Turnup & test steps for new build

I am going to build my first computer from scratch and wonder if anybody has any reference notes that would step me through it. Some parts are coming from my old computer & some are new from Newegg and include...

1. Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 ATX 12V V2.0 for AMD & Intel systems Power Supply.

2. ASUS P5LD2 Deluxe Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 945P ATX Intel Motherboard.

3. Intel Pentium D 830 Smithfield 800MHz FSB 2 x 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Dual Core, EM64T Processor.

4. eVGA 128-P2-N368-TX Geforce 6600GT 128MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card.

5. OCZ Gold Series 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 667 (PC2 5400) Dual Channel Kit System Memory.

6. I'm reusing my old EIDE HD and OS (Windows XP Pro) keyboard, monitor, mouse, CDRW, Floppy, etc.

Putting the parts together seem straight forward... It's the turnup & test steps and default vs overclocking options that will be in question...

Any tips to avoid disasters would be welcome...

thanks
denny

..

 

I think if you were more specific in your question you'd get some replies. You say that this is your first build but you also mention "overclocking ". I'm kind of confused as to what your experience level is. If you've never overclocked a rig before than this should not be of high concern to you.

I could say things like the following:

- avoid ESD by always keeping your arms/hands in contact with the bare metal of your case keeping them both at the same potential

- do whatever you need to do to avoid driving your screwdriver through your mainboard when installing your heatsink (may not apply to your situation)

- the video card should be the only card you install before installing your OS - do the other cards afterward - it's "cleaner" and permits you to ghost your OS right after the OS install.

But I'm not exactly sure what "level" of advice you're seeking.

Gary

 

Thanks for the reply Gary,

I've always bought a pre-built system from Dell or Gateway... so I never needed to test anything since they were turn-key products. I am familiar with ESD and have worked with PCB's and circuits packs, & previous built and turn-up analog & fiber optics telecommunication eqpt, ect. However this is the first time for building a personal computer. From past experiences I've learned that if you don't get the options correct or the components installed in the right sequence... the job just got much harder... From reading the motherboard manual and checking various forums... there appears to be many choice's in the BIOS setup & also options with software for pre set values for overclocking. I am "assuming" that there is also a default value if I was to just plug everything together and power-up the system. Having the option to tweak the system by overclocking seems the best way to utilize the eqpt that I'm going to built. What I am asking is.... How much tweaking would be too much? I don't want to shorten the lifespan of the eqpt, void any warrantees, or have noisy fans running at full blast in order to cool things down. What are some good tests and what sequence do I run any tests (Processor, memory, Video card, onboard components, ect) , in order to find if there is a weak link in the computer? Is there some sort of burn-in procedure that I should do? Is there any shareware that will stress test the computer. Thanks for your note's about ESD, heat sink disasters, & the cleaner install with the video card placement & ghosting of the HD.
denny

 

Hi Denny,

I don't think many of us here do overclocking (although some do). Me, no, if I want to go faster or do more things I know I can usually update the hardware because I get a motherboard that has room for "expansion ", getting a faster CPU, adding more RAM, updating the graphics card, etc. Those sorts of things can maybe double the lifespan of the system. If I wanted my 3.0Ghz CPU to run at 3.5Ghz, I would have gotten a 3.5 to start with.

I don't think you should overclock within the warranty period. After that, if you think the system is expendable (as an extreme case), experiment with overclocking then, but be prepared that something may get "cooked ". As you know, overclocking stresses the components.

Installation...first, read through the motherboard manual from front to back, even if you do not know what it is saying at the time, see if you can identify the location of the different parts. Then, follow the manual as you do the installation, it should all fall into place and maybe you will pick up something that you might have missed otherwise.

There should not be much to change in the BIOS. Look for a menu to "Load optimum settings ". Most other changes may relate to overclocking if you wanted to try that. BIOS guide:
http://www.rojakpot.com/default.aspx?location=1

Matt

 

Well Denny, I think you've answered your own question about overclocking. Oc'ing shortens the lifespan of your components, voids their warranties and in general, requires some serious air-cooling (let's just say when I booted my rig at a gaming lan party, everyone was from my rig's fan noise).

On the other hand, I always overclock my gaming rig and have been doing so for five years without any negative consequences. I also know that my parts will be upgraded WAY before they fail from heat stress. Even stories about people 'frying' things are few and far between.

But just as Mattman said, just go with "Load Optimized Defaults" in your bios and go with that for a while until you have the feeling that you rig is stable and that you've done a successful build. Don't start oc'ing anything until you feel your rig is solid as a rock.

For simple testing, I use Memtest86 to test the RAM and one of the 3dMark (2001, 03, 05) to stress the system. Some people use something called Super PI (I think?). I don't do a burn-in per se even if I'm overclocking. Burn-in (severely stressing your cpu) is for people trying to reach extreme overclocks and it's only a theory as to whether it actually helps or not.

You sound like you have more than enough experience to build a PC. I like to install the cpu, ram and heatsink prior to installing the mainboard in the case. After the board's in, and the video card is in and power's hooked up, you can hook up a hard drive and a floppy drive, throw in a Win98 "DOS" boot disk to see if it posts. If it posts okay, you can run Memtest86 for another "warm and fuzzy ". This is oversimplified but you want to "prove out" your bare bones system before you start loading the OS.

If your RAM is ideally meant to run in dual-channel, find out which memory slots should be used for that. The whole process is similar to other "electrical" projects: don't slap every single part together, have it not work right, and then have no idea which component is the cause of the problem.

Gary

 

Thanks to all for the reply's....
Lot of good info & links to build specific info & test software. I'm ready to power up tomorrow after I touch base with Antec. I have a question about a lead from the pwr supply, and the front panel power & reset buttons switch leads do not have polarity marking on them and the MB drawing do. That might not be a problem but no harm checking first. Also ran into a roadblock when trying to using my old floppy drive from Dell... seems they use a priority cable and drive and the pins aren't industry standard... So now I'll need to set the bios to boot from the CD until or if I get a new floppy. Also had some trouble mounting Intel's heatsink... not being able to "see" or "feel" the holes when mounting the heatsink is a bear... if you are off by just a hair the push pins don't set... and you end up thinking that you push too hard..... had to remove and reset once... hope the gray goop that came with the unit flows evenly with the heat... guess I'll find out tomorrow at pwr up.. Also will most likely use what Mattman suggested and set the bios to "Load Optimized Defaults "... that way the processor will adjust as needed..

Thanks again to all ...
denny