installing the motherboard

anbo369

anbo369

Member
hello everyone, i have run into a problem while building my computer.
You know the cables from the case that connect to the motherboard, the PW and the RES and things like that?
well my promblem is, how do i know which end is the "positive" end?
each cable will have either a little arrow pointing down, or a G.
Could you please help me identify the positive end?

thanks!
 
It should say something like PWR+ and PWR- shouldn't it? Either that or the cables will be colour coded. red is positive and white is negative, i think. Let me grab my motherboard manual...

Okay, imagine the motherboard is in the case. The front panel connecter is down the bottom right somewhere right? When the connections are in, the side with the letters should be facing the bottom of the case (if the panel is horizontal, if it is vertical they should be facing towards the drive bays)

If the connector is two seperate ones they should be labelled + and - and if they are one connector they should face the same way as the other ones, if you get my meaning.
 
Honestly, I'm almost certain it doesn't matter. Since the only things being controlled are LEDs and a simple switch, it doesn't matter what direction the electrical current is flowing.

That being said, "G" is probably positive. It's an odd naming convention, perhaps it can be clarified if the case came with a manual?
 
nope, manual makes no mention of it.

ok, so make the letters point down then? cos that would make the arrow on the wires correspond with the + sign on the motherboard, does that sound right?

thanks for your help so far!
 
Last edited:
anbo369 said:
nope, manual makes no mention of it.

ok, so make the letters point down then? cos that would make the arrow on the wires correspond with the + sign on the motherboard, does that sound right?

thanks for your help so far!
Click to expand...

I meant plug the "G" into the positive. Either way you do it, it's not going to really make sense. Electricity flows from negative to positive, so it would make sense to put the down arrows on the positive, because then they would be pointing in the direction the electricity is flowing. However, "G" stands for ground, which is neither positive or negative, but can also mean a common return point for electricity, which would be positive. So basically I can come up with reasons why both could stand for positive. But like I said, it shouldn't matter, and it's not like you'll fry your computer by hooking up these particular wires incorrectly.

Whenever I'm working on a computer and I have the front panel wires disconnected, I'll commonly just use a screwdriver to jump the power or reset if I need too.
 
F-panel cables are marked for a reason. While it may not matter for the power and reset (those are just micro-switches), for the rest of the connections it does, as the LEDS will not work unless they are hooked to the proper polarity.

That said, the marking goes thus:

Arrow or + goes to the positive pin
g or - goes to the negative or ground

Most 2pin & 3pin connectors have the arrow or + marking the positive wire. I have only seen one instance where this was not the convention. In that case the wires were in single connectors but they were still clearly marked with function and polarity.

The MB manual clearly shows the polarity for the individual functions. The arrow or + goes to the corresponding + marking in the manual.
 
thanks guys!

I have plugged everything in except for the LED ones because i am unsure of where they are supposed to go.

the motherboard i have is this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392&Tpk=gigabyte ga-ma770t-ud3p
and if you click on the third image and zoom in as much as possible and go to the top right you will see the front panel.
now you will notice that "PWR_LED" is not part of the panel, and to me it appears to be those three header things that are by themselves.
But the main problem i have is that i only have 2 PWRLED coming from my case so i am unsure of which ones they should plug into.

any help would be greatly appreciated

cheers!

(hope it all made sense)
 
anbo369 said:
thanks guys!

I have plugged everything in except for the LED ones because i am unsure of where they are supposed to go.

the motherboard i have is this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392&Tpk=gigabyte ga-ma770t-ud3p
and if you click on the third image and zoom in as much as possible and go to the top right you will see the front panel.
now you will notice that "PWR_LED" is not part of the panel, and to me it appears to be those three header things that are by themselves.
But the main problem i have is that i only have 2 PWRLED coming from my case so i am unsure of which ones they should plug into.

any help would be greatly appreciated

cheers!

(hope it all made sense)
Click to expand...

Pin one (the +) is the pin closest to the IDE connector as shown on page 25 of the manual. The other two are the - sides so your 2pin will work fine if you hook it up as shown. All the rest are pretty straight forward and color coded.
 
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