Woke up to failed RAID controller and graphics adapter HSF - Let's get this over with.
9 replies, posted
Hey guys,
So, I woke up this morning to my computer making a very strange clicking noise. Upon further inspection, one of the fans on my MSi Hawk series GTX460 had stopped, and the other one had developed a clicking internally as no interference could be seen physically. I got to my desk and powered on my monitor, only to be greeted by white text on black saying "Please insert your Windows installation CD to begin repair." Naturally I restart the computer to make sure it wasn't just a one-time fluke. Sure enough, same message comes up. I go into the BIOS and check on the RAID setup to find that array 0 (2 500gb WD mechanical drives in a JBOD setup) had crashed and was no longer usable. Great.
What I now need is a new motherboard and processor, a new graphics solution, and potentially a dedicated RAID solution (that or a singular 1 TB drive, whichever is cheaper/ smarter). I've opted to only reuse from my current build the wireless network adapter, DVD drive, and RAM as everything but those items are upwards of 4 years old and I just purchased those in the last 6 months. The RAM is 4 sticks of 4GB DDR3 RAM at 1600 mhz, so a motherboard supporting all of that would definitely be nice. I'm looking to not spend too much money as I didn't really plan for this and as such don't have much money stored away for this purchase, but I need my computer for work as well as play, so going without it for more than a week or 2 isn't really possible. Any help you guys could give me with regards to parts lists and suggestions as to how to proceed would be much appreciated. I should probably mention that I don't have any experience whatsoever with Intel processors or the installation thereof. I've never even seen an ATi/AMD graphics card, but I'm open to all options at this point. If you need any more information, let me know.
TL;DR - Computer's kaputt. Need CPU, GPU, Mobo, PSU, hard drive, and case to put it all in for reasonable price.
Use software raid
In typical setups such as yours, software > hardware > fake (you were using fake)
[QUOTE=Darkimmortal;44859912]Use software raid
In typical setups such as yours, software > hardware > fake (you were using fake)[/QUOTE]
Issue is that only 1 of the 4 SATA plugs on my motherboard are functional now. The other 3 aren't recognizing a known working device whatsoever, so I'm kind of hosed. I threw together a build on Newegg for just over $400 so I might end up just buying that and ridding myself of this whole problem. I've been needing to upgrade my computer for some time now (cable management wasn't ever really a thing for me and I didn't even know fan dust filters existed when I built it), so this is almost a good excuse. It won't be too far a leap in performance if I stick with the current parts list, but everything I do ran fine on my GTX 460 and Phenom II 955 so it's not like I need a bump in specs anyways. I just can't be without the machine for more than a week or so.
Might as well post the list here and get some second opinions before I bite the bullet:
[quote]
[URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128565"]Gigabyte Ga-78LMT Motherboard[/URL]
[URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113287"]AMD FX-4300 quad-core processor[/URL]
[URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121642R"]Radeon HD 7770 Graphics[/URL]*
[URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139048"]Corsair CX600M PSU[/URL]
[URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146075"]NZXT source 210 case[/URL]
Carrying over 4x 4GB G-Skill Ripjaws DDR3 RAM
*Price due to open box, not sure if adequate or comparable to GTX 460 though specifications appear so. Any suggestions appreciated.
[/quote]
kinda dumb to switch to a similar performing processor and GPU
[editline]20th May 2014[/editline]
keep the 955 and get a 7850 imo, since you either need to get a new GPU HSF which is usually $40 and the CPU is barely an upgrade
[QUOTE=Shadaez;44860495]kinda dumb to switch to a similar performing processor and GPU
[editline]20th May 2014[/editline]
keep the 955 and get a 7850 imo, since you either need to get a new GPU HSF which is usually $40 and the CPU is barely an upgrade[/QUOTE]
Thanks for pointing that out. Is the 7850 a good card? I literally know nothing about AMD graphics cards.. Also, are there any brands I should look for/ stay away from? I've only ever had XFX and MSi cards, and they've never failed on me save this last card.
[editline]edit[/editline]
So, between [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129230"]this VisionTek 7850[/URL] and [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150605"]this XFX 7870[/URL], which is the better buy? I've come to terms with a $400 price tag for this project, so anything up to that is bearable. 200 extra stream processors makes me imagine the XFX is the better choice, but I'm not sure if it's $20 better. The XFX does have free shipping over the VisionTek's $4 rate, and the $30 rebate card that expires in 10 days (lol) is at least [I]something[/I].
Again, I really appreciate any and all insight into my dilemma you guys can give me. I'm still sort of in shock at the loss and I haven't really given thought to data recovery or OS reinstallation (shouldn't be too much trouble if it was just the SATA controller and not the drives themselves that went out). I really appreciate the help.
Sorry for the double post, but I guess I'm going with the XFX card as I trust the brand and it seems like the better deal, judging by comparisons between the 2 reference cards.
Yeah. The XFX card is a better choice. Plus from what I've heard XFX's warranty is one of the best in the business.
The 7850/70 are midrange cards, while the 7950/70 are the high end parts. If you wanted to be more recent, you could get an R9 270/270X which would be around the same as a 7870 GHz edition.
How about we try diagnosing the problem?
I'm guessing the power supply failed and outputted too much power. The graphics card probably works fine and just needs new fans and cpu is also probably fine
Before buying new parts i'd figure out what's usable and what's not
[QUOTE=Odessa_cubage;44897231]How about we try diagnosing the problem?
I'm guessing the power supply failed and outputted too much power. The graphics card probably works fine and just needs new fans and cpu is also probably fine
Before buying new parts i'd figure out what's usable and what's not[/QUOTE]
Before committing to the purchase, I determined that the drives, the CPU, and the GPU itself all worked to an extent. I've not checked for corrupt sectors on the drives, but all my information appears to be intact. The graphics card while driving my 1080p monitor normally, overheats while idle within 15 minutes of booting on a test rig, and ends up crashing the drivers. After testing twice, it refused to display any video afterward. The power supply is also working normally from what I can tell; It however is the oldest thing in the computer and is due for replacement, especially considering it has no PCI-E plugs and is only rated at 450 watts anyways. The motherboard fails to recognize any device on all but one of the four SATA ports. Everything else appears to function properly, including onboard audio and video as well as back panel I/O. The CPU is working normally.
I do appreciate your response, though it came about two days too late. :v: I've purchased the [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150605&nm_mc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel&cm_mmc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-"]aforementioned agreed-upon graphics card[/URL], as well as a new [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128565&nm_mc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel&cm_mmc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-"]motherboard[/URL] and [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139048&nm_mc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel&cm_mmc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-"]power supply[/URL]. Thank you all for the help and suggestions, really appreciate it!
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