PC build thread

[ZenErik]

Thanks. The one other thing I want to look int o is getting the chassis fans working when connected to the mobo. A friend suggested it may be a BIOS setting. But the system will not boot when the chassis fans are plugged in to the mobo. Luckily the case has its' own fan control so they don't need to be plugged in to the mobo. CPU and GPU fans working perfectly fine.

Any ideas? Browsing forums I've seen suggestions that it could be a bad mobo connector for the chassis fans or bad cable. Should I be worried?

You can sometimes need to adjust BIOS settings for motherboard-connected fans due to the range of RPM. Lotta times larger fans are spinning at a lower RPM than the minimum threshold the BIOS expects, so it thinks there's a problem with the fan.

That said, yeah, that's a floppy connector from your PSU.

You may want to check to see if you have 3 or 4 pin connectors for the fans, so that any adapters you pick up match (or if it might be preferable to get different fans versus an adapter). 3 pin connectors can report RPM, 4 pin can be controlled by the motherboard (well, 3 pin can too, with voltage control). Often, only the CPU fan is 4 pin, but it may vary.


Windows 8 isn't much of an improvement performance-wise, if any...though it's certainly not a downgrade either. There are pros and cons for either IMO.

Samsung 840 series are good. The regular 840s have been replaced by the EVO series I think, Pros are still better (and more expensive).

Thanks for the info. The fans themselves are 3 pin. The connector on the board is 4 pin. Just not sure if it's worth connecting the fans to the board or just using the fan controller. I guess it's only a $8 experiment if I do buy the cable. But certainly open to input ahead of time.

The downside to Windows 8, for me, is that I would actually have to buy a license. So if there's no real upside in gaming performance then it probably isn't worth it. I've also found it a pain to use Win8's modern UI with a mouse. Seems better optimize for trackpads and touch screens. Though with 8.1 it looks like booting to classic UI is baked in.

Yea, I was looking at the Samsung 120GB 840 EVO for $100.

[s1mplehumar]

^ You have options for your fans. This is sort of rehash. I hate typing mountains of text on mobile!

-BIOS controlled (as isiolia mentioned).
-Speedfan can store custom fan profiles.
-Manual controller.

Stick with Win7, IMO. Generally a cheaper license and tablet-esque stock UI. Pass.

Here's a good SSD resource. thessdreview.com

[isiolia]

Thanks for the info. The fans themselves are 3 pin. The connector on the board is 4 pin. Just not sure if it's worth connecting the fans to the board or just using the fan controller. I guess it's only a $8 experiment if I do buy the cable. But certainly open to input ahead of time.

From what I can see, your case comes with a 140mm, and two 92mm fans, but the motherboard only has one chassis fan connector. So, I assume you'll be using the fan controller to an extent either way. Using the motherboard connector for the 140mm would be preferable, I think, since you get more monitoring/control with mobo connected fans...but it's certainly not critical.

The downside to Windows 8, for me, is that I would actually have to buy a license. So if there's no real upside in gaming performance then it probably isn't worth it. I've also found it a pain to use Win8's modern UI with a mouse. Seems better optimize for trackpads and touch screens. Though with 8.1 it looks like booting to classic UI is baked in.

8.1 does have boot to the desktop as an option, as well as an option to make the default Start screen display the "all applications" layout that's a lot more analogous to the Start menu. Right now, if you're happy with 7, there's no huge reason to get 8/8.1.

[ZenErik]

Correct me if I am wrong. But I thought that this cable would allow me to hook up all 3 fans to the mobo. But maybe not? The 4 pin molex seems to only have 2 pins on this cable.



http://www.microcenter.com/product/3417 ... _Fan_Cable Here is the actual one I am looking at getting. I can check the pins when I am at Microcenter. Maybe it will have all 4.

Also, I am just getting in to humble bundles. Should I just post the games I don't want in my B/S/T or is there somewhere special I should post them for forum members? Thanks!

[isiolia]

http://www.microcenter.com/product/3417 ... _Fan_Cable Here is the actual one I am looking at getting. I can check the pins when I am at Microcenter. Maybe it will have all 4.

Hm, maybe, I haven't used something like that so I'm not sure how it would work out.

The two connectors are, from what I can tell, splitting duties. Basically, all a fan needs is two pins - ground and power (which that looks to be pulling from the Molex). Usually, that's all you'll see for Molex-connected fans. The third pin is usually for monitoring, and the fourth for speed control. As I mentioned, it's also common that you'll have throttling via a three pin connector by adjusting the power.

Anyway, my take on that from looking at it is that it's doing power/ground off the Molex, and speed control/monitoring from the motherboard connection. Main thing I would wonder is how well that would work if all the fans aren't all the same size.

[ZenErik]

Well, I can stick to the case control if you think that is an equal or better option. It only has low, medium, and high settings. Figured medium would generally be fine but I haven't done any extended gaming yet. Full time job holding me back.

[isiolia]

Motherboard connections are preferable when available. You get monitoring, and often, automatic throttling. So, it's probably worth doing for your big 140mm fan at least, or trying that splitter. Like I said, I'm just not 100% on how the monitoring/throttling would work on mixed fan types like that.

That said, there's not a need to mess with it. The fan controller should be perfectly fine.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Nice build ZenErik.

Though I didn't know you needed such a beastly system to play visual novels and Touhou games.

[flex wood]

Nice build ZenErik.

Though I didn't know you needed such a beastly system to play visual novels and Touhou games.

At least if he wants to get a different color it's not as big a deal as buying a new system

[ZenErik]

Nice build ZenErik.

Though I didn't know you needed such a beastly system to play visual novels and Touhou games.

At least if he wants to get a different color it's not as big a deal as buying a new system

Now that you mention it....

http://www.fractal-design.com/home/prod ... -304-white

There is a white version of the case I got. And I do like the look of it better.