Build A Computer

Created by: Drew McMinn
Comp
puter Buildingg: For the Begginner

Conten
nts
Under thee hood: Whatt do I need? ................................................................................................................... 3
ering the Gear................................................................................................................ 5
Getting Sttarted: Gathe
Putting it Together ........................................................................................................................................... 9
ne: Preparingg the Motherb
Step On board ........................................................................................................ 9
wo: Inserting the Motherboard ....................................................................................................... 13
Step Tw
hree: Front Paanel Connectiions ........................................................................................................ 15
Step Th
Step Fo
our: System D
Drives Installattion ........................................................................................................ 18
Step Fivve: Power Supply and Connections ................................................................................................. 20
Step Sixx: Video Card Installation ................................................................................................................ 21
Step Seeven: Add‐on cards .......................................................................................................................... 22
Checklist Before Closing the Com
mputer ..................................................................................................... 22
Clean
ning Up ............................................................................................................................................ 22
Step Eigght: Installingg The Operating System .............................................................................................. 23
Concludin
ng a Job Well Done .......................................................................................................................... 24
Troublesh urces ........................................................................................................................... 25
hooting Resou
FAQ .................................................................................................................................................................. 26
Referencees ..................................................................................................................................................... 26

Im
magine you w
want to build aa new compu
uter, but you d
do not have tthe technical know‐how to
o
build one yourself. The
e standard co
omputer user in this day an
nd age hasn’t the slightest clue how a
computerr works, nor h
how to assem
mble one them
mselves.
Th
his guide will give you a step‐by‐step exxample of how to successffully build you
ur own comp
puter.
You will gain a basic kn
nowledge of h
how to assem
mble it, what is involved in the process, as well as wh
hat
each part does. Wheth
her your goall is to create aan all‐purpose gaming machine or simp
ply a basic sysstem
that will aallow you to b
browse the internet and sttore files, thiss guide will prrovide you the necessary
knowledgge.
Pagge | 2

Computer Building: For the Beginner

Under the hood: What do I need?

 The Diagram above shows the basic components of a computer. This diagram should give you
some overview of what you will be assembling in this guide, these are the essential components
required to assemble a working computer system, below is a description of each part shown
above.
o Motherboard ‐ the main circuit board to which all of the other internal components
connect. The CPU and memory are usually on the motherboard. Other systems may be
found directly on the motherboard or connected to it through a secondary connection.
For example, a sound card can be built into the motherboard or connected through an
expansion slot.
o Hard Drive – Also known as a “Hard Disk,” this is large‐capacity permanent storage used
to hold information such as programs and documents. Traditional hard drives contain
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moving parts ‐‐ the drive has platters on which it stores data. The drive spins the platters
to record and read data.
o Video Card – Also known as a “Graphics Card,” this translates image data from the
computer into a format that can be displayed by the monitor.
o Memory ‐ This is very fast storage used to hold data. It has to be fast because it connects
directly to the microprocessor. There are several different types of memory in a
computer, but in this guide we will only be using one type of memory:
 Random‐access Memory (RAM) ‐ Used to temporarily store information with
which the computer is currently working
o Central processing unit (CPU) ‐ The microprocessor "brain" of the computer system is
called the central processing unit. It's a chip that holds a complete computational
engine. It uses assembly language as its native language. Everything that a computer
does is overseen by the CPU.
o Heatsink & fan ‐ object that absorbs and dissipates heat from another object using
thermal contact.
o Removable Storage ‐ Removable storage devices allow you to add new information to
your computer very easily, as well as save information that you want to carry to a
different location. There are several types of removable storage:
 CD‐ROM ‐ CD‐ROM (compact disc, read‐only memory) is a popular form of
distribution of commercial software. Many systems now offer CD‐R (recordable)
and CD‐RW (rewritable), which can also record. CD‐RW discs can be erased and
rewritten many times.
 DVD‐ROM ‐ DVD‐ROM (digital versatile disc, read‐only memory) is similar to CD‐
ROM but is capable of holding much more information.
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Comp

