€1200 Gaming Build

solidMGSsnake

So I won't lose anything from using this method?

solidMGSsnake

If I have my fan facing the bottom, it is also facing the back Graphics Card, will that cause the graphics card's fan to improperly distribute air flow against the coolers fan? Should I move my coolers fan to the other side? If I do that, it will be facing the roof of the case.

EDIT: Also they are after giving me a 2 pin plug for my monitor instead of a UK/Irish 3 pin, what's up with that?

Monotype

amazon? That's unusual. It should be the standard type but they do ship occasionally from European locations. You'd think they'd sort it out based on where it's headed.
Are there any grates or fans at the top of the case?

solidMGSsnake

No I got the monitor on HWVS, it's ok though, I have an adapter.

No there is a fan on the back and 2 in the front.

Monotype

You got the Cooltek Antiphon Black? Looking at pictures, that seems to have grills on the top.

So, yeah, if you think it would be constricted by the graphics card, then you could put it up near the top and the air should easily be able to escape out the case.

You can re-arrange the case fans to suit yourself as well.

Sprog 4

Just as a matter of interest, how does the Hyper 212 Evo fit into the Antiphon? I looking into getting one. I reckon there is about 16cm of clearance in the case and the Evo is listed as 15.9cm height.

solidMGSsnake

Hey guys, I'm typing on my computer as we speak
I was having so much fun, I forgot to update you guys

The computer is working perfectly so far, I haven't tried overclocking yet but I haven't had the chance play anything yet as TF2 is taking 6 hours to download, 30 minutes to go.

I had to format my HDD in order for my PC to recognise it but I took like 90 minutes, is that normal? In any case it seems to be working fine.

I have one problem, but I'm sure it's an easy fix. When I shut down my PC, windows will close and my monitor will go black but my PC will still be running, I can hear the fans and my optical drive can still be opened. I have no idea what's the cause but I read a few solutions and I think I need to change a setting in the control panel or something. I'm not too worried because it's apparently a common error and once it's in that state, it appears to be safe to hold down the power button as my OS has closed and everything and I get no "Windows wasn't closed properly last time" message when I boot back up later. But even so, if anyone knows the solution for Windows 8, please share

@Sprog 4 Yup there is plenty of room for it, the only complaint I have with the case is they don't give enough cable management holes, I tried my best but It is still cluttered enough in there as I had nearly every cable going into the same hole, it's so tight that I only needed one cable tie because they were already pulled in place by the other cables. Now it doesn't look too bad, the cables aren't hitting off anything and you can see everything clearly but if you look at say Newegg's build a PC build, the wires look quite messy. In fact the wires on the cable side are so pushed together that it is difficult to close the case cover over it, to be honest I am forcing the cover a little but I don't think it's damaging the cables or cover or anything. Hell I could just be terrible at cable management as it's my first time, but I did try my best. All in all I am happy with the case and if the only thing you're worried about is the Evo fitting, then you have nothing to worry about because it fits fine.

Sprog 4

Can't help you with the power off problem sorry (I'm no expert at all)

Yeah I struggled a bit with the cables. The problem was the 24pin power supply cables overlapping with the quite bulky case fan cables which Cooltek had cable tied. I untied these and played around a bit and my case closes nicely on that side now and looks quite neat too. Also I found the rubber grommets to be a bit pants and kept coming off whenever I put a cable through :P Good to know about the Evo though. Time to get overclocking! Best of luck with the new PC and happy gaming.

raymix

@solidMGSsnake
How are you shutting it down? Sounds like you are trying to shut it down with a power button, not start > shut down.
If so, go into Control Panel > Power Options and set your Power button to "Shut Down" instead of "Sleep".
Also that leaves you with another problem - your sleep does not turn off your fans. Easy solution - go into BIOS and set power state from S1 to S3

solidMGSsnake

No no, I'm shutting it down properly, I'm using Windows 8, so I go Start > Settings > Standby Symbol > Shutdown. It then starts shutting down like normal and everything seems fine, after it "shuts down" my monitor goes black like it should but my PC stays running, I can hear the fans and I can still open the Optical Drive. The only way to turn it off then is while it's in that state is to hold down the power switch, which does the trick and seems to be safe as the OS has already closed, I get no "Windows didn't shut down properly last time" message either upon next start up. If it's not damaging the computer in anyway then I actually don't mind doing this but I don't know for sure and I'm better off able to turn it off properly anyway.

