Computer Help

[Foster]

Ok, so I ordered a barebones kit off newegg. I have confirmed all of my components are compatible. I finished assembling all the components last night and turned it on. It hummed to life, and I proceeded to get very excited. My excitement was fleeting. The display never came up. Upon further research I found that although my MB and CPU are compatible I need to flash the bios. In order to do this I need a compatible cpu for a very short time. So, anyone have a AM3+ compatible CPU they want to loan me for a day or so. I'll pick up and drop it off or course!! It would save me some time and money. I am looking into flashing the bios another way but the motherboard does not look like it is capable of performing the procedure.

I will also take suggestions if anyone has some. Thanks for the help guys. I know this is a long shot but you don't know unless you ask. Thanks for the help!

MB: 1 x GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

CPU: 1 x AMD FX-8350 Vishera 4.0GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor FD8350FRHKBOX

[jasoomian]

Foster,

I had this same issue with an ASUS MB (three of them, in fact, all purchased from NewEgg) where the pins underneath the CPU were bent upon arrival. Did your barebones kit come pre-assembled? Was the CPU already seated?

My issue had nothing to do with compatibility, just poor quality control from ASUS. Of course, NewEgg refused to honor their product and refused to fix it, saying that I had 'modified' the MB. RMA denied. I then disputed the charge with NewEgg through my bank. My bank won. So, 900.00 later and four MB in total, I am up and running with a non ASUS MB and a suspended NewEgg account.

[troy]

I'm surprised you guys hadn't heard, but there is an entire industry that has sprung up to solve these problems. They manufacture complete computer systems ready to go. No longer do you have to struggle with mismatched or broken components. The way it works is you give them money and they give you a fully-working, tested computer. It's genius!

[kendall_smith]

I'm surprised you guys hadn't heard, but there is an entire industry that has sprung up to solve these problems. They manufacture complete computer systems ready to go. No longer do you have to struggle with mismatched or broken components. The way it works is you give them money and they give you a fully-working, tested computer. It's genius!

LOL! This is the only thing in this thread that I understand! Everything you other two said might as well be in Chinese!

[jasoomian]

I'm surprised you guys hadn't heard, but there is an entire industry that has sprung up to solve these problems. They manufacture complete computer systems ready to go. No longer do you have to struggle with mismatched or broken components. The way it works is you give them money and they give you a fully-working, tested computer. It's genius!

Possibly, and aside from my own issues with the MB, I still spent less than what I would have paid building my SuperPC that what I would have spent buying a similiarly configured SuperPC from [insertSuperPCBuildingCompanyNameHere.]

Granted, there are a few more headaches to deal with, but, it's the price you pay to get Quake3 at 1033 Frames Per Second

[troy]

WARNING: THREAD-JACK IN PROGRESS

I've highlighted the key components:

Possibly, and aside from my own issues with the MB, I still spent less than what I would have paid building my SuperPC that what I would have spent buying a similiarly configured SuperPC from [insertSuperPCBuildingCompanyNameHere.]

Granted, there are a few more headaches to deal with, but, it's the price you pay to get Quake3 at 1033 Frames Per Second

I, admittedly, put a pretty high value on the lack of issues and headaches. I also don't have the need to play Quake3 at 1 gazillion fps.

Obviously today there still exists the need and desire for some folks to roll their own PC. If you enjoy doing that--cool. If you have really high-end or specific requirements, then you have to roll your own. Even in the good old days, you had to be careful which PC you picked off the shelf. These days, unless you plan to do high-end first-person-shooters at a competitive level or do a lot of 3D or video rendering, you can buy just about any modern PC and have enough power and features to do what you want.

I'm actually in the middle of a heated debate with myself about what "laptop" to buy. I actually bought a new Lenovo laptop from Costco.com last week. It arrived and it's a sweet machine...but....the wifi receiver sucks (lots of folks complaining about it), the touchpad was hard to get used to, and Windows 8 threw me for a frustrating loop. I'm told the touchpad can be fixed with updated drivers and tweaking settings. Windows 8, I believe, can be configured to pretty much operate like Win7. I could probably get a tiny USB network adapter to replace the crappy internal one.

BUT...on Sat, I returned the laptop--and really not for any of the reasons above. Even though I'm old-school, having worked with computers long before touch screens, tablets, and smart phones, I discovered that I'm spoiled by the touch screen interface of my iPad and Android phone. After just a few hours with the new laptop, I found myself clumsily swiping on that touchpad while thinking how much easier it would be if I could just touch the screen to do what I wanted. Now I'm pretty sure if I'd plugged in a mouse, I'd have been happy, but I didn't want to do that. I want this laptop to be easy and fun to use while sitting in my recliner, in bed, etc. Mice don't work well in those situations.

