Custom build specs

Eman_321

Isn't the standoff supposed to be screwed to the case?

Eboggles

Yes but I presumed you already had the motherboard installed somehow, so in that case you would have to remove the motherboard from the case to install the standoffs. Any news on the 4-pin?

Eman_321

Yeah before I had the mainboard just screwed in place..
So now you are saying I should remove the motherboard and screw the standoffs to the case, then later install the motherboard.
How does it prevent shorting then?
I still can't find the 4+4 pin.
Is it something like this - maybe you can see this on phone:
https://www.google.ie/search?rlz=1C1PRFB_enIE488IE488&sugexp=chrome,mod%3D7&q=4%2B4+pin+connector&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=QRjhT9W4KcWmhAfBvq3PDQ&biw=1280&bih=699&sei=RBjhT9CtCoLPhAfnq4TQDQ

Eman_321

I found the pin it worked after although it shut every socket down!
At least it is progress

Monotype

Sandoffs make sure that no part of the motherboard underneath is touching the case. There's often bits sticking out from the bottom. Also it could cause damage if you were to screw the screws all the way in. Don't leave it without the standoffs; put them in immediately.

Eman_321

There are only two standoffs screw supplied and on the case as well, meaning the rest of the mobo is touching the case. Seems a bit redundant isn't it?
Also when I turn on the pc and power it off using the button as I can't shut down, it flips the circuit breaker to shut down electrical appliances. Sounds like something is very wrong.
But I can see the BIOS.

Monotype

Eman_321 wrote: »

There are only two standoffs screw supplied and on the case as well

What??? :eek:

We're talking about the same thing yeah?


Can be black in colour too.

What case is this, the merc beta?
That can't be right, a load of people have gotten this case before and never mentioned anything like that. I'd say it's an error. Send off hardwareversand or Bitfenix an email. I'd send you a few in the post but I don't think I have any spare ones left. I'll check later though.

Eman_321

Monotype wrote: »

What??? :eek:

We're talking about the same thing yeah?


Can be black in colour too.

What case is this, the merc beta?
That can't be right, a load of people have gotten this case before and never mentioned anything like that. I'd say it's an error. Send off hardwareversand or Bitfenix an email. I'd send you a few in the post but I don't think I have any spare ones left. I'll check later though.

Yup, the same thing. In the bag of screws they only have two standoffs. I didn't see any black standoff looking like that assuming they have the same shape.
On the case there are two standoffs adjacent to each other, 5 inches separating them I would say. But could find no other stand off except a brass looking stuff but it wouldn't screw with any of the stand off, I have no idea what is for.
I will send the pic when I get home from work, but maybe you can get the picture from this vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfijO0GK3XE

dwighet

Monotype wrote: »

What??? :eek:

We're talking about the same thing yeah?


Can be black in colour too.

What case is this, the merc beta?
That can't be right, a load of people have gotten this case before and never mentioned anything like that. I'd say it's an error. Send off hardwareversand or Bitfenix an email. I'd send you a few in the post but I don't think I have any spare ones left. I'll check later though.

Im sure i have a hand full of stand off screws if you need some give me a shout and i will send em off in the post..:cool:

Eman_321

dwighet wrote: »

Im sure i have a hand full of stand off screws if you need some give me a shout and i will send em off in the post..:cool:

That's a very nice gesture thanks! But if there are no places on the case to screw the standoff how would I do it?

Monotype

Oh right, the tray for the motherboard actually rises up in screw areas so that you don't need the standoffs?

Eman_321

Monotype wrote: »

Oh right, the tray for the motherboard actually rises up in screw areas so that you don't need the standoffs?

Yeah something like that... isn't the screw area metallic as well?

dwighet

Monotype wrote: »

Oh right, the tray for the motherboard actually rises up in screw areas so that you don't need the standoffs?

Just noticed that meself from the you tube clip..

Eman_321

It appears what I have then is fine.. but the weird thing some screws don't fit well, but I didn't try harder so I just left it unscrewed.
Another problem regarding installing the OS:
SSD, WD Cavier and the Lite all use SATA. I got 2 SATA cables although I'm not sure which is either. So I plugged in one for the SSD and WD and the BIOS can find them.
But it leaves the problem how do I get the data to be read from the Lite DVD Rom as it has no SATA data cable?
I couldn't find it anywhere on the BIOS, and I don't have a large enough flash drive to try installing the OS.

