I built my first computer last night! A couple questions...

[Parker03GT]

First off, I printed out these step-by-step instructions and they were great! http://www.pcmech.com/byopc/index.htm

1. My Thermaltake Tsunami case has a rear 120mm fan under the power supply that won't spin on it's own. However, if I barely give it a nudge it'll spin away. What's up with that?

2. When I got the system running and in BIOS, I found where to see my temperatures.
CPU Temp = 46 C
MB Temp = 39 C
CPU Fan Speed = 3040 RPM
Chassis Fan 1 Speed = 590 RPM (This number was in RED print) I'm guessing that's bad. Too fast or too slow?

3. I have a WD Raptor SATA harddrive, so I connected it to the SATA 1 connector on the mobo. There were 4 slots in all. However, in BIOS the harddrive shows up as third harddrive, not Master. Any ideas? I plugged it into each of the 4 SATA slots and third harddrive assignment was the closest I could get.

4. My ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe has this feature: AMD Cool 'n' Quiet! Technology
Supports AMD Cool 'n' Quiet! Technology, which monitors system operation and automatically adjusts CPU voltage and frequency for a cool and quiet environment. In BIOS it's default is [disabled]. Should I enable it?

I think that's really the only trouble I've run into so far. This computer has the bare essentials right now to run. I still need to load all my drivers/updates, my other harddrive, DVD burner, soundcard, and connect my top mounted usb ports. Unfortunately, I've just been put on 12 hr shifts at work so I've got to wait all day to get back to working on the computer

[ktkendall]

1. defective fan
2. Too slow, probably the defective one...
3. Can't answer that one

[Parker03GT]

Ok, I've got number 1 figured out. I went to Thermaltake's website and looked up FAQ's. This happened to be the first one covered

"My 120mm fans light up, but do not spin up unless I give them a little push. What should I do?
There are two possibilities: either 1) the connectors you connected the fans to are not putting out enough voltage, or 2) the fans are defective.

Try connecting the fans to different power connectors from the power supply, if it still does not work. Please replace the fans with us."

BTW, thanx for the quick response ktkendall.

[freakitchen]

Another user had a similar problem to yours, Parker. If i remember rightly, it was due to the fact that he connected the rear fan to the 'fan only' connector on the power supply, which was putting out insufficient voltage. Is yours connected in the same way?

You might also try disconnecting the 3 pin motherboard connector that monitors the fan speed and see if that makes a difference.

Regarding the SATA drive, could it be that the BIOS is putting the IDE channels automatically before the SATA?

FK

[Parker03GT]

Originally Posted by Freakitchen Another user had a similar problem to yours, Parker. If i remember rightly, it was due to the fact that he connected the rear fan to the 'fan only' connector on the power supply, which was putting out insufficient voltage. Is yours connected in the same way? You might also try disconnecting the 3 pin motherboard connector that monitors the fan speed and see if that makes a difference. Regarding the SATA drive, could it be that the BIOS is putting the IDE channels automatically before the SATA? FK

I'm going to look my computer over at lunch to check on the "Fan Only" connector. I don't remember offhand. I dunno about the harddrive. I've never used SATA before so it's new to me. I just know that in BIOS all the harddrive slots are set to auto detect and it comes up as "third" and master/slave are not detected. I'll do all of my troubleshooting when I get off work today. I just figured I'd throw some of these issues out and maybe I'd have some more ideas throughout the day to try.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Parker03GT 3. I have a WD Raptor SATA harddrive, so I connected it to the SATA 1 connector on the mobo. There were 4 slots in all. However, in BIOS the harddrive shows up as third harddrive, not Master. Any ideas? I plugged it into each of the 4 SATA slots and third harddrive assignment was the closest I could get.

Originally Posted by Parker03GT I dunno about the harddrive. I've never used SATA before so it's new to me. I just know that in BIOS all the harddrive slots are set to auto detect and it comes up as "third" and master/slave are not detected.

That's not even a problem. It's placed third because the first and second are probably reserved for any IDE hard drives you install in the system. If your computer is running like it should, don't worry about it.

Cricket

[David M]

Congratulations on your first build.

Originally Posted by Parker03GT 4. My ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe has this feature: AMD Cool 'n' Quiet! Technology Supports AMD Cool 'n' Quiet! Technology, which monitors system operation and automatically adjusts CPU voltage and frequency for a cool and quiet environment. In BIOS it's default is [disabled]. Should I enable it? (

I read of a few problems with "Cool and Quiet" so I tried it out anyway. I never noticed any difference in performance, fan speeds or quietness so I disabled it.

[Parker03GT]

Thanx for all the replies.

