New Build

bigpoppa

am not a total spaz and know my way round a pc and have built some in the past but have a new build to do this weekend, anyone in the dun leary area wanna give me a dig out?

bigpoppa

Ok here is the specifics if the media pc I am building, putting everything down for clarity but am fairly happy I can fit the ram and the tuner/ gpu / sata hd etc.

what is new to me is fitting the mobo to the case? have read some forums which seem to indicate it is pop in the mobo and screw it in and pop in CPU but am keen not to make any expensive mistakes!

Casebuilt in PSU takes mATX motherboards. Review here & here.
Antec Fusion 430w Micro ATX Media Centre Enclosure
http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4BBC

CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 1.8GHz Socket LGA775, 2MB, BOXED w/fan
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=330167

Mobo integrated audio/ethernet
MSI S775 Intel G965 MATX A L DDR2
http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4CFH

RAM
1GB DDR-2
http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3R57

Hard Disk 250GB quiet HD
Samsung 250GB S300 7200RPM 8MB
http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3YM4

TunerTuner
AVerMedia AVerTV MCE 116 Plus, 16 Channel preview, Auto scan, FM Radio
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=323375

GPU
Sapphire Radeon X1300 256MB DDR2, PCI-Express, Tv-Out, DVI-I, Lite-Retail
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=314137

8T8

Thats basically it yes you open up the case remove any parts that are obstructing the area for the motherboard to be fitted then line it up with the motherboard and screw it into the chassis.

After that you insert the CPU into the socket and then install the CPU cooler then the RAM and after that anything else.

Connect up the power switch and LED's but don't close the case up just yet do a power on test to make sure everything is working as it's supposed to if so now close up the case and install the operating system.

I'll move this into the HTPC forum as well as any further questions are more appropriate in their.

dubstub

I built mine a week or two ago and I hadn't seen the inside of a PC in years. Same as 8T8 said, the motherboard just screws into the case though you may have to put mountings down first to match up with where the mounting holes are on your case. Other than that, the things that cost me a bit of hassle:

If your case has a VFD and IR remote be sure to read the manual a couple of times and make sure you're happy with where you are connecting it to on your motherboard (usually audio connector and USB headers, you'll find all this information in your motherboard manual)

Next make sure you sort out all your power supply leads and connection points to drives and motherboard. I didn't realise that new CPUs take an extra 12V power supply and the leads supplied with my PSU weren't long enough to reach so had to buy an extension.

Make sure you put the port shield in before your motherboard! I didn't and had to remove it, put in the shield, and re-seat the motherboard.

Good luck! You'll be fine - it's not that difficult once you look at the diagrams for connections and have some sort of idea what you're doing.

bigpoppa

Ok so built it at the weekend and it went well overall. Only issues I had were:-

1) Cabling, very tight in there cable-wise and need to get a cable tie or two to tidy it up

2) CPU Cooler. Very annoying this one, the cooler is in rock solid but one of the four feet is not as solid as the rest due to a slight manafacturer issue with the plastic clip.

Otherwise all went well VFD etc all working great. Case is too large for under my tv so need to buy a bigger cabinet

Advice to others would be just follow the manuals and you cant go wrong.

Software wise installed GB-PVR and will get that working tonight. Slight issue getting tv listings but found xmltvgui very good!