How to Build a PC: Expensive LEGOs
by: Tommy Timberlake
Putting it all Together
Follow these steps to put the computer together:
Step #1
Step #2
Step #3
Step #4
Step #5
Step #6
Step #7
Step #8
Step #1
Remove Side Panels And Prepare Case
To remove the side panels and prepare the case is fairly simple. Look at the back of the case and you will see some screws holding the case's sides on. Be careful not to unscrew the power supply on accident. When removing the cover be careful of any wires that may get caught on case itself. Not to hard is it? Note that some tool free cases may actually have clips rather than screws and some of the better cases come with locks. Forcing the case open without the key could, of course, damage it.
Inspect Case And Parts
Cases these days come with screws to attach components to it, such as hard disks and the motherboard. They also come with detailed instructions on how to assemble the power supply and info on the removable motherboard tray (if the case has one). Inside the case you will see connections coming from the bottom/top of the case, these are the power/reset/hard disk light/power light connectors. Also either coming from the top/bottom of the case will be more connectors, these are front USB/Sound/Firewire ports. These connectors will be fitted later on so just move them out of the way for now.
Pop Out Drive Covers
On the front of the case there is a set of covers that are for your drives. If you only have one CD-ROM and one Floppy then pop out one big one (5 1/4") and one little one (3 1/2"). This is simple and you can match them up to your drives if needed. If you pop out to many don't worry they go back in. Now on some cases there are metal plates that protect the backside of these covers. If it is like this in your case then get a flat head screwdriver and work it back and forth till it gives. Not to hard is it? Be sure to read the case manual as some cases screw the drive covers in and you don't want to damage them trying to pull them out. Also, beware, this is the part of the case that tends to have sharp edges. Trying to work free the cover with your bare hands could result in some nasty cuts.
Match Motherboard Up
New cases come with a pre-fitted I/O plate (the back of the case where peripherals plug into), nine times out of ten this plate will not fit your new motherboard. Motherboard manufactured include a I/O plate to fit the motherboard so that will need to be fitted. Its a simple case of matching it with the motherboard so its the right way up, and pushing/unscrewing the old one and putting the new one it its place. The shiny side of this plate usually faces out.
Install Motherboard Standoffs
The standoffs are little screws with a male and female end. They are also called motherboard spacers. One end screws to the motherboard tray and the other end lines up with the motherboard holes so screws can secure the motherboard to the case. Screw the standoffs in the right place and set motherboard on top making sure they all match. Make sure no stand offs are in the wrong place as this could cause damage to the motherboard. If all is good then take motherboard out of case. We need to add some components to it before screwing it in.
Install power supply
Some cases come with a PSU (power supply unit) installed, and some don't. It's usually the higher quality cases that don't include a power supply for various reasons. Every case has a different way of installing the PSU, some have removable PSU brackets that require you to install the bracket to the PSU 1st then the bracket the case. The case will tell you what is required and its recommended you read through it first.
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Step #2
Setup Motherboard
Now we have the job of setting up the motherboard. This is not that complicated but should be done correctly or you will have potential serious problems. Make sure motherboard is on a level surface and on a static bag if possible.
I am sure you have skimmed the motherboard manual and are trying to figure out this jumper stuff. The latest motherboards will require you you to not set any jumpers, its all done through the bios. Others may have switches in place of jumpers. Yet other boards may have a combination of the two.
Older motherboards however will have jumpers that could need setting. A jumper is basically a small cap that is colored. Sometimes they are black, red, yellow, you get the point. What they are for is to set up the board for your particular CPU. Some common settings are for CPU Voltage and Bus Speed. The motherboard manual will layout what jumpers are on the board and go through each one till you are finished. The manual will lay out the settings for your CPU. Most of the time the jumpers will be 1-2 or 2-3 or even off. This means that you will want to set the cap on jumper 1 and 2 or 2 and 3. This will set a circuit. Your manual will have a detailed description. This is can be a hard thing to explain but a simple concept. If you are unsure about this call the manufacturer of the board and they will walk you through it. They are usually more than happy to help you. I can't go through and name jumper setting for your board simply because they are all different. In many cases the default settings (the settings that are made at the factory before shipping) are, in fact, fully workable though they may not be set for your exact hardware and you may have minor glitches like the CPU not showing the right speed.
