Hardware hell (and back)

[Sk!mD4Rk]

Hi folks, just thought you might like to share my hardware hell which has happened to me over the last couple of days.

Firstly, i was due for an upgrade as BF2 was struggling a bit on the Dell 2405 i purchased earlier in the year.
So i treated myself to an Amd 4000+ cpu, Asus A8N Sli Deluxe, XFX 7800 GTX, Antec P180 and a Tagan 2force 580 sli compliant psu.
Now, i am not rich by any means but all this hardware was paid with hard work and lots of overtime, much like everyone else i expect.

Anyway the P180 and Tagan arrive first. P180 looks nice, different layout but not bad, and the Tagan is huge and VERY heavy but it just about fit's in the P180 after removing the lower fan. I also got the atx extension cable in case the lead isn't long enough. This turns out to be true.

Processor arrives on it's own on a Saturday, how annoying is that and the rest of the components turn up on Thursday, yeah bring it on.
Considering how big the P180 is, the Asus mobo just about fits in. Cabling is, well, not easy routing it here and there but after an hour or so we're ready to blow it up

Day 1
So i hit the power button, no display and beeeeep...... beeeeep........beeeeeep.......beeeeeep Goddamn, every time i upgrade and i have problems i always think of the phrase "if it ain't broke, don't fix it "
Oh woe is me, so i rip the mobo out, put it on a cushion to prevent shorts, same result. Memory, i have some spare, same result. Video card, hmmm don't have a spare so i resigned it must be faulty, grrrr.
In desperation i rebuild my old P4 machine, cos i took some bits out for this new one, to check on the net for some clues.
Bingo! I booted the machine with only 1 memory stick in the A channel when i needed to either put 2 in or stick it in the B channel. I suspect the labelling of the Dimm slots is incorrect though
It fires up sweet so i bang it all in the P180 again, install os and stuff and that's the best part of a day gone

Day 2
New machines going great, putting all my software back on. Hmmm, what's that squealing noise? poxy fan on the Nforce 4 chip Yeah i know, i should've got the A8N premium, with hindsight etc...
I know I'll put some As5 on it and another fan. now changing that little fan looks so innocent and simple i steam headlong into it. Me being 6" 4 and pretty fit ( i do weights, cycle, run and swim) i manage to
break the pins that hold the hs on the Nforce chip. Doh, if it ain't broke, don't fix it i heard somewhere.

I've read the Nforce chip gets pretty hot and keeping it cool is paramount to a stable system. Luckily, i remember i have some pins on an old mobo which fit nicely. So i AS5, new fan, fire up woohoo!, it's definitely quieter but.......
BOOT DISK FAILURE PRESS ENTER TO CONTINUE!
AAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll stop here and see if anyone can figure why it's not finding the Sata boot drive


Later.....

[nvening]

You have damge the nforce chip and so it is not finding the sata drive?

[unreal]

Haha man, I have had even worst luck for you (almost to the point of breaking in tears in fustration... and probably breaking every part too) but I will save the stories... thats though luck, but I hope your computer comes through All that work and overtime, you deserve it

I usually get that boot disk thing if I try to boot from a CD that isn't a boot CD, like anything but a Windows XP Install disc. Remember you have to do that thing by pressing F6 and putting a floppy disc in with your SATA drivers during installation (or do you no longer have to do that now?).

[Sk!mD4Rk]

I'll let this run a bit more

Anyway as i'm a AMD virgin, is the motherboard temp in Everest utility the nforce chip temp? i just Prime95'd it and CPU was 47c mobo temp 37c. All fans in P180 on low though

Are these temps any good?

[unreal]

Yea I think it is, I have an Asus nForce based motherboard and I get the same sort of temperature reports. Glad you came to the A-side.... WORD

[Sk!mD4Rk]

You have damge the nforce chip and so it is not finding the sata drive?

