first time builder now building

[xxkkangxx]

in the end my specs ended up being:


1. Western Digital Raptor 74GB
2. Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 250GB
3. Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 250GB
4. NEC 3540a
5. Zalman CNPS7700-CU 120mm
6. OCZ EL Platinum Revision 2
7. AMD Athlon 64 Venice Core 3000+
8. XFX GeForce 7800GT
9. Thermaltake XASER, Armor Series Full Tower Case
10. MSI K8N NEO4-F
11. PC Power & Cooling 510W SLI-PFC
12. LITE-ON IDE DVD-ROM
13. Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS
14. Logitech X-530 5.1

---

before i start building/posting pictures, one question i wanted to ask was if that hsf will be good enough. my friend keeps harassing me saying that the comp will run 68 or over and that it will affect my computer in the long run. true? i thought the zalman would suffice...maybe not.

just wanted to say thanks for all the help i got here and will post pictures and whatnot soon.

[Leonardo]

I run the same HSF on my System 1. It has a constant full load (I mean 100%), overclocked 3.2@3.6-3.75, two instances of Folding@Home running in hyperthreading mode. That's a great heatsink and very, very quiet. The hottest my CPU gets is 53*C. And if I'm correct, P4 Northwood CPUs are hotter running than the AMD 64 Venice.

Frankly, I'm wondering how much knowledge your friend has about CPU cooling. 68*? That's just nuts. I think I'd have to shut my computer case off from all incoming air to get temps like that. Now, keep in mind, even the best heatsink won't be very effective if:
- it's installed incorrectly
- there's no thermal paste between the CPU and HS
- case ventilation is poor

Have fun with your build. I think you've get a well-balanced basket of parts there. Make sure you pop in for any help you need.

[lemonlime]

Looks like a great configuration :thumbsup:

Leo is right, those Venice 3000+ processors are very cool running chips and the Zalman is a superb HSF. I think you'll see temperatures LOWER than 68 degrees even if you removed the fan from that heatsink, or used three of four copper coins to cool the core instead (Not that I'd recommend doing that :D) Realistically, you should see an idle temperature of around 28-32 degrees, and a load temperature in the high 30's. But as Leonardo mentioned, ensure that you use a paper thin layer of thermal interface material (such as arctic silver), and that the heatsink is mounted properly.

[xxkkangxx]

im trying to install the 7700 zalman but i noticed that the neo4-f came with a backplate. i need to get this backplate on so i can put install the backplate the zalman set gives me. help?

[csimon]

go to the zalman website and watch the installation movie ...http://www.zalmanusa.com/ ...short n sweet
will most likely involve removing the mobo if it's already in place.

[sfleuriet]

im trying to install the 7700 zalman but i noticed that the neo4-f came with a backplate. i need to get this backplate on so i can put install the backplate the zalman set gives me. help?
yes you'll need to unscrew the old plate off the motherboard and put the new one in that came with the zalman. It might fit on the old one, but it'll be a much more snug fit with the new plate. That might be your temp problem :)

http://www.zalman.co.kr/product/cooler/7700-754-939-940MBlist_eng.htm - theres a button on the right to see the Installation Movie :thumbsup:

[xxkkangxx]

it was glued on which was the problem. would not budge. i ended up prying it off, but i think i may have chipped off some soldered parts...

[csimon]

it was glued on which was the problem. would not budge. i ended up prying it off, but i think i may have chipped off some soldered parts... :scratch:

[Leonardo]

Kang, did you view the linked site the demonstrates the heatsink and backplate mounting? I just want to make sure we are all referring to the same procedures and parts. I don't think your motherboard has a heatsink backplate on the back (bottom) of the motherboard. All the pictures I've viewed show a heatsink mounting bracket on the top of the board.

[xxkkangxx]

http://www.zalman.co.kr/product/cooler/7700-754-939-940MBlist_eng.htm

that link shows

the fan

cpu/mobo

and backplate


i couldnt install the backplate because there already was one down there glued to the mobo. am i missing something? :scratch:

[Leonardo]

Are you saying that the motherboard already has a backplate affixed to the back of the motherboard? Yes, I know about the backplate that is part of the mounting hardware for the heatsink kit. But the motherboard has an integral backplate?

[Sledgehammer70]

MSI K8N NEO4-F ---

I never heard of MSI gluing there back plates, Normally they are clipped on . or on a slide clip...I have 1 neo board I thin it is the same as your's and it had clips... if you have a Cam take an image of the top and bottom, Im sure I can walk you through it. and I have 2 towers with the cooler you mentioned above from Zalman they are both AMD athlon 64 3200+ and they run at 32C and 38C under full load... I think you buddy has no idea what he is talking about...... I have built 3 X2 3800+ towers with that cooler and have seen the CPU under full load at 44C

let me know when you can get those images. Im sure we can make it work :) If you haven't already got it working....

