Getting prepared for 1st build, need advice.

[BaldEagl]

While flashing the BIOS might seem scarey to some (MrRipley for instance), other than a borked BIOS, only a total loss of power to your system is likely to cause a problem so don't do it during thunder, lightning, wind (including tornados and hurricanes), snow or ice storms or a fire, earthquake, volcanic eruption or other act of God or war  and you should be ok.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

While flashing the BIOS might seem scarey to some (MrRipley for instance), other than a borked BIOS, only a total loss of power to your system is likely to cause a problem so don't do it during thunder, lightning, wind (including tornados and hurricanes), snow or ice storms or a fire, earthquake, volcanic eruption or other act of God or war  and you should be ok.

The reason why a bios update is usually not advisable is that if the system operates normally there is nothing to gain from it. It's not like graphics driver updates that bring optimizations and fixes. So basically anyone flashing their bioses just for the fun of it are risking system malfunction for zero gains. Also the warranty won't cover the hardware if you mess it up updating the bios. Some newer motherboards have dual bioses which are safer in that respect that they have a fallsafe bios to go back to if you mess up the other one.

The mobos with a single bios can only be recovered by replacing the actual bios chip with a new one or have the original reflashed. But the cost of the fix is so high that you might as well get a new motherboard.

[MADe]

These are all the bios revisions since my current board was released.
My board came with F4. Notice all the things the manufacturer noted for the revisions.

So sure, your machine is up and running and all appears to be fine. But if your a novice, running down issues it is tough enough finding the problem. How can you tell if its a bios issue or driver or software or even internet modem or connection. You have now stepped into the realm of "DIY". One trip to a computer fix it guy and you can spend that chunk of change you were trying to save.

A novice purchases an older board because its cheaper, puts his system together and something is off. How does he run it down efficiently. Hence my suggestion, 1st thing he does is get the bios for that board to the manufacturers lastest revision, before installing the OS or all the goodies. For the same reason I suggest getting a floppy and using it to manually update the bios, 1 revision at a time until you have the latest tested/non-beta revision in the board.

Install the cpu, the ram, the vid card, and the OS drive, put it in the case, hook up fans and a floppy. That's it. Get the bios right, get the basic hardware defaults right, make sure the mobo can operate in its simplest config.
Next install a cd/dvd drive and run mem test. Make sure the ram sticks have no errors.
Keep it simple. Idiot proof yourself. Do not rush. Take baby steps. Have your old puter there so you can get to the internet!

If you have probs at this stage either you have done something wrong or your new purchases are flawed.

Someone who is a professional or done it before....................... .......................

All manufacturers make disclaimers, from drug companies to computer companies. If you do not want personal independence, heed the disclaimers, buy a pre-built system. But if you are adventurous.................. ........

[Brooke]

One suggestion for getting closer to your price goal:

Dell Inspiron 660 (i5-3340 processor):  $530 (through the small-office section of Dell.com)
GeForce GTX 650 Ti graphics card:  $130 (I like Gigabyte brand and would be willing to try MSi brand, from Newegg.com or TigerDirect.com) -- or GTX 650 Ti Boost if you can get one for about $160
Seasonic 600 W power supply:  $65 (or some other reputable 600 W power supply, maybe Thermaltake, from Newegg.com)
total = $725

This system will run AH at 60 fps with all settings except the reflections slider (or whatever it's called) maxed out.  My system already does that, and my system is significantly infersior to this system listed above.

[Bizman]

Although I appreciate MrRipley's knowledge, I have to second MADe in this question. Some motherboards get launched way before their BIOSes have reached maturity, especially the gamer-oriented ones with plenty of bells and whistles. If the manufacturer wants to get their new killer product on the market at a certain season, they sometimes just aren't quite finished and/or thoroughly tested. Motherboards are just like any other computer related things, you've got to be on the market the same time as your competitor or rather a bit earlier. The same has been seen with videocards, processors and even operating systems - Windows, tested by users!

[Tinkles]

Thank you guys for all the input, if you have anymore keep it coming

Still 4 months away from getting this rig though, so any suggestions are still welcome 

Happy New Year

 

[MrRiplEy[H]]

These are all the bios revisions since my current board was released.
My board came with F4. Notice all the things the manufacturer noted for the revisions.

So sure, your machine is up and running and all appears to be fine. But if your a novice, running down issues it is tough enough finding the problem. How can you tell if its a bios issue or driver or software or even internet modem or connection. You have now stepped into the realm of "DIY". One trip to a computer fix it guy and you can spend that chunk of change you were trying to save.

A novice purchases an older board because its cheaper, puts his system together and something is off. How does he run it down efficiently. Hence my suggestion, 1st thing he does is get the bios for that board to the manufacturers lastest revision, before installing the OS or all the goodies. For the same reason I suggest getting a floppy and using it to manually update the bios, 1 revision at a time until you have the latest tested/non-beta revision in the board.

Install the cpu, the ram, the vid card, and the OS drive, put it in the case, hook up fans and a floppy. That's it. Get the bios right, get the basic hardware defaults right, make sure the mobo can operate in its simplest config.
Next install a cd/dvd drive and run mem test. Make sure the ram sticks have no errors.
Keep it simple. Idiot proof yourself. Do not rush. Take baby steps. Have your old puter there so you can get to the internet!

If you have probs at this stage either you have done something wrong or your new purchases are flawed.

Someone who is a professional or done it before....................... .......................