YOU are so close

The chip was not damaged. When i took the HS off i noticed a plastic film was covering the chip with the core poking through a hole in the middle. The thermal compound that was originaly on there has seeped underneath it and covered the bridges on the chip. Here is the platic film, Bad phone pic VVVVV
[IMG][/IMG]

Now i realise Artic silver is conductive but did not know that white thermal goo was!?
And that was it, problem solved and sorted.

[Sk!mD4Rk]

Remember you have to do that thing by pressing F6 and putting a floppy disc in with your SATA drivers during installation (or do you no longer have to do that now?).

Yeah i done that mate and you still have to until Windows Vista arrives. Apparently you can whack 'em on a usb drive and it recognizes it

[MSIC]

Am interested in upgrading my case and PSU, been also looking at the Antec P180 and either a Tagan PSU (the easycon) or similar (Akasa Paxpower, Antec Neo maybe), but i read somewhere that the P180 case PSU holder doesnt accomodate all PSU sizes easily.
How difficult is yours? I notice on shop websites that the Tagan is 15cm x 16cm x 8.6cm, the others mostly 14cm x 15cm x 8.6cm which could be a problem.

As for the ATX extension cable, where do you get those from? I've never heard of one...
Cheers, and nice posting by the way, made for a good read.

[Sk!mD4Rk]

Hi MSIC only just seen this again.

The P180 is a pain in the butt to install. It's a good idea badly implemented imo. The Tagan fits ok but i had to remove the lower fan but i was gonna do that anyway. I only needed the P4 extender as the big ATX connector just about reached. Very impressed with Tagan TG580-U22, overclocking well and SILENT, very stable and sLI compiant in case/when i go that way. And yes, the Tagan is longer than most psu's. It's the quietest case for me so far but i have all three fans on low with the quietest fan being 17db and the other two @ 25. Will probably replace these with SilenX 11db eventually

You can get the extender psu cables from Kustom Pc's who are great to deal with.

Now my upgrade is complete i'm very pleased with it all. If you do get the P180 i would say get a smaller psu to make it an easier fit but like i say the Tagan does fit but it's tight.

Likes and dislike about the P180

Oui
Build quality
Power and reset buttons "feel" nice
Quiet
Front fan grills pop open to reveal the filters
Drive rails
Hard drive caddy (My drives are silent now)

Non
Tight space for a big case
Non removable mobo tray
That's all.

Hope this helps.

[MSIC]

Nice one, thank you.

See my posting here
http://forums.hexus.net/showthread.php?t=56493
to see if i buy one or not.....

[MSIC]

Have ordered the P180 plus a Tagan Easycon 430W PSU.
Loved the reviews and the style of it, so will post back with how it all came together.

[Sk!mD4Rk]

That Psu looks a bit shorter than the 2 force series so it should be easier to fit in the bottom space.

Looking forward to see how you get on cramming it all in.

[Thorsson]

The chip was not damaged. When i took the HS off i noticed a plastic film was covering the chip with the core poking through a hole in the middle. The thermal compound that was originaly on there has seeped underneath it and covered the bridges on the chip.

How did you clean the gunk off?

[Sk!mD4Rk]

I used some isopropyl alcohol and cotton wool buds and a lint free cloth. As the compound was heating up it was running underneath the plastic cover thing. Pretty poor for an Asus board i reckon.

[Thorsson]

Does the plastic cover snap on/off? I'm asking coz my fan failed, and even though I replaced it I am getting some odd errors, which are almost certainly down to the mobo.

[Sk!mD4Rk]

It's just stuck on with some adhesive, like the stuff on the sticky side of the Selotape. It looks like the plastic film is there to stop this happening anyway :/
What errors are you getting? i was getting lock ups, no Sata hard drive on boot, no ide devices.

I actually rma'd the mobo cos the nForce chip died a few days later and got the premium model as a replacement.

You could also clean it with some lighter fuel if you got the same problem but watch the fumes.