Building my pc

[sdot]

Ok, ive looked around the web. talked to alot of ppl...and have
finally decided all the parts im gonna get for a home built pc.

my question is, when building it..is there a speccific order i have to
install the parts, or it doesnt matter? or do i just install everything
i have and then boot up

once that step is taken care of...is there sort of a checklist as to
what im supposed to do..im looking for somethin like
1. settup bios 2. install OS..but with more details....can someone here
recomend me to some good and up to date pc building sites..that have
help and suggestions on general pc building...with up to date
technology....

other than following the manuals that come with my parts..ie:mobo, cpu
etc

is there any addition things i should do or keep in mind?

thanks for the general help....

 

[Chris Hill]

Ok, ive looked around the web. talked to alot of ppl...and have
finally decided all the parts im gonna get for a home built pc.

my question is, when building it..is there a speccific order i have to
install the parts, or it doesnt matter? or do i just install everything
i have and then boot up

once that step is taken care of...is there sort of a checklist as to
what im supposed to do..im looking for somethin like
1. settup bios 2. install OS..but with more details....can someone here
recomend me to some good and up to date pc building sites..that have
help and suggestions on general pc building...with up to date
technology....

other than following the manuals that come with my parts..ie:mobo, cpu
etc

is there any addition things i should do or keep in mind?

thanks for the general help....

Install ram cpu and heatsink on board; install board in case, connect
power supply. Pray, meditate or undertake whatever religious
observence you'd normally do before an important event. Plug it in
and turn it on. If you get beeps turn off and install video card.
Turn it back on; if you get through post, turn it off install drives
and then windows. Before instaling windows you may wish to enable s3
standby in power options of bios, otherwise it may not work right if
you try to turn it on after windows is installed.

 

[sdot]

thnx dude...i shall write this down....makes sense the order u have up
there....and ill maker sure i pray to Lord Shiva right before turning
it on.....if anyone else has nice tips like this..please put it up...as
new builders like me can use as referece...i would google building pc,
but it gives soo much results...and most of them are using old
parts...so if neone has some good sites to recemond..feel free...

 

[Mike T.]

Ok, ive looked around the web. talked to alot of ppl...and have
finally decided all the parts im gonna get for a home built pc.

my question is, when building it..is there a speccific order i have to
install the parts, or it doesnt matter? or do i just install everything
i have and then boot up

once that step is taken care of...is there sort of a checklist as to
what im supposed to do..im looking for somethin like
1. settup bios 2. install OS..but with more details....can someone here
recomend me to some good and up to date pc building sites..that have
help and suggestions on general pc building...with up to date
technology....

other than following the manuals that come with my parts..ie:mobo, cpu
etc

is there any addition things i should do or keep in mind?

thanks for the general help....

Generally, mount the power supply in the case first. (If the case comes
with a power supply, throw that power supply away.) Then mount the
mainboard in the case, being careful to match standoffs with standoff holes
(no extra standoffs!!!) Then install the CPU and CPU heatsink/fan (Do NOT
forget to plug in the CPU fan!!!). Then add RAM. Then check the jumpers on
the back of your hard drive(s) and optical drive(s). Generally, you want
the hard drive and (any other drive that will be ALONE on a IDE cable) to be
jumpered as "master", anything else jumpered as slave. Then install your
drives, including optical, floppy (if you must) and hard drive(s). Finally,
install your video card and sound card.

Before you power up the system, make sure that all power connections are
secure. Don't forget that there might be TWO power connections on the
mainboard, and the video card might require a power connection, also.

Now hook up your monitor, keyboard and mouse and power it up. You should
NOT have to tweak any of the BIOS settings, if your motherboard is new. But
the new computer won't boot to anything until the OS is installed. Put your
Windows install CD-Rom in your optical drive and reboot the computer.

During windows install, you might need a floppy disk with SATA drivers (this
should come with the motherboard) if you are using an SATA hard drive.

That's about it. Your mainboard will need about a dozen or so cables hooked
up to it, but your mainboard owner's manual will have instructions about
doing that. -Dave

 

[sdot]

Thanks guys. Cant wait to build my pc....so excited abt it...how many
of you get excited when building new pcs?? lol...im gonna build a
monster...and let it take over me....just like google took over
me...anyways..thanks for the help....

 

[Bob Day]

Ok, ive looked around the web. talked to alot of ppl...and have
finally decided all the parts im gonna get for a home built pc.

my question is, when building it..is there a speccific order i have to
install the parts, or it doesnt matter?

"Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring."

Such as:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/00...102-9652799-4003366?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

-- Bob Day
http://bobday.vze.com

 

[Jon Danniken]

Install ram cpu and heatsink on board; install board in case, connect
power supply. Pray, meditate or undertake whatever religious
observence you'd normally do before an important event. Plug it in
and turn it on. If you get beeps turn off and install video card.
Turn it back on; if you get through post, turn it off install drives
and then windows. Before instaling windows you may wish to enable s3
standby in power options of bios, otherwise it may not work right if
you try to turn it on after windows is installed.

Solid advice. I might ad that I like to run memtest86 at the stage just
before I install the OS, to verify that the memory is at least somewhat free
of bugs. Once the OS gets installed, I run Math95 "torture test" to make
sure everything is okay with the CPU as well.

Jon

 

[sdot]

thanx for the additional tools

 

[larry moe 'n curly]

I might ad that I like to run memtest86 at the stage just
before I install the OS, to verify that the memory is at least somewhat free
of bugs. Once the OS gets installed, I run Math95 "torture test" to make
sure everything is okay with the CPU as well.

