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Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh oh my lord.. mine isn't on horizontally looooooooool
No it's on 110 as always, and I've carefully examined for the capacitors, none are leaking like that. Also something that comes into mind, could it be the fact I only have 4 screws in (not copper standoffs) instead of 6, as the motherboard manual suggested -> shortcircuit? My case is this: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119241
I am thinking of adding 2 more screws and of course readjusting the power switch, though am a bit concerned about the fact it popped once and there was a whiff of smoke (damage has been done? maybe worsen things?) ahhh
Do you think this is the best course of action or should I pick up a new psu or something?
Thanks for the help though omg!!
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Well my brother plugged a fan power cable (the one that the PSU provides for, you know, fans) into a motherboard 3-pin slot and managed to not blow up the house, let alone damage the motherboard. Hard to know.
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Alright gonna give it a try in the morning!
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On March 08 2014 15:32 Incognoto wrote:Show nested quote +On March 08 2014 15:14 Craton wrote:
Capable of serious shock even after not being plugged in for an extended period of time kinds of dangerous. didn't know that, how scary q_q sorry for dangerous advice how long should you wait?
I vaguely remember people saying they got shocked after weeks by large capacitors. Everyone seems to agree that just waiting isn't good. There's a tip to disconnect the PSU from the power outlet, then hit the power button of the case a few times. That will discharge most of what's in the capacitors. Another method is disconnecting the PSU while the PC is running.
If you just want to replace a fan or something, just remember that you should never touch anything in the PSU with both hands. If you only ever use one hand, there's no way for you to die!
If you want to seriously work with the insides of the PSU, be able to touch everything, you need to see how discharging the large capacitors works exactly. I think you need to short them by connecting their contacts on the underside of the PCB. A screwdriver with a handle for electrical work might work without breaking the parts? You can also check everything with a multimeter to be safe.
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I think I figured out the problem.
I had forgotten to put in the standoff screws, my old cases never needed any but this coolermaster 371 does. So on first boot attempt, I'm guessing the mobo touching the case made bad things happen. Wow I will never forget this.
However, I tried to replug everything after a few hours with the standoffs installed. The mobo green light is lit up, and when I try to boot the cpu fan/case fan spins for 1 second, then stops and restarts (cycle). Going to the store to pick up a new psu soon and hope only my psu is (half?) broken.
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@Ropid, thanks for the info. What you say makes sense. I won't be opening my PSU though, maybe in a few years to do that fan mod Myrmidon once told me about.
@hendralisk: well, if you didn't put stand-offs in then that certainly must have caused a short-circuit somewhere. I would think the motherboard would fry before the PSU though? :s
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Usually power supplies (i.e. not the super-cheap junkers) bleed the relevant capacitors over time when off. If you're going to wait, just overnight is probably overkill (and I'd probably first try unplugging and hitting the power switch a couple times with it hooked up). Anyway, anything containing hundreds of volts that can store a decent amount of charge is dangerous, and it's good to be safe, even if the probability of a big screwup isn't very small.
Keep in mind that the relevant dangerous leads are on the solder side of the board, which you can't exactly access unless you unscrew the PCB out or intentionally stick stuff down there.
Also a lot of the advice comes from the CRT monitor days; those things had huge bulk capacitance, held much larger charges for much longer, etc., and were much more dangerous.
Try resetting the BIOS on the mobo first, anyhow. Might as well check that.
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Hi!
Asked for advice a short while back (see below) but due to difficulties with ordering, I had to put together another computer build using the local company www.faun.ee. This is what it looks like, any advice?