Getting
g Started:: Gatherin
ng the Gea
ar

In
n this guide, w
we will be usin
ng several braand new, high speed comp
puter components with th
he
intention of creating a high perform
mance system
m. Each of these can be purrchased onlin
ne, we recomm
mend
using a weell known ressource and paartner, www.newegg.com. There you w
will find the beest possible
equipmen
nt for the best possible price. We will be providing liinks to each individual parrt on the New
wegg
website w
which includes specifications, reviews, aand pricing.
 Th
he power sup
pply that we’ll be using in tthis guide is aa Corsair CMP
PSU‐750 Wattt ATX. This is a
raather high performing pow
wer supply wh
hich allows th
he builder to rrun power inttensive
co
omponents.
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 Above we see three of our main compon nents:
o The motherboard (top right), an n ASUS P5N‐D D LGA NVIDIA nForce 750i SSLI ATX Intel.
 Accessoriess include, manual, SATA/ID DE cables, bacck panel, chip
pset fan.
http://www w.newegg.com m/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16 6813131232

o The CP PU/Heatsink ((bottom left),, an Intel Coree 2 Quad Q93 300 Yorkfield 2.5GHz 6MB L2
Cache LGA 775 95W W Quad‐Core.
 Included with every Inteel heatsink is tthermal pastee, used to pro ovide adequaate
contact bettween the CP PU and heatsink for properr heat dissipation.

o The memory (botto om right), G.SSKILL 8GB (4 xx 2GB) 240‐Pin
n DDR2 SDRA AM 800, Quad d kit
op memory.
deskto
 Each modu ule includes a blue heatsinkk in order to d
dissipate the heat generatted
while in usee.
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 Above is our video card, it is an ASUS ENGTX280, GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512‐bit GDDR3 PCI
Express.
o High performance gaming card, high core and memory clock speeds.
o Includes dual DVI and s‐video to support multiple outputs.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121282
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
 Here we see the hard drive we will be using; it is a Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM 32M Cache
SATA 3.0Gb/s.
o Its high transfer rate guarantees strong performance, and lightning fast speed.
o 500GB capacity ensures enough file space for an average computer user and gamer.
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 Next we see the removable storage, this particular storage device is called a DVD‐RW drive, in
that it can read and write to DVD disks, it is a Samsung DVD‐RW 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD
Burner.
o This is a high performance drive that reads and writes to DVDs and CDs faster than most
standard DVD‐RW drives
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
 Last but not least the case, the final part that will bring it all together. We will be using the NZXT
Zero Black/Silver Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case.
o Full tower for increased space to work in
o Five 5.25” drive bays
o Eight 3.5” drive bays
o Seven expansion slots
o Also included are five 120mm fans for increased cooling
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Putting
g it Togetther
Step On
ne: Preparring the Mo
otherboarrd

1.1. Begin by lifting the
e lever over th
he CPU slot o
on the motherrboard, lift thhat latch and bbe sure theree are
no sm
mall objects prrotruding thee connection aarea.

NOTEE: The order inn which thesee steps are caarried out are optional, theey can be chaanged based o on
perso
onal preferencce.
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Comp

1.2. Remo ove any packaaging on the C oard that you

CPU, and inseert it into the CPU slot on tthe motherbo
unlatcched in the previous step.

NOTEE: Be sure to aalign the CPU correctly witth the notchees on the motherboard.
CAUTTION: The CPU handled with EXTREME carre; it can easily cause systeem instabilityy if
U should be h
handled improperly.

1.3. Close the hatch carefully once tthe CPU has b been correctlyy inserted.

NOTEE: Do not be aalarmed that tthe CPU hatch requires some force to ffully close, this is a precauttion
to keeep the CPU addequately seaated at all tim
mes.

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1.4. Unpack the CPU he eatsink; careffully match upp the holes and making su ure that you h
have enough sslack
in thee cable to plugg in the poweer. Once the h
holes are lined up with thee heatsink, prress in the latch on
all fouur corners; en
nsure the heaatsink is securrely fixed to the motherbo oard.

NOTEE: Once the he eatsink is securely fixed to
o the motherb board, plug th
he attached ppower cable to the
3‐prongued powerr connector n next to the CPPU.

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1.5. Insertt each RAM m
module into one of the four memory slo ots located neext to the CPUU location. It is
imporrtant the each
h module is seated fully an
nd properly in
n order to pro ovide a working connectio on to
the m
motherboard.

