Building my own computer

Felstorm

Anyone know where i can get a good guide to help me assemble all the bits in the right order,don't break them ect. Ive a rough idea of what needs to be done but it always helps to have something to back it up with.Any ideas?

jessy

you will get all the help you want here in boards.ie. Read the second sticky at the top of this page to give you a bit more info on whats needed. remember the parts go together just like lego. If ya get stuck dont be afraid to post the problem.

There isint any specific order as long as you put the motherboard in first.

SantaHoe

Well the order I'd do it in...

Have a good long look at the manual, see what I'm dealing with
Make sure the PSU is fitted to the case.
Install ram & cpu/heatsink to motherboard. (a lot of people do this before installing the motherboard, to avoid bending... make sure to remove stickers and apply thermal paste / check for a thermal pad, read CPU documentation for specifics)
Set motherboard jumpers where needed.
Install motherboard into case. (remember to have the backing plate handy, this is the thin metal sheet with holes cut out to accomodate your serial/ps2/parallel/usb/onboard audio/etc ports... you'll know where to fit it when you see it, but it can take a few tries to get it sitting just right. Also remember to first fit the screws/feet that your motherboard will be sitting on, don't just screw it directly to the flat side of the chasis or it'll short the motherboard and your expansion cards won't fit)
Hook up case front panel switches and LEDs to motherboard. The exact wiring layout for this will be in the motherboard manual.
Install any additional ports like front/rear USB, firewire etc
Jumper and Install CD/HD drives to chasis.
Hook up the IDE and internal power cables where needed, mobo power included... and any other minor cabling like CD audio etc.
Install PCI/ISA/AGP cards.
Doublecheck that all fans have power connected and everything looks good.
Go into BIOS setup and check things over, make sure drives are detected, CPU multi/fsb detected correctly, temperature is hunkey dorey... turn off onboard devices that I don't want.
Check that fans are actually spinning.
Install OS.

Just picked out of my head, not a complete guide, but a quick checklist... let me know if I've missed something obvious :eek:

Nukem

Quick DIY help here
both AMD and Intel setup. this one is rated highly Build your own with vids. Yet another nice one another excellent and detailed one here and another

Have a a site in work with a lod of vids cant rmember the name ill post it tomor.
Google/Boards is the weapon of choice if your stuck. Not an expert but others are here.

vishal

i am going to upgrade my pc soon. i am using my old atx case. does the mobo come with mounting screws to mount with case?

ViperVenoM

in my experience ..actually ive had mixed experiences..some of my motherboards have come with all screws and spacers (so you dont short it) ..where as other boards ive bought had sod all and i had to rely on the bag i got with my case

Stacker came with more screws...then feck me i dunno hugggeee bag i got!

The Dr00g

You could do a lot worse than read everything on this site:

http://www.basichardware.com/

I think it's pretty cool.

Nukem

Found a few more i had

Not bad vids on DIY
http://www.quepublishing.com/promotion/1633#_
http://www.quepublishing.com/promotion/1641#_
http://www.quepublishing.com/promotion/1640#_

http://www.waterwheel.com/Build_A_PC/build_PC.htm
http://www.daileyint.com/build/

vishal

does the neo platinum 2 come with all the stuff?
what is stacker?
i don't have anything that came withe the case cos it was preassembled. i bought it from lidl

jessy

vishal wrote:

does the neo platinum 2 come with all the stuff?
what is stacker?
i don't have anything that came withe the case cos it was preassembled. i bought it from lidl

Depends on if its OEM or retail, Retail should have all parts.

vishal

it'll be retail

ViperVenoM

my neo plat i believe had everything so i presume a 2 will

a CM Stacker is a fecking huge case...which came with an immense bag of screws :eek:

and i swear i have been ripped off then because not all my retail boards came with the spacers :rolleyes:

duridian

I have never bought a retail board which had spacers included. Didn't think it was an expected thing as they usually come with a case and they can vary somewhat as well depending on the case one is talking about. Most common seem to be the brass hex type of spacer, my Wave Master has silver wider hex types, other cases I've seen have clip in type of spacers made of either plastic or light metal rather than screw in spacers.

vishal

if it dosn't come with the spacers, when i remove the old mobo will there be enough spacers for the new mobo? if not, were i am i supposed to get new ones from?

duridian

I can't say for definite. The Lidl pcs (Targa systems, around AMD Athlon 2000+) that I've seen seem to be normal ATX based systems, so the existing spacers should hopefully be in the right positions for most motherboards. That said I've never totally dismantled a Lidl pc so cannot swear to this absolutely. If the existing spacers are of a movable type, you can't lose anyway, because they can be repositioned if necessary. Some pc case (really cheap) have the motherboard's mounting plate pressed in such a way that the spacers are raised points on the actual plate itself. Even so, most of these will still take a normal ATX or microATX motherboard. Also, even though it is better to do so, you don't have absolutely "have to use" every single mounting hole on the motherboard if you haven't got quite enough spacers. As long as the board has adequate support and can't touch the chassis.The big thing to ensure is that all metal spacers are located under mounting points and not able to touch any other part of the motherboard's underside, speaks for itself really. You should establish also whether your Lidl pc case can take a full ATX motherboard or if it can only take a microATX motherboard. As a rule of thumb, if there are at most 4 expansion slots on the rear of your case then it can only take microATX, if there are 6 or 7 it can likely take a full ATX board.

Edit: By the way you may need to upgrade your power supply as well depending on what you decide to put into your new pc. It may not have enough juice for some of today's hardware and depending on the specs of your existing hardware, may be missing something like the "P4" 12volt connector if the current spec is Athlon or Athlon XP. The so-called P4 connector is used on a lot of the new AMD stuff as well nowadays.

Felstorm

Nukem wrote:

Found a few more i had

Not bad vids on DIY
http://www.quepublishing.com/promotion/1633#_
http://www.quepublishing.com/promotion/1641#_
http://www.quepublishing.com/promotion/1640#_

http://www.waterwheel.com/Build_A_PC/build_PC.htm
http://www.daileyint.com/build/

Great site but the guy in it sound like you typical american computer builder. Im not complaning though.

vishal

i already replaced the psu with a thermaltake 480 watt butterfly.
i only has 6 expansion slots at the back (this does not include the usb, mouse, keyboard etc. ports)

kinkstr

Nukem wrote:

Found a few more i had

Not bad vids on DIY
http://www.quepublishing.com/promotion/1633#_
http://www.quepublishing.com/promotion/1641#_
http://www.quepublishing.com/promotion/1640#_

http://www.waterwheel.com/Build_A_PC/build_PC.htm
http://www.daileyint.com/build/

fantastic links Nukem,im upgrading my pc atfer "the christmas" is over and i need all the info i can get

Nukem

Just a small point. Recently was playing with an old comp and went looking for the manuals online. Old one but had a good example of what to do and what goes where.

And decided id have a look at the new SLi from ASUS,most manuals are online and they are damn detailed. Just go to the webpage of the manufacturer of the part and download the manual.I picked the A8N-SLI Deluxe for a giggle - the manual is 176 pages long and its damn indepth.

Also try www.AMD.com and www.intel.com or whoever. Handy reference to questions you wanted to know

Lydesia

Whats all this talk about spacers?
How can you short the motherboard?