You know I was going to suggest that, but I didn't know if you wanted to drill the bottom of the case.  

Quoting ALMonty, reply 102

You know I was going to suggest that, but I didn't know if you wanted to drill the bottom of the case.  

Yeah, the case has two bars on the bottom, and the holes will be underneath so nobody will ever notice them... not that I plan to remove the castors once they're fitted.  I did have the idea to mount the rig on a trolley [dolly], but the castors are less hassle as I'd probably have needed to make a custom trolley to fit.  However, I do see other uses for a dolly and will keep it in mind.

You know you could have just gone to the store and got some zip ties.

Yeah, I could have... and if you look more closely at the pics above you will see quite a few in use.... some black, some red. 

What I was waiting on for the interior was some spiral cable management in black and red, stuff that was easy to apply in tight spaces and would suit the black and red theme.   I have oodles of zip ties: black; white; red; blue and yellow in various sizes

I made a start on Shaunna's new build last night.  The new components are AMD based, while the case is my old Thermaltake Chaser full tower, the HDDS and SSD are from her old build, the PSU is a Gigabyte 800w, and the GPU is a Gigabyte GTX260 from one of my past builds.

The new stuff is as follows:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600.

Mobo; Gigabyte AX370 Gaming K.3

RAM: Crucial DDR4 16GB 2400 x 1

Thus far I have installed the mobo RAM and CPU, complete with cooler; the PSU, drives and GPU.  Next is hooking everything up to the power, making a final check and booting it up to install the OS and apps, etc.

Mine is done except for adding the castors, but I need help with that and nobody was around last night when I wanted to do it.  Oh well, later today will do.

Only got the castors fitted the night before last.... got some help from my son.  There were other delays, vertigo, other priorities, etc, but mostly I needed a bit of help.... lifting the big beast back up on the bench, etc. 

Another reason for the delay was the castors I'd hoped to use were not going to work as first hoped.  The shafts were just a tad short and the nuts to keep them in place would not have screwed down properly.  In the end I found 4 legs from a divan bed, which, with a bit of modification, will do the job just fine.

Oh, and no wonder this monster is heavy.  Apart from all the stuff I put in it, the top and bottom bars are not hollow pipe as I first thought. No, they're solid steel.  Took a bit of drilling for the holes for the castors, too, but we got there with a bit of effort and some profanities to speed the process along.

Bollocks and double bollocks, with a couple of eff its and a damn and bugger it as well.

After getting everything set up and ready to go, it seems I have an error somewhere because the machine will not boot to Windows.  I thought it may have been due to a overclock preset I used in the BIOS, but no.  I reset the BIOS and got the BIOS page up to reset the drive/boot preferences, but then the BIOS hung on the same error as before, so it wasn't due to the overclocking.

I'm still awaiting a response from ASUS support as to what the problem may be, but I'm figuring on stripping the beast down and starting again pretty near from scratch.  One of the notices during the last BIOS post was that there was a CPU fan error, so I'm going to have to strip back pretty much everything to access the CPU and fan to check if there is an issue.

According to the last BIOS post, the CPU is being seen correctly and is operating at the correct speed, so I'm hoping if the problem is there that it's just a fan issue that can be easily fixed.  From there hopefully the machine will reboot and I can add each component one at a time to see if an issue arises.  Besides, not that I needed this setback, but now I have the accessories I was waiting on, the strip down will give me the opportunity to fix a few cabling issues I wasn't 100% happy with first time 'round.

Anyway, just to ease my annoyance, anger and frustration a little more.... Bollocks, eff it, damn and bugger it twice more.  I waited months to get all the parts and accessories, get the beast all together and ready to run, then this shit happens.  Like what computer god did I piss off and offend?  And why am I being punished when others use their computers to do bad, bad things?

Oh well, while I'm fixing it I won't be on the streets chasing wild women.      

Stay indoors and chase the tamed ones...;)

One issue with big/complex builds....more shit equals more shit to go wrong...;)

To a degree....think 'KISS'...;)

Won't make any difference.... I'm not likely to catch one, either way.   