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/kYDlTOr.png)
+ Show Spoiler [previous post] +On January 25 2014 19:08 Ghanburighan wrote:Hi, first time poster, first time PC assembler in fact. I've tried to compile a PC according to one of the suggested lists in the OP, but I'd love to hear whether it's still good value (and also whether I can cut down the price considering what I use it for). Intent: - playing games: Sc2 (I'm used to playing on low, but I do quite a few customs and team games too), Europa Universalis, Civ 5, minecraft, elder scrolls games. - watching streams and movies, preferably on several 1080p screens at once. Wouldn't mind going up to 3 screens. - compiling code (generally don't have access to a network to do it on, so cpu intensive) - Working with a ton of different windows open, including chrome windows per project, each with 20-30 tabs, running flash. Complication:- I'm currently in Estonia, so I don't know of a cheap way to buy components. I thought scan.co.uk is the cheapest, so I used it to compile the list: Components:- CPU: Intel Core i5 4670K, S 1150, Haswell, Quad Core, 3.4GHz, 3.8GHz Turbo, 1200MHz GPU, 34x Ratio, 84W link- Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87-D3HP, Intel Z87, S 1150, DDR3, SATA 6Gb/s, SATA RAID, PCIe 3.0, D-Sub, DVI/ HDMI, ATX link- GPU: 3GB MSI Radeon Radeon R9 280X Gaming 3G, 28nm, 6000MHz GDDR5, GPU 1000MHz, Boost 1050MHz, 2048 Streams, HDMI/ mDP/ DVI link- Primary HDD: 250GB Samsung 840 EVO Basic SSD SATA 6Gb/s 7mm Slim 3-core MEX Controller Read 540MB/s, Write 520MB/s, 512MB, 97K IOPS link- Secondary HDD: Western Blue 500 GB link- Power: 450W XFX Pro Core Edition P1-450S-X2B9, 85% Eff', 80 PLUS Bronze, SLI/CrossFire, EPS 12V, Fan, ATX v2.31, PSU link- Case: Fractal Design Arc Mini micro-ATX Mini Tower Case Black with USB 3.0 w/o PSU (Std ATX) link- Fan: Thermalright TRUE Spirit 140mm BW Fan with 6x Copper Heat Pipes for socket 1366/1155/775 and AM2/AM3 link- RAM: 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair DDR3 Vengeance Low Profile Cerulean Blue, PC3-17066 (2133), Non-ECC, CAS 11-11-11-27, XMP, 1.5V linkThank you in advance!
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GTX 660 is about €20 too expensive imo, Corsair 200R is a bit on the expensive side as well. As is the SSD; you don't need a PRO series, go for the EVO (you won't notice difference between PRO and EVO but your wallet will). Crucial M500 costs €109 in France.
Though maybe these are just Estonian prices which I'm comparing to France's. Are there no other retailers with better priceS? At very least, don't get a PRO SSD.
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@Ghanburighan:
I think this cooler is better, "Scythe Mugen 4":
http://www.faun.ee/scythe-mugen-4-cpu-cooler1150115511562011am2am3
Its cooling performance should be slightly better. Its mounting system should be a lot better. The Ninja 3 has a more annoying mounting system and is very hard to install without it moving around which makes it hard to apply thermal paste perfectly.
You only need the "Pro" version of of Samsung's SSD if you want to write a lot to it every day. I mean some sort of work where you fill a good percentage of it with data that gets thrown away and overwritten every day. If you use it as a normal drive to install Windows and programs and games, you can buy the cheaper "Samsung 840 EVO":
http://www.faun.ee/samsung-ssd-840-evo-250gb-25-sataiii-6gbs-sequential-read-speed-540mbs
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Writing this post on my new system. + Show Spoiler +
CPU Intel Core i5 4670K Boxed € 194.50
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z87X-D3H € 117.99
RAM G.Skill Ares F3-2133C9D-8GAB € 89.65
GPU R9 290 tri x € 394,98
SSD Samsung 840 EVO 250GB € 139.98
Case Corsair Carbide 400R € 86.12
PSU Seasonic G-Serie 550Watt € 86.90
CPU Cooler Noctua NH-U14S € 64.94
€ 1,162.06
Took me about 2 hours to build it, and an hour or so to get most of the software I want installed. So far only problem I've run into is an AMD card related bsod when I was watching twitch (twice). I'm hoping I can find a way to actually reproduce the error, to narrow down the problem a bit Other than that everything went really smoothly it's really fast, SSD is not dissapointing.
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It's a sexy build overall. strange bsod though
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0xA0000001 is the number if you're interested, seems quite common with AMD cards.
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Thanks guys, you're super awesome for helping me. I changed the SSD and found another Geforce 660 GPU for less, which has shaved a whole 60 euros off my build already. I also changed the cooler, thanks for the tip!
I find it difficult to find a good case. Do you think I could go for a relatively unknown one such as the one I've included below? Or should I rather stick with the rather pricey Corsair 200R?
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/C7HvAtF.png)
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On March 09 2014 03:01 Tarias wrote:
0xA0000001 is the number if you're interested, seems quite common with AMD cards.
i'm bad at bsod. really bad. it's probably AMD drivers being silly imo.
@ghanburighan (nice nick): what other case choices do you have? 200R is pricey for sure but it's also probably way better than an unknown case. link your retailer here maybe. also, do you have access to the crucial M500? it might be a bit cheaper, not sure. it's pretty much the same SSD performance, though you do lose 10 Gb.
