Getting that new build up and running

Toolbag

Hey all,

When you're setting up a PC from scratch, what approach do you take to get it up and running once all of the components have been assembled. Things like:

Do/Should you flash the motherboard to the latest bios before installing the OS?
Partitioning hard drives
Installing the many drivers that accompany the motherboard
Ram timings/fsb tweaks
Disabling cpu option such as speed step in the bios.
Graphics drivers
Windows updates

I'm interested to see what the people on this forum do - is there a generally accepted best way to do this stuff? Is there a certain order you should do it in? I haven't seen it discussed very much. Feel free to share any other nuggets of information you might have - it'd be good to get a detailed list of these things.

dazftw

This is how I did it for my very first build(which worked 1st go)

Put all the parts together, then turn it on see if it boots(it did) go into bios and select the cdrom drive to boot priorty. Then restart and pop in the OS disk and install it. Once thats done install all drivers etc etc then your games and your set

8T8

There are some basic tips but nothing that is a hard and fast rule this is how I usually do it;
1) Read motherboard manual.
2) Build system & power on test for post
3) Flash bios to latest version
4) Install OS (if Windows install any service packs before drivers)
5) Install drivers
6) Check Windows update for drivers/updates
7) Install applications
8) Test graphics card with 3DMark to make sure everything is working

If overclocking then I would leave that to the last step and check your temps then do a very mild overclocks and test for stability with Prime95 as you work your way up to the intended target.

m8

8T8
Why flash the BIOS unlesss you have a problem with it?

Toolbag

Thanks for the replies, 8T8's post is a good one to go by.

It's good to flash to a recent bios as at least one of them should be superior to the pre-installed bios on the motherboard (which may even have issues hence the release of newer ones). It may give you more/less overclocking headroom or better stability for example. Do a search for opinions on the different bioses and make your choice based on that.

something else to try

- increase the RAM voltage in the bios +0.1 or +0.2 V for better performance/stability ( high performance ram)

8T8

Why flash the BIOS unlesss you have a problem with it?

Saves having to do it at some other point down the line in Windows, plus RAM incompatibilities or other minor bugs are often addressed with newer bios versions so it's good to get it in before committing with the software.