Computer Assembly

[NETWizz]

Oh the front control panels are a bit tricky, I must agree.

I am glad it finally POSTED for you.

I read, then re-read the panel info because it is probably the most tricky thing to do on the entire board. Basically, whenever you have trouble, if you eliminate parts to you are down to the bare minimum, it makes it easier to find out what works. Sorry to hear you damaged the orange slots in your brand new motherboard. Regardless, I think that ASUS will serve you just fine with the black slots. Additionally, you will never have to buy a computer built by an OEM like Dell ever again.

You also have the freedom to upgrade one part at a time now.

Run MemTest86+ tonight if you can. It will completely test all of your memory to make sure it is operating fine. You have DDR2 800 in that motherboard, so you should get 12.8 GB/s roughly.

Additionally, it should come back with no errors.

Also, go into the Bios setup utility and check out the temperature settings and visually inspect that all fans are spinning.

Once you have done all of this, Install your OS and we will help you with drivers as needed.

[NETWizz]

Motherboard has heat pipe and is ATX!

Basically, that motherboard has a heat-pipe on its chip-set. Notice the big copper thing with a pipe coming off of it?

That is called a heat-pipe. That motherboard is designed for an ATX case and is therefore upside-down in the picture you posted at Chemtech.

Ordinarily, this would not matter, but with a heat-pipe, it does.

Basically, a heat-pipe is a heat block connected to a pipe filled with a liquid that boils turning to vapor at a certain temperature. I don't know what that temperature is set too, but at a certain point do to different chemicals and pressure inside the pipe, the liquid at the bottom touching the block will absorb the heat turning to vapor.

That vapor will rise to the top of the pipe and through conduction and convection transfer its heat to the pipe and a heat sink at the other end if there is one. It will then cool and change back to a liquid state within the pipe and fall back to the bottom with gravity.

By putting that in a BTX case or having the case configured BTX or upside down, you defeat the heat-pipe physics. You will have no coolant on the copper heat-block ready to absorb heat and carry it away. Instead, you will have a hot heat block and cold pipe.

You are in essence defeating the cooling system of your motherboard. I highly recommend operating that motherboard either horizontally or how it would be if it were mounted in an ATX tower. By having it upside down, the motherboard chipset will get hotter than it should.

If you look on that board, it even has a FAN to blow away the excess heat from the heat-pipe to cool the vapor, lower the temperature, lower the pressure, and cause gravity to return the liquid. You have a fan spinning over an area of the motherboard that does not get hot, with some condensed liquid just sitting there inside the pipe never getting warm. Meanwhile, you have the copper heat block above (heat rises) the fan with no liquid to carry the heat away.

This is upside-down and it is important only because you have a heat-pipe:



Turn that computer right side up to prevent the motherboard from overheating.

[AlienCC]

[NETWizz]

Will Asus warranty it when it was lack of care that damaged it?

They might being the good company that they are.

[chipmaster]

@Netwiz: Are you really suggesting that I flip my computer upside-down? That would make loading and unloading cds and dvds quite difficult... Gah, I was told by users at cemetech that the case WAS ATX, and apparently, it's not. This was the only way I *think* I could orient the motherboard. I did think it was a little strange that the words were upside down, but I didn't dwell on it.

Thanks for the tips with the bios and memtest. I'll definitely do that. I already have Ubuntu running successfully on here (I'm actually posting from it right now), and I'm going to install Windows soon. If I run into driver issues I will definitely post here for help.

@Alien CC: This was suggested by another person, but I'm not sure I want to undo all of my work, right after I get it running. I'm very sure that I won't be needing those extra ram slots, and if I ever do, it will probably be so far in the future that the mobo will need replacement, too.

[alexrudd]

Normally you want to install Windows first so that you don't have to reinstall GRUB once Windows messes with the Master Boot Record since obviously there aren't any other operating systems in existance.

[NETWizz]

[alexrudd]

@chipmaster: The only things you would have to flip would be the disk drives, everything else is upside down already.

(graphics card should be at bottom, PSU at top)

[NETWizz]

Quite honestly, it does not matter with the graphics card. The graphics card cooling solution will work no matter how it is orianted.

Unfortunately, the motherboard's cooling is more complicated. Essentially, it has liquid cooling via the heat pipe in a completely closed system that re-circulates coolant with gravity and evaporation as the pump.