The Official PC building thread -3rd Edition

Discussion in 'Building a new PC' started by ddp, Jul 16, 2008.

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  1. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    Hah, glad I'm not the only one that had that double post issue because I started on a new page :p
     
    sammorris, Jul 28, 2010
    #12701
  2. omegaman7

    omegaman7 Senior member

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    I swear I'm going linux on my secondary. I need to backup my stuff on that drive first though. Last time I tried installing linux with windows...lets just say it was an extreme headache LOL! Creaky, in your opinion, which should be installed first? Does it matter? Or is it simply "know how" that matters? :p
     
    omegaman7, Jul 28, 2010
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  3. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    The Windows OS has to be installed last.
    Alternatively, just use separate drives and use the BIOS to switch between them.
     
    sammorris, Jul 28, 2010
    #12703
  4. omegaman7

    omegaman7 Senior member

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    Ahh yes, Indeed. Switch with the bios. If linux is already installed on one of the drives, it better be unplugged when beginning the windows installation. For whatever reason, when another drive is detected, windows will use it for storage of the/some boot files. Not sure why it does this. For it obviously doesn't need one ;) I believe that's where I screwed up last time. I corrupted Grub somehow. I don't like having my storage drives installed, when installing OS's now. That's the only reason. I've always been able to tell the difference between the drives, and avoid installing OS's over my saved data ;)
    Not sure if installing linux on a separate drive, would affect the windows boot file though. Probably never know. I disconnect my drives now :D It pays to not be lazy ;)
     
    omegaman7, Jul 28, 2010
    #12704
  5. creaky

    creaky Moderator Staff Member

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    i tend to install Windows first, then one or more linuxes, the grub bootloader can be edited easily after the fact if partitions/OSes are added/removed. The only things to beware of with Windows/linux multiboots is that Windows (surprise surprise) can destroy linux partitions out of the blue and at random, plus the time on a multiboot has to be configured properly in linux, again due to Windows.

    I've spent literally days at work redoing/breaking/redoing my main works linux box. It's been hellish, a combination of getting an SMP kernel to work correctly with dual monitors on various Nvidia graphics cards. Part of the problem was also due to the PC in question being a rather modern (ie non-legacy) Dell Vostro dual core box.
    I'll spare most of the details, suffice it to say i finally have SMP working, dual monitors at 1440x900 (had no luck with loads of different types of modern 17" and 19" Dell monitors, they are crap for use in linux). In the end i settled for Puppy 4.3.1 which is kernel 2.6.30.5, a Geforce 6200 (each video port drives a separate monitor, dual cards was a tad problematic driverwise). I bought 2 Samsung 940MW's (as i know they work perfectly) for the machine due to about 10 spare Dell monitors being useless in dual monitor mode. Puppy linux is great and everything but i've found during the last couple of weeks that dual monitor support in Puppy is a black art. Some versions would give hard lockups, some versions had zero Nvidia driver support, and as this is 2010 i wasn't prepared to bugger about compiling kernels and the like, just to get video drivers working (linux isn't in the 90's anymore after all). So it was a question of trying about half a dozen different versions/different kernels/driver combo's 'til i got a stable setup.
    So.. at work i have a dual (22") monitor/dual core Windows machine at 1920x1080, and a dual 19"/dual core linux machine, 1440x900 as i say. At home now my main (single core) linux box is on 2 19" SM940MW's at 1440x900, and my Quad XP machine now a triple Dell 17" monitor setup, again at 1440x900. I'll have to post some pics at some point, the bloody things took long enough to setup.

    I know my *nix, and i had a couple weeks of utter frustration with what should have been a relatively simple config (XP takes like 2 mins to configure dual/triple monitors), so i can totally understand when 'Windows people' can't be doing with *nix, it's a pain in the arse at the best of times (i won't insult myself to use Ubuntu you see, far too simplistic and popular for my liking) :). Most versions of Puppy are dead easy to configure on a single monitor, dual monitors however is a guaranteed test of anger management skills.
     
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2010
    creaky, Jul 28, 2010
    #12705
  6. omegaman7

    omegaman7 Senior member

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    That's highly disconcerting and unfortunate. With information like that, I think I'd play it safe, and only have a linux machine to start. THEN play around with partitions and windows multi boots ;) Thanks for the info guys. I'll probably begin transferring from my secondary to my primary here soon. Good thing they're nice and networked *knock knock*
     
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2010
    omegaman7, Jul 28, 2010
    #12706
  7. Deadrum33

    Deadrum33 Active member

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    Sorry if I posed my questions wrong, I wasn't asking why the original OCZ SSD's aren't as good as the new Intel you purchased. I was asking if there was a difference in system setup between the two, if you seen information in your research that you had to setup your system differently dependent upon CPU, southbridge, etc. I guess I can look it up if I am really interested instead of asking someone who may know already.
    EDIT---I dont use the original vertex anymore, just the vertex2 you stated as being comparable. This being why I was curious about settings.
     
