[Cpl Ledanek]

to further confuse you  

Motherboard Mega-Roundup: 6 Top Mobos Reviewed and Compared
I thought it was a good read.


maybe you can find something like this over there
MSI R5850 Twin Frozr II Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP
was: $264.99
$259.99 (now)
save: $5.00
$209.99 after mail-in rebate (Receive a $50 mail in rebate check from MSI! Expires on 9/30/10)

[galzohar]

Quick googling shows F2 is 5400 RPM while the F3 is 7200 RPM. Not that I'm a hard drive expert, but instinct says to stay away from the F2

As for PSUs, you definitely do not want a no-name PSU. For those you never know if the 750W really is 750W nor if it's going to stay the same when it gets older, not to mention some no-name PSUs exploding and stuff like that... The PSU I listed is really not expensive and is more than enough. I'd rather have reliable 525W than 750W that might turn out to be a lot less in reality (or after a year of usage).

If you don't want driver issues, just stick with winXP. If you want new stuff just save yourself the trouble and install 64 bit from the start (and on a partition that is just large enough to have OS and maybe some other basic MS stuff like office and have at least 50% free space left). I have my winXP installed on a 50GB partition and it has 30% free space, so even a 100-150GB partition for your OS can be an overkill, leaving quite a lot for your "everything else" partition in any case.

[Nemesis]

PSU:
Power is at the heart of everything in your PC its the source for making it all work & conncets to EVERYTHING. If your PSU blows or is faulty in someway you run the risk of affecting/damaging some or all of your other hardware. I strongly recommend going for a brand name!
You'll be loking for PSU capacity, Ampage, PCIe Lines, ATX form, Molex, Quiet running, Fan speed, Warranty & of course a good price :-)


HD:
You will want a 7200RPM drive as minimal. You can get 10,000RPM...which are faster still but will also come at a price crunch. Personally Im not a fan of Western Digital Drives just from years of personal experience where I have had 3 drives go belly up on me. I also found them to be noisy drives. I personally prefer Seagate Drives,
something like a Baracuda 500GB (7200RPM - 16MB cache).
Others online rate the Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB (7200RPM - 32Mb Cache).

[Psychomorph]

@galzohar & Nemesis:

Ok, going for the F3 "7200RPM" drive.

The "XFX 650W XXX Edition" PSU has some excellent reviews and is in a good price range. I think I take it.

[Psychomorph]

Ordered:

GPU: XFX RADEON HD 5850 765Mhz (overclocked, hope the 10 extra bucks are worth it)
MB: Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3
CPU: Intel Core i5-760
HD: Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ)
RAM: 4GB-Kit GEIL Value, PC3-10660, DDR3-1333, CL7
PSU: XFX 650W XXX Edition
DVD: LG GH22NS50

CASE: Cooler Master CM690 II Advanced

Total: ~ 860,00 € (plus extra costs)

I hope I have the thing running by the next weekend.


Next case:
Suggest me a good and cheap Laptop, please. Only for surfing and typing.

Extra wish - power button somewhere at the side, or similar, so that you don't have to open the display to start it up.

[Psychomorph]

I received all parts and build the PC. It started, no suspicious smell, sounds or anything, all fans spin, DVD drive works, USB works, but I connected my monitor (DVI) and no reaction. It tells no DVI connection available and turns into stand by mode (also tried VGA cable with adapter and HDMI).
GPU fan spins, too. Removed it and put it back in.

Any idea what it could be? Monitor works with laptop. GPU broken?


I am consulting the internet, someone bought a Radeon 4xxx and has the same problem, monitor doesn't respond. His previous GeForce 9xxx works fine on the same slot. I still have hopes this is not a hardware error, but some configuration thing. It isn't news to me that Radeon has its "flaws", hence I was initially opposed to go for it as it was suggested here. Wonder it there's a fix.

Am goin to try the second slot, but I'm a bit afraid of plugging/unplugging it to much. I believe it won't fix it though.


Edit: That seems to be a known issue, usually the drivers are said to be the problem. Is there a way to auto install it from a USB stick.

[galzohar]

Unfortunately a "monitor wouldn't turn on" can be caused by just about any part of your computer.

My brother had his monitor not turn on on occasion and it turned out that the power in his room had a loose ground connection (which seems to have also caused his GPU to mess up though it did sort of work, that is connecting to another room's power started the PC).

Before finding out I did digging and found people having similar problems and what people were suggesting to them seemed to go over just about any part of the PC (and some still had problems after that).

Before you plug/unplug stuff just make sure the PSU is off and you're not charged with static

[Bota:16]

It shouldn't be a driver issue.  A driver wouldn't keep the GPU from sending a "connected" signed to your monitor.  The default driver that Windows 7 installs is sufficient to get things started.

Try both DVI slots.
Try the PCI-E x4 slot.

[Psychomorph]

But I can't install any drivers without the monitor. What is the PCI-E x4?

That's that I got, only the two blue ones can be used and I use the top one. I want to try the second, but because the GPU is not that easy to disconnect I try other things first. Though I'm out of options. I used a different power source (in the same room though, but honestly I don't think that is the problem), disconnected the drives, reconnected the cables. Also I tried both DVI's, on the monitor, too.