Yeah, I know, but I'll get this one right once I locate the source of the error.  It's says 0d in the LCD display, but in the mobo manual it isn't in use and is reserved for a future error code, so that's of no help to me to track down the cause.  With a bit of luck it'll be an iffy CPU fan header connection or something simple like that.

Thing is, everything was ready to go, so it's a bit of a mystery as to why the machine booted several times then suddenly refused to do so.  Oh well, I'll get to the bottom of it later today [Tuesday]. 

That happened to me recently (not booting up) come to find out one of the ram sticks went bad. I pulled one out it booted, put it back in and received errors and no boot.

I hope that's not the case here, but I will check that first just in case.  At this point I just want a quick and easy fix that doesn't require warranty claims on faulty parts.  Those things can take months to resolve sometimes, so I'd rather it's something I can easily remedy myself.

Unfortunately I'm struggling with vertigo today and not much will get done with this PC unless it eases up some.  It usually improves as the day goes on.... hopefully it does today and I can get some work done.  Damned vertigo, it ruins my resolve and desire to get things done.

Damn, sod and bugger it!  I've been unable to fix this BIOS issue myself and I'm having to take the machine into the shop.... where people more experienced than I can have a go.  Hopefully it is just a matter of flashing the BIOS... when they can get into it.  The bloke at the shop seems to think that the BIOS somehow got corrupted and therefore will not post, thus not allowing the machine to boot.

Fortunately, it has been stripped back to the bare essentials so it's not as heavy.

Bugger, sod it and damn!  Just got a call from the techie and it wasn't what I wanted to hear.  After being unable to flash the BIOS using several updated versions, and/or get it to post, he did some research on this particular mobo and original BIOS version and others around the world have had the same issue with the same error code.  So, it has nothing to do with anything I did or didn't do.

It does mean, though, that I will have to return it for a warranty replacement.  That's not how I wanted it, however, as it can take some time before I get a working board back.  Oh well, no use crying, it is what it is!

Ah.....AMD .....something I've never ever had an urge to get into.

Intel's looking good round about now...;)

Quoting Jafo, reply 114

Ah.....AMD .....something I've never ever had an urge to get into.

Intel's looking good round about now...

What? His problem is with the motherboard, which AMD does not make. At least blame the correct manufacturer. I've been running AMDs for 20+ years without any issues. 

I've always stayed away from Gigabyte MBs...I bought one way back, and had issues with it, and from then on, have only bought ASUS. I rarely, if ever, have issues with their boards.

EDIT: Oops, I just realized the Gigabyte was for the wife's machine. Sorry to hear starkers about the board problem. I've got a new one coming in a couple days, hope I don't have anything similar (though I'm going with Threadripper, so we'll see how that goes)

...but for which it's designed.

I too have always used ASUS MoBos....but always with Intel processors....and never an issue...;)

Quoting Jafo, reply 114

Ah.....AMD .....something I've never ever had an urge to get into.

Intel's looking good round about now...

It has nothing to do with AMD or Intel.  The issue is with an ASUS motherboard's BIOS.

And yeah, AMD is still looking pretty good as well.

I've also been running AMDs for 20+ years without issue.... and on Gigabyte boards most of that time.  As with anything, sometimes a bad batch can get through and end-users end up with one, as has happened with me and this ASUS board, but I never had an issue with any of the Gigabyte boards I've used.

Again, It is not about AMD or Intel, or in fact the motherboard itself.  The issue is in the BIOS, which BTW is the same for the ASUS Maximus Hero VIII, the Intel equivelant, and apparently is susceptible to the same boot error.

At the end of the day we each have our preferences and generally stick to them; however, I have an Intel i7 4970K, an AMD FX 5300 Black Edition and an AMD Ryzen 7 1700.... meaning I'm user of both but a fanboi of neither.

what are the chances the replacement mobo will have latest bios flashed already?

asus bios... apparently support doesn't last that long according to their user forum (re: spectre/meldown on older models). and really hate their changelogs. "updated compatibility" or something is typically the whole note. which says absolutely nothing. if i'm going to update bios because intel (or whoever) released some security fix (yeah. another one. where someone can delete your bios), i would like to know that's actually fixed by the bios update instead of meaningless drivel that will have us guessing.