CAUTTION: Each RAAM Module iss extremely seensitive to staatic shock, haandle with exttreme care.
1.6. Once each RAM module has beeen inserted in nto its perspeective slot on the motherb board, secure each

of thee modules down by closingg the supportts.

NOTEE: Each modulle has a notch h on each end
d; these are sspecifically for securing thee module ontto the
memo ory slot usingg the given supports on thee motherboarrd.
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Step Tw
wo: Insertiing the Mo
otherboard
d

2.1. In ordder to secure the motherb board to the ccase we will n
need mountinng brackets installed on thee
case wwall. These arre small brasss screws that will be includ
ded with everry computer ccase; each scrrew is
fitted with the abillity to be screewed in to by another screew, thus providing a securee support
betweeen our moth herboard and case.
NOTTE: Be sure to place each brass support screw (also called “standooff screw”) relative to wheere
each
h screw hole oon the motheerboard is locaated, otherwise you will have no suppoorts to screw into
oncee you mount tthe motherbo oard.

2.2. Each motherboard d will come wwith a custom back plate, this is used to fit the conneections on thee
back o nto the opening located in
of the case. TThis simply can be forced in n the back of the case.
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Comp

2.3. Insertt the motherbboard into the case, line up each motheerboard screw w hole with the mounting
brackets that weree inserted in tthe last step. Also, be suree to line up the back component
conneections with tthe back platee that was alsso inserted in the last stepp.
NOTEE: It may require some forcce to move th
he motherboaard into the p on in order to line
proper positio
up thee screw holess.
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
2.4. Use the provided sscrews (from the case acceessories) to m
mount the mo
otherboard to
o the case waall.
NOTEE: Be sure to insert a screw
w into each wh
hole the motherboard pro
ovides to ensu
ure a strong
suppo
ort. Consult your manual to determine where each individual screw hole is loccated.
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Step Th
hree: Front Panel Co
onnectionss

3.1. Connect the front panel wires tto the motherboard; this is generally lo
ocated on the bottom rightt of
the motheerboard. Consult your man nual to determine which wwires will be cconnected to which jumpeers.
3.2. Oftenn new motherrboards include a plastic juumper mold. This will allow
w the builderr to connect eeach
front panel jumperr up to a plastic mold, and
d then place the mold onto o the jumper configuration n on
the m
motherboard. These wires iinclude hard drive, power,, reset, and ppower switch.
NOTE: Be sure to co
onfigure the w
wire connectiion properly w per configuration. Consultt your
with the jump
motheerboard’s mannual to propeerly configure them.
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Comp

3.3. Find tthe front panel USB wire cconnector, an nated pin configuration on the
nd insert it onto the design
motherboard. Con nsult your motherboard’s mmanual for th he perspectivee location.
3.4. Find tthe front panel IEEE1394 ((fire wire) wirre connector, and insert it onto the dessignated pin
configguration on th
he motherboard. Consult yyour motherb board’s manu ual for the perspective locaation.
3.5. Find tthe front panel Audio wiree connector, aand insert it o
onto the desiggnated pin co
onfiguration o
on
the m
motherboard. Consult yourr motherboard’s manual fo or the perspective location
n.
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Comp

 Th
his is an updaated image off what has beeen completed thus far. We have prepaared the
m
motherboard, prepared thee case, inserteed and mounted the mothherboard as w
well as conneccting
up the front paanel connectiions.
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
Next w
we will consu
ult proper insttallation of th
he system drivves, power su
upply, video ccard, and pow
wer
conneections.
Please refer to
o the next pagge.
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Step Fo
our: System
m Drives In
nstallation
n

