Building the computer, first steps

Step 1: Preparing the case.

Remove the empty computer case from its packaging. Unscrew and remove both side
panels, and take out any items that may be inside. Lay the case down flat on your
workspace, so that the mounting space for the motherboard is facing up (see pic 1).

Step 2: Installing motherboard risers.

You need to determine if the case has the appropriate risers installed. Risers, or spacers,
keep the motherboard from touching the metal surfaces of the case after it is installed,
avoiding a short-circuit and a wrecked computer.

Risers are your friends. Any new case will include some form of riser, metal or plastic. See
the picture below for typical examples. They may or may not be pre-installed into the case.

Remove your motherboard from its packaging and lower it into the case.

Installing the Motherboard, CPU

Line up the ports on the motherboard (PS/2, Advertisement
USB, etc.) with the appropriate holes in the
back panel I/O shield of the case (see pic
below).

Once the board is temporarily in place, observe which screw holes in the case line up with
the holes in the motherboard. These are where you will need to place risers if they are not
already pre-installed. Remove the motherboard and insert the risers in the appropriate
screw holes.

Step 3: Installing the CPU

Place your motherboard flat on top of the anti-static bag it came in. Ensure that the lever on
the cpu-socket is upright (open). Holding the CPU gently on the sides with thumb and
fingers, lower it into the socket, ensuring that the arrow on the CPU matches the arrow
indented into the socket (see pic below). The processor is keyed to fit into the socket a
certain way, and only that way.

Very little effort should be required to insert the CPU in the socket. If you cannot get the
CPU to sit evenly DO NOT force it. Remove it completely and try again. Ensure that the CPU
is sitting flush with the socket on all sides. No pins should be visible. Once you are sure the
CPU is correctly seated in the socket, lower the lever until it locks. This will require a small
amount of force.

Note: These instructions will work for any recent CPU/motherboard combination except for
Intel LGA 775 motherboards and processors. Since the pins are built into the socket not the
processor, the installation process is slightly different for these devices. To install an LGA
775 compatible Intel chip, you first unlatch the lever at the side of the socket.

This allows you to open the protective cover over the actual socket and the delicate pins it
contains. Be very careful that you do not touch the actual pins within the socket, as they
are extremely fragile. With the cover open, you can lower the processor into the socket just
as you would any other type of chip. Notches in the socket and an arrow on both the
processor and the bottom left corner of the socket help you line the processor up correctly.
Once the chip is seated properly in the socket, you can close the protective cover and re-
latch the lever.

Otherwise, the orientation of the CPU may be different, but the method of inserting it is the
same for older socket chips; whether they be Intel, AMD or VIA processors. This guide does
not cover slot-based processors, as they are no longer used.

Attaching the Heatsink

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Step 4: Installing the heat sink and

cooling fan (socket 478)

Cute little guy, ain't it? German Engineering, so I'm told... Make sure the 2 levers on the top
of the heat sink are in their default unlocked position. Since Intel processors come with a
heatsink, installation is pretty straight forward. Even things like thermal interface materials
(pastes, pads, or goo's) are already pre-applied for you.

Lower the heat sink gently into the plastic frame around the processor so that the heatsink
metal sits evenly on all sides. Push down on the plastic top of the heatsink until the hooks
on each side lock into the heatsink retention mechanism frame on the motherboard. This
will require some force. Holding one side of the heat sink securely, pull the lever on the
other side over until it locks. Again, this will require some force.
Repeat the procedure for the other lever.
Consult your motherboard manual for the
locations of the three-pin fan headers. There
should be one close to the CPU socket. Plug
the fan power cord into that header.

Don't choose a fan header at random, make

sure the heatsinks' fan is being powered by the
correct header for this purpose. If you get the
wrong one, the is a chance the fan may shut
off when the computer is in suspended mode -
meaning the processor will overheat.

There are many different types of after-market

heatsinks for both the Intel Pentium 4 and AMD Athlon processors. We're only covering the
installation of the stock Intel heatsink, but the basic principle for installing after-market
coolers is the same. Some heatsinks may come with a small package of white silicon-based
thermal compound which needs to be applied before the heatsink is installed. If this is the
case, only use a very small amount, and spread it over the processor's core only. The
thermal compound is only used as an interface between the bottom of the heatsink, and the
portion of the processor which it comes in contact with.

Some thermal compounds are made with conductive metals to achieve better thermal
conductivity between the heatsink and processor. If you decide to try these types of
Thermal Interface Materials (TIM) out, be sure you clean the surface of the processor and
base of the heatsink with a soft cloth and Methyl alcohol gently before applying a small
amount of the material. Silver-based TIMs are conductive, so do not get them on any
electrical components!

