Putting together an AMD FX 8350+ GA-990FXA-UD3 and need lots of help please

[soarwitheagles]

Hi again everyone!

I just picked up a new AMD FX 8350 chip.  I had a slightly used [as in two weeks running time] GA-990FXA-UD3 laying around doing nothing.  So, I would like to put these two dynamo's together and see what happens!  I did procrastinate, and now I must scramble to put this rig together because in 48 hours, all of Microsoft's prices will be going up, up, up!

Here's the components I have tonight to put together:

AMD FX 8350
GA-990FXA-UD3
GSkil RipJaws DDR3 16GB
Seasonic X750
HAF X
Intel Cherryville SATA III180GB
WD 3TB x 3
Hauppauge 2250
Windows 8 Pro 64-bit

One of these four CPU coolers:

ThermalTake H2O Peformer
Zalman CNPS 12X
CoolerMaster V8 or Hyper 212+

Purpose of this computer:

1. Watch TV and record OTA programs
2. Watch Blu Ray Movies
3. Home security surveillance system [not now, but eventually, with 7-8 cameras]
4. Video encoding [upload sports videos from cam, make teaching/training DVD's]

And here are some of my questions:

Any known conflicts with this MB and Windows 8 Pro 64?
Do you recommend I download and install all Gigabyte drivers or should I let Windows 8 do the job?
How are the Windows 8 drivers at Gigabyte [has anyone loaded Windows 8 to this type of set up, and if yes, what were the results]?
Does Windows 8 do my SSD set up, or need I do this again?
I am seeing 46c on the NB at idle, which is 10-15 degrees hotter than any other component.  Is this normal?
Does anyone have any special advice for me [I am all ears]?

Thanks in advance for any and all help/advice!

Soar

[rinkol]

I put together a system with an FX8120 and the same motherboard/OS.

I would suggest:

1. start by assembling a basic system configuration i.e., (leave out extra peripherals)
2.  update the bios (F9 or F10a beta bios)
3. Select AHCI in bios
4. install OS (the OS should install correctly on the SSD)
5. update SSD firmware
6. Install current video drivers
7. Install Microsoft updates (probably several iterations)
8. Install MS media center app (if you want to take advantage of current freebee)
9.Back up using backup SW such as Macrium or Clonezilla
10. Install other hardware taking usual precautions (such as first removing AC power)
11. make another backup

Other thoughts:

1. Disable hibernation in the OS.
2. In device manager, disable any settings (including "wake on magic packet" that allow the network interface to wake the computer unless you want this feature.
3. Test with 64-bit prime95 and Memtest (particularly if you have any mysterious crashes).
4. I had to disable the script editor/debugging functionality when installing Office 2007 to avoid getting mysterious event 10016 errors with some MS apps
5. I'm not sure whether it is best to use the default MS AHCI driver or the AMD alternative.
6. Make sure that the country and time zone are correctly set in the OS.
7. If you have four memory modules, you might start out with two. Note that there might be issues in running the memory at the rated speed with four modules.

[soarwitheagles]

Rinkol,

Thank you for your reply.

Ok, I followed just about everyone of your clearly described steps and I am very, very happy to report the build went absolutely flawless.  Can't get much better than that!

Presently, I am at the step 9, ready to clone with Clonezilla.  Have you any pointers for me on this step?

Please let me know, as I have never used CLonezilla every before.

Thanks,

Soar

[rinkol]

I haven`t used Clonezilla for a while, but recall it being fairly straightforward if you accept the defaults.

Macrium Reflect is easy to use and there is a freeware version - e.g., http://www.majorgeeks.com/Macrium_Reflect_FREE_Edition_d6034.html

In eitrher case you just need an image of C: and. if it exists, the hidden boot partition.

You should wind up with an image file that will be somewhat smaller than the disk space that has been used. The point here is that you can if needed, revert to a known good installation without having to worry about the activation status of the OS and media centre app.

Robert

[soarwitheagles]

I haven`t used Clonezilla for a while, but recall it being fairly straightforward if you accept the defaults.

Macrium Reflect is easy to use and there is a freeware version - e.g., http://www.majorgeeks.com/Macrium_Reflect_FREE_Edition_d6034.html

In eitrher case you just need an image of C: and. if it exists, the hidden boot partition.

You should wind up with an image file that will be somewhat smaller than the disk space that has been used. The point here is that you can if needed, revert to a known good installation without having to worry about the activation status of the OS and media centre app.

Robert

Robert,

Now that is really a great way to save having to pay for the software later down the road.  Ok, can you share a little more about this " hidden boot partition."

How do I know if I have this  "hidden boot partition" and where would I find it?

Thanks,

Soar

[rinkol]

If you install Widows 7 or 8 onto an unformatted drive, the installation process will normally create 2 partitions, a hidden partition which  contains the boot loader and some diagnostic tools and the system  C partition. The hidden partition is 100 MB for Windows 7 and rather larger for Windows 8. If you first format the drive using Gparted or an OS utility, the hidden partition is not created and the boot loader resides on the system partition.

Your backup SW should show the hidden partition if it exists.

