Building a mini PC for high end gaming

If everything is connected correctly, and works, then you can fire it up.
You should get one 'beep' from the motherboard, as a POST (power-on self-test) code. Fans should spin. Various lights should be on.

if you get anything other than the one-beep, you will have to see what POST beep codes your BIOS is using , and figure it out from there.
You can google "Post beep codes" to find these. Since I started building my own comps in abt 1997, I have heard a few, and also had the disappointment of hearing no beep at all. It is handy to at least have that clue, before loading OS.

I cannot recall It beeps even once, it just hums and all the lights and all fans starts spinning,

When connected to a screen it asks to insert disk to boot from , But I will fire it up today again to make sure if it beeps or not ( at work atm )

Also, I am going to invest in a H55 liquid cooler, but since I already have the stock cooler on the CPU now, which had some thermal paste on it, do I need to use some form of cleaning of the CPU before I moun the liquid cooler or can I just let the old thermal paste be on the CPU and mount the H55 straight away?

Thanks!

:)
 
Yes you will need to clean it; alcohol is fine.
I'm not sure about the amount of space you have to work with, but it'd be my personal preference to just use an air cooler over any CLC cheaper than ~$80+.
If you don't have any thermal paste lying around you'll have to find or borrow some.
 
If it asks for boot disk, you are golden.
the only question mark at that point is whether the hard drive works - I believe everything will light up, and it will ask for boot disk, even if hard drive is not connected or not functioning.

so, you are probably in great shape.

--if you replace the cooler, the prevailing wisdom is to clean away the old thermal paste and lay new down.

it ideally works really well by having it get spread just right when the cooler and cpu are once and only once put together.

there is a lot on the web, incl. here at TS, abt applying thermal paste well - review a bunch of that stuff to get a feel for how to do it.

it does not have to be done perfectly in most cases, but it is reassuring to know you probably did it well- the issue is one of cpu lifetime across years.

it is a hassle to re-do, so read up. once assembled and running, you will want to check to see if cpu is in its operating range. if so, you should be good for long processor life.
if cpu is running hot, then you have to figure out what is wrong - could be cooler, case venting and air flow, or thermal paste - you don't know until you try some stuff and figure it out. if that eventually happens, just post when it happens. best to just use good items and do the thermal paste right the first time.
 
Oh- if you remove thermal paste, the big deal is don't scratch the flat surface of the cpu - that leaves a place where thermal paste likely won't do the job of being able to conduct heat from cpu to cooler. not a fatal problem, but best to avoid it. again, lots on the web abt how to remove it all well, and how to apply.
 
I cannot recall It beeps even once, it just hums and all the lights and all fans starts spinning,

When connected to a screen it asks to insert disk to boot from , But I will fire it up today again to make sure if it beeps or not ( at work atm )

Also, I am going to invest in a H55 liquid cooler, but since I already have the stock cooler on the CPU now, which had some thermal paste on it, do I need to use some form of cleaning of the CPU before I moun the liquid cooler or can I just let the old thermal paste be on the CPU and mount the H55 straight away?

Thanks!

:)
Let me just say it this way, you don't technically have to but its more than recommended for optimal performance. Like stated above, Q-tips, a microscopic amount of rubbing alcohol, and some paper towels works just fine to get it off for the new cooler. Your computer sounds like its running fine to me, which card did you finally invest in?
 
If it asks for boot disk, you are golden.
the only question mark at that point is whether the hard drive works - I believe everything will light up, and it will ask for boot disk, even if hard drive is not connected or not functioning.

so, you are probably in great shape.

--if you replace the cooler, the prevailing wisdom is to clean away the old thermal paste and lay new down.

it ideally works really well by having it get spread just right when the cooler and cpu are once and only once put together.

there is a lot on the web, incl. here at TS, abt applying thermal paste well - review a bunch of that stuff to get a feel for how to do it.

it does not have to be done perfectly in most cases, but it is reassuring to know you probably did it well- the issue is one of cpu lifetime across years.

it is a hassle to re-do, so read up. once assembled and running, you will want to check to see if cpu is in its operating range. if so, you should be good for long processor life.
if cpu is running hot, then you have to figure out what is wrong - could be cooler, case venting and air flow, or thermal paste - you don't know until you try some stuff and figure it out. if that eventually happens, just post when it happens. best to just use good items and do the thermal paste right the first time.
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When I start it, it just makes a whirring sound at first, no beeps and then fans spin up in speed and then go down to idle, boot screen comes up,

I will wait with installing the h55 and first see how to the stock cooler is doing, I will all come down to temps,

What temp should my stock cooler be under load? around 70 degrees?

