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Author Topic: Help building a PC (SLI)  (Read 3668 times)

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Offline CyberusTopic starter

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Help building a PC (SLI)
« on: November 06, 2006, 07:34:50 PM »
My mate got a load of components and I helped him put them together. I've never built a PC before, but felt sufficiently technically minded to assist....

So anyway I've installed the mobo, the CPU (with heatsink), the ram, connected some fans and tried powering on.

The fans spin. But that's it.

So I borrowed an old PCI gfx card and put that in a slot, and connected a monitor, and also plugged in a mouse and a USB k'board I had lying around. But still, all I get is a power light on the mobo.

So questions are:
I assume an SLI mobo will get as far as the bios without an SLI gfx card?
And will it do so without any drives attached?

Anyone got any pointers, I feel like a bit of a newbie when it comes to tinkering with PCs, I've only ever tinkered with cars and Amigas lol!
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Offline jj

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Re: Help building a PC (SLI)
« Reply #1 on: November 06, 2006, 08:00:11 PM »
make sure you have the pwr swtch and reset swtch leads connected to the mobo in the correct orintation
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Offline B00tDisk

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Re: Help building a PC (SLI)
« Reply #2 on: November 06, 2006, 08:00:12 PM »
Quote

Cyberus wrote:
My mate got a load of components and I helped him put them together. I've never built a PC before, but felt sufficiently technically minded to assist....

So anyway I've installed the mobo, the CPU (with heatsink), the ram, connected some fans and tried powering on.

The fans spin. But that's it.

So I borrowed an old PCI gfx card and put that in a slot, and connected a monitor, and also plugged in a mouse and a USB k'board I had lying around. But still, all I get is a power light on the mobo.

So questions are:
I assume an SLI mobo will get as far as the bios without an SLI gfx card?
And will it do so without any drives attached?

Anyone got any pointers, I feel like a bit of a newbie when it comes to tinkering with PCs, I've only ever tinkered with cars and Amigas lol!


Did you install a floppy drive?  A reversed cable - or one on  PATA devices for that matter - can cause the symptoms you're describing.
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Offline duesi

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Re: Help building a PC (SLI)
« Reply #3 on: November 06, 2006, 08:08:42 PM »
What type of Components are you using ?
- Mobo
- CPU
- Ram

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Offline CyberusTopic starter

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Re: Help building a PC (SLI)
« Reply #4 on: November 06, 2006, 08:22:29 PM »
Hey Duesi,
Long time no see!

I plugged in some headphones and got "CPU not installed properly" so I've just had the heatsink and fan off and repositioned the CPU, no bent pins, and a nice layer of thermal compound.

Why these heatsinks are such a {bleep} to get on off I don't know!

mobo: Asus A8N-SLI deluxe
cpu, some AMD 64 3700 , I forget which
RAM: Crucial 1GB DDR pc3200

Just gonna put it all back together and try again
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Offline Homer

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Re: Help building a PC (SLI)
« Reply #5 on: November 06, 2006, 08:22:39 PM »
Could be as simple as a jumper for FSB speeds being in the wrong position. If there is one, try the alternate position. Take a good look through the manual and ensure all jumpers are in the right place while you are at it. Oh, and have a :pint:
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Offline X-ray

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Re: Help building a PC (SLI)
« Reply #6 on: November 06, 2006, 08:31:13 PM »
@ Cyberus

Are all the components new, straight out the box?
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Offline CyberusTopic starter

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Re: Help building a PC (SLI)
« Reply #7 on: November 06, 2006, 08:35:09 PM »
@x-ray
yeah

just trying to get the retention clip on the heatsink to actually, well, err clip, at the moment!!!
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Offline X-ray

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Re: Help building a PC (SLI)
« Reply #8 on: November 06, 2006, 08:41:51 PM »
Ja, that is the worst part: getting the heatsink on. In the end I had to get two flat screwdrivers and hook them into the retention brackets and then force them down. You must be of sound mind and steady hand if you try that though, cos if you slip it might be crying time.

Don't forget to plug the fan in, and check that the SLI bridge is secure before switching on. They tend to come loose in transit and then you get a no-boot. And take care which way you have the bridge oriented. If you have one SLI card, you can opt to use slot one or two, depending on how you orientate the bridge. I had to do this when I changed the heatsink on my northbridge and it interfered with my SLI card. I moved slots, and changed the bridge around and now I am running a single SLI card from slot 2.
In the default as-new configuration, you should try slot 1 first.
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Offline CyberusTopic starter

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Re: Help building a PC (SLI)
« Reply #9 on: November 06, 2006, 08:48:57 PM »
Now I'm starting to wonder if I've got the heatsink on the right way round...I just cannot get the retention clip to 'clip'. All I have is a mobo manual with a very dark picture that shows nothing.

The CPU manual isn't here. And I'm worried that I'll trash the CPU if I'm not careful :-(

P.S. I assume an SLI PC will boot without an SLI gfx card?
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Offline X-ray

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Re: Help building a PC (SLI)
« Reply #10 on: November 06, 2006, 08:58:38 PM »
The heatsink will have an off-centred area of thermal paste on it, and when you go to clip it on, you will know if you have it the wrong way around.

Heatsink: yes, I almost gave up myself. It is without doubt the worst thing I have ever had to install on a PC. Took me more than half an hour to get it right, because I was being careful.

SLI: can't remember if mine booted without the card or not. Surely you can put a floppy in the drive and see if it gets accessed? If so, wait for disk activity to finish, eject that disk and put another one in and press any key. If it accesses that disk also then you have your answer: the PC will boot without the SLI card.
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Offline X-ray

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Re: Help building a PC (SLI)
« Reply #11 on: November 06, 2006, 09:07:21 PM »
@ Cyberus

Stop a bit mate, I have images that may help...
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Offline X-ray

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Re: Help building a PC (SLI)
« Reply #12 on: November 06, 2006, 09:13:52 PM »
Okay, this is the mobo you are working on, right?



Here is my mobo, a different one, but also SLI and socket 939:



As you can see, our mobos have the CPUs in the same orientation, so you can attach that heatsink the same as mine.

How is mine attached? Well the locking lever on the heatsink faces the SLI slots. IIRC I clipped the other side in first, then clipped the side with the lever.

That should help you now old bean.
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Offline odin

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Re: Help building a PC (SLI)
« Reply #13 on: November 06, 2006, 09:14:25 PM »
Quote
Stop a bit mate, I have images that may help...

That sounds dubious :inquisitive:
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Offline X-ray

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Re: Help building a PC (SLI)
« Reply #14 on: November 06, 2006, 09:16:36 PM »
@ Odin

hehe

The man is battling to get it on and I am just pointing out all his slot options  ;-)
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