New Computer Build


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Barbobot

-the Pirate King
Retired
For my birthday/christmas i split the cost of building a new computer from scratch with my mom. But I've also never built a computer before. For now I think I have most things down on how to put things together, at least on the hardware levels. Software might be a different issue as I've never fiddled with the BIOS of a computer before, but I'll get to that when I get to it. Just got a quick question for those of you more knowledgeable on this type of subject.

The PSU was one of the pieces that I knew the least about for what I needed. I wasn't quite sure how much I needed or how to find that out. I kinda just looked at some people's setups and picked one that was commonly used. I bought a Corsair 750W PSU. I read now that for a computer with my specs (core i5 quad core, GTX260, 1TB hdd) I'd probably only need something like a 650W PSU. Now i know having one too low causes a problem of not being able to supply the needed power. Any problem in having a PSU that's higher? Or does that just mean I got room for expansion if say I want to go for an SLI setup in the future?

I'll probably use this thread for any other questions I have during my build tomorrow.
 
Having too big of a PSU wont cause a problem. Since your CPU is only a i5 and your GPU is a GTX260 a 450 would most likely work. Having a bigger one allows for upgrades like SLI more HDD's or even a CPU upgrade.

I'm running a amd 3.2 quad 125w and a ati 5770 GPU and all I would need is a 450 as well.

You also shouldn't need to really enter the bios if you plan on running stock and your GPU is recognized from the start.
 
If you want SLI setup, last time I checked 1000W PSU from a quality brand (like corsair) would be recommended.

If you are installing the CPU yourself, you might want to get that professionally done. If you dont apply the cooling liquid and the fan properly its game over. You might also need to enter BIOS to see if it recognises your CPU.

Other than that building a computer is fairly straightforward and fun.
 
According to This the gtx260 uses 182w which meas a PSU of 400 could run SLI just fine, that's not including the CPU, MB, HDD's. they recommend a 700w but a 650 will work as long as all the amps and everything is adequate.
 
Wait, Doomsayer is right. Didnt read properly. I was thinking of GTX 285 SLI setup. That would require a beastly PSU component.
 
QUOTE (franzoir @ Dec 29 2010, 10:33 PM) If you want SLI setup, last time I checked 1000W PSU from a quality brand (like corsair) would be recommended.

If you are installing the CPU yourself, you might want to get that professionally done. If you dont apply the cooling liquid and the fan properly its game over. You might also need to enter BIOS to see if it recognises your CPU.

Other than that building a computer is fairly straightforward and fun.
From everything I've read installing the CPU onto the motherboard is extremely simple. I wasn't worried about that.
 
New desktop is now physically built. Had a few worries about connecting stuff to the PSU since as I said before that's the part that I know the least about (primarily with connecting the chassis fans to the mobo and PSU). But I think I got all that stuff sorted out. Next step after dinner is to attempt to turn it on. Assuming the computer turns on and all the fans start up, I then move on to the software side of the equation.
 
Some words of advice, before you turn it on make sure that the gpu and ram are properly seated, and that you have your cpu's power plug connected. It's usually a 4 or 8 pin, 4 pins are a ATX-12 and 8 pins are ESP-12 so if you have a esp board and your psu is a atx-12 you might have a problem. Ran into this with my cousins, luckily I caught it before he ordered everything. XD
 
Thanks for the advice. Luckily, minus a few cords that were unattached, I got the thing up and running and am looking at hte BIOS. Got a question though that I need answering before I move on.

I'll be running Win 7 and have just the single hdd. Do I want to configure sata as IDE or AHCI?

For the record i'm using a WD1002FAEX 1TB SATA 6.0 Gb/s
 
Personally I'd leave it alone, that's what I did. I believe ACHI is needed for RAID setups, but don't hold me to it. If you can see your HDD in the bios then just leave it alone IMO.
 
I am now typing on my brand new desktop. Things went surprisingly smooth. I was expecting to run into far more problems with it being the first time I've ever built a computer from scratch and doing it by myself. Looking forward greatly to gaming on this computer and actually being able to use settings higher than Low.

Also typo earlier. I'm using a GTX460, not 260.
 
Glad to hear that your first build was a success. One thing I would recommend though, is to install some sort of temp monitoring software like speedfan(or one that may have came with your MB) and do a short stress test. It would only need to be about 30 minutes or so, and this is to test stability and whether you got the cpu fan installed correctly and with enough thermal paste.
 
QUOTE (doomsayer @ Dec 31 2010, 03:26 AM) Glad to hear that your first build was a success. One thing I would recommend though, is to install some sort of temp monitoring software like speedfan(or one that may have came with your MB) and do a short stress test. It would only need to be about 30 minutes or so, and this is to test stability and whether you got the cpu fan installed correctly and with enough thermal paste.
What temperature and CPU fan RPM should I be looking for when doing this though?
 
Depends on your core, but lower is better of coarse. If for example, you have a i5-750 quad the max temp is around 72c. For my phenom II X4 it is 62c, and my stock fan could spin up to 6000 rpm and kept it at 55c under load(which is too hot and loud for my liking so I got a new one). As for your fan, if it keeps it cool and isn't running at 6000 rpm or excessively loud, then your good, but lower rpm's means longer life. My new fan only spins at 2400 rpm's and is considerably quieter, it also keeps it under 40c(which is cooler than my stock fan at idle XD).
 
From playing WoW the fan was running about 2100 RPM and the temp maxed out around 50C from what I saw.
 
2100 rpm is an good speed for the fan, and so is 50c for the temp if that's as high as it gets. If the temps start to get higher and the fan doesn't spin any faster, it might be a problem. But if it doesn't ever hit the max temps it can run at then you'll be fine. But with higher temps the life of the cpu is shortened, if you notice that your get to 68c or so you may want to reapply the thermal paste. If it doesn't help then you might want to consider getting a new fan.

As for WOW, that shouldn't really stress the cpu much since its a game. Games stress the gpu far more than the cpu.

Also what server are you on, and I'm going to guess your an alliance? XD

EDIT: Since you're using a GTX 460 GPU, according to this, the 460 uses 268w, so a PSU of 550w for SLI would be needed for just the GPU's. I would say that you would want a 750W or better if you plan on running SLI.
 
Hey, congrats on building your new system. If your CPU is running 50C at 2100 rpm, it doesn't seem like it's working very hard. Considering WoW came out in 2004 and has a minimum CPU requirement of a "Intel Pentium 4 1.3 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 1500+", your numbers seems quite reasonable.

As other people have hinted at, you probably want to perform some thermal stress tests to ensure that everything has been installed correctly. For CPU stress testing, you can run something as simple as Prime95 or if you're looking for something more comprehensive, 3dMark.
 
QUOTE (Barbobot @ Dec 30 2010, 09:21 PM)I am now typing on my brand new desktop.  Things went surprisingly smooth.  I was expecting to run into far more problems with it being the first time I've ever built a computer from scratch and doing it by myself.
Barbo-san! Looks from what I read, you had a good time building your pc...good for you. Now, in the New Year and beyond, kick back and enjoy...congrats too.
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P.S. You are fortunate doomsayer-san was around to give advice...he is sheer genius in all things computer, I should know...
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