A few stupid questions about building my first PC...

[darbius]

Mech, I had a question I was going to PM you about, but I figured there would be others who might also like to know the answer.

Many guides start by rigging up the motherboard and putting it into the case before they put in any of the drive while it appears that you have chosen to put your mobo in after putting the drives in. Is there a specific reason for doing it in this order or is it just that it really doesn't matter what order you put them in? Thanks again!

 

[joshc]

I'll give you an answer until Mech gives you his answer. I think the only reason for putting in the drives after the mobo is that sometimes with the drives installed it can be a little hard to get the mobo in depending on your case. In my case with my TT Tsunami either order worked.

 

[Pr0d1gy]

It really doesn't matter. Due to mech not specifying when they should go in, I put the CD-ROM, PSU, case fans, & hard drive in before inserting the mobo. The only real problem with this is the PSU wires getting in the way, so you should just tuck them away when the time comes. Now this is all based on the idea that you have a large ATX case a good amount of room to maneuver.

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: darbius
Mech, I had a question I was going to PM you about, but I figured there would be others who might also like to know the answer.

Many guides start by rigging up the motherboard and putting it into the case before they put in any of the drive while it appears that you have chosen to put your mobo in after putting the drives in. Is there a specific reason for doing it in this order or is it just that it really doesn't matter what order you put them in? Thanks again!

Actually if you look, I split up the drive installation. The CD-ROM drive needed rails, which sort of went with the case-preparation area since I was covering the other case hardware. Then I did the floppy installation also, since its cage isn't really in the way either. But like joshc says, you might have an easier time if the HDD cage isn't in there, and on that case the HDD cage is pretty big, so I think that was my reason for putting it later in the routine. But you can always rearrange the steps to suit your own situation.

 

[imported_X]

Darbius, I'm glad you didn't get scared off by people telling you to pay someone else to assemble your system. It really isn't that difficult, and all of us had to start somewhere. If you pay someone to put your pc together for you, then you are perpetuating your dependence on them for all future systems as well. Sounds like you've done the basic research necessary, and I look forward to hearing about your new system once you get it built

 

[darbius]

Okay, great to know. So it looks like it's a more case-specific issue than anything else. In any case, the guide is quite helpful and thanks for the quick responses.

 

[Pr0d1gy]

Originally posted by: darbius
the guide is quite helpful

Stop saying that lest you feed his hunger for recognition, causing his head to swell to the size of the internet & engulf us all in a warm, gooey genointernetcide!!!! HEEEEELP!!!!

 

[montag451]

Good luck with the installation.

Do let us know how it goes, and IF you do run into a hitch, then don't be afraid to ask.
Look forward to seeing how it goes

 

[darbius]

Originally posted by: Pr0d1gy

Originally posted by: darbius
the guide is quite helpful

Stop saying that lest you feed his hunger for recognition, causing his head to swell to the size of the internet & engulf us all in a warm, gooey genointernetcide!!!! HEEEEELP!!!!

Okay, okay, I'll shut up.

 

[Fike]

The wrist strap is a good idea. An alternative that won't cost anything would be to get a piece of wire and attach it around the center screw on an electrical outlet plate (that screw is grounded). then take the other end of the wire and attach it firmly (preferrably by a screw) to a metal part of the computer case. As you are assembling the computer, frequently touch the case to ground yourself. Some other things:
* Assemble the computer in a room without carpet
* Keep packing materials like packing peanuts away
* Keep components in their static shield bag until ready for use
* Use the static shield bags as mats to place the components on when working with them.
* Maintain higher humidity in the space you are working
* don't wear flannel or fleece, better yet, wear short sleeves to keep fabric away from the computer
* Paper and cardboard can act as insulators, encouraging the build-up of static electricity. Keep them away from the sensitive components

Undoubtedly many RMAs are caused by ESD (electro static discharge) problems. It doesn't take much to damage a component, and the damage may not be catastrophin, so you may just have an unstable PC. On the other hand, I have assembled at least 5 computers in the last 5 or 6 years, and none have had these issues. I think one person summed it up by saying, "don't wear fuzzy slippers."

 

[Pr0d1gy]

Well I tried to get it going with the USB keyboard & it didnt work man. I think it may be my mobo more than anything, but the lights came on with my USB keyboard.

