Build you own PC
Building your own Pc is not as difficult as it may at first appear.
All windows operating systems are plug and play: that is they detect and load their own software drivers automatically from within windows or from a CD.
Part are readily available on-line or in computer stores or computer fairs, even from auction sites like E-bay.
Both new and /or second-hand parts can be used in construction
Let us consider the part that make up a PC.
Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, Printer. These must be bought new or second-hand, as none are capable of home assembly
The case with its power supply (PSU)
A motherboard
A processor with heat sink and fan
RAM modules
A video card
Sound card
Speakers
Hard drive
Floppy drive
CD/DVD drives
Modem
The case and PSU
Often overlooked the case is an important item. Try to purchase a good quality case with a good quality power supply unit. Better Psu’s tend to be smaller and take up less valuable space in the case therefore allowing better access to the motherboard etc.
See how small this PSU is in the upper left corner of this ATX case.
Here you can see the PSU and the case fan below it. In the upper right corner can be seen the drive bays for CD and floppy drives and below are the cables for the LED lights and power on switch.
Most computer stores sell cases or look online for one. Computer Shopper have cases for sale as do Overclockers.co.uk
Your case will have a fan
Cooling of the case is crucial with today’s high-speed processors. Take a look at their website to find out what level of cooling you require in your case. Heat will shorten the life of your pc’s components so make sure your case is properly cooled the addition of a second case fan may be required.
Make sure that you attach the plug to the motherboard connector the right way round. You don't want the fan to spin in reverse and suck air into the computer instead of blowing it out
If you are installing a 500MHz to 1GHz (1000MHz) processor a case with a 250W (250 Watt) PSU will be adequate
Cases with 250W 300W and 350W are readily available in the UK
PSU’s of 430W and 550W may be harder to find here.
If you run out of drive power headers, you can use a power splitter, which adds two headers by plugging it into one header
If cables are to short then extensions are available.
Good quality PSU’s have plenty of cable.
Take a look at this website-: Choosing the Right Power Supply - [url]*firingsquad.gamers.com/guides/power_supply/[/url]
If in doubt about the power supply for your processor refer to the Intel and AMD websites.
A new case will usually come with the connection cable to connect it to a power outlet, and all of the stand-off screws and washers required to mount a motherboard, plus an assortment of mounting screws for drives and adapter cards.
A PSU is easy to install in the case. It just screws into its bay that has a cutting in the back of the case for the fan to blow out of, and it is attached to the motherboard by a specially keyed plug ---- it can only be inserted one way round. Just be sure the voltage is set to the correct level for your supply ie.240V in the UK
Remember to make sure that the case and its power supply unit can accommodate the processor and all of the hardware that you want to use in the system.
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Motherboard
If you purchase a new, boxed motherboard, it will come with all the cables for the disks and drives that it supports, plus a manual that will provide information on configuration and installation as well as its BIOS settings. It will likely be well illustrated to. If you do not have the manual for your motherboard try to obtain it of their web site.
You must buy a motherboard that supports the processor you intend to use. Motherboards designed for AMD Athlon and Duron processors will not run Intel Celeron or pentium2/3/4
You must choose between Intel and AMD processor and them buy the board to support it. You can do this by visiting a local shop that sells motherboards, buy one from one of the mail-order suppliers that advertise in PC magazines such as Computer Shopper, or bid for one at an auction website such as eBay.
It is worth noting that large manufacturers like Compaq and H Packard use there own custom cases and motherboards so you will not be able to install a standard board into their cases.
Purchase the correct fan for your processor and if possible have it plug into the PSU and not directly to the motherboard, as this may not be able to supply enough power to run the fan.
A word on heat sinks and fans
Some of the heat sink & fan units for modern high-speed processors have some form of sticky heat transfer material on the underside of the heat sink in the form of a small square that fits over the processor's central core where the main processing chip is housed. This will help the heat to conduct away from the core to the heat sink so that the fan can dissipate the heat into the case. Since it is sticky, a thin protective plastic cover will have to be removed prior to fitting the cooler to the CPU. Failure to do so can cause the processor to overheat rapidly enough to destroy itself.