Thanks :)
 
Let me just say it this way, you don't technically have to but its more than recommended for optimal performance. Like stated above, Q-tips, a microscopic amount of rubbing alcohol, and some paper towels works just fine to get it off for the new cooler. Your computer sounds like its running fine to me, which card did you finally invest in?

Ill see how the stock cooler runs first, if needed ill just go for the h55 I guess,

I haven't invested in a card yet, I have everything except the GPU, My eyes are still fixed on a 290, either with DCUII cooling or the windforce :) if they will ever be released,

But until then I got to impatient so bought all the other parts so I have something to do while I wait....and it is kinda good since I wont be able to use the computer until I get the card, ill spend more time on managing my cables and stuff :)
 
Oh , btw guys,

I got a fan speed control wich connects with molex, so I need to get a molex to 3 pin fan adapter,

I found this > http://www.amazon.co.uk/Internal-Po...rds=internal+power+splitter+adapter+fan+molex

And in the comments a guy commented he used it to connect his fan to his fan controller,

So I went ahead and ordered,

But on the picture its unclear and I am abit unsure since I need a male fan connector, right? , can you verify its the right one for me? :p
 
Oh , btw guys,

I got a fan speed control wich connects with molex, so I need to get a molex to 3 pin fan adapter,

I found this > http://www.amazon.co.uk/Internal-Power-Splitter-Adapter-Molex/dp/B0029HOQA2/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1385020974&sr=1-1&keywords=internal power splitter adapter fan molex

And in the comments a guy commented he used it to connect his fan to his fan controller,

So I went ahead and ordered,

But on the picture its unclear and I am abit unsure since I need a male fan connector, right? , can you verify its the right one for me? :p
That's fine, however you need to be careful how much you plug into each channel on the fan controller because most can only handle a certain amount of output. If you hit to high a level it can burn out a fan controller (Though I don't think you are going to be plugging in to many based on what you have said). Just make sure to split them up as best you can and not exceed your fan controllers recommended power usage, most standard fan controllers can handle around 3 fans on each channel.
 
That's fine, however you need to be careful how much you plug into each channel on the fan controller because most can only handle a certain amount of output. If you hit to high a level it can burn out a fan controller (Though I don't think you are going to be plugging in to many based on what you have said). Just make sure to split them up as best you can and not exceed your fan controllers recommended power usage, most standard fan controllers can handle around 3 fans on each channel.

Ooooh, I see ,

Well... I have the 230mm fan in the front, Then 2x 120 mm in the top and 1x 120 mm in the back.

So, perhaps I should connect the 2 top fans to 1 fan control and then the front to another?

Or how do you suggest me to wire it? I really have no idea here so any advice is highly appreciated :)

And while we are at it, regarding airflow, For me it sounds logical to have a higher outtake then intake, or should it be the other way around?

Just so I know if I should keep the front fan pushing in less air then the back / top pushes out or not :)
 
Ooooh, I see ,

Well... I have the 230mm fan in the front, Then 2x 120 mm in the top and 1x 120 mm in the back.

So, perhaps I should connect the 2 top fans to 1 fan control and then the front to another?

Or how do you suggest me to wire it? I really have no idea here so any advice is highly appreciated :)

And while we are at it, regarding airflow, For me it sounds logical to have a higher outtake then intake, or should it be the other way around?

Just so I know if I should keep the front fan pushing in less air then the back / top pushes out or not :)
Wait I may have gotten confused reading this early for me because I just woke up lol. Did you buy a fan controller with a screen or something like that, or are you referring to the headers on the motherboard?

As for airflow, the standard would be this:
Front Intake, rear and top exhaust.

If you need more intake air, you can do:
Front Intake
Rear Intake
Top Exhaust
 
I got a fan controller with a screen or something yes for the 5.25" slot, it connects the case fans with molex, so therefore I bought some molex to 3 pin fan adaptor so I could connect the case fans to the fan controller,


Yeah I was thinking the Front Intake, rear and top exhaust that you mentioned,

But I was more referring to if I should push more air in then out or the other way around,

For example, Lets say I have the front fan spinning faster then the top and rear fans, which fills my case with more air then the outtake fans can push out, so the air would linger in the case longer before being pushed out ,

Or the other way around, that the out takes fan in the top and back is spinning faster then the front fan, so they push our more air then the front intake fan can push in, I think this would be better since logically it would push the hot air out faster?

