Assembling your first PC- basics
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Assembling your first PC - Basics
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First things first
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I/O Backplate
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CPU backplate
Assembling the computer
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Mounting the CPU and CPU cooler
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Mounting the graphics card
Mounting your RAM
Mounting the PSU/Power Supply Unit
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Mounting harddrives, SSD's and Optical drives
Welcome to cable hell
And done
Assembling your first PC - Basics
Alright, welcome to a basic tutorial on how to build your first PC. This is not a comprehensive guide on how to build a computer, but rather the basics on how to do it.
I'll guide you through from start to end, but i'll recommend you having your motherboard and case manuals ready as we'll use them a lot.
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First things first
Alright, so assuming that nothing shipped in damaged, and we're ready to build our computer, there's a couple of things we have to do before throwing everything inside our case.
Standoff screws / Spacers
This is the very first basic step, and the first step i've seen people forget over and over again. Forgetting this step essentially results in a well-fried motherboard, and usually a very toasty processor and power supply as well.
The standoff screws are small screws that has to go between your motherboard, and the case you're using. If you don't use the screws, the soldering on the back of the motherboard will touch the metal casing typically used in computer cases, and result in a short-circuit of the system.
The screws typically looks as the one depicted on the picture above, but can look different depending on your case. They usually comes with a package with your computer case, along with a manual on how to put them in depending on your motherboard size. You might want to be sure to double-check that you've used the correct holes for the screws, by reading the manual.
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I/O Backplate
Not as essential as the standoff screws, people still tend to forget mounting this little fella before dumping the motherboard in. The I/O backplate is essentially mostly a dust shield at the back of your computer, as well as an overview of which ports are available in your computer. It can be used to hold the backports on the motherboard in place, but other than that is just a thin piece of metal.
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CPU backplate
This step is not entirely necessary, depending on what build you're doing. Typically if you're going for one of the better computer builds, you'll have to mount a backplate on the motherboard. The backplate allows for bigger/better coolers to be locked against the processor, and it's usually not something you can mount after you've mounted the motherboard inside your case.
In the picture i've used, it's clear that this case allows for backplate mounting after you've mounted the motherboard, but this is not always the case. Remember to read your processor cooler manual, and check if it requires backplate mounting before you assemble the motherboard.
Stock coolers usually don't require backplates, the same goes for some AMD coolers.
Assembling the computer
Alright, so let's get started with the assembling. Assuming you've correctly put in the standoff screws in the correct spaces, you should be able to position your motherboard on top of the screws. The screws should be visible through the small holes in your motherboard, and it is very much recommended that you fit all the holes and screws to make sure the motherboard is safely locked in place.
You also have to make sure that the I/O backplate is alligned properly with the backports on the motherboard, making this step a rather tricky parts. It might require a bit of force to push against the I/O backplate, as it does tend to stick out a bit. Don't worry though, the I/O backplate is flexible, as long as you don't use excessive force.
With the motherboard in place above all holes, screw the motherboard stand screws in, and be sure to tighten it well enough.
And for good measures, a tip from Wikihow regarding odd standoff screws and holes:
_ If you have trouble lining up the screw holes, double check that you have the standoffs in the proper holes on the tray. With lower quality cases there are sometimes alignment problems and you may have to forgo one or two screws. If this is the case, make sure you remove the corresponding standoffs. Some combinations of motherboards and cases may also use different types of screws in different places or provide non-matching screw holes that cannot be used in a specific case. The motherboard can possibly be damaged if you try to push it into position with the wrong set of standoffs underneath or when trying to use the wrong set of screw holes. _
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Mounting the CPU and CPU cooler
This step is very crucial, and one of the steps where most **** up. You have to absolutely sure you've read the manuals for your motherboard, and the processor you're using beforehand.
Your motherboard manual should include a chapter dedicated on how to mount your CPU. This goes from which way the CPU is turned, to minor details regarding the CPU socket itself.
You also have to make very sure that you don't bend any pins on either the CPU, or the motherboard. AMD CPU's got pins on the CPU itself, while Intel CPU's don't. In Intel's case the pins are located in the CPU socket on the motherboard itself.
When you're sure you're ready, place the CPU in the socket, and make sure it's tightened according to the motherboard manual. AMD CPU's usually require a little lever to be locked in place, while Intel CPU's got a lever and plate that needs to be locked.