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2010
    Deadrum33, Jul 29, 2010
    #12707
  8. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    No difference in the two SSDs I used, the same system, even the same set of programs, I copied with Acronis. Can't give any personal information about either of the Vertexes as I haven't owned either.
     
    sammorris, Jul 29, 2010
    #12708
  9. creaky

    creaky Moderator Staff Member

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    Here is some PC building in action
     
    creaky, Jul 29, 2010
    #12709
  10. creaky

    creaky Moderator Staff Member

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    A quick question. I'm sure i read somewhere something about WD Caviar 'Green' drives, something about them powering down i think (maybe hence their 'green' name), but can't remember what or where. I'm looking to start (slowly) replacing some or all of my 500GB drives for 2TB WD drives. Someone please remind me what the gist was re these Green drives ?, i don't want drives that powerdown all the time, i'd want to configure them to stay up or buy drives that don't powerdown. Or maybe i want to get non-Green drives, i can get drives at non-VAT prices thru Misco you see, plus i only use WD drives.

    I currently use IDE drives in USB caddies for backups of internal drives, i'd be switching to SATA for both internal and external, i'll be ditching caddies and keeping the backup drives bare (or safe in some kind of plastic protective case), and accessing these bare external drives via one of those SATA docks.
     
    Last edited: Aug 2, 2010
    creaky, Aug 2, 2010
    #12710
  11. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    They don't power down, they unload the drive heads. Doesn't really affect performance, or seemingly, longevity either. No lag reloading heads that i can detect - helps keep idle load down (3w)
     
    Last edited: Aug 2, 2010
    sammorris, Aug 2, 2010
    #12711
  12. Deadrum33

    Deadrum33 Active member

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    Last edited: Aug 2, 2010
    Deadrum33, Aug 2, 2010
    #12712
  13. creaky

    creaky Moderator Staff Member

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    Cheers guys, can't remember what i read or where i read it, i asked here as i could have sworn one of you guys had talked about green drives before. I don't use RAID at home anyways, so any potential funnies with RAID wouldn't be an issue. It probably was a RAID funny that affected green drives actually. I would only be using SATA, as i say i'd be replacing the IDE backup drives, well using them for other things, maybe i'll just get an IDE dock and access them that way, a couple of the PSU's for my IDE caddies have failed (cheap Chinese tat) so a cheap Chinese dock would be better :).
    We use 2TB drives for one of our nightly server backups at work, can't remember what make they are though, they seem to work a treat, nice and fast too; we just cycle them round ie swap in a different one each day and take that day's one offsite. (Stored in a strong plastic protective case).
    £87 each sounds a bargain, i'll get one or two after payday, they probably take until next payday to format too :)
     
    Last edited: Aug 3, 2010
    creaky, Aug 2, 2010
    #12713
  14. Deadrum33

    Deadrum33 Active member

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    I believe it was Sam that pointed this out to me months ago when I mentioned wanting an extra TB laying around to experiment/simulate replacing a corrupt or damaged disc in my RAID5 array. Everything works fine currently, I just want to play around while I have proper backups of everything so I'd know what to do in case the shite hit the fan.
    As simple as replacing a drive and rebuilding the array may be, it can still be daunting for someone who's never done the job before and usually makes a few mistakes before getting it right...
     
    Deadrum33, Aug 2, 2010
    #12714
  15. omegaman7

    omegaman7 Senior member

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    Ha ha! I finally bought a digital thermometer. 6.50$ at walmart. And they had the typical red fluid (Alcohol/mercury) thermometer for only 1$. Very happy to see that. My bedroom/office is resting comfortably at 71.7F. This is what I bought. It even measures Humidity. Not that I care about that LOL!
    [​IMG]
     
    omegaman7, Aug 7, 2010
    #12715
  16. shaffaaf

    shaffaaf Regular member

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    it wont be incompatible, it might just be broken.

    try the GPU in another PCIE slot.

    which PSUs did you try?

    does this happen with any other game?
     
    shaffaaf, Aug 9, 2010
    #12716
  17. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    <edited>

    That GPU isn't incompatible with that board. Either the board is faulty or the PSU is.
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2010
    sammorris, Aug 9, 2010
    #12717
  18. MGEdit

    MGEdit Member

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    I took the GPU out of the top slot and put it in another slot. They are both blue on the mobo. Nothing, still wont power up.

    I tried a Colors cit and it didn't work and then the current one which is a coolerMaster silent pro 600W. The second one worked for a while and then now the computer wont power up. I took it out of the computer and set it to the side with the power cable attached for about 20 mins and the fan didn't spin. It's a PSU that the fan only works when it is too hot.

    I tried to play the sims 3 and get a blue error screen and then to see if I could fix it by underclocking the GPU I used the provided ATI catalyst and ran a auto test on the graphics part of the program and left the computer for a while so it could run it's tests. When I went back to the computer it was shut down. I tried to turn it on and it wouldn't turn on at all.
     
    MGEdit, Aug 9, 2010
    #12718
  19. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    I wouldn't go near a Colors IT PSU in any PC system myself. When you say that unit didn't work at all, can you elaborate?
     
    sammorris, Aug 10, 2010
    #12719
  20. theonejrs

    theonejrs Senior member

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    MGEdit,
    Try removing the CMOS battery from the motherboard. First turn the PSU off, remove the AC Plug, and then remove the battery for a good 5 minutes.

    Put the battery back in, plug in the PSU, turn it on and see if the computer will power up.

    You are aware that you have to jumper the green and black wires on the 24 pin motherboard connector to power up the PSU. It won't run without them being jumpered!

    Best Regards,
    Russ
     
    theonejrs, Aug 10, 2010
    #12720
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