Skylinehead

Unplug the HDD one and plug it into the DVD drive. Should unplug any extra drives before Windows installation in any case.

Eman_321

Yup, that will work. But I will still be stuck if I decide to play games later or whatever. I'm surprised they didn't supply all the cables I need. Not nice

Fluffy88

You can buy another SATA cable, they are cheap.
It's probably best to buy locally as the shipping will probably cost a lot more than the cable if your buying online, or if you still haven't bought your monitor you could throw one in with that.

Almost any computer store should have a SATA cable in it so you could try whatever shops you have locally.

But once Windows is installed you probably won't use the CD drive anymore so just switch the cable back to the HDD.

Eman_321

Fluffy88 wrote: »

You can buy another SATA cable, they are cheap.
It's probably best to buy locally as the shipping will probably cost a lot more than the cable if your buying online, or if you still haven't bought your monitor you could throw one in with that.

Almost any computer store should have a SATA cable in it so you could try whatever shops you have locally.

But once Windows is installed you probably won't use the CD drive anymore so just switch the cable back to the HDD.

Yeah I will have to get them together.. btw why won't I use the CD drive anymore :O
Especially if I don't want to download games online?

Fluffy88

Sorry maybe I assumed too much, if you still use the CD drive to install games then your screwed :P
A lot of people nowadays don't use CD drives for anything anymore, hence why I said that, but if you have a slow internet connection or low download limits obviously your going to be a little more restricted.

Sorry :pac:

Eman_321

Lol, I do have an ok internet... so how do you play your games if you are not using a cd/dvd rom?

Eboggles

Eman_321 wrote: »

Lol, I do have an ok internet... so how do you play your games if you are not using a cd/dvd rom?

Steam, Origin, OnLive etc.

Eman_321

Eboggles wrote: »

Steam, Origin, OnLive etc.

Right, but the applications launch the games.
I wasn't aware that I don't need to have a game installed to play using any of the aforementioned.

Fluffy88

You still need to install the game (with Steam & Origin) but you activate the game through steam and from then on you don't need the CD to play since it has to be a legit copy/key for you to be able to activate the game so the game doesn't need to do any other DRM checks from then on.

Onlive is a different story, it's an online gaming service so you don't actually need to install the game, you essentially rent the game from Onlive and play the game through their client/website.

Eman_321

Guys, do you know what could be wrong here..
The monitor at times doesn't respond so when I push in cable it restarts the computer... why the hell is that happening? :S
I am finding it hard to install it into the case because of this.

Eman_321

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/4445/bitfenix_merc_alpha_mid_tower_chassis_review/index5.html
This link shows what I think could be the problem.
The riser pin isn't a stand off because I can't screw anything on to it. The motherboard fits into the riser pin no problem but it doesn't turn on when I add screws to it.
When I place the board on top of the pin it works, sometimes it is touching the pin and it works, it just seems so random..

Eman_321

I managed to fix the case installation problem.
Since my mother is an ATX I don't need the standoffs. And that fixed it for me. I got windows installed, wait for it... but even after installing the AsROCK drivers, graphics card etc..
The only thing not working is the shutdown.
So when I shut down the PC. The monitor switches off, I can also hear the SSD go offline. However, the PSU, GPU, fans are still running! I checked ACPI settings and disabled Suspend to Ram no luck. And no other useful option in BIOS unfortunately. I haven't updated windows yet due to no wifi. But I can't see how that can be the problem..
This 1 step forwards 2 step backwards crap is making :mad:

Monotype

Have you changed any sleep states or anything? Have a look in the BIOS/UEFI to see if there's anything about that. Maybe it needs to be reset or possibly an update.

Eman_321

Hey,
Thanks for sticking with me through this. It appears many have the same problem but unfortunately not many provide a solution. The only solution I did find was to install from Vista to 7, but I installed 7 from the very beginning, so I have no idea whatsoever what could be wrong.
If it is a mobo problem then I'm screwed

Monotype

I had a look around and the best solution seems to be to update the BIOS/UEFI. It was a problem in early Z77 boards but manufacturers are patching it.

Eman_321

Lol, I don't know what I did right this time but I re plugged the power switch hdd led pled+ - into the pins.
Also I cleared CMOS the way it said I should do it in the book and it works!
Everything is working on fine! Thanks a lot for helping guys.
One last question about using the SSD.
Is it ok if I install stuff like Browser, programming tools onto the SSD or should I place them on the second HD?
Btw, this post is coming from yours truly