@Sprog 4 Ya I agree the rubber kept coming off for me as well. Thanks very much, enjoy your Evo

raymix

@SolidMGSsnake: Can you try shutting it down from Safe Mode? Would it shut down properly?
Need to figure out if it's Hardware or Software problem. I'd still blame BIOS power options, tbh or some bloatware that came with your motherboard's driver CD.

solidMGSsnake

hey thanks for the help, I'll definitely try that and get back to you but I'm a bit busy at the moment.

I have another problem, I bought a Sharkoon Drakonia gaming mouse and it seems to work fine as is, but if I try modify any of the 11 programmable buttons they won't change to what I assigned them, they still retain their original function no matter what I do. I don't understand why they won't change, I made sure to click "Apply" when I was done but they don't change, I also thought it might be my drivers as it says 1.0 but when I downloaded the drivers off the site all it was, was the software to alter the buttons which I couldn't open because I had the original installed. If I go onto the LED colour modifier tab on the software, that works fine. So I don't know what the problem is. I tried googling it and consulting the manual but no luck, so if anyone can help please do.

Edit: Ok guys, I was just playing TF2 there for about 2 hours, maybe less and suddenly my PC shut off, attempted to turn itself back on twice but immediately gave up and then shut off completely. I tried turning it back on and at first it wouldn't respond but after about 20 seconds it turned on but wouldn't boot up I decided to leave it for 10 minutes and now it seems to be working ok again but I'm really worried about it, I don't know if it could happen again. Any idea what the problem is? It could be linked to the fact that I can't shut it down, I don't know. I felt the side of the case and it doesn't feel that warm at all, I don't know how to check the temperatures on Windows 8. Before it completely shut down there was no sign or slowness or lagging. It was completely fine and then just shut off. I have it up and running now and it seems fine but I don't know if I should turn it off or not.

Update: Ok I entered Safe Mode and tried shutting down but it failed to shutdown again, however it wasn't the same. Instead of windows closing and the screen going black, it actually crashed while it was shutting down, I also noticed that just when the pc freezes you can also hear this little noise from the tower, kind of hard to describe it sounds like "tsst" but it's not really a sparking sound or anything. This noise also occurs when I shudown out of Safe Mode so whatever that noise is, is probably causing it. Could it be I have the Power Button and Reset connectors in the wrong pins? I tried my best to see if there were in the right ones and when my PC successfully turned on I figured I got it right but maybe not.

raymix

@solidMGSsnake:
mouse - try launching that app as administrator. And if you can, find it's installation folder, right click and uncheck "read-only", then apply for subfolders and files.

Your PC is showing clear signs of overheating. Get an application like Core Temp, Speedfan or HWMonitor to see the if temps are not hitting safe CPU threshold at ~60-70C depending on your CPU. If so, make sure your fan is seated properly on CPU. If you are using stock fan, make sure it is blowing air down towards motherboard, not pulling it from it. Lastly, if you are using thermal paste, only apply pea size amount (look for youtube tutorial to guide you), it is safest and best way to do it. Don't apply with your fingers or dont smear it on cooling unit or CPU, it will create air bubbles and contaminate grease, which reduces its effectiveness.

That sound might be coming from your PSU. That would also explain your problems with shut down. Unplug everything you can from motherboard, like extra HDDs, DVDs and USB devices you dont need and try to shut down in safe mode again.
Safe mode ensures that no unnecessary broken drivers are loaded and used while testing. By removing unnecesarry hardware, you are essentially reducing burden on your PSU, this might help pinpoint the problem and confirm suspicions.

solidMGSsnake

No, the noise is coming near the top-middle at the front, my PSU is mounted at the bottom at the back, that's the complete opposite side to the PSU. I already checked my CPU in the BIOS and it was only 35 Degrees C, I just finished playing Left 4 Dead 2 there for about an hour and a half on full settings and nothing happened, so maybe it was just a freak accident? The only thing I'm really concerned about is not being able to shut down my PC properly because unless it happens to me again, I'm going to write off that shutdown as a fluke. For more details on my situation I also posted it on Yahoo Answers and due to me editing it multiple times, it contains much more info then this post: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130722100637AA5BjKZ

I applied the thermal paste properly as far as I know and I installed the Cooler while following a guide so I was literally following step by step.

To be fair the first thing to come to my mind the second it happened was that it must of overheated, but just thinking about it, PC is cool, the PC was only on for 2 hours or less all of which I was playing TF2, it managed the game fine and with no warning or slowness whatsoever, it shuts off. I'm almost certain it is linked to the Power Switch and Reset connectors not inserted into the mobo correctly.

