Good Lord!? Which BIOS version? Other questions.

[Michael_Myers]

Ok, I studied, and studied, and studied som'more.

I bit the bullet and bought the Abit KT7A motherboard.
(non raid, decided I didn't need it)

It is comming with a Duron 800 mhz chip. Question/Assumption #1)
The chip will already be in place, right?

Next, does anyone have any suggestions on how (in what order) to install things? MOBO first? Power 2nd, etc..etc.. (have read Tom's How to guide, but any other suggestions welcome)

#3, will you guys PLEASE take a look at this page and tell me which bios I should get? BTW, I do have an SB Live sound card. I heard there is some problems with that card and the abit board. However I have also read there is a driver fix somewhere. If you could point that, I'd be REALLY happy. Also, would you flash the new bios right away or what?

http://www.viahardware.com/faq/kt7/faqdownloads.html

 

[wildone]

first of all the motherboard will have the bios already probably have the latest version in it,dont flash the bios if its not broken and if you do make sure you have power protection cause if you dont and their is a power flicker or failure during the flash the bios is ruined.
here are some basic steps to build your pc but if you havent seen it done or done it before you may want someone else to do it,you can easily crush your processor putting on the cooling fan.

1. do these steps with the motherboard outside the pc to make it esier on yourself,what I do is lay the foam that came with the Motherboard on a flat surface like a table to do the following steps.
2. make sure you line up the pins on the processor and that the little silver bar is raised,it should just drop in to the socket with NO force at all ,then lower the bar to lock the processor in place.
3.next put some kind of thermal paste on the cooling fan making sure that it covers the core of the processor,if it has sticker on the contact point of the heatsink BE SURE TO REMOVE IT. CAREFULLY put on the cooling fan only applying pressure to the clips and NOT the cooler itself.
4.now install the ram starting at DIMM 1 usually the closest to the processor
5.next in the case install the spacers which will prevent your mb from gounding out , you may want to hold up your mb to make sure you put the spaces in the right spots.
6.Now put your mb into the case maiking sure that it lines up with the spacers and there is Nothing gounding the board , I think it is easier to lay the case on its side to do this
7.TIP: when you are done doing this take a break
8.now install all your IDE cables and drives installing the power to the motherboard last
9.finally plug it in and turn it on on and see what happens,it should be good to go

If I left out anything ,let him know

WILDONE

 

[UnseenMenace]

Congratulations.. I think you have made a great choice in your system as its quite similar to what I run, so obviously my suggestions are based on my own personal experiences. The CPU will very likely not come fitted into the mobo however it is exceptionally easy to fit. The hsf I personally never had a problem with fitting (Global Win FOP-32) and just held it flat to the CPU and moved the clips into place with long nose pliers as this was very stiff, there are posts on this message board which explain how to put on a hsf (basically move the clips not the, hsf). There are some hsf that can make contact with components near the CPU socket apparently, however I dont know what make these are (just thought I would let you know so you can check you hsf).
A common mistake that is made when assembling the Abit KT7A mobo is to put the CPU fan in the wrong connection (must be number 1).. doing this results in the computer not starting I believe.
As for a order I would fit the CPU and RAM to the mobo first and then assemble everything in the case before fitting all the connections and cables and do this carefully to maximise the airflow through the case.
I run a SoundBlaster live Value and have only experienced problems with it on Win2k which involves reverb settings which created a buzzing sound during games, there is a detailed explaination of this on creatives website, however I have not encountered any problems with it on Win9x at all.
I will not flash my BIOS untill I have a reason to do so, why fix something that is not broken?.. If a BIOS flashing goes wrong you can end up with some difficault problems, so my advice to that is leave it alone !!

Hope this helps..

PS if your feeling brave try unlocking the Duron (if its not already) .. http://www.tweakhardware.com/guide/duron-pencil/
------------------------------------------------
Duron 800 @ 1050 with Global Win FOP-32 (140 x 7.5)
Abit KT7A-Raid Mobo
512 mb (Crucial Stuff CAS 2)
Hard Drive Cooler
Elsa Eraser X2 Gforce with Blue Orb (modified to display as a Quadro and overclocked http://www.tweakhardware.com/guide/quadro/ )
Sound Blaster Live Value
Full Tower with 5 (120 mm) case fans with seperate PSU

 

[UnseenMenace]

wildone (May 23, 2001 03:46 p.m.):
4.now install the ram starting at DIMM 1 usually the closest to the processor

On the Abit KT7A-Raid DIMM 1 is the furthest away from the CPU so would assume that it would be the same on the Abit KT7A, however I may be wrong

Hey just thought of some other great advice.. STUDY THE MANUAL before getting started.

 

[Ridenow]

Wildone forgot to tell you to put in the video card. You should put it in after the motherboard is in the case. Do not put in the other cards yet. Power it up and install the OS, then you can install the other cards one at a time. Do not try to rush things and do more than one at a time, sometimes it works, sometimes you get conflicts. Since the sound cards usually take more IRQ I install it last.