My computer

[hblack]

Hi,
I am new at this so i am just looking for advice. I am not a heavy duty gamer although i would like to have that option. Here is what i have:

Case: hec 6K28BB8F Black 0.8mm SECC Steel MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case - Retail

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA69GM-S2H AM2 AMD 690G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

Graphics card: POWERCOLOR 26XT512M/D3HDMI Radeon HD 2600XT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Windsor 2.6GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADA5200CSBOX - Retail

PSU: SPARKLE R-SP400PN ATX12V V2.2 400W Power Supply - Retail

Memory: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail

Harddrive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Monitor: LG L206WTY-BF Black 20" 2ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor W/ f-Engine and Tilt Adjustment - Retail

DVDburner: ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T - Retail

I mainly went of the reviews of the newegg.com website. Just making sure that everything is compatible and that i have adequate power- the psu has dual 12v@18A and the case says it fits regular atx psu rather than microatx psu. Also will i need any extra fans, is there extra hardwear required for ethernet connection, i am thinking of adding a wireless card (along with ethernet incase thats ever needed)-any suggestions. I have my old windows xp cd that i had from my dell laptop, will that work? I have all othersoftware that i would use (including office 2007). Mouse and keyboard i have. I am looking to stick around $850 (without shipping), at newegg this computer comes to $808- not including shipping.
Thanks

[glc]

No, you cannot use the copy of XP that came with your Dell. It might install but it will not activate.

I'd advise using a standard ATX case for cooling reasons. A micro board fits fine in a standard case.

Ethernet is standard on that motherboard, if you need a cheap wireless card I recommend the MSI PC60G, it works well and uses an antenna on a tether for better reception.

[hblack]

everything else is good? Any recommendation or part substitutions?

[hblack]

Also i can spend up to $50 more or so, are there any weaknesses to the system that could be upgraded?

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by hblack I mainly went of the reviews of the newegg.com website. Just making sure that everything is compatible and that i have adequate power- the psu has dual 12v@18A and the case says it fits regular atx psu rather than microatx psu.

I'm not familiar with AMD builds but your parts selection looks okay to me...but are you sure you want a micro-ATX case? They're not the easiest things to work in and they have awful cooling characteristics.

As far as the power supply goes, the amount of watts you need is dictated by the video card. I'm not familiar with that particular ATi GPU and don't know it's power requirements. You might want to look it up.

Originally Posted by hblack Also will i need any extra fans,

Does the case even provide openings for more fans? Most micro-ATX cases aren't cooling friendly.

Originally Posted by hblack is there extra hardwear required for ethernet connection,

The motherboard has on-board ethernet...don't know what else you'll need besides CAT 5 cable.

Originally Posted by hblack i am thinking of adding a wireless card (along with ethernet incase thats ever needed)-any suggestions.

If you're going with wireless you really don't have to worry about wired ethernet. Just get the same brand wireless card as your wireless router.

Originally Posted by hblack Also i can spend up to $50 more or so, are there any weaknesses to the system that could be upgraded?

I'd get a standard ATX mid-tower instead of a micro-ATX...more room to work in and more cooling options and more room for drives.

Cricket

[hblack]

What does every think of the 400W Sparkle PSU (brand and power), it has 2 12v rails @ 18A?
The power recommendation for the video card is 400W (from http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonhd...xt/specs.html), and I read (don't know if it is true) that it has a 65W profile.

Thanks to advice I am going with a full ATX case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

any other thoughts on this system before i put in the order?

[glc]

If you still have a few more bucks to spend, up the power supply some for future upgradeability. Anything from Sparkle/FSP is decent quality.

[hblack]

Ok,
So I received all of my parts today, except my monitor. My friend who is a pretty knowledgeable about computers (he has put 4 or 5 together) helped me put it together. We got everything together ok. We tried hooking things up to my roommates monitor just to see if everything worked, and nothing really happened. First, the Hard drive LED did not light up (faulty hdd?). Second when we turned the monitor on nothing happened....it just said it was going into powersave mode. Everything seemed to be running fine; fans were turning, lights were on (power led, pci light) and we suspected the hard drive making noise. My motherboard does not have a bios cd, is that normal? Also the plugs that came with the case were not marked +/- but rather A/G does anyone know what that means (cooler master case, as stated earlier)? My friend did admit he is not very good at installing things (he puts them together and has someone else install everything). I am wondering what the source of the problem might be. We tried popping in the XP cd, but nothing happened on the monitor...it just went to powersave mode. Please help, if you know what the problem might be.

[liambl]

If nothing appears on the monitor, you have a hardware problem, one or more of the components are faulty or not installed properly. Did you hear any beeps? Try this:Out of case troubleshooter
A/G stands for active and ground, active is + and ground is - . The BIOS is already programmed into the motherboard, perhaps you're thinking of the driver cd? Just because the fans are running doesn't mean it is working, it just means you're getting power. It is very easy to damage components if you don't know what you're doing.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by hblack First, the Hard drive LED did not light up (faulty hdd?).

