Tools and Equipment
You will not need many tools to assemble your computer, in fact, the only one you need is a screwdriver, but if you can get most of what follows and you will see things go a little easier.
The basic tools
Before starting the construction or redevelopment of a computer, you should have some basic tools:
# 2 Phillips-head (cross-shaped) screwdriver
Needle-nose pliers
Anti-static wrist strap
A workspace scale
A wrist strap alligator clip.
Optional tools, but useful
Other tools and equipment can be practical as well, such as:
Action Spring grabber parties.
electrical tape
Son or nylon ties
Flashlight, preferably hands-free
A second, working computer to swap parts, find advice, seek help online, download drivers and patches, etc - very useful
A can of compressed air - useful when working with old items that have collected dust. A better alternative, but also more expensive, is a vacuum cleaner designed to clean electronics.
preparation
Good preparation is the key to a successful build. Before you begin, make sure you have all the tools you'll need, secure the area of clear and well lit, collect all the items you will be using and unpack them one at a time, to check that all that is supposed to be there is actually present. At this point, you should let the parties themselves in their antistatic protective bags, and collect all the accompanying manuals. Now I know you want to start, but believe me, read the manuals, see the diagrams, make sure you understand where each part goes and how it attaches. If there is something you do not understand, now is the time to do a little research on additional Internet or call the manufacturer with your questions.
Find a dry, well ventilated area to do your job. You must have plenty of light and if possible, you should choose an area without carpet on the floor, the carpet tends to generate a lot of static. An unfurnished basement is a good place to work.
Bulbgraph.png
Safety precautions are important for your own safety. Please read the safety instructions.
Safety instructions
Static electricity is the biggest danger to the expensive parts you are about to rise, even a small shock, much too small for you to feel, can damage or destroy the delicate electronic traces, many times smaller than that a human hair, that make your CPU, RAM and other chips. It is important to use your anti-static wrist strap to prevent damage to these components. Once you have the power to block the case, cut the end of the strap to the outside of the food. (Do not connect your computer while you are connected to a bracelet.) This will ensure that you, the case and power supply are all connected to a common ground, in other words, there will no inequality of the burden that will allow a spark that passes between you and the event. It is also useful to have an anti-static mat to settle the case and other components.
No one but you is at fault if you shock your components with static electricity. Make sure you take the precautions in the previous paragraph to ground yourself from static electricity. (Note: If you really need to work on a computer and do not have the proper anti-static equipment, it is usually OK if you make sure that you do not move much, do not wear static-prone clothing; manage components of the edges, and regularly (once a minute or two), touch a grounded object) .. the metal case of your PC power is usually something related to proper grounding. As noted above, touching every few minutes while you work on your PC if you do not have a bracelet.
Turn off your computer and turn off the power to the wall before installing or removing components - they are powered components, they are installed or removed, they can be seriously damaged. To have a computer grounded, you have plugged into the wall but off to food and to the wall. A neutral line may be connected to earth
Never cut the prong grounding your power cord. This "safety ground" stands between you and threatening within the supply voltages.
Beware of sharp edges! Many cases of low-end PCs have sharp unfinished edges. This is especially true on the inner surfaces, and where the case has been cut or punch. Be careful and take your time to avoid cutting your hands.If your case has this problem a little time with sandpaper before beginning construction can save you a lot of pain.
Dismantling discrete electronic components such as your diet or the monitor is dangerous. They contain high voltage capacitors, which can cause a serious electric shock if touched. They hold an office, even when the device is not plugged in and are capable of delivering a fatal shock.
Construction
Start by putting your case down on your work surface, with the case door facing up, and open the case.Motherboard
Find the motherboard standoffs (spacers) that should have come with the case. They are screws, usually brass, with large hexagonal heads that are used so that you can attach the screws at the top. They hold the motherboard off the avoidance of a short circuit. Set them aside.
Some case styles make it difficult to install the motherboard or the CPU with the power supply installed. If the power supply is in your way, take it out and set it aside (we'll put it back in later).
Now locate the screw holes on your motherboard and find the corresponding holes on the motherboard plate (or tray) in the case. Put a standoff in each of these holes on the tray and position the motherboard so that you can see the holes in the top of the standoffs through the screw holes in the motherboard.
Now is the time to make sure the ports on the motherboard are mating with the backplate you just installed, and make any necessary adjustments. The small metal tabs are intended to make contact with the metal parts of the connections on the back of the motherboard and ground them, but you may have to bend these tabs a bit to get the ports all properly mounted, this is where those needle-nose pliers may come in handy.
