# [SOLVED] Do I have everything I need?



## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

On another forum I asked for suggestions on the specs for my new computer, and I found exactly what they said but I wanted to confirm that everything I am going to order is all that I need and if I just buy these, everything will work with everything.

*Note that I would be getting 4 of the 1gb ram.*
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/4468/16945412wc8.jpg


Thanks


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## stressfreesoul (Mar 17, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

CPU Heatsink/fan. Unless that E8400 comes with an Intel one. It didnt say.


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Yeah it doesn't say in that pic but I just checked the product page and it said Heatsink and Fan Included. I guess I'll go ahead and order everything. Thanks!


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

2 things swap that power supply for a corsair 650w
you need to buy matched pairs of memory not just 1 or 2 single 1 gig sticks and use a memory configurer from the memory manufacturers web site to get the correct ones.
Like www.crucial.com 
The Boxed CPU comes with the fan and heat sink.
Lastly , Keyboard,Mouse Monitor if yours are all good then your good to go.


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

I'm thinking of getting a different motherboard so could you tell me what I should get if I want 4gb of ram

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131295

On the specifications page it says:

Number of Memory Slots 4×240pin
Memory Standard DDR2 1200 

Does that mean to just get ram that says those too?

Thank you


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

This is what I would put in that board http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=CCAFC174A5CA7304

DDR2 800 will work fine and the clock speeds match up nicely with the E8400.

No you don't just want to match the numbers stated either use the motherboard QVL or the memory manufacturers configurer.


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Is this good too: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134641

As far as I can tell they are identical plus it is cheaper plus I can get it in the same shipment.

PS: Is it better to have Cas Latency to be higher or lower?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

I wouldn't know I've never found a mushkin configurer are they on the QVL (qualified vendor list) for your motherboard?
They may work do you like troubleshooting?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

If getting everything in the same shipment is convenient 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148160&Tpk=CT2KIT25664AA800
or
http://www.corsair.com/configurator/product_results.aspx?id=611434
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145194&Tpk=TWIN2X4096-6400C4DHX


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

I think I found the right one is this it?:http://asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=709&l4=0&model=2164&modelmenu=1

If it is the qvl list is on the left side... lol could you tell me if the ram is on there. Sorry I just don't understand it at all.




wrench97 said:


> If getting everything in the same shipment is convenient
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148160&Tpk=CT2KIT25664AA800
> or
> http://www.corsair.com/configurator/product_results.aspx?id=611434
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145194&Tpk=TWIN2X4096-6400C4DHX


Lol also important is price. A lot on newegg are $70-80 and it'd be nice if one of those worked.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

No they are not on the QVL, the reason the ram is cheaper is because of the chips on the modules generic chips made to run on many systems compromise on speed voltage and timings it may run, it may even run ok but when you push it while gaming it gets flaky causing different errors like pauses, sound blips, in really bad cases BSOD's relating to read errors most of the time it's just little annoying problems, The other thing to understand uo front is if you use the memory manufacturers configurer they will stand behind their product I like some others on here have had them pay for shipping both ways even next day and cross ship ram to get a system working if the ram was mismatched or defective you will usually only see these problems on newer chipsets like the P45 where a lot makers don't have it listed on their sites yet.
Ok enough of my soap box 
To answer your question the lower the timing the faster the memory ie 4-4-4-12 is better than 5-5-5-15.


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Ok I understand sorta



wrench97 said:


> If getting everything in the same shipment is convenient
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148160&Tpk=CT2KIT25664AA800
> or
> http://www.corsair.com/configurator/product_results.aspx?id=611434
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145194&Tpk=TWIN2X4096-6400C4DHX


So between these I should get the Corsair because the Cas Latency is 4 compared to 6 on the Crucial?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Yes that's right.


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Ok that you so much for your help


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Let us know how your build goes and good luck!


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Just to make sure before I buy, the case I am getting is ok, right? It'll fit everything and all the usb ports and stuff will show? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147038&Tpk=r5601

Thanks


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Yes it should all fit, I can tell you from experience the rosewill usb ports are not real good on their older cases (RK5700) meaning they didn't work long but the cases were ok, and the work around for the bad front ports is to put card reader in the floppy drive bay that has usb ports on it if they start to go bad.


