Originally Posted by Masque (Post 35121832)

Has he bought the parts yet, if not give this site a look before he does.

http://www.digitalpromo.co.uk/

Originally Posted by MTJR (Post 35121833)

How much RAM is it exactly?

Originally Posted by MTJR (Post 35121839)

I'd go for a minimum of 6Gb personally if he's going to run Windows 7 64-bit.

In fact, chuck as much RAM in as he can afford. :)

Originally Posted by MTJR (Post 35121846)

The motherboard and CPU sound fine to me. Having experience of the AMD's I prefer to go Intel but that's more a preference thing rather than anything else.

I can't say I had a bad experience of AMD chips. Just prefer Intel.

Originally Posted by Rob (Post 35121889)

400 W PSU might be marginal, depending on how many hard drives he adds to the system.

It's worth looking closely at the case too. Make sure it genuinely is big enough inside. Nothing worse than finding today's GPU card wont fit as a hard disk must be squeezed in. Look also at the provision for fans. Budget cases may not include many of these but it's important to get a good air curculation especially to the GPU.

I'm assuming that the CPU is a retail rather than OEM version so would be supplied with a stock cooler fan.


Amazon may be a reasonable place to start looking for stuff, but it's got to be worth checking out some of the dedicated suppliers out there:
In no particular order or recommendation:
www.ebuyer.co.uk
www.overclockers.co.uk
www.scan.co.uk
www.aria.co.uk
www.novatech.co.uk

Originally Posted by damien c (Post 35121980)

A few question's that might help with recomending component's to get the best for what he want's and within budget.

What sort of a budget are you looking at max?

What will the pc be used for?

Who will be building it for him?

The Amd quad core's are not bad and neither are the mobo's but personally I would avoid Asrock, and go with Asus or Gigabyte instead.

Ram go for a named brand like the one's you posted because cheap brand's normally are not that good.

Try to spend a little extra on the graphic's card and go for a Nvidia GTX 460 1GB as they are better than the Ati 5770's and also, Nvidia have better driver support than Ati which is a shame because some of there card's are very good but they lack good driver's.

Power supply I would recommend a 600w minimum or a Corsair 750w modular they are more expensive but, it will allow for further upgrade's in the future and also being modular will aid in air flow within the case.

The case is not a bad choice for the price probably the best at that price but having built a pc in it, I know that for a pc such as the spec above what you have posted you will need to add more fans and also mod the, case to fit more in as it is not that good for strong airflow which component's of that nature need.

If you wanted a pc that would last quite a while for a 13 year old then this would be my recommendation:

Case
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/72ant...op-fan-w-o-psu

Cpu
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/amd-p...he-125w-retail

Gpu
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-g...s-dl-dvi-mhdmi

Hdd
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/ss1tb...-89-ms-ncq-oem

Ram
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/4gb-%...9-9-24-dhx-16v

Mobo
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-...3gb-s-raid-atx

Dvd
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/samsu...sata-black-oem

Psu
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/750w-...-year-warranty

Windows
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/micro...tem-single-oem

Total £730

It is more than the one you posted that he has looked at but this will be allot better and last longer and, not only that but will allow for further upgrades allot easier.

Just a recomendation of course as it is more than you are looking at but it depends really on what it will be used for though in the end.

Originally Posted by DocDutch (Post 35122076)

have a look at novatech.co.uk as well as they have some great bundles where all is tested and put together already you just have to add a graphics card

Originally Posted by heero_yuy (Post 35122102)

Didn't notice that. :LOL: Just grabbed a quick example picci.

Last PC build I did with those in was years ago on a P166+ Mobo.

Originally Posted by heero_yuy (Post 35122093)

Make sure you also get an anti-static wrist strap for him and that he knows the static risks to electronic parts. Keep all components in their anti-static bags until the point of assembley.

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/...2010/11/48.jpg

Originally Posted by ooogemaflop (Post 35121904)

4 gig of ram with windows 7 64 bit is absolutely fine built loads of fully loaded systems with 4 gig. 6 gig with a triple channel mobo

You could save money on the cpu by going with an Athlon II instead of the Phenom only difference is Lvl2 cache and benchmarks show the Athlon II performing equally clock for clock with the phenoms

Originally Posted by ooogemaflop (Post 35122106)

It looks like a Super Socket 7 mobo. I had one originally came with a Cyrix 333 MMX cpu that was realy clocked @ 233mhz. Cyrix got in a lot of trouble for their naming structure. I remember upgrading it to a AMD K6 500 mhz iirc you had to set the Vcore the multi and the fsb all with jumpers. How times have changed lol

Originally Posted by ZrByte (Post 35122125)

Overrated, you could also just build the machine in shoes, barefoot and make sure you touch a nearby radiator before handling components. Never do it in socks, especially on carpet. Also doesn't hurt to make sure your hands are clean.

