Beginning the Power Workstation build...

tracyballard

tracyballard

Member
I've started the build on my Super Workstation computer. The first thing I did was check out the Coolermaster Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WW case, it was huge and had a window, but otherwise seemed built much like an emachines case, with the same type of side panel installation. After looking at an article on building a computer, I decided I didn't want to mess with the mobo, CPU or memory without an anti-static wrist strap, so I'm waiting for that to get here. I did go ahead and install the Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650W power supply, Samsung F3 500GB SATA 3gb/s hard drive and LG Super Multi Drive DVD/CD burner in the case, which was pretty easy and everything fit just right. That's where I am now, until my wrist strap gets here.
 
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Wrist straps are pretty useless. Just touch the case before you handle the components and don't build on carpet.
 
voyagerfan99 said:
Wrist straps are pretty useless. Just touch the case before you handle the components and don't build on carpet.
Click to expand...

Dude I have like 4 certifications that tell me wrist straps are the essential:eek::rolleyes:

You do need to be grounded, ESD can kill your system. Wrist straps do actually help, but so does grounding your case via a grounded plug and touching your bare skin to metal before touching the components. Also, work in an area that has some humidity in it, if your work space is too dry you can electrostatic shock your hardware.

I like to use the philosophy better safe than sorry.
 
for sure its insurance. On the other hand if winter, snow its a good idea on carpet barefoot and touching metal for static. Winter can build a massive charge scraping sox on carpet.
 
I can't really get away from carpet, but I'll try to put some cardboard under my feet when I'm about to handle components, as well as wearing a wrist strap and touching the case frequently.
 
I tried to add my old Gateway Northstar multi card reader but it wouldn't fit the bezel on my new case without cutting out some of it. I figured I might as well just order a new one, so now I'm waiting for another part, a Rosewill 40 in 1 multi card reader.
 
I finally got the anti-static strip today! it took a while because they sent it thru DHL, but I wasn't in that big of a hurry. I installed the mobo and standoffs pretty easily, and then the CPU went right in. The heat sink came with some thermal paste pre-applied and was not too difficult to install, along with the CPU fan, although you do have to be pretty careful to line it up just right. And, be sure to install the back port panel before you put the mobo in, for future reference. The Ripjaws 2x4GB memory sticks went right in with minimal effort and clicked into place. So far the most difficult part was getting the 4-pin straight connectors for the fans connected to the power supply, they were not eager to get connected for some reason, and the connectors didn't hold the pins in place very well, which seemed odd for an otherwise very high quality PSU. I also added a multi card reader with no problem.

I did have one issue. I ordered a PCIe add on card with an IDE connector for my extra PATA hard drive, but the drive itself would not fit in any of the available small bays because it was hitting the front case fan. I guess I need to get an adapter to put it in one of the large bays...
 
or you can just buy an external enclosure for the drive and make it an external one and then return that PCIe card for a refund.
 
Build Report part 2 - conclusion


well, the wrist strap arrived and allowed me to install the ASRock 890GM Pro3 board, Ripjaws 2x4GB memory and Propus 640 CPU with no problems, although I had to thumb wrestle with the hold-down for the CPU fan for a minute or two. I then installed the secondary Seagate 7200.9 PATA hard drive in one of the lower bays, where it turns out there was plenty of room to avoid the mobo even though it does stick out a bit more than I would have thought proper. I also installed a PATA connector card for said drive via the PCIe x1 slot with no issues and installed a Rosewill 40 in 1 card reader in the front open slot. The remaining hookups were pretty simple once I figured out the case system connections for power, reset, etc. and I was ready to fire it up.

first try, nothing happened.....oops, now what. After multiple switchings and checkings, I noticed that my new power strip was turned off. So, with that fixed the computer started up and ran great, although it's hard to tell without looking closely because it's so quiet. I set the time and date, then popped the Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit disc in, and it installed itself in about 10 minutes. what I really like about it is that I can make it look and act like XP in most ways:






Win 7 runs really well on this computer, so well in fact that I neglected to update the mobo drivers, or use windows update for a few days. After I did that, it now runs even better, and I eliminated a lot of hardware error messages with the mobo driver update at the ASRock homepage. I had one last problem with the HDD controller which I finally fixed today by finding the proper driver.

Overall, I'm very please with this build, the computer is quieter than I thought possible and seems very fast. The only problems are that a lot of programs are not yet compatible with Win 7, including Adobe Flash Player (I've got 10.2 beta running and it still won't work, as they say it should) and my keyboard (can't use the multimedia keys due to lack of win 7 compatibility).


For Comparison with my old Celeron 3GHz, 1GB ram XP rig:

will run Ad Aware Pro 6.0 smart scan in about 8 seconds compared to about 90 seconds for the XP machine.

will run Spybot Search & Destroy full scan in about 8 minutes compared to about 26 minutes for XP Celeron.

best of all, this can load as many thumbs as I can get in a window as fast as I can open the window, compared to up to 10 seconds for the XP rig.
 
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