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Where does audio come into play? Is it part of the motherboard? Is there a speaker jack and headphone jack on this? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131295


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Also, on more question, what is the difference in motherboards in terms of performance? I was just told to get an Intel P45 but the price range is like $100 to $300. I just want one that is good for gaming.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

The P5Q is a good board there is onboard audio with ports on the back.
The difference is in features on the board anything over $200 is a waste in my opinion 
If you want to see the differences in board features on Newegg check the box on the left
and then at the bottom of the page click on compare.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...+50001315+107172615+1071740132&name=Intel+P45


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## stressfreesoul (Mar 17, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

I especially like those chipset and mosfet heatsinks on the motherboard. Nice design by ASUS, as usual.


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

One of the reviews for it says "Cons: Not the best gaming board - I experienced periodic freezes in even older games like World of Warcraft. The Realtek audio drivers are terrible."

Is he just wrong it it would be something else causing that problem, or should I expect to possibly have the same problem?


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Ok I got my answer to my last question somewhere else and I already ordered anything so I shouldn't need any more questions answered unless I have trouble once I get everything. Thank you everyone for your help.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Ok don't keep it a secret what answer did you get?
If you look at any of the reviews you'll find someone complaining it may a legit problem or defect or a compatibility issue with some other component like and under powered or poor quality psu incompatible ram to a bad dvd/cd drive.
Let us know how your build goes.


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

The person that recommended the specs to me had the exact same setup and said they never had the problem the person said. They said they play things like crysis with no problems.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

It's all in the compatibility of the components..........


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Lol ok I have even another question. I want a really good, crisp monitor. The one on my laptop is very crisp looking and the description says it is a "17.1-inch Ultrabright™ WXGA TFT (1440 × 900) " I also have a 19" that is 1440 x 900, but it looks much less crisp. Is the reason for for this because the pixels would be bigger? What is a good looking resolution on 19" monitors? I don't know what to look for when picking monitors.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Most likely that and the laptop is probably a glossy screen while the monitor is matte. About the largest on a 19" wide screen is 1680 x 1050 the best way I know for you to shop for one is to view the at a Best Buy or Circuit City write down the brands and model numbers of the ones you like and price shop online most of whats out there in 19"w is 1400x900


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

If a 17 inch is 1440 x 900 and a 19 inch is 1440 x 900, doesn't that mean that the 19 inch has more stretch pixels?

But I think they are both glossy. They look similar, the 19 inch just looks stretched, do you think getting a higher resolution would fix that? I don't really have any Best Buys or Circuit Citys around me.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Yes it will make a difference wide screen desktop monitors for some reason haven't kept pace with the smaller laptop screens. It's almost seems you have to move up from the mainstream ones to the high dollar units to get the higher resolutions.
I'll look around some tomorrow to see what's all out there do want to stay with a wide screen right?


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Oh wow you're awesome that would be great. Yeah widescreen is what i've been wanting and as cheap as possible. Thank you very very much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

I've already order everything but I was thinking of ordering a different motherboard and returning the other one. I would get this one because there are many more 5 star ratings and people don't complain about it being hot. Also it works for crossfire, however one of the reviews says:
"My HD4850 blocks one SATA port (angled cable would work)." 

That's the exact same graphics card that I got. Does that mean that I won't be able to use crossfire because the graphics card takes up more than half the slots?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*



mlabre20 said:


> I'm thinking of getting a different motherboard so could you tell me what I should get if I want 4gb of ram
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131295
> 
> ...


You're getting this board right if so you can't Crossfire it it only has 1 PCIEx16 slot and I don't recall you saying anything about Crossfire before.
The video card takes up 2 slots, you may lose 1 pcie slot but it shouldn't be a problem, also I don't see where the video card blocks a Sata port on this board.

What stores do you have near you where you could view Monitors?


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Sorry I forgot to put the link. I was gonna order this one and return the one I already ordered, because I decided I do want crossfire and people gave it much higher reviews. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131297

But one of the reviews says: "Cons: 8X Crossfire though that probably only makes a difference for huge monitors. My HD4850 blocks one SATA port (angled cable would work)."