According to the techie who researched the issue, the boards were updated when ASUS became aware of the issue.

And yeah, I'd like to know more about updated BIOS's as well.

Well, after waiting and thinking a while, I've decided to upgrade the motherboard to the Asus Crosshair Extreme VI, a much more comprehensive board than the Crosshair Hero, and according to several reviews, it is more reliable and stable, too.  The Crosshair Extreme has a completely different design/layout and has a number of extras and benefits, so is well worth the extra AU$150.00

From what I'm getting at my local PC store, the Crosshair Hero has a design flaw that bottlenecks when overclocking, etc.  I don't know that I'm too concerned about overclocking at this time, but according to a number of reviews, the Crosshair Extreme overclocks very well and does not have bottleneck issues.

The other thing is that I'm getting it rebuilt at the PC shop this time.  Right now I have an arthritic right thumb that is causing all sorts of issues and I just felt it would be easier if somebody else did the basic building to get it up and running. 

A bit later on I can get back into it and do all the cabling and etc to tidy things up, but right now I can't even open a can or bottle because of this thumb.  The tendon that goes over the first knuckle flips over it from one side to the other when I try to straighten/bend my thumb, and that exacerbates the arthritic pain even more.  At the moment I can't put any pressure on the thumb at all and that makes my right hand almost useless to me.  I've had xrays done on it and hopefully my doctor can get it to a point where I can at least use it.

Hope you feel better.

Thanks, mate.   I don't know that my thumb will ever work properly or be pain free; however, I am hoping that I can at least use it to get some stuff done.  I mean, it's frustrating buying a six pack and not being able to open any of them... having to ask somebody else to do it.  I think the worst part is when the tendon over the first knuckle slips from one side to the other and snaps into place.  The pain it causes is quite intense.  My doctor says there is a surgery in which they can stitch the tendon into place to prevent that, and I'm thinking, yeah bring it on.

As for the motherboard, I didn't provide a link in case anybody wanted to check it out, so here it is: https://www.asus.com/au/Motherboards/ROG-CROSSHAIR-VI-EXTREME/

Yeah, I am really excited about this board and can't wait to use it.  Some of the things about it I really like is that the ATX power slot is facing to the right, so the cable isn't sticking up like a sore thumb [no pun intended].  Another thing I like is the back IO plate.  It isn't a thin, flimsy piece of aluminium that slots into the case, but rather it is built into the motherboard itself.  The motherboard also has a metal back plate to help prevent bending during installation and general use.

Other benefits over the Crosshair Hero VI that I had are the built-in USB 3.1 ports, so that's another plus.  This board also has dual M.2 slots which can be configured in a RAID formation for increased speeds... the Crosshair Hero VI didn't; and it also has built-in Wi.Fi and Bluetooth... the Crosshair Hero VI didn't.

The Crosshair Extreme may have cost an extra AU$150.00, but for me it is money well spent, given the benefits and extras it has.

Well I got my big beastie back today with the mobo, CPU and other hardware installed.  The BIOS posts and all I have to do now is install Windows on the M.2 drive, setup the HDDs and do the cabling.  Thing is, being my thumb is so sore right now, I'm not in too great a hurry to do the cabling at this time.  So long at the machine posts and is up and running I can take care of that stuff later.

As for the mobo, it is a beauty and looks fantastic.... will post pics when I'm done setting it all up.

Yep...we need pics...;)

Quoting Jafo, reply 124

Yep...we need pics...

Yes, and when I'm done setting this beastie up I will post some of vthe finished product.  It may take a while because of this damned arthritic thumb slowing me down - just the slightest bump can cause considerable pain - but I made a start on it today [Sat 18 Aug] and hope to achieve quite a bit, considering my efforts will be hampered some. 

In fact, in thinking about it, I will take some progress snaps and post them along the way.... a couple later today, perhaps.