Assembling computer- questions megathread!

[Sirrus]

Okay, so I got my RAM today and figured I'd assemble everything and boot Linux off of the ODD to make sure everything is working in anticipation for getting a HDD and an OS.

Anyway, I haven't gotten quite that far yet and I have a forgetton of questions and pictures.

1) On my GPU I have two ports for power

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d58/photobug101/IMAG0138.jpg?t=1273702485

Do I have to have both of these hooked up to the PSU? If so, do I need to use the cords that I got with it sent to me by RW which look like this:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d58/photobug101/IMAG0171.jpg?t=1273702584]

Or can I use the port at the beginning and end of the following cord which came with my PSU?

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d58/photobug101/IMAG0185.jpg?t=1273702643

Which, what's the point of the many hook ups along this cord? Does each one need to be hooked up to something? Does it matter what's hooked up to what along each of those cords? How do I get from the PSU to the GPU and power the GPU fully?

2) This is where it appears on the mobo to hook up controls for the power switch, reset switch, etc.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d58/photobug101/IMAG0163.jpg?t=1273702807

I was having a hard time interpreting this though. Does it go, from right to left, reset, speaker, speaker, power? That is how I have it hooked up now. The PLED thing doesn't make sense either, as coming from my case I have one pin cords with P+ and P- on it.

3) Are these brackets to hold my ODD/HDD?

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d58/photobug101/IMAG0187.jpg?t=1273702940

4) What are these for?

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d58/photobug101/IMAG0170.jpg?t=1273702968

5) Will the upside down CPU cooler cause any problems?

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d58/photobug101/IMAG0146.jpg?t=1273703238

6) These dudes chilling here, do they just run straight into one of the PSU cords pictured above? I see the fans have a power hookup but no fan controller that hooks into the mobo, do they just turn on when I turn the computer on?

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d58/photobug101/IMAG0152.jpg?t=1273703143

7) Does it matter which 3 case USB ports I put the wire running from the USB port in the case?

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d58/photobug101/IMAG0158.jpg?t=1273703310

8) I figure the "HD AUDIO" plug is for the microphone and headphone jacks, but what is the AC'97 plug for and where do they go on my mobo?

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d58/photobug101/IMAG0154.jpg?t=1273703398

9) Does that rubber seal around the cutouts for the cable management to the right protect anything, such as the cords? There is another one near the PSU that is a supreme hassle because when I'm feeding cords through, it always gets pulled off. Can I just cut it off?

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d58/photobug101/IMAG0147.jpg?t=1273703668

10) There are three spidery cords that looked like thermometers, one labeled "CPU", one "HDD" and the other, I think "PSU". Do I just affix these near the labeled component to get my temperature readouts working?

Here is one

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d58/photobug101/IMAG0151.jpg?t=1273703874

11)  I have fan controls on the front of my case, but I don't see clearly what they should be labeled. Does anyone know offhand what they would be labeled with and what labeled plug they go into on the mobo?


Thanks. If you could answer any question you could that would be great, you don't have to answer all of them to reply, I just need to get these all answered at some point.

[Ad Bot]

[Skip]

Is it just me or are a lot of your recent topics about your computer.

[Sirrus]

Is it just me or are a lot of your recent topics about your computer.

No, it's not just you. I've been making a forgetton of topics but the only damn reason I post here is because a lot of people here are really knowledgeable about computers, this is my first time doing this, and I've been saving and spending a stuff ton of money on this and I want to get it right.

[Otis Da HousKat]

Replying!

1) I don't think you need both power cords, but not doing so with horribly underpower your GPU. Use them. You can use the PCI-E cables attached to the PSU or the molex to PCI-E cables to power it. Might as well use the cables already attached to the PSU to avoid cable clutter though. You can use both connectors on that cable, they are wired in parallel.

2) Read the directions for the motherboard. It should be explained there. Has been in all the ones I've seen.

