Desktop Computers

Thanks for the replies. I was looking at both the 960 and 970s but decided that the extra performance I would get from the 970 was worth an extra $100, the card also comes with The Witcher 3 which I am planning on buying.

Hey guys, gotta make this quick cause ive been hacing my browser crash as well as a lot of bsod's. I just recently put together a computer on my own for the first time.. I used a website that had a recommended build, you can check out the specs here:

manirellis Build Guide - Enthusiast Gaming Build - PCPartPicker


Anywho putting it together was quite the process, and after finishing up I was getting a ton of bsod issues. I *just* finished getting everything updated (I think) and havent had a bsod since, although chrome just crashed a minute ago as I was trying to post in the homeowners thread here...

I am just kind of trying to make sure that I am getting it all done correctly. After installing windows 8.1 I get updated drivers for the motherboard/chipset, the graphics card, and windows.. I think that is it? A friend said that sometimes motherboards need bios updates but a quick google search warned me off from that, so I havent attempted any such thing. I havent messed with any sort of overclocking (never done it before, and dont even have any games installed yet so no rush) but I did download some protection. I got AVG (free version) which I have used before, and also (going off a websites recommendations) got several programs I am less familiar with: Spybot search and destroy 2, ad-aware antivirus (is this a second anti virus in addition to AVG? The site recommended both) and spywareblaster. I have had issues with spyware in the past so wanted to get properly set up right of the bat to avoid any infections. Is it possible that some of these programs are conflicting with eachother?

While typing this I had my hearthstone installer crash - and just before this, chrome crashed (which has happened a lot). Chrome is up to date as well.. seems like something is still wrong on my computer, any recommendations/help?

In addition I am also hoping to understand what I should be putting on the SSD and what goes on the HHD? So far I have put everything on the SSD.... I will also end up playing around with overclocking and am open to any tips there, but that is a low priority right now..

Thanks in advance!

Hearthstone installed, but then crashed, and chrome has crashed twice since as well. Im afraid there is something wrong (perhaps hardware?) but am not sure what route to go to determine the issue

Well the BIOS is something I knew nothing about prior to setting this up, now I know just slightly less then nothing - I had to ensure that my bios was set up ion AHCI mode to use my SSD correctly, and I also had to adjust which hard drive it was booting first (or at least I think I had to - it was showing the HDD as the first hard drive and the SSD as the second so I changed the priority order. Other then that, what sort of things should I be looking for?

Ill look into prime95, as for everything being cool the fan appears to be working correctly and I dont feel any excess heat, but I am guessing there is a more scientific method to checking? Im honestly not that versed in DYI computer stuff, especially hardware related - of course, I am learning now so that will all change as time goes by

Device manager does actually show an unknown device, and I *almost* disabled it but was still uncertain if it is there for a reason? Well, it isnt an "unknown device" but rather it -- huh, actually now I see TWO devices that I dont actually have - it says I have a fax, and a printer, but I dont have either... I assume I should disable them?

Ill open her up and look at the RAM situation, I wasnt sure what DIMMS was but after googling it I am still not quite sure what I am looking for exactly, except just making sure the RAM is insterted correctly?

The monitor is plugged in to the "top" graphics card (sitting above the other as they sit in my computer, closer to the rest of the motherboard) so that should be all good

The CPU fan seems to be working properly, I installed it correctly (i think!!) and fans are blowing cool air out... I had to play around for a few minutes during install to figure out how to get the arrows pointing the right way and still be able to plug the fans into the motherboard using their cables, but I did end up getting it (i think!)


Sorry for the undoubtedly noobish lack of knowledge here, but at least I am trying right?

Hmm well after opening my case and looking around a bit I realized that the bottom graphics card fans were hitting against a couple cords (the HD audio, and the power/LED cords that plug in to the motherboard). I tucked the cords into some spaces better and they are now out of the way - honestly this case seems to be well set up for keeping cords out of the way (although I dont have a lot of experience so maybe that is normal?). The jury is still out on whether this was the problem but I am hopeful - even when looking in I could see that the cords were completely stopping the fan from spinning, and ever since the first boot up I had thought "wow, for some reason one of the fans is really loud!" Well, turns out it was because it was rubbing up against those cords.

SO that helped - hopefully it solves everything!

Truth be told I was in a bit over my head, but here I am, got everything properly installed, it looks pretty neat (no wire messes etc - only issue was two little cords that I hadnt tucked in as well as I should have which the lower graphics card was hitting).

Havent had an issue since I moved them, so that definitely looks like it was the problem - yay! Computer is running quietly, quickly, and better then any ive ever had before! And I get to feel good knowing that I put it all together - plus i feel more confident with stuff that will come up down the road. Thank you guys for the help, i <3 the interwebs and all those who reside in it

Read this article, and run the stress tests that they recommend (memtest for RAM, prime95 for CPU, uningine for GPU), to make sure your build is truly stable, even when pushed to its limits.

They're all completely free downloads

Keep it stable, stupid! How to stress-test your PC hardware | PCWorld

OK well in device manager it shows 4 things that should be there under devices, and then for printers it shows two things: fax, and microsoft xps document writer. I dont have either of those plugged in. So you are saying that... I should have plugged something in to the motherboard but didnt? AKA a plug from the power cable? Or...? And you are saying NOT to disable/remove those through device manager? So far I have just left them there

If you're fully updated, fax and ms xps writer shouldn't be showing with a question mark. They're usually just internal drivers whether you have a fax machine or printer plugged in or not.

Everyone is in over their head the first time. Sounds like you're figuring it out. I would recommend not OCing though. Imo 99% of the time the only reason to is if you're a hobbiest, and you clearly aren't.

Yeah I am under the impression that I would overclock to get extra performance out of my system,. so perhaps I will wait until I am not able to run every game at max settings, and then worry about overclocking.

RandAlThor420_sl said:

Yeah I am under the impression that I would overclock to get extra performance out of my system,. so perhaps I will wait until I am not able to run every game at max settings, and then worry about overclocking.

Click to expand...

What CPU did you get again?

The problem is if you're having to overclock for actual practical performance, your system is probably old enough there are more pressing matters and it's time to just upgrade. Overclocking CPUs imo just isn't what it used to be. If anything, find a balance of undervoltage or even underclocking to reduce heat/noise is often the more reasonable step.

Graphics cards, though, should be OCed varieties and/or controlled via software if one needs performance gains, as you can actually get some there. Then again, the argument could again be made for making it as cool and quiet as possible.

Yeah there are no yellow question marks, so I think I am good there.

As for the CPU its the Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor.

It does appear that I have pretty much succeeded, so I am feeling pretty good. Any advice on the fact that I now have AVG, ad-aware anti virus, Spybot Search and Destroy 2, Spyware blaster, and whatever windows 8.1 came with (windows defender or something? I think its a firewall at least) all up and running?

And, I havent done anything specific related to my ssd, but had found a website that had some steps to follow that they recommended if you have an ssd (the steps included things like turning off automatic defragmenting, since they said that is bad for your ssd). Should I be working through those steps, is that typical protocol when you install an ssd?

Thanks again for the help so far, while I am not an expert I do learn as I go along so thats good!

isnt there a separate computer issues thread