I found similar problems on the internet and on one of them a guy said to change some BUS file or something and the guy who had the problem said that, that did the trick and a few other people who had the problem posted afterwards saying thank you because it worked for them as well. The only thing is that they were using Windows 7 so I don't know if it would carry over to Windows 8.

Out of all those temperature monitor applications which one would you recommend?

Still though, I'll try what you asked tomorrow.

raymix

I use them all at once, just to be sure. Neither of them are best or most accurate.

It's definitely a hardware failure.
The last thing I can suggest to check out are - observing your motherboard's capacitors for bulge or leak.

While you are testing PSU, try leaving only 1 RAM in 1 slot, just to make sure that part does not cause crash. RAM can cause instability, crash to desktop and other anomalies, however on boot they usually gives beep error when bad. Still worth checking, not that hard.

solidMGSsnake

So are you saying by the end of this, I'm definitely going to have to return a product? I really didn't want to have to do that.

My mouse is working fine now, what you suggested didn't work, i just redownloaded the drivers and now it works, thanks anyway.

Sprog 4

solidMGSsnake wrote: »

I'm almost certain it is linked to the Power Switch and Reset connectors not inserted into the mobo correctly.

Have you tried changing the pins around then? Your board is similar to mine (I have the ASrock Z77 Pro4). I cant really see from pictures but I'm assuming the system panel header is the same. I have them connected like this and I have no problems with power on/reset/LEDs etc - hope the image makes sense

solidMGSsnake

Actually not really, what colour means what? Is PWRBTN orange or blue or what? Also my Reset Connector is a 2 pin not a 1 pin so where does that go.

I also thought of something, if I did have to return the mobo, I would also have to buy another Windows 8 System Builder because they are tied to one Mobo and I don't have the money for that

raymix

What Sprog_4 posted is called jfp1 pinout.

Sprog 4

The PLED connector are single pins the others are all 2 pin but they are all colour coded. Just match up the colours to the diagram above. There is a diagram in the user manual that explains what they are but the colours were enough for me

Actually after doing a little more reading on this it seems that it doesn't matter what way you put in the power and reset. Also your problem is shutting down, not starting up right so it's probably not an issue with these connectors.

solidMGSsnake

Well ok but Sprog 4's diagram seems to match mine more, but still what does each colour mean, the labels aren't that exact, how am I to know it is pointing at the 2 orange or the blue and what does each other colour stand for?

I've been playing games on my PC all day and no trouble, so the only thing to sort is the not shutting down issue.

raymix

The first diagram I posted is same as Sprog_4's, just upside down with labels, i will remove the second one to avoid confusion

Monotype

solidMGSsnake wrote: »

I also thought of something, if I did have to return the mobo, I would also have to buy another Windows 8 System Builder because they are tied to one Mobo and I don't have the money for that

No, Microsoft will make a allowances for that. They're not that mean.

solidMGSsnake

Really? I'm pretty sure by using it I had to agree to some contract like that I'm using it for only one PC and it can't be used with another, everything is final or something like that. Maybe not though. In any case, would it really be that bad to keep it as is? As long as it doesn't do a sudden shutdown again, of course then I will replace it, but selecting shutdown to close the OS and finishing the process by holding down the power button doesn't seem to be doing any harm. So if that's the only problem would it be ok to leave it? Because I really don't want to have to uninstall the whole thing and pay for shipping just to get the same board that might even have the same problem. Hell it might not even be the boards fault.

Also looking at the pinout diagram, I'm almost certain I've done that correctly, but I will have to open the case to double check.

Monotype

I would have though overheating but if you said it's not that, it could be a dodgy PSU. Keep an eye on it anyway, especially on the temperatures. If it happens again, I'd start investigating.

Microsoft will make exceptions for broken motherboards etc. They don't want you transferring a license to a new computer, but you're not buying a new one, you're replacing a faulty part - of course, they don't like if you take that to another level and replace every component so you actually have a new computer. Hence, they use the motherboard as that change nearly always implies a new computer.

solidMGSsnake

Ok guys it suddenly went off on me again and I tried to start it back up after 10 minutes and it wouldn't. I'm after opening it up and I removed one stick of RAM, my Graphics Card, Wireless Adapter and HDD. After I presses it on, I discovered that my CPU Cooler wasn't spinning when I turned it on, maybe this whole time it wasn't working. But I know for a fact that it was initially working as it was spinning in my external build. Do you think my CPU is fried or does it just needs a rest? It's been of for around 20 minutes now and it will turn on but it won't boot up

I took out the CPU and for the most part it looks fine, on one corner on the socket side it is a slightly darker colour to the rest of it and there's a microscopic black or grey speck on it. Could that be a burn mark? It never felt particularly hot and in the BIOS it said it was 37 degrees C or something.

