$fbf Build you own PC - Part 2 - Fitting it all together - by Phil98 ================================================================ $fdd It's preferable to wear an antistatic grounding strap whilst handling electronic stuff to avoid static damage to the sensitive chips. But failing that, you should at least ground yourself a few times during construction by touching anything connected to earth. To start with you just want your bare basic machine up and running so ignore fancy stuff like soundcards and modems for now. Anyway, dont expect reams of "physical" fitting instructions in any of your manuals, they'll basically assume you know what you're doing :) =1= First up, take the back/lid off your case - they should have supplied you with a bag of fitting screws (maybe inside). Depending on your case type, your motherboard will be spaced away from the bottom of the case (to prevent shorts under the motherboard) by either hexagonal metal "stand-offs" or plastic "plugs". Work out the optimal positions for these to go by lining the motherboard up with the holes in the bottom of your case. Fit the stand-offs and then screw down the motherboard wherever you can with screws provided (if this is the fixing method). =2= Fit the processor simply by lifting the lever on the side of the socket, dropping in the CPU (IT WILL ONLY FIT ONE WAY AROUND, LOOK AT THE PINS ON THE BOTTOM OF THE CHIP AND THE SOCKET - THERE IS A PIN "MISSING" IN ONE CORNER) and clipping the lever back down. Place your heatsink and fan on top of the CPU (fan upwards, obviously:) and attatch by whatever means are supplied (some cheap heatsinks have to be clipped on the CPU before fitting, better ones clip on the the plastic pegs on the CPU socket) =3= Set the motherboard jumpers.. (Unless its a jumperless motherboard:) Take care to get them all right and read the manual carefully. Every board differs but there may well be jumpers for: Bus speed (External clock), CPU speed (Internal clock speed), MMX (P55c Dual voltage), CPU Core Voltage selection, DIMM voltage. Your motherboard manual should give all the relevant data on the settings and jumper postions you require but here are some brief examples: AMD K6 166 & INTEL P166 MMX Ext Clock = 66mhz / Int Clock = x 2.5 / MMX (P55c) = yes AMD K6 200 & INTEL P200 MMX Ext Clock = 66mhz / Int Clock = x 3.0 / MMX (P55c) = yes CPU core voltage: On the AMD K6 it is stated on the top of the CPU (2.9v), for Intel's MMX it is 2.8v.- The bus voltage is 3.3v for both. Non MMX chips have different voltage requirements: contact supplier / web sites if in any doubt.. The DIMM voltage selection should be set to 5volts if using older EDO DIMMS and 3.3 volts if using SDRAM DIMMS. Ignore this if you're only using 72 pin EDO SIMMS. =4= Fit your memory. If they are SIMMs, follow the instructions in you motherboard booklet for the correct "banks" to fit them in. They only fit one way around so dont force them: slide them in at a slight angle, then tilt them upwards until vertical, the clips on the side of the socket should click into place. Some strategy make have to employed as to the order in which to fit the simms as fitted simms may get in the way of one's still to be fitted. In certain cases you may have to fit the SIMMs before fitting the motherboard! If you have DIMMs, ensure the clips at the ends of the socket are "open" (clipped down from the vertical) then insert the DIMM, the clips lock in when the DIMM is in place - again they only fit one way, so dont force em. =5= Find a convenient PCI slot for your graphics card and remove the port cover to the outside world accompanying that slot. Simply slot the card in and (re)place the screw in the top to keep it steady. =6= Attatch the ribbon cable for your floppy drive and harddrives to the connectors on the motherboard, lining up pin 1 as marked on the motherboard (or in the manual) with the striped wire in the cable. (Connect the hard drive to the PRIMARY IDE connector). Remove the bay covers where you want to fit the actual floppy and hard drive and attatch the devices with the screws provided. Connect the free ends of the ribbon cables to the drives, again matching up the striped wire with pin 1. (If you have 2 similar connectors on the floppy drive cable, use the one marked "A" or try the one at the end of the cable if there is no mark.) Finally connect the power leads from the PSU to the floppy (a small flat rectangular connector) and hardrive (a bigger "D" shaped plug - any one will do). If anything springs to life, you have the power on, turn it off! =7= Connect the motherboard power leads from the PSU. These are 2 white chunky rectanglar connectors that are normally plugged in next to each other on the motherboard - see your manual. They will normally only fit in one way but its usually the case that the black wires are in the centre of the whole "block". =8= If your case has a "Turbo switch" this will not be used but the reset button, PC speaker, harddrive and power's LED should be. Consult your motherboard booklet for the correct orientation of these connectors. The speaker may or may not be already attatched to the case, if not, there will be some tags to hold it in place somewhere in the case. There are still the parallel and serial ports to connect to the motherboard and to attach to the back of the machine but these are not required for a "pre-test" - you can fit them later and tidy up everything else. Check over all your work (jumpers especially) and make sure you're happy with everything. Now you are ready to test! $fffend