No, at this point you can't assume anything. You may just have the LED connector on the wrong way.

Originally Posted by hblack Second when we turned the monitor on nothing happened....it just said it was going into powersave mode. Everything seemed to be running fine; fans were turning, lights were on (power led, pci light) and we suspected the hard drive making noise.

This sounds like a classic case of the motherboard being grounded/shorting out to the case. Did you install the standoffs and if you did, did you install only the ones you need in the proper locations?

Originally Posted by hblack I am wondering what the source of the problem might be.

See comment above.

Originally Posted by hblack We tried popping in the XP cd, but nothing happened on the monitor...it just went to powersave mode.

You can't install the OS if the computer is doing what yours is doing.

Originally Posted by hblack Please help, if you know what the problem might be.

See above.

Cricket

[hblack]

Originally Posted by Cricket This sounds like a classic case of the motherboard being grounded/shorting out to the case. Did you install the standoffs and if you did, did you install only the ones you need in the proper locations? Cricket

I did install the standoffs, and they are in their proper location. HDD LED does work now. I will wait till i receive my monitor today (coming in the mail) before i try anything else, any other suggestions?

[hblack]

also it does make a beep when turned on, which i read in the manual means no problems detected at startup.

[Cricket]

You should still do the out-of-case troubleshooter with only the core components assembled. This will help isolate the problem...and doing it with the motherboard out of the case is a standard troubleshooting procedure.

Cricket

[hblack]

I am still waiting for my monitor to come (so I haven't taken anything apart yet). Do i have to hook up the monitor directly to the video card...I used a VGA connection to the mobo, the video card only has dvi connectors or does that not matter.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by hblack Do i have to hook up the monitor directly to the video card...I used a VGA connection to the mobo, the video card only has dvi connectors or does that not matter.

You can't connect the monitor to the on-board VGA connection if you have a video card in the video slot...that disables the on-board video and is probably why you aren't getting a signal to the monitor. Remove the video card or get a analog to digital converter plug (should have come with the video card).

Cricket

[hblack]

ok, I was just connecting it to the motherboard vga slot. with the new monitor i connected it to the video card dvi slot. I guess i should have thought about that, thanks for the help though cricket. So the next step i am confused about, i popped in the xp cd and nothing happened. It just stays in the the same screen and says "K8 NPT Data change… Update New Data to DMI " at the bottom. Is there a step before trying to instal the os?

[Cricket]

You have to enter the BIOS and set the CD-ROM drive as the first boot device.

Cricket

[hblack]

so i downloaded service pack 2 for xp, but i stillhave a hard drive that reads 127gb. Is there anyway to make it read the right amount (320gb)

[hblack]

so i downloaded service pack 2 for xp, but i stillhave a hard drive that reads 127gb. Is there anyway to make it read the right amount (320gb)

[Cricket]

The other 100GB or so is unallocated and you'll have to go into Disk Management and create an extended partition and then create a logical drive in it so that Windows can use the space.

If you want the whole 320GB to be on great big partition, you'll either have to slipstream SP2 into WinXP or use a third party partitioning program to expand the current partition to the whole size of the hard drive.

Cricket

[hblack]

If i streamline windows will i have to reinstall everything? Do you have any suggestions on a third party partitioning program?

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by hblack If i streamline windows will i have to reinstall everything?

If you slipstream WinXP with SP2 you will have to reformat and reinstall.

Originally Posted by hblack Do you have any suggestions on a third party partitioning program?

Norton's Partition Magic or Acronis Disk Director.

Cricket

[hblack]

if i used Acronis Disk Director free trial just to combine two partitions (drive c and e) would the combined drive be split up again after expiration?

[hblack]

ok, just going to stick with two partitions. I downloaded all the drivers (i think), but when i plug in usb devices (i have an external hd, wireless mouse, printer) it says no usb 2.0 ports available. I know usb 2.0 are much faster and are pretty much the standards nowadays, so how come i don't have any? Is there a driver i am missing? I am not currently connected to the internet with that computer (my roommates are out of town for the weekend and i forgot our encryption password)- so i can't download any drivers until tomorrow afternoon.

[hblack]

Specifically, it reads: "there are no hi-speed usb host controllers installed on this computer". Anybody know a solution?

[Cricket]

Is the high speed USB port enabled in the BIOS?

Cricket

[hblack]

yes, i already have the following enabled:

OnChip USB Controller- Enables the integrated USB 1.1 controller (default:enabled)
USB EHCI Controller- Enables the integrated USB 2.0 controller (default: enabled)

[hblack]

Ok, i think i took care of it. I just reinstalled the drivers.

[Alaron]

hblack, as a forum note, could you edit your posts instead of posting a few minutes apart? Thanks.

_Moderator_

[hblack]

Yes...sorry about that.
Ok, so my monitor flashes from different slightly different shades when i minimize and maximize. Does that have something to do with the monitor, graphics card, power supply, or is it just something that happens?
Thanks