4.1. Unpack the hard d drive and install it in the deesignated drivve bay. This iss a 3.5” drive bay generallyy
locateed on the low
wer front of th
he case.
NOTEE: The case ussed in the exaample is one tthat uses snap
p‐in drive raills. This meanss that for eveery
drive in the systemm each has itss own snap‐in rails that mo
ount on the siides allowing each drive to o
slide iin and out witth ease. This opposed to u
using standard screws.
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4.2. Remo ove the drive bay cover thaat is in the loccation wheree you will be in
nstalling yourr DVD‐ROM d
drive,
this iss a piece of plastic that can
n be snapped out of place..
4.2.1. There is also
o a metal gratte in behind the drive bay cover that wiill also requiree removal. On
nce
this has been
n completed you can move on to installing the drivee itself.
4.3. Installl the DVD‐ROOM drive in thhe designated d location in yyour case. Thiis is a 5.25” drive bay locatted
at thee front top of your case. Th
he installation
ns of these drrives are exacctly the same as installing aa
hard ddrive. Depend ding on your case, each will require thee snap‐in slidee rails to in orrder to insert the
drivess into the case.
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Step Fiv
ve: Power Supply an
nd Connecctions

5.1. Insertt the power ssupply into the top rear of the case; be sure to securrely screw in tthe power su
upply
to thee back panel o
of the system
m case.
NOTEE: There should be four scrrew holes in the back of th
he power supp
ply and the caase; be sure tto
insertt a screw into
o all four holes.
5.2. Each component in the computter will requirre a power so ource; from th
he power sup pply sprouts
several different tyypes of poweer connectors for specific ccomponents. In a standard d computer to oday
you w
will need to usse the 4‐pin M
Molex connecctor (pictured d above, left), SATA, 24‐pin
n power
conneector, 4‐pin A
ATX12V power connector, and IDE. Conssult your mottherboard’s m manual to
determine where e each power cconnector sho
ould be insertted.
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Step Six
x: Video Ca
ard Installlation

6.1. Insertt the video caard into the designated slo ot on the mottherboard. Th
he above diaggram (top) sho
ows
wheree the PCI‐e sloot is located oon this particcular motherb
board. Depending on whatt type of video
card it is, whether it is PCI‐e or AGP you should refer to your motherboard’s manuaal to decide w what
is sup
pported.
NOTEE: Be sure to ssecure the vid
deo card to th
he case and mmotherboard by inserting aa screw into tthe
design
nated location on the backk end of the vvideo card.
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Step Seven: Addon cards

7.1. Insertt any and all aadd‐on cards you may require; in the example above you are view wing the
installation of a PC
CI wireless carrd, used to atttain a wirelesss signal (WIFFI). PCI slots aare standard o
on all
motherboards mad de within thee last 10 to 15
5 years, the in
nstallation of these cards aare very similaar to
the stteps that were carried out in Step Six.
n Step Six, be sure to securre the add‐on
NOTEE: As stated in n card(s) to th
he motherboaard and case u
using
a stan
ndard screw inserted into tthe back, insiide panel of the case.
Checkliist Before Closing th
he Computter
 Did you plug in n the power ccables from each componeent to the mo otherboard?
 Did you mountt the motherb board securely to the casee?
 Did you add th he CPU with the fan, as weell as plug in the fan’s power cable?
 Did you plug in n the memoryy (RAM) securely?
 Did you secure e the system d he case drive bays?
drives into th
 Are all of the ssystem case faans connecteed to a powerr source?
Cleaning
g Up
 We have all of
W f the hardwarre installed, all of the conn
nections hookked up, and evverything in
w
working order . An optional,, but necessary step is to cclean up the w
wire mess insside. By sayingg
“cclean‐up” we mean to wraap wires with twist ties and ndard step in the
d wire wraps. This is a stan
building process for any com
mputer. This promotes greeat visual app peal and efficient airflow
d out by the system case faans.
brought in and
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Step Eig
ght: Installling The O
Operating System