The HD4850 is the same graphics card that I ordered and is he saying that will not be able to use crossfire with it?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

First thing if you want to crossfire you will need a larger power supply to run 2 video cards
Second in bench mark testing crossfire/Sli looks good in real world gaming you would do better with 1 4870 card then 2 4850's at 8x by 8x to due true 16x by 16x you will need an x38 or x48 chipset and In my opinion it's just not worth the extra cost for the small gain in real world gaming performance. There are some links to tests floating on some of these threads and it's a hotly contested issue but if you think about it, games are written to sell to the mainstream users onbody is targeting a game to the 5% -10% of gamers out there who have the latest dual card setup if so in 6 months your system is obsolete because the next greatest card is out, also the next thing to think about is there is a 4870x2 single card soon to be introduced I hear.

Here's an article I did find that talks about crossfire/Sli setups http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-4850-and--4870-crossfirex-performance/8


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Oh I was under the impression that it would be a significant boost and it would be good and make my computer more future proof, but if its not much difference than I don't need it. Thanks


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

So anyway back to your monitor I think you need to view WSXGA which are 1680×1050 resolutions at a store near near you to see what you like, Kind of hard to tell picture quality online then if you see a model you like check out some of the online stores.


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

I just drove 35 mins to best buy and looked for that one but couldn't find it, however I did find another one I liked the look of. You are right it is very nice being able to compare all the monitors. 

However I am have trouble with what I got. I don't have my computer yet but I tried using it as an external monitor on my laptop but when I plug it into my laptop it says "Analogue Power Saving Mode." I know it know that it is plugged into my laptop because if I unplug it it says "check connection." I have the drivers installed and everything. I searched google and there were others having this problem however I could never find an answer. Any ideas?


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

nvm I figured it out


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Is it bad to have the monitor somewhere where the sun shines through a window on to it? The back of the monitor gets pretty hot. Hot enough that you can't keep your hand on it for more than a few seconds. Does this hurt the monitor?

Also, if the monitor won't work without installing drivers, how will I get it to work on my new computer? I won't be able to see anything until I install the drivers, and I won't be able to install the drivers until I can see.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

It will work without installing drivers the drivers are for optimizing the monitor, I think maybe the problem you had last night with your laptop was related to dual monitors or in switching from one to the other as in FN-5 shortcut keys.

If the sun is making the back of the moniter that hot it's not good.


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## stressfreesoul (Mar 17, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

You will also strain your eyes having a bright light source beyond where you are focusing. Best place for monitors is on a side wall, ie a wall that doesnt have the sun coming through a window or shining onto it most of the time. The darkest wall is always the best to view a monitor (CRT or TFT/LCD).


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Ok all the stuff is coming tomorrow, where is a good place to go so I can understand how to put everything together? The "How to Bench Test Your System" thread would be good, except it doesn't really go into enough detail for someone who is clueless to what they are doing.

Any good step by step instructions on a website or anything?

Thanks


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

This should give you a fairly good idea just remember your components may not look the same.
http://techreport.com/articles.x/13671


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Awesome thank you


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

edit: nvm


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Ok I am putting it together and the instruction manual for the case is terrible. On the case there is a fan in the front and a fan in the back, and I am trying to figure out where to plug each one into.

On the motherboard, directly next to each other there are ports marked PWR_FAN and CHA_FAN1. About 5 inches from there is a port marked CHA_FAN2. All ports are the same sizes. Which do I plug the front fan and the rear fan into?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

If the case fan plug is the same type as the mother board socket I use CHA_1 as the front
And _2 as the rear only because the front comes first it really makes no difference,
if the case has more like a 4 pin molex then use an extra molex plug


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Ok so a few things I'm confused about so far. I have a l shaped connector going from my harddrive to my motherboard, is that the only thing I need to plug into the harddrive? There are several other ports on it. I also have the same exact question for the cd drive.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

The hard drive and the Cd drive need a data cable from the drive to a Sata port on the motherboard and each need a power cable and thats all.
http://www-304.ibm.com/systems/support/supportsite.wss/sata2.jpg

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowI...SUNG+22X+DVD+Burner+Black+SATA+Model+SH-S223F


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

edit: nvm


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

It works!!! Thank you wrench97 and everyone else for your help, I would have gotten no where without you guys. I'd be posting from my new computer right now, but my old wireless adapter doesn't work with vista, so I have to go get one that does. Thanks again for all the help!!!

PS: I have a linksys g router with speedbooster so I was gonna get a wireless g adapter with speedbooster, but is there anything faster I should get instead? I only get 4 bars of connection from where I use my computer (atleast that is what I got on my old computer) so anything really fast would be nice. I've also seen things where you plug it into the wall and you basically get lan, would something like that work?


