New Build Finished Some Questions Options

[insertfunnyname]

Hi

I've just finished a new system. This is my first build ever! :)
So my parts are:
Corsair AX650
ASUS GTX560 - non Ti
ASUS P8Z68-V Pro Gen3
8GB DDR3 1600Mhz 9-9-9-24 G.Skill Ripjaws X RAM
Intel i5 2500K @ stock with stock fan
My old Samsung 150GB 7200RPM 8MB HDD

So I followed the Atomic guide on how to build a PC and everything went well, woohoo! Installed Windows had a look around got video drivers and had a look at the UEFI.
Then suddenly the PC turned off trying to panic I turned it back on it powered up but the CPU LED remained on meaning there is a problem also the screen was not turning on so I could not enter the BIOS/UEFI. The PC also started to double boot so it would turn on then a few seconds later turn off again and then back on. So after fiddling around a bit I reseated the CPU and heatsink. I had no isopropyl or any TIM so I just had to use the already semi melted original TIM. I reseated the CPU and fan but that did not fix anything still had the LED. I then pushed on the 24-pin cable and what do you know - it clicked in and the PC started perfectly...
Anyway I fired up Battlefield 3 and watched the temps, my GTX 560 stayed nice and cool - under 60*C but my CPU went to low 70*C which I kind of expected seeing that I didn't have any proper TIM and the stock 2500K heatsink is the biggest piece of shit I've ever seen. My idle tempratures are around 35-40*C. I ran Prime95 for a short period of time and my hottest core got to 80*C.
So should I expected the CPU to go to around 80*C with a stock intel heatsink and some sorta semi spread TIM or is there something seriously wrong?
I'm planning on purchasing a Corsair H60 or Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo and hopefully this will lower the temps. I may even attempt first time watercooling kit.
And another thing I'm using Core Temp, Hardware Monitor and the ASUS AI Suite now Hardware monitor and Core Temp report just about the same tempratures (80*C) while the ASUS monitoring programs reports 10*C lower while running Prime95 which one should I trust?

I also seem to have a case of the exploding USB port?!
So originally I plugged the USB cable of my Bitfenix Shinobi into the wrong port on my motherboard. After a little bit of fiddling it now works perfectly fine.
However before I fixed it I plugged a old Maxtor 250GB external HDD to test the port. I plugged the two POWER and DATA+ POWER USB's into the front USB 2.0 on my case and were the mini usb is plugged into the drive it started to smell like melting plastic and burning bits of electronics!! And then some smoke came out of the drive :O. I'm completely confused on how a USB port that is not even plugged into the right place managed to burn my HDD... If anyone could please explain to me what was going on it would be much appreciated! I'm not 100% sure if my drive is completely destroyed though I'm too scared to plug it in. Now I plug my iPod in and it charges but does not appear in (My) Computer - I have no itunes installed maybe that is the reason.

Finally my Samasung HDD likes to make a sort of grinding noise its old and I think its coming to the end of its long hard life and so I'm planning just using it until it dies and then replacing it with an OCZ Vertex 3 or Intel 320 or Corsair 120GB SSD plus a 1TB drive.
Do the grinding noises mean anything?

And my final question, currently I am not overclocking so is it worth upgrading/updating my BIOS? Or shall I just leave it as it is?

But apart from the few minor problems above I'm really really enjoying my new PC! It's fast, plays all my games well and is just great. I also haven't managed to break or damage any of my parts which is great :D.

So if you guys could help me with any of my problems at all I would really appreciate it!
Thanks

This post has been edited by insertfunnyname: Mar 5 2012, 04:43 PM

[p0is0n]

Good job on the build. Got any pics? :P

Firstly the CPU should be fine, really make sure all 4 of the plastic clips are pressed down properly, they should really click in when on right. Don't be afraid to press down hard. When you do replace it, make sure your new cooler comes with some paste or you buy some nice stuff. It will help, especially if you consider overclocking at some point. Those temps are probably normal on the stock cooler.. The super thin intel stock coolers aren't designed to handle that kind of heat.

The USB HDD you plugged in is probably dead. I assume you had it plugged into firewire or something, which is a big no no but easy mistake to make. Hopefully your front usb headers are still okay, you could test it with an old thumb drive or something.

Old HDDs also tend to make a bit of noise as they work, may not necessarily mean it is dying, but if you wait until it does die to replace it, I wouldn't count on being able to get any data off of it.

Hope that helps, enjoy your new PC.

This post has been edited by p0is0n: Mar 5 2012, 04:43 PM

[insertfunnyname]

Thank you for your help! :) I plugged the HDD into the front USB headers the ones on the case not on the actual motherboard.
Also do you think a H60 or Antec Kuhler 620 would be able to handle a 4.6GHz overclock or so? I don't want to go past 4.6Ghz as I'm not really big into benchmarking and I don't think you see any difference past that point. The main thing I want to get is extra FPS so I'll probably dial down until I find the lowest possible clock that still gives a small FPS boost.

Oh and yes I do have pictures! I'll upload them to the "Show Us Your Rig" thread!

This post has been edited by insertfunnyname: Mar 5 2012, 04:55 PM

[p0is0n]

Any one of the water cooler kits like H60/80/100 or Kuhler would be fine for something up to 4.6 assuming the CPU is too.
Expect around 1.28-1.35v would be the usual range for that sort of speed.