Building my computer, Part 1: Disaster

Well, I got my parts today, which is where I ran into my first snag: I don't know how to connect the power cables to the motherboard. Right now, I put it aside and I am currently trying to figure out what I did wrong.

 

I'm assuming you mean the ATX cables from the PSU?

I can't remember what you went for, but umm... ahh crap I gotta run!

Umm, look at this.

If you have any other power connectors, then they will be probably a similar block but only with 4 holes. Do the same

As for connecting - read the motherboard manual first if you don't know what you are doing. Read the instructions that came with the chip.

RAM is easy. Chip is sometimes a lil tricky - personally I'd do it before you put the board in the case - saves unnecessary flexing on the mounts.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE MOTHERBOARD MOUNTS IN THE CASE!!

Those are either gold hexagonal things, or funny clips. If there are none, then some cases have raised bumps around the screw holes - that's ok. You don't wanna screw to the case, it'll short!

 

So....You are saying not to screw the motherboard to the case itself?

 

Use the brass standoffs that came with the case. You screw THOSE to the case itself. THen you screw the mobo to those standoffs. First of all, put those standoffs in the proper holes so that the mobo will line up with all the slots and back plate.

 

Oh for the love of...Don't tell me...

 

Hold on. Hold on for one minute. You mean that the connector on the mobo won't connect to the ATX power connector from the PSU? Ok. If thats the case. Is the connector on the mobo bigger than the one from the PSU? If so, look for a smaller cable from the PSU that is has 4 plastic connectors, not one big D looking connector because that is a molex connector for hard drives, etc. Another way of identifying what I'm talking about is that the color of the cables should only be yellow and black.. Once you find it, simply, try to connect the big ATX power cable, until it fits like a glove, don't force it. It should then leave you with 4 more holes either to the right or the left. Simply take that cable I mentioned and plug it in to where it goes in smoothly.

Thing is, motherboards of recent used to have the 12pin ATX power connector and another 4pin 12volt connector. Now, however, mobo manufacturers have put both of them together to save space. It is just that the power supply manufacturs have yet to catch up with this, especially the ones that come with the case, which are cheap and poor quality for a demanding hardware.

 

Jason: I did this on my first PC ages ago. If you connect the mother board to the case w/o using those brass/plastic "stands", you probably shorted your motherboard.

 

Motherfucker...The damn instruction book said nothing about it: It just said to screw in the motherboard to the case.

 

You have to go with the instructions for your case

What case are you using, and what motherboard?

In the case should be a bag of screws, including standoffs. Some cases, however, will have a raised screw hole, then you don't need standoffs.

Standard stand-offs look like this:



You can also get them like this:



This kind screw into the case, and the motherboard pops on top.

Note that these are different from these spacers, which you often find in the pack:



These are only for when you run out of stand-offs. I wouldn't recommend using them, other than for supporting a middle hole when you don't have enough stand-offs.

Some cases also have clip-in stand-offs. You squeeze them and put them in square holes in the case. They look like this:



Lok back at the first picture. You see that sorta bulge in the case? You can tell it is flat with the case, because of the groove around it. Well, some cases have those raised right up abopve the case level, and you'd be able to feel that it is. Often, those cases will have only one or two stand-offs, if any. These cases, you can screw the board to directly.

If you've already screwed the motherboard direct, DO NOT plug the thing in! Unscrew the board and place the stand-offs in line with the holes on the board. Make sure you don't put in any where there aren't holes - they will short! You probably haven't damaged the board by doing this, unless you've powered it up. It would likely go bang, accompanied by a flash or smoke. This could destroy EVERYTHING - board, chip, RAM, PSU, maybe even any cards (e.g. graphics) that were plugged in. If you're lucky, only the board and PSU would go - very lucky, just the board.

Oh, another alignment guide :-

Does your motherboard have a backplate with it? If so, chances are it is a non-standard backplate. You'll have to take the original plate out - chances are that cheaper cases will have them attached to the case like an Airfix kit, so you'll have to push them out. Insert the new backplate, ensuring it fits on all sides - this can be tricky.

Regardless of whether you need a new backplate, if some of the port holes (e.g. keyboard, USB, network) have prongs that jut into the case, you need to slip your motherboard UNDER them.

Thanks to the following pages for the pics:

http://biorobots.cwru.edu/server/howto/buildcomp/mountmobo/
http://www.overclockers.com/articles643/index02.asp
http://www.rackmount.com/pcwsupport/ChasisInstall/RM0211/RM0211-Installation-Sheet-v2.htm

 

Didn't get any of those with the case. However, if I didn't turn it on yet, does it mean my board is still good? Eh, I may just have someone build it for me...Rather have a working computer then one that I screwed up on and had to order replacement parts.

 

You haven't turned it on yet? It should be fine then, as long our good ol' friend Static Electricity (read: NOT FRIEND) hasn't affected it from some other source. My (very hairy) friend made one of the chips on his hard disk CATCH FIRE because of that...

 

Thank god...Think I will just let someone else build my computer then.

 

You're doing ok so far. Before touching the electronics, touch the bare metal part of your desk to "ground" yourself and release any static build up. The further you live south, like in Florida, the less you have to worry about static shock.

 

Yeah, it's usually not a problem, if you remember touch some bare metal (preferably something earthed like some pipes) every now and then, try and avoid touching anything but the edges of PCBs where possible, and don't wear too much clothing or stuff like wool or nylon. I've never killed anything from static electricity... yet...

 

Dude, NEVER run your own repair shop. People don't want their PCs repaired by a nekkid man!!!

Jason, what case did you get? If there's nothing like any of them, you may have the kind where you can screw directly to the case, because they have the raised lugs. As I said, look at the 1st pic. That would be a hump like that you see in the case there, only this one would be raised above the surface.

Ultimate test - can you easily slide a credit card between the board and the case?

 

I'll take a few pictures in a few minutes and show you what I mean.

 

:-D OK, I never went that far... I only take my socks off if it's something I paid money for, and a jacket or jumper if I'm wearing one. Though you've got me thinking - some people would like their PCs repaired by hot nekkid ladies!

 

The chance of killing something with static electricity is very, very low.

 

I've never screwed up anything with static electricity, although when I start getting shocked by the PC cases, I tend to use those strap-dealies (I just touch the case if everything's normal, as the straps get in the way).