Help On Putting Computer Together

[AirbusA340300 0]

im expecting delivery of my computer parts tommorow. and i was wondering if anyone knows of a guide on how to piece to together? not a total guide, just the basic steps? also, my heat sink will come the day after tommorow, and i will do my best to have patience till then, but say i do put it together tommorow without the heatsink. could i just use stock heatsink till the aftermarket one comes? and would i need to apply thermal paste to the stock one? and if i do apply the paste to the stock one, does it harden or could i just wipe it off and reapply more for the aftermarket heatsink? hope that makes any sense, thanksadam k

[scott967 62]

Just wait for your hsf to get in. IMHO it is too much hassle to put one on, then take it off and install another. Chances are, it needs to have a hold down attached to the MB, and you would have to pull the MB to install it.I would say it's pretty straightforward doing a build, just do yourself a favor and RTFM first, so you know what switches and connection points are where on your MB. When you get your parts, do a trial fit to see if there are issues with mounting your graphics card vs where your hard drive(s) will go, possible cable routing issues (I've seen firewire or front-panel USB connections placed very close to graphics card slots for example). Once you figure out what drive bays, card slots, etc you will use I would look closely at front panel connections. These seem to be the trickiest to figure out, depending on the case and MB (sometimes, things have different names). the good part is by and large, if you miswire something maybe the power button won't work, for example, but you shouldn't fry anything. Mainly don't screw up Vcc and ground/gnd!!! Get some paper and take notes of what you are doing. If the MB manual is good, you can often circle or check switch positions or check stuff off as you go.If you are installing IDE or Floppy, those cables tend to be a pain to install. They might be close to the the power connection or RAMs, and once they are in they are hard to work around.Just my .02scott s..

[Guest Alphahawk3]

im expecting delivery of my computer parts tommorow. and i was wondering if anyone knows of a guide on how to piece to together? not a total guide, just the basic steps? also, my heat sink will come the day after tommorow, and i will do my best to have patience till then, but say i do put it together tommorow without the heatsink. could i just use stock heatsink till the aftermarket one comes? and would i need to apply thermal paste to the stock one? and if i do apply the paste to the stock one, does it harden or could i just wipe it off and reapply more for the aftermarket heatsink? hope that makes any sense, thanksadam k

Adam, Not much to add to what Scott said. He covered it pretty good. On the thermal paste...less is more....and no it does not harden. If you do a Google you will see some nice tips of putting that stuff on if you have never done it. I don't know what you have bought but if it is good hardware should be no problems. I just did my first build in ten years. Up until ten years ago would build one every 7 or 8 months. All of my mis-steps doing this one and I don't call them mistakes....if I had paid closer attention to what Scott said...read the book....it would have saved me time and worry. Best of luck with your new build. Regards

[Guest UlfB]

im expecting delivery of my computer parts tommorow. and i was wondering if anyone knows of a guide on how to piece to together? not a total guide, just the basic steps? also, my heat sink will come the day after tommorow, and i will do my best to have patience till then, but say i do put it together tommorow without the heatsink. could i just use stock heatsink till the aftermarket one comes? and would i need to apply thermal paste to the stock one? and if i do apply the paste to the stock one, does it harden or could i just wipe it off and reapply more for the aftermarket heatsink? hope that makes any sense, thanksadam k

Adam,Here is an article on how to do it: http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view....=19&id=2745But as said, study the mobo manual and other instructions carefully. Don't rush the build - take your time.Ulf B