Update: Ok guys, it's finally after booting into the bios and it says the the CPU's temperature was 84 degrees C! Also the CPU fan seems to be working again after I removed it and only plugged in the fan while it was in my hand, no heatsink on the CPU. The only thing is, I was certain that the CPU Cooler was working so I think that was only failing because of what ever was causing the PC to act like this anyway.

How should I cool the CPU, should I let it cool naturally overnight or should I turn it on with the cooler over it and let that cool it.

raymix

Your CPU is fine. They dont fry that easy with a copper on top of them. It would turn on and turn off shortly after hitting thermal max.

Here's what you do:
Unplug your PSU from motherboard completely.
Remove power cable, turn off power switch in the wall and in PSU
Add few fans to it to 4-pin molex if possible at all. Certain PSU requires load to be added for this trick to work
Take a paper clip or peace of copper cable and bend it, put it in CPU's 24-pin cable and short out green and black pin.

When applying power, this will let you turn on your power supply and see if it works, before blaming it on motherboard or fried CPU.
Dont worry its safe and most people does it to test their new PSU for faults. Green cable when applied to ground simply turns PSU on, thats all. Just like a light switch in your home.
Here's video just in case:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4askospjx0E

I've done it myself, its not that hard

raymix

Just saw your update. Your PSU seems to be fine then.
CPU cools to room temperature rather quickly, should take few seconds with heatsink attached.

What cooler are you running? Maybe you should just replace fan with aftermarket 12cm one or similar to current one? I wouldnt trust that faulty fan.

solidMGSsnake

It's the Hyper 212 Evo Sprog was talking about earlier. Will I have to wipe off and reapply the thermal paste now that I took off the heatsink? I mean it's only 2 days old and it's still "wet".

If it takes only a few seconds then why when I finally got it to boot into BIOS did it read 80 degrees? It had been off for like an hour at that stage.

EDIT: I just turned it on there without the heatsink fan just to see if it is still working and for a second it failed to start up but straight after it automatically tried to start up again and it succeeded, I checked the temp of the CPU and it was 55 degrees C and was climbing fast up to 60 degrees C. The Mobo was at 24 degrees C. Why did it still fail to start up straight away? And why is my CPU still hotter than usual when I've let it rest for 3 hours? I mean the weather is hotter than usual but I'm sure room temperature isn't 60 degrees.

Also I tried to shutdown my PC with no heatsink, one stick of Ram, no Graphics Card and it still wouldn't shutdown properly.

EDIT2: I put the heatsink back on with the old thermal paste still on, if I need to reapply, tell me. With the heatsink on, the CPU is now back to 30 degrees C but the computer still won't shutdown properly. I'll keep an eye on the cooler the next few days to see if it fails again. Also I rotated the heatsink 90 degrees so now the cooler fan is facing the back of the case instead of the bottom, which is supposedly better. But very slightly the top of the heatsink is pushing on the side panel of the case, would that cause pressure on the CPU, now I mean very slightly, you wouldn't even notice at first.


That is something to be aware of Sprog. Sorry, I didn't notice before.

Sprog 4

What happens if you try to put the computer in sleep mode. Does it wake up ok? What happens if you try to just log off or change user. Does it get stuck at any of these points?

How are you on the driver installation front? Did you install all the up to date drivers for your motherboard from the ASrock website for example. For your board these are at
http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z75%20Pro3/?cat=Download

I had a similar shutting down problem on my laptop which runs windows 8. Turns out it was the automatic updates causing the OS to hang. I reinstalled windows and disabled automatic updates and it shut down ok. I installed updates manually for a few weeks before turning on automatic updates again and I've not had problems since.

I would probably make sure every connection in the computer is actually connected properly including all external connections such as power cables and stuff. I though my case was faulty initially when 2 out of the 3 fans wouldn't come on. Turns out the connections to the splitter were just a bit too loose.

About the thermal paste. With my old computer I used to take off the CPU cooler about once every 2 months to clean it and I'd never do anything with the thermal paste as I didn't know what it was so it probably wont make much of a difference to just leave it as it is. I'd reapply it if it has gone all over the place though for any reason :cool: