Helping a friend build a PC

[Thorsen]

AMD Vision Barebone Kit - Asus M4A785-M Mobo, AMD Athlon II X2 240 Dual Core CPU, Kingston 2GB DDR2 RAM, XFX Radeon HD 4350 Video Card, Western Digital HD, PowerUp ATX Black Case with 450W PSU at TigerDirect.com

A friend of mine just purchased this Barebones Kit from TigerDirect.

He also purchased the extra 2G of RAM and Win7 Home

First off, I know that the Ram is DDR2, and the PSU is underpowered. He is going to upgrade these later down the road (I advised to get the DDR3, but he has a low-budget and will have money down the line for upgrades.)

I have not built a PC so some of this is new to me. As for previous experience, I have repaired some things replaced HDD's, and cpu's gpu's etc.

Can people here give me some guidance on tips and tricks for new installs. When I do the install I would like to refer to this thread and this forum for my info.

 

[Frostmourne]

What exactly are you asking? Step by step? I can walk you through it over msn.

 

[ccatlett1984]

If you've replaced those parts, building a pc is not much different. That PSU is just fine for the components that he's getting. He can't upgrade to DDR3, he'd have to get a different motherboard for that.

 

[Frostmourne]

If you've replaced those parts, building a pc is not much different. That PSU is just fine for the components that he's getting. He can't upgrade to DDR3, he'd have to get a different motherboard for that.

PSU is junk. OEM PSU's are the worst. No APFC, little or no voltage protection and ridiculously inefficient.

 

[IggyAZ]

First time installer

AMD Vision Barebone Kit - Asus M4A785-M Mobo, AMD Athlon II X2 240 Dual Core CPU, Kingston 2GB DDR2 RAM, XFX Radeon HD 4350 Video Card, Western Digital HD, PowerUp ATX Black Case with 450W PSU at TigerDirect.com

A friend of mine just purchased this Barebones Kit from TigerDirect.

He also purchased the extra 2G of RAM and Win7 Home

First off, I know that the Ram is DDR2, and the PSU is underpowered. He is going to upgrade these later down the road (I advised to get the DDR3, but he has a low-budget and will have money down the line for upgrades.)

I have not built a PC so some of this is new to me. As for previous experience, I have repaired some things replaced HDD's, and cpu's gpu's etc.

Can people here give me some guidance on tips and tricks for new installs. When I do the install I would like to refer to this thread and this forum for my info.

Hi and Welcome
The only advise I can give you is that you checkout all the hardware to see if it is Win7 Compatible. You can do this by getting all the manufacturers names and model numbers.
Motherboard
Video Card
CD/DVD drive
HD
Then go to Microsoft and check to see what they say for a 32bit system.
LINK to MS Page


After you verify all the hardware you can also check software if he /she plans to add after the install.

After that is done I would go and find the latest drivers for the Hardware and copy to a CD and keep on hand if you need them.
If the Motherboard has Vista drivers on its CD that comes with the motherboard most probably that will get you going until you decide later to update to newer drivers. I would just try and get the system stable with no problems before adding anything more.

After the basic install of Win7 hopefully you have a high speed connection to the internet.

You need to add a virus/malware protection.
I suggest getting Microsoft Security Essentials because it is quick to install and Free and if you want to add something different later it is easy to uninstall.
Link to Download

You need to register Win7 online.

You will need to get a few updates from MS.

This is the basics I would use.
Hope this helps and please stop back if you have any other questions.

 

[ccatlett1984]

While its not a PC Power & Cooling PSU by any means, its just fine for a budget build. The OP did say they planned on upgrading the PSU down the road. That one will last just fine for two years or so.

Go with win7 x64, not 32bit. All parts will work fine in win7 and you will need it with the 4gb of ram.

 

[Frostmourne]

Don't use the disc unless it has a win 7 logo/something similar on it. You need the latest chipset drivers direct from the manufacturer for 7, otherwise something may break. GPU drivers come first, then chipset, then try the guides in my sig.

 

[Frostmourne]

While its not a PC Power & Cooling PSU by any means, its just fine for a budget build. The OP did say they planned on upgrading the PSU down the road. That one will last just fine for two years or so.

Go with win7 x64, not 32bit. All parts will work fine in win7 and you will need it with the 4gb of ram.

Hopefully it won't blow.

 

[win7clutz]

Darn, it's just an inexpensive budget box. No sense in attacking the hardware, or going to MS trying to verify that "Yamaguchi" is on their compatibility list. Just through the box together, it'll be fine and if not he can work through it with TigerDirect.

 

[gregrocker]

Windows 7 installer is driver-complete. You dont' need to go changing out drivers given by the installer unless there are performance problems or lags.

