trying to get my crappy 2.1 altec setup to use both right and left channels, then I remembered my Triton AX360s.. About to play Audiosurf while I wait for Steam to finish downloading TF2. I think I have a chubby.

Z206B.png


Any new or returning PC gamers looking for some noob Steam buddies, shoot me a PM. Haven't worked out mic yet(ax360 mic cord too short) but I intend to work it out tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Looks nice. I love the fact that windows gives a 5.9 to just about everyones hard drive. You think even if people have the same type of drive that it might change the score by .1 from time to time but it doesn't.

GamePnoy74 said:
I'm planning to build a new PC myself soon, just curious on how many watts my new box should be running...

Planning to have the following:
- CPU: Intel i7-860
- Motherboard: ASUS P7P55D-E (newer LGA 1156 board with USB 3.0 and STAT 6Gb/s support)
- Graphics Card: XFX HD Radeon 5850
- Hard Drive: 1TB WD Black Hard SATA HDD (maybe also a smaller-sized HDD as well)
- Memory: Corsair XPS 4GB (2x2GB)

Is a 650W power supply good enough for this? I'm not really planning to overclock my system (maybe a very mild overclock if anything). Thinking about getting a 650W PSU either from Corsair (CMPSU-650TX) or the newly-released one by XFX (P1-650X-CAG9).

Thanks! =)
Click to expand...

I have 575w in a system with i7 920 and an Radeon 5870...so I would think your 650 would be good.
 
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