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On March 09 2014 00:52 Incognoto wrote:
@Ropid, thanks for the info. What you say makes sense. I won't be opening my PSU though, maybe in a few years to do that fan mod Myrmidon once told me about.
@hendralisk: well, if you didn't put stand-offs in then that certainly must have caused a short-circuit somewhere. I would think the motherboard would fry before the PSU though? :s
Well I picked up a corsair 500w power supply and gonna swap it in. My cpu fan and case fan still spins + the motherboard standby power led light turns on when psu is on. I tried hooking up dvd drive to psu, but it doesn't light upon power up, as well as a sole case fan connected to psu and nothing happened.
K well that was hopeful wishing, put the new psu in and still same symptoms, rip. Gonna get a new mobo tomorrow, pray the ram/ssd/gpu/cpu all connected when motherboard circuited is ok..
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Ran into some more problems. I figured since I was reinstalling everything anyways, I might as well switch to windows 8.1. Turns out there is some issue with Civ V on dx11 with windows 8.1, won't allow me to fullscreen the game.  BSOD issue also persists BSView tells me something called ntoskrnl.exe is responsible, not much help. Planning to run memtest overnight to see if that is the problem.
-edit: Turns out the fullscreen issue occured for all games. Solved it by killing Samsung magician. Looks like I won't be installing that anymore, cost me an entire evening to solve.
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On March 08 2014 13:25 Craton wrote:I'm looking for a monitor arm stand (2x monitors) that will clamp to a desk and be able to position the held monitors overtop other normally standing monitors (the top of which is current 17.5" above the desk, though I would like to raise it slightly). I estimate the center of the held monitor would need to be at least 24 inches above the table (ideally with room to go higher just in case). The arm would need to extend outward about 9 inches horizontally from the rear center (where I plan to clamp it). Needs to hold no bigger than 24" each at roughy 10 lbs each (though ~15 each would be a bonus). I've had a great deal of trouble finding "extra tall" arms that aren't absurdly expensive (like $400+, many over $500 or $600). My price limit for this is about $250, though I would obviously be amenable to anything lower . I looked through about 800 offerings on Amazon so far. Failing that, I guess two single mounts would be agreeable. This was one of the possibilities I came across, but it doesn't seem like it'd be tall enough with the relatively short extension amount I have available: http://www.thehumansolution.com/innovative-7flex-lcd-monitor-arm.htmlBolded some parts to help the dimensions stand out. I can take a picture of the area if it would help. Thanks!
I spent another day looking around, but literally everything I've come across doesn't have enough vertical height (25" + from center). I'm starting to think there doesn't exist a non-wall mounted solution.
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On February 18 2014 00:58 skyR wrote:Show nested quote +On February 17 2014 23:54 MysticNinja wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Hey TL, I want to build my Mom a computer for her birthday. She doesn't play any games and primarily uses her computer for web browsing. She does use Photoshop to modify pictures or create some basic flyers or graphics and also uses Quickbooks to help maintain the business. This will be the first computer I've built. I have upgraded my computer before and have watched a friend build one before too. I'm excited to try this for the first time but I'm nervous about choosing the right components. Any help/tips you could provide me before I start to build would be super appreciated! Basic info in spoiler: + Show Spoiler +
What is your budget?
I'd like to spend somewhere around $400. I've already purchased Windows 7.
What is your monitor's native resolution?
1920x1080
What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?
none. It will primarily be used for Photoshop and Quickbooks.
What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?
Photoshop, Quickbooks, and web browsing.
Do you intend to overclock?
No
Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire?
No
Do you need an operating system?
No
Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget?
No
If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.
No
What country will you be buying your parts in?
USA
If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.