Missing drivers should arrive via Windows Update or can be found at manufacturer's Support Downloads webpage for that model device.

Install walkthrough with screenshots here: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1649-clean-install-windows-7-a.html

 

[ccatlett1984]

Windows 7 installer is driver-complete. You dont' need to go changing out drivers given by the installer unless there are performance problems or lags.

Missing drivers should arrive via Windows Update or can be found at manufacturer's Support Downloads webpage for that model device.

Install walkthrough with screenshots here: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1649-clean-install-windows-7-a.html

Now, that i do NOT agree with. Always install the drivers for your video card, at least. I would then install the chipset drivers from the asus's website. Also you can check the device manager to see if any devices have the exclamation mark (needing driver to work).

 

[Thorsen]

wow, thanks all, there is alot of good info in these posts. I had informed him that DDR2 was older tech and that he would need a new mobo to get DDR3. He was ok with this. He has a five year old laptop and it is barely enough to run XP and WoW. I will make a list of all parts (just in case) and get drivers for them so they are on hand. I also informed him of 64x as the way to go and that 32x wont do....so when it arrives, I will be more prepared.

Another question. Anything to keep in mind when putting in the mobo? besides the thermal paste for CPU and static. I have not done work on a motherboard so any info would be appreciated.

 

[Frostmourne]

wow, thanks all, there is alot of good info in these posts. I had informed him that DDR2 was older tech and that he would need a new mobo to get DDR3. He was ok with this. He has a five year old laptop and it is barely enough to run XP and WoW. I will make a list of all parts (just in case) and get drivers for them so they are on hand. I also informed him of 64x as the way to go and that 32x wont do....so when it arrives, I will be more prepared.

Another question. Anything to keep in mind when putting in the mobo? besides the thermal paste for CPU and static. I have not done work on a motherboard so any info would be appreciated.

CPU TIM is preapplied. Touch an unpainted surface regularly. Install GPU drivers first. You can't install the chipset drivers if the GUI is all wonky.

 

[ccatlett1984]

For the mobo, just be sure to use the metal standoff's that come with it, so the back won't touch the case and short out.

 

[Frostmourne]

For the mobo, just be sure to use the metal standoff's that come with it, so the back won't touch the case and short out.

Some standoffs may also be preinstalled for your convenience.

 

[Product FRED]

The motherboard is great, I use it myself. It comes with a 4200HD onboard. I opted for a dedicated GeForce 9400GT instead though because of the dedicated RAM. However, with that 4350, you can do a hybrid-Crossfire configuration. And I'd say shell out some extra for an AMD Phenom II X4 instead of the X2.

 

[Thorsen]

Interesting that the CPU has thermal paste applied already, I would not expect that....,

Frostmourne, I was also a little worried about the standoffs and if that would be hard to figure out.

Why does the GPU need to be installed before Chipset Drivers? I would expect the other way around, but you know more than I so I will heed your warnings. thanks

Thanks Fred, Glad to get input from someone who has the Board. I had not researched the "hybrid-Crossfire configuration", but had heard that term somewhere on this forum before. I just looked it up looks nice: ATI Hybrid Graphics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Is there a good guide for setting this up? I looked here: ATI CrossFireX? | GAME.AMD.COM but all pages are moved?

Thanks for everyones input!

 

[Thorsen]

Alright found a decent CrossfireX Guide: AMD Game Forums - The CrossfireX Guide and Trouble Shooter

 

[gregrocker]

Windows 7 is not XP or Vista. MS spent a fortune paying all manufacturers to build drivers (WHQL) for Win7 so that they would have them in the installer and via Windows Update first, and prevent manufacturers from holding out to force consumers to buy new hardware as happened in Vista.

As a result, almost all drivers are in installer. If you have older onboard GPU it may require replacing the installer driver with the maker's, but it must also often be installed in compatbilitility mode. Newer GPU's drivers should be current in installer or via Update - even beta drivers.

There are a few cases where a chipset driver was missing where I've used the maker's chipset, but it isn't otherwise necessary unless you suspect or experience performance problems. In that case, swap in the other chipset but be prepared to roll it back to the Win7 version.

If it is given by the installer, it is because installer believes it is best to run Win7. Errors have been ironed out largely thanks to our help. Yet I'm constantly amazed by those who seem to think that decade-old XP driver rules still apply.

 

[Thorsen]

Asus M4A785-M Drivers:ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Support-

XFX HD-435X-ZAH2 Radeon HD 4350 drivers: XFX HD-435X-ZAH2 Graphic Adapter Driver Download

posting these in case needed.

Note: mobo comes with cd and card should too, just dont want to have to search for them when the time comes.