The CPU cooler
If you already assembled the rest of the computer, and waited with the CPU and cooler for last, do not switch on the computer yet. Without the CPU cooler, the CPU is likely to fry nearly instantly due to the amount of heat generated.
Assembling the CPU cooler goes from very easy, to very tricky depending on the CPU cooler you've gotten. As always i'll refer to the manual for the exact model of cooler you've gotten, but i'll provide a few tips as well:
- Stock coolers usually comes with a thin layer of thermal paste, no need to apply any thermal paste in this case.
- Do not use excessive amounts of thermal paste. The amount of thermal paste used, should be the size of a single grain of rice. The thermal paste is there to even out uneven areas between the CPU and the cooler, not to cover the CPU in paste.
- Apply the thermal paste in the middle of the CPU, not on the sides. The cooler will smear it out for you when you tighten it, so don't worry with the sides.
- Be cautious when assembling the cooler, as the thermal paste might dry up quicker than anticipated. Jerking the cooler around with a CPU stuck underneath it might result in damages, so be sure not to do this. You should be on the safe side though, unless you're using some weird off-brand paste.
When you're done with the cooler, make sure to connect the CPU fan to the CPU fan socket on the motherboard, and any other fans as well.
It is entirely possible to mount the CPU and CPU cooler before mounting the motherboard inside the case, but i've honestly always found this to be quite the hassle, and recommend you do it this way instead.
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Mounting the graphics card
With the CPU and CPU cooler in place, we're ready for some of the easier parts. The graphics card is a fairly easy one to mount, and mostly just requires you to slap it inside one of your PCI-Express lanes. If your build is an APU build with no extra graphics card, you can skip this step entirely.
Usually the fastest PCI-e lane is located just underneath the CPU socket, and the backports of the motherboard. be sure that the graphics card is firmly placed in the socket, and that any locks that the PCI-e lane might have is locked as well.
Your case might have extension brackets in place in the back, which you'll have to dismantle to make room for the graphics card. Just dismantle the amount of spaces needed, and save the extension brackets if you feel like it.
If you got any other extension card like RAID card, soundcards and other extensions , the same procedure is used. Just make sure to consult your manual first regarding what lane to use, as you usually want the fastest lane for your graphics card.
Mounting your RAM
yet another easy step. The RAM is usually very easy to put in, but can be hindered a bit by big CPU cooler. if your CPU cooler is one of the very big models, you might want to put the RAM in beforehand.
When you're mounting your RAM make sure you do it in pairs. On the picture above we see 2 white lanes, and 2 blue lanes. If you're only using 2 pairs of RAM, make sure they are located in either the blue or the white lanes. If you use both the white and the blue lanes with only 2 sticks of RAM, you're going to run the RAM as single-channel, and you will lose substantial amounts of speed.
Usually there's a lane 1 and a lane 2 when it comes to pairing the RAM, but i've found that it usually doesn't matter whether you use the white or the blue lane. If you want to be absolutely sure, consult the manual regarding which lanes is set as Lane 1 in the BIOS.
Mounting the PSU/Power Supply Unit
Alright, so with most of the vital components in place, we're ready for propably the most vital component: the power supply. Luckily it's gotten rather easy these days to mount these fellas.
Depending on your kind of case, the power supply spot might be located anywhere in the case. The default however, is at the bottom back. Consult your manual if you're not sure.
Some people like to mount the power supply before the motherboard, but in most cases that's just a hassle when dealing with all the cables. If the mounting place is located in the top of the case, you might want to do it anyway, as i've found it to be quite bothersome to mount if after mounting the motherboard in these kind of cases.
If located at the bottom, be sure to mount the power supply with the fan pointing down, to let it pull fresh air in from outside the case.
mounting the power supply is fairly easy, just put it in place, and fasten it with screws. After you've made sure it's completely fastened, you can start pulling the 3 most vital cables, the CPU power, the ATX power and the PCI-e power.
The CPU power cable socket is usually located close to the CPU socket itself, and is either 4 or 8 holes which you need to fill with the CPU pin connector.
The ATX power cable socket is usually located to the right on the motherboard, and typically sports either 20 or 24 pins.
if you're unsure on where to locate the two sockets, again, consult the manual.
The PCI-e power sockets are located at the back of your graphics card. Some graphics card do no need external power, since the low wattage of the graphcis card means it can draw what it needs from the PCI-e lane itself. You can check up on this by viewing your graphics cards specifications, and check how many PCI-e connectors it need.