---------- Post added at 12:48 ---------- Previous post was at 12:46 ----------



Using 4GB in my machine with no problems at all. I don't do any modern FPS gaming but Have played plenty of modern RTS games which are bog hogs on the CPU and RAM and haven't filled my 4GB. Also using an Athlon II Quad and have to say it performs extremely well though if the price difference is small enough I would still probably go for the Phenom.

---------- Post added at 12:49 ---------- Previous post was at 12:48 ----------



looks more like a socket A board to me, there are more PCI than ISA rather than an equal amount and the IDE sockets are colour coded. On the socket 7s the sockets where generally black. :shocked:

Originally Posted by DocDutch (Post 35137631)

nice setup but I would go for a bigger PSU for future proofing it...

Originally Posted by ooogemaflop (Post 35141391)

faulty mobo at a guess with the 2 faults.

---------- Post added at 20:29 ---------- Previous post was at 20:26 ----------

you should get image to the screen without drivers
You have to rule out gfx card of course but the ide fault sounds like its possibly sending a short
Do you get any beeps?

Originally Posted by ooogemaflop (Post 35141406)

do you have a spare psu to try? I still think its a faulty mobo

Originally Posted by ooogemaflop (Post 35141436)

i dont think the machine has onboard gfx

Originally Posted by LSainsbury (Post 35141435)

Have you connected the PSU correctly? i.e. Not just the main supply to the board but also to 4 pin CPU and any 4 pin connections to the graphics adapter?

Originally Posted by damien c (Post 35141644)

Does the motherboard have a 4 or a 8 pin socket next to the cpu?

If it has a 8 pin but 4 coverd have you removed the cover and tried it with all 8 pin's connected to the board from the PSU?

I would 1st try disconnecting all the drive's from the board and see if it display's a image or not on the screen when the graphic's card is connected, then if it does connect each drive and try again 1 at a time and see what happen's, if you still get no signal then I am certain it will be a faulty board and or graphic's card but more than likely the board alone.

Have you used the correct lead to the graphic's card, not trying to say your stupid but if it requires a 8 pin power connector just make sure you have used a pci-e not a 8 pin cpu power lead.

If all lead's are correctly installed and drive's etc and you still get no display on the monitor, try another graphic's card if you can and try the new graphic's card in another pc to rule that out.

Or your other option is to send the everything back and get them to test everything and replace anything that might be faulty.

Originally Posted by ooogemaflop (Post 35141664)

I believe power connections are keyed you cant fit an 8 pin 12 aux to a pci e it simply wont fit

Originally Posted by sniper007 (Post 35141735)

Install the MINIMUM components. i.e. One single stick of ram (in the correct slot, read the manual that came with the mobo). Make sure the CPU is in the slot properly the correct way around (check the arrow on the corner of the cpu corresponds to the place on the mobo). Make sure all PSU cables are connected to the various power points on the mobo (ATX 24 pin, 4/8pin, etc). Then install the graphics card and ensure it has a PCI-e power connector connected to it.

Then DO NOT install anything else like HDDs, CD/DVDRom or anything. Just try booting the Computer. What happens? Do you get any activity when observing the computer with the case door/side panel off? i.e. Does the CPU fan attempt to spin? Does the PSU come on and the fan start? Do any LEDs come on or beeps from the mobo?

Obviously ensure that the monitor is connected with a VGA/DVI cable to the graphics card you have installed.

---------- Post added at 15:22 ---------- Previous post was at 15:19 ----------

If you could also post a picture looking inside the computer and how you have it all connected, this might help.

Originally Posted by sniper007 (Post 35141750)

Can you explain what you mean buy "the dvd drive cutting out as soon as the IDE is connected". Explain the process/steps you took. What are you defining as "cutting out" ? Surely you cannot test the IDE drive as you cannot get the system booted? You are not making a lot of sense.

Originally Posted by martyh (Post 35141751)

I tried that last night ,just had the gfx attached no post at all .The problem is that there are no on board graphics so i cannot connect a monitor to the board (another reason to send it back)

Originally Posted by sniper007 (Post 35141754)

When you say you had JUST the graphics card attached, do you mean you literally only had the graphics card plugged in and no cpu/ram installed?

