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NF4 LanParty - initial build w/pictures


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Ok, Ed Jacobsen has made a great guide for putting together one of these NF4 Lanparty rigs.

 

I have decided to try and go one step beyond by adding some pictures so you can get an idea of what all of his steps mean.

 

I won't be following his exact steps as I build slightly differently.

 

But here is a work-in-progress initial build from scratch:

DFI LanParty NF4 SLI-DR

AMD Athlon64 3200+ Venice core 939 cpu

2x512MB OCZ PC4200EL Platinum TCCD

ATI X300SE PCI-E 128MB Video card

OCZ Powerstream 520w power supply

Hitachi 80GB 8mb SATA II hard drive

Asus 52x CD-ROM

Mitsumi floppy drive

Thermalright XP-90 aluminum heatsink + 92mm Zalman fan

Arctic Silver 5 thermal interface material

 

1. Prepare your board outside of the case. I use the foam padding underneath and put it on the box that the board came in:

 

NF4_build-1.jpg

 

 

 

2. Remove the stock cpu heatsink attachment, leaving the bottom section on the board. Replace the top section with the one that comes with the Thermalright XP-90 heatsink:

 

NF4_build-2.jpg

 

 

3. prep your cpu by making sure it is clean (I use 91% rubbing alcohol). Normally I put the cpu in the socket, then clean the top of it, and the bottom of the heatsink with alcohol:

 

NF4_build-3.jpg

 

NF4_build-4.jpg

 

 

 

4. Next, take your Arctic Silver 5 (and if you use something else, follow their instructions!) and put a dab of it right in the center of the cpu:

 

NF4_build-5.jpg

 

 

 

5. Next, orient the XP-90 heatsink with the heatpipes facing the first PCI-E slot, and the fins overhanging the first DIMM slots. Set it on there and line up the clips:

 

NF4_build-6.jpg

 

 

 

 

6. Now while using one hand to hold the sink in place (applying very slight downward pressure to 'mush' the AS5), clip the sink clips into the place. I usually do it like I do tires:

 

upper right first

lower left second

lower right third

upper left last

 

NF4_build-7.jpg

 

 

 

7. Next, plug in ALL FOUR power connectors to the board. You must have a 24-pin power supply with a minimum of 480w of power. Plug in the 24-pin main power connector, then the 4-pin 12v secondary connector.

 

Then plug in the 4-pin molex connection and the 4-pin floppy connection. There is only one way these connections will go into the board!

 

NF4_build-8.jpg

 

 

 

8. Next, plug in a single memory module into the orange DIMM slot closest to the edge of the motherboard:

 

NF4_build-9.jpg

 

 

9. This is what it should look like (from above):

 

NF4_build-10.jpg

 

 

 

Now, hook up your keyboard ps/2 or USB connection (I prefer PS/2 during initial builds so I don't have to fight with USB!).

 

Then plug in your VGA card to your monitor cable.

 

 

 

10. hit the power switch on the motherboard (check the manual if you cannot find these two buttons!!!) and let's see if it will boot up!

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Angry,

 

Thank you so much. I am just now building and this is exactly what I did. I wish this was here before I started as it probably would have saved me like a month of research.

 

A quick question for you. I looked through your website and all the bios screenies but I was wondering if there would be any way to point out which settings will stay static regardless of install and which will change based on chip memory etc.

 

I am right now using Rgone's (& yours) bios settings from the sticky but not all of them really apply to my memory (Crucial Ballistix 1gig) and cpu (4800 X2).

 

I am not sure if that seems mundane but I know as a noob it would help me and I bet there are a lot of dumb noobs like me out there.

 

Also do you plan to continue this same format into the bios too? That would be very awesome.

 

Thanks,

 

Prasith

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I think if you get this micro-defined from beggining to end, you may cut down initial build questions by a factor of 10! Great so far.

 

You skipped the step of placing the fan on the heat sink and plugging in the fan connector. For completeness, might be helpful to include that step.

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I think if you get this micro-defined from beggining to end, you may cut down initial build questions by a factor of 10! Great so far.

 

You skipped the step of placing the fan on the heat sink and plugging in the fan connector. For completeness, might be helpful to include that step.

honestly...if a user cannot follow the directions of putting a fan on the heatsink from the Thermalright guide...he doesn't need to be building computers...he needs to buy a Dell.

 

Harsh...but so true. If you cannot be bothered to read directions (or rules at a forum for that matter), then you have no business building anything, you should let Dell or Gateway build it for you.

 

I didn't cover the fan on the heatsink because its just so obvious that even glancing at the Thermalright directions and the LanParty manual would have explained it

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All that potential......to be suddenly and savagely ripped away by that X300SE....I think im gonna cry

 

So true - as much as I like my SLI-D, but these boards are overkill for a "daywork" silent PC. :shake:

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I wouldn't add a picture for the fan, unless you want to show what holes the clips go into on the xp-90, but I would at least add some text, maybe about what holes the clips go into on the xp-90 and to briefly touch on the common question of should the fan be blowing on the cpu or drawing away from it. I would say that question gets asked more than "how do I clip the HSF down".

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Very nice! Visuals are always awesome to have. If someone were to make a video of DFI-NF4 build from scratch....a lot of noob questions would be answered instantly and it would be all over the net.

 

Good job!

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heya angry, i noticed you didnt spread the as5 around, as you put a small amount, it wouldnt mush it that much. any specific reason?

He's following the directions that you can find on the arctic silver website...the core only takes up the center of the processor, so when it spreads it will cover it easily. If you spread it around, you risk forming air bubbles and leaking out the sides which is obviously not a good thing.

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