 

[Conky]

Originally posted by: villageidiot111

Originally posted by: Crazyfool

Originally posted by: compusaguy

Originally posted by: mechBgon

Originally posted by: compusaguy
You shouldn't work on a computer with anything plugged in, even if the switch is turned off.

electricity + you = early funeral

Ignore compusaguy. The highest power an ATX power supply puts out is 12 volts, and if 12-volt power were dangerous to human beings, there'd be a lot of dead auto mechanics.

Yes, plug in the PSU and flip its power switch off.

How do you know the PSU doesn't have an electrical fault or if something else wrong with the outlet? Like I said, never ever work with the computer plugged in. It's better to assume you will be electrocuted than not.

compusaguy is right. :thumbsup:

Never, ever, work on a system that is plugged in. I always pull the cord before I do anything to a system.

I think I would trust MechBgon, he knows what he is talking about (20,000 posts vs 100 posts). Mech has helped countless amounts of people on these forums. There is nothing wrong with having the psu plugged in as long as it is off. Its not discharging energy, so where's the harm?

Heck, the guy can stick his screwdriver into the wall socket for all I care. :laugh:

 

[darbius]

So, I got all my hardware yesterday and I was looking at what they did and did not include in what I ordered. As I suspected, they didn't include cables for...well anything really (though I never really expected them to), but my concerns are with the four devices listed below:

Seagate Barracuda 160GB SATA150 7200RPM, bought it here
Alps Floppy Disk Drive, bought it here
Asus 16x DVD Drive, bought it here
Chaintech Geforce 6600GT 128MB PCI-e Video Card, bought it here

I'm assuming that for the top three I need a power and data connection for each, while I may need additional power for the vid card (not sure about that). The problem is that I don't know which cables to buy. Could you guys help tell me what I need to hook these puppies up?

Chances are I'll have to make multiple trips to the store, but it's 20 minutes away, so if you guys can help me knock it all out in one blow that would be awesome. Thanks a bunch in advance!

Oh, and if you need to check the rest of the system out to figure out connection just click on My System Rig below.

 

[ribbon13]

Originally posted by: mechBgon

Originally posted by: compusaguy
You shouldn't work on a computer with anything plugged in, even if the switch is turned off.

electricity + you = early funeral

Ignore compusaguy. The highest power an ATX power supply puts out is 12 volts, and if 12-volt power were dangerous to human beings, there'd be a lot of dead auto mechanics.

Yes, plug in the PSU and flip its power switch off.

I have to point that 12v at high-amperage will kill you very quickly, where as one could have 375,000v coming off of them from a tesla coil in relative safety.

 

[Fike]

You willl need a serial ata cable, floppy disk drive cable, an IDE cable (preferrably 80 wire for ultra ata 133 if it is available). You will also want an audio cable for the DVD/CD drive. If there is an external power requirement for the vid card, it should come with the card. did you buy an OEM version of the card? You should have yourpower supply already, so count the number of power connectors to see if you need any splitters for the power.

 

[mechBgon]

Your video card doesn't need an extra power connector, in this case: photo of it.

The motherboard comes with a whole bunch of stuff, including Serial ATA data cables and Serial ATA power adapters, plus a floppy cable and an 80-wire ATA cable. So that pretty much covers your needs, as far as I can see

I'm assuming your mobo did come with its cable bundle?

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: ribbon13

Originally posted by: mechBgon

Originally posted by: compusaguy
You shouldn't work on a computer with anything plugged in, even if the switch is turned off.

electricity + you = early funeral

Ignore compusaguy. The highest power an ATX power supply puts out is 12 volts, and if 12-volt power were dangerous to human beings, there'd be a lot of dead auto mechanics.

Yes, plug in the PSU and flip its power switch off.

I have to point that 12v at high-amperage will kill you very quickly, where as one could have 375,000v coming off of them from a tesla coil in relative safety.

It would have to bridge your skin's resistance first. As I pointed out, no one thinks twice about lifting the hood of their car and working with high-amperage 12V power.

At any rate, if it were hazardous to work on plugged-in ATX computers, I think I'd have noticed by now, in my line of work From a hardware standpoint, I'll unplug them if they don't have an On/Off switch before I start plugging/unplugging cards and memory, but then I ground some other way.