If the heat sink and fan unit came with a strip of film covering thermal compound, you should not remove the heat sink and fan from the processor after it has been installed and expect the compound to function properly again, because it can only be used once.
If the cooling unit doesn't provide any heat transfer material, you can use thermal paste - or a thermal pad can be used
Before fitting the motherboard into the case it is a good idea to fit the processor and install the RAM and also to set any jumpers and switches in accordance with the manual.
REMEMBER do not place the motherboard on any surface that will conduct electricity Place it on an insulated material such as the bag it came in and discharge your own static before touching it by touching a known earth source such as a radiator or bath tap. Use an anti-static wrist strap attached to earth i.e. the case plugged in but NOT turned on.
Installing the processor
The installation of a socketed processor is just a matter of lifting the lever beside the Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) processor socket and inserting the processor into it the right way round then pressing the lever back in place. The socket's lever in the picture is brown and it is located on the bottom side of the socket - held in place under a protrusion from the socket itself.
The two clipped corners of this Socket 370 socket are clearly seen in the bottom corners of the socket. A Socket 370 processor's pin grid array will match its shape. A Super Socket 7 socket only has one clipped corner that matches the processor's pin grid array.
The processor can be correctly aligned in the socket by matching the clipped corner(s) of the socket with the clipped corner(s) on the underside of the processor.
The clipped corner, seen on the images below of the front and bottom of an AMD Athlon 64 processor, is fitted to the matching corner of the processor socket on the motherboard.
Make sure that pins do not get bent or your processor will be useless
The image below shows the lifted insertion arm of a motherboard's Socket A socket that accepts AMD Athlon XP processors.
Below are the instructions for installing any socket processor, only what to match on the processor and the socket will differ.
The image above shows the heat sink and fan unit fitted to the processor, with its power cable attached to the appropriate connection point on the motherboard.
And the image below shows a different kind of heat sink and fan unit with the lever that is used to fit it to the processor socket.
There are various kinds of lever implementations used to make fitting the cooling unit easy. However, if you have never installed the type of processor and cooling unit, you should always visit the processor's manufacturer's site for illustrated instructions on how to install them, because it often requires specific knowledge that is more than just common sense.
Super Socket 7 processors and cooling units are the easiest to install, but the installation of Intel Slot 1, Celeron, Pentium 3 and Pentium 4 processors, AMD Slot A, Duron and Athlon processors, and the various types of cooling units that fit to them require know-how that can lead to disaster if it is not applied properly.
AMD Athlon and Duron, Socket A processors and cooling units are easier to install than Intel Pentium 4 processors
To aid heat transfer you must use thermal paste or a thermal pad between your processor and its fan
Do not apply it to thick a few rice size drops will do. The idea is just to expel the air from in between the two surfaces
Too much paste can actually reduce heat transfer.
Thermal pads are even easier to fit they have a protective film that you remove then fit them between your processor and fan
They can however only be used once
The installation of the processor into the motherboard and then the fitting of the motherboard into the case are simple procedures and will require only simple tools such as screwdrivers and pliers. The board is usually fixed to a plate that has stand-off mounting holes for stand-off screws that match the screw-in holes on the motherboard.
Brass stand off screws should be supplied with your case
They insulate the board from the case by air. They screw into the case and the board fixes to them
You place the washers over the holes in the motherboard and then screw the board to the stand-off screws on the plate. The plate with the motherboard fixed to it is then screwed into the case so that the ports fit into the cuttings of the ports panel. No drilling will be required, as all the holes should line up.
All other components can be fitted to the motherboard after it has been fitted in its case.
The drives can be fitted into their bays before or after you fit the motherboard. A new case will have blanking plates fitted over the ports and drive bays often these blanking plates can be removed and refitted as required.
Your motherboards BIOS will be programmed to run all of the processors listed in its manual but you may have to re-flash it if you want to run an unrecognised processor
You should check on the makes website to see what processors your board can support.
If your board has inbuilt video and audio cards then these will not need to be purchased separately but remember that the more work your board has to do will slow your system down as they demand processor time. Removing them to separate cards takes some of the load off the system.
If video and audio cards are integrated on the board then these devices will be plugged directly into the ports on the board itself.