Inspect CPU
The CPU is the core of the whole PC system. We need to take special care of it before and after installation, it will most likely be the most expensive part of the computer so take extra care when handling it. Underneath the CPU are the pins, and the top side is called the core. Do not touch pins if you can help it. We want to insure they are not bent or broken. If one of the pins is bent you can fix simply with a small pocket knife. Just straighten the pins till they match up with the rest. If more than two are bent I would consider returning product ASAP. On AMD64 and Intel processors the cores are protected, so don't worry if you touch the top side of the CPU, it will cause no damage. The older AMD's (Althlon XP's) however have the core exposed so extra care should be taken. Now assuming all is good you will want to install that little guy, be sure to read the motherboard manual for detailed instructions on how to install the CPU correctly.
Note: Newer Intel products have the pins on the motherboard socket rather than on the CPU as this was judged to be a safer bet to protect against a high number of CPUs that were getting damaged with handling. However, the same fitting instructions apply. Line the CPU up correctly bearing in mind that one corner needs to be aligned with its correct counterpart on the motherboard socket. Then gently slide the CPU in and lock it in place.
Now along with your CPU you should have a heatsink and fan. This is a little piece of metal that has a fan on the top of it. This is required to cool the CPU, without it the CPU would simply overheat and melt in a split second.
Install CPU and Heat Sink
Now you will need to pay close attention to the CPU. On the CPU you will notice one or two corner pins missing. Look closely so not to mistake it. Now look at the motherboard and you will see a socket that obviously holds the CPU. On this socket will be the same missing holes. We want to lift the handle of the socket to the up position prior to insertion. With handle up and CPU aligned with socket simply drop in. This should go in very easy and without trouble. Now at times I have had CPU's that didn't go in easy and needed a little playing with in order to seat properly. If you run into this problem do not force it. If it doesn't seat you may have pins that are bent or the motherboard is faulty. If unsure return the items and replace them with new ones. With CPU seated and secure go ahead and pull the socket handle to the down position. If all went well you are done and glad its over with. Be sure to double check with CPU insertion guide in the motherboard manual.
Now you are ready to install the heatsink on the CPU. Most retail heatsink's that come with a CPU have a silicon pad at the bottom, this is to help transfer heat from the CPU to the heatsink. If there is no silicon pad you will have to apply some thermal grease to the CPU yourself. This thermal grease is usually white in color and will come with your heatsink, be sure to apply only a thin layer to your CPU or it will impede the performance of heat removal. Take the heatsink and sit it on top of the CPU. Get a idea of where you want to mount it. Every type of CPU has a different way their heatsink's mount to the board. Be sure to read the manual as they instruct you on how to install it.
Install RAM
Installing the system memory is a snap. Notice on your motherboard some slots that should be DIMM slots. Compare this with you motherboard manual. You should know if you are going to use dual channel memory or single channel memory. Some motherboards do not support dual channel so you put the memory in the slots starting from slot 0 (the far left one). If you are using dual channel, you will need to consult the motherboard manual to see the DIMM configuration, most of the time dual channel is enabled in slot 0+2 or 1+3 (1+3 or 2+4).
To install the ram simply open the locking lugs on the DIMM slot and line up the RAM, the RAM has a notch in it so this has to line up with the motherboard. Push down on the ram and the locking lugs should snap shut automatically. The RAM is now installed.
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Step #3
Install Motherboard Into Case
Now with all that mess of installing RAM and a CPU it time to throw it in the case. (not literally) With motherboard aligned with your standoffs/motherboard spacers simply put the motherboard in. Now pay attention to the I/O shield which your ports go into. The I/O shield will tear easy so be careful. Now with motherboard in place go ahead and use the screws that came with case and screw in snug. Make sure there are no standoffs that are in wrong place and not being used. You do not want a standoff touching the circuitry on the motherboard. Take care also that none of the standoffs are on the wrong thread. If they are not screwed in on the right thread they may be at an angle to the motherboard and cause stress to the motherboard by not allowing it to sit flat.