 

[darbius]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
Your video card doesn't need an extra power connector, in this case: photo of it.

The motherboard comes with a whole bunch of stuff, including Serial ATA data cables and Serial ATA power adapters, plus a floppy cable and an 80-wire ATA cable. So that pretty much covers your needs, as far as I can see

I'm assuming your mobo did come with its cable bundle?

Huh, so it did. I'm a moron. So it looks like the cables in that picture are all the cables I'm going to need, right? That's kinda cool actually.

 

[bocamojo]

You've already got quite a few excellent answers, but one more set won't hurt, right? I always make sure that the power supply is unplugged when I'm working on the computer, so that should be a no-brainer. As for grounding yourself, you basically just need to touch something metal, so in this case, the chassis of the case or the side of the psu is usually good enough to make sure you're not carrying around any static charge. After you do that, it should be safe to handle the components, such as the RAM, processor, video card, etc. As for a PS2 keyboard, you really don't need one nowadays. Most mobos support USB by default, but if not, go in when your computer POSTS and find the setting to enable USB support in all modes, including DOS mode. I just built a system about a week ago, and both my mouse and keyboard are USB, and the system booted up fine, without any changes in the BIOS, so I suspect you will have similar results. Of course, if you're really worried about it, you should buy a USB keyboard that comes with a USB to PS2 adapter, just in case. My logitech keyboard came with one, so I don't think it would be too hard to find a bundle like this.

 

[darbius]

Thanks for your input. I think I have one of those USB to PS/2 adapters lying around somewhere anyway so that works out well.

 

[Cruise51]

12 volts WILL KILL YOU... Provided the amperage is high enough. You can take 20,000 volts and be unharmed, yet take 2 volts and drop dead. It all depends on how much current (amps) your hit with.

 

[darbius]

Okay, so I've read all the way through the "20 pin vs. 24 pin" thread and I still haven't found what I see to be a good answer to this question. I'm not wholly familiar with exactly how wattage specs go, and I don't really know the power draw on each piece of equipment that I have so I guess now I'm asking for opinions or general knowledge on the topic.

Things I know:
1. A typical motherboard these days, comes with a 24 pin bank for the power supply.
2. For some reason the average power supply these days comes with only 20 pins.
3. I can hook a 20-pin into a 24-pin board in most cases and be fine. Exceptions to this are:
a) Using a PCI-e vid card because it draws it's power from the remaining four pins
b) Using a board like mine that has a built in sound blaster card, which also draws power from these 4 pins
c) Using SLI

The equipment I currently have:
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum SLI (with onboard sound blaster)
Thermaltake Silent Purepower supply with 20-pin connector. Pic of it here.
Chaintech Geforce 6600GT PCI-e

I get the feeling from what I read that if I stick with the current power supply I will not be able to do any OC'ing at all (was going to do a little dynamic overclocking, maybe 3% or something), the audio will suck and the vid card will have a questionable supply of power. I think I'll be okay on power for the card because it's only a 6600GT instead of an 6800GT, but what do you all think? Should I just suck it up and go out and buy a 24-pin Antec or something? If so, any suggestions for particular ones? Thanks. I would be willing to spend around $100 if necessary.

 

[ribbon13]

$55 XClio 450BL

 

[wisdomtooth]

Originally posted by: darbius
The equipment I currently have:
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum SLI (with onboard sound blaster)
Thermaltake Silent Purepower supply with 20-pin connector. Pic of it here.
Chaintech Geforce 6600GT PCI-e

Get a new PSU. 17 amps is pretty wimpy for a PSU that claims to be a "400W" unit, and it will not be enough if you add a second card for SLI in the future.

My Seasonic Super Tornado is a 300W unit and it already has 18A on its 12V rail. And it's MUCH quieter than the Not-So-"Silent Purepower" (which in reality sounds like a NASA aircraft-testing wind tunnel.) :laugh:

Get yourself a Seasonic S12-500. Comes with the 24-pin connector as well as PCI-Express 6-pin connectors for future power-hungry vid cards.

HTH.

 

[Promethply]

You can also try this link:

Build Your Own PC (Personal Computer)