The BIOS battery on the motherboard
BIOS (CMOS) battery replacement site - How to replace a BIOS (CMOS) battery -
[url]*www.monster-hardware.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=[/url]
Connecting cables lead from the front of your case onto the motherboard and will require connecting
Note that they are clearly marked. It is possible to fit them the wrong way round but this will cause no harm. However if connected wrong then the led or switch that they run will not work. Just reconnect them the other way round and all will be fine.
See how they fit to the motherboard
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RAM
Random access memory is best obtained from a supplier such as Crucial. They supply memory specifically for your PC or motherboard. Look on their website to find out what is available for yours
How much RAM will you require???
Go to Memory
RAM in the form of SIMM is still obtainable but it is unlikely you will be fitting this as all modern boards use memory in the form of DIMM or even RIMM as manufactured by Rambus
DIMM modules (EDO RAM, SDRAM, DDR RAM) are very easy to install. First open the clip at the end of each slot and then push the module vertically down into it so that the two end clips close around it on their own. You should make sure that the clips are fixed tight to the module.
Installing the DIMM modules is merely a matter of pushing the module directly down into the DIMM slot as shown in the diagram below.
Check in your motherboards manual to find if the memory slots have to be filled in a particular order, some boards require them to be filled in order 0/1/2 etc.
Your motherboards manual will show you how to install the memory and set the bus frequency so read it first.
It should be noted that windows XP requires 256MB of RAM but will work with 128MB. Windows 95/98/99/98se would not work well with RAM in excess of 512 MB.
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Sound and video cards
If your requirements a purely surfing the net and hearing normal sounds made by windows then a motherboard with inbuilt video and sound will be OK.
If you want to install a sound card to play audio CDs, DVD movies, or MPEG/AVI video files and listen to websites with sound almost any new sound card costing between £15 and £20 will be perfectly adequate
If you want to use the sound card for recording and editing MIDI files, and you want full surround sound for gaming you should purchase an expensive sound card that will do what you require
The video and sound cards will be supplied with CDs containing the drivers and installation instructions. If your operating system has the correct drivers in its library, it will load them automatically. You can of course download driver updates from the web and install them
You will also need to have a set of speakers to hear your sounds on. Generally you get what you pay for with prices starting at about £15
Most motherboard manuals provide drawings or images showing how to install cards and RAM in the motherboard
If you don’t have a manual for your card find one online at the manufactures website
Follow the same rules to earth yourself and the case as you did with the motherboard
Installing a PCI or AGP video card is purely a matter of opening the case and removing the screw that screws the slot's metal cover over its outlet at the back of the case, and then inserting the card in its slot so that its face plate replaces the metal cover and shows at the back of the case. Just make sure that the card is inserted all the way into the slot
The image below shows typical slot arrangement on a motherboard.
Motherboards are out now that use their own colour schemes for the slots instead of the standard black (ISA), white (PCI), and brown (AGP) colours. Make sure you have read the manual and understand what fits what slot as putting the wrong card in the wrong slot can have dire consequences for your motherboard.
More information on installing and running video cards can be found here [url]*www.motherboards.org/articlesd/how-to-guides/1168_1.html[/url]
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The Modem
Dial-up modem cards (internal modems) are installed in an ISA or PCI slot on your computers motherboard
You should not buy anything less than a 56K modem that supports the universal V.90 or V.92 standards
Having installed the modem card in its ISA or PCI slot with the PC switched off, installing the modem's driver software is usually merely a matter of starting the system, and using the Have Disk button when Windows detects new hardware - in this case a new PCI Communications Device for a PCI modem.
A boxed modem (internal card or external unit) will come with a CD containing its software drivers and any other software that can be used with it.
Insert the CD into a CD drive and use the Browse option to navigate to the folder containing the correct drivers on the CD. The route to the correct folder will be provided in the installation instructions that came with the modem.
An internal modem uses a virtual COM port that is not addressed to the back of the case.