Now fasten a screw through each of the motherboard screw holes into the standoffs underneath. These screws should be snug but not tight, there is no reason to torque down on them, hand tight is fine, otherwise you can damage the motherboard.
Once the motherboard is installed, it is time to plug the other components.
CPU
The details of the installation process differ in slight but important ways for each manufacturer’s processors, and even within a manufacturer's product line. Therefore, for these details, you should rely on the instructions that are provided with the CPU.
The two things that go wrong the most often and most expensively (minimum of a killed CPU, sometimes more) in building one's own computer are both related to the CPU and its cooler:
- Switching the computer on "just to see if it works" before adding any CPU cooling unit. Without cooling, CPUs heat up at extreme rates (a CPU heats up anywhere between ten times and a thousand times as fast as a cooking area on your stove!) By the time you see the first display on the screen, your CPU will already be severely overheating and might be damaged beyond repair.
- Mounting the CPU cooler improperly. Read the instructions that came with your CPU and cooler very carefully and ensure you are using all components in the correct order and correct place.
If you use thermal paste, apply only to the CPU die (the square of silicon in the middle of the CPU) and do so sparingly - most modern processors do not take more of a hazelnut paste thermal the size of a grain of rice. Some people like to wipe a bit on the surface of the heat sink, then wipe it gently off so that bits of it can get into small holes for better heat transfer. See instructions Arctic Silver for more information on how to apply and remove heat / grease dough. (It was written to be specifically for Arctic Silver paste, but the same techniques can be applied to other brands of thermal paste.)
If you use a thermal pad that came with your cooler, make sure to remove the protective tape from the die just before installation and does not get dirty - and do not combine thermal pads with thermal paste, it is one or the other. Then make sure you install the cooler in the right direction and you set it flat on the CPU die without exerting undue pressure on the edges or corners - the latter can make small pieces of die break, killing the CPU .
One option that you can consider before installing the heat sink, is to "tour" of the heat sink, which means to smooth the bottom surface. To do this, you will need a very flat surface; a piece of thick glass window will work. Fasten your sandpaper on the flat surface, turn the heat sink on the sandpaper and sand in small circles, applying minimal pressure. Check frequently and when you see a consistent pattern of stripes, moving to a finer sandpaper fine-grained (the numbers go up as the sandpaper is finer, so something like 220 is coarse while 2000 will be fine.) Remember that you do not try to remove any material, just polish the surface irregularities. If you get it right, you should have a surface which feels completely smooth to the touch (but not touching the oil from your fingers can cause corrosion of the fresh surface) with a mirror finish. Some companies producing radiators lick the surface themselves, if the surface already looks like a perfect mirror, leave it alone. A lapped heatsink is more efficient because it will better surface contact with the chip have.
Tighten the cooler using only the specified holding devices - if you've done everything right, they will adapt. If they do not match, check your configuration - probably something is wrong. After mounting the radiator, connect the fan's power cable that is attached to the cooler.
Passing to the instructions above, it has been my personal experience that the mounting of the processor and heat sink is best done on a surface (a phone book on a table in my case) before installation, to avoid excessive flexing of the motherboard.
If you have the CPU and its cooler installed, and the mother in the case, you're over the hump, there just a little more easy pieces to go before memorable first power
Memory slots
Put the RAM module in the socket. Line up the notch in the center of the module with the small bump in the center of the RAM socket, making sure to insert it the right way. Push down on the module until both levers move up into the notches on the sides of the module. There should be a small "snap" when the module is fully seated. Although this does require a fair bit of force, do not overdo it or you may break the RAM module.
Start adding RAM at the slot labeled "Bank 0" or "DIMM 1". If you do not have a stick in "Bank 0" or "DIMM 1" the system will think there is no RAM and will not boot.
On newer motherboards with 4 slots, you'll see alternating colours. For example, slot 1 is blue, slot 2 is black, slot 3 is blue, slot 4 is black.
If you were to put 1 gigabyte of RAM in your PC, it is best to use dual channel 512MBx2 sticks. Put the first 512MB stick in slot 1, and put the 2nd stick in slot 3 (the two slots that are blue) - leaving slot 2 empty. This will give you better performance, vs. putting 1GB in slot 1, or two 512MB sticks in slot 1 and 2.
