Choosing A Motherboard
The motherboard is the most important component when you are building your own computer. You need to make sure that your motherboard is compatible and can support all of the features that the other components might have. But don’t worry, I will explain all that you will need to know when buying a motherboard.
What Processor Socket Motherboard Do I Need?
You need to make sure that the motherboard will support the processor that you want to use. Fist choose a processor and find out what socket the processor is. There are really only 4 different types of processor sockets, For AMD you will have socket 754 and 939. For Intel you will have socket 478 or 775. When new generation processors are released they are likely to use a different socket number.
Dual Core / Hyper threading Support
Don’t assume that all motherboards will support dual core and hyper threading processors. Virtually all AMD socket 939 motherboards will support dual core, make sure you check before selecting a motherboard. Dual core has become very popular these days, so its quite important to get a dual core motherboard.
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Installing A Video Card
To install your video card is easy. First find out what form the card is in. AGP or PCI. Then simply locate the relevant slot in the motherboard. And slot the card in gently, and screw in place to the case. The picture below shows a graphics card being installed.
Choosing Which Computer Memory
How Much Memory Do I Need?
Choosing memory is probably the easiest thing to do. First thing you need to do is decided how much memory you need. Look below
Entry System - You might be able to get away with buying 128mb but I would recommend buying 256 as the price difference is very little
Mid Range System - I class my system at home as mid range and I have been using 512mb of memory and I have never had a problem of running out of memory. So I would say buy 512 - 1024mb of memory, If you plan to install and use windows vista I would recommend 2 gig of memory.
Top Of The Range - Buy 1gig or 2gig for a future proof machine.
Choosing A Processor
You might think this is the most important component that will determine your systems overall speed, Well you are right but make sure you don’t spend all your money on buying the processor as the processor speed wont mean anything if you don’t buy the right memory, Storage device and motherboard.
How Is A Processors Speed Measured?
Every processor has a speed rating which is measured in MHZ. 1000mhz is usually addressed as 1gig so a 3.2gig processor would be 3200mhz. Intel’s processors are usually called Intel Pentium 4 3.2gig. So you know that the processor speed is 3200mhz. But be careful with AMD as they name there processors AMD Athlon 3200+ / 4500+ but 3200 and 4500 does not mean that the processor speeds are 3200mhz and 4500mhz, the mhz rating will be much less than this number and is sometimes in small print so watch out.
Installing A Motherboard
When handling the motherboard always be very careful as there are some delicate small parts which might break easy. The first step is to open the case.
At the bottom of the case there will be a few holes, Screw the risers into these holes (A pic of a riser is shown below.)
How To Install A Floppy Drive
To install the floppy drive first take out the front panel, The panel that is highlighted in the picture below.
Once that is out slot the floppy drive in and screw it to the case from the side. Shown below
Connecting The Motherboard To A Case
Now the motherboard is screwed into the case we need to connect the power and case wires. First lets connect the power. Make sure the case is not plugged in at the mains.Locate the power pack that is inside your case. In the picture below the power pack is located at the top left.
There will be a power connector coming off the power pack which looks like the one in the picture below. Connect this cable to the motherboard. Refer to the motherboards manual if needed.
Installing A CD ROM And Hard Drive
Pre Config ChecksWhen installing hard drives and cd-roms there are a few configuration changes you need to be aware of. They both need to be connected via an IDE cable to the motherboard, Or sata if the hard-drive is a sata drive, but if the drive is sata no configuration changes are needed. On the motherboard there are two IDE connections, Primary and Secondary.
Use the primary IDE connection on the motherboard to connect the hard drive. And with another IDE cable connect the cd-rom to the secondary IDE connection on the motherboard. If you have a SATA hard drive is doesn’t matter if you connect the CD-ROM to the primary or secondary IDE connection.
It is possible to connect two devices to each IDE connection on the motherboard, Allowing a total of 4 devices. If you have two devices on the same IDE connection you will need to set one device to master mode and the other device to slave mode. To do this you will need to change some jumper settings on the device.
How To Install Computer Memory
Introduction
As with other components as time goes on we need more and more from each component, just a few years ago it was standard to have 128mb installed in your computer, but with each newer version of windows released required more and more memory. For example windows 95/98/ME would happily run on 128mb of memory, Windows 2000 would need 256mb, Windows xp 512 and now windows vista requires 1gig minimum and recommended of 2 gig.
It is a known fact that adding more memory to your system will increase the performance. The reason for this is because the operating system (Windows) uses memory to store lots of commands / data that it frequently needs to process. If your system was
Before You Start
Before you buy the memory you need to know what type of memory to buy and also how many slots your computer has free. You can open your computer and take a look, and also read the manual that comes with your motherboard to see what type of memory you need, But the easier way to find out is to go to http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/index.aspx and run there free scanner
Memory is very fragile to static shocks, Try to earth yourself yourself before you touch the memory. I usually do this by touching the metal on a screwdriver or a metal screw connected to your computer case. You can also buy an anti-static-wrist strap http://www.maplin.co.uk/computer_component_uk.search which is what I prefer to use. This scanner is excerlent it will tell you everything, how much memory you have now, how many spare memory slots, what speed memory you have installed, how much maximum memory you can add to your system.
Preparing A Computer Case
When you get your case you need to check that you got all the bits. Open the case. Now that the case is open, now is a good time to go through the screw supply provided with the case. These are usually held in a small plastic bag nestled inside the case. Inside this bag you should find:
- Chassis screws - this is the type used to tighten down cards, etc.
- Smaller screws - just like the chassis screws, just with a smaller diameter. It is used to fasten the motherboard in.
- Standoffs - these are screws that are used to hold the motherboard about 1/8″ from the motherboard mounting plate. Their ends have a threaded opening in them that accept the smaller chassis screws. If you have an AT case, you may find small white standoffs. These serve the same function as the metal standoff, but are simply punched through the board and slid into slots on the case. They are rather clumsy to use compared to the metal standoffs, but they get the job done. Lastly, some cases use small metal clip-looking stand-offs. They are pinched together and slipped into small rectangular holes in the motherboard mounting plate and they snap in. These are, too, a bit awkward.
- Washers. These are typically small, loose washers, not the metal kind you’ve seen in your toolbox. These will be used to cushion your motherboard from the screws you will be using to hold it in. Some motherboards have metal plates around the holes to keep the screws from shorting the circuitry, and in this case, washers are not necessary and may not be included.
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