Installing LGA 775 (socket 775) heatsinks

Intel’s new heatsink design for the LGA 775 socket is actually less cumbersome and easier
to install than the previous designs. In place of the somewhat complex locking mechanism
is a simple set of four holes which correspond to four pillar-like fasteners mounted around
the body of the heatsink.

Simply lower the heatsink down onto the processor and line each of the fasteners up with
the corresponding hole in the motherboard. A hard press on the top of each fastener, four
satisfying clicks, and the heatsink is mounted. Attach the 4-pin power cable to the CPU fan
header and you are ready to go.

Installing a ‘socket A’ AMD heatsink, or a socket 362/ ocket 7 processor heatsink

The above listed socket types all use essentially the same heatsink fastening mechanism,
differing only in the relative fragility of the processors involved. A word to the wise… AMD
Athlon, Duron and Athlon XP chips are quite fragile and easily damaged by clumsy heatsink
installation. Do yourself a favour and be careful. Any computer shop is going to spot a
processor that has been mangled by a careless install and will refuse you warranty service.
These instructions cover the AMD Athlon, Duron and Athlon XP+ Socket A processors, as
well as socket-based Intel Pentium 3 processors and older Socket 7 chips by many
manufacturers.

The socket has 2 main retention clips, one on each end. Note the raised area at the ‘top’ of
the socket, with the socket number written on it. This corresponds to a hollowed-out area
on the surface of the heatsink, allowing you to correctly align the heatsink on the socket. If
your heatsink does not have this area, the long side of the clip attached to the heatsink
should face the raised area. Remember that the heatsink should sit flat and parallel with the
surface of the processor when installed correctly.

With the heatsink sitting flat on the processor, hook the short side of the clip to the
retention clip on the ‘bottom’ of the socket (the side without the raised area). It should go
on easily, as there is no tension on the clip yet. Make sure not to apply any pressure to the
heatsink during this operation. Once the clip is attached at one end, push the other end of
the clip down gently and examine the way the heatsink sits on the processor. It should be
almost exactly parallel and not overlapping the socket. If all looks well, gently but firmly
press down on the other end of the clip, so that it attaches to the other retention
mechanism. Depending on the heatsink, you may have to use a flathead screwdriver to
apply the necessary force to attach the clip. Just be careful not to slip… Once the other
retention mechanism is attached, you’re ready to go. Just remember to attach the power
cable for the fan!

Installing an Athlon 64/FX heatsink

AMD’s new 64-bit chips have had quite a varied array of sockets so far in their young life.
Sockets 754, 939, 940 and AM2 to be specific. Thankfully, the actual installation methods
have not changed that much between each of the three designs. Athlon 64 heatsinks clip
directly to the plastic retention bracket surrounding the socket. They have a lever on one
side of the cooler which also attaches to the bracket and provides extra pressure so the
heatsink sits firmly on the processor. The heatsinks are symmetrical so they can fit either
way into the retention bracket. Fasten both sides of the heatsink to the clips on the bracket,
ensuring that the heatsink stays straight and that you do not put excess pressure on it.
Once the ends of the heatsink are fastened, push the lever down firmly so that it grabs onto
the clip provided for it.

Installing RAM Memory

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Step 5: Installing RAM

All modern RAM (memory) is keyed so it can only fit into the DIMM slots a certain way. With
modern motherboards, it should not matter which slot you use, though if they are
numbered in the manual or on the board, it is always a good idea to go with slot one first.
Hold the RAM module next to the slot so that the indentation(s) on the green PCB line up
with the bumps in the slot. (see pic below).
Once you are certain of the orientation of your RAM, open the levers on either side of the
DIMM slot and push the RAM module straight down into the slot until both levers snap
closed on either side. This will require some force. If it does not seem to be going in with a
moderate amount of force, remove the module and re-insert it, making sure that it is
exactly lined up with the keyed points in the slot.

Installed properly, the levers on the sides of the DIMM slots will be completely closed and
locked into small cutouts on the outer edges of the RAM module.

Mounting the Motherboard

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Step 6: Installing the Motherboard

Ensure that the motherboard mounting area in the case is free of obstructions and that all
necessary risers have been installed in the right spots. If there is an extra riser that does
not line up with a hole in the motherboard, make sure you remove it. Lower the board into
the case as in step 2. Screw the motherboard into the risers. Note that some forms of risers
will not require screws to be used. You can figure it out. Once the board has been securely
attached, plug in the 24 or 20-pin main ATX power connector (see pic).
If you are installing an Intel Pentium 4 machine, you will probably be required to connect
one or two extra power connectors (see pic).

