The new computer..

[maddmatt02]

well, almost. this is what I came home to today. I had to replace the kitchen sink and faucet so I haven't even opened up the boxes but I'm gonna get to that right after I post this. then I got plenty of reading of the manuals and a little later pieces will start going together(hopefully).

well, opened up the boxes and have a few questions(not pertaining to PC building).

the case as well as the CPU cooler had rebates, but the case was shipped in its original box, and they didnt open it up and throw in a packing slip, and the cooler came in a seperate shipment from the majority of it all, and that didnt have a packing slip either. I did print the order confirmations for each order though, can I use that for the rebates?

and does samsung have a lower name (like hp/compaq, chevy/saturn, etc...) because my packing slip says samsung, page said samsung but the drive says samsung nowhere on it but does say "super writemaster" on it. Im sure it will work fine, so Ill just use it either way (DVDR)

 

[LNCPapa]

Awesome - I think you'll have fun putting that together... and if not then I'm sure you'll learn something

 

[maddmatt02]

reading over the manual, there are two jumpers for the USB headers power. i can either have 5V or 5V STB. I figured that standby would mean that the usb ports connected to the USB header would have power when the computer was on, as well as being on, but in standby mode. but i searched and read of one person saying that it is powered 100% of the time that the psu switch is flipped on...

who is right? I think I will just leave it on +5V, because its going back in a guest room basically, so there wont be any need to charge a phone or anything, so anything plugged into the usb port wont need to be on unless someones using the computer, but Id still like to know regardless.

 

[maddmatt02]

lot of reading and so far on thermal compound spreading "theories". I got the mobo in the case. cpu on, cpu and heatsink "tinted", then got the heatsink mounted, and am now just making sure I got all the jumpers like i want... got a ways to go but i really dont wanna mess anything up so I am fine with taking my time.

 

[captaincranky]

The computer needs +5 volts to wake from standby via UBS. So the +5 is always hot. You'll often see the "F",or "Caps" Lock lights on a keyboard on, while the computer is "sleeping"`also. I normally try and kill everything so that I have to use the power switch only to resume from S-3. It prevents the wireless mice and keyboards from other machines from waking the box on standby. That said, I use PS-2 ports for input devices, unless that option isn't available to me.

As to packing slips or order confirmation, you can't use either for the rebates, you must print the actual invoice. This will either/or/and be emailed to you, while also being available to you, at your, "My Account" page @ Newegg.

Cooler Master is the worst, (at least that I have come across), about getting your rebates out in an expeditious manner. Be patient, then be ready to call Newegg customer service.

I still buy Cooler Master products from time to time, but I don't expect much in the way of after the sale service from them.

The best, (IMHO), way to deal with spreading thermal compound, is with a brand new, single edge razor blade. Do not use more than they tell you ,(grain of rice size blob). Spread that out evenly over the heat spreader, (top plate), of the CPU. Some people say to use a credit card, but that's a bit sloppy for my taste, as too much of the thermal compound tends to stick it it. Wipe a thin, even, coat with the razor blade, and you're done

"Super Write Master", is Samsung's trade name for their optical drives. I believe they're actually co-produced with Toshiba, under the corporate heading, "TSST Corp". ("Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology").

 

[maddmatt02]

ok, so if I understand it right, I think you are saying if I set the jumper to +5v, I have to wake it up by the power button, if I set the jumper to +5v STB, then I can wake it up by pressing something on the keyboard?

I am gonna watch the temps closely in the utility that came with the mobo (havent installed the OS yet though so not sure what the program is really like yet), but I found a site, Id have to search again but I think it was benchmarkreviews or something like that, and it showed a few different heatsink designs, and different ways of applying the stuff (one dot, one line, 2 lines, an x, etc... as well as different length lines and line spacing) and then pulled the heatsink right back off and photographed the parts. I ended up doing it like the x they did. I think I got the right amount in there, I can see a tiny shimmer along one edge seem, and on the opposite side theres a tiny little bit squeezing out so I know I at least have enough, and I assume too much and there would be tons squishing out all over the place. and I also had used the credit card method to "tint" both parts and then wiped off the excess before I proceeded with the x application and then the assembly. hope all goes well when I turn it on. Im about to go hunting for the latest bios and put it on the flash drive and then get going with the software end of it.

CRAP!!!

ok, so I press the power button and you can hear a few things start spinning up, but nothing showed on my old crt monitor. so i turned it off and took off the HDD/power led leads, disconnected all the case usb ports, etc, only left the drives and the 24 pin and 4 pin to the mobo and same thing happened. so i put an hdmi cable to the tv and still nothing. I checked the manual and the 2 leds, if they both stay off means "abnormal: CPU/chipset error" and the cpu fan also doesnt spin at all. if the cpu was bad, would the fan spin anyways? is there any other way to check if its the CPU without having another AM3 cpu to try out?

 

[maddmatt02]

tested the power supply and everything checks out except for the main 24 pin doesnt light the -5v led, but on the side of the power supply it lists +5, +3.3, +12(1), +12(2), -12, +5SB with all their amp ratings under them, no -5v listed, so Im gonna go search is I am supposed to even have -5v on a newer setup... and I am tearing it down to bench test it to make sure there is no case short or anything... found a post elsewhere where the same exact problem was a bac mobo and they got a replacement and it worked after that... so maybe tomorrow I will be sending something back...

 

[Leeky]

Is the power cable for the CPU fan connected to the motherboard? Your image isn't clear enough to check that it is.

If so... Remove everything except the power connectors. Leave 1 stick of RAM in, and then see if it will boot.