Originally Posted by martyh (Post 35141751)

I tried that last night ,just had the gfx attached no post at all .The problem is that there are no on board graphics so i cannot connect a monitor to the board (another reason to send it back)


---------- Post added at 15:54 ---------- Previous post was at 15:51 ----------



When the dvd drive is connected with the powerr connection and the IDE cable the drive does not work no light on the front and the drawer does not open ,remove the IDE cable and the power comes back on and the drawer opens ,i find this confusing as i thought the IDE cable is only carrying information not power ,i have tried different cables and the dvd works fine in the other pc

Originally Posted by sniper007 (Post 35141759)

I would suggest you forget about the DVDRW drive for now and focus on finding the fault. So...with CPU/RAM/GFX installed, you press the power button on the PC (I assume this is wired into the motherboard so you can power it on?) you get nothing? No fans spinning up? No LEDs? Have you tried reseting the CMOS? DO you know what is involved with this?

Originally Posted by sniper007 (Post 35141759)

I would suggest you forget about the DVDRW drive for now and focus on finding the fault. So...with CPU/RAM/GFX installed, you press the power button on the PC (I assume this is wired into the motherboard so you can power it on?) you get nothing? No fans spinning up? No LEDs? Have you tried reseting the CMOS? DO you know what is involved with this?

You could also try swapping out the ram for different sticks.

Failing that, I would try your spare power supply just to see if you can get an output on the screen and POST (Power on self test).

Do you not get any LEDs or beeps on the board during boot? Some motherboards will beep or present LEDs during post do help diagnose the fault. i.e. Say 1 LED = CPU found, 2 LED = Ram found, 3 LED = Gfx found, 4 LED = running post. It could do something like that with beeps instead.

Originally Posted by sniper007 (Post 35141784)

You could try the GFX card in the other PCI-e slot. I assume you have it in slot 1 currently? That motherboard does NOT have what we refer to as "onboard" Graphics. This means it will not have a connection to a monitor natively. You HAVE to use the graphics card (the 5770 you have bought) to output to a monitor. Is it possible you have not set the monitor to pick up the digital (DVI) signal or vice versa with VGA analogue? You should try setting the monitor to different inputs manually incase it is not auto detecting it correctly.

Originally Posted by ooogemaflop (Post 35142189)

you were lucky it didnt snap

Glad its sorted now though

Originally Posted by martyh (Post 35142203)

i very carefuly hooked it with the eye of a sewing needle to pull it back straight

Originally Posted by sniper007 (Post 35143023)

Glad it went ok in the end! Everyone above was suggesting it be motherboard. Wasn't so sure based on the stuff you posted, but that was the reason I was so persistant-(ly annoying!) in my posts above asking you what you had done. It's all about narrowing down the component at fault.

Originally Posted by ooogemaflop (Post 35143033)

All the symptoms pointed to mobo. No one is going to think there is a bent pin on the cpu. I do notice that you didnt mention a bent cpu pin? I also notice that most of what you advised I had already mentioned

Originally Posted by ooogemaflop (Post 35143033)

All the symptoms pointed to mobo. No one is going to think there is a bent pin on the cpu.

Originally Posted by damien c (Post 35143119)

Do you know what I should have thought about the bent cpu pin part aswell, simply because 1 pin on Asus Rampage II Extreme mobo was bent which meant 1 ram slot was not working, but did you mention about the ram in a post as I can't see it unless I am just not reading it throughly enough lol.

Glad it is sorted though.

Originally Posted by Paul (Post 35143148)

weird, post went to completely the wrong place lol. Bent pins can cause all sorts of weird issues hence why the need to be very careful with them when installing but lets face it when a nice shiny new mobo and CPU are sitting on your table the last thing you want to do is sit and look at it lol

Originally Posted by ooogemaflop (Post 35143162)

did you fit a case speaker to the asus board? some boards have them hardwired on the board and Asus don't tend to do this

Originally Posted by ooogemaflop (Post 35143168)

if its red and black cable 4 pins long one wire either end then yes :)

Originally Posted by ooogemaflop (Post 35143173)

you could also buy a pre assembled bundle from Novatech so this wont happen again lol

I bought one not long ago cuz it had to be built quickly I didnt want to risk any DOA components ( of course there is no guarantee but they should at least make sure it posts before they ship it)

the whole system was built in 15 minutes and ready to go an hour after that