If you are using a USB modem then your motherboard must have USB ports and your OS must support them so windows 98 is a minimum
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Disk drives
THE HARD DRIVE
You will of course need at least one hard disk drive, and you have a choice. Either an IDE drive or a SCSI drive. By far most Pc’s purchased on the high street will have an IED drive, but if you want your system for high intensive graphic work, computer aided design or video editing then a SCSI HDD may suit your requirements better. However SCSI drives are not quite as easy to install as IED ones. Your motherboard may not have an inbuilt SCSI controller and you would require an adapter card. Also the installation of SCSI drives is quite complicated requiring its own ID number. So if your requirement is for a SCSI HDD then you should look here PCSupportAdvisor.com to find out how to fit one.
Lets assume then that you will be fitting an IED HDD.
You will have to set its jumpers for its particular roll i.e. Master or slave. If it’s your only drive then it will of course be set to master
The jumper settings are often printed onto the drive its self-but will be in the manual that came with it.
The two white jumpers can be seen in this picture
Screws to fit your drive into a drive bay will have been supplied with your case, if not then you will have to buy suitable screws to fit it.
It can be fitted anyway up but they are generally fitted with their circuit board down
Position it with cooling in mind. A 10mm air gap all round is a minimum to allow the fan to circulate cool air over it
Do not over tighten the fixing screws or your drive could be damaged. You may have to drill the case if convenient holes are not in the drive bay.
The picture above clearly shows the 4 pins for the power supply on the right.
Your drive has to be connected to the motherboard. This has traditionally been achieved with a ribbon cable.
The boot HDD (that is the one with windows on it) must be connected to the Primary IDE channel on your motherboard and must be set as master.
The red line on the ribbon cable must connect to pin 1. This pin will usually be marked but it is always the pin closest to the power supply plug.
Your motherboard should be able to support 4 IED drives some of these will be CD/DVD drives.
Just to complicate things slightly there is now a new type of connecting cable that is round and is supplied in a variety of colours. Its plugs are colour coded.
The blue plug always connects the motherboard while the black plug always connects the master drive. A grey plug would link the slave drive.
CD and floppy dirk drives
The CD drive is also an IDE drive so it can be fitted as a slave to your hard drive or as a master to its own drive on the secondary IDE channel on your motherboard. Just set its jumpers according to its use.
The power cable and ribbon cable are fitted exactly the same as for your hard drive.
Mount it in your case after removing one of the cases blanking plates at the front. Use plenty of screws to fit it as these drives are subject to a lot of vibration in use.
CD drives are connected to your sound card by a single wire, if your sound is integral with your motherboard then there will be a socket on it to connect to.
Remember it is always worth the little extra money for a CD writer as these are very useful for back up.
A 3 1/2� floppy drive is also needed.
These fit in just the same way. Have their own power plug and ribbon connector that fits to the FDD channel on the board.
All these drive should come with their software but if you want them they may be available from here [url]*www.completelyfreesoftware.com/[/url]
[url]*www.tucows.com/[/url]
[url]*www.zdnet.com/[/url]
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Installing windows
If your system does not have windows loaded on it you will be able to access the bios on start up by pressing the Delete key as you switch on. If the BIOS settings are set to auto then your hard drive should be configured automatically. The motherboards manual should have details on the bios settings and windows installation
Before installing windows your hard drive will need to be formatted. Windows should come with a floppy disk that lets you do this. Alternatively your HDD may have come with a disk to do this.
Normally you insert the floppy into its drive and turn your system on. There will be instructions in the relevant manual to help with the set up.
All motherboards can now boot direct from a CD. Versions of Windows from Windows 98 up can be booted from their set-up CD. All you need to do is enter the BIOS set-up program, usually by pressing the Del key as the memory count takes place. There will be an option that sets the boot order of the FDD, the HDD, the CD-ROM drive, etc. All you have to do is enable the CD drive as the boot drive, and then reboot with the Windows 98 (or higher version) CD in the drive. Windows should bring up its opening window that gives you the options to install it. All windows systems run plug and play so it should recognise all your hardware and load the relevant drives or prompt you to install them from CD or floppy
If you have problems then look here for help on booting and installing windows [url]*www.bootdisk.com/[/url]
If you are installing a separate sound card I.e. not integral with your motherboard it is a good idea to fit this after you have run windows for the first time. This will allow plug and play to recognise it and install it without problems.