3) I guess? Looks like it, but that's a really bad picture.

4) SATA ports. Mostly used for connecting to your hard and disc drives. Should have cable that fit in there.

5) The logo is upside down, not the cooler.

6) Ya

7) RTFM

8) RTFM

9) It's meant to keep the cords snug. Do whatever you want.

10) RTFM

11) Fan controllers (from what I've seen) just hook into the fan's power line. It's just a variable resistor.

[Sebster 105]

stick wires in random places and hit it with a wrench when it doesn't work.

[Skip]

No, it's not just you. I've been making a forgetton of topics but the only damn reason I post here is because a lot of people here are really knowledgeable about computers, this is my first time doing this, and I've been saving and spending a stuff ton of money on this and I want to get it right.

k, I was just wondering.

[dkamm65]

4. Those are SATA ports for hard drives. That why it says "SATA" next to them.

[ase]

You should really read the manuals that came with your newly bought stuff before asking people how to hook stuff up. Point aside;
1. hook up gpu with cords it came with and connect to psu
2. RTFM on the Mobo, it usually has a big pic in it how to arrange the wires
3.is for your Hdd
4. as dkamm65 said, those are connections used for a hdd that uses SATA connections.
5. its fine do not worry

anyway that should help some..

[Sebster 105]

read the manuals

the manuals

manuals

manuals

RUN LIKE HELL

[Righteous One]

9. I would keep them as I imagine that the they are there to protect the cables. In my case the holes there have beveled edges, I assume that yours do not. If the hole has no smooth edge and a power cable or something of the sort gets ripped it cold short out and kill your computer.

1. You don't need to use that cord that has all of those MOLEX connecters. Your power supply came with cables that are specific for GPUs. They provide more power. Unlike the other cables on that power supply, they will need to be plugged into one of the red four-pin connectors on the back of your power-supply.

As to why that has so many cables. If you have multiple hard-drives or ODD's then you could simply string them together with that. It's just supposed to reduce cable clutter.

If you didn't figure it out yet, all cables that you can not plug or un-plug into your power supply are for your motherboard - do not plug them into anything else even if it fits.

[devildogelite]

When I put my computer together I watched a video on youtube and then just put it all together, if I ran into something I wasn't sure about the manual cleared it up in no time.

Also its pretty hard to forget up putting a computer together almost all of the wires only plug into one spot.

[Otis Da HousKat]

9. I would keep them as I imagine that the they are there to protect the cables. In my case the holes there have beveled edges, I assume that yours do not. If the hole has no smooth edge and a power cable or something of the sort gets ripped it cold short out and kill your computer.

1. You don't need to use that cord that has all of those MOLEX connecters. Your power supply came with cables that are specific for GPUs. They provide more power. Unlike the other cables on that power supply, they will need to be plugged into one of the red four-pin connectors on the back of your power-supply.

As to why that has so many cables. If you have multiple hard-drives or ODD's then you could simply string them together with that. It's just supposed to reduce cable clutter.

If you didn't figure it out yet, all cables that you can not plug or un-plug into your power supply are for your motherboard - do not plug them into anything else even if it fits.

Haha, right. PSUs usually have dedicated PCI-E plugs.

[Sirrus]

Okay, so if I'm understanding you on question 1 (which was the only big one that couldn't be solved with a manual or simple answer) I can use the cords that came with my PSU and run that from the PSU to the GPU and use the plugs inbetween for fans?

Oh also, on the CPU cooler I think I actually did install it upside down because the cooler wire is on the opposite side of the hookup for the cooler.

[Sirrus]

Oh, and another quick question. Once I get everything to the best of my knowledge correctly installed, can I turn it on and check that all the hardware is registering in the BIOS?

[Zaran]

Oh, and another quick question. Once I get everything to the best of my knowledge correctly installed, can I turn it on and check that all the hardware is registering in the BIOS?

No, once you are done building the computer you can never turn it on.