WT, the very busy PC builder

[WalkinTarget]

Very busy week here, as all of the parts that I've purchased from various 'for sale' forums has come in, and I just today received two new cases that I ordered from the 'Egg, so I've set about building more PCs to sell off.

Yesterday, I put together the parts from my old HTPC rig, an mATX board and AMD/ATI parts, and dumped it all into a Compaq Presario mini-tower case. That build was earmarked for my Stepmom, to replace a 10+ year old PC that she bought at Sears waaaay back in 1997

Windows is loaded, drivers updated and all I have to do to finish it is add the front card reader (got the case from my buddy who had neglected to add the card reader to the box when I picked it up).

So tonight's build finds me assembling the following parts:

AMD Athlon X2 3800+ AM2 CPU - dual core socket AM2 chip
ECS KA3 MVP Extreme Crossfire mainboard
Sapphire X1800GTO 256mb PCIe video card
CDRW/DVD combo drive
Cooler Master Elite 335 case
2gb DDR2-800 RAM
Antec Smartpower 350w power supply
Windows XP Pro SP2
Microsoft keyboard and mouse

Going to try and sell it for $300. Things didn't start out well, as I was unable to get it to boot. First thing to try in that case was reset the CMOS ... aaaand that fixed that ! Formatting the drive and installing Windows currently.

I worked on a customer PC on Tuesday night, so I can't claim that I built a PC from scratch on that day, but I do have plans to build another rig from scratch tomorrow !! This one will be the biggest challenge, as I already had built it several weeks ago but couldn't get it to POST.


Dunno why I think it will work this time, but join me tomorrow in my quest to build three PCs from scratch in three days.



Anybody need to buy a PC ?? I'm officially broke from buying the parts, so I don't net any profit until I find a seller. Either way, I am seriously addicted to PC hardware, and I'm fortunate enough to have the time and spare change to build and refurb PCs on a weekly basis.

Keep in mind this is basically job #2, but its 100% hardware, which is what I prefer over job #1, which is IT work at a school district, and that comprises software much more than hardware.

[Duke{CLR}]

That sounds like a good way get your hardware fix in. Good luck selling them.

[WalkinTarget]

Second PC was functional last night before I went to bed at 11, so I let it run Windows Updates overnight. I already have a guy that's going to look at it next weekend when I am 100% done with it (I love to fine-tune them - need to paint a floppy drive to match the black case and do a wire management job on it).

Tonight is the real tough one, as I had picked up a N.I.B. Foxconn s939 board, not knowing just how bad Foxconn's documentation and support were back then.


Hopefully when I am finished and the 'for sale' shelves are again stocked, I can sit back and relax. Its been fun working with this stuff, and as long as everything works in the end, its enjoyable.

[Trooper110]

I'll bring a hammer and come visit if it's not working right WT

[WalkinTarget]

I'll bring a hammer and come visit if it's not working right WT

Hey, you are welcome to stop in !! I had another look at that dreaded video card retention lock, and its just a lousy piece of workmanship. I had to remove the entire board to get the PCIe card out last time, so I have commenced building it with a 'modded' retention clip at this point.


If I have a moment, I'll pop up some pics of each just for visual proof that I built 'em.

[WalkinTarget]

Ughhh, build #3 remains a thorn in my side !! Still no POST !! I tried a CMOS reset, but no luck there. Its either a bad CPU or a bad GPU, so I'll swap the video card first, as I have no spare s939 chips to test it.

[{CLR}geneSW]

No post eh? Curious... have you checked the board for bad solder joints? Actually had an old Abit board that had bad solder joints for the CPU which caused a lack of POST.

[WalkinTarget]

Haven't checked it that closely. Its a brand new board bought from CompGeeks, as opposed to the rest that I've been building with, but it just ticks me off that the new board is DOA but the used boards I've bought are all going strong so far.

Going to google it and see if there are known issues:

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?Inv...NF4UK8AA-8EKRS

[WalkinTarget]

Crap ... the quest for three just hit a brick wall.

I swapped the video card (BFG 6600 PCIe) for the ATI x1800 from last nights build and still couldn't get it to POST. Just for kicks, I tried the RAM in slots 3/4 instead of 1/2 as well.

Taking Gene's advice, I removed it from the case and manually shunted the power on pins with a screwdriver to get it to start, and its still not booting, so that narrows it down to either the CPU or the board.

The CPU was working when I retired it, so I'd have to point to the board now and say that it is my unknown commodity. I guess I'll try an RMA with Foxconn and see what happens.

[Zantheus]

I would try the CPU on another board (if u have it) before trying RMA....my guess is it is the board, but I'd cover all your basis before sending the board off

[WalkinTarget]

Wish I could, Zantheus ! I am fresh outta s939 boards here, so I guess I will put this one on hold for a bit. I can find s939 boards for $20 used, so that isn't too big of an issue, but we will revisit this particular build in the not too distant future.

Now that I think about it, my wife has a 939 board, but I really hate to mess with her PC since she uses it all of the time.

Edit: Added pics of the first two successful builds:

Compaq Presario case with a Gigabyte mATX board, AMD 3000+, ATI x1300, 1gb RAM:



Cooler Master Elite 335 case with an ECS KV3 Extreme, AMD 3800+ X2, ATI x1800, 2gb RAM.

[Zantheus]

Nice pics....when I upgrade this month, if my Bro in Law decides not to buy my current rig I have a 939 board I'd prob be willing to send your way....or you could drive the 5hrs up here and pick it up

[WalkinTarget]

Zantheus, you gotta get that upgrade under way ! I forgot all about that thread, but its been fun to see it progress from the initial planning stages up to when you order parts.

Now, on to the real fun .. BUILDING IT !

If you guys have parts to sell off, float me a PM, as I am actively scanning amongst three For Sale/Trade forums, and I'd prefer to buy from Cains Lair regs just because we have a great bunch of people here.

[Trooper110]

WT, worst comes to worst let me know, I have a s939 3200+ that was in an older build that you can test with if need be. Wasn't really on last night so I missed all the fun going on above.

[WalkinTarget]

Will do, Troop. I'll test a CPU in it before calling Foxconn (their web site RMA was just atrocious). Calling on the phone for an RMA has always been the way to go as long as you can stand the initial wait on hold.