Building a PC without a case

LittleMc95

excatly as the title says. I have all my components but no case and at this stage i dont see my self getting a case this side of Christmas week, and I cant wait that long...


I would like to get some feed back about ways to do this and any advice on how to go about it.

Thanks.

Serephucus

Stick the motherboard on top of the box it came in, and you're pretty much set. I've done it plenty of times for testing stuff; it really just is computer assembly, minus the case. Everything else is the same.

Make sure not to kick any components when walking around the room if you build it on the floor! ( I lost an optical drive doing this. )

LittleMc95

But beside the danger or kicking it :L is there any way components could be damaged or anything?

nesf

Once the board is insulated from ground it'll be fine (e.g. on a box is fine). The danger is something like water or whatever spilling on the open board and shorting it.

LittleMc95

Oh another this i just remembered is how am i supposed to turn it on?

Serephucus

What motherboard did you get? Some of them have onboard power and reset switches.

LittleMc95

http://www2.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=43137&agid=1601

that one there.

deejer

ya just use a screwdriver to short the power connection (ie where you would connect the power cable from the case)

Touch them together and if all is in order your MB will post

Serephucus

Nope, don't look like it has any. In that case, you'll need to jump the PSU's power switch circuit. (No, it's not as horrible as it sounds, don't worry)

Basically, all you're doing it is pressing the power switch manually. Plug in all your components as normal, and if you want to start it, you stick a paperclip into the two correct wire holes on the PSU's 24-pin connector.

Have a look at this image. You want to connect the green wire (PS_ON) to any other black wire (COM), and your computer will start. I do it all the time when I have to test watercooling loops outside of my case.

LittleMc95

how can you do that when that 24 pin is connected to the mo bo?

Serephucus

You can stick the pin/paperclip/whatever in the same side as the wires, there's plenty of room.

LittleMc95

is there any easier way of doing it?

or is there any danger to doing this?

nesf

LittleMc95 wrote: »

or is there any danger to doing this?

It's only 12 volts so it's perfectly safe voltage wise. A power switch effectively does the same thing as shorting these two wires so it's perfectly safe for the motherboard (if you short the wrong ones no power will flow so again, no danger).

LittleMc95

i didnt mean any danger to me if that what you meant ?:L

so if i accidentally touch the other pins nothing will happen or be damaged?

also how can i turn it off then? I dont have windows installed yet im planning on doing that if i go throught with it out side a case

tuxy

Wait!! why couldn't he just jump the power pins on the motherboard? I wouldn't go near the power supply(even though it's safe if done right)

Serephucus

If the PSU isn't connected to the motherboard, things won't get power.

LittleMc95

so your saying just pull the plug?

tuxy

Serephucus wrote: »

If the PSU isn't connected to the motherboard, things won't get power.

But can't he just connect the psu as normal and then jump the power on pin on the motherboard?

Serephucus

Yes, and that's what I told him, but if the PSU is connected, the 24-pin connector covers the power pins, so the connector has to be jumped instead. It's effectively the same thing.

tuxy

The 24 pin connector covers does not cover these pins.

-( i )- Wicker

You might want to place a desk-fan near it when its turned on

Serephucus

Oh, my, gaaaaawd. I'm such a blonde.

Yeah, OP? Do what tuxy says. I'm apparently quite the tool today.

LittleMc95

yeah thats what i heard of doing before...:L i had no idea what you were talking about, can you even do that?

Serephucus

Yes. What I'm thinking of powers components without a motherboard.

tuxy

heh

OP what you want to do is find the pins I posted a pic of. Might look a bit different on your motherboard. Look for the two small pins marked pw.

Then using a small flat head screwdriver bridge them.

LittleMc95

so just tip a screwdriver off the two power switch pins?

nesf

LittleMc95 wrote: »

so just tip a screwdriver off the two power switch pins?

Yeah, all that happens with their method is the same as if you pushed down on the power switch and bridged the two pins/wires that way.

LittleMc95 wrote: »

yeah thats what i heard of doing before...:L i had no idea what you were talking about, can you even do that?

Yeah it works fine, it's identical to shorting the two motherboard power pins. Just more complicated. All you're doing with both is completing the circuit and that tells the machine to try and turn on.

LittleMc95

alright thats grand so. thanks for that lads.

deejer

LittleMc95 wrote: »

so just tip a screwdriver off the two power switch pins?

Like I said 15 posts ago

Nibs05

Watch this video from 14 mins

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_56kyib-Ls

LittleMc95

how would you do that to this mo bo
http://www2.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=43137&agid=1601

i looked in the manual and it shows only one pin for the pwrbtw?

LittleMc95

Actually never mind i got it to boot up but now when i go to install windows it doesn see the HDD. i dont have drives for this HDD so what should i do here?

Trevor451

LittleMc95 wrote: »

Actually never mind i got it to boot up but now when i go to install windows it doesn see the HDD. i dont have drives for this HDD so what should i do here?

sorry, can you elaborate a bit more on the problem you are having?

I presume the hard drive is connected? (double check connections to make sure a cable did not fall out)

tuxy

Is the hard drive detected in BIOS?

LittleMc95

Quote: PseudoFamous
Are you trying to use it as a boot drive?


What I did was remove it from the case as was going to install windows on a Pc that I recently bought. I was going to use the hdd as just my main drive but when I plugged it into the mo bo it made noise etc but the bios or windows installation menu could t see it.

So I put it back together and plugged it into my laptop and still nothing.