So...what laptops can you get that have touch screens? And are they any good? Well, there is the new Microsoft Surface PC. It's actually a tablet that runs Windows 8 RT and snaps into a keyboard. Really cool, but "RT" can't run standard Windows programs--only those downloadable via the Microsoft app store. Doh!

There are a few competitors out there, but right now, my money is on the ASUS VivoTab. It's an 11.6" Windows 8 tablet that snaps into a keyboard. When combined with the keyboard, you get like 15 to 19 hours of battery!
http://www.asus.com/vivo/en/vivoTab.htm

I'm kind of married to Windows as long as I want to run Garmin's Basecamp or Google's Picasa programs....or I could go Mac......argh.

[stimmer6253472]

Yeah Windows 8 would be a pain with a non touch laptop. I use it on my home desktop and works fine with a scroll wheel. Of course several options to bring back the start button. However, I am in IT so I wanted to use the "out of the box" interface.

Go to the Microsoft store at the Oak Park Mall. They have all of the major touch capable Win8 laptops where you can get a hands on test. You got another month or so till the Surface Pro is released. It looks interesting.

Jim

[ajayhawkfan]

Why don't you take this conversation to geeksandnerds.com

[Foster]

Foster,

I had this same issue with an ASUS MB (three of them, in fact, all purchased from NewEgg) where the pins underneath the CPU were bent upon arrival. Did your barebones kit come pre-assembled? Was the CPU already seated?

My issue had nothing to do with compatibility, just poor quality control from ASUS. Of course, NewEgg refused to honor their product and refused to fix it, saying that I had 'modified' the MB. RMA denied. I then disputed the charge with NewEgg through my bank. My bank won. So, 900.00 later and four MB in total, I am up and running with a non ASUS MB and a suspended NewEgg account.

That is not comforting. I really think that it is compatibility in this instance. The cpu support section on the motherboard webpage claims that only if the Bios was at least F10 would it support that CPU. What a pain! Newegg recommended the pairing and I should have known better. I could update the bios if I just had another CPU for a short time but currently I am starting an RMA because the outlook for getting a hold of the right socket cpu locally is grim. They approved the rma already and all I really have to do is disassemble the whole system. Again. Not my best day ever but it could be worse. I really hope that I have diagnosed the issue properly and don't get a new MB only to have the same issue! That would suck! A lot.

Troy- I went this route because I am rebuilding a system that was a barebones system from the start. The motherboard went bad and I wanted to use the components that I had (the case and power supply mainly). I was also able to build this system for MUCH less than I could buy a comparable system elsewhere.

Ajayhawkfan- I will take my query to the site you recommended and see what they have to offer.

Thanks for the help.

[troy]

I'm pretty sure (99.36%) that Eddie was making a funny. It's even likely he did not know that was a real website.

[kendall_smith]

[ajayhawkfan]

I'm pretty sure (99.36%) that Eddie was making a funny. It's even likely he did not know that was a real website.

100% making fun.

Buy a laptop and be done with it.

[Foster]

I did actually go to the website though. It does exist. Less than helpful though, lol.

I think I have the issue sorted out though. Through a bunch of research I think I have found a solution. I'll know in a few hours!

[Foster]

I know that many of you were waiting with bated breath, sitting for hours on end, refreshing this page constantly, and you will be happy to know my new system is up, running, and AWESOME! At least I like it.

[troy]

Congrats!

...and now I will be able to sleep.

[Rick]

I know that many of you were waiting with bated breath, sitting for hours on end, refreshing this page constantly, and you will be happy to know my new system is up, running, and AWESOME! At least I like it.

GREAT!! How's the KDX running? Wife drop it into any creeks lately?

[Foster]

Rick, to be honest she hasn't had too much opportunity to throw it into any creeks lately. We rode on my parents place, in Texas, over Thanksgiving and she did awesome. That's not saying too much, as most of the land is pretty flat and open. Still, we all start somewhere and there's nothing wrong with a little easy dual sport type riding to hone the skills of a beginner. It did wonders to get her confidence up. The kdx is running strong, hasn't missed a beat other than an occasion small hiccup. I am hoping to get it out one more time this weekend but we will see. Thanks for asking!

[jasoomian]

I know that many of you were waiting with bated breath, sitting for hours on end, refreshing this page constantly, and you will be happy to know my new system is up, running, and AWESOME! At least I like it.

What was the issue? As people wait with bated breath.....

[Foster]

As usual, the screw behind the handlebars, or in this case, operating the keyboard, was loose. Lol. Made a stupid mistake and caught it after finding out what mistakes others commonly make. Works perfectly now though, and I figure that is what counts.