first solo build

[Rmorrison]

First build questions. I'm throwing in a 20 series Nvidia card in a new AMD x570 board and was wondering should I change the pcie 4.0 to 3.0 before or after i put the card in? Also, is there a youtube video y'all recommend?

 

[Choidebu]

Shouldn't matter if you disable it or not - 20 series card doesn't support pcie 4, so the bus will just run at pcie 3.

Put your motherboard on top of its box and anti static bag, put cpu in, a pea sized thermal paste on, cpu cooler in, plug it to the cpu fan header. Plug graphic cards, memory, then psu to mobo and graphic cards. Lastly wall power to psu.

Check if some lights came on.

Connect display, keyboard and mouse.

Short pwr button leads in the front panel header with a screw driver to turn on.

Check debug leds if it doesn't POST properly.

I'd link a youtube video but the last pc building guide I watched was from the Verge's and it emotionally scarred me to ever watch one again.

 

[CountNoctua]

I would suggest watching a bunch of build videos, not necessarily any guides. Gamer's Nexus, Paul's Hardware, BitWit, Science Studio, UFDtech, Jayztwocents, PC World (The Full Nerd), Hardware Canucks, Linus Tech Tips, and other techtubers have done either full or partial build videos in the past. Ideally you would look up a review (or several) of the case you plan on using, too, as you can get ideas and learn of limitations/pitfalls before starting your build.

PC Building Simulator is also a decent way to get a feel for building a PC. Accurate enough to help you remember what cables and components need to be plugged in as well as all the main steps for a build.

 

[Rmorrison]

I pretty much did everything you two mentioned. I tried to set up the parts to do a power up before installing to the case but the video card is so huge it would flop around while in the motherboard so I went ahead and installed it in the case. Haven't turned it on yet, still tinkering around with cables. Being my first solo build there was a lot of re-installing shit but I didn't mind that. Found out I forgot to order cables for my sata ssd but thats no biggie. Tomorrow after work I'll boot it up and go from there.

 

[Choidebu]

The last time I ever bought sata cables was when I needed a low profile one.

It should be included in your motherboard box. My Strix B350-i came with 4 - 2 angled 2 straight. Only needed 2, now with new low profile cables I've got 4 in my spare box.

 

[Rmorrison]

I have the cables, just not the pslate cable I forgot to order.

 

[ignsvn]

The suggestion that Choidebu gave is more or less there.

I just want to give a different opinion on the shape (not amount) of the thermal paste you put.

Personally, I'll check the shape of the CPU core. If it's squarish, I go with pea. If it's rectangle, I go with line shape.

Also, try to align your CPU cooler heatpipes so all pipes cross/touch the CPU core.

 

[Rmorrison]

Dude...putting on the nzxt is a pain. I was expecting to put the cooler on the cpu straight down but you have to get one side on then the other. also, the kryonught (sp?) thermal paste said to spread in out.7

 

[Choidebu]

Which is why we assemble outside the case... the motherboard and cpu cooler, that is.

 

[Rmorrison]

i was thinking that but i didnt know which way to put on the cooler for tube placement efficiency.

edit - one thing I could've done was to take out the bottom fan and install it after i got the motherboard on.

 

[Choidebu]

i was thinking that but i didnt know which way to put on the cooler for tube placement efficiency.

edit - one thing I could've done was to take out the bottom fan and install it after i got the motherboard on.

Tube? Are you using an AIO?
Or the included wraith spire/max?

 

[ignsvn]

LOL yeah sorry I was assuming you use CPU cooler with heatpipes.

 

[Rmorrison]

sorry aio

 

[Choidebu]

Do we put AIO pump on AIO_pump header or cpu_fan header? Can it post without anything connected to cpu_fan? Been wondering.

 

[Rmorrison]

i put it on the cpu-fan header.

 

[Rmorrison]

So I got everything up and running. booted on the first try what updates do I need to get? some newbie questions, I know, but I have been day drinking.

 

[CountNoctua]

BIOS and other motherboard driver updates, chipset driver update, run Windows update and get all those, graphics drivers, Ryzen Master. Should be good to do some tweaking/optimization (recommend adjusting fan curves, possibly undervolting depending on temps, and definitely memory tweaking) and stability testing/benchmarking after that.

Usually I screenshot/take pics and document the process and final stable end results, so I know what settings to use if BIOS gets reset (though you can save profiles) or need to replace it or other major issues with the OS. Also good to have for future reference. If you do image snapshots/backups of drive, you want to do one right after all the updates and stability testing, so you have a nice and ready image to restore to in the future if needed.

 

[Rmorrison]

awesome thanks dude!

 

[Rmorrison]

also, are fans on a gpu supposed to be running at all times? when i turn on the system, one fan comes on and then it turns off as well. lights are coming on, so I know the card is getting power. i downloaded the latest drivers too.

 

[CountNoctua]

also, are fans on a gpu supposed to be running at all times? when i turn on the system, one fan comes on and then it turns off as well. lights are coming on, so I know the card is getting power. i downloaded the latest drivers too.

The GPU fans come on at boot as a little test or something, but many GPUs go into zero-RPM mode if there isn't a load. As long as the temps look good and they spin up under load (e.g. gaming), you're fine. Also something you can adjust if tweaking the fan curve using a utility like Afterburner.