My New Build.

Slade2

Slade2

Slade2

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ok folks,

This will be my first ever build log and I am kind of hoping I can use the people here to help me along the way becuase I am sure i will have problems.

Here are the items i have ordered ( Thanks to Stulid again for helping me spec this beast)

"Radon Torosaur" Intel Core i5 2500K 3.30GHz @ 4.40GHz Overclocked Bundle - Gigabyte

Bundle Specification
- CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K 3.30GHz @ 4.40GHz Sandybridge CPU
- Motherboard: Gigabyte P67A-UD4 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard **B3 REVISION**
- RAM: Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel
- Cooler: Corsair A50 CPU Cooler
- Artic Silver 5 Thermal Compound.

MSI ATI Radeon HD 6950 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599)
Coolermaster CM-690 II Advanced Dominator Case
OCZ Vertex 60GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM
Sony Optiarc AD-7260S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black)
XFX 750W Black Edition Modular Power Supply
Dell Ultrasharp U2311H 23" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Midnight Grey

So, All that stuff is due to arrive on Friday (6th May) as i have to wait until i send off the agreement for the finance.

Here is my first question.

Having done some research on the motherboard it comes with 4 Sata cables. The board does seem to have 2x6GB ports. Would it be a good idea to buy some 6GB sata leads for use with the SSD drive and the data drive? Also, I am unsure if I need to set up anything with the drives in the way of Master/Slave? I remember years ago that used to be the case not sure anymore? I of course want to install the OS to the SSD.

Also, having looked at the fans that come with the coolmaster I get 3 included, will this be enough cooling for this system?

I`m kinda new to this with it being my first build and come Friday i would ideally like to know i have everything I need to start building when it all arrives :) Will post some pics as and when
 
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Hey and welcome - great component selection!

The board does seem to have 2x6GB ports. Would it be a good idea to buy some 6GB sata leads for use with the SSD drive and the data drive? Also, I am unsure if I need to set up anything with the drives in the way of Master/Slave? I remember years ago that used to be the case not sure anymore? I of course want to install the OS to the SSD.
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No, your drives aren't fast enough to need to run off SATA 3. You don't need to fiddle with master/slave settings. I always attach boot drive to SATA 1 and DVD-drive to SATA 2 to install the OS, then shutdown and attach my data drives to SATA 2,3,4 etc and DVD to the next one along. The order actually doesn't matter in the slightest but I've gotten into a habit :).

Also, having looked at the fans that come with the coolmaster I get 3 included, will this be enough cooling for this system?
Click to expand...

That case has great cooling, so should be fine. You can always get aftermarket fans and a fan controller depending on what your temps/noises are like!

Post pics on Friday pls :).
 
Ok, so i didnt get the stuff on Friday but it all arrived today and my building has started.

I will upload pic later.

I am just wondering if there is somewere I can find out some basic build instructions. For example do I install the motherboard and then the power supply? or the drives first is there somewere I can find this info?

Also, when I have the PC built what do I do with regards to software. I have the OEM version of window 7 but do I install that first and then update all the drivers or get windows updates first?

I have the XFX modular PSU and it has a large fan on the top of it. I take it the PSU is mounted with the fan facing down towards the bottom of the case? I ask this simply becuase i can mount it both ways in this case but would assume it would exhuast the air out the bottom? I am really unsure on this one seems the instructions dont tell me much.
 
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System Build Guide

There's no specific order but if you follow that guide everything should go well :)

Do the driver updates first, then the windows updates, that's how I do it anyway.

Yeah if there's a grill on the bottom point the fan out the bottom otherwise it's pumping hot air back into the case.