Hook Up Connections
With the board in place we will go ahead and install the leads to the board along with the power connector. The leads I speak of are little wires that usually run from front of the case. They will be marked with speaker, power, and so on. Look at your motherboard manual to see which ones fit on the board. There is usually a block that allows you to plug them on to. If you put them on wrong don't freak. This will not ruin anything you may not have lights working on the computer an worse case scenario is the computer wont start. There is one led that is especially important and that is the power switch. If you are using a ATX or BTX board (AT is now defunct), there is a led that will plug onto two pins. This will actually work the power button on the front of computer. Plug in led connectors now.
Now lets plug in the power connector from the PSU. This connector is a 20 pin connector or prongs. This connector only fits one way and you cant screw it up. Simply plug into motherboard using the motherboard manual as a guide. Newer CPU's also require a 12v connector plugged into the board. All PSU's have this connector, it has 4 pins in a square shape and it usually has 2 yellow and 2 black wires from it.
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Step #4
Hard Drive
On the back of the Hard Drive you will see a power connector and a jumper. The jumper is to set the drive as a Master or a Slave. If you are running one Hard Drive you will want to set this as a Master. Simply take the jumper and set to the pins that note it as a master. Real simple just look at the back of drive. Pins are in a vertical fashion. Set jumper over pins and you are ready to slide that puppy in. New SATA drives don't require you to set any jumpers, and new ATA133 drives auto sense master and slave settings.
In the case you will see most of the time a place that is marked HDD and FDD. This means Hard Drive and Floppy Drive. If you have a ATX minitower the hard drive will more than likely install on the bottom drive bay of the case. This is so on most modern towers. You will want to install the drive by sliding it in the bay with connectors facing the back of computer. With Hard Drive installed simply take at least four screws and snug it down.
Floppy
This is about the same as Hard Drive. You will not have to worry about the jumper setting though. Simple slide the floppy in through the front of case in you desired spot. Make sure that the front of drive is flush with case. This is purely for cosmetic reason only. Tighten floppy down from the inside of case.
CD-ROM
You will have a jumper on this one also. Depending on the number of hard drives, and the number of CD-ROMS you have, the master and slave setting will vary. If you have two hard disks, they will be on a different IDE channel to the CD-ROM, as each IDE channel can only support two components, so you set the CD-ROM to master. Now take drive and slide in through front of case and screw it down snug. Again make sure that the CD-ROM is nice and flush with front of case for cosmetic reasons.
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Step #5
Install Adapters
Now that your drives are in and ready lets put in those pesky cards.
You should have a sound card, modem, video card. Now this is similar to installing the memory modules. You need to look at what expansion slots you have. Here is a little description incase you need it.
PCI Slots- this slot is white and fairly small.
AGP- this slot is similar to the PCI but is closer to the CPU and is brown in color. This will house your Video Card only!!
PCI Express x16- this is new and latest slot on the latest/newest motherboards only, it is a long slim black slot that holds the PCI-e graphics card.
PCI Express x1- this is the new type of PCI slots for add on cards, there are not many as of writing this but its something for the future.
Match your cards with the expansion slots. The cards themselves will have a description of its format PCI, AGP etc. Simply decide which slot you want to use and remove the medals expansion covers from case. Push card in evenly till it seats. Screw card down snug.
If you bought a AGP video card it will only work on the AGP slot so don't worry about putting it in the wrong place. It is keyed to fit there only and you will be short of room for it in a PCI slot.
Also as another note about installing the cards. If the card doesn't seat flat against the case don't screw down to tight. This is just slack in the card itself. Just snug it and you will be fine. The main thing is that the card is seated in the slot and you don't want it to move up or down in the slot.
Hook It all Up
Now we need to hook up all the IDE cables and power. This is a spot that you can mess up easily if your not paying attention. The cables have ends that are slotted and simply push into the back of your drives and then on the motherboard.
