# Custom Pc Recommended Build - Gaming Pc



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

Hi,



I have built the mid range PC using the components recommended by Custom PC. Components are:



Asus P5K Premium WiFi 

C2D Q6600 

4GB of OCZ PC2-8500 Reaper 

BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 650W 

Creative X-FI Xtreme Gamer 

Samsung Spinpoint Hard Drive

P182 Case

Samsung DVD drive

Dell monitor

Sapphire HD4870 graphics card



Problem is that when fired up screen is blank even when i just boot up with minimal hardware ie with just the graphics cards sapphire Radeon 4870 and just 1 of the 1GB ram sticks and nothing else, the monitor still stays blank - but the cpu fan, and case fans and graphics card fan and graphics card leds (three red lights on the card are lit up ok (1st 3rd and 4th are on and the tech guys at sapphire in the USA who i just called up said thats fine) 



Can anyone help oir tell me what to do - note i dont have a replacement card to try out 



Made some progress rang the US and confirmed the graphics card is installed (blue slot) correctly as the 1st, third and 4th lights remain lit on the card after boot up which is right and the card fans, cpu fan, and case fans all are working when i boot up - case is slightly different as i couldnt get hold of the antec p180 so got the p182. 



Now when i boot up monitor stays on standby with no flicker and light stays green on the mobo. 



No beeps at all on boot up



Upon advice have unplugged everything except the graphics card and 1 stick 1GB of ram but this doesnt change what happens.



Any ideas chaps - lets get this working - please help me.



Thanks

R.


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

did you assemble this computer yourself ? if not; you may or may not be experienced enough to try this:

http://www.techsupportforum.com/f255/how-to-bench-test-your-system-171424.html

you may have a case short ....... also pay close attention to the cpu power plug ????

your power supply looks like it may be a counterfeit generic ....... you have a decent spec rig, it should be powered by a decent spec power supply

like the Corsair 750 watt

Thermaltake toughpower 750 watt

Coolermaster real power pro 750 watt

OCZ 700 watt


----------



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

linderman said:


> did you assemble this computer yourself ? if not; you may or may not be experienced enough to try this:
> 
> http://www.techsupportforum.com/f255/how-to-bench-test-your-system-171424.html
> 
> ...


Thanks

What is a counterfeit generic - I used components that Custom PC mag advised us to buy to build a goog gaming rig so should be ok.

isnt this a decent spec power supply??? How much do i need 750-1000w??

i realised that the pc speaker wasnt connected as the case didnt come with it antec p182, so used an old one and retried still no sound...

will try and bench test today


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

sorry I stand corrected ...... your power supply should be fine


have a look at the bench test ...... was this system working before ? or did you just get the ssytem ?


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

then again maybe not

don't want to start off on a negative note but I feel the need to list our experiences with Be Quiet! to date - we did receive two "early sample" PSUs last year of a new Dark Power range the company was then trying to launch. Within minutes of turning those on, both of them had popped spectacularly. This, and other similar events we can only assume, effectively sent Be Quiet! back to the drawing board.

This year it's come back with not only a completely revised model but a new manufacturer too - instead of Top Power, Be Quiet! is using FSP and the P7 model featured today has been winning awards across the continent. With this in mind, we decided to revisit the Dark Power range to see what kind of mystical powers Be Quiet! has used to make a shiny box that's apparently so great – could it really have come from zero to hero in such a short space of time?


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

even if your unit is a FSP like the Epislon series ..... they are shaky


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

hmmmmm the price tag says it should be good 

can you have the PC shop test it for you ???? or do you have a multimeter ?


----------



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

linderman said:


> sorry I stand corrected ...... your power supply should be fine
> 
> 
> have a look at the bench test ...... was this system working before ? or did you just get the ssytem ?


No I got the components recommended by custom Pc and its my first build.

i am fairly proficcient and any issues re: conenctions etc have been solved to date with help from forums and help lines from the manufacturers.


----------



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

linderman said:


> hmmmmm the price tag says it should be good
> 
> can you have the PC shop test it for you ???? or do you have a multimeter ?


Yes it was £100, so hopefully it is a good one if not I will be very angry on why they would recommend it!!

I can take it to a shop but they will charge me £35 minimum just to look at it which is crap...may try myself and if i get no joy then go to the shop


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

if you have access to a multi meter you can do this yourself

http://www.techsupportforum.com/f210/test-your-power-supply-with-a-multi-meter-151526.html


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

when doing the bench test tear down / make sure the stand-offs are all ok and in the correct loactions........ 

there are plenty of small metal solder trace spots at the bottom of the mother board ....if that touches the case ANYWHERE or a loose screw floating around can casue your problem


----------



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

Just called one of the computer services guys near my town and he was very helpful at no cost funnily enough - my cynical view of the world is changing already..)