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

I no longer need my last question answered but I have another one. On my case there is a front panel headphone jack. I plugged my headphones into but no sound came out. I checked and the cable in my case that came from the front marked Audio is plugged in. I went to the BIOS and tried with the Front Panel settings being on both HD audio and the other one, but neither of them worked. I don't think it makes a difference but I do not have any speakers plugged into the computer.

The sound in the bottom right is turned up. I cannot figure out what to do. What would cause this?? please help

EDIT: ok i just went to Control Panel and the Manage Audio Devices. On the list of audio devices was Headphone Jack. I went to the properties for it and it said Front Panel 3.5mm Jack. So my computer definitely knows it is there, yet when I plug in my headphones, it still says "Not plugged in" on the Manage Audio Devices page. I have tried multiple working headphones and I still have the problem. I don't get it.... :sad:


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Do you have speakers hooked up in the back and are they working?


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

I don't have any speakers hooked up because I don't have any but would that make a difference? On the Manage Audio Devices page, it shows Speakers and Headphone Jack as 2 separate things.

I don't have any drivers or anything but that is not needed since I don't have a sound card, right?


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## stressfreesoul (Mar 17, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Go to your Device Manager (*Windows key+R*, then type *devmgmt.msc* and click *OK*) If any of the items listed has a yellow exclamation mark next to it, you need to get the drivers for that item. I suspect your buit in HD audio will be one of these, you might have others that need attention too. Going through them one by one is the best way, as you will likely need to restart Windows every time one is installed.
You can try right clicking on each one and use the *update driver* option, or you can find out which component each one is moaning about, then find the drivers yourself from the vendors website (you might have to do this anyway, as the update driver option doesnt always find a match). There _are_ generic drivers included with a Windows package but its always best to get the correct one.


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Ok the 3 things that don't have drivers are Ethernet Controller, SM Bus controller, and Unknown Device. And I don't have internet yet so I don't know how to get them.

However I take back what I said before... I tried unplugging the audio cable from the motherboard and then going to Manage Audio Devices, and it still showed the headphone jack... so it doesn't necessarily know it is plugged in, it just knows that my motherboard has it.

Edit:I just tried bridging between my laptop and my desktop so that I could get internet and install the drivers, but nothing happens when I plug in the crossover cable to my desktop. I think the problem is when I go to Network Connections on my desktop, there is nothing there. No Lan or anything. Is that maybe what the Ethernet Controller driver that is missing is?


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

I think I have figured out what is wrong.... I never installed the drivers on my motherboard disc, and one of them is the realtek audio drivers, and ethernet driver. I will post back if it fixes it.. pretty sure it will


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

It worked!.... but.... there is a ticking sound whenever the computer thinks. Like if I minimize a window, I here a few ticks. If I maximize a window, I hear a few ticks. When I was downloading something, I heard constant ticking. When I play a game there is constant ticking.

The ticking is definitely coming through the speakers because when I turn the volume up the ticking gets louder. What is causing this and what can I do to fix it?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

So I see you've had a busy day while I was at work, good to hear you have sound and network connections.

Does the ticking seem to happen when you see the hard drive light flashing on the front panel? If it does as a test unplug the front panel hard drive light making sure to turn off the pc first. Does it still tick?


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

 It didn't work. The ticks didn't match up with the light but I tried anyway and no luck. I also tried the Power LED and that didn't work either. Any other ideas?

Also, I still hear the ticking when I go to Manage Audio Devices and disable the speaker, yet I don't hear it if I uninstall the Realtek Audio drivers.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Do you have a speaker installed on the motherboard, if so disconnect it see if you still hear the ticking. Turn off the pc first of course.


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

I don't think I do. The only cable plugged into the motherboard that has to do with audio was the one that came from the front of the case.

And I just tried plugging in my old speakers to the back of computer but it didn't work. Maybe I am doing something wrong but they are an orange connector and I plugged them into the orange port. However, they did work on the headphone jack. Don't know if that helps at all.


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

edit: ignore this post...


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

If you only have one plug on your speakers it goes to the green port the orange is for sub woofers, I'm still looking at other ideas, also can you disconnect the case fans to eliminate 1 of them.


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Oh thanks the speakers worked when I put them in the green one. But what do you you mean with the fans? Do you want me to unplug both of them and see if it still makes the sound?