But I have no idea which one is best :)

Hope I didn't ruin your brain with this much text this early for you ^^
 
I got a fan controller with a screen or something yes for the 5.25" slot, it connects the case fans with molex, so therefore I bought some molex to 3 pin fan adaptor so I could connect the case fans to the fan controller,


Yeah I was thinking the Front Intake, rear and top exhaust that you mentioned,

But I was more referring to if I should push more air in then out or the other way around,

For example, Lets say I have the front fan spinning faster then the top and rear fans, which fills my case with more air then the outtake fans can push out, so the air would linger in the case longer before being pushed out ,

Or the other way around, that the out takes fan in the top and back is spinning faster then the front fan, so they push our more air then the front intake fan can push in, I think this would be better since logically it would push the hot air out faster?

But I have no idea which one is best :)

Hope I didn't ruin your brain with this much text this early for you ^^

Ok, then my old comment still stands, just be sure not to overload the individual channels on the fan controller. You don't have a huge number so you should not have any worries but just try to split them up as best you can.

As for the air, here's what I have learned while messing with my system regarding positive or negative air pressure in cases (This is just what has worked for me and what I have experimented with FYI):
With my current system, I have tried negative air pressure, positive air pressure, and close to even airflow. The results that got my the best temperature results was the closer to even air pressure with positive running in at second and negative running last (Bear in mind these were within 6 degrees Celsius of each other and on a liquid cooling system). Having an Even to me seems to be the best because with a negative system the air gets pulled in from near cracks and crevices anyway which causes dust build up around the entire case and also causes more of a strain on those exhaust fans. A positive air flow relieves the overall stress and gave me better results, but overall the closer to even seemed to give the best results because it was just basically swapping the air around in the case constantly.

So I would just say try for the most even you can with a little more leaning to positive airflow over negative. But this is just an opinion based on my results and it may turn out differently for you.
 
Alright, Ive managed to put Windows 8 on it,

It could find all my components except my DVD drive...but since I managed to get windows 8 from a USB stick I don't really need the drive and will replace it with a fan control instead.

So first off , if I go into device manager there are 3 yellow exclamation marks under " Other Devices ", they say >

Ethernet Controll ( I have tried using the Wifi on the computer and it works great)

PCI Simple Communications Controller ,

SM Bus controller ,

What does they mean and is it something serious that I need to do something about?

Also, my CPU is 53c in idle, isn't that pretty high? :(

Thanks!
 
Alright, Ive managed to put Windows 8 on it,

It could find all my components except my DVD drive...but since I managed to get windows 8 from a USB stick I don't really need the drive and will replace it with a fan control instead.

So first off , if I go into device manager there are 3 yellow exclamation marks under " Other Devices ", they say >

Ethernet Controll ( I have tried using the Wifi on the computer and it works great)

PCI Simple Communications Controller ,

SM Bus controller ,

What does they mean and is it something serious that I need to do something about?

Also, my CPU is 53c in idle, isn't that pretty high? :(

Thanks!

53 is high, but not for a stock cooler, should be just fine.

Right click those and make them update their driver, should fix the exclamation points.
 
53 is high even for a stock cooler. This is idle, remember. I'd re-apply thermal paste and try again. I can't see which CPU it is, but latest Intels shouldn't be idling at over 40C even on a very hot day.
 
53 is high even for a stock cooler. This is idle, remember. I'd re-apply thermal paste and try again. I can't see which CPU it is, but latest Intels shouldn't be idling at over 40C even on a very hot day.

Its an i5 4570 :)

Actually, it stays down on 38c now...but it easily goes up to 48 sometimes :eek:
 
After installing Samsung magician for the SSD I cannot find my Western digital 1 TB when I open my computer.

However I can find it in the device manager and also in Bios,,, any ideas? :(

In order:
St1ckM4n, well not recently, after being on, those stock coolers unless you adjust the fan speed tend to idle around that level. My friend made a machian using stock heatsink and an i7 3770 and 50+ seemed about normal idling after being on/running games for a bit and allowing cooldown.

Obzoleet You dont see the HDD in my computer? Umm what was the drive name, try connecting to the drive using the run command and just going into (Im going to guess D: Drive)
 
In order:
St1ckM4n, well not recently, after being on, those stock coolers unless you adjust the fan speed tend to idle around that level. My friend made a machian using stock heatsink and an i7 3770 and 50+ seemed about normal idling after being on/running games for a bit and allowing cooldown.

Obzoleet You dont see the HDD in my computer? Umm what was the drive name, try connecting to the drive using the run command and just going into (Im going to guess D: Drive)

I managed to fix the HDD issue, for some reason it was unallocated space now ( even though I used it yesterday :O )

So it all seems good now :)
 
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