The non gamer build - last check before I order tonight

Nah man, I'm up this late all the time. :D

The 8-pin is definitely the trickiest one int these cases. Best I can tell, the most common way to do it with these is to run it behind the motherboard tray and out through the CPU bracket access hole. It's a little tight, but not enough so to cause a problem. You may have to maneuver it around the fan a bit, but there should be enough space. That last pic I posted shows what it looks like from the back...it's the yellow and black one:
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/5396/img2738l.jpg

Otherwise, the easiest/least annoying way I've found to do it is to run it behind the PCIe cards, on the left side of the slot. I'll see if I can find a pic.

edit- found one: http://a.imageshack.us/img443/4788/img0004ec.jpg
 
Last edited:
Yeah I think that is easiest the second way. Since there is no window in mine, I dont think it really has to be that neat, does it? There is plenty of wide open space compared to my old computer with the big ribbon cables and stuff and that has lasted 6 years with whatever power supply Dell provides!

So basically I have a big pile of unused cables from the power supply on the bottom of the case right next to it and also in the bottom front of the case where the hard drive bays are. Is that fine to leave them there? Is there any chance of them shorting anything out if the unused connectors touch the case? I think I am ready to fire it up, I have everything connected.

Two things I was gonna ask though:

The case has both a HD Audio and AC97 plug coming from the same audio jacks and it looks like the motherboard has one place to plug one of those. Which one should I use?

Also, what is the EPU and TPU switch for and do I need to do anything with them?
 
Well I fired it up and it worked the first time! I can't beleive how quiet it is, and that LED fan isn't too bad afterall. It is not as bright as I thought so I think it can stay. I'll see if all the front panel ports and stuff work later, but all the fans are spinning, and it detected the drives and I got into the BIOS. I'll read up and see if I need to change anything in there or anything. Unless you have any advice. I just read up on those switches. So the TPU sounds like it is for overclocking? And I don't know about the other one, what do you think? Thanks again for all your help. Maybe I will go to bed in a bit and install Windows tomorrow.
 
Glad to hear it's going well. If you plan on a decent Overclock, I'd disable TPU. It's kind of like Turbo boost, bumps up the multiplier when load is high. An overclock running at a high frequency all the time will always beat a sometimes-slightly-overclock in performance
 
I wasnt planning on overclocking yet, I dont have any cooler or anything. I'm sure this will be fast enough. Maybe down the line when I feel its slow I will try it, then it will be like a brand new computer right? :)
 
dm76 said:
I wasnt planning on overclocking yet, I dont have any cooler or anything. I'm sure this will be fast enough. Maybe down the line when I feel its slow I will try it, then it will be like a brand new computer right? :)
Click to expand...

Well not exactly, but you should experience more snappiness about the system in general, especially in encoding/editing apps. Down the line I'd go for an SSD for Windows and commonly used apps. Yeah the stock cooler is easy to install and quiet, just a bit rubbish at cooling overclocks. Not that it matters if you're not.
 
Congratulations man! Make sure to post up some pics! :)

As for TPU and EPU, TPU sounds like a good way to get some more performance without having to mess with the settings too much.

EPU seems a little more complicated, but not overly so. Not sure if it's worth the effort or not since this rig already uses very little power.
http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/use-the-asus-epu-6-utility-for-greener-computing/

Out of curiosity, did you plug your fans into the motherboard, or straight into the power supply? One of the more interesting features of the EPU thing is that it can control your fans to make them quieter when the extra airflow isn't needed. The mobo should do a bit of that already, though.
 
The rear fan and the CPU fan are plugged into the motherboard. The front and top are molex plugged into the PSU. Just out of curiosity, what temperature should the CPU be running at? I have just left it on for a lil while while I have been on the old computer and notice it is at 56 C with the case open.
 
56C seems high for idle temperatures...

Which temperature are you monitoring? What's it labeled?
 
Last edited:
I think it said CPU temp. I just had the BIOS screen on and noticed it when I walked back in there. It is off now. But doesnt having the case open make it run hotter because there is no airflow through it? I'll check it out tomorrow when I close it up. What should it be at?