Power supply
Installing your power supply is pretty straightforward, if it came with your case it was pre-installed and if you took it out earlier to get the motherboard in, now is the time to put it back. Otherwise a few moments of screwdriver work will get the job done. Generally there will be a bracket on the top of the case where the power supply is mounted and a few screws used to fix it in place. Some cases place the Power Supply differently, see the documentation that came with yours.Some power supplies come with modular cables, so you can plug in only those you’ll be using, now is a good time to figure out what you’ll need and plug them in. Other power supplies have all the cables hardwired in, you’ll want to separate out the ones you’ll need and neatly coil the remainder somewhere out of the way.
If your power supply has a switch to select 115v or 220v make sure it is set properly, this is important. Many newer power supplies can automatically select and don’t have such a switch.
Once you get the power supply installed you should plug the main power, a 20 or 24 pin plug, into the motherboard. There may also be an additional four or eight pin power lead on the motherboard that needs to be plugged in, this is usually located near the processor socket. Make sure you check the motherboard documentation carefully for the location of the power sockets.
Video card
If you have an AGP video card: Install the video card into the AGP socket. This is always the top expansion slot near the back of the computer. AGP slots are often brown, but can also be strange colours such as fluorescent green. Check the motherboard for levers (or similar devices) that are part of the AGP slot to help hold the card in place. These must be retracted before insertion of the card. Check the motherboard's manual for information on how to use these devices (if your motherboard has one.) Push the card into the socket (AGP slots are often pretty tight, do not be afraid to push it until it is well inserted), then screw it in at the top of the metal bracket. If it has a power connector, connect it to a 4-pin molex connector. If it has a pass through, do not connect it to a hard drive.
If you have a PCI Express video card, install it the same way as an AGP video card, however the slot where it goes looks a little different having an extra spot on the slot as opposed to the 2 slot parts on an AGP slot. PCI Express slots used for video cards are commonly 16x as opposed to AGP 8x.
When your card is properly installed the line formed by the top of the card will be exactly parallel to the motherboard, if one side seems to be higher than the other, chances are that it is not fully inserted, press a little harder on the high side or pull it out and try again.
Installing drive jumpers
Before you install IDE/ATA (PATA) drives, you will need to set the drives jumpers. Each IDE/ATA channel can handle two drives, a master and a slave. Consult your drive's instructions on how to set the jumpers. The jumper configurations are usually either printed on the back, or on the top of the drive. Drives can be configured in 2 ways: Drive Select or Cable Select.
- "Cable select": Use this if you have 80-pin cables. Cable select automatically assigns slave/master based on the plug on the IDE cable the drive is plugged into. Put the jumper on CS.
- "Drive select": If you are using a 40 pin cable, you must use "drive select". Master/slave status is determined by the jumper. In this mode, configure the drive on the end connector as the master, and the drive connected to the middle connector as the slave. If the IDE channel has only one drive, check your motherboard documentation for the appropriate setting, which is usually master.
Installing drives
Next install the hard drive and optical drives.How a drive is physically installed will depend on the case.
Older drives have PATA (Parallel ATA) connections which use a flat ribbon (IDE) cable for data connection. When using an IDE cable, plug the two connectors that are closer together into the 2 drives, and the third to the controller or motherboard. The connector furthest from the board should be attached to the drive set as Master. Make sure the drive that you will install your OS on is the primary master. This is the master drive on the Primary IDE bus which is usually the IDE 40 pin port on the motherboard labeled “Primary” or “IDE 1”..
Next, plug a 4 pin molex power connector into each hard drive and optical drive. If you are installing the power connector to a SATA drive, some drives have the option of using either the SATA power connector (a flat about 1" wide connector) or the standard molex connector; use one or the other, not both. Connecting both can break your hard drive. For better data transfer, you can purchase heat-protected high-end data cables at your nearest electronics store.
If you install a floppy disk drive, the cable is very similar to the IDE cable, but with fewer wires, and a strange little twist in the middle. Floppy drives do not have master/slave configurations. The floppy disk connector is not usually keyed, making it all too easy to plug it in the wrong way! One wire in the IDE cable will be colored differently: this is pin 1. There is usually some indication on the floppy drive as to which side this is. The power plug for a floppy is 4 pins in a line, but rather smaller than the standard hard drive power connector. Plug the end of the cable with the twist into the floppy drive ("drive A:"). Plug the other end of the floppy ribbon cable into the motherboard. If you install a second floppy drives, plug the middle connector into "drive B:". The twist between drive A: (on the end) and drive B (in the middle) helps the computer distinguish between them.
