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Build Your First PC – Part 3 Motherboards, CPUs and all that Before we start part 3, a word about electrical precautions. The motherboard, RAM and CPU are very sensitive and can be damaged by incorrect handling. You can do this properly or cheaply. If you want to go for the bells and whistles approach, you need to buy an anti-static work mat and wrist strap from somewhere like Maplins ( www.maplin.co.uk ). You place the motherboard on the mat and attach yourself to earth via the wrist strap. This will ensure any static or current is safely drained away. However, as long as you are careful, you can do just as well by ensuring you are at the same potential as the parts you are working on. To do this, find something to work on such as a table or cardboard sheeting. Now, before you touch any component on the work surface, touch the work surface first for a few seconds. Also, while you work, avoid scuffing your feet around as this can build up a sizable static charge. You should also avoid touching any edge connectors or contacts directly, always hold parts by the edges. Preparing the case ATX style cases come with a blanking plate at the back where the various connectors such as serial, parallel and USB emerge. The Antec case comes with most of these already open to the outside world. As the Gigabyte motherboard has additional LAN and audio connections, we need to open up the holes for these to be accessed. Knock out any extra plates you need to as shown here.
The next job is to put the spacers in place. As the underside of the motherboard is awash with contacts, it would damage it if it touched the metal case. To avoid this, cases come with a pack of small spacers about a centimetre long. The motherboard has various holes dotted around it with metal surrounds. You need to screw the spacers in to the case so that they line up with the holes on the motherboard. The easiest way to do this is to measure the positions on the board and replicate them on the casing. If you’re steady handed you can also hold the motherboard (by the edges!) just above the case and do it that way. Once done, you should have eight or so screwed in place as shown here.
CPU I have opted for an Athlon 1.4Ghz CPU. Athlons are currently much faster than Pentium 4s at the same clock speed so an Athlon 1.4 is about the same speed as a P4 1.8. As an added incentive, an Athlon 1.4 currently costs about £100 compared to the P4 1.8 at £190 or so. If you have any software optimised for P4’s then it will show the Athlon a clean pair of heels but for 99.9% of Windows software, the Athlon is the CPU to beat. Some people think Athlons are buggy but this is more due to the early motherboard chipsets having problems that the Athlons themselves and now newer boards are available, the Athlon is a safe bet and is often the CPU of choice for real speed fiends. When it comes to fitting the CPU, I prefer to put the CPU along with the heatsink and memory in the motherboard prior to mounting the board in the case. It’s usually much easier, particularly the heatsink as these parts can be fiddly to work with in a confined space. Pick up the CPU by the edges taking care not to touch the many pins underneath. If you look carefully, you’ll see two corners are a pin short and these match up with the CPU socket to ensure it can only fit one way. The side of the CPU socket has a small lever. Lift this up until it is vertical and gently drop the CPU on to the socket. Now close the lever.
Next up is the heatsink and fan. A good fan is an absolute must and as Athlons run quite hot, you’ll want to ensure you have an AMD approved one. I have used a CoolerMaster one with a nice chunky heatsink and a large fan to ensure a good flow of air. You may wish to put a blob of thermal paste between the CPU and the heatsink to ensure a good fit between the two. You can get suitable stuff from Maplins. The fan is probably one of the most nerve wracking components to add. There is a metal bar that runs through the middle and needs to be clipped under the stubs either end of the CPU socket. You can see these in the above picture. Clipping the first one on is easy but the second is quite hard and needs a lot of force to get it over. The CoolerMaster’s bar has been designed to take a screwdriver head which makes life a lot easier when pushing down. Be careful you don’t slip though or you’ll end up stabbing and potentially writing off the motherboard. Once the fan is on, it needs to be connected to the motherboard for its power. The motherboard manual will show where the fan connector is. Once done, things will like the picture below.
RAM Finally, the RAM goes in. Memory is another component which can be bought cheaply or properly. A slightly flaky DIMM can cause all sorts of weird symptoms before you realise what’s wrong so for my money, it pays to get memory from a quality supplier such as Kingston. In this case, we have 256Mb of RAM costing around £65. RAM prices are very volatile though so shop around for the best prices before buying. There are several different types of RAM around so check the motherboard manual for information on the type you should be buying. To insert the RAM, hold it by the edges. Do not touch the contacts. RAM is probably the most easily damaged part of your PC so be very careful. If you look at the motherboard, you’ll see several sockets for RAM. In the case of the Gigabyte, there are 3. Position the RAM above socket 1 and line it up with the notch half way down the socket. This prevents you putting it in the wrong way around. When it is lined up, push gently down in to the socket. Once it is properly inserted, you should be able to close the levers either side to lock it in place. See below for the Kingston RAM in position.
Fitting the Motherboard Take the motherboard and line it up with the spacers you fitted earlier. Carefully lay it in position then put screws in each one through the board. You shouldn’t need to force anything so be gentle. Put each screw in loosely then once they are all in and the board is lined up OK, tighten them all up. PSU The motherboard gets its power from the power supply unit (PSU) built in to the case. This connector is big and chunky (shown here) and has been designed so it can only be plugged in the right way round. If you can’t find it, the motherboard manual will show you where it is.
Finishing off The last step is to connect all the case cables to the motherboard. There is a number of thin wires that connect the case to the motherboard and these control such things as the power light, the disk activity light, the power switch and so on. Again, the motherboard manual will show where each one needs to go and happily, the case manufacturers clearly label each one with their function. Once these are all in place, you are finished for this stage. In part 4, we’ll look at the hard drive and CD-ROM and what’s involved in fitting those.
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