That's all we need right now from the power supply, but in some cases you might want to have the SATA cables ready, as well as the Molex cables. The SATA cables is for your harddrives and optical drives, while the Molex cables usually fits with your case fans.
If your case allows cable wiring through cable holes, use them for good measures. It allows easier airflow in your case, resulting in cooler hardware.
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Mounting harddrives, SSD's and Optical drives
Harddrives are typically fairly easy to mount. In most cases you should have an array of bays located in the front of your case, with space for the standard 3.5" harddrive. Pull out one of the bays, and mount the harddrive on it.
Mount SATA cables and SATA power connectors straight ahead if possible, and slide the bay back from where you took it. Depending on the case, it might come with drive locks. Consult your manual on the case, regarding how to use these.
The SSD is typically to be put inside the same 3.5" bays as the regular harddrives. Some bays have small screwholes located on the bottom of the bays which you can use to screw the SSD in place, others require a mounting bracket. Make sure to check up on whether you'll need a mounting bracket or not, when ordering the computer parts.
A few cases comes with small 2.5" bays, but don't necessarily count on it. Power and cables for the drive is the same as for the regular harddrives.
In the case you've gotten a M.2 SSD instead of a regular one, consult the motherboard manual on how to put these in place.
Optical drives are located at the top of the case typically, and is usually just slid in place. It is usually slid in place from outside of the case. You have to remove any case platings in front of the optical drive bay, before sliding it in however, as to make place for the drive. The drive itself is connected the same way as the harddrive and SSD.
Usually you'll want the connectors to be facing inwards towards the case itself, so that you can pull cables behind the inner walls of the case, allowing for easier airflow. Just make sure that both SATA cables and SATA power cables can reach through these paths.
Welcome to cable hell
If there is one thing i hate, it's cables. Pulling cables inside of a computer case might take some time and effort, but it is worth getting it done right the first time. I'll cover the most basic cables you absolutely have to mount in this part, but be noted that you should have a couple of straps ready for easier cable control. If you're in doubt on how to do cable control, i'd recommend watching a YouTube video about it, as there's only so much i can teach by text.
Front connectors
The front of your case usually sports a bunch of cables you need to make sure is proberly wired to your motherboard. Faulty wiring might result in the power button resetting the computer, or non-functional front audio.
Typically you'll have a cable going by the name of AC.97 or HD.Audio. Both cables are used for the ouput/input for speakers and microphones in the front of the computer. The cable needs to be mounted on the corresponding socket on the motherboard.
The USB header cable comes in 2 variants, a small one the size of the AC.97/HD.Audio type, and a broad one. The small ones is usually USB 2.0 connectors, while the bigger ones are USB 3.0 ones. There should be a socket for both on your motherboard.
PWR, RESET, HDD LED, and so on is probably the most annoying of the bunch. The cables are tiny, and needs to be matched correctly to the corresponding sockets on your motherboard. Failure to correctly do so, might result in your front buttons behaving differently.
Some higher-end motherboards comes with a easy to connect socket for all the cables, which you can use if you like.
if you haven't already connected the SATA data cables, do so now. Make sure to use any SATA 3.0 ports for your harddrives if they are available, and to use Port 1 for your primary hard drive. If port 1 is a SATA 2.0 port, find the lowest numbered SATA 3.0 port for your primary drive. It is not absolutely essential you use Port 1 for your primary drive, it just makes it easier to deal with the Bios later on.
Any case fans and the likes needs to be connected to the motherboard as well. If they don't have any 3 or 4 pin connectors for the motherboard, connecting them directly to your power supply by using Molex is doable as well.
All cables, and their locations are available in the manual. You should consult the manual no matter what when dealing with the PWR cables.
And done
With everything in place, put any covers you got back on the case, and start up your new computer. Remember to connect all power cables, and to turn on the power supply's I/O port on the back of it. If you didn't **** up completely on the way, you should be good to go with your new computer.
If your computer is not booting, check for the most basic things first:
- All power cables are correctly connected
- The RAM is seated correctly AND locked in place
- if you get CPU TEMP errors in BIOS, check that you seated the cooler correctly
Conclusion
despite being a basic introduction to computer building, it's still a rather comprehensive compilation. I hope you enjoyed it, and if you got any inputs or questions, feel free to ask them in the comment section below. I apologize for any grammatical errors, i'm not a native english speaker.
Tags: How to assemble | Basics
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