All manufacturers make disclaimers, from drug companies to computer companies. If you do not want personal independence, heed the disclaimers, buy a pre-built system. But if you are adventurous.................. ........

As you notice you probably didn't need _any_ of the improvements listed, unless you decided to upgrade your rig to a 6-core i7 or decided to use a ram type that was not previously supported.

[Bizman]

Thank you guys for all the input, if you have anymore keep it coming

Still 4 months away from getting this rig though, so any suggestions are still welcome 

Happy New Year

 

Happy New Year!

I'd suggest you to compile setups and send them here for evaluation in the meanwhile. That would serve both you to get an idea about what to look for in your future build, as well as the rest of us keeping with the pace of the eternally evolving components. 

[MADe]

As you notice you probably didn't need _any_ of the improvements listed, unless you decided to upgrade your rig to a 6-core i7 or decided to use a ram type that was not previously supported.

enhanced memory capability
enhanced cpu microcode
enhanced audio efficiency....yada yada

How does a novice know what he needs? Maybe he purchased memory that needed the flash, unbeknownst to him.
I flashed up the 1st thing as I recommended.

The op asked for knowledge, you offer dogma. Sure would hate to have you as a teacher.

Tinkles as I said take things with a grain of salt. Find multiple sources that corroborate each other.
The board you selected 1st is already out of date. It has been discontinued at Newegg, so..................

[MrRiplEy[H]]

enhanced memory capability
enhanced cpu microcode
enhanced audio efficiency....yada yada

How does a novice know what he needs? Maybe he purchased memory that needed the flash, unbeknownst to him.
I flashed up the 1st thing as I recommended.

The op asked for knowledge, you offer dogma. Sure would hate to have you as a teacher.

Tinkles as I said take things with a grain of salt. Find multiple sources that corroborate each other.
The board you selected 1st is already out of date. It has been discontinued at Newegg, so..................

Yes yada yada yada. Novice updates bios without knowing what he is doing. Novice causes more damage than anything else as a result. Novice updates beta bioses that may be unstable and cause more problems than anything else.

A bios is not something that will magically turn on the 'turbo' mode on your motherboard. If your hardware works, do not attempt to break it by updating the bios for nothing.

[guncrasher]

Yes yada yada yada. Novice updates bios without knowing what he is doing. Novice causes more damage than anything else as a result. Novice updates beta bioses that may be unstable and cause more problems than anything else.

A bios is not something that will magically turn on the 'turbo' mode on your motherboard. If your hardware works, do not attempt to break it by updating the bios for nothing.

dude a novice can just damage his mobo by installing a video card.  I built my first computer without knowing what I was doing.  I updated my first bios scared as hell but it did say in the notes that it came with enhanced ram compatibility.  I had no problems with my ram.  computer ran faster after bios update.  didnt know it would do that.

right now the latest bios for my mobo indicates that it will "enhance pci-e display card performance".  I have no problems right now, but how will I know if it improves performance?


semp

[MrRiplEy[H]]

dude a novice can just damage his mobo by installing a video card.  I built my first computer without knowing what I was doing.  I updated my first bios scared as hell but it did say in the notes that it came with enhanced ram compatibility.  I had no problems with my ram.  computer ran faster after bios update.  didnt know it would do that.

right now the latest bios for my mobo indicates that it will "enhance pci-e display card performance".  I have no problems right now, but how will I know if it improves performance?


semp

An unnecessary bios update is just that, unnecessary. And because every bios update has a risk of bricking the motherboard there is no sensible reason why to do one. There has to be a known problem first in order to update the bios - IF that problem has been documented as fixed in the new version.

Of course if you want to play russian roulette with your hardware its your own business lol.

[guncrasher]

An unnecessary bios update is just that, unnecessary. And because every bios update has a risk of bricking the motherboard there is no sensible reason why to do one. There has to be a known problem first in order to update the bios - IF that problem has been documented as fixed in the new version.

Of course if you want to play russian roulette with your hardware its your own business lol.

do you understand the difference between necessary and enhanced?  enhance means it will improve not that you have a problem, but it will improve something.  and anything you do with your system has the risk of bricking your motherboard..




semp

[MrRiplEy[H]]

do you understand the difference between necessary and enhanced?  enhance means it will improve not that you have a problem, but it will improve something.  and anything you do with your system has the risk of bricking your motherboard..




semp

You don't seem to understand what 'enhanced' means when talking about stuff like memory compatibility. It simply means the board supports more types of memory after that. It does not mean that all previously working memory got a turbo boost. So if your setup was working before, no need to update the bios.

The only situation where a bios update is reasonable when you have a working base set up already, is when sometimes (rarely) a bug is found in a release version bios that affects performance. But this kind of situations are very rare. Most bios updates just add support for hardware which didn't exist when the board was originally built.

[MADe]

I'm a novice, yet my machine has worked from the get go. A novice giving what worked for him to another novice.

There is more to building a machine than buying parts and plugging them in. Tinkles said he wanted to learn, well myself and others are trying to give him things to investigate.  It seems more important to you to be right than to give him the tools to question his choices and know where to start if things do not function right and/or well.

Bios updates are no big deal, period. Its software, like drivers, like OS's, like the game. All of which he is choosing to deal with if he builds his own machine. Should he be wary, absolutely, should he be scared, absolutely not!
The modern hardware development is so far ahead of software development its sad. This comes from the CEO of Intel.

So Tinkles learn m8, your plate is gonna get full as you move forward.