[ratoa]

Is a hardware issue

If the GPU is ok you should see the motherboard BIOS setting before any drivers or OS takes charge of that GPU
and since your build is a new one and you have a brand new HD a really doub is a driver issue.


EDIT. by any chance do you have an old  pci video card?

Also try to use just one memory stick to see if the motherboard post

Edited by ratoa, 30 September 2010 - 11:57 AM.

[Psychomorph]

How can I see BIOS settings without monitor? You mean with another card? I thought about to try the GeForce 5 from my old PC, will have to do.

I checked both RAM's, no difference.

[Cpl Ledanek]

does your vid card require 2 power supply connection ( a 6 + 6 or 4 +6 )

[Psychomorph]

Yes, two 6-pinch "PCI-E" labeled cables.

I build it with the help of this tutorial. My hardware is very similar, so it was quite straight forward, without it I would have never made it. All cables pretty much found their place, few are left for additional hardware.
Man I hope I didn't destroy the MB when I installed it, or something like this. Damn.

[galzohar]

Well the only thing you can really do is replace part 1 after another until it (hopefully) works.

[Cpl Ledanek]

Oh wait, baby step it for second:
1) you plugged in all hardwares
2) installed Win7
... let's stop the caboose here for second.
When you were installing the OS,
--- you could see the installation process?
--- at this junction, the monitored & vidcard was working?

if yes, then it maybe a case of bad driver?

Does your Mobo manual show you how to start on Safe Mode?

If yes, go there and see if you can install an earlier driver from a thumb drive.
DON'T use the driver that came with the vidcard.

[Psychomorph]

@gal:
The only option I have is to replace the GPU. Do old DDR (I think DDR1) work on modern MB's? Could try this. Other than that, I'm screwed. Oh well.

@Led:
No OS installation. I just assembled the PC, checked if everything is correct and sits firm, prayed to Lord and pushed the power button... Lord must have been busy with something else. All fans and lights/lamps worked (also on the MB), so every part is fed with electricity, but it didn't boot. Fist I thought it has to do with what is responsible for things to appear on the screen (GPU), but now I realized that it simply doesn't boot, hence no signal to the monitor.

[Cpl Ledanek]

your PSU, does it have one of those removable cables?
try a different 6-pin if possible

[Nemesis]

Rem by Nem said:

Sorry Im late back to this thread

Ok so the build went well I assume..all components received, seated correctly etc.

Everything powered ergo...fans spin...LEDs light up....HD clacks away....mobo might beep.... but no gfx output!!
Considering GFX CARD ISSUES:
OK can you make sure the PSU is giving the right output down the PCI-e lines that the gfx card requires?! How do you tell... on the side of the PSU it should say something like PCI - 32 or 24 Watts. Now in the manual for the gfx card it should say power supply requirement  = x Watts per PCI. Why is this important? Cos if the card requires 32 & the PSU is only giving 24...it simply wont fire up! TURN the PC OFF when checking this out

If thats OK.....move on...

You know you have 2 outputs on the back of the gfx card to connect to the Monitor.... 1 is the primary output! Have you tried switching outputs?! Are you using DVI (DVI/VGA converter) or HDMI output?!

If that makes no difference....the monitor is on I assume?!....move on...

Have you read through the trouble shooting section in the manual that comes with the gfx card & can confirm all of those criterias?!

Considering the GFX CARD is OK
The CPU is seated correctly & the heatsink/fan is also seated the right way round, level & is making contact correctly.
The RAM is in the correct slots & also seated firmly.
Have you tried disconnecting all power & data cables to the DVD drive & HardDrive. Does it boot a BIOS screen then?

Before you even get to OS installation...you should at least see the mobo BIOS boot on screen!!

LOL...soz just read that a lot of this has already been mentioned.
The PCIeX4 slot is the lower blue slot...note its ays PCIeX16, PCIeX4 at the end of each slot towards rear of case.
Old stuff will run in the PC..so DDR1 is ok as is old GFX card.

[Psychomorph]

I try to switch pci slot.

By the way, if I start, there is no MB beeping sound, I think that's bad.
also, there are 4 "Phase" LED's on the MB. 1-2 are green, 3 is orange and 4 is red. Does it mean anything (gonna see the manual I guess)?

Edit: Other PCI slot didn't work out. Same situation.

[Nemesis]

Psychomorph, on Sep 30 2010, 10:41 PM, said:

I try to switch pci slot.

By the way, if I start, there is no MB beeping sound, I think that's bad.
also, there are 4 "Phase" LED's on the MB. 1-2 are green, 3 is orange and 4 is red. Does it mean anything (gonna see the manual I guess)?

Edit: Other PCI slot didn't work out. Same situation.

Gfx card is PCIex16 only so wont work in other slot anyway. placing it in that slot wont hurt the card either. OLDER PCIe cards "should" work in this slot

Manual is your SAVIOUR Hope LEDs have significance, post back with findings