Official Building/Upgrading thread

[DragonChi]

My only other solution would be try and clear the CMOS battery or the RAM thing or a different GPU in the motherboard. Though RAM shouldn't affect your monitor at all.

The motherboard should even beep on start up. Usually it's one beep for normal boot. I would still consult the manual for what no beeps mean.

Yes, one bad ram module can mess up the system.

[Razor Ramon HG]

I don't think any of the motherboards these day come with an onboard speaker.. so no point in looking for one. If you buy the Cooler Master N200 case, it comes with a beeper that you can plug into the motherboard tho.. lol.

[DragonChi]

No LEDs, no Speakers, so... how do you tell what's gone wrong?
lol, maybe it is a the wiring that goes to the case that makes the beep...

[Nismo200SX]

Usually the newer motherboards or cases come with a tiny speaker that plugs into the motherboard socket for the audible system beeps. You can unplug it too when you dont feel like hearing the beeps.

some mobos have 2 digit number led that displays error codes or cpu or mobo temp along with a mem ok button and sometimes even a power button and USB blug

[Razor Ramon HG]

Originally Posted by DragonChi

No LEDs, no Speakers, so... how do you tell what's gone wrong?
lol, maybe it is a the wiring that goes to the case that makes the beep...

Pretty much a guessing game, lol.

Haven't seen a motherboard with a built-in speaker in a long time. Higher end boards these days come with debug LEDs, which negates the need for said speakers.

[Ferra]

Not sure what to do with my PSU noise problem...
It basically sounds like this (36s)

YouTube (Short URL)

it is barely audible when the fans in the PC start spinning faster during gaming and heavy load.
but say when I am browsing in windows, the whole PC is silent except for this buzzing/rattling noise..which is kinda annoying..

There is only 1 fan in the PSU right? Cause i am getting the sound even when the big PSU fan is not moving. (it sounded more like a rattling fan than coil whine to me)

Searching more, it seems like people are getting the same problem with Corsair PSU even after replacing the PSU...so I am not sure if it is even worth the hassle to try to warranty it.

I think I am still under NCIX return period...(assuming I can return it used with all the packages opened)
But I also really like the blackout look and modular cable...plus I got it for cheap ($45)

What brand/model PSU would you guys recommend silent noise?

Edit: PSU is a Corsair CX450M

[Razor Ramon HG]

Sounds like coil whine.

[ButterFingers]

Planning on picking up a used Corsair 250D for a good deal, anyone have an idea how i should exhaust/intake my side fans/front fan. Since I plan on leaving the two rear, 80mm fan spots unoccupied.

[twitchyzero]

if you're not happy with psu coil whine...send it back or buy another
silent operation > aesthetics
you might just tune it out after a while...or there's also the chance it'll get worse over time
if buying/exchanging at ncix and tell them your concerns...they'll probably let you test it out on the spot. if sthing is defective they shouldn't be charging restocking fee
or just get it at memory express with easier returns.

[Razor Ramon HG]

Originally Posted by ButterFingers

Planning on picking up a used Corsair 250D for a good deal, anyone have an idea how i should exhaust/intake my side fans/front fan. Since I plan on leaving the two rear, 80mm fan spots unoccupied.

I had that case before.

You'll want to replace the stock 140mm fan with something larger. A 200mm fan will push more air with less noise. You'll have to take the top drive bay out though, and I don't know if you need it.

Assuming you'll have a GPU mounted, you'll be left with two 120mm fan mounts on one side. You'll want those to be mounted as intake.

The back will naturally have air exhausted out.

[Cwift]

Planning to build a new PC with the following parts: Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core, Define R5 Blackout Edition ATX Mid Tower - System Build - PCPartPicker Canada
Just before I buy, does everything look alright? Should I get a cheaper motherboard or the one that's there should be fine?

[Euro7r]

Originally Posted by DragonChi

My only other solution would be try and clear the CMOS battery or the RAM thing or a different GPU in the motherboard. Though RAM shouldn't affect your monitor at all.

The motherboard should even beep on start up. Usually it's one beep for normal boot. I would still consult the manual for what no beeps mean.

Yes, one bad ram module can mess up the system.

Reporting back. It was the damn motherboard. Swapped a new one in, everything works now.

[DragonChi]

Thanks for updating

[Ferra]

thought i'd update my earlier built.
before I mentioned 1 of my front usb 3.0 port wasn't working...
apparently I broke 1 of the usb header pin on the motherboard while trying to plug the usb plug in...
and while taking the plug out and trying to figure out what's wrong...i broke another pin
so both of the front USB port didn't work.

Since it was an ITX board..i couldn't just go out can get a PCI-E usb 3.0 card.
So...I end up trying to repair the 2 broken pin by taking the old one out and re-soldering another one back on.