One issue with the hidden partition is that you will be left with a maximum of two primary partitions for other operating systems etc. if your hard disk is formated usinfg a master boot record scheme (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_boot_record ). However this is mainly a concern with laptop computers where only one hard drive can be physically installed and the vendor reserves a partition for backing up the initial system configuation.

Robert

[soarwitheagles]

If you install Widows 7 or 8 onto an unformatted drive, the installation process will normally create 2 partitions, a hidden partition which  contains the boot loader and some diagnostic tools and the system  C partition. The hidden partition is 100 MB for Windows 7 and rather larger for Windows 8. If you first format the drive using Gparted or an OS utility, the hidden partition is not created and the boot loader resides on the system partition.

Your backup SW should show the hidden partition if it exists.

One issue with the hidden partition is that you will be left with a maximum of two primary partitions for other operating systems etc. if your hard disk is formated usinfg a master boot record scheme (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_boot_record ). However this is mainly a concern with laptop computers where only one hard drive can be physically installed and the vendor reserves a partition for backing up the initial system configuation.

Robert

Robert,

Thank you for your excellent information.  Ok, I did use a brand new copy of Windows 8 Pro 64-bit for my OS.  Next, yes, I did use G-Parted to format the new Intel 520 Cherryville SSD 180GB.

What do I do next?  And can you please help me understand what a backup SW is?

I want to do this right, and I have never tried this before.

Please help me a little bit more if you can.

Thank you,

Soar

[rinkol]

The purpose of the backup software is simply to keep an image of your system disk so you can quickly recover from a situation where there is a major failure. Typical situations would be:

- the system disk fails;
- there is a nasty virus infection that can't be cured;
- your operating system gets corrupted and can't be fixed.

You can use software such as Clonezilla or Macrium Reflect to generate an image of your disk that you can use to recreate your system disk/partition. Note that Windows 8 does include provisions for "Refreshing" your PC (look under Settings/PC Settings). In theory, this can fix most software related OS problems.

There is also "File Backup" functionality. I got around to trying this and it seems to work OK.  This feature will periodically back up the contents of your libraries, such as the files in your Documents folder (you can also link other folders, even if they are on other drives).

Of course, no matter what you do, it is important to have a separate drive to use as the backup location - you don't want to fill your SSD and you don't want to lose everything if the SSD fails.

My suggestion is that you need to decide on the nature and extent of the backup protection you need.

- If you are mainly using your computer for surfing and playing games, you might get by with little or none. If worst comes to worst, you just reinstall (makes sure you keep your software CDs and keys!).

- If you have documents or media that you cannot easily replace, you definitely need to back it up on one or more of another hard disk, writable DVDs, or memory sticks. The File Backup functionality would be adequate for this.

- If you need to guarantee availability of your computer since you need it for work and can't afford to spend a day or more reconstructing your system software configuration, then you need disk imaging software such as Clonezilla or Macrium Reflect. The latter is very easy to use - you install it as a windows application, run it and select what partitions are to be imaged and where you want to store the images. If your system disk dies, you can boot with a recovery CD (the software will offer to burn this for you) and recreate it using the image.

You can find out more about these programs if you do a Google search.

[soarwitheagles]

The purpose of the backup software is simply to keep an image of your system disk so you can quickly recover from a situation where there is a major failure. Typical situations would be:

- the system disk fails;
- there is a nasty virus infection that can't be cured;
- your operating system gets corrupted and can't be fixed.

You can use software such as Clonezilla or Macrium Reflect to generate an image of your disk that you can use to recreate your system disk/partition. Note that Windows 8 does include provisions for "Refreshing" your PC (look under Settings/PC Settings). In theory, this can fix most software related OS problems.

There is also "File Backup" functionality. I got around to trying this and it seems to work OK.  This feature will periodically back up the contents of your libraries, such as the files in your Documents folder (you can also link other folders, even if they are on other drives).

Of course, no matter what you do, it is important to have a separate drive to use as the backup location - you don't want to fill your SSD and you don't want to lose everything if the SSD fails.

My suggestion is that you need to decide on the nature and extent of the backup protection you need.

- If you are mainly using your computer for surfing and playing games, you might get by with little or none. If worst comes to worst, you just reinstall (makes sure you keep your software CDs and keys!).

- If you have documents or media that you cannot easily replace, you definitely need to back it up on one or more of another hard disk, writable DVDs, or memory sticks. The File Backup functionality would be adequate for this.

- If you need to guarantee availability of your computer since you need it for work and can't afford to spend a day or more reconstructing your system software configuration, then you need disk imaging software such as Clonezilla or Macrium Reflect. The latter is very easy to use - you install it as a windows application, run it and select what partitions are to be imaged and where you want to store the images. If your system disk dies, you can boot with a recovery CD (the software will offer to burn this for you) and recreate it using the image.

You can find out more about these programs if you do a Google search.

Thanks again Rinkol!

Well, after reading your post, I have come to realize I simply need to obtain an image of my present new rig...the OS and programs on the SSD is what is most important to me.

I have an older copy of the Clonezilla, and I have done a substantial amount of reading up on it.

I hope to try the cloning this weekend after downloading the latest edition.

I will also download the recovery disc so I can boot and reload the OS image.

Gosh, I hope this works!

Thanks again for your help!

Soar