Hardware Thinking of Building A Gaming PC

[Originality]

450W is more than enough for your target build. 550W gives you more room for future upgrades (extra drives, bigger graphics card, etc). 650-750W is for those with two graphics cards in CrossFire/SLI. 850-1200W is for three or more graphics cards (e.g. Folding rigs).

 

[I am r4ymond]

I need quick responses because I'm going to order the parts today.

Originality Thanks for the information, I'll take note of that. The 500W PSU I mentioned below should be good enough, right?

For the motherboard, would this be good enough (for the i5-4430)? http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8139498&sku=A455-1208

Also, would this sound card work with the motherboard? http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4459743&sku=C44-3400

Finally, how about this PSU? http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7564402&sku=C13-CX500M

 

[Originality]

The links don't work for me (UK maybe?)
Edit: motherboard loaded. It's a fairly good motherboard. Not the best, but it has everything it should have. It will also work fine with any sound card.

If its a Corsair CX500M, then it'll do well.
Sound cards are optional but work with most motherboards. Just check the connection (e.g. PCIe x1) and if your motherboard has spare.

 

[I am r4ymond]

The links don't work for me (UK maybe?)

If its a Corsair CX500M, then it'll do well.
Sound cards are optional but work with most motherboards. Just check the connection (e.g. PCIe x1) and if your motherboard has spare.

Sorry about that, I'll use Newegg links.

Oh, sounds cards are optional? So the motherboard already provides its own sound card? If so, I might exclude the sound card below.

And, yes, the PSU I selected is the Corsair CX500M

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131983
Sound card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102003

 

[Originality]

Newegg has better pictures. I can see that it only has one bank of VRMs so whilst it'll be fine for everything you need it for, don't expect to overclock far (not that you have a CPU designed for overclocking anyway).

All motherboards these days have a basic audio DAC as standard. It's not shielded in that motherboard so it won't have the best quality, but if you're using basic speakers anyway then you won't be able to tell the difference. And if you do have a good set of speakers and want audio fidelity, you want an Asus Xonar DX anyway. It's for people who care about getting the best audio quality possible out of their $200 speakers (there are also better sound cards for the best of speaker sets, but lets not go there).

Anyway, these parts seem fine.

 

[I am r4ymond]

Newegg has better pictures. I can see that it only has one bank of VRMs so whilst it'll be fine for everything you need it for, don't expect to overclock far (not that you have a CPU designed for overclocking anyway).

All motherboards these days have a basic audio DAC as standard. It's not shielded in that motherboard so it won't have the best quality, but if you're using basic speakers anyway then you won't be able to tell the difference. And if you do have a good set of speakers and want audio fidelity, you want an Asus Xonar DX anyway. It's for people who care about getting the best audio quality possible out of their $200 speakers (there are also better sound cards for the best of speaker sets, but lets not go there).

Anyway, these parts seem fine.

Thanks for the help and advice! All of my parts are coming in tomorrow afternoon or evening except for the HDD which comes in next Monday.

Because I'm not the patient type of guy, I've decided to (temporarily) utilize my friend's old desktop's HDD (most likely SATA) in order to get the computer started once I've finished assembling it. My friend is aware that all of the data on his HDD will be lost if I use it as the primary internal HDD for the new PC, and he is still willing to let me use it. How would I go about formatting my friend's HDD so that I can use it?

 

[Originality]

When you install the OS onto the drive, one of the options will let you format the drive before the installation (the option that lets you pick the drive/partition to install to).

 

[I am r4ymond]

When you install the OS onto the drive, one of the options will let you format the drive before the installation (the option that lets you pick the drive/partition to install to).

I received the computer parts today, and I assembled everything together but when I attempt to hook it up to my laptop monitor via VGA cable, nothing shows up. I changed from laptop display to PC display—nothing shows up but a black screen.

The PSU is definitely working because I can See and Hear that the fans are working, as well as the GPU, CPU, and the CPU fan. I have no idea what the problem is, and I don't want to jump to hasty conclusions that one part is defected or something. :/

EDIT: Not sure how much this picture will help, but here it is. Not quite worried about cable management right now when my main concern is getting the PC to display.

http://i.imgur.com/fjK6UEC.jpg

 

[Originality]

Double check the power cables. There should be a 4/8 pin CPU power cable running to the top left corner of motherboard and a 6/8 PCI power cable to plug into the graphics card. No need for the molex adapters.

I'll take a closer look at the pic when I get home tonight (been away for a week). Also, I only see one RAM stick, so try moving it to another slot.

 

[Thanatos Telos]

I received the computer parts today, and I assembled everything together but when I attempt to hook it up to my laptop monitor via VGA cable, nothing shows up. I changed from laptop display to PC display—nothing shows up but a black screen.

The PSU is definitely working because I can See and Hear that the fans are working, as well as the GPU, CPU, and the CPU fan. I have no idea what the problem is, and I don't want to jump to hasty conclusions that one part is defected or something. :/

EDIT: Not sure how much this picture will help, but here it is. Not quite worried about cable management right now when my main concern is getting the PC to display.

http://i.imgur.com/fjK6UEC.jpg

Wait, you're trying to use your laptop monitor to display it?

