Making a computer (finally).

Post by **Verence** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 10:54 pm

After ten-or-so years of making due with crappy second-hand Dells I'm finally making my own computer. If anyone has any suggestions or comments please lemme know.

Here's the list as of right now, though it might be revised. I won't actually start buying until my tax refund gets deposited.

RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WBP Black SECC STEEL ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail

$89.99

MSI K9N SLI Platinum Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

$122.99

EVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

$109.99

(I'm planning on putting another 7600GT in at some point.)

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Windsor 2.6GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADA5200CSBOX - Retail

$229.00

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400 - Retail

$209.00

Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600JBRTL 160GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - Retail

$72.99

SONY Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1615/B2s - OEM

$18.99

SONY 16X DVD±R DVD Burner With 5X DVD-RAM Write Black IDE Model DRU120C - Retail

$45.99

Total $901.93

Mericks · Post by **Mericks** » Sun Feb 18, 2007 11:02 pm

Wow...That's way more expensive than my computer, which is just 1 requirement under running Oblivion sadly...

RurouniQ · Post by **RurouniQ** » Mon Feb 19, 2007 12:12 pm

Don't buy the Hanns-G monitor. They sell them at the store I worked at and they're crap. Spend the extra $50 and get a Viewsonic.

Post by **Verence** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 2:16 am

I decided on just sticking with my current monitor.

It's a CRT, but it works just fine.

eXistence · Post by **eXistence** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:58 am

Looks good. I've made a few upgrades to my pc. Let me show you

Monitor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824116065

RAM:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... CatId=1833

And planned upgrades...

Motherboard, CPU, Case, Fan, PSU Kit
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... 5-2129%20C

Video Card
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... =P450-7868

Jbrown · Post by **Jbrown** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 7:10 pm

nice! Man I thought the FX-60 was like 900 dollars. Ive missed alot since Ive been out of the loop

eXistence · Post by **eXistence** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 10:33 am

Jbrown wrote:nice! Man I thought the FX-60 was like 900 dollars. Ive missed alot since Ive been out of the loop

I love you Jbrown

Jbrown · Post by **Jbrown** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 10:37 am

eXistence wrote:
Jbrown wrote:nice! Man I thought the FX-60 was like 900 dollars. Ive missed alot since Ive been out of the loop
I love you Jbrown

<3

eXistence · Post by **eXistence** » Sat Feb 24, 2007 10:37 am

Jbrown wrote:
eXistence wrote:
Jbrown wrote:nice! Man I thought the FX-60 was like 900 dollars. Ive missed alot since Ive been out of the loop
I love you Jbrown

<3

Yeahhhh that's right

Post by **Verence** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 2:44 am

Alright, I just put my orders in with Newegg.

Whew, I do not often drop that much cash.

I ended up with a slightly different setup, I went with less RAM and a cheaper case and a seperate (but better) power supply.

Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600JSRTL 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

$59.99

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Windsor 2.6GHz Socket AM2 Processor

$215.00

CORSAIR XMS2 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model CM2X1024-6400

$109.00

ASUS Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E616A3T - Retail

$20.99

ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard

$134.99

EVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

$109.99

Rosewill R5601-BK 0.8mm SECC Screw-less Dual 120mm Fans ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

$44.99

COOLMAX CP-500T EPS12V 500W Power Supply

$49.99

Total: $744.94

Not bad, not bad.

I planned it out with upgradability in mind, so I'm gonna' add a second video card and a second 1Gb stick of RAM some day in the future.

Post by **Verence** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 10:48 pm

Okaaaay, so I got all the parts and assembled the computer.

...

And it doesn't work.

I think the motherboard is defective, it doesn't even make it as far as the BIOS half the time, let alone letting me install an OS.

I'm depressed.

Post by **Richie** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:23 am

Ah, the joys of building your own computer.

It could very well be your motherboard; it's happened to me on more than one occasion. Or it could be something as simple as a stick of RAM not fully seated.

Got more details? Like, play-by-play of the startup?

Post by **Verence** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 2:23 am

It's pretty random.

It goes something like this:

1st startup: Loud beeping, nothing on monitor.

(checked all connections, RAM, etc.)

2nd: Loud beeping, nothing on monitor.

(Disconnected all uneeded devices and moved RAM to another slot.)

3rd: Screen appears showing all connected devices as being connected and recognized. Screen also mentions CMOS error. I try to go to BIOS setup, but system freezes.

(I reset CMOS. (Remove battery, switch CMOS jumpers, wait, switch jumpers back, re-install battery.)

Still doesn't work.

My current plan is to return the motherboard for either another of the same type or one with similar capabilities.

Whadda ya' think?

Post by **Richie** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:36 pm

Yeah, give it a go, I guess. Got any tech-savvy friends around? Have one of them give you a second opinion. It'd be much better to have one of them find the problem, then wait two weeks for an RMA.

Post by **Verence** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 3:14 am

I'm the Tech-savviest of them all, I'm afraid.

I researched the problem, evidently it is just a bad board. Even replacing the BIOS chip doesn't help. Quite a few people have had this problem with DOA boards of this model.

I think Asus should foot the bill for the RMA shipping.