Other connections
There will be a set of pins, usually near the front edge of the motherboard to which you will attach the cables sometimes already connected to the the front of the case, or if needed supplied with the motherboard. Most of the time the plugs will be labeled as the pins they will connect to in the motherboard, there they can be difficult to read since the print is very small or you may not be in the right orientation to do so. The documentation that came with your case and motherboard should tell where these connectors are.
In addition, you can connect any case-specific ports if they are supported by the motherboard. Many cases have front mounted USB, Firewire and/or sound ports.
Other connections of this type to remember can be power for the CPU fans, various temperature sensors and Wake-on LANE cables (if the feature is supported) from the network card to the motherboard.
Prepare for power up
Some people will put power to a system several times during assembly and for experienced builders this may serve some purpose. For first timers though, it’s best to assemble a minimal complete system before powering up. Minimal because that way there are comparatively few potential sources of trouble, complete so that you can test everything at once and because the fewer times you have to put power to an open machine, the better..If you’ve been working along with us you should now have such a minimal system put together. Briefly this includes a case with a motherboard in it, a processor (and its cooling unit) and some RAM plugged into the motherboard, hard and floppy drives installed, and some kind of video available. If your motherboard has built-in video, you might want to use that for this first try, even if you are going to install a video card later.
For this test, you’ll want to have the computer open, so that you can see all of the fans, and you’ll need to connect a monitor and a keyboard and a mouse (OK, you don’t really need the mouse . . .)
There are two standard connectors for mice and keyboards; PS/2 connectors and the more modern USB connectors. Plug the mouse and keyboard in the appropriate slot.
Note: If you intend to install an operating system from a boot CD or floppy, or modify BIOS settings you will need to use either a PS/2 keyboard, a USB to PS/2 converter, or a motherboard that supports USB devices. Otherwise your keyboard will not work until the operating system has loaded USB drivers.
Once you have this all set up, it’s time to double check, then triple check that you have made all the necessary connections and that you haven’t left any foreign objects (where’s that screwdriver?) in the case.
Power up
Take a moment to check one more time that everything is as it should be. Make sure you've removed your wrist strap, turn on the monitor, then press the power button, and observe the inside of the open machine. (Do not touch any part of the inside of the machine while it is powered up – you will NOT die but your computer might.) The first thing to look for is that the CPU cooler fan spins up, if it does not, cut the power immediately. This fan should start up right away; something is wrong if it doesn’t and your CPU is in danger of overheating so stop now and troubleshoot.NOTE: If you have a Gigabyte brand motherboard, the CPU fan may twitch and stop turning. Wait 10-15 seconds and it should start. If it does not, there is a problem and you should immediately cut power as stated above. Other fans such as case fans should turn on and spin.
If the CPU fan spins up, check that all the other fans that should be spinning – case fans and fans on the power supply and video card (if installed) are also spinning. Some of these fans may not spin up until a temperature threshold is passed, check your documentation if anything is not spinning.
If the fans spin, you can turn your attention to the monitor, what you are hoping to see is the motherboard’s splash-screen, usually featuring the manufacturer’s logo. If you see this, take a moment to bask in the glow, you’ve built a computer!
If this happy event does not occur, if smoke appears, or if the computer does not do anything, unplug the power cord immediately and check the steps above to make sure you have not missed anything. Give special attention to the cables and power connections. If the computer does appear to come on, but, you hear beeps, listen carefully to the beeps, turn the computer off, and refer to your motherboard's manual for the meaning of the beeps. Some boards have an optional diagnostic device, usually a collection of LEDs, which when properly plugged in will inform you of the nature of the problem. Instructions for installing this as well as the meaning of its display should be in the manual for the motherboard. If the computer turns on but the only thing that comes on is your power supply, turn it off. This probably means something is shorted, and leaving it on could damage the parts.
If all is well it is time to turn the computer off, and close it up. Then you may want to turn it on again and set certain options in the Computer's BIOS (usually by pressing 'F1' or 'Del' a few seconds after boot.) These options will be explained in the motherboard manual. In general, the default options are OK, but you may wish to set the computer's hardware clock to the correct time and date. The BIOS is also where you determine the default boot order of the system, typically Floppy, then CD-ROM, then Hard Disc.
If you want a further quick test, before you install an operating system, you may find a bootable CD-ROM such as xtremely useful.
