Resist_The_Dawn

Join Date 03/2009

First time building a computer, just a few questions to make sure theres no problems

Okay, so I'm gradually getting the parts I need to build my new computer up. Im using this MoBo, this CPU, This VidCard, this RAM, This PSU, and this Case. As for the hard drive and disc drive, Im just gonna rip those out of my current computer and toss them in the new one. This is where my concerns appear however.

My Current system is from HP, and the Hard drive has a D Drive put in with the C drive, And said D drive has the sole purpose of system recovery. Now I know I should format the hard drive before I put it in my new computer, and I will, but Should I keep this D drive and boot from that? Or should I make some recovery discs and Use those? And if I use recovery discs, will I need some sort of serial key from my windows to recover? Because I dont think I have that.

Also, what is "flashing the BIOS"? And is it important to do to a new MoBo? I see the phrase thrown out on newegg and I want to know if it's neccesary to do.

Also if you see any other problems that've cropped up with the Build then please let me know. Thank you very much.

Edit: One more thing, the case allows me to put the PSU on the top and bottom of the case, and the instructions say the fan will be facing down. Which should I do? I was gonna do the top to allow more room for the PSU fan but I'm not sure if it will matter.

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Lantec

Join Date 07/2003

+346

You'll likely need to pick up a new OS. The HP preinstall will be custom configured for the HP computer it was in and I'm don't believe it will install at all in the new system. Format the whole thing.

PSU top or bottom....depends on you but the HAF comes ready to install in the bottom. Thats where mines is. The regular feet have plenty of clearance for the fan exhaust and if you use the wheels you'll have even more.

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That D drive is probably a partition on your 1 hard drive.You just want to format the drive and erase that partition.With all the new hardware that recovery wont be any good to you.To flash a bios is basicly updating your firmware.If you have never done it I would suggest not flashing your bios as it can really screw up your system if you don't do it just right.

Congrats on building your first computer you will be happy with what you got and have saved some money to boot.

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HP creates a second partition for system recovery so they don't have to give you a separate disk with the operating system on. This helps keep piracy down because you have to use that disk in a HP system. If you change out the hardware and because you will be change the system hardware configuration you will not be able to use the recovery feature.
Flashing the BIOS is essentially upgrading the firmware on the motherboard. You only need to upgrade the BIOS if there are fixes in the upgrade that are necessary. It is often recommended not to flash the BIOS unless it is necessary. (such as if it fixes something that directly affects you). If you do, read instruction thoroughly.

As Lantec suggest and of what I stated above, getting a new will be necessary.
By looking at the case, though it does offer mounting on the top and the bottom, this will depend on how your motherboard sits in the case. If you do have space on the top and the bottom, then i would suggest the top to keep the heat high and the top exhaust fan will help pull heat out of the top. It look like a great case.

In regards to the memory, make sure the memory is on the HCL (Hardware Compatibility List of the motherboard manufacturer. (this is important)

In fact, I just looked at the HCL and it doesn't show it listed.
http://www.gigabyte-usa.com/FileList/MemorySupport/mb_memory_ga-ma790x-ud4p.pdf

In regards to the video card, nice choice, but a little tidbit of infor... XFX, eVGA and BFG which are nvidia card manufacturers have life time warranty's on their cards. And they even support after market installation of fans, so if you want to upgrading the cooling device on the card, you can without affecting the warranty and XFX and eVGA I know for sure offer double life time warranty on the cards so that if you sell the card they too have the life time warrantee. I have not found any ATI card that has this. Your card only has Manufacturer Limited Warranty period (parts): 1 year and Manufacturer Limited Warranty period (labor): 1 year

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EVGA does not offer double lifetime warranty. Their warranty is limited lifetime (you must register the card wthitin 30 days of purchase. Failure to do so will result in only a 1 year warranty). Products purchased second hand do not carry any warranty at all.