Plug the 4-pin 12V auxiliary power, and 6-pin power connectors in also. Note: some
motherboards may not require the 6-pin connector at all.

Consult your motherboard manual for the correct locations of the 'front panel' power and
reset button wires, the power and hard-drive LED wires and the speaker. Note that the
power and hard-drive LED wires are sensitive to polarity, so they will only work one way
around. In theory, positive and negative will be indicated on the board and the plugs... In
practice, doubtful, so... trial and error. You will not cause any damage if you get it wrong,
though, the LEDs will just not light up.

Installing a Floppy Drive

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Step 6: Installing the floppy drive

I have occasionally tried to get away without a floppy disk drive (FDD) on some of my
computers, and without exception, I have regretted not having one at some crucial
moment.
Ensure that one of the 3.5-inch bays in your case is open. If your case came with rails for
the floppy drive, attach them to the sides of the drive and slide the drive into the front of
the computer until it clicks into place. Rails are small metal pieces which clip or screw on to
the sides of the drive and allow it to be inserted and removed from the case with minimal
effort in case you are wondering.

Otherwise, slide the drive into the front of the

computer until the faceplate of the floppy drive
is flush with the front bezel of the case and the
screw holes along the side of the drive line up
with the case. When everything lines up, screw
the floppy drive in securely on both sides.

Plug in the power cable (see pic to right)

carefully, since it is quite possible to miss one
of the connectors, which will quite possibly
cause some damage when the computer is
powered on. Floppy drive power connectors are
keyed in most cases, but if not, the red wire
should be connected to the pin designated as 1
on the surrounding PCB.

Ensure that the power connector is correctly lined up with all 4 connectors. A flashlight is a
good thing to have at this point. The floppy (data) cable is keyed to only fit one way. Note
that it is keyed the opposite way to the IDE hard drive and CD drive, so that the red stripe
on the cable should be facing the floppy drive power cable.

Floppy drive cables are solid ribbon on one end, and the other has a small section of the
ribbon cut and twisted around. Ensure you only attach the floppy cable as shown in the
picture below (cut portion of the ribbon attaches to the FDD itself).

Connect the data cable between the drive and the 'floppy1' connector on the motherboard.

Adding a Hard Drive

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Step 7: Installing the hard-drive

First, we need to ensure that the hard drive is set up to be the master drive on its IDE
cable. Each IDE cable can support up to two IDE devices, such as hard-drives, CD-drives,
Zip Drives, etc., but in order for this to work, one IDE device must be designated as a
master device, and one must be designated as a slave device. You cannot have two master
devices or two slave devices on a single cable.

Examine the top of your hard-drive. There should be a chart there depicting the necessary
jumper settings to make the drive a master or slave device. Otherwise, the chart will be
somewhere on the body of the drive. The set of jumpers will be on the back end of the
drive.

Ensure that they are set correctly to enable the drive as a master. You may need a set of
tweezers to move the jumpers around if you have been biting your fingernails.

Insert the hard drive into the 3.5" drive-tray and screw it in securely on both sides. Note
that hard-drives generally use a different sized screw than CD-ROMs and floppy drives for
some completely inexplicable reason.

Hard Drives and Cables

Attach the Molex power cable to the drive. Advertisement
Unlike the floppy drive power plug, these Molex
connectors can only fit into the drive one way,
so relax, you can't make a mistake here.

Attach the Primary IDE cable to the drive (for any recent motherboard, this should be a 80
wire UDMA cable). It will be keyed to only fit in one way, but to make sure, the red or blue
on the cable should be facing the hard-drive power cable.

Attach the long end of the cable to the IDE 0 connector on

the motherboard first, then if there are other drives attach
those IDE cables to the IDE 1 connector. Serial ATA drives
are still fairly new, so we will only cover them briefly.

The Serial ATA cable is keyed to fit into the SATA

motherboard header, and hard drive in a certain orientation.
It is impossible to attach the Serial ATA cables backwards,
and since there is only one hard drive per cable we don't need to worry about the
master/slave settings of IDE hard drives.

Serial ATA and IDE are not compatible, so to use SATA hard drives the motherboard must
have SATA headers. Some motherboards may come with SATA-to-IDE adaptors, but again
the motherboard still must have one SATA header per drive.

The SATA hard drive will require either a 15-pin SATA power connector, or standard 4-pin
Molex power connector as we described previously.

