So I'm building my first computer... Anything I should know?

[Wicked00]

Well, after buing a computer and getting raped for it in 99, I decided that I would build my own and have it exactly the way that I wanted it. So far this is what I have:

• 
  Intel 1.6a northwood
  Asus P4B533-E
  WD 80gb Special edition
  Radeon 8500 128mb

The only things that I am still waiting on are my Antec 1080amg case & Kingston 256mb 2700 memory.

I went with the following combo because I constantly read on here that the 1.6a was a great overclocker. I currently have a P3 600mhz computer, so this should be a very significant difference. I am pretty clear about how to put everything together and get it going, but I do have one question about the case... it has a 430watt powerbox.. will that be fine plugging it into a standard 120v outlet? I keep hearing that I might have a fuse blow on me, but you would all know more than me.

If theres anything I should know or do, please tell me as I plan on putting this thing together as soon as my case & memory get here which should be on 08/10.

Thanks

Danny

 

[Unicron80]

How to Put a Comp together


Haven't read through all of it, but looks like a pretty exhaustive guide. You said you know the basics, which is great. If you have any troubles, of course, throw them up here.

Make sure you have a great seal between the processor and the heatsink, I made that mistake when putting my first one together and I'm paying for it now.

Put the minimal components in for your first boot, once you have successfully done that, add one more component at a time, making sure it's working. If you throw all of them together, and there is a problem, you have to go back and eliminate one at a time instead of instantly knowing what the problem component is, if you catch my drift.

Keep yourself grounded (better safe than sorry), keep everything clean, read the manuals, and don't use too much force, you should be fine if you know your way around inside there.

Good luck and holler if you need any help...

 

[sak]

Yeah...just be calm..cause its a pain in the butt..to make it work on the first go....take ur time....

 

[Wicked00]

Thanks for the good advice. I was just thinking about throwing everything in there, but your idea seems a hell of a lot better than mine. Good link also

 

[2ndgunman]

Like Unicron said, make sure you have a good seal between the cpu and heatsink. It's not too difficult, but if you're not comfortable doing it, it never hurts to befriend the guys at your locally owned computer shop.

 

[Wicked00]

Correct me if I'm wrong... I got the boxed 1.6a, came with heatsink and what not... so don't I just put the cpu on the motherboard, then install heatsink over it? Thats basically what the instructions say to do, but intels instructions are probably about as helpful as a three legged dog trying to bury a bone on an icy lake. Can someone point me in the right direction here?

 

[HOMIcidaL]

Be ready for a big headache if it doesnt work when u flip the power button... and jubilation that something you built can kick some ass when it does

 

[WarCon]

A few mistakes that first time builders make.

Leaving extra motherboard standoffs underneath the motherboard. Make sure the only standoffs you have mounted to the motherboard tray in the case are the ones the motherboard has holes for.

Double check your cables to make sure they are the right direction. The red stripe is always pin 1 . The end plug on a floppy cable is for the A: drive and no both ends just can't be reversed. ATA100 cables plug in a certain way (blue to the motherboard, black for primary, grey for secondary).

Never pull components until you pull the power cord.

Always use thermal compound. (never use two kinds of thermal compound at the same time.) The pink gummy pads are a kind of thermal compound. If you want to use thermal compound like Arctic Silver 3 then remove those pads. (Takes more than just scraping them off, you must clean it off the best you can) Go to Arctic Silvers website for complete detail.... (Me being lazy)

Always plug a fan into the CPU header or some bioses will not let you boot up.

From personal experience, going over 1.75v (Intel's max voltage rating) really can do damage to the Northwood processors, no matter how good your cooling is.

Case fans are not a recommendation.

Water does not mix well with electricity............. (Sweat being part of the water kingdom and containing an electrolyte so electricity flows real well when you drop a bead of sweat in a motherboard).

One last thing. Components are electrostatically sensitive, my procedure doesn't involve straps (hate them), but should work just as well. Always touch your case with bare skin (forearms are better than cauloused hands), before you take a component out of the antistatic bag and maintain that contact as you insert it. Friends just looking at components and handling them anyway they want is a sure way to damage stuff. Leave your components in the antistatic containers until you are ready to install. No point in risking damage. (No they aren't that sensitive, but if you live in a place where you can shock people then you better act like they are that sensitive). One little (even invisible) lightning bolt to a component will kill it. But if you make everything your working on the same static voltage, then you negate the ability for electricity to flow and cause damage.

 

[Yvo]

• Safety of components first, wear an antistatic wrist band... you might not fry your stuff now but a little jolt can severly damage the life of your CPU and it might be weeks or months before it dies
  Be patient, VERY patient
  If you don't know what your doing, READ the manual first... also check forums such as this one for help
  Double, maybe triple check your cable connections such as if the fan is plugged in or are your IDE cable inserted the right way
  Now my most common error is that I always seem to flip around the floppy drive cable, so I recommend checking that one too
  Make sure you have every component, cable, disc at hand.
  More is not better when applying CPU thermal paste... when it says pea sized... you make darn well sure its pea sized
  Be sure to insert all your cards & anything insertable properly

Good luck, building your first is a huge blast... I still find it a blast

Yvo

 

[Wicked00]

Thanks for all the great replies. This will all help me a lot this weekend. I was thinking about wearing some plastic doctors gloves when installing everything so I wouldn't get any greasy residue from my hands on any of the components. Here's a quick question... Can I move my current hd (8gb scsi) to the new setup without losing any files on it?

 

[tboneuls]

u shouldnt have any problems with your fuse blowing.... i have a 400 watt antec psu in my main computer. i have never had it blow a fuse. i have also run about 2-3 other comps on the same curcuit without problems.

 

[tboneuls]

yes you can mover your hard drive without losing data as long as you are careful while the hard drive is out of the case. wear an anti-static wristband and be sure not to drop it. you will also need a scsi card in your new system.

 

[The Wildcard]

Make sure you have a backup computer or your current computer functioning so you can always use it to go online and download emergency patches, files, drivers. It's also handy to be able to log on to Ananadtech and ask for help while building your new computer!

 

[Wicked00]

Well, for the scsi card, I'll just move the one that is in my current system over to the new one. I'm still kinda nervous moving the drive over since I can't afford anything going wrong with it. I have tons of irreplaceable pictures on there.

 

[Wicked00]

The_wildcard: Excellent idea. I think I'll wait and switch the hard drive over to the new one when everything is working on it.

 

[bigben]

Do make sure that ALL fans are working before closing the case. I have a good friend who enjoys burning many cpu and video chips

 

[2ndgunman]

Originally posted by: bigben
Do make sure that ALL fans are working before closing the case. I have a good friend who enjoys burning many cpu and video chips

Also make sure that your fans are actually moving air in the direction you intended. Exhaust fans should blow air OUT of the case, not INTO the case.......

 

[Wicked00]

I'm thinking about buying another fan and having it blow right on the hard drives... you guys have any reccommendations?

 

[Yvo]

I hope its a new SCSI card... I have seen old cards do some pretty weird stuff. Make sure its PCI also .

If not you can always just transfer files via network and just completely drop the scsi drive for this system.

But that is my take on it

Yvo

 

[Wicked00]

Originally posted by: Yvo
I hope its a new SCSI card... I have seen old cards do some pretty weird stuff. Make sure its PCI also .

If not you can always just transfer files via network and just completely drop the scsi drive for this system.

But that is my take on it

Yvo

Well, my old system has an Adaptec 2940U2. Hopefully everything will work just fine.