General components required:
Case and Power Supply
Processor & Cooler
Mainboard
Memory
Hard disk
Video Card
Monitor
Floppy Disk Drive
Soundcard
CD-ROM/DVD-Rom/CD-RW Drive
Modem Click
Keyboard
Mouse
Operating system
1. Make sure that all of the parts that you have ordered have been supplied and that they have arrived in one piece.
ATX Computer Cases due to their nature being reasonably large and heavy can be susceptible to getting dents in them whilst in transit. Please check your ATX Case thoroughly inside and outside for dents prior to starting to build your PC. Please be sure to check everything before starting to put all of the parts together as it is very frustrating to find half-way through building a PC that something is either missing or damaged needing to be returned to the place where it was bought for replacement.
The ATX case whether it's a Mini-Tower or Desktop should have a small box or bag of various sized screws, plastic and brass standoffs, nylon washers, ATX Rear-Connectivity Plate, and some PCI/AGP/AMR expansion slot brackets(these brakets are all physically identical).
2. Find a worksurface area that is suitable for you to work on, please bear in mind that the ATX Case can make a right mess of a polished table, particularly if the plastic feet aren't fitted from the factory.
3. Lay all of the peripherals or components that are going to be used to build your PC out on this worksurface area and Double check that everything that you have ordered is present and in one piece.
Whilst checking these items please observe the Antistatic Precautions mentioned at the top of this page.
ASSEMBLY:
1. Carefully remove the Mainboard that you have bought for your PC out of its antistatic protective packaging, place onto something like a Yellow-Pages. Read through the Mainboard manual to verify what goes where.
2. Connect the ATX Power Supply Mainboard connector to the Mainboard itself, this is a keyed connector and should only fit one-way. It is a good idea to remove the ATX Power Supply from the ATX Case to connect the Power Connector to the Mainboard whilst it is outside of the ATX Case. The ATX Power Supply will be re-fitted into the ATX Case once the Processor and Memory have been mounted onto the Mainboard.
CPU Installation.
3. Prior to fitting the Celeron® or Pentium 4® CPU (Central Processing Unit) it's a good idea to check whether it has any bent pins. Bent pins will cause problems with fitting the CPU from being placed into the CPU Socket therefore it is important that this check is made. Observing antistatic precautions handle the CPU by its edges. If any of the pins are bent you should be able to straighten them with a pair of long nose pliers, take great care not to break any of the pins.
The Socket 478 CPU Socket should have a lever on it, lift this upwards away from the socket itself (the lever should be at approximately a 90 degree angle to the Mainboard). Locate where Pin 1 is on the CPU Socket, check the orientation of the CPU and make sure that Pin 1 on the CPU Socket matches Pin 1 on the CPU (normally indicated by a dot) and Carefully place the CPU into the Socket.
Please note: If the CPU does not align properly or fall into the socket easily please do not force it into its socket, Forcing the CPU into the Socket could damage the CPU. Check the pins again (if necessary) and re-align the CPU into its Socket.
Lower the lever back into the position it was originally shipped in prior to fitting the CPU. This will lock down the CPU.
CPU Cooler Installation.
4. Mount the Cooler assembly onto the processor, try not to move the Cooler assembly around once it has been placed onto the processor, nor place anymore pressure on the processor than it absolutely necessary as the Cooler assembly can crush the processors core rendering it useless and nullifying its warranty. Prior to placing the Cooler assembly onto the processor check whether or not there is a thermal pad on the underneath of the Cooler assemblies Heatsink, if there is no thermal pad present place a small amount of thermal compound onto the die of the processor (this should not be allowed to make contact with any area outside of the die. Only a small amount of the thermal compount should be applied to the processor).
Please note: Great care must be taken whilst fitting the heatsink & fan assembly to the CPU. If the screw-driver or pliers slip they could cause irrepairable damage to the mainboard and nullify the manufacturers warranty of the mainboard (Placing some electricians insulating tape immediately beneath the clip of the heatsink & fan that you're fixing to the processor can help this from happening).
5. Plug the cooler fan connector onto the designated connector on the mainboard, the manual supplied with the mainboard should illustrate which connector this is.
Memory Module(s) Installation.
6. Place the memory module or modules into their slots. The DIMM Memory Sockets should have two retaining clips at either end of the socket, pull the retaining clips on each side of the memory module socket away from the socket, As with the CPU orientation of the memory modules are important, the notch on the bottom of the DIMM Module(s) must align with the key on the memory socket.