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Quoting The__Goo,

reply 3

In regards to the video card, nice choice, but a little tidbit of infor... XFX, eVGA and BFG which are nvidia card manufacturers have life time warranty's on their cards. And they even support after market installation of fans, so if you want to upgrading the cooling device on the card, you can without affecting the warranty and XFX and eVGA I know for sure offer double life time warranty on the cards so that if you sell the card they too have the life time warrantee. I have not found any ATI card that has this. Your card only has Manufacturer Limited Warranty period (parts): 1 year and Manufacturer Limited Warranty period (labor): 1 year

For ATI cards VisionTek and XFX offer limited lifetime warranty.

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I have evga 285 gtx with lifetime, god bless lifetime as this card will be good with SLI for next iteration build.

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@the___Goo- The RAM I selected is on that list, under DDR2 1066. Its the only G skill ram on their. Thanks though. So I will hafta buy a new windows then? Gah that sucks. Theres no way getting around it? Thanks everyone.

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kryo

Join Date 05/2003

+458

If you change out the hardware and because you will be change the system hardware configuration you will not be able to use the recovery feature.

It's worth noting that as it's likely a OEM version of windows on the existing HP machine, you won't be able to reactivate it on a new system at all (let alone use recovery). So unless you can be very persuasive or lucky with the phone activation, you're going to need a new copy of windows.

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Thanks for the clarification kryo. Would I be able to use an OEM version of windows bought off of newegg? Those are substancially (spelling fail) cheaper than a "normal" version but would it cause any problems? Thanks.

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Quoting Resist_The_Dawn,

reply 9

Yes, that is the point of oem versions, cheap version for those who are building a single computer from new parts.

Are you going to get Win7 x64? I would!!!

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kona0197

Join Date 02/2003

+84

If you need help putting it together I wrote a Blog about that.

http://kona0197.wordpress.com/2009/08/12/how-to-build-a-computer-step-by-step/

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I've been able to reup OEM twice with two different mobos...Mitnick would be proud.

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I would only comment on the BIOS updates, as everything else is good.

Keep your BIOS at the latest version, if at all possible. It is a simple download of an .exe file, which is run in Windows. These days, it is basically foolproof. Just run the update file and reboot. If you have changed any of the BIOS settings manually, you will need to change them again with the update. An example would be - I have a Soundblaster sound card, so I disabled the MB onboard sound in the BIOS settings. When I update the BIOS on my machine, I will go into the BIOS settings to make sure the onboard sound chip is disabled, etc.

An old BIOS version can cause any number of problems. And not all fixes are known with a new version.

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Quoting Moosetek13,

reply 13

I would only comment on the BIOS updates, as everything else is good.

Keep your BIOS at the latest version, if at all possible. It is a simple download of an .exe file, which is run in Windows. These days, it is basically foolproof. Just run the update file and reboot. If you have changed any of the BIOS settings manually, you will need to change them again with the update. An example would be - I have a Soundblaster sound card, so I disabled the MB onboard sound in the BIOS settings. When I update the BIOS on my machine, I will go into the BIOS settings to make sure the onboard sound chip is disabled, etc.

An old BIOS version can cause any number of problems. And not all fixes are known with a new version.

This!!!

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To tell you the truth I've never bothered updating my bios, ever. Don't fix what ain't broken I guess, anyway I need sleep.

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starkers

Join Date 05/2004

+1153

To tell you the truth I've never bothered updating my bios, ever. Don't fix what ain't broken

While updating the BIOS is not often necessary, there are times when it becomes essential... like when upgrading a CPU and the BIOS doesn't recognise it. I had this happen when I upgraded from an AMD Athlon x2 6400 to a newer and more powerful AMD Phenom II x4 920. The BIOS did not read the new CPU and I had to update to a revised BIOS that was optimised for the Phenom II series.... because the mobo had already accepted and was configured to the former CPU

However, when building from scratch (previously unused mobo) this would not normally be the case... a BIOS flash is not generally required for new/first time in use components. If a CPU is fully compatible with the chosen/selected mobo it should be instantly recongised, without 'flashing'.