I run both MemTest86 AND Gold Memory for several hours each before
installing Windows or copying my important files to the HD because even
one byte of bad memory can cause all sorts of mysterious problems, and
lots of the memory I've bought in the past few years has been bad,
including the Kingston module I got just last week. Both diagnostics
are needed because two of my DIMMs passed one test but failed the
other.

While the memory is being tested, I have the HD connected to another
computer and run either the factory HD diagnostic or Hitachi's Drive
Fitness Test (www.hgst.com), which works with any brand of drive, at
least to a limited extent (less limited than Seagate's SeaTools on a
non-Seagate HD).

 

[larry moe 'n curly]

(If the case comes with a power supply, throw that power supply away.)

But what if it includes a good PSU? Antec cases with PSUs have
occasionally been offered for $5-35, after rebate. OTOH I've seen
other brands that were so bad that I passed on them even when they were
free after rebate.

 

[larry moe 'n curly]

when building it..is there a speccific order i have to install the
parts, or it doesnt matter?

Check each of the mobo's mounting holes on top and bottom because some
have copper traces running close enough to them that a mounting stud
(standoff) or screw could short against it unless insulated with a
fiber washer. Also be sure the mobo is supported near the corners so
it can't short against the case -- cases and mobos can flex enough that
this can happen even when no pressure is applied. If a hole in the
mobo doesn't line up with a mounting point in the case, either install
a standoff there anyway (you may need a nonstandard length -- computer,
electronics, and hardware stores have them, sometimes in nylon),
attached only to the mobo, or put a stick-on rubber foot against the
case.

 

[Mike T.]

But what if it includes a good PSU? Antec cases with PSUs have
occasionally been offered for $5-35, after rebate. OTOH I've seen
other brands that were so bad that I passed on them even when they were
free after rebate.

There are very few exceptions. It's good advice that if the case comes with
a power supply, you should throw that power supply away. -Dave

 

[Dave (from the UK)]

There are very few exceptions. It's good advice that if the case comes with
a power supply, you should throw that power supply away. -Dave

Are Antec cases an exception? I was looking at buying this Antec TITAN
550 case:

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=91550

which comes with an Antec 550 Watt TruePower 2.0 power supply.

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=22551

It seems on the face of quite a reasonable power supply, although I'm
always a bit suspicious when items like this have "Gold plated
connectors for superior conductivity".

I have high-end machines here from Sun, HP, an IBM RS/6000 and a Dec
Alpha, all of which are pretty decent reliable machines. (The IBM takes
18 hot swap disks). For some reason, none of them feel a need to gold
plate the power supply!


--
Dave K MCSE.

MCSE = Minefield Consultant and Solitaire Expert.

Please note my email address changes periodically to avoid spam.
It is always of the form: month-year@domain. Hitting reply will work
for a couple of months only. Later set it manually.

 

[Derek Baker]

Are Antec cases an exception? I was looking at buying this Antec TITAN
550 case:

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=91550

which comes with an Antec 550 Watt TruePower 2.0 power supply.

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=22551

It seems on the face of quite a reasonable power supply, although I'm
always a bit suspicious when items like this have "Gold plated
connectors for superior conductivity".

I have high-end machines here from Sun, HP, an IBM RS/6000 and a Dec
Alpha, all of which are pretty decent reliable machines. (The IBM takes
18 hot swap disks). For some reason, none of them feel a need to gold
plate the power supply!

I love the size of that case. If I hadn't got into quite computing I'd
have one and keep the power supply. In fact, I had a True Power 550 for
nine months before I replaced it with a quieter Seasonic.

=--
Derek

 

[larry moe 'n curly]

news:[email protected]...

(If the case comes with a power supply, throw that power supply away.)

There are very few exceptions. It's good advice that if the case comes with
a power supply, you should throw that power supply away. -Dave

It would be better to say that the PSU should be tossed if it isn't a
good brand, like Antec, Fortron-Source/Sparkle/Hi-Q/PowerQ/Trend,
Enermax/Wavesonic/Cooler Giant, or Seasonic -- whether or not it came
with a case.

 

[Brian K]

thnx dude...i shall write this down....makes sense the order u have up
there....and ill maker sure i pray to Lord Shiva right before turning
it on.....if anyone else has nice tips like this..please put it up...as
new builders like me can use as referece...i would google building pc,
but it gives soo much results...and most of them are using old
parts...so if neone has some good sites to recemond..feel free...

Shiva is the Hindu God of Destruction (death). Wouldn't it make more
sense to pray to Ganash the God of Prosperity or Krsna?

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

 

[s.sivarajah]

shiva is god of destruction..but he is the protector..he destructs only
to protect the good.....he is labelled the desctructor becuase he is
the most powerful of he hindu gods..i shall pray to all the gods
then...

hehe destructor

~myDestructor {

//this is my destructor
}

 

[Gert Elstermann]

sdot asked:

....................................................can someone here
recomend me to some good and up to date pc building sites..that have
help and suggestions on general pc building...with up to date
technology....

other than following the manuals that come with my parts..ie:mobo, cpu
etc

....

Well, Tom devotes a part of his web site to DoItYourself computer
building,

<http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/>

but, of course, there are many other sources, accessible via Google,
like the Buyer's Guides by Anand, e.g.

<http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=2659>



Gert