Adding a CDROM
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Step 8: Installing optical (CD) drive

Ensure that at least one full sized 5.25" bay is open in the case. Examine the jumper
settings on the top of the drive, as you did with the hard-drive. Ensure that the drive is set
to 'master'. If your case came with rails, screw them to the sides of the CD drive and insert
it into the front of the case until it clicks into place.

Otherwise, slide the drive into the front of the computer until the faceplate of the drive is
flush with the front bezel of the case and the screw holes along the side of the drive line up
with the case. Then, screw it in securely on both sides. Attach the power cable (same as the
hard-drive power cable) to the drive. Attach your secondary IDE cable to the drive. Note
that generally this should be a regular 40-wire IDE cable, not the 80-wire UDMA IDE cable
that is used for the hard-drive. Some DVD drives will use the 80-wire cable, however. See
the picture below for a comparison of the two IDE cable types.

The drive should be keyed, so the cable will only fit one way, but note that the red stripe on
the IDE cable should be facing the CD power cable.
Attach the long end of the cable to the 'IDE1' or 'IDE2' connector on the motherboard.

Getting Sound from a CDROM

In order to get sound out of the CDROM when Advertisement

playing CD's, we need to attach a special cable
between the CDROM and
motherboard/soundcard. The CDROM should come with this thin 4-pin cable with flat
connectors at either end. If not, be sure to pick one up from the store.

This is the analog audio cable which needs to be connected between the CD drive and your
soundcard (or the motherboard if your soundcard is integrated into the board.). This allows
Audio CDs to be directly played from your CD-ROM like an audio CD player. Plug the cable
from the connector at the back of the CD drive to the 'audio-in' connector on your
soundcard or motherboard. The soundcard connector should be fairly obvious, check your
manual for the location of the one on your motherboard.

Step 9: Installing the video card

For an AGP videocard: The AGP port is the brown slot at the top of the row of peripheral
(PCI) slots that runs down the board. Ensure that the catch (AGP Retention Mechanism) at
the far end of the port is open, if it is present.

Insert the card firmly into the AGP slot. It should settle evenly, with just a tiny fraction of
the gold traces at the bottom of the card visible. Screw the card into the expansion bracket.
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For a PCI videocard: PCI ports are the
white slots running in a row down the
rear edge of the board. Which port you
choose is fairly irrelevant, though with
modern video cards, it is always a good
idea to leave the slot below the one you
install the card in empty to aid in
ventilation of heat. Simply insert the
card firmly into the slot. It should sit
evenly once inserted, with only a fraction
of the gold traces on the bottom of the
card visible. Screw the card into the
expansion bracket.

Adding an Expansion Card

Step 10: Installing PCI expansion

cards

All PCI cards are physically installed the same way. With modern motherboards, which slots
you decide to use should not matter, but it is a good idea to space your expansion cards out
in order to help with case ventilation. Simply insert the card firmly into an empty PCI slot. It
should sit evenly once inserted, with only a fraction of the gold traces on the bottom of the
card visible.
Screw the card into the expansion bracket.

Step 11: Finishing up

If your motherboard came with any extras, such as Modem or network adaptor riser cards,
or additional USB ports on a mounting bracket, now's the time to plug them into the board
(consult your manual for the correct locations) and screw them into any free mounting
brackets you may have.

Double-check all the wiring. Make sure all connections are firmly attached, and ensure that
no wires are running close to the top of the CPU heat sink fan. You do NOT want to jam the
CPU heat sink fan, especially with an AMD processor.

Double-check everything again. Now get all those loose screws out.

Step 12: Powering up for the first time

Stand the case upright, if it is not already. Ensure that no wires are touching the CPU heat
sink fan. Plug your monitor cable into the video card (VGA) port, and turn on the monitor.
Plug your PS/2 (or USB) keyboard cable into the keyboard port. Plug in the power cord and
switch the power supply switch to the on (|) position. Press the power button. Suspense....
sparks?

If everything is connected as it should be, all system fans should start spinning, you should
hear a single beep, and after about 5-10 seconds, the amber light on the monitor should go
green, and you will see the computer start to boot.

Depending on the manufacturer of the Motherboard, you may get a splash screen, or just a
memory check. The system will then halt with an error because we have yet to install an
operation system. If something has gone horribly wrong, just go straight down to the
troubleshooting section. If something is on fire, go to the kitchen. You do have an
extinguisher, right?

Now check the front LEDs to see if you plugged them in correctly. Power off and fix the
LEDS because you didn't. Test the reset button. Assuming you have got to this point without
any problems, put the side panels back on, plug in your mouse and network cables and pop
your favourite operating system into the CD drive, then power the system back up again.
You are done assembling the computer!