.
Building your own Pc is not as difficult as it may at first appear.
All windows operating systems are plug and play: that is they detect and load their own software drivers automatically from within windows or from a CD.
Part are readily available on-line or in computer stores or computer fairs, even from auction sites like E-bay.
Both new and /or second-hand parts can be used in construction
Let us consider the part that make up a PC.
Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, Printer. These must be bought new or second-hand, as none are capable of home assembly
The case with its power supply (PSU)
A motherboard
A processor with heat sink and fan
RAM modules
A video card
Sound card
Speakers
Hard drive
Floppy drive
CD/DVD drives
Modem
The case and PSU
Often overlooked the case is an important item. Try to purchase a good quality case with a good quality power supply unit. Better Psu’s tend to be smaller and take up less valuable space in the case therefore allowing better access to the motherboard etc.
See how small this PSU is in the upper left corner of this ATX case.
Here you can see the PSU and the case fan below it. In the upper right corner can be seen the drive bays for CD and floppy drives and below are the cables for the LED lights and power on switch.
Most computer stores sell cases or look online for one. Computer Shopper have cases for sale as do Overclockers.co.uk
Your case will have a fan
Cooling of the case is crucial with today’s high-speed processors. Take a look at their website to find out what level of cooling you require in your case. Heat will shorten the life of your pc’s components so make sure your case is properly cooled the addition of a second case fan may be required.
Make sure that you attach the plug to the motherboard connector the right way round. You don't want the fan to spin in reverse and suck air into the computer instead of blowing it out
If you are installing a 500MHz to 1GHz (1000MHz) processor a case with a 250W (250 Watt) PSU will be adequate
Cases with 250W 300W and 350W are readily available in the UK
PSU’s of 430W and 550W may be harder to find here.
If you run out of drive power headers, you can use a power splitter, which adds two headers by plugging it into one header
If cables are to short then extensions are available.
Good quality PSU’s have plenty of cable.
Take a look at this website-: Choosing the Right Power Supply - [url]*firingsquad.gamers.com/guides/power_supply/[/url]
If in doubt about the power supply for your processor refer to the Intel and AMD websites.
A new case will usually come with the connection cable to connect it to a power outlet, and all of the stand-off screws and washers required to mount a motherboard, plus an assortment of mounting screws for drives and adapter cards.
A PSU is easy to install in the case. It just screws into its bay that has a cutting in the back of the case for the fan to blow out of, and it is attached to the motherboard by a specially keyed plug ---- it can only be inserted one way round. Just be sure the voltage is set to the correct level for your supply ie.240V in the UK
Remember to make sure that the case and its power supply unit can accommodate the processor and all of the hardware that you want to use in the system.
-oOo-
Motherboard
If you purchase a new, boxed motherboard, it will come with all the cables for the disks and drives that it supports, plus a manual that will provide information on configuration and installation as well as its BIOS settings. It will likely be well illustrated to. If you do not have the manual for your motherboard try to obtain it of their web site.
You must buy a motherboard that supports the processor you intend to use. Motherboards designed for AMD Athlon and Duron processors will not run Intel Celeron or pentium2/3/4
You must choose between Intel and AMD processor and them buy the board to support it. You can do this by visiting a local shop that sells motherboards, buy one from one of the mail-order suppliers that advertise in PC magazines such as Computer Shopper, or bid for one at an auction website such as eBay.
It is worth noting that large manufacturers like Compaq and H Packard use there own custom cases and motherboards so you will not be able to install a standard board into their cases.
Purchase the correct fan for your processor and if possible have it plug into the PSU and not directly to the motherboard, as this may not be able to supply enough power to run the fan.
A word on heat sinks and fans
Some of the heat sink & fan units for modern high-speed processors have some form of sticky heat transfer material on the underside of the heat sink in the form of a small square that fits over the processor's central core where the main processing chip is housed. This will help the heat to conduct away from the core to the heat sink so that the fan can dissipate the heat into the case. Since it is sticky, a thin protective plastic cover will have to be removed prior to fitting the cooler to the CPU. Failure to do so can cause the processor to overheat rapidly enough to destroy itself.
