Newbie Build - Can you Help ?

[staffsMike]

Yeah one SATA cable with 2 connectors, thats fine.

If the graphics card requires just 6 pins then yeah 6 is fine, it's why they come like that

[PaulBrum]

Ok, another query

I've got 2 sticks of RAM, both 2 Gig. I've got 4 DIMM slots, numbered (from left to right as you look down onto then) DIMMA1, DIMMB1, DIMMA2 and DIMMB2

Presumably, I'm installing the ram into DIMMA1 and DIMMB1 (next to one another and the same colour orange as opposed to the other 2 green) - I've read the Mobo manual, buts its not exactly clear (to me anyway !)

Thanks, as always........

Paul

[staffsMike]

Sounds right. As long as they are the same colour thats what really matters.

[PaulBrum]

OK, I've put it all together, switched on (monitor not yet connected) and rear fan works, graphics card fan works, CPU fan is not spinning (it moves a tiny fraction upon power up), and the front fan isnt spinning.

power button works, power switch lights up, reset button works, HD light works, DVD drive ejects ok.

2 LED lights lit on the Mobo (which according to the manual suggets all ok), no beeping.

I assume the CPU fan doesnt spin all the time?
I'm not sure why the front fan isnt spinning, I've got the 3 fans connected as follows:

CPU Cooling fan - JCFAN1: CPU Fan header
Rear Fan - JNFAN1: Northbridge fan header
Front fan - JSFAN1: System Fan header

Bit concerned about the fans not working - is this usual ? I'll be connecting up to monitor shortly, just wanted to see is everything spun / hummed

Comments appreciated.

Paul

[Pob255]

Sounds right. As long as they are the same colour thats what really matters.

Umm not always, msi motherboards have the habbit of makeing the two 1 slots one colour and the two 2 slots another colour.

So as not to confuse the issue I just grabbed a copy of the manual to double check, yes you are correct, you do want DIMMA1 and DIMMB1 which are the same colour.

[PaulBrum]

Monitor connected, screen fires up and I can get into BIOS.

BUT.........really concerned that the CPU fan isnt spinning - after a couple of mins the CPU temp is showing 57 degrees - seems worryingly high (it starts at 30 degrees)

Is it something to do with the fan set up in the bios ?

Also, the front case fan shows no signs of spinning

help appreciated



Paul

[watercooled]

If it jumps then stops it could be that the voltage is too low - check the CPU fan settings, I think they should be in PC Health Status. Also make sure it's connected properly. My stock Intel fan made a grinding noise at first for some reason. I had to move the fan blades up and down a few times to stop it, not sure what was causing it. What fan are you using?

[PaulBrum]

I'm using the stock fan supplied with the processor, checked the connection, its good - its a hell of a chunky bit of kit - looks like a good one (if it would bloody work!) - how do I check the CPU fan settings (PC Health status?) - remember you are dealing with a complete novice

I'm worried about the CPU overheating if I mess about in the Bios for more than a couple of mins - it seems to be getting rally very hot

Paul

[staffsMike]

Health status gives you a good idea of how its running yeah.

[PaulBrum]

Under hardware health in the Bios, it shows N/A against CPU fan (JCFAN1) and system fan header (JSFAN1) - clearly, there is something wrong !

The CPU temp was rising steadily, from 37, up to about 55 by the time I switched off - about 3 mins! - is this dangerous / potentially processor damaging ?

Paul

[staffsMike]

not yet but that isn't right.

Make sure the HSF is on right/

[watercooled]

CPU shouldn't be damaged unless the CPU goes above 80C - don't boot into or install Windows though until you've sorted it. Are you connecting the connector from the fan to a 3 pin or a 4 pin header on the motherboard?

[Pob255]

Max temp listed by AMD is 70c
it is worrying the fans are not detected or spinning :/ I would of expeted a warning that no cpu fan is detected.

Try unplugging the other fans so just the cpu fan is connected

Also try clearing the CMOS (should be intructions in the manual)

last resort, plug the cpu fan into the JNFAN1: Northbridge fan header as that's the only one currently working at least as a tempory measure and to check if the fan works.

[PaulBrum]

Tried unplugging the other fans to no avail - have removed and refitted the CPU fan - still no good - see attached a couple of screen shots of the BIOS - dont know whether this gives any clues - CPU fan is connected to a 4pin header shown as the CPU fan header in the Mobo manual.







Paul

[Pob255]

The fact the "Revision" data is garbled doesn't bode well ether.

Tried clearing the CMOS yet?

tried swapping the cpu to the jnfan1 connector just to make sure the fan works?

[PaulBrum]

going to try the CMOS now - thats the jumper thing - 'clearing the CMOS header' as its referred to in the manual ?

Paul