If it will boot, add the remainder of the components til it stops. You also need to make certain your cooler is correctly mounted, and the bottom is flush with the CPU.

 

[maddmatt02]

that pic doesnt have the cpu fan in it yet. I wanted to power it up to see which way it pushed/pulled so I knew which side I wanted to mount the fan on. but I did have the cpu fan plugged in when testing. I took it all the way down to just the 24 pin and 4 pin plugs to the mobo, cpu fan (heatsink was nice and flush), and the power switch lead to the mobo, and RAM. same deal. all 3 power phase LEDs came on, but the 2 status leds stayed off. and the way the book puts it, both lit is normal, one lit is VGA error, other lit is memory error, both out is chipset/cpu error.

I have it in the box right now ready to go back. I was thinking of going down to phoenix tomorrow to frys and see if I can pick one up, but then I have to pay the 15% restocking fee at newegg, so Ill probably just exchange for another board and try to not pay the restocking fee. they waived the restocking fee and sent me a pre-paid label last time without me even asking for either, so they just might do it again.

 

[Leeky]

You need it mounted, and connected to run it mate. Without cooling it could overheat very quickly.

Try removing and refitting your CPU back into its socket.

 

[maddmatt02]

no, I just meant in that pic it wasnt on yet. the cpu dropped right into the socket smoothly, I closed the latch. the cooler was nice and tight to the cpu, and I plugged the fan in, and then was going to see which way the fan blew and snap it onto the cooler (it just pops on easily). but the fan never spun at all. and I did put my finger against the side of the cpu/heatsink joint and there was no heat at all there.

but reading more on the return policy I will definitely just rma it for the same thing, because if not I will lose the combo savings, as well as 15% of the price before the rebate. so Ill be throwing away over 30 bucks...

 

[maddmatt02]

well, newegg does it again, prepaid shipping label and they are sending out an advance replacement for me as well.

so with any luck this thing will be going the middle of next week.

 

[maddmatt02]

HOORAY!!! on stick of ram, cpu and cooler, and PSU and it booted up and displayed on the monitor. so now to throw it all in the case and hope it still works... lol
Ill post some passmark scores once its all up and running.

and yes, the fan was spinning, the shutter speed was just quick enough that it looks like its standing still...

 

[maddmatt02]

got windows up and was freaking out for a second when it showed 1.0 for both the graphics scores... until i realized the graphics chipset driver wasnt installed (didnt figure that out until I tried getting online to download drivers for my stuff purchased before win7, and realized the lan chipset drivers werent there either...)

WEI scores are 6.8/5.9/4.4/4.0/5.9

 

[xmustanguyx]

I can tell you I've been there before! Nothing like happily unboxing your precious components and then zilch!
Glad you posted back and everythings working for you.
Got 2 questions, what what was the total cost and is there a filter on the bottom of the power supply? I was thinking of buying tha type of bottom mounted case but then noticed some came with filters and some cases didn't.

 

[maddmatt02]

minus the monitor and also didnt buy KB,mouse, or speakers it is going to end up 327 shipped after rebates come. if none of the rebates come through it is 402 shipped.

and the power supply doesnt draw any air through the bottom, its solid on top/bottom/sides and the back with the switch and the opposite sides are open. the case is open below it though and it does have a metal plate with much smaller openings behind the main bottom panel, but it would do nothing to stop dust, in fact I bet it would just make it much easier for dust to cling and clog the holes much faster if it was in fact drawing in air through the bottom.

passmark gave the system a 964 I think it was, I havent tried unlocking or OCing anything yet though.

graphics was pretty good. full screen with the jets did slow it down some, I think it was like 18fps was all, and then the one with the floating island and trees was maybe 1.5fps (our other 2 laptops and my netbook dont even attempt that test)

I did just install an updated graphics driver and havent tested yet to see if its improved

 

[xmustanguyx]

I figured it wouldn't keep all that much dust out of the power supply with a design like that one, but I like how it's mounted on bottom! I liked my old thermaltake case the power supply was mounted vertically not horizontally and out of sight because another hard drive cradle was blocking it from view.
Great build, looks good from here.

Regards,

Cass.

 

[xmustanguyx]

I like the samsung monitor, I just sold my 24 inch and loved how it turned on with a light touch. People always asked how to turn it on!

 

[maddmatt02]

I got it as a quad core right now, passmark gave the cpu only a 997 i think it was, CPU scores were around 25% higher in all areas, but the disk scores were all SLIGHTLY lower, but I have had identical settings back to back very as much before. memory only the allocate small block score was lower when unlocked, everything else was basically the same.

 

[xmustanguyx]

I just bought this gateway NV55c from best buy for 429 and I use it now more than my core2duo E8400 desktop! It has the Pentium chip inside and I was pleasantly surprised at how decent it runs win7.
It is nice and cool compared to the laptops of old. The hp's are nice too! I want my alienware though...I know overpriced but I still want one!

 

[maddmatt02]

well, I had it overclocked and stable to 3.4 and the cpu scores killed the stock 3.0 x3 scores obviously, and have the integrated graphics bumped up to 512mb, and OC'd a bit, but fr some reason the 3d graphics scores really suffer with the 4th core unlocked, so I went back to a triple core and have it stable at 3.75Ghz,

this is the final run of passmark, I think Im done playing in the BIOS, at least until I throw in a 5670 or something and then maybe go back to quad core and see if it still hurts 3d performance even with a PCIE graphics card...

overall score was 1127, and just for a laugh I loaded my netbooks score as a baseline. is a little funny though how my netbook came so close in the simple 3d score.

and on the one hard drive test my netbook won, could it have anything to do with the fact that my hard drive is 250GB and the desktop is 1.5TB?