jcmuelle,
My "BAD" also concerning "thermal interface material" IE, heat sink compound, paste or whatever.
At one time, Intel would not exchange a CPU if one returned it with traces of paste compound on it.
They automatically assumed one had been O/Clocking and burned up the CPU.
From, ScottW's Link, I see they (now advocate) using "thermal interface material" !!!!
Times do change.
Good Luck with your build.
Kindest Regards,
Rick P. ♥ :)
Thanks for the heads up on the thermal interface material. I will check out the bottom of the heatsink/fan that comes with the CPU and add thermal paste if it is not already applied. Is it necessary to pick up a static wrist band if I plan on being only on tiled floor during the build?
I managed to pick up a free version of Vista-32 Enterprise Edition. (pays to have a brother in school still) I also downloaded the ultimate boot cd to do some testing of the cpu/memory/hdd etc.
Is there a guide for setting up the best bios settings for the MB that i chose? I am not looking to overclock, but I do want to be able to access the most memory that I can out of those G.Skill sticks. Any help with bios settings would be appreciated.
Thanks
jcmuelle,
That thermal paste link was a real shocker for me. Intel has done a 180 on that subject so insure you follow their recommendations to the letter just in case you have to ask for a replacement under their CPU warranty.
===================
Always protect electronic components from static electricity. A static electrical discharge can range into thousands of volts even though the current is minute.
===================
Your new Asus Mother Board will come with a Complete Manual and CD with Machine Drivers.
Read and understand the mother board manual explanations with pictures throughly before beginning your build.
The manual contains all information needed including Bios Settings for a successful build.
===================
If there is something in the manual you do not understand, please post back as we can download the manual and follow along with you.
===================
Kindest Regards,
Rick P. ♥ :)
Jon, I highly recommend a static strap. Consider the price of the strap versus the price of the computer.
There probably is a guide to BIOS settings for an ASUS P5Q because it's a very popular board. Try googling for it and remember that most of these people are overclockers. Hopefully the motherboard reads the SPD data on the DIMMs and chooses the best timings and voltage for the memory. But, if it gives you trouble post back and we will help.
Finally, there is little you can do to get the "most" memory from those DIMMs. Vista 32-bit has a maximum address space of 4 GB and some of that must be given to memory mapped I/O space. Typically this leaves around 3.2 GB available -- maybe more, maybe less.
Ok all, my computer has been built for around two weeks. I have been really happy with everything so far.
I have a few annoyances, such as my GPU's fan coming on at what I can assume is 100% every 2 minutes. This is not that loud, but it is by far the loudest thing in the system. I'm a little disappointed that I can't use any program to alter the fan speed. I would like to just keep it at 40% all the time I can, but I don't think that Radeon ATI HD 3870's support fan control.
The second issue is a little more worrisome. My PSU is an Antec Earthwatts 500-D that came with my Antec Sonata III. I love the case and the PSU had plenty of hookups for the peripherals I added. However, I have had a weird intermittent buzzing sound coming from the PSU. It is very faint and repeats 4-6 times every 10 seconds. It doesn't happen all the time. Just when my computer has been on for a bit. Should I worry about RMAing this PSU? Or is this normal?
jcmuelle,
Can't remember if you bought Case/w PSU from Newegg or Antec direct.
If you bought combo from Antec, they will Over-night you a new PSU.
If dealing with Newegg, don't know what their policy is concerning splitting up parts for return.
That's why I always purchase Case / Enclosures and PSUs plus interior parts direct from Antec.
Kindest Regards,
Rick P.♦ :)
Jon, you might try contacting Sapphire about the GPU fan. They should supply the software to control fans and read temps, even if it is just ATI software that they have re-branded. My dad's build was done with a Gigabyte 3870 and the fan runs steady and quiet. That GPU should not need any excessive cooling.
I have heard PSUs make a high-pitched whine. It does not necessarily mean that they are broken or going to break, but there's no reason that you should have to put up with it. I would suggest that you call the retailer and see about a replacement. All the ones that I have heard whine were fixed with a replacement unit. Other than that, I'm glad to hear your system is working well.
This topic has been closed to new replies. Please create a new topic instead.
