Ben_Semple
New member
Hi guys,
So I ordered my first decent PC from PC Specialist and what can I say, we've had a few hiccups along the way but i've got through it and i'm enjoying every moment of owning this awesome build.
First of all.. specs;
Case - ZALMAN Z11 PLUS BLACK MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU) - Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4770 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard - ASUS® Z87-A: ATX, USB3.0, SATA6GB/S, SLi, XFIRE + **FREE GAME**
Memory (RAM) - 8GB KINGSTON HYPERX BEAST DUAL-DDR3 2400MHz X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card - 2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 760 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk - 120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
Memory - 2nd Hard Disk - 1TB Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 SATA-600 7200rpm - INSTALLED MYSELF
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive - Samsung SH-S224BB DVD RW 24x SATA Dual Layer - INSTALLED MYSELF
Power Supply - CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ MODULAR TXM-650 V2-80 PLUS®
Processor Cooling - Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler
Fan Controller - NZXT Sentry LX Fan Controller - INSTALLED MYSELF
Production Dates
Processed Date
Unfortunately upon receiving my PC it wasn't all right as rain as I had hoped.
After installing the DVD Drive (only) and booting the machine up, it POSTed but there was no display on the machine and I could hear Windows starting in the background through my speakers. SO I booted it up again with the same problem, I tried this another few times and decided to disconnect the DVD Drive, after restarting 2 more times it booted up and the screen displayed an image. SO I turned it off again and connected the DVD drive and had the same problem.
My friend has bought the EXACT same build and is having a few problems with his not POSTing when the DVD drive is connected but when it isn't its completely fine for a few restarts until it fails to POST again. We've been doing a bit of googling and it seems there is a problem with Corsair PSUs and Haswell CPUs particularly when combined with the ASUS Z87-A motherboard.
The situation does seem to have resolved itself for me as I now have 1 SSD, 1HDD, Fan Controller and a DVD drive all connected without any problems at all..although my friend is still having his and has sent it back to PCs for testing.
His thread -> https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?31084-New-PC-has-arriveD!11!11
The only real gripe I have at the minute is that it took forever to go from processing to pre-production which turned out to be because the hard drive I had originally chosen was not in stock so I contacted PCs up and they explained but once they realised that I had removed the HDD the night before (thinking this may be the problem) the started building straight away.
It may be nice to see some sort of communication from PCs to tell you that an item you have ordered is not in stock and your order will be delayed a few days.
Comments and suggestions are welcome
So I ordered my first decent PC from PC Specialist and what can I say, we've had a few hiccups along the way but i've got through it and i'm enjoying every moment of owning this awesome build.
First of all.. specs;
Case - ZALMAN Z11 PLUS BLACK MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU) - Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4770 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard - ASUS® Z87-A: ATX, USB3.0, SATA6GB/S, SLi, XFIRE + **FREE GAME**
Memory (RAM) - 8GB KINGSTON HYPERX BEAST DUAL-DDR3 2400MHz X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card - 2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 760 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk - 120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
Memory - 2nd Hard Disk - 1TB Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 SATA-600 7200rpm - INSTALLED MYSELF
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive - Samsung SH-S224BB DVD RW 24x SATA Dual Layer - INSTALLED MYSELF
Power Supply - CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ MODULAR TXM-650 V2-80 PLUS®
Processor Cooling - Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler
Fan Controller - NZXT Sentry LX Fan Controller - INSTALLED MYSELF
Production Dates
Processed Date
29-12-2013
Pre-Production Date07-01-2014
Build Date07-01-2014
Test Date07-01-2014
QC Date07-01-2014
Awaiting Dispatch Date08-01-2014
Dispatch Date08-01-2014
Unfortunately upon receiving my PC it wasn't all right as rain as I had hoped.
After installing the DVD Drive (only) and booting the machine up, it POSTed but there was no display on the machine and I could hear Windows starting in the background through my speakers. SO I booted it up again with the same problem, I tried this another few times and decided to disconnect the DVD Drive, after restarting 2 more times it booted up and the screen displayed an image. SO I turned it off again and connected the DVD drive and had the same problem.
My friend has bought the EXACT same build and is having a few problems with his not POSTing when the DVD drive is connected but when it isn't its completely fine for a few restarts until it fails to POST again. We've been doing a bit of googling and it seems there is a problem with Corsair PSUs and Haswell CPUs particularly when combined with the ASUS Z87-A motherboard.
The situation does seem to have resolved itself for me as I now have 1 SSD, 1HDD, Fan Controller and a DVD drive all connected without any problems at all..although my friend is still having his and has sent it back to PCs for testing.
His thread -> https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?31084-New-PC-has-arriveD!11!11
The only real gripe I have at the minute is that it took forever to go from processing to pre-production which turned out to be because the hard drive I had originally chosen was not in stock so I contacted PCs up and they explained but once they realised that I had removed the HDD the night before (thinking this may be the problem) the started building straight away.
It may be nice to see some sort of communication from PCs to tell you that an item you have ordered is not in stock and your order will be delayed a few days.
Comments and suggestions are welcome
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