If the heat sink and fan unit came with a strip of film covering thermal compound, you should not remove the heat sink and fan from the processor after it has been installed and expect the compound to function properly again, because it can only be used once.
If the cooling unit doesn't provide any heat transfer material, you can use thermal paste - or a thermal pad can be used
Before fitting the motherboard into the case it is a good idea to fit the processor and install the RAM and also to set any jumpers and switches in accordance with the manual.
REMEMBER do not place the motherboard on any surface that will conduct electricity Place it on an insulated material such as the bag it came in and discharge your own static before touching it by touching a known earth source such as a radiator or bath tap. Use an anti-static wrist strap attached to earth i.e. the case plugged in but NOT turned on.
Installing the processor
The installation of a socketed processor is just a matter of lifting the lever beside the Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) processor socket and inserting the processor into it the right way round then pressing the lever back in place. The socket's lever in the picture is brown and it is located on the bottom side of the socket - held in place under a protrusion from the socket itself.
The two clipped corners of this Socket 370 socket are clearly seen in the bottom corners of the socket. A Socket 370 processor's pin grid array will match its shape. A Super Socket 7 socket only has one clipped corner that matches the processor's pin grid array.
The processor can be correctly aligned in the socket by matching the clipped corner(s) of the socket with the clipped corner(s) on the underside of the processor.
The clipped corner, seen on the images below of the front and bottom of an AMD Athlon 64 processor, is fitted to the matching corner of the processor socket on the motherboard.
Make sure that pins do not get bent or your processor will be useless
The image below shows the lifted insertion arm of a motherboard's Socket A socket that accepts AMD Athlon XP processors.
Below are the instructions for installing any socket processor, only what to match on the processor and the socket will differ.
The image above shows the heat sink and fan unit fitted to the processor, with its power cable attached to the appropriate connection point on the motherboard.
And the image below shows a different kind of heat sink and fan unit with the lever that is used to fit it to the processor socket.
There are various kinds of lever implementations used to make fitting the cooling unit easy. However, if you have never installed the type of processor and cooling unit, you should always visit the processor's manufacturer's site for illustrated instructions on how to install them, because it often requires specific knowledge that is more than just common sense.
Super Socket 7 processors and cooling units are the easiest to install, but the installation of Intel Slot 1, Celeron, Pentium 3 and Pentium 4 processors, AMD Slot A, Duron and Athlon processors, and the various types of cooling units that fit to them require know-how that can lead to disaster if it is not applied properly.
AMD Athlon and Duron, Socket A processors and cooling units are easier to install than Intel Pentium 4 processors
To aid heat transfer you must use thermal paste or a thermal pad between your processor and its fan
Do not apply it to thick a few rice size drops will do. The idea is just to expel the air from in between the two surfaces
Too much paste can actually reduce heat transfer.
Thermal pads are even easier to fit they have a protective film that you remove then fit them between your processor and fan
They can however only be used once
The installation of the processor into the motherboard and then the fitting of the motherboard into the case are simple procedures and will require only simple tools such as screwdrivers and pliers. The board is usually fixed to a plate that has stand-off mounting holes for stand-off screws that match the screw-in holes on the motherboard.
Brass stand off screws should be supplied with your case
They insulate the board from the case by air. They screw into the case and the board fixes to them
You place the washers over the holes in the motherboard and then screw the board to the stand-off screws on the plate. The plate with the motherboard fixed to it is then screwed into the case so that the ports fit into the cuttings of the ports panel. No drilling will be required, as all the holes should line up.
All other components can be fitted to the motherboard after it has been fitted in its case.
The drives can be fitted into their bays before or after you fit the motherboard. A new case will have blanking plates fitted over the ports and drive bays often these blanking plates can be removed and refitted as required.
Your motherboards BIOS will be programmed to run all of the processors listed in its manual but you may have to re-flash it if you want to run an unrecognised processor
You should check on the makes website to see what processors your board can support.
If your board has inbuilt video and audio cards then these will not need to be purchased separately but remember that the more work your board has to do will slow your system down as they demand processor time. Removing them to separate cards takes some of the load off the system.
