It will only face the front or back so will turn it 180 degrees. So do u think I need to reapply thermal paste? Also I can't find out about the RAM. Whether I should use slots 1 & 2 or 1 & 3. Any ideas? Cheers donok. Sam.
Presuming this guy knows what he's talking about http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j0WKPNWFpM then I had it the right way around to begin with!
PCI_E1 is a tiny little slot, what is that for? So I've stuck the graphics card in PCI_E2, which is a blue one and the thing fits fine. I dropped one of the back plates on the motherboard... Hope I didn't damage anything! Do I need to connect anything to the graphics card or just stick it in the slot? It says something about connecting the power supply but I can't find any sockets on the graphics card....
Oh crap sorry mate could see from the picture what side the supports were on. So just went with the general assumption that the sticker would be the way. The fan blows air through the heatsink so the first way was correct. Again sorry. The fan will blow air through heatsink then the rear case fan will expell the hot air out of case. Pci 1 is for small devices such as soundcards etc. The graphics card should fit into a pci slot with a clip at the end and you should use the closest on to the CPU to get max bandwidth. Check the end of the graphics cards for black power input sockets. Opposite side to the outputs. Normally off the end facing you. That should connect to psu.
Its ok mate I've turned it back around now. Ok I've connected up my SDD to the motherboard. It's a bit confusing which one is the 6 gps but I think it's the white one as the cable is white. I need to connect that to the power supply now. Does it matter which SATA connector I use? I have 6 of them I think! Also does the graphics card connect to VGA 1? Cheers, Sam.
Depends on SSD but use a Sata3 port that uses the intel chipset and not the marvel controller. The intel chipset will be alot faster.
So use a 3gps and not a 6gps? How do I know if its intel chipset or marvel controller? I can't find anything about that in the manual.
Ok in my manual it says that SATA1-2 and SATA7-8 are 6Gb/s and SATA3-6 is 3Gb/s so I've connected it to SATA1. Does it matter which power lead I connect it to or just any? Another question - There is an ATX 8-pin Power Connector on the motherboard which the manual says is for power output to the CPU. Now there was a little cap covering 2 of the pins. Is that there for a reason or do I just take it off and connect the 8 pin connector? There is just one 8 pin connector from the power supply - P8, so I'm guessing its that. Final question. With the case came a controller for the fan speeds. Should I use that or just connect the fans to the motherboard? Sam.
Anyone around to help with the above questions? In the end I removed the cap and put the 8 pin connector in so hoping that is right. Also, I didn't bother with the manual fan speed controller. My brother said if I just connect them up to the motherboard it should automatically control the fans. Is that right? Also, There is a P4 4 pin connector coming from the power supply. Anyone have any ideas what that is for? There is no socket on the motherboard that fits it so I've got no idea what its for. As well as VGA 2. I'm guessing that is in case you have 2 graphics cars? Anyone?
the fans off the mobo can be controlled via bios 4 pin could be for some graphics cards yeah the 8 pin power right at the top of mobo - you can attach that by going round back of mobo and through backplate cutout.
Which ? cant say ive ever seen a GPU with a 4-pin connector. P4 4pin is for powering the mobo unless it requires 8-pin EPS however usually on a PSU they come in the form of 2x4pin so either 1 4pin can be used or the whole 8.
Hmmm... Mine had a 8 pin and a 4 pin. As the socket on the motherboard was 8 pin I just connected that up and hoped for the best! Anyway, I couldn't wait to get a CD drive so I downloaded the Windows 7 ISO and put it on an external hard drive and booted it up that way. Was a bit tricky and it took me a few goes but it's working now at least! Haven't connected it to the Internet yet because I don't want it to start installing drivers and that until I get my new monitors. I'll upload some pictures of the finished article later but I'm in work now on my iPhone! Quite surprised how easy it was considering it was the first time I've built a PC and I'm not the sharpest tool in the box!!! One thing I wanted to ask was about TRIM for the SSD. I saw a video where someone said you have to select something like AHCI in the BIOS or something. Does that mean anything to anyone?
why ? Yes it should AHCI should be set in the bios it may come under something like sata controller or SATA type. However AHCI should be set BEFORE you install the OS and its a bit of a faff and doesnt always work if you did it after
Good point! I don't know why I thought I needed the new monitors before installing the drivers. I may as well wait anyway as I want to give my desk a revamp before I start putting all the computer stuff there. **** I didn't set it as AHCI and I've already installed the OS. What should I do?
Anyway here is the finished thing: Case - Fractal R3 White Motherboard - MSI P67A-GD53 Processor - Intel Core i5 2500k CPU Cooler - BeQuiet Dark Rock Advanced Memory - 2x2 GB Corsair XMS3 Graphics - Gigabyte HD5770 Silent Cell Power Supply - BeQuiet Straight Power E8 600W Hard Drive - Crucial M4 64 GB SSD As you can see I went for the HD5770 in the end. It's a bit beyond my needs I think but maybe I'll try a game or two one day. Any recommendations? Don't fancy shooting/fighting games as they would stress me out! I like the idea of a puzzle/strategy/adventure game. My brother mentione Portal 2. Anyone played that? Anyway, here's a couple of pics. This is the back, I tidied it up as much as I could and left a few cables near the drive bays for possible future use. And then this is inside. I think I've tidied the cables up pretty well, most are at the back of the case and the spare cables I just removed a drive case and folded them under there. So that's it. My first build was much easier than I expected. I was expecting loads of problems but nope, it was all pretty straight forward. I like the OC Genie button on the motherboard. Just the push of a button and you're overclocked... That's pretty cool! It's not as silent as I'd hoped, I guess that's the case fans, but the sound it does make is kinda nice and soothing! I know that sounds weird but its true! Anyway, I guess it's a much more powerful PC than my current Hewlett Packard and quieter so I guess that little bit of noise is acceptable! Bit early to be thinking of modifications I know but I like the idea of being able to see inside the case. So one day I might modify the side of the case and stick a window and some lights in there After all, blue L.E.D'd make everything look cool! Still a bit concerned about that AHCI thing but I'm sure I'll find a solution. Will post up some more pics with the white keyboard, mouse and monitors when I get them and the desk revamp Thanks to everyone for the help especially murryant, donok, Bindibadgi, Sponge12349 and Parge. Cheers, Sam.
Just read through your thread, looks like you had similar asks and similar gaps in your knowledge to myself. Nice to see you've got it together and it's all working! Looking forward to seeing your final set up with a new desk and everything in white! My build is all black, I've got three monitors, the same CPU as you and am putting the final touches to my redesigned room. Can't wait to finish everything and have it all running! Haven't ordered most of the PC parts yet though, I'm waiting for the Fractal Design Arc Mini to become available, I don't want quite as large a case as yours.
Looks good I never imagined a white case to look awesome (I'm one for the black cases) Can't wait for the final set up. And Portal 2 is awesome!! You should even give the first Portal a try.
