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Post Info TOPIC: How to Build a PC- Part 3


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How to Build a PC- Part 3
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Assembling the Hardware (part2)

 

Installing the Power Supply

This is pretty straight forward. Make sure that you have enough power to run all of the goodies in your case and that the connection is for your type of motherboard (as in ATX power connection). Usually a 350 Watt or greater will do the trick. ATX 500 Watt Dual Fans. Simply place the power supply unit in through the inside of the case and screw it in place so that the on/off switch is facing out of the back opening (with all of the power connectors going into the case). Some computer cases have a ledge that the power supply unit sits on, but others do not. Make sure that the power supply is screwed on tight to the computer case. It is heavy and will surely damage the motherboard if it breaks away and falls!

Once this is done, connect the motherboard power connector to the power connector on the motherboard. It is a 20 wire plug connection and will fit on only one way. There is a tab that will click into place when it is seated properly. Some motherboards have an additional four pin power connector. Make sure that this is in place also. Now to the case connections!

Case Connections

The computer case has many small wires that connect to the motherboard. This is a great source of frustration for many new computer builders. One pearl of wisdom is this: the black or dark colored wires are usually the positive wires! (Pic) Now with that said, let's connect these wires!

Study your motherboard manual for the exact placement of these small LED wires,. There is usually a row of two pin deep connections that you must install tiny two or three post black plugs on to. They are usually arranged side by side and your manual will tell you in what order they go. These wires include:

1) the turbo switch- not common anymore

2) the power switch- this is one of the wire connectors you really need since it goes to the power button on the front of your computer case.

3) the reset switch

4) the power LED switch

5) a speaker connector

6) the hard drive activity light

Additionally, there are usually wires that attach to two USB connections on the motherboard. Arrange and place them over the posts as instructed in your motherboard manual. If the connections are incorrect, it will NOT short circuit your board. The light or button that attaches to this device will simply not work. You'll have to turn the pin around and try again! Like I said, this is a major source of frustration for all computer builders.

Consult your motherboard and computer case manuals for other wires not covered here... but these are probably the most important!

Installing Your Drives

You'll need to think about the arrangement of your drives. There are two slots on your motherboard called IDE connection slots. They are usually labeled IDE 1 and IDE 2. The IDE 1 slot may even be blue in color to identify it. You can connect an IDE ribbon to each of these slots and attach two devices on each ribbon . There is also a floppy drive slot that looks like a miniature IDE slot.You can only connect a floppy drive to this connection. With that in mind, you'll need to figure out what devices you want to attach to each IDE ribbon.

Let's say you want to attach one hard drive, one DVD-ROM drive, and one CD-RW drive. The first thing to do is think about where each will go on the IDE cable. There is an accepted order... here it is:

IDE 1- the hard drive should be on the end connection .

IDE 2- You should place the DVD-ROM on the end of this ribbon and the CD-RW to the middle connection.

If you wanted two hard drives, both would go on the IDE 1 ribbon and the two optical devices (DVD-ROM and the CD-RW would go on the IDE 2 ribbon.

Here is the caveat. If you have two devices on one ribbon, you need to designate one as a "master" and one as a "slave". This is done by placing a jumper (usually supplied with the drive) on pins on the back of the drive. The proper placement for each designation is usually printed on the top of the drive. There is also a "CS" designation which means "cable select". This tells the computer to decide what it wants to do. This setting is not usually used.

In our example above, we would install the drives as follows:

1) Remove the drives from their protective foil package (again, static electricity). Set the jumper for the hard drive to "master" and the CD-RW to "slave". Set the jumper for the DVD-ROM to "master". Also, attach any audio cable that may be needed to hear sound from the CD or DVD drive now. It is easier than trying to wiggle it in once the drive is in the bay.

2) Take the plastic blank slots off of the front of the computer bay. They usually pop out without too much force. Underneath is usually a metal blank that needs to be twisted out (watch out.. they are sharp and cut flesh very well!!). Make sure you take out the blanks to the bays that you are going to use. Do the same for the floppy drive bay.

3) Insert each drive into the bay until it is flush with the front of the computer face. Hard drives need to be placed in from within the case as there is no opening to the outside. Make sure that the power connections and IDE ribbon connections are facing to the rear (toward the power supply). So, based on our scenario, the order of drives from top to bottom would be DVD-ROM, CD-RW, and Hard Drive with the floppy placed in its own slot. Use the screws that come with the drives to mount them through the mounting holes in the side of the drives. Do not use larger screws as they will crack the drive case. Also make sure that the drives are level and firmly attached to the drive bays.

4) Connect the IDE ribbons to the connections on the motherboard. They only go on one way. Pin 1 is on the side of the ribbon with the RED stripe so make sure that this side of the ribbon attaches to the connection on the motherboard where it says Pin 1. Also make sure that the two connectors (to the drives) are nearer the other end.

5) On the IDE 1 ribbon, connect the hard drive to the other end connector. Pin 1 on the drives is usually to the far right, but look at the diagram on the drive if you have questions. Usually, the IDE ribbon can attach only one way (since there is a slot to fit in to). Press it in firmly.

6) On IDE 2 ribbon, place the DVD-ROM on the end, and the CD-RW drive in the middle. You can change the configuration to suit your needs, but make sure that you set the jumper pin in the back to reflect your order of devices. Do the same with your floppy drive. The IDE ribbon for the floppy drive (pin 1) is usually the reverse of the other drives. I do not know why this is.......

7) Attach the audio cable from the optical drive to the audio connection on the motherboard. This is another 3 pin connection labeled CD_Audio (or something like that).

8) Finally, you'll need to attach the proper power connector to each drive. It also fits one way (with the exception of the floppy drive) and the yellow wire is usually to the far right. Make sure all of the power connections are tight (as well as the IDE ribbon connections).

Installing PCI and AGP Cards

Toward the bottom of your motherboard (looking in the case), are four to six white slots and a brown or grey one at the top that is set back from the others. The brown slot at the top is called an AGP slot (accelerated graphics port) and holds an AGP graphics (video) card. The white slots below it hold any kind of PCI card (like modems, sound cards, network cards, MPEG Cards, and a whole host of other handy cards). Video and Sound card. Modem and Network Interface Card(NIC). These are easy to install. Simply take the metal blank off of the back slot of the computer that is aligned with the PCI or AGP slot. Usually a screw holds the slot in place, although some newer computer cases have blanks that you bend back and forth until they break off. Do not slice yourself.

Once the blank is removed, place the PCI or AGP card in the slot and wiggle it down until it is fully inserted and pushed into place where the connections to the card stick out the back of the computer. The smooth part of the card is usually up. Try not to touch the card surface, but handle them by the edges. Use the screw to screw it down in place (the same way you unscrewed the blank, only reverse) . Make sure that when you are done with these cards, they are all seated and secure. Based on the specifications of the motherboard, you may not need many PCI cards. The motherboard may have "on-board" sound, video, networking, or other features. There are installed with the motherboard CD that came with the motherboard (we'll discuss this later). OK! We're getting close to being done!


Next>>>

Assembling the Hardware part 3

TMF©2004



-- Edited by barney at 11:51, 2008-12-20

-- Edited by NicKnayme at 13:44, 2009-02-15

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This article was lifted from the original TMF group's website. Not all links are working. I will work to correct these as soon as I can.

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