Edit: So I plugged the headphones into the speaker port on the back and there was no ticking. It'd still be much nicer to have the headphone port on the front, though I can live with it in the back if you run out of ideas.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Ok so it's only the front ports that you hear the ticking?
Yes I'm trying to find if it's interference causing the noise (like when you run an electric motor next to a radio) Try it with out the front fan plugged in to see in it stops.
Also check the routing of the wires going to the front panel see if they are close to the hard drive or fan motor.


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

I disconnected the front fan and still had the problem. And the wire goes right by the harddrive so I moved the harddrive like a foot away but still had the problem. The wire also goes right by my cddrive and right by my graphics card, think those could cause the problem?

Edit: Hmm the wire goes directly by a cell battery that is on the motherboard... I don't know much about this stuff but do you think that could be causing it?

Edit2: I moved it away from the battery and the sound actually got louder. The only thing that I see that it got closer to was the port on my graphics card where the power supply plugs into. Could that be it? I will try and rewire it so that it goes nowhere near it.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

The battery should not, the fan on the video card may just try to get the wire away as far as possible without going to a lot of trouble and see if the noise level changes.

Also while I have these links I'll post them I'm not saying you need this but it's good to add to your knowledge, the first is how I fixed the USB port issue I had on my sons case it took awhile for him to learn not to pull on the game controller at odd angles. The second is something I have used to add flash card support.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813999353

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820131010


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Ok thanks.

But after moving the wire the sound is even louder. Its gotten closer to my cpu fan maybe that could be it? I'm gonna keep moving the wire around and hopefully get an idea of what is causing it. It is hard because the wire is pretty short but I'll do what I can.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

See if you move the wire so it comes from the other side of the case or lets say the if the wire comes out towards the left side see if you can reroute inside the front panel to come out the right or viseversa as the case may be.


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Unfortunately there is no way to do that with the length of the cable. I could get an extension cable maybe, be even that is no guarantee. I tried every single way to route the cable given its length but nothing worked. The fans clearly cause additional interference, but they don't seem to affect the volume of the sound that is made when the computer is thinking. Do you think I could be successful if I got an extension cable? Do extension cables for this type of thing even exist?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

I haven't seen an extension cable for that application but you could make them longer yourself with some 26-28 gauge wire a soldering iron and some heat shrink tubing .

But first I would call our friends at Rosewill and ask them for a solution 800-575-9885

Is the noise when it's "thinking" coming from the audio or elsewhere does it sound like it's coming from the cpu fan?


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

That's a good idea about calling rosewill, I will try that.

And I had my case open and was moving around the wire while the computer was on, and the thinking sound and the fan sound were two different sounds. When I put the wire next to the fan, it would make a constant humming noise in the background, but if I did something like open a file, I would hear the thinking sound on top of the fan interference sound.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Can you tell from what area it's coming from?


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Nope. I moved around every part of the wire I could but I could never pinpoint a specific thing that was causing it.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Just so I'm clear are you only hearing the noise in the front audio jacks, and if you use the rear their isn't any noise or is there a noise besides the audio noise?


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Yeah I only hear the noise in the headphone jack in the front which is the only audio jack in the front besides the microphone. If I use the ones in the back there is no noise.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

I have a feeling the front audio cable has a problem or is not shielded correctly.
Only way I know to test is by using another cable that you won't have, Let us know what Rosewill says.


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Lol ok so I've yet to call Rosewill but, I am having the problem that was mentioned in the review of the motherboard that I posted. The guy saying that "Cons: Not the best gaming board - I experienced periodic freezes in even older games like World of Warcraft. The Realtek audio drivers are terrible."

Maybe I should I have listened to you guys... do you guys think it really is the motherboard that is causing it? Or is there another part you think it doing it?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

First make sure you have the latest drivers from here.
http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=P5Q
Then check using driver detective,
http://www.drivershq.com/VistaDrivers.aspx


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Thank you very much Wrench I will try that. I can't try until later today but will report back once I do.

Does it sound like a problem that a motherboard could cause to you?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

I've seen reports blaming realtek audio drivers, And it is usually a driver issue with Vista


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Oh cool those actually did improve the problem a bit. I got all the drivers for the P5Q and also driver detective says everything is up to date.

