First PC build..Advice please

[TanisHalfElven]

hello.
i have finally gathered the parts for my new comp.
amd opteron 165
dfi NF4 infinity sli
512 mb DDR 400 ram
a cheap pci vid card while i wait to buy a 6600 gt.
250 gb HDD

can all of you please give me some advice on building it.
this is the first time i build my own comp so i really don't want to mess up.
any tips on which tools to keep in had,
whether to use the stock heat sink or a thermal take one
whether to mount the cpu first then install the motherboard. anything.
please help. thanks

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

http://www.mechbgon.com/build/index.html

Did you buy a thermaltake heatsink too?

I install the CPU and heatsink outside the case and then put the board in the case.

 

[Ricemarine]

There's a bunch of guides about it...

Btw what's your power supply...

Usually, it's best to...

1. Mount the cpu, then the heatsink.
2. Put the memory in the slots.
3. Mount the motherboard in the case.
4. Place your optical drives in and floppy drives.
5. Screw in your hard drives (or you could do it before step 3)
6. Connect the power molex plug in the back of the video card (if there is one), and then plug it on the motherboard.
7. Plug everything in.

 

[TanisHalfElven]

yeah thanks for the link. but i am looking more for tips from veterans here so that i can avoid those mistakes.
but links also help.

 

[Ricemarine]

Originally posted by: tanishalfelven
yeah thanks for the link. but i am looking more for tips from veterans here so that i can avoid those mistakes.
but links also help.

Oh uhh...

-Make sure you don't bend pins on the IDE slots.
-Make sure you TIGHTEN THOSE BRASS STANDOFFS BEFORE YOU PUT THE MOTHERBOARD ON AND SCREW IT IN... SERIOUSLY.. IF you don't you have screwed up your case.
-Remember the backplate of the mobo first

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: tanishalfelven
yeah thanks for the link. but i am looking more for tips from veterans here so that i can avoid those mistakes.
but links also help.

Do you have any specific questions?

 

[GuitarDaddy]

The link provided above to the building guide was prepared by a longtime member here, and is great and has many good pictures. And since mech is a member here if you have any questions you can PM him at mechbgon.

My best advice is to go slow, double check everything, and if you have any question post them here and you will get lots of good advice

 

[Ike0069]

I agree the best advice is just go slow. You'll probably get excited about getting it up and runing, so you start to hurry. That's when the mistakes happen.

 

[TanisHalfElven]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: tanishalfelven
yeah thanks for the link. but i am looking more for tips from veterans here so that i can avoid those mistakes.
but links also help.

Do you have any specific questions?

not yet. i will start building in 1 hour (i waited for the weakend to build....see how patient i am). if i run into anything i'll ask then.

 

[TanisHalfElven]

ok i've run into a problem.
my case is ATX and my motherboard is full ATX is size. now my case comes with brass standoffs but they are too few (6) to fill in all the holes of the motherboard. it also comes with some rubber pads. what are they to be used for.??

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: tanishalfelven
ok i've run into a problem.
my case is ATX and my motherboard is full ATX is size. now my case comes with brass standoffs but they are too few (6) to fill in all the holes of the motherboard. it also comes with some rubber pads. what are they to be used for.??

Does the case have some built-in standoffs formed right into the steel, like in the second photo on this page? What brand & model of case is it?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

You don't need to use all the standoffs. It would be nice if they would have given you more to work with, but it's not a big deal. Once everything is installed they're just going to keep the board attached to the case but isolated from it.

What do the rubber pads look like?

What kind of case is this?

 

[TanisHalfElven]

Originally posted by: mechBgon

Originally posted by: tanishalfelven
ok i've run into a problem.
my case is ATX and my motherboard is full ATX is size. now my case comes with brass standoffs but they are too few (6) to fill in all the holes of the motherboard. it also comes with some rubber pads. what are they to be used for.??

Does the case have some built-in standoffs formed right into the steel, like in the second photo on this page? What brand & model of case is it?

no....

i have no idea what brand or model it is cuz i just bought it from a local comuter store in pakistan....

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
You don't need to use all the standoffs. It would be nice if they would have given you more to work with, but it's not a big deal. Once everything is installed they're just going to keep the board attached to the case but isolated from it.

What do the rubber pads look like?

What kind of case is this?

really. but won't it be bad if all the standoffs are not installed. thanks for the info though.
the rubber pads are about | | thick (space b/e lines), they are circular and one end is covered with a white sheet (like paper but stronger)

 

[mechBgon]

Maybe the computer shop has some extra standoffs they'll give you for free.

ATX motherboards usually have three vertical rows of holes: one row down the front edge, one row down the middle, and one row down the rear. You could put three down the rear, one in the middle hole in the center row, and one at each of the front corners, that wouldn't be too bad.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

The rubber pads might be to help isolate the screws from the motherboard when you're attaching it to the standoffs but I'm not sure.

The other parts that would often be rubber would be grommets (sp?) to isolate the harddrives from vibrating the case, but those would tend to be larger.