I like New Egg, but really I have no preferences
I noticed in the Sample Builds section the first option came out to $385: + Show Spoiler +
BASIC GAMER 1080p low settings, video card upgrade ready
Processor (CPU)[image loading] $135 [image loading] AMD A10-6800k
Motherboard[image loading] $60 [image loading] MSI FM2-A75MA-E35
Memory (RAM)[image loading] $60 [image loading] G.Skill Ripjaws X 2x4GB 2133MHz
Primary Storage[image loading] $55 [image loading] Western Digital Blue 500GB
Power Supply (PSU)[image loading] $45 [image loading] Corsair CX430
Case[image loading] $30 [image loading] NZXT Source 210 Black
Total: $385 before mail-in rebates, taxes, shipping, and other applicable fees
Is this build still a good choice? I also found this build on reddit: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2HU0tBetween the two builds which one is better? I should note that the computer will need wireless connection capabilities. A wired connection would be a huge headache that I'd like to avoid for the time being. I noticed that some Motherboards come with Wireless Lan 802.11 b/g/n. Like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130664If I purchase a motherboard with this on it does it mean I wouldn't need to buy a wireless network card? Or is this something else entirely? Also, I noticed that many cases come with fans already. I know in general, more fans mean cooler components which equals better for your parts, but should I purchase more fans? I want the computer to last a long time but I don't want to spend money on fans that could be better spent elsewhere to improve performance. Thanks so much in advance! I really appreciate you putting up the resources available here! I've been finding them extremely helpful! + Show Spoiler +A Core i3 Haswell would be a better option than an AMD A10 in your mother's case. Either the Core i3 4330 for $125 (w/ promo code EMCPHWF93, ends 2/17): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116945 or Core i3 4130 (w/ promo code EMCPHWG64, ends 2/19): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116946Every case includes at least one fan and will be adequate in keeping the components at reasonable operating temperatures. Adding additional fans isn't necessary. Having your CPU run at 40c rather than 50c is not going to make a notceiable difference. The Fractal Design Core 1000 is a good option right now at $30: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352032Some motherboards, mainly ITX boards, do come with built-in WiFi. They are more expensive though than getting the motherboard and WiFi card separately. You do not need to purchase a WiFi card if you decide to get a motherboard with built-in WiFi. I have no idea why anyone would pick a server power supply for a consumer build. I'm pretty sure it doesn't even fit in the case selected. Not to mention it also doesn't have any PCIe connectors so it limits you in the future, say if you want to add a video card or put it in another build with a video card.
Hey guys thanks for the suggestions. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me out. Sorry its taken me so long to get back to you. I've been doing a little research and saving my money. I think I'm finally ready to purchase the parts!
I decided to go with the i3-4330. I had the 4340 in but I was having trouble keeping within my budget so decided to go with the 4330.
I was trying to keep it under $400 but decided that I could go up to $500 with shipping included.
I asked a friend for his input as well and he suggested:
CPU: Intel Pentium G3420 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($71.99 @ Mwave)
I think I would like to stick with the i3 but if the performance difference will be negligible it would make sense to save the money. What do you think?
I know the i3 has hyper threading and the pentium does not but I really have no idea what that means exactly. I also was reading some of the reviews for the i3 and noticed that a few people said that it ran hot. Someone else recommended:
CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling UCACO-AP11301-BUA01 Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($9.99 @ Newegg)
This seems reasonable for only ten dollars. Would this be a good choice to help keep the temperature down on the i3? Or will the stock cooler be just fine?
A few other recommendations were made:
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Feel as if there is little difference here and while saving $6 is nice, I think I'd like to get the gskill one if only because they support/sponsor esports. However I would go with the cheaper one if it performed better, but it seems unlikely.
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Newegg)
This could potentially save me quite a bit. So I'm interested in possibly swapping this out for the one I have chosen now. I don't think the computer will ever end up getting a discrete graphics card added so perhaps going with the lower wattage is a better choice. I just don't wanna end up with a junk PSU that will go out in a year or two. Help? Also, am I supposed to be getting a micro ATX power supply since my case is a MicroATX mid Tower or will either one of these fit just fine?
I was also hoping someone could help me with the wireless network adapter. I really have no idea on that one... is the one I chose gonna be just fine or is there a better choice somewhere in that price range? Maybe I should spend more?
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($66.99 @ SuperBiiz)
It was also suggested that if my Mom doesn't need that much space I should get her a SSD instead of the hard drive I have selected now. I think that 120GB would be enough for my Mom and I could always add a hard drive later if she ends up filling this one up, but I'm unfamiliar with this particular brand. Good choice?
Here is what I have right now with the above changes in the air. Your help is greatly appreciated!
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
CPU: Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($42.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N250PCe 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($21.14 @ Amazon)
Total: $449.07
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-09 03:47 EDT-0400)
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United Kingdom20341 Posts
I also was reading some of the reviews for the i3 and noticed that a few people said that it ran hot.
It's not a problem, especially on i3. The temperature gap between actual applications and worst case synthetics widened a lot this cpu gen, so lots of people freaking out over it who don't understand that it's actually pretty much irrelevant for actual use if the CPU can reach 90c while running some crazy test, but only actually runs like 30-40c colder (literally) if you run 100% CPU load with some program like a video encoder that you actually want to use
m500 is good.
I see no reason to spend nearly twice as much for i3 over pentium
you'd want 2x2gb or 2x4gb of RAM rather than 1x8gb, to utilize dual channel mode
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EPT