[xxkkangxx]

it was completely glued on. i went to an msi forum and looked around and found that some boards just come with the backplate already glued on. :shakehead
it was a real p.i.t.a to get the darn thing off but after 15 minutes of struggling with it, it came off. im afraid that some of the soldered parts on the bottom of the mobo got scraped off and am hoping it doesnt affect the board. i have it installed now and will be powering it up/posting pictures later today. :)

[sfleuriet]

if solders actually did come off, I'm sure it won't work anymore

[TheLostSwede]

Both MSI and in some cases, Asus use a backplate thats glued/stickied on. A nice little tool is a haidryer for 10 minutes to heat it up. Comes off very easy after that.
However, you actually don't need to take that backplate off for the zalman...you can use that instead of the zalman that comes with the package. Same threading.

[Sledgehammer70]

Not on a ASUS board. The HSF would be elvated to high up on an AMD chip.....you have to use the one that comes with the HSF! now on the MSI board i think it is the same thing....

[TheLostSwede]

Yes, on the Asus board as well Sledge..i have tried on 2 recent boards so believe me, i know. You don't have to use the copper standoffs, just screw the bolt right through the hole and through the backplate. You'll get much better pressure that way since there isn't a limit on how hard you can tighten it without the standoffs. And I hate limits.

[xxkkangxx]

i would have used the msi backplate except the screws would be raised up and the fan wouldnt make contact with the cpu. im going to just hope i didnt damage the board to the extent where i cant use it any more. :(

[csimon]

i would have used the msi backplate except the screws would be raised up and the fan wouldnt make contact with the cpu. im going to just hope i didnt damage the board to the extent where i cant use it any more. :(
where did you buy the board?

[Nightwolf]

Looks like a powerful system... :thumbsup:

[xxkkangxx]

i bought it at newegg

[xxkkangxx]

does not using the jumper cable do anything to your hd performance? it says spread specrum clocking disabled if i dont use one...buti have to know what that is. :confused:

[sfleuriet]

i bought it at newegg
then definitely contact them and I'm sure they'll ship one to you!

I'm not sure what a jumper cable is.

[xxkkangxx]

getting the video card to go into the slot is becoming a pain. will go into slot when the mobo is outside of case, but refuses to when inside. it also looks like the mobo might have to be raised slight in order for everything to fit. any suggestions?

[Leonardo]

Kang, I'm sorry but I'm a bit confused as to exactly what stage of building or troubleshooting you are at currently. We were talking about the glued on backplate, then a "jumper cable" and hard drive, and now a video card. My friend, I'm not making fun of you -- I just don't know what's going on now. What exactly are you doing and why?

[xxkkangxx]

^^;

sorry. when i was talking about the backplate, i had installed the cpu and was then installing the hsf.

i resloved the hsf issue and wanted to ask whether or not using a jump cable would affect the hdd at all because i was then installing my floppies, roms, and hdds.

as im now installing my gpu ive found that it will not fully go into the pci-e slot. i took out the motherboard and tried puttting the card in and it would go in just fine. when i put the mobo back into the case i realized it looked like it needed to be risen a little so that the back panal and everything matches up better. whether this is why my graphics card wont go in, i dont know. ive tried looking for the cause of why it wont go in fully but cant see why.

[Leonardo]

It is perhaps that the metal slot at the end of the card is not seating correctly at the edge of the motherboard where it slides into the back of the case.

[xxkkangxx]

i got the board to rise up a little and the card went in fine.

i know im asking a lot of questions, but i think this should be my last. where exactly does the 'power sw' cord go (for power buttom)? ive been looking through the manuals and cant seem to find instructions for it. :)

thanks

[sfleuriet]

That's fine that you're asking lots of questions- you came to the right place!

For the power switch - (MSI K8N NEO4-F, right?) - I downloaded the manual and found it easily on page 2-19. Picture below shows where to plug it in.

http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/2605/untitled0lb.th.jpg (http://img110.imageshack.us/my.php?image=untitled0lb.jpg)

[xxkkangxx]

can someone help me/tell me how to set a temp monitor up? been trying by myself and have been coming up with some funky readings. :scratch:

[Leonardo]

Which temperature monitor are you using? There are several available.

[xxkkangxx]

im using motherboard monitor (mbm5)

[Leonardo]

You have just keeping trying different "board sensors" until you get what seems a logical temperature. I don't know what else to tell you. Sometimes MBM will report outrageous temperatures if the settings point a sensor that is not actually installed on the motherboard.