 

[I am r4ymond]

Double check the power cables. There should be a 4/8 pin CPU power cable running to the top left corner of motherboard and a 6/8 PCI power cable to plug into the graphics card. No need for the molex adapters.

I'll take a closer look at the pic when I get home tonight (been away for a week). Also, I only see one RAM stick, so try moving it to another slot.

I made sure that the CPU power cable is plugged in at the top left corner of the motherboard.

I switched in the molex adapters for the PCI-E power cable.

Yeah, it's x1 8 GB RAM :/ I mistakenly thought I bought x2 4 GB RAM. Anyways, I moved the x1 8 GB RAM all the way to the left slot now.

I've done all of the above, and I still can't get any connection to the display.

Thanatos Telos

Yes, I tried hooking the display using a VGA cable from the PC to the laptop monitor because I couldn't get a display connection to the PC monitor either.




If you guys need any other close-up pictures I need to take, let me know. Also, I'm gonna try using an HDMI cable to connect the PC to the PC monitor to check if it's a cable problem.


Overall Image (using PCI-E power cable, x1 8 GB RAM all the way to the left slot):
http://i.imgur.com/Q6FeyEP.jpg

Closer View to the Bottom Half of the Motherboard Area:
http://i.imgur.com/JbVtMog.jpg

Closer View to the Top Half of the Motherboard Area:
http://i.imgur.com/dxsXuSE.jpg

 

[Thanatos Telos]

Pc-Laptop monitor wouldn't work due to the fact that both are meant for output. Plug in teh VGA to the original monitor and the iGPU and try setting the default display device in the Bios.

 

[I am r4ymond]

Pc-Laptop monitor wouldn't work due to the fact that both are meant for output. Plug in teh VGA to the original monitor and the iGPU and try setting the default display device in the Bios.

Alright.

I already plugged the VGA from the PC to the PC Monitor, and it will not display anything, so I can't get to the BIOS.

 

[Thanatos Telos]

Alright.

I already plugged the VGA from the PC to the PC Monitor, and it will not display anything, so I can't get to the BIOS.

Is it plugged into the motherboard or the GPU? Plug it into the motherboard and boot into the Bios.

 

[I am r4ymond]

Is it plugged into the motherboard or the GPU? Plug it into the motherboard and boot into the Bios.

The VGA is plugged into the VGA port on the motherboard, and it won't boot up the display on thhe monitor.

However, I do have this VGA-DVI converter or something that my GPU provided, I don't know if the VGA port on the motherboard is faulty.

 

[Thanatos Telos]

The VGA is plugged into the VGA port on the motherboard, and it won't boot up the display on thhe monitor.

However, I do have this VGA-DVI converter or something that my GPU provided, I don't know if the VGA port on the motherboard is faulty.

Try plugging into the GPU, then.
Otherwise, try using the adapter.

 

[Originality]

It may sound like Thanatos is saying the same thing over and over, but it's the best way to diagnose and troubleshoot the possible connections before looking into hardware faults. Also, if there are more than one DVI/VGA ports on the graphics card, try the other port.

You might hate me for this, but if none of the above works, try it all again with the graphics card in the next PCIe x16 slot.

 

[I am r4ymond]

Try plugging into the GPU, then.
Otherwise, try using the adapter.

Originality The display works now I surmise that the VGA and HDMI slots from the motherboard are a problem.

This time, I connected an HDMI cable from the motherboard to my TV monitor, and it does not work. On the other hand, I connected the HDMI cable from the GPU to my TV monitor, and, surprisingly, it worked. It also worked when I utilized the VGA cable from the GPU to the monitor.

EDIT: I finally got everything to work now; the PC is up and running Thanks guys for guiding me through such a daunting process (imo, since it's my first time).

I got the substitute HDD working, but I'm wondering how I'm going to somehow transfer files from the substitute HDD to the new HDD.

Also, for some reason, whenever I boot up mu PC and get past the ASUS logo screen, it would take me to the Windows Boot Manager and ask me which OS I want to boot into when the only two options are 1) Windows 7 and 2) something about RAM. Is there any way I can skip this screen and head straight to the Microsoft screen?

 

[Originality]

Take a picture of the screen if you can.

It probably didn't display through the motherboard graphics because it detects the GPU plugged in.

For the HDD, I would just plug both in and transfer them directly.

 

[jagerstaffel]

I got the substitute HDD working, but I'm wondering how I'm going to somehow transfer files from the substitute HDD to the new HDD.

Might I suggest a drive cloning operation? It's miles faster than copying within an OS environment, if the new drive is bigger than the old drive it will resize automatically, and I'm sorry I don't know of any other program that can do this besides Acronis Disc Director, but if someone else out there knows other (free) software, shoot

Also, for some reason, whenever I boot up mu PC and get past the ASUS logo screen, it would take me to the Windows Boot Manager and ask me which OS I want to boot into when the only two options are 1) Windows 7 and 2) something about RAM. Is there any way I can skip this screen and head straight to the Microsoft screen?

Right-click My Computer icon -> Properties -> Advanced System Settings -> Advanced tab -> Startup and recovery Settings -> Uncheck "time to display list of operating systems", if that doesn't work change time to display operating systems to 1 second