May 30 2008
How to build a PC - the parts, the price and the performance (and how to do it of course)
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Only a few more steps… hope we haven’t lost you yet!
- Take your video card and determine how many slots you will need. If there are rear panels on your video card, you will need to remove 2 expansion slot bays on the back of your case. Most video cards will only require removal of 1 slot
- Newer cards should be of PCIe x16 format. Be sure to reference your motherboard manual to determine which peripheral lane is your PCIe x16 lane
- Once you have determined where your video card will set, gently set your card on top of the PCIe x16 slot. Once it is aligned, you may push the video card down until it is firmly set. The peripheral bracket that faces the rear of the case should have a small grove that will align with the screw hole on the case. If this is aligned properly, you can also screw the video card into place
- Now that we have everything in place, it is time to attach your power and data cables. Don’t forget! Refer to the motherboard manual and power supply manual for further instructions as each motherboard/PS is different
- The first cables to be installed will be the 24-pin power cable and the 4/8-pin power cable. Next install the data cables from the motherboard to the corresponding hard drives/burners. Your primary hard drive (either your biggest or fastest drive) will goto your primary IDE or SATA1. The rest of your drives can be attached however you see fit.
- After you have attached the data cables, attach the power cables to the drives (4-pin molex and/or SATA power cable)
- Note: if you have fans that require power (usually 4-pin molex), attach them to a hard drive or a burner before attaching the 4-pin molex from the power supply
- If you have a high end video card, you may also require an additional power source (6-pin cable). Please check your video card manual if you require this extra cable
- Once all of your compnents are connected to the motherboard and power supply, you are ready to close up the case
Once you attach both side panels of the case, it is time for a few last connections. Last page for the wrap up!
[...] at technewsmadesimple.com will be running a series on computer maintenance as a follow-up to the “How to build a computer” posts by Kurt and I earlier this [...]