About the only time a BIOS would need to be flashed is when the (new) mobo is an older model... same socket but manufactured prior to the release of the CPU, as was the case with mine and the Phenom II's.

That D drive is probably a partition on your 1 hard drive.You just want to format the drive and erase that partition.With all the new hardware that recovery wont be any good to you.

Yes, if you're going to use the HDD from your old machine, that recovery partition would be worthless, so format and partition it to suit your needs in the new rig.

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right on i thought eVGA did so on the double, but yes XFX does for sure.

For ATI cards VisionTek and XFX offer limited lifetime warranty.

really, ok good deal nice to be corrected and i wish i knew that along time ago...lol

Resist_The_DawnWould I be able to use an OEM version of windows bought off of newegg?

i just an OEM version of vista, so the answer YES

I've been able to reup OEM twice with two different mobos

i have countless times... once in awhile i had to call in with an XP OEM, but i havent with vista so far i changed out hardware completely about 3 times. with XP i changed out hardware about 6 times

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If you're going to pick up a copy of Windows, buy one that has a free upgrade coupon for Windows 7 like this one.

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i have reused oem's over and over... its not that difficult... i build pc's for a living and will only use oem versions, they are much cheaper for the same os. you know you can even buy oem editions from new egg for half the price.

i also noticed you saying if you install the power supply in the botom it has little space for the psu fan, well thats a simple solution, you are supposed to flip it over. but you would have found that out because the screws only line up one way. i really suggest after reading all your posts you have a friend that has actually built a couple pc's help you, i wouldnt want you to end up wasting money because you fried it, shorted it out, or chipped one of the pcb's

by the way...what exactly is a double lifetime warranty? lifetime is lifetime. evga's warranty will rma it for the life of the product, and evga makes the best enthusiast products hands down

and carguy1 why would he pick up a version of vista with a free upgrade 2 windows 7? as a developer that upgrade can take many hours to complete, hed be better off to wait one month and just buy windows 7 and only have to do the work one time. then if he ever has to reformatt he does not have to instal vista to upgrade to 7 wasting disk space with the old os and wasting time. i recomend you preorder windows 7 and just do a single one step install

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Quoting o0SHUUMI0o,

reply 19

by the way...what exactly is a double lifetime warranty? lifetime is lifetime. evga's warranty will rma it for the life of the product, and evga makes the best enthusiast products hands down

Double lifetime means the original buyer gets a lifetime warranty on the product and if he sells it to someone else, that person also gets a lifetime warranty on it. This is different than (for example) EVGA's lifetime warranty, which is good only for the original buyer. When he sells the product to someone else, they get no warranty.

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kona0197

Join Date 02/2003

+84

OEM price is cheaper at Newegg? Funny. I just checked Newegg and the OEM price is the same as the non OEM price.

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You should double check that. Retail is always more expensive because you get Microsoft Tech Support with it. OEM gets no support from Microsoft. For example, Windows Vista Home Premium - retail is listed at $224.99, while the OEM version is $99.99.

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kona0197

Join Date 02/2003

+84

On Newegg:

Vista Home Premium OEM - $109.99

Best Buy:

Vista Home Preminum Upgrade - $119.99

Not much of a price difference there. Who cares if one is the full blown version and one is an upgrade? They both work the same.

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Lantec

Join Date 07/2003

+346

Upgrade

Not much of a price difference there

Major difference

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Quoting kona0197,

reply 23

On Newegg:

Vista Home Premium OEM - $109.99

Best Buy:

Vista Home Preminum Upgrade - $119.99

Not much of a price difference there. Who cares if one is the full blown version and one is an upgrade? They both work the same.

Difference being in the first case you can buy that puppy and slap it on a new system. In the second case you must already have a valid license. Huge difference, since the existing license is a cost you have to factor into the equation.

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