If video and audio cards are integrated on the board then these devices will be plugged directly into the ports on the board itself.
The BIOS battery on the motherboard
BIOS (CMOS) battery replacement site - How to replace a BIOS (CMOS) battery -
[url]*www.monster-hardware.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=[/url]
Connecting cables lead from the front of your case onto the motherboard and will require connecting
Note that they are clearly marked. It is possible to fit them the wrong way round but this will cause no harm. However if connected wrong then the led or switch that they run will not work. Just reconnect them the other way round and all will be fine.
See how they fit to the motherboard
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RAM
Random access memory is best obtained from a supplier such as Crucial. They supply memory specifically for your PC or motherboard. Look on their website to find out what is available for yours
How much RAM will you require???
Go to Memory
RAM in the form of SIMM is still obtainable but it is unlikely you will be fitting this as all modern boards use memory in the form of DIMM or even RIMM as manufactured by Rambus
DIMM modules (EDO RAM, SDRAM, DDR RAM) are very easy to install. First open the clip at the end of each slot and then push the module vertically down into it so that the two end clips close around it on their own. You should make sure that the clips are fixed tight to the module.
Installing the DIMM modules is merely a matter of pushing the module directly down into the DIMM slot as shown in the diagram below.
Check in your motherboards manual to find if the memory slots have to be filled in a particular order, some boards require them to be filled in order 0/1/2 etc.
Your motherboards manual will show you how to install the memory and set the bus frequency so read it first.
It should be noted that windows XP requires 256MB of RAM but will work with 128MB. Windows 95/98/99/98se would not work well with RAM in excess of 512 MB.
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Sound and video cards
If your requirements a purely surfing the net and hearing normal sounds made by windows then a motherboard with inbuilt video and sound will be OK.
If you want to install a sound card to play audio CDs, DVD movies, or MPEG/AVI video files and listen to websites with sound almost any new sound card costing between £15 and £20 will be perfectly adequate
If you want to use the sound card for recording and editing MIDI files, and you want full surround sound for gaming you should purchase an expensive sound card that will do what you require
The video and sound cards will be supplied with CDs containing the drivers and installation instructions. If your operating system has the correct drivers in its library, it will load them automatically. You can of course download driver updates from the web and install them
You will also need to have a set of speakers to hear your sounds on. Generally you get what you pay for with prices starting at about £15
Most motherboard manuals provide drawings or images showing how to install cards and RAM in the motherboard
If you don’t have a manual for your card find one online at the manufactures website
Follow the same rules to earth yourself and the case as you did with the motherboard
Installing a PCI or AGP video card is purely a matter of opening the case and removing the screw that screws the slot's metal cover over its outlet at the back of the case, and then inserting the card in its slot so that its face plate replaces the metal cover and shows at the back of the case. Just make sure that the card is inserted all the way into the slot
The image below shows typical slot arrangement on a motherboard.
Motherboards are out now that use their own colour schemes for the slots instead of the standard black (ISA), white (PCI), and brown (AGP) colours. Make sure you have read the manual and understand what fits what slot as putting the wrong card in the wrong slot can have dire consequences for your motherboard.
More information on installing and running video cards can be found here [url]*www.motherboards.org/articlesd/how-to-guides/1168_1.html[/url]
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The Modem
Dial-up modem cards (internal modems) are installed in an ISA or PCI slot on your computers motherboard
You should not buy anything less than a 56K modem that supports the universal V.90 or V.92 standards
Having installed the modem card in its ISA or PCI slot with the PC switched off, installing the modem's driver software is usually merely a matter of starting the system, and using the Have Disk button when Windows detects new hardware - in this case a new PCI Communications Device for a PCI modem.
A boxed modem (internal card or external unit) will come with a CD containing its software drivers and any other software that can be used with it.
Insert the CD into a CD drive and use the Browse option to navigate to the folder containing the correct drivers on the CD. The route to the correct folder will be provided in the installation instructions that came with the modem.
An internal modem uses a virtual COM port that is not addressed to the back of the case.