[Parker03GT]

Went home and unplugged the 3 pin connector from the mobo for the rear fan. Turned computer off/on, it still had to be physically helped to begin spinning. I forgot to change power supply cabling for it so I'll try that later tonight. I loaded all drivers & updates. So far the computer screams through normal processes & internet. Perhaps I'll load Half-Life 2 tonight and try it out. But I'll definately try to finish the computer up by installing the rest of the hardware I want and tidying up the cableing a little. I did notice that there's an icon is the tray that, when you click on it, asks you to safely remove this item. The item is my Western Digital harddrive!!! What's that all about? I tried right clicking on it as well to see if there were other options, but there aren't.

[Panama Red]

Either ignore the "safely remove" icon or use your Taskbar properties to hide it. SATA drives are hot swappable but obviously not your OS drive.

[Parker03GT]

Ok first off, when I got home I checked the rear fan connection. It's a "Fan Only" 4 pin connector w/ only 2 wires coming from the power supply. It's daisy chained to the rear and window fan. The window fan has no problem spinning on it's own. I would try plugging the rear fan into another plug but I've run out of spares. The only remaining power supply plugs are what looks like an SATA line and the extra SLI power cord. I'll probably just ask Thermaltake for a replacement fan and go from there.

Onto the real issue now (which isn't huge but bothers me). I have 2 different harddrives. The WD Raptor 74GB is SATA and houses my operating system, and my Maxtor 120GB is IDE (Right?) that requires ribbon cable. The Raptor installed alone has no problem running. But when I add the Maxtor and start the computer, it won't boot. I have the jumper pin set on it for slave. I need to get it to work because the Maxtor is what I'm transferring over from my other computer. It has all of my music, pics, media.
Also, I've tried swapping the ribbon cable onto both the primary IDE & sec IDE connector on the mobo. That didn't seem to work either. And in doing that I had to swap the DVD-ROM connector as well since it uses the same type of ribbon connector. http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...MoboLayout.jpg

[freakitchen]

I'd definitely try that fan on a standard molex connector before returning it. It's an LED fan, so it requires a steady voltage, and not a variable one (which I believe those 'fan only' connectors supply).

You'll want the IDE drive jumpered to Cable Select (assuming it's on an 80-wire cable), and not slave.

FK

[Parker03GT]

Originally Posted by Freakitchen I'd definitely try that fan on a standard molex connector before returning it. It's an LED fan, so it requires a steady voltage, and not a variable one (which I believe those 'fan only' connectors supply). You'll want the IDE drive jumpered to Cable Select (assuming it's on an 80-wire cable), and not slave. FK

I'll unplug something and try the fan on it. I'll also check out the Cable Select. I dunno how many pins the ribbon is but I do know that it has a blank space in the center where 1 pin cannot be inserted.

[freakitchen]

An 80 wire cable has very fine individual wires (compare it to the coarser floppy cable, if you have one). It will also have a blue connector on one end.

FK

[Parker03GT]

Alright, I re-routed the rear and window fan plugs towards the front of the case and plugged them into leftover power plugs. They work great now. I checked in BIOS as well and the RPM's are normal now.
I pulled the harddrive rack out and noticed that my secondary harddrive didn't even have a jumper in it. Dunno how I missed that one, but I put one in the CS or SC position. At first it still wouldn't boot so I went into BIOS and found a screen that lets you swap priority of drives. The secondary harddrive was showing up as first so I swapped it. Then went to Boot Priority and my WD Raptor now appeared as an option so I used that.
System runs like a champ now! I'm done building/updating my very first computer. Thanx for the help gang.

However, I do see in the future a Zalman CPU heatsink/fan purchase. My CPU runs 45-49C at idle.

[Staren]

Originally Posted by Parker03GT However, I do see in the future a Zalman CPU heatsink/fan purchase. My CPU runs 45-49C at idle.

That's within spec, but you're right. It is a little high. What direction are your fans facing? Making sure your intakes are intakes, and exhusts are exhusts can help sometimes. There is also a bit if a debate on what side fans should be. Flipping your side fan over might help air flow. Worth a try anyway.

[Parker03GT]

Originally Posted by Staren That's within spec, but you're right. It is a little high. What direction are your fans facing? Making sure your intakes are intakes, and exhusts are exhusts can help sometimes. There is also a bit if a debate on what side fans should be. Flipping your side fan over might help air flow. Worth a try anyway.

It's a Thermaltake Tsunami Dream tower. It has 3 fans.
Front intake
Rear exhaust
Window intake
--------------
CPU Fan
Power Supply fan blows downward into the case

[Staren]

See what happens if you reverse the window fan to blow air out. It seems to make sinse that you would want to blow more cool air in, but usually front fans are enough for intake. Pulling air off the CPU might do the trick.