Some 'newbie' install questions..

[ajf]

So, fairly much decided in my earlier post what parts to buy but I have not built a PC for over 10 years!

Do I need to worry about setting fsb and voltage settings or is it all automatic now?
Should it just be a matter of plug cpu, memory etc in and power up?
What do I need to do with SATA when installing Windows - have read that it needs a driver to boot up at install? Will not be using RAID though.

Assume all the motherboards come with any required drivers for when Windows has installed?


Thanks
Andrew

 

[dosk3n]

Since my last build was an old asrock board that was about 5 years ago when I had to change jumpers to change the fsb I cant say I know, but I will on friday when my new pc parts arive as for sata you may need to take the drivers off the driver cd and put them onto a floppy disk which you will need to boot while installing windows xp

 

[semi-pro waster]

It should be detected automatically in normal circumstances but for best performance you may wish to alter settings manually. I haven't changed any settings really in bios for my last few builds but some motherboards are less reliable at picking the correct settings than others. It may help if you post what it is you intend to buy so that if there are any known problems someone can advise and post the correct settings.

Yep, pretty much just put everything together and boot up. Do a quick check that you have everything plugged in like CPU fan etc before you do boot up for the first time though.

If it is a reasonably new motherboard then the chances are good that you won't need to do anything to install SATA drivers for Windows as most have IDE compatability modes.

All motherboards that are sold as retail should come with drivers but you can always download them from the manufacturers website if not.

 

[ajf]

Thank you both for the replies! I remember jumper settings well which is why I stopped building as I got them wrong once or twice....

My post about what to buy is here:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17646738

So if there are any issues with the setup I would be grateful for any info.
Only change I may make on purchase is drop the graphics again to a 7600GS but guess this would not affect motherboard setup?

You mention that SATA has IDE comptability mode - does this mean it looses the performance of SATA when running like that or just that it is seen as IDE to Windows?

Andrew

 

[semi-pro waster]

You have very few jumpers on a modern motherboard and almost no need to go near them either as most settings are done in the bios.

That setup should be fine to auto-detect but you could also check in the motherboard forum if there are any problems when you come to install the parts. The graphics card won't affect the setup of the motherboard although I don't know if a 7600gs is powerful enough overall.

IDE compatability mode just means that the drives appear to Windows to be IDE although they run at SATA speeds.