New Gaming Machine - Questions

[Todd K]

Well, I received all of my parts for my new PC (see previous post from 2/5/06: "New Gaming Machine"). For the most part, everything went smoothly. I still haven't fired her up yet, though. I only had a few hours last night to play with this so all I did was install the hardware.

Now the fun part...routing and plugging in all of the cables. (yikes). I looked everything over and have some questions (I'm sure there will be more). My biggest issue is with my case (ATRIX CSCI-A9001-C4). I don't know if anyone in here will be able to help me with this specific case (I probably should make a seperate post), but maybe someone could point me in the right direction. I went to the ATRIX web site for support, but that case isn't even listed yet. Since the case comes with a display on the front panel, there are several connectors that need to be plugged in "somewhere? on the mobo. (i.e. power led, temp sensors, fan RPMs, time/date.

1. (I'm reaching) Does anyone know of a site that might be able to show me exactly how to connect the ATRIX CSCI-A9001-C4 case (front panel display connectors) with an ASUS A8N-SLI Premium ATX AMD mobo?

2. Temp sensors - came with case (for front panel display).. Where exactly do I attach these sensors to the CPU and Video Cards? The heatsinks and fans cover the chips so how can I get an accurate reading with these sensors. (i.e. tape it to the side??). Are these external sensors even worth installing? I'm assuming the mobo already has a built-in CPU temp sensor since you can access the temp from the mobo utility in Windows, right?

3. SATA HDD's have TWO power connectors: one legacy (4-pin) and one SATA. I know I can only use ONE power connection. Does it matter which one I use? Is a SATA power connection better than the 4-pin legacy?

Thanks!!

TK

 

[johns]

Mobo manual has all those connections to the case described. After you
connect them, fold them neatly, and tape them to the inside wall of the
case. You want to have a clean setup, so you can do things easily in
the future. Don't make it look like the night-crew did it. Ignore the
temp
sensors unless the mobo supports them. SATA drive .. use the Sata
power cord. It is neater, and I try to keep the cable short. When all
those
cables are connected . .again dress them neatly. I use small cable
ties.
Also, I go to a lot of trouble to neatly fold the data cables. Then I
use
1/2 inch wide packing tape to keep them neatly folded. That way when
I come back to clean, or upgrade, or troubleshoot, I have a neat system
that I can work with easily. Most important .. in mounting the
hardware,
don't overtighten the screws. Just barely snug, or you can crack the
mobo, or torque the drives so the heads don't register. If you pay
attention
to all this "neatness", you will learn more than the average hacker,
and your build will work fine. Read that mobo manual from cover to
cover, and look at the parts as you do it.

johns

 

[Todd K]

Thanks John. I was skimming the mobo manual last night, but I didn't have time to read it "cover to cover." I will do that this weekend, though.

As far as that front panel goes, I can figure out how to get that working later. I can live without it for now. I have a feeling that a home-built PC is an ever-evolving PC. After just a few hours of messing around, I've already come up with about a dozen things I want to change.

TK

P.S. I have cable ties "a-plenty." I going to do my best to have the cleanest cabling possible. : )
Mobo manual has all those connections to the case described. After you
connect them, fold them neatly, and tape them to the inside wall of the
case. You want to have a clean setup, so you can do things easily in
the future. Don't make it look like the night-crew did it. Ignore the
temp
sensors unless the mobo supports them. SATA drive .. use the Sata
power cord. It is neater, and I try to keep the cable short. When all
those
cables are connected . .again dress them neatly. I use small cable
ties.
Also, I go to a lot of trouble to neatly fold the data cables. Then I
use
1/2 inch wide packing tape to keep them neatly folded. That way when
I come back to clean, or upgrade, or troubleshoot, I have a neat system
that I can work with easily. Most important .. in mounting the
hardware,
don't overtighten the screws. Just barely snug, or you can crack the
mobo, or torque the drives so the heads don't register. If you pay
attention
to all this "neatness", you will learn more than the average hacker,
and your build will work fine. Read that mobo manual from cover to
cover, and look at the parts as you do it.

johns