Building a PC Tim Wells

What You Need Required:  Case  Power Supply  Motherboard  Processor & CPU Fan  RAM  Graphics Card  Hard Drive  Keyboard  Mouse  Monitor  Operating System Optional:  Network Card  CD/DVD Drive  Sound Card  Speakers  Floppy Drive  Case Fans

Determining Your Needs  The first step is determining what you need in this computer and what you can afford.  How fast of a processor do I need?  You should probably talk with someone experienced to determine which processor is right for your needs and budget.  How much RAM should I get?  For home use, most people only need the minimal 256 MB of RAM.  If you are going to do a lot of gaming, you probably want to step up to 512 MB.  If you are a Power User, you might want to consider 1 GB of RAM or more.  How much wattage do I need on a Power Supply?  300W is plenty for most computers. If you have a lot of extra components that might take a lot of power, you might want to consider more.

Determining Your Needs  What kind of case do I need?  The only thing that matters is that it’s ATX. Choose a case that has enough Drive Bays for the number of drives you wish to install.  What kind of Graphics Card do I need?  For home use, it really doesn’t matter. If your motherboard has an AGP slot, I recommend getting an AGP graphics card. If the motherboard does not have an AGP slot, you will have to get a PCI Graphics Card.  For gaming use, you probably need a better graphics card with at least 128 MB of Memory.  What kind of hard drive should I get?  For most home users, you want an IDE Hard Drive.  For most people, 40 GB is plenty of space.

Wear A Wrist Strap! As annoying as it may be to wear a wrist strap, it is highly recommended because if you don’t you could cause damage to some of the components!

Using The Wrist Strap 1.Put the strap on your wrist 2.Then put the clip the clamp onto a metal part of the case.

Installing the Power Supply  First, open the case.  If the power supply isn’t already installed, you need to install it first.  The Power Supply usually goes at the top in the back of the case in tower cases and holds with 4 screws.  DO NOT PLUG IN YET!  If you wish to install extra case fans, you might want to go ahead and to it now before other things get in the way.

Installing the Motherboard  If your motherboard came with its own backplate for the ports, take the existing one out and put in the one for the motherboard.  Find the holes on the case that line up with the holes in the motherboard and screw the spacers into place.  Now slide the board into the case. Make sure it sits on the spacers and that all the spacers line up with an available hole on the motherboard.  Install the screws into each of the spacers underneath, through the board. Make sure you don't tighten them too much, you don't want to crack your board.

Connecting Front Panel  Connect your Front panel LED’s, switches, buttons, USB ports, etc.  Refer to your motherboard’s manual for information on where these connectors go.

Installing the CPU  Lift the handle on the socket  Place the Processor in the socket. It only goes one way, and should just drop in. DO NOT TRY TO FORCE IT. Rotate it until it drops in.  Put the handle back down.  Apply a small dab of thermal paste directly to the exposed core. Don’t apply too much!

Installing the CPU Heatsink/Fan  Place the Heat Sink squarely on top of the processor. Make sure you put the raised part of the heatsink onto the raised part of the socket.  Most Heat Sinks use a set of clips on each side to fasten themselves down. These clips attach to a pair of tabs on each side of the socket. It will probably take a little bit of force to bend the clip down over the tab. You may want to use a flat head screwdriver for this.  You must be careful with this as you are putting this directly on top of the bare silicone chip on top of the processor. If you crush that chip, your processor is dead.  Connect the Power Connector to the motherboard

Installing your RAM  Push the white levers out  Line up the notches correctly on the RAM  Push straight down firmly until the white levers close themselves.

Connect Power to Motherboard  Connect the ATX power connector from the power supply into the spot that was made for it on the motherboard.

Install Expansion Cards  Types of Expansion Slots  Brown = AGP (Graphics)  White = PCI  Black = ISA  Remove the filler from the case.  Line up the tabs and push it firmly into place.  Secure it to the case with a screw.

Installing Your Hard Drive 1.Put your hard drive in one of the hidden 3.5” drive bays 2.Line up the screw holes and secure it to the case with screws 3.Connect the IDE Cable to the hard drive and then to the primary controller (IDE 1) on the motherboard. 4.Connect the Power Connector IDE Cable

Installing A Floppy Drive 1.Remove one of the 3.5” drive bay fillers 2.Put your hard drive in one of the 3.5” drive bays 3.Line up the screw holes and secure it to the case with screws 4.Connect the Floppy Cable to the drive and then to the floppy controller on the motherboard. 5.Connect the Power Connector

Installing A CD/DVD Drive 1.Remove one of the 5.25” drive bay fillers 2.Put your hard drive in one of the 5.25” drive bays 3.Line up the screw holes and secure it to the case with screws 4.Connect the IDE Cable to the drive and then to the secondary controller (IDE 2) on the motherboard. 5.Connect the Power Connector IDE Cable

You’re Done!  Put the case back together  Plug in all the connectors  Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, Power, etc.  Turn it on!  Install an Operating System and You’re ready to go!

Most images were obtained using Google’s Image Search Copyright © 2004 by Timothy L. Wells Credits