Building a PC computer! Part one.

[Lucysmith]

Building a PC computer! Part one. Building your own PC isn't easy. You need a working understanding of abbreviations used when used in reference to individual components, you need to know about heat output, wattage required, ATX spec in regards to motherboard's and cases and PSU's. The list goes on.

Bascially, a PC is just a jigsaw: It only fits together, correctly, one way. But it is possible to get it wrong, and doing so could leave you red-faced and empty-pocketed.

The Right Tools for the Job:
A screwdriver is obviously pretty important, so ensure you have a Phillips-head screwdriver. It's a good idea to get a magnetic-tipped one, as this will make your life much easier (screwing the motherboard into the case is a prime example) and a pair of wire cutters or scissors may also come in handy for things such as cable-ties.

Speaking of cable ties, it's advisable to purchase some of these and also some sprial cable wrap. Both of these will help to keep cables neat and tidy. This is essential for a PC to look good internally, it'll also help to speed up any trouble-shooting. Tidy cabling will also improve airflow throughout the case too. A job worth doing is worth doing well.

People who have built one or a few PC's will more than likely tell you its not worth bothering with an anti-static wristband, or grounding yourself on a radiator. But as a first time builder what you have to remember is that PC components are very highly susceptible to static electricity, and are easily damaged by it.

It's very important to take some precautions, because which would you prefer? spending £5 on an anti-static wristband, or risking ruining that £350 graphics card that you've just bought?

Follow the points below and you can't go far wrong:
When working with an PC component handle it only by its edges.
Either purchase an anti-static wrist cable, ground yourself on a radiator or keep touching the PSU case (power supply unit) for the PC that you have to stop a build-up of static.

It isn't totally necessary but if you want further peace of mind you can also purchase anti-static mats. These are useful when fitting the cpu (central processing unit) cooler to the motherboard.

Take your time! I realise getting your PC up and running will be utmost in your mind. But you might end up having to troubleshoot problems if you rush it which will cost you the time you may have saved.

First of all, make sure that you have a large enough space to build your PC.

The next stage is planning the build; Having the correct tools to hand, Knowing where each component goes, what order you're going to connect the components, attaching the power cables (taking into account your cable management to help airflow), and finally having the instructions for each component to hand should you experience problems so you can troubleshoot.

Now to the build itself. This is the order i would recommend you fit the components, but it's just a guide.

As the case is used to house all the components of your pc its the best place to start.
-Remove the side panel(s).
-Some cases have removable motherboard trays, if your does remove it now.
(Doing both of the above helps with access to fit components).
-The case will arrive with bags of various 'nuts and bolts', have these to hand now.

The first component to fit will be the PSU (Power Supply Unit). I'm working on the premise that your case doesn't have one installed already.
If you've taken into account how to route your psu cables (as stated above) you'll know where you're going to place them and which ones you are going to need to use.

As an example for a PC with 1 SATA HDD, 1 graphics card, and one optical drive you'll need:
-A SATA power connector for the HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
-A molex connector for the optical drive.
-A PCI-E connector for the graphics card.
]You'll also need to take into account the 24-pin 12v connector for the motherboard, the 4-pin or 8-pin ATX connector for the motherboard (if your's requires one of these).

The above doesn't include the communication cables, just the power cables. So you'll also need an IDE cable for your optical drive, a SATA cable for your hard drive.

This is just a basic spec, as yours may be different. You may also have a fan-controller, a second optical drive or indeed a second graphics card. Maybe a sound card also. Take all this into account when purchasing your PSU as you'll need to account for each component that requires power from the PSU.

Also take into account most PSU's have 2 connectors per cable; some have 2xmolex or 2xSATA, but some have one of each. But most of the higher-power PSU's (500w+) usually have 4 connectors per cable, 2 of each.

You can also use cable sheathing to 'tie' cables together, keeping them neater, or indeed cable-ties to group cables and sticky cable-tie bases to help route them neatly.

Places for hiding/tidying cables away:
Above and to the sides of the power supply.
Underneath the motherboard tray.
In the hard drive/optical drive cage.

Unless you're filling your pc to the top with components it's rather unlikely that you will need to use all the cables provided so to save you having to tidy any spare's away inside the case it would be beneficial to get a modular psu. This just means you can connect/disconnect cables to/from the psu as and when required.

Now you've got the psu fitted inside the case the next step is to install the motherboard. But before you do this ensure you remove the existing backplate (this is the cutout on the rear of the case that has pre-shaped holes for the various sockets on the motherboard) and install the backplate that came with your motherboard.

It's necessary to do this simply because motherboards tend to have differing ports on the back or the same ports but in differing locations on the motherboard.

Also, before you install the motherboard you'll need to screw the motherboard stand-off's to the motherboard tray. Most cases can fit various sized ATX motherboards so you may see loads of holes ready for the stand-offs on the tray. Don't be too worried by this as its a very simple exercise to hold the motherboard over the tray and see where the standoffs should go.

But ensure you only fit the necessary amount of stand-off's that the motherboard has holes for. As fitting even one extra that doesn't have a screw-hole could ruin your motherboard.

The motherboard can be installed now, but prior to doing this just double check how your cpu cooler is mounted, as some require the fitment of a backplate on the rear of the motherboard.

If you've got a removable motherboard tray its beneficial at this point as you could also fit the cpu, cpu cooler and memory as it will be that less fiddly. I wouldn't recommend connecting anything else that isn't locked in place purely by mountings on the motherboard itself (such as the graphics card).

As it will depend on which cpu and cpu cooler you're using i'm not going to go into how to install them but ensure, as always, you follow the instructions.

Fitting the ram to the motherboard is really very simple as it only fits one way via a slot in the ram that acts as a key. But double check your motherboard as most nowadays can take advantage of running ram in dual channel. As the dual channels slots vary from between motherboards i'd recommend strongly reading the instructions pertaining to the fitment of ram that came with your motherboard.

Now you've done all that, you can now fit the motherboard and tray back into the case.

(Obviously, if your case hasn't got a removable tray then it will already be in the case)

Now connect the wires that come fitted to the case to the corresponding pins on the motherboard (again, read the instructions that came with your motherboard) This provides power to any led's on the case and also any USB and Firewire ports on the case.

Please note if they don't work once you've powered up just turn the cables through 180 degrees on the motherboard connectors.

Now you can install the hdd(s), again, referring to your motherboards instructions, ensure you attach the sata cable from the drive that you want to be the primary to the correct sata port on the motherboard.

If your case has a front intake fan with the hdd cage behind it (as most do) ensure you place the hdd in-line with the hub of the fan because 1) This will block the least amount of airflow into the case and 2) it will allow the hdd to be cooled by air flowing both above it and under it.

If installing two or more hdd's though, try to leave a gap between them as they can get very hot if you put them together. This can be even more of an issue if you've got them configured in a raid array as they will more than likely be working at the same time.

If you've more than two hdd's, it might be worth also purchasing an aftermarket adaptor for one of the optical bays so you can fit a hdd or two in them (if you've got them to spare) because the more hdd's you install behind the intake fan, the less air is getting into the case to help cool your other components.

Now install the one or two optical drives you have, slide each one into a bay in the case and use all screw holes provided to secure the drive to the bay (being lazy and just installing one or two per side can result in the drive shuddering as it spins up, creating lots of noise!).

Now attach the IDE cable to the motherboard, then put the connector labelled 'primary' into the drive you think you'll be using the most and the other connector labelled 'secondary' into the other drive (If you're using a second drive).

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