If you are using a USB modem then your motherboard must have USB ports and your OS must support them so windows 98 is a minimum
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Disk drives
THE HARD DRIVE
You will of course need at least one hard disk drive, and you have a choice. Either an IDE drive or a SCSI drive. By far most Pc’s purchased on the high street will have an IED drive, but if you want your system for high intensive graphic work, computer aided design or video editing then a SCSI HDD may suit your requirements better. However SCSI drives are not quite as easy to install as IED ones. Your motherboard may not have an inbuilt SCSI controller and you would require an adapter card. Also the installation of SCSI drives is quite complicated requiring its own ID number. So if your requirement is for a SCSI HDD then you should look here PCSupportAdvisor.com to find out how to fit one.
Lets assume then that you will be fitting an IED HDD.
You will have to set its jumpers for its particular roll i.e. Master or slave. If it’s your only drive then it will of course be set to master
The jumper settings are often printed onto the drive its self-but will be in the manual that came with it.
The two white jumpers can be seen in this picture
Screws to fit your drive into a drive bay will have been supplied with your case, if not then you will have to buy suitable screws to fit it.
It can be fitted anyway up but they are generally fitted with their circuit board down
Position it with cooling in mind. A 10mm air gap all round is a minimum to allow the fan to circulate cool air over it
Do not over tighten the fixing screws or your drive could be damaged. You may have to drill the case if convenient holes are not in the drive bay.
The picture above clearly shows the 4 pins for the power supply on the right.
Your drive has to be connected to the motherboard. This has traditionally been achieved with a ribbon cable.
The boot HDD (that is the one with windows on it) must be connected to the Primary IDE channel on your motherboard and must be set as master.
The red line on the ribbon cable must connect to pin 1. This pin will usually be marked but it is always the pin closest to the power supply plug.
Your motherboard should be able to support 4 IED drives some of these will be CD/DVD drives.
Just to complicate things slightly there is now a new type of connecting cable that is round and is supplied in a variety of colours. Its plugs are colour coded.
The blue plug always connects the motherboard while the black plug always connects the master drive. A grey plug would link the slave drive.
CD and floppy dirk drives
The CD drive is also an IDE drive so it can be fitted as a slave to your hard drive or as a master to its own drive on the secondary IDE channel on your motherboard. Just set its jumpers according to its use.
The power cable and ribbon cable are fitted exactly the same as for your hard drive.
Mount it in your case after removing one of the cases blanking plates at the front. Use plenty of screws to fit it as these drives are subject to a lot of vibration in use.
CD drives are connected to your sound card by a single wire, if your sound is integral with your motherboard then there will be a socket on it to connect to.
Remember it is always worth the little extra money for a CD writer as these are very useful for back up.
A 3 1/2� floppy drive is also needed.
These fit in just the same way. Have their own power plug and ribbon connector that fits to the FDD channel on the board.
All these drive should come with their software but if you want them they may be available from here [url]*www.completelyfreesoftware.com/[/url]
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Installing windows
If your system does not have windows loaded on it you will be able to access the bios on start up by pressing the Delete key as you switch on. If the BIOS settings are set to auto then your hard drive should be configured automatically. The motherboards manual should have details on the bios settings and windows installation
Before installing windows your hard drive will need to be formatted. Windows should come with a floppy disk that lets you do this. Alternatively your HDD may have come with a disk to do this.
Normally you insert the floppy into its drive and turn your system on. There will be instructions in the relevant manual to help with the set up.
All motherboards can now boot direct from a CD. Versions of Windows from Windows 98 up can be booted from their set-up CD. All you need to do is enter the BIOS set-up program, usually by pressing the Del key as the memory count takes place. There will be an option that sets the boot order of the FDD, the HDD, the CD-ROM drive, etc. All you have to do is enable the CD drive as the boot drive, and then reboot with the Windows 98 (or higher version) CD in the drive. Windows should bring up its opening window that gives you the options to install it. All windows systems run plug and play so it should recognise all your hardware and load the relevant drives or prompt you to install them from CD or floppy
If you have problems then look here for help on booting and installing windows [url]*www.bootdisk.com/[/url]
If you are installing a separate sound card I.e. not integral with your motherboard it is a good idea to fit this after you have run windows for the first time. This will allow plug and play to recognise it and install it without problems.
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