I know it looks like crap...but the repair worked. Both USB 3.0 port now works fine..
I had little experience soldering....and these usb 3.0 pin are so small, it was really difficult to the solder the old pin out and new pin on with my clunky hands... The USB 3.0 pin is much smaller than the other pins you'd find on the motherboard, took me a while to find a suitable wire that is small but rigid enough to fit through the plastic header.

[Ferra]

Finished build



I bought an extra fan to use at the bottom too, but I only have 1 fan splitter (Mobo only supports 2 case fan)

Btw, any downside with connecting 2 different size and speed fan on the same splitter? (I have a 140mm and 120mm on the same splitter)

[Razor Ramon HG]

Good job on that soldering. I would've just left it non-working, lol.

Nothing wrong with two fans on one splitter, although I normally make sure I use the same type of fans.

I actually daisy chain two splitters giving me three fans on one header.

[Verdasco]

specs?

[Ferra]

Originally Posted by Verdasco

specs?

i7-6700K ($419)
Noctua NH-C14s ($95)
Intel Z170i ProGaming itx ($229)
Hyper X Fury 1x16GB ($79)
Samsung 850 EVO 500GB ($199)
Corsair CX450M ($55-$20MIR)
Fractal Design Nano S ($79)
Extra Case Fans ($15)
EVGA GTX960 (taken from older PC)

I don't game much so don't feel like I need a new vid card.
The CPU is way overkill for what I am using it for....but I am thinking this is possibly the last PC I will build..(considering the slowwwwww CPU speed improvement, I don't think I will need a faster CPU for 7-10 years)

[Ferra]

Originally Posted by Cwift

Planning to build a new PC with the following parts: Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core, Define R5 Blackout Edition ATX Mid Tower - System Build - PCPartPicker Canada
Just before I buy, does everything look alright? Should I get a cheaper motherboard or the one that's there should be fine?

No GPU?
I'd get a cheaper PSU if you want to save some money.
Unless you are using multiple GPU, you don't need a 600watt PSU

with an i7-6700K and GTX960, I am drawing about 240watts from the wall underload, <100watts idle/browsing in window.

[Verdasco]

i really hate the CX corsair series

really really hate cheap power supplies, they are the last things i would cheap out on

edit: basd no my experience, one of my shitty $50 PSU broke on me :/ almost fried everything but luckily enough, it didnt

[Razor Ramon HG]

The CX line got updated this year so they are actually decent now.

You can tell because the old one has green labels, but the newer one has grey labels. All black cables and five year warranty.

[Razor Ramon HG]

Finished putting the final pieces of my black and white mATX build last night.





http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/CJfNzM

Intel Core i3-6100
Phanteks PH-TC12LS
MSI B150M Bazooka Plus
Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 16GB DDR4-2400
Samsung 850 EVO 250GB M.2 SSD
Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 470 8GB
Corsair Carbide 88R mATX
Corsair RMx 850W 80+ Gold

Got an i3-6100 in it for now. Gonna wait for Intel's Retail Edge event in December to pick up a i7-6700K for < $200.

Phanteks top flow cooler because the 88R is restricted to 150mm height coolers (the one I originally wanted was 160mm). Normally I would go with a AIO liquid cooler, but I hate how noisy pumps are especially since this computer is going to be on my desk.

Sapphire RX 470 because the design is cool and looks nice in a black and white build. I might sub it with a EVGA GTX 1080 SC next week, will see.

850W PSU is overkill, but I got it for cheap off Craigslist and it won't draw more power than any other 450-550W PSU anyways.

Sleeved PSU cables from CableMod.

[ButterFingers]

Anyone use a GTX 780 before? If so how's the performance in today's games? Read that the 970 is only a tiny bit better in performance so I was planning on buying one used for $150, which I think is pretty cheap.

[Razor Ramon HG]

Originally Posted by ButterFingers

Anyone use a GTX 780 before? If so how's the performance in today's games? Read that the 970 is only a tiny bit better in performance so I was planning on buying one used for $150, which I think is pretty cheap.

GTX 780 will get you reasonable frames for current games at 1080p.

For $150, that's a pretty good deal. Might need to take it apart and redo the thermal paste for optimal temperatures.

[Cwift]

Originally Posted by Ferra

No GPU?
I'd get a cheaper PSU if you want to save some money.
Unless you are using multiple GPU, you don't need a 600watt PSU

with an i7-6700K and GTX960, I am drawing about 240watts from the wall underload, <100watts idle/browsing in window.

Woops forgot to add it in, cause my friends giving me his 970 strix. What brand PSUs should I get? And does gold/plat efficiency matter too much?