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whats the hardest part about putting a comp together?

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2 things that helped me not be so nervous and build easier:

1 install the cpu, hsf and memory into the mobo before you install the mobo in the case so youll have the room you need.
2 if possible, remove the fan from the heatsink(if you go amd. intel heatsinks were scary for me since it seems they require so much more pressure to put on) before installing it on the cpu if you dont have a screwdriver that fits correctly and wont slip out. that way you just use your bare hands and avoid any potential of destroying the mobo. just remember to put the fan back on before firing it up.🙂

 
well the hardest part on my last one was firing up for the first time and the stupid heat alarm went off boy if that don't get the blood flowing after you just parted with a bunch of green.
Turned out the readings were bogus. had to flash the bios to recalibrate it.

so the hard part was omg did I screw up or did they till i realized it wasn't smoking or running hot...bios readings initially said 170-180 degrees F.
 
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
What VirtualLarry said. With Pentium 3 and Athlon XP the only scary part was getting the heatsink properly mounted without the screwdriver slipping and gouging the motherboard. With P4 and Athlon 64 the heatsink mounting is much easier.
Click to expand...

Yeah, pretty much. However, it was also scary if you computer failed to post...
 
Like the 2nd post said, it's plugging god damn LED, PWR, Reset wire from the case cover to its corresponding pin on the mobo.
 
Originally posted by: Baked
Like the 2nd post said, it's plugging god damn LED, PWR, Reset wire from the case cover to its corresponding pin on the mobo.
Click to expand...

I don't know how many of you remember, but a couple of years back (maybe more), AMD had a promo tour, and they were giving away a few XP 2400+ CPUs or something at each event. This was around when they introduced their 400Mhz-bus SocketA chips, I think. There was a thread about in HotDeals, there were a bunch of AT'ers there.

Well, anyways, they had some contest events too, as part of the promo activities. First up was a jeopardy-like trivia contest, and the winners of those (I think they may have done that several times through the night), played off and had to build a complete system, from a choice of parts with various cost/performance tradeoffs, within a time limit, and then at the end, anyone who didn't get their system built completely functional, down to even the proper LEDs and everything, was disqualified. The M.C. also chose an envelope or something that decided whether or not the "desired" system was supposed to be price or performance-oriented. (Essentially - it was kind of a random draw to be a tiebreaker or something, I guess.) The winner of the build event got to walk off with a check for $10K or something crazy like that. The tricky part was, you DID NOT get to power-on test the system at all. The systems were only booted after the time limit was over. If something didn't work, you were disqualified, even down to those darn little case LEDs... 😛
 
Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
Originally posted by: Baked
Like the 2nd post said, it's plugging god damn LED, PWR, Reset wire from the case cover to its corresponding pin on the mobo.
Click to expand...

I don't know how many of you remember, but a couple of years back (maybe more), AMD had a promo tour, and they were giving away a few XP 2400+ CPUs or something at each event. This was around when they introduced their 400Mhz-bus SocketA chips, I think. There was a thread about in HotDeals, there were a bunch of AT'ers there.

Well, anyways, they had some contest events too, as part of the promo activities. First up was a jeopardy-like trivia contest, and the winners of those (I think they may have done that several times through the night), played off and had to build a complete system, from a choice of parts with various cost/performance tradeoffs, within a time limit, and then at the end, anyone who didn't get their system built completely functional, down to even the proper LEDs and everything, was disqualified. The M.C. also chose an envelope or something that decided whether or not the "desired" system was supposed to be price or performance-oriented. (Essentially - it was kind of a random draw to be a tiebreaker or something, I guess.) The winner of the build event got to walk off with a check for $10K or something crazy like that. The tricky part was, you DID NOT get to power-on test the system at all. The systems were only booted after the time limit was over. If something didn't work, you were disqualified, even down to those darn little case LEDs... 😛
Click to expand...

It's not that hard to do though!
I was putting together an old system, and I couldn't find the motherboard manual, so I had to almost guess where things plugged in, but since the leads from the case were labelled, and so were the pins on the motherboard, it was actually a piece of cake getting them right.
I did need some help actually pushing one of them in though.
 