Let us know if you got any other questions :)

Quote from the **Baddass' Guide to Windows Performance, Optimization, Security and Tweaking** thread:
A Fresh Install

Ok, you’ve F-disked your HD, set up your partitions and you’re installing Windows, here’s the most common install order people use (inc me) on the forums:
1. Install Windows
2. Any Service Pack from Windows
3. Motherboard / Chipset drivers
4. Direct X update
5. Graphics Card drivers
6. Other Hardware drivers inc. sound, modem, LAN (etc)
7. Critical Updates from Windows Update

8. Install all your other programs and update them / set them up as you go
8. Full Defrag

If you have Antivirus and/or firewall software it is worth installing them early on, perhaps before you go online to get MS Critical updates. Do a Antivirus update early on too, to make sure u are fully protected.

Perhaps throw in a defrag for good measures after stage 4 just to get things running nicely from the beginning, but it’s debatable whether it will make much difference, certainly doesn’t hurt though!
Click to expand...
 
just hit the first hurdle.

The Corsair A50 that came in the nice new box has an issue. So I have installed the PSU but the Corsair is kinda broken until I can get it fixed/replaced.

The actualy problem is the backing plate for the cooler has four pins that you then tighten the cooler with. Only three of the pins that are present have a thread so I cant get the screws to tighten evenly to hold the cooler in place, even with three threads i suppose it would be ok but i dont want to damage the CPU so I have sent an email to corsair.

Is there anywhere website I can upload pictures to that will let me link them here? its been some times since I did that :p

Will get some pics on tonight if I can.
 
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2011-05-09150020.jpg


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well, that was the plan but i got a Overclocked bundle from OC so I am rather thinking the stock cooler isnt a good Idea on that overclock so kinda have to wait it out. I really hope it doesnt take to long. I am tempted to take the said part into work and see If I get get it threaded.
 
does anyone have any experience with Corsair customer support? I really dont want to hold up this build for the sake of £30 or so i`ll just buy another cooler and returnt the other one when its fixed. Would this be something OC could help with I`m not sure since its an issue with the cooler and not really there fault.
 
Phoned overclockers today and they are going to send a replacement bracket free of charge and also the game that was missed off my bundle package. Cant fault them to be honest as they dont really need to help me at all since the issue is with corsair. All in all great service from them to be honest.

so, the build is on hold until probably the weekend unless the bracket comes quicker.
 
ok so a big update becuase my system is built now.

2011-05-11191617.jpg


Applying the TIM!.

2011-05-11194459.jpg


Cooler Mounted!. Although having looked at this now i think it does kinda look the wrong way around, should it be 90 degrees to the left so the fan is blowing the warm air out of the back exhaust fan? I set it up like this initially due to thinking the top fan was a little bigger and it would be better to get rid of the hit air? I do have some wierd temps like the Core 3 being a little higher than core 0 could this explain it?

Also the overclock bundle was having some trouble at 4.4Ghz so the motherboard has put it back to default setting i suppose this could be explained a little by the cooler being in the wrong place?

Anyway - more pics

2011-05-11215133.jpg


Always need some refreshment when doing builds :)

2011-05-11215120.jpg


Almost done just need a little cable management at the back!.

2011-05-11234215.jpg


Annoyed at this point becuase I though I had finished the build to find I needed to put the 8pin supply to the motherboard, it was just no long enough to reach around the back of the motherboard try and over the top and out of the little hole in the top of the machine, i mean it wasnt long enough by about 3 centimeters, so i had to run the cable over the top. A little annoying and it looks crappy after I spent a while sorting the cables around the back. Will have to see if I can get hold of a longer 8 pin cable and make sure it goes around the back.

So, with the build being complete as stated above the pc seems to have problems with the overclock but the temps are fine. Could this be the cooler mounting?
 
I did think about that but it didnt leave a lot of room for air flow around it and also cover the CMOS battery. If I change the CPU cooler I might move it up but it is a tight fit. Would you recommend changing were it sits? What I mean is does it really affect anything in the PC? It seems more than fast enough in Starcraft 2 and Wow and that is really what I got the system for and I am reluctant to mess about inside now i have a stable system.
 
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