He suggested the bench test and also removing the battery and clearing the CMOs?? I need to look into my manual for this bit...

If it still doesnt work suggested I either take it in or return it.

Any idea how I know if the CPU is shot - any tests I can do???


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

very seldom does the cpu ever become defective the CPU is the toughest part of the whole system IMHO

to clear the cmos / make sure to unplug the power cord going to the power supply / remove the cmos battery from the motherboard (shiny watch like lokking battery about 1.5cm in diameter / push the case power on button just like you would normally start the machine...... this will kill any residual power in the motherboards capicators, then put the battery back in / restore the power cable and try to fire it up


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

no way to test the cpu other than put it in another motherboard and try that 


you could have a bad motherboard ............... much more accurately than cpu


----------



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

Jst ran a bench test with 1 stick of ram and GPU and still the same result.

Mobo is on its case so surely this negates the issue of it touching any metal.

Also, checked the CPU fan and its running ok as I can see through the CPU cooler Tuniq tower now clearly.

Just going to retest with another memory stick, then w/o memory and GPU to test error mesgs

looks like my bloomin speaker may not work as i cant hear anything over the noisy GPU fan!!!

BTW on the Asus P5k premium board which memory slot do you use if you are testing with only one ram stick - i cant find it in the manual at all - any help appreciated.,..


----------



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

Just found this thread and based on what i previously read somehwere in the manual maybe its the memory??

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/246388-12-deluxe-wont-post-workaround

I think this is it as they are using lower memory then changing the setting to auto detect the higher memory- which is what i have.


in the manual it says to use 1066mhz memoty you need to change something in the bios???

if this is it I could have it!!!!

Yet that emans I need to buy some ram...(

that said could get some cheap DDR2 from crucial.com

What do you think of the above????


----------



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

Just bought some slow 667 ram from crucial - lets see what happens!!!


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

when you run memtest with one stick of ram ......you use ONLY the slot closest to the cpu


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

I am have sold plenty of P5K's I havent experienced any such memory issues ..... mine have run fine with DDR2-800


----------



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

I ws using the slot furthest away - maybe thats the issue albeit i was rnning witha ll 4 slots so should nt be.

apparently a lot of people have had issues with using 1066Mhz memory - and the manual on the mobo does say you need to set this up in the bios to take this speed of memory so seems to be ok.

i am due the memory tomorrow will post my findings then

in the meantime will retest with the different slot tonight!!!


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

dont run four slots of memory until you have the board working with two sticks

1066 memory generally has to be set at 800mhz in the bios ...... then tweak the numbers until you get into the range offered by 1066 memory

they dont auto adjust to 1066

I would get the board running with DDR2-800 memory first to gain confidence then switch

when you run 4 sticks of memory you generally have to bump up the vdimm memory voltage to get it to run check your memory specs for their voltage rating

2.0 or 2.1 volts is what you are looking for if you ram is rated for that then bump your vdimm up to those numbers when trying to run 4 sticks


----------



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

nope tried memory slot closest to the cpu and still no joy

awaiting memory for testing tomorrow!!


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

keep us posted


----------



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

Crucial are great bought the memory just before midnight Thursday night and got it before 9.30 sat morning!

Right tried the DDR2 ram 667 like the other chap said and tried it in the slot closest to the cpu - yet again cpu fans and case fans on and gpu ok but no post!!! seems like the mobo doesnt want to wake up at all!!!

OK, next i am going to try clearing the CMOS as indicated by you and seeing what happens


----------



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

This is really getting to me

Cleared cmos even cleared the rtc ram as well which didnt work.

Tried everything now and no joy!!

Going to go to the dump to pick up a pc speaker if i can as im not sure mine is working m, especially since a wire has now come off!!

if i dont get anywhere then, i will take it to a pc shop and get them to test it for me for £35!!

dont know why i even bothered building one now...(


----------



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

This is really getting to me

Cleared cmos even cleared the rtc ram as well which didnt work.

Tried everything now and no joy!!

Going to go to the dump to pick up a pc speaker if i can as im not sure mine is working m, especially since a wire has now come off!!

if i dont get anywhere then, i will take it to a pc shop and get them to test it for me for £35!!

dont know why i even bothered building one now...(


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

they can be frustrating at times ...... take a deep breath


sounds like you have a bum motherboard ......... you have done everything right


----------



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

I can't find any pc at the dump - can you beleive that!!!

I dont fancy taking this down to he shop as the guy is a smug idiot and wont help much.

Do you think its definately the mobo - ill buy a pc speaker off ebay and try again next week.


----------



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

Does anyone know if my mobo has its own internl speaker or do i nee to attach the little ont to the mobo?


----------



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

What A Bonus 

Found A Sympathetic And Honest Pc Shop Repair Guy - Would You Beleive It Who Gave Me A Pc Internal Speaker Free!!!