You do realize the pin location and +/- can be different from mobo to mobo, even mobo from the same company. Sure it's easy when you're working on the same mobo over and over again, but when you're slapped w/ a different mobo and no way to test it out, it's a bitch. I don't need the manual for my MSI mobo either, but that's 'cause I take it apart for cleaning frequently, I got the +/- down.
 
The hardest for me was hooking up all those case fan wires and the fan control unit wires. The Thermaltake case I have has five case fans and the fan control unit. Thermaltake does not take wire management into account. But after I was done, I'm glad to say that everything worked in regards to the case fans, and the firewire/USB case inputs. The mic and headphone mobo hookups took a while longer to figure out.
 
mobo and case manufacturers should get together and make a universal 'block' of pins, so that there is only one way of putting it in. It should include everything from front USB to power LEDs and switches. If a case doesn't have front connections, it should just leave the holes blank.
 
Originally posted by: Lonyo
It's not that hard to do though!
I was putting together an old system, and I couldn't find the motherboard manual, so I had to almost guess where things plugged in, but since the leads from the case were labelled, and so were the pins on the motherboard, it was actually a piece of cake getting them right.
I did need some help actually pushing one of them in though.
Click to expand...

It's not hard to get the LEDs the right way 'round... eventually. But to get them exactly right, all of them, in a timed performance competition, without any manual, nor being allowed to test them? That's not so easy. 😉
 
Originally posted by: Stern
mobo and case manufacturers should get together and make a universal 'block' of pins, so that there is only one way of putting it in. It should include everything from front USB to power LEDs and switches. If a case doesn't have front connections, it should just leave the holes blank.
Click to expand...
There actually is an Intel spec for that, and also one for front-panel audio. It hasn't really caught on though. I've seen a couple of mobos that support it, I think it's a 20-pin dual-row header layout. link
 
Here's another tip... don't touch any electrical contacts... not pins on the CPU, not the pins on SATA or PATA connections, not the pins on an AGP or PCI card... NONE.

As someone already said, static is your enemy... a static discharge too small for you to even feel is capable of killing microchips.
 
I think the hardest part is cable management, especially if you have a lot of stuff in a mid-tower.

A specific problem is connecting the Firewhire cables on a TT Tsunami to the mob, especially the Asus A8N SLI.
 
I had the darndest time with the LED connections also. My mobo manuel conflicted with the case manuel and I tried all sorts of combos and never did get my power-on light to work. But HD light works and that is enough for me. The rest of the system (my first build) has worked wonderfully for over a year now. I'm planning on building the wife a rig this summer. It is always a good idea to have a guru on standby if you need help.
 
I spent about 4 or 5 hours working on the cable management, but that was fun, not hard. I had a supervisor in the USAF who was fanatical on making our installations look nice so I take pride in tidying up my case. I have a clear window also and green LED fans and everything is pretty. My wife can't understand how I can spend all that time making my computer look nice and I can't stand making the bed!
 
The hardest part for me was convincing myself I was capable of doing it so I wouldn't buy some pre-built rig. It was all cake after that.
 
The hardest part when I built my first P4 system a few years ago, was when I applied the HS/Fan and saw my mobo bend like crazy! I freaked and read thru the manual and the papers that came with the P4 chip and FINALLY saw, in small type, in the mobo manual and in intels paper, that slight mobo bending is natural and all P4 mobos are made to bend at the socket. Still tho, seeing that sucker warp when I clamped down, man, thought I ruined a mobo! 🙂
 
Setting up the BIOS! When I installed a new ASUS A7V880 I nearly had a stroke. On entering BIOS, there was only one boot option listed, the 3.5" floppy drive. I had connected no drives at all. I expected to see a list of boot options from SCSI to SATA, USB, IDE, Kitchen sink, neighbor's cat, Hubble Telescope and Titanic radio room. Me thoughts to self and concluded that more exploration was needed before applying for RMA.

Lo and Behold, beyond the power of cheese, devices needed to be connected to considered bootable in this BIOS of this machine! Except for a floppy drive.


I also hate the challenge of getting the front panel leads connected properly to a mainboard.
 
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