about to build, any tips?

[nousername]

ok, here's what i finally ended up with (for those who remember my earlier thread... )

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 1GHz FSB 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor
EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400
SAPPHIRE 100122 Radeon X700 256MB 128-bit DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card

hopefully, if i have time this weekend i might start to build. =)

well, i am somewhat familiar with computer building, but this is my first solo job... (actually, Kevin helped me build my first comp, but he moved to the other side of the country... so now i am on my own! thanks, a lot, man! also, if i sound like any idiot... he taugh me what i know... it's his fault! ... well, tbh, i sat in bewilderment as he threw my first rig together... impressive. ) well, that was just to give you a little background about me, so you know where i am coming from.

so....

what do i need to get started? newer bios version? drivers? thermal paste? amd had some cheesy vid on newegg saying paste is for people who rebuild often... of which i am NOT. is a thermal pad ok?

any other little tips or tricks of the trade?

also, i can send you info about my peripherals (psu, cd drive, hd, etc.), but i don't know if you need that to advise... just let me know, and i post some links.

one issue, the reviews from newegg for my mobo seem to mention some issue about the using a 20-pin power connector. some say it's ok to use a 20 pin, others say no. the final concensus seemed to be a 20-pin is fine. that's what i have. what are your thoughts?

thanks fellas

ryan

ps - i've seen Knuckler's recent thread, so if you said something there and DON'T want to repeat it just point me there.

EDIT: i fixed the first hyperlink

[Usacomp2k3]

It's called plug and pray

No seriously. If you got the thermal pad, then just use that. When you choose to start overclocking, then you might want to replace it with thermal paste, but for now, you're fine.

I don't think that you are going to need to update the bios, at least i hope not, b/c if you do, then you're screwed

First thing to do:
Take the mobo out. Plug in the CPU and RAM and GPU. Plug in the PSU into the motherboard. Plug in the case power switch (unless you want to get adventurous and short the jumper). Turn it on and make sure all of those work right off the bat.
Nothing is more aggravating than putting a case together and it not working and you not realizing until you'd spent 3 hours putting it in the case and everything, then you have to take it out again. Not fun.

[LicketySplit]

Sometimes a simple guide can be of enormous help...

http://www.pcmech.com/byopc/index.htm

[Scorpiuscat]

One of the most important things I tell people is the get a ground wrist strap.

You must stay grounded at all times or you could end up with an expensive disaster.

Ground, ground, ground....never forget...stay grounded.

Oh and be sure to take your time, force nothing it should all fit together nicley.

[Flying Fox]

Motherboard and CPU manuals are very good these days. Don't know about the Epox, my Asus and Shuttle manuals have colour pictures!

Do take the time to read them through before the build. The guides can only tell you so much. The manuals will tell you exact details.

Then just like the advice for Knuckler, take a few deep breaths and go build it.

[flip-mode]

I just put together a build using that motherboard, and let me tell you, that chipset cooler is the LOUDEST THING in the case. I'd get some recommendations for a different motherboard from some people in here. I was not happy when I heard that thing whining. It easily overshadowed every other fan combined. When I stopped it with my finger the machine became a ghost. Just an FYI, maybe you don't care about noise.

[nousername]

all right guys. i just got everything built, and powered up ... and everything seems to work.

i have a some questions....

right now, i want to go ahead and install windows, but i want to make sure i have the BIOS setup correctly. do i need to worry about the detail of my BIOS now? can i go ahead and install windows since everything seem to be stable?

Should i mess with the memory setting? it's all very confusing to me.

are the mobo defaults usually adequate? are there main settings i should be aware of?

What should i put the boot device priorities at? the default is floppy, hard drive, cd-rom, ... should it be floopy, cd-rom, hd???

my mobo makes it very easy to over-clock... should i try? can i ruin anything? will the cpu and/or mobo protect itself? will it void warranties?

thanks again...

[steelcity_ballin]

You don't really need to worry about the bios now, unless it is detecting your cpu incorreclty (ie a 2.2 ghz cpu running at 600 or something like that) as for boot priority, to speed things up just a tad make cd rom drive the first, floppy second, hdd 0 third so you xp install picks up right away.

Unless you know what voltage and timings the ram can handle, you could damage the ram (mainly with too much voltage) and the timings are a fairly advanced topic for someone who's never dealt with it. Basically, Leave it set at "by spd" so it gets to whatever is should be at stock. Sometimes the motherboard will set the timings incorrectly, so you may need to change them later for performance reasons.

I'd get xp installled first, then go back and screw around. To mess with everything now is kinda pointless when you have nothing to benchmark it / play with to test out the settings.

[Vrock]

One of the most important things I tell people is the get a ground wrist strap.

You must stay grounded at all times or you could end up with an expensive disaster.

Ground, ground, ground....never forget...stay grounded.

Oh and be sure to take your time, force nothing it should all fit together nicley.

Eh, I don't know. I've never used a ground strap, and I've built PCs on shag rugs in the wintertime with rings on And I've never had a problem with static electricity.

Anyway, I've heard that modern components are much more resistant to static electricity than stuff from the old days.

[Vrock]

Motherboard and CPU manuals are very good these days. Don't know about the Epox, my Asus and Shuttle manuals have colour pictures!

Do take the time to read them through before the build. The guides can only tell you so much. The manuals will tell you exact details.

Then just like the advice for Knuckler, take a few deep breaths and go build it.

Everything is much easier these days. IDE and floppy cables can only be inserted one way (man that could be frustrating if you didn't know you screwed that up...stupid red line on the cable), DIMMS push straight in instead of going in at an angle like SIMMS, heatsink retention clips are EASY now (no stupid screwdrivers needed to slip and bust up boards), boards are jumperless for the most part....life is good.

Heck, it's almost TOO easy these days. Kinda takes the leet out of it, you know?