CD-ROM/Hard Drive
Now you will notice a cable that came with the motherboard. You should have one that is slightly bigger that the other. If you are using one hard disk as master and 1 CD-ROM as slave you can use one ribbon cable if it is long enough to reach both drives and the motherboard. Go ahead and find the primary IDE controller. This is a slot on the motherboard. The blue connector goes to the motherboard and the middle one to master and the last one to slave. The ribbon cable will go in one way unless forced. You will notice a notch cut into the slot and a notch on the cable itself.
Plug one end of cable into the CD-ROM (follow notch). There is a red line on the cable itself and usually points toward the power hook up on the drives. Again follow the notch of the drive. Now with that plugged in, follow cable to the hard drive. You will use the same cable to plug into the hard drive. Again follow the notch and make sure the red line points to the power hookup of drive. With Hard Drive hooked up take the end of cable and plug into the motherboard. This again is notched and plugs in one way unless forced.
Hook Up Floppy Drive
The floppy is the same as the rest. The problem is the cable is not always slotted for easy installation. I have found that connecting it like the rest usually works. Just pay attention the red strip on cord is facing the power connector of the drive and the other end of cord is like rest on board. You will see when you get there of what I mean. The floppy controller is usually around the other IDE controllers. Its slot is smaller that the rest. Refer to your motherboard manual again if unsure of the slots location.
Hook Up Power Leads
Now that you are getting overcrowded with wires and cords we need to hook up power to the drives.
From the power supply you will see a string of power leads. One string may have 3 or more power leads on it. Take notice of the leads. They are keyed one way so not to install wrong, but like all else they can be installed wrong if forced. Pay attention to the shape of lead and the back of the drive. Simply push the power led into the drives connector. Now take note that the floppy power connector is different and is smaller so don't freak out if you cant find the power lead. Simply find a free connector for the floppy and your done.
Also from the case there might be USB ports, sound, and firewire wires. These plug directly to the motherboard, if the cables are not fitted together already, each wire will have a label on it saying what it is. Refer to the motherboard manual to see where these go.
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Step #6
Hook Up Peripherals
Normally I would say close the case and then hook up the peripherals but this is the real world. Unless you're perfect you have screwed up somewhere that will make it necessary to access inside of computer later. No offense of course, but it happens and its usually small stuff that gets you.
Mouse
Your mouse will plug into the back of the computer along with everything else. You will notice small ports in the back where they fit in and noted by the I/O shield. Simply plug the connector into the USB port or PS/2 (usually green).
Keyboard
The keyboard is like the mouse and usually hooks up next to mouse. (usually blue) Plug in snug and thats it.
Printer
The printer uses the parallel port that is noted on I/O shield. Plug in and secure with the small screws on side of plug.
Sound
You may want to hook your speakers and microphone into sound card. This is also noted on the back of sound card for the plug ins.
Monitor
Hook up monitor and make sure that connector seats well. Be sure not to jar it to much, you can unseat the Video Card if it has a bad seat or not much of one.
Power
Go ahead and plug power connector into wall and then into the back of the power supply.
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Step #7
Double check
Now if you made it this far you are ready to crank that little dude up. Before we do this we need to double check the work.
Inside Case
Make sure that all IDE cables are seated and didn't move or unseat while installing other devices. Make sure they are keyed in the right direction and that the red lines faces power connector on drives. On the motherboard side the cable will be slotted to go in one direction.
Check all power connectors make sure they are seated.
Check all wiring and make sure they are out of way of any fans of sides of case were they may be caught.
Make sure all drives are snug and tight.
Make sure there is no play in motherboard itself and snug. Double check back of motherboard plate to insure no orphan brass standoff. This can cause a short.
Insure all add in cards are snug and seated. Make sure RAM modules are seated well and snapped in place.
Outside Case
Double check all external wiring such as mouse, keyboard, monitor, and so on. Make sure they are snug into there connectors and seated.
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Step #8
First Boot
All you need is the Windows XP/2000 CD in the CD-ROM and set in the bios to boot from CD as the first boot device.
Press a key when prompted to, to start from the CD.
The Windows setup screen will now appear.
Follow the on-screen instructions and soon you will be prompted to create a hard disk partition to load windows onto, create one and format it using the NTFS file system.
Continue to Load Windows
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