Now On To The Testing And Bleeps...if Any


----------



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

Re: Using Interal Speaker To Try And See What Beeps Come Out - Anyone Know What I Need To Do And What Beeps Mean What????

Thanks


----------



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

OK - no beeps whatsoever with GPU + ram, with just ram, or even w/o ram 

Mobo light stays green and all fans on gpu, cpu and case all still work ok - I am completely dumfounded, thought Asus would be better than this but reading about this board online makes me very nervous how many problems people are having with them!!!

Guess the only option is to return the mobo and get a replacement board!!!!

Unless anyone has any other ideas???


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

you have done all the testing and troublshooting steps correctly 

you should hear a bios beep when the board first fires up , or you should be bios beeping when you remove all ram

you should hear a bios beep when there is no video card installeed


return the board .....RMA time even asus has dead ones from time to time ...... they all do!


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

thats a VERY good board and very popular ....... nobody ever posts much about a board that works fine ...... they only post when they cant get one to work

when as many boards are sold as this model, your going to hear some gripes too ....... its all a game of numbers


----------



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

Linderman,

Just wanted to thank you for all your help on this really helped me get to te end of this testing albeit to confirm that the mobo is a hunk of junk (well the one I got anyways)..

I will return it and let you know if the new one works ok.

Cheers!
Raghav.


----------



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

Hi mate
Quite excited as I got my second board this time from Novatech.

Now set everything up again but the same thing happened - only difference being that the CPU fan fired up for a few seconds then shut down-?????

Any help would be appreciated....

still no beeps from the mobo at all - help anyone!!!


----------



## sharee511 (Aug 10, 2008)

Raghav: I'm not expert, but I had the same problem. Now, I'm having CPU overheating issues. Anyway. 

"When I turn on the computer with only one HDD and the DVD Rom attached, I get power (fans, lights, etc), but no video." 

This was the problem, and since I'm new to PCIe slots, I wasn't sure, but thought the video card was all the way in:

"...my video card (the XFX 8800 GT Alpha Dog Series, which is a pretty big card) was hitting an audio plug right next to my PCI-E 1 slot, so the card wasn't going all the way in!!! I knew the video wasn't making it to the monitor somehow!!!! You can see above on the motherboard probably where the two are really close together. Might be a flaw in the motherboard, so anybody else out there, be careful." [posted 8-12-08 "New build, power, no video"]. 

I looked at your motherboard online but can't tell if that JCOM plug is near your PCI-e slot. Just an FYI. It could be something as simple as your video card not being plugged all the way in. 
Sharee511


----------



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

Thanks for your note but I have tried my second mobo with just the power and no memory or anything else and I dont even get an error post...

I will try the gpu bit and see if thats what the issue is - thanks again.

In the meantime, does anyone know what other similiar but better MOBO supporting Fast DDR2 1066MHZ OCZ ram, that I can use my components (gaming PC components custom pc recommended to buy as described earlier in this thread).

Preferably not ASUS, but if so then at least not one of the P5 series!!

Also, I want one preferably with onboard LED so i can see post error messages visually and not have to fit a bloddy speaker as my asus p182 case doesnt have one!

Thanks!

R.


----------



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

what about the asus maximus formula 2??


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS4P running one now with DDR2-1066 memory so far its solid


----------



## Raghav7519 (Aug 7, 2008)

Finished my build at 3am yesterday!!

Went with the Asus Rampage and what a board it was- the LED display that you attch to the mobo is astounding - not only gives you codes to look up - it tells you in celar writing when each component is recognised and initialised!!!

I setup the 667MHZ ram then changed the bios to take up to 1200 (oc ram level) and whacked in my 4GB OCZ 1066 - works a treat!!

I loaded Windows Vista Home Premium in about 15 mins!!! That is fast!!

AND everything works a treat - I am so mad at the ASUS guys for giving me 2 duff boards but am very happy as now I have the rampage and have plenty of opportunity to overclock and upgrade and cool in the future!!!

Thanks for everyone's help to day - any stats you want me to post let me know - providign you then tell me how to do it...P

Final System
4GB 1066MHZ OCZ RAM
ASUS RAMPAGE MOBO
BE QUIET! 650W DARK POWER PRO PSU
TUNIQ TOWER
Q6600 CPU
SAMSUNG SPINPOINT F1 750GB HDD
LG H22 DVD DRIVE
2232BW SAMSUNG MONITOR
Z5500 5.1 SPEAKERS

TO GET (NEW MICROSOFT LASER KEYBOARD AND MOUSE AS I NEED A BLACK SET TO MATCH MY PC)

MAY ALSO GET BLUE RAY DRIVE IF PRICES FALL AND ANOTHER HDD

Cheers,
Raghav


----------

