Will parts on desk work OK?

[bbinnard]

I'm going to be taking all the drives out of my current PC and putting them into a new system who's parts (motherboard, PSU, CPU, RAM, video card, fan) arrived next Tuesday. But the new case doesn't arrive until Friday. So is there any problem with putting the parts together on my desktop and running them outside the case?

 

[vshah]

as long as the surface isn't conductive, it should be ok. but beware of static discharges etc.

personally I would just wait

 

[Termie]

You won't have a power button to turn them on...

 

[vshah]

You won't have a power button to turn them on...

many motherboards have power/reset buttons on the board. or he could just wire up the switches to his old case without actually putting the motherboard inside.

 

[Termie]

many motherboards have power/reset buttons on the board. or he could just wire up the switches to his old case without actually putting the motherboard inside.

Only higher-end boards. He should probably just wait a few days until his new case comes in.

 

[DSF]

Or he could always just use the screwdriver trick.

Edit: Not that I'm necessarily suggesting running it sprawled out on your desk.

 

[ch33zw1z]

See that POWER switch, if you don't have a button, connect the two pins using a screwdriver, problem solved. it only takes a second to turn it on.

I would wait for the new case, but if you just HAVE to boot it up then put everything on some cardboard or a static mat.

 

[sm625]

I've run many a guts of PCs on my bench. I never ruined any by doing so.