Need help, newbie

[Gnefoac]

Hi, this is my first time building a pc and i'm really stuck right now.

... how do i begin?

my computer would not boot if i power my mother board with both the 20pin connector as well as the square 4 pin connector supplied from the psu. However, if i power the computer with only the 20-pin connector, the cpu fan starts running. Is it a good thing to leave the 4-pin connector be?

After reading and following Hal9000's advice about building a temporary external computer to check hardware, there's another problem. With everything plugged in and the cpu fan running, the monitor still show up blank screened. After plugging in the system speaker and checking the bios (Awards) beep error online.(1long beep, 3 short beep after the boot), it seems i need to reposition my video card... I did this about 5 times... the same error occured each time. I then tried a different, definitly funtional, video card which still gave me the same beep sequence.

can some one please help me, thanks?

mobo: ABIT AT8 32X Socket 939 ATI CrossFire Radeon XPRESS 3200 ATX AMD Motherboard
Video Card: 1. SAPPHIRE Radeon X1800XT
2. Ati Radeon 9600 SE
PSU: ATX 430W Power Supply 115/230 V
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+

[jayb1234]

That motherboard needs a 24 pin main power supply connector and the square 4 pin

. What brand and model is the power supply?

[viking9]

hope you didnt static shock your hardware..

[Staren]

Originally Posted by viking9 hope you didnt static shock your hardware..

Doesn't really sound like the problem thankfully. My first thought is that you have an older 20pin power supply, where the motherboard needs a 24pin. For that set-up, 430 watts isn't near enough power anyway. The PSU could very well just be overloaded. Also, do you have the power connector that needs to be connected to the X1800? One other thing, where does the 9600 come in here? I think you're just looking at a PSU that isn't enough to handle the build.

[Gnefoac]

thank you all for replying,

my psu is a Thermaltake TR2 W0070 ATX 430W Power Supply 115/230 V.

if 430 w is not enough to power the mobo/x1800 combo, what is a recommended psu? any suggestions.


also, the mobo is compliant with the older, 20 pin psu.

[Kareeser]

Try taking your 9600 out of the computer, and install only 1 RAM stick (two for RDRAM). Does it boot?

I'm assuming here that you intend on running the computer on two video cards.

[Gnefoac]

okay, i switched the psu. the good news is, there's no more beeping sounds, the bad news is, there still isn't anything on the monitor(the monitor works).

[Staren]

The X1800 has it's own power connector that needs to be plugged in for it to work. Look on hte back of the card, and you will see a 6pin female connector.

[Gnefoac]

i was finally able to reach the bios screen.

Thank u all so much for helping.