I have another question. Is it bad to run the computer with the case open? It seems to slightly help my problem, and things run at MUCH lower temps. Before, my cpu was running at 60 degress c, but now it is at 35. It's not bad to leave it open right? The reason I think it might be bad is because there is a filter covering all the openings of the case to block dust.

And i plan to call rosewill today so I will report back.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

60C is too hot for the cpu if its running cooler with the sides off thats telling you there is an air flow problem, I like to set a case up with 1 fan in the front drawing air in and 1 fan at the rear blowing air out, I also noticed that case has a storage box in the front, (blue plastic in the pictures) Lose it, as it will do nothing but block air flow.


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Yeah that's exactly what my fans are doing, the front one blows air in and the back one blows air out. And the storage box is gone as well. I think the problem is that my graphics card traps the air at the bottom. The fan blowing air in is below the graphics card, and the fan blowing air out is above it, but I think the graphics card makes it so that most of the air blowing in stays at the bottom. And all the wires are tied up and out of the way so that is not the problem.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

From the pictures I can't tell does the side cover have a funnel on it? If it does does it line up with the cpu fan if not it may be best to remove the funnel, I don't remember are you using the stock heatsink? if not remove the funnel.


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Yeah there is a vent on the side that lines up with the cpu and has a "pipe" leading to the cpu fan, making the cpu fan blow in air from outside. And the heatsink is part of the motherboard I think.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

No the heat sink is the part under the fan that sits on the CPU where you put the thermal paste to transfer the heat from the cpu to the heat sink the fan blows air down over it to cool it off, Make sure the vent in the case is clear of any packing material, it should actually run cooler by drawing out side air in to cool the cpu/heat sink assembly.


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

About that lol.... how important is the thermal paste? I never put it on I figured it would already be on it.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

The stock heat sink should have had a gray paste on it it's ok, but I always replace it on higher end CPU's, I like arctic silver it always good for a few less degrees. Here is a link to how to install the Arctic Silver bookmark it for future reference.
http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm


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## stressfreesoul (Mar 17, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Yeah, thermal compound is very important. without it temps are always gonna be high. We would probably all recommend something like the forementioned Arctic Silver, but when it comes down to it, any that are available are better than nothing at all....


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Do you think it is fine if I just leave the case open? I really have no problems with temps at all then. 

Also, update on the problem of frames being skipped. The problem is pretty much totally gone such that it is not longer a problem. I think it is the drivers and the lower temps that fixed it... thanks wrench!


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

You could but I would consider going to a bigger CPU cooler down the road like one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...mpareItemList=N82E16835186134,N82E16835118223


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Thanks I will consider that, especially since they're pretty cheap.

Something else that I found that might be causing it to be so hot was because of my video card. My video card idles at about 80 degrees c, and apparently that is normal for it. Though it seems that the fan on the video card defaults to only being at 30% speed. So hopefully by increasing the speed of the fan it will help keep lower temps on the video card and in the case. I won't be home till friday so I'll try then.

Also, I contacted Rosewill and they said the front panel audio jack was defective and they will contact newegg to see if they have any spare parts.


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## stressfreesoul (Mar 17, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Thats very warm, what vid card you have again?


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

HD4850 

Ive looked around and it seems that is a normal temp for it though


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## stressfreesoul (Mar 17, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Thats a beefy lookin card. You got a side panel fan blowing on that?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*



mlabre20 said:


> Thanks I will consider that, especially since they're pretty cheap.
> 
> Something else that I found that might be causing it to be so hot was because of my video card. My video card idles at about 80 degrees c, and apparently that is normal for it. Though it seems that the fan on the video card defaults to only being at 30% speed. So hopefully by increasing the speed of the fan it will help keep lower temps on the video card and in the case. I won't be home till friday so I'll try then.
> 
> Also, I contacted Rosewill and they said the front panel audio jack was defective and they will contact newegg to see if they have any spare parts.


That's good to hear changing the jack shouldn't too bad a task!

You should be able to control the fan speed with the Catalyst Control Center.


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## mlabre20 (Jul 11, 2008)

*Re: Do I have everything I need?*

Ok I actually really want to fix my problem where my games skip frames. I was just in a really old game, and every few seconds the game would stop for about .1 to .3 seconds, and skip that times worth of frames. Do you think it could be the motherboard? Because if it is I want to return it and get a different kind. Is there anything that anyone thinks it could be other than the motherboard. I have the latest drivers for everything, and it happens in all my games.


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