8.1. Althoough it is a bitt beyond the sscope of this manual, enteering the BIOSS and adjustinng settings is a
somewhat commo on occurrencee in the early setup of a co
omputer for m more advanceed users. In orrder
to install an operatting system, ssuch as Windows Vista or Windows XP,, you must ch hange the “Bo oot
Device Priority” in the BIOS. You must changge the first bo oot device to the DVD‐ROM M drive in ordder to
read yyour operatin ng system disk, which will tthen allow yo
ou to install as you will seee in the next ffew
steps.
8.2. After you have chaange the boot device priorrity to boot frrom the DVD‐‐ROM drive, insert your
operaating system iinstallation diisk and hit “F10” to save and exit. Your system will tthen reboot aand
begin loading yourr operating syystem installaation disk.
NOTEE: Many operaating systemss require diffeerent installattion procedurres, in this exxample we aree
installing Windowss Vista, these are general ssteps to guidee through a sttandard instaallation. Pleasse
consuult your operaating system iinstallation gu
uide for furth
her details.
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8.3. With any operating system you matting the haard drive you will be installing
u will need to start by form
the operaating system o on. This is standard proced m files exist that
dure to ensurre that no preevious system
will causee issues with tthe operatingg system.
8.3.1. Select the drrive you will b
be installing yyour operating system on, then begin in
nstalling.
Conclu
uding a Job
b Well Do
one
 If you have maade it this far it is because you have succcessfully com
mpleted your first computeer.
W
We urge you t o pass on thiss information n to anyone you can becau use computerrs are the futu
ure,
annd knowing them inside and out can prrovide you wiith the necesssary knowledge to succeed d in
st
th
he 21 centurry. We hope yyou keep expanding your kknowledge off computers aand work tow wards
grrasping as maany concepts related to them as possible. Keep an eye out for ou ur next guide
“CComputer Building: For the Advanced.””
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Comp

Troublleshootin
ng Resources

 With most com
W mputer systemms comes thee chance of a handful of heeadaches if yoou do not knoow
hoow to respon
nd to a technical problem. This is why thhere are thou
usands of reso
ources onlinee for
beeginners and advanced ussers to solve ttechnical com
mputer probleems. We recommend:

o echPowerUp! Forums – A ffantastic resource for beginner, intermeediate, and
The te
advanced users thaat provides a location for ccomputer enthusiasts to gaather and exp
plore
new coomputer posssibilities as w
well as troubleeshoot probleems.
o The [H
H]ard Forum –– Also a comm munity forum similar to tecchPowerUp! however we have
found that the [H]aard Forum hass the largest d database of ssolved compu uter problemss on
the intternet. Not on
nly that, but iit also has thee largest colleection of advaanced users to
troubleshoot problems and fix p problems quicckly and efficiiently.
o Tom’s Hardware – O One of the beest benchmarrking websitees on the internet, based o on its

detaile
ed results and d overall aestthetically pleaasing website. Tom’s Hardwware providees in‐
depth analysis of alll new compu uter equipment emerging o on the markeet, and will givve
you sid
de by side com mparisons off how well eacch part performs under vaarying degrees of
load. It is a fantastic resource for finding costt effective hardware.
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FAQ
Here is a short list of frequently ask questions:
Question: After installing my operating system, how can I tell how much RAM I have?
Answer: In Windows, you will simply have to click your “START” button and select “Control Panel.” Click
the “System” icon and look at the information which is listed in the General tab. The amount of RAM in
your system will be displayed in megabytes.
Question: Why do I hear a buzzing noise in my computer?
Answer: This could be a number of different things; sometimes it can mean you have a defective part.
The majority of the time it is a wire in your case that is protruding a system fan, causing a loud buzzing
sound.
Question: Where to after the operating system is fully installed?
Answer: Generally the next step would be to install the system drivers, this is software designed to tell
your system parts what to do and when to do it. They allow your operating system to interact with the
computer hardware.
References

Below is a list of source websites used to complete this manual. Although only a small portion of the
manual was researched on websites (because of my prior knowledge of the content), there are a good
amount of pictures that were used from several different online sources. These include:
 http://www.mysuperpc.com/processor.shtml
 http://www.squidoo.com/motherboards
 http://www.tomshardware.com
 http://www.techpowerup.com
 http://www.hardocp.com
 http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5‐tools‐to‐make‐windows‐xp‐look‐like‐vista/
 http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Molex
 http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en‐us&model=P5N‐D
 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146029
A large majority of the images used in this manual were self‐taken, and are to be used solely with the
permission of Drew McMinn. You can reach him on his website at http://drewsterserver2.dyndns.org.
Page | 26

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1.2. Remo ove any packaaging on the C oard that you

1.6. Once each RAM module has beeen inserted in nto its perspeective slot on the motherb board, secure each

o Tom’s Hardware – O One of the beest benchmarrking websitees on the internet, based o on its

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