I couldnt have screwed up the heatsink could I? And you said i dont need thermal paste right? I just put it on and locked those fastners down. I cant pull it off so it must be on there. What temp should it be at? I'll let you know what goes on tomorrow, time for bed now. Thanks again for all your help.
 
No problem man :)


Apparently, the BIOS on some of these boards shows a significantly higher temperature than what Windows reads. Once you get Windows installed, download Realtemp and prime95. Realtemp will monitor the temperature readings by getting its data directly from the circuits. Prime95 is to push the CPU to max load. This way you'll be able to get both idle and loaded temperatures.

http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/
http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=205

It's possible that they applied too much thermal paste at the factory. When you put too much on, it actually starts to become an insulator. It may also just need time to work its way into all the little nooks.

If it's not better in Windows, the first thing to try is applying more thermal paste. Arctic Silver 5 is very common and usually available at Radio Shack. Arctic Cooling MX-2 is a bit better (though not by a whole lot), and is what Intel uses as the stock stuff. Like I said though, they may have applied too much.

Good temperatures would be ~30C or lower at idle, and hopefully under 50C when loaded. This will vary quite a bit depending on the temperature in your house, though...a little higher is ok, and lower is even better.
 
Good advice ^

Thermal paste generally needs a few hours at high-ish temperatures to cure, hopefully the temps should get better by then, and as Drenlin said, Coretemp will give you a more accurate reading.
 
Ok will do. I gotta find some zip ties to I can seal it up. Then I'll report back what the temp is after awhile. I did notice that it wasn't rising once it reached that temp I mentioned. It was staying stable. What temps are dangerous, and will it shut down on its own if its gets too high?

On another note, what do you guys recommend for a C partition? Before I have always just used one partition for everything, but I never had a 1TB before. Is like 100 GB good for a C partition and then just put windows and the programs on that? And store data on the rest of the drive?
 
Actually I think that temp is way off. I just turned it on again now after getting all the cabling done and it says it is 50 degrees when it is cool! So maybe there is just an 8 degree rise when it was on, so that should be fine. I'll post some pics later.
 
dm76 said:
Ok will do. I gotta find some zip ties to I can seal it up. Then I'll report back what the temp is after awhile. I did notice that it wasn't rising once it reached that temp I mentioned. It was staying stable. What temps are dangerous, and will it shut down on its own if its gets too high?
----
Actually I think that temp is way off. I just turned it on again now after getting all the cabling done and it says it is 50 degrees when it is cool! So maybe there is just an 8 degree rise when it was on, so that should be fine. I'll post some pics later.
Click to expand...
I think you're right, the BIOS may be reading a bit high. Keep in mind, that's also reading from the socket. There are actually four individual temperature monitors in the CPU itself that AFAIK don't show up in the BIOS.

On another note, what do you guys recommend for a C partition? Before I have always just used one partition for everything, but I never had a 1TB before. Is like 100 GB good for a C partition and then just put windows and the programs on that? And store data on the rest of the drive?
Click to expand...
Well that isn't strictly necessary, but it does make your data more secure. 100GB would fine for Windows, though since you've got s much space, why not go ahead and make it 200-ish?
 
Im just thinking if I ever want to reinstall Windows, then all my data is on a partition and I dont have to do anything to it. Ok I just reorganized all my wires and stuff under my desk and cleaned it up so I am about to install Windows. I'll have to post the pics a little later.
 
Ah, that makes sense. Windows 7 makes it really easy too, once you learn to use libraries.

If all goes well, you'll have it up an running within an hour or two :)
 
While I am waiting for stuff to load up, I was wondering what the Marvell Sertial ATA 6 connectors are for? I also notice something during the boot up that says something about Marvell then it says no disks present but it happens really quick.

I think this is running pretty cool. It is blowing cool air out of the case.
 
You have two sets of SATA 6GB/s ports on that board. The white ones are part of the P67 board, and the dark blue ones are controlled by that Marvell chip. You probably don't have anything plugged into them, so when it looks for a drive, it doesn't find anything. The other ones do this as well, they just don't display it.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top