Place the DIMM Module into a vacant DIMM Socket making sure that the DIMM Module is handled only by its edge (please ensure that you don't touch the edge connector beneath the DIMM Module). Press the DIMM Module into the Socket until the retaining clips lock the DIMM Module in place. Repeat step 6 if you are fitting more than one DIMM Module.
Re-configure Jumpers (as necessary).
7. Re-configure any jumpers that need to be re-configured on the mainboard for the processor that is fitted (where necessary). Most Socket 478 Mainboards on the market are configured through the BIOS and re-configuring of jumpers is not needed. The manual that was supplied with the mainboard should illustrate which jumpers (if any) that need to be changed.
If you're not sure of what the manufacturers website address is please use the manufacturers links page, this page should contain the manufacturers website address, if it does not please send an E-mail containing the manufacturers name to addalink@buildfromscratch.com for it to be added. Thank you for your feedback!.
8. Unplug the ATX Power Supply from the Mainboard and re-fit back into the ATX Case.
Install the Mainboard into the ATX PC Case.
9. Carefully mount the mainboard into the ATX PC case. Make sure that the expansion slots face the rear of the PC. To mount it both the brass and plastic standoffs are more than likely needed.
Please note: It is important that the brass spacers are not used in the holes that don't have a solder-pad around them, otherwise shorts can occur and could cause expensive damage.
Connect Front-Panel Indicators/Switches.
10. Several cables and plugs have to be connected to the mainboard, here is a list of the standard connectors.
Hard Disk LED Connector.
Power LED Connector.
Power switch.
Reset Connector.
Speaker Connector.
Please note that it is important to observe polarity on the Speaker Connector, Power LED Connector and Hard Disk LED Connector. The dark coloured wires are usually the positive leads and the white coloured wires are the negative leads for the Power LED and Hard Disk LED.
Connect Internal Connector(s).
11. Carefully plug the ATX Power Supply Connector into the Mainboard and all of the other connectors, such as the Floppy Disk Drive and Hard Disk Drive Cables. There are usually two IDE connectors one primary and one secondary, the Hard Disk should be connected to the Primary, the CD-Rom, CD-RW or DVD-Rom Drive to the Secondary (if the CD-Rom, CD-RW or DVD-Rom has a second IDE cable). Orientation must be observed on all of these connectors, Pin 1 of the ribbon cable is usually coloured red.
Install Hard Disk, Floppy Disk and CD-Rom/DVD-Rom Drive(s).
12. The Hard Disk, Floppy Disk and CD-Rom, CD-RW or DVD-Rom Drive can now be fitted to the case, these are slotted in from the front and fixed into place with some of the fixing screws that were supplied with the case. Be careful whilst removing the blanking-plates that are fitted immediately behind the plastic front panels that you have to remove before fitting these drives. The metal blanking-places (if present) can have sharp edges, because of this they need to be handled carefully. After these have been put into place then the interface and power supply cables should be plugged in. Orientation must be observed on all of these connectors, Pin 1 of the ribbon cable is usually coloured red. The Power Connectors are keyed so that they can only be plugged in one-way, take care not to force these connectors to seat as damage to the circuit board that they are soldered onto could be damaged if excessive pressure is applied.
Install Add-On Cards into PCI/AGP/AMR Slot(s).
13. Plug the video card into the mainboards AGP slot or one of the PCI slots (depending on what type you have bought). Most Video Cards on the market are of the AGP variety, however PCI Video Cards are still available to buy. The AGP Slot is dedicated for Video therefore it's recommended that an AGP Video Card is bought as opposed to a PCI Video Card.
Note: If you're using an AGP Video Card and have a spare PCI Video Card it's a good idea to keep it close by as a PCI Video Card can be useful for testing a non-booting PC.
14. Plug the soundcard into one of the spare PCI slots. The audio cable supplied with the Sound Card or CD-Rom, CD-RW or DVD-Rom Drive should be plugged into the CD IN socket of the soundcard and the Audio Out socket of the CD-Rom, CD-RW or DVD-Rom Drive drive.
15. Check that none of the brass mainboard mounting fixtures are causing any shorts, and that they haven't been positioned where there are no soldered through solder-pads, where the holes don't have solder-pads, support the mainboard with nylon standoffs. The video card & soundcard can now be fixed securely in place.