building computer as i type, questions

J

joeswm8

New Member
im am building my first ever build as i type this. i have installed the CPU, RAM, and now i am putting in the drives. this will be my question thread for the next couple days, and all help is needed.

1) when i put the drives in my case, it coumes with plastic sliders on the sides of the drive bays and i have no where to screw them in. it is a cooler master centurion 5 (the one with the clear window) and there is just plastic sliders on the sides of the bays. the two drives feel really sturdy, so i dont need to screw them in, right?

2)if i have an IDE DVD RW drive, i set it to slave as it came, right? and no jumper is needed for a SATA HDD, right?

3) can i plug any 3 pin fan connector into the motherboard, or should i use the adapter for the PSU that it came with in the case?

thanks, ill have many more questions to come
 
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1) Any time I can also use screws, I do. It's more personal preference, but I've had those sliders and other screwless designs mess up.

2) It makes no difference if the drive is the only one on the channel. And there are no master/slave settings for SATA

3) Normally, if the power supply has an adapter for a fan, it also controls it. I know mine has an automatic fan controller in it(though uses molex rather than 3 pin) Todays motherboards also have their own controllers in them and are configurable, unlike the power supply. In short, just use your motherboard.
 
thanks a ton

and also, how tight should i screw in the mobo screws? i screwed them in until i felt the first bit of tension. and is 7 screws enough? (i used risers of course)

EDIT: i just put my GPU in (XFX 7900GS Extreme) and i popped it in with a little force here and there, and now its situated, but the PCIe 16 clip wont clip back on. i know for sure its in because it lines up with the back panel and its secure, but the clip wont fit. is that okay?

another edit: there is a speaker power connection in my case, but i didnt know it came with a speaker? is it really a speaker?
 
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I have the same case as you so I hope I can help you out.

The speaker cable is for the 2 front jacks where you can connect a speaker and a mic, its also for the mobo to make warning beeps when something goes wrong during boot up, I believe.

For the mobo screws I would use as many as is recommend in the manual just to be safe. For the graphics card just give it a little push back and forwards and if it feels too loose then Id take it out and see how to apply the clip by looking at the mobo manual but if it feels snug in the slot then Id just secure it with a screw to the back panel of the case (where the hole is at the side of the expansion bay slot)
 
I just tighten the screws until theres some resistance then thats all.

The locking clip/tab should click into place if the card is in properly. Are you sure both ends of the card are all the way in?

The speaker is mainly for BIOS beep codes.
 
As others mentioned, just snug the mobo screws. I mean you want them fairly tight, but you don't want to put stress on the board.

The clip shouldn't matter too much as long as the card's fully seated.

There should be a little speaker, or perhaps a buzzer in your case somewhere. It's really not required. It's just for the POST beeps, error beeps, maybe stuff from your mobo(system alarms and what not) It will come in handy if your computer won't POST the first time :rolleyes:
 
thanks guys, i have some more... lol

1) i plugged the 6 pin power for my GPU, is that all it needs? because there is this other thing on top and it might be for power, but i dont think so

2)and when i plug the 4 pin power for my DVD RW drive, can i use just any 4 pin out of the PSU? because some are connected to other things stemming out of the main four pin

3) and the power is only for:

DVD
HDD
GPU
the 24 pin on the mobo

correct?
 
oh yeah thanks!

ut oh, as i look in my 20 pin connector of the 20+4, i see a missing pin!? its just empty

is that ok?
 
The 6pin on the video should be all it needs unless you have an 8800GTX then it needs 2.
Any 4x1 pin connector will do.
You need the 2x2 yellow/black//black/yellow plugged in as well.
 
k, thanks guys


ut oh, as i look in my 20 pin connector of the 20+4, i see a missing pin!? its just empty

is that ok?

please address this!
 
yes woo!

everything is plugged in, hooked up, and now i have to put the sides of the case back on and i am double checking before the official power up. it has been easy going and i am learning so much so far

im scared for the power up...

thanks everyone, ill keep you posted

btw my specs are:
AMD 3800+ X2
2GB DDR2 800 G.Skill RAM
XFX 7900GS Extreme
Biostar TForce 550 MCP
Rosewill 550 Watt PSU
WD 160GB HD
 
id be so mad i dont know what id do

and my last questions for now:

what happens when you first turn it on? does it go into the BIOS, and then you put in the OS and boot from disk and install etc.?
 
Well i usually go into the BIOS first to check all my RAM is working and whatnot, and to set all the master/slave settings, etc. Then set the boot drive to the CDROM and restart.
 
Why don't you just power it up and find out :P

It will try to boot when you first turn it on, but you do probably want to check the bios first. Be sure all the settings are right, boot order, etc etc...
 
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