Assembly question.

[grand_kai]

I just purchased a new case/psu, additional fan, ABit th7-II raid MB, 128 x 2 RDRAM, P4 2.2GHz processor. I asked the salesman to have it assembled and tested. They obviously do not know what that means since they only put the processor on the MB. I know that all the parts may come with instructions on assembly but I am not confident with following these instructions. Can you give me any help in insuring that I hook it up all right without compromising the P4 or any of the other components. I have put systems together with the exception of dealing with the power supply/MB combination I have always had that done before shipping.

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Never play leap frog with a unicorn

[YODA74]

Well throw all the system parts a specs that you want to install and everyone here will help you assemble it the best they can without being in your living room.But we need to know what you have and what you want to do. and what has been done so far and at what point you are at now.

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YODA74@windows-sucks.com
CCMR (http://www.dreamwater.net/tech/yoda74/index.html)

PUSH TO TEST. RELEASE TO DETONATE.
[Closed captioned for the thinking impaired.]

[grand_kai]

Thank you so much. The point I am at is that I have the parts ordered and have not received them yet but will receive them in 2 days. This is the list of items that i will be receiving.

boxed pentium 4 2.2ghz p4-512k 400fsb s478
abit th7ii p4 intel® 850 (ich2) chipset supports 400mhz
all components 128mb pc 800 rdram non-ecc (x2)
Kel Groups black mid tower, 400w atx p/s,w/usb , 3x5.25", 2x3.5" 1x
8cm 3-lead case cooling fan (with rpm sensor)

Parts I already have but will install in this system
Western Digital 80GB HDD
Western Digital 20GB HDD
Western Digital 6GB HDD
Yamaha CDR3200EZ CDRW
ATI AIW Radeon
Sound Blaster Live

I can install the ATI and the Sound Blaster. I have installed hard drives before but since this is a Raid controller MB not sure if there is a difference. My major concerns are hooking the fan up to the case and the power supply, hooking up the MB to the case and the power supply and anything else that needs to be connected to the case/power supply. I also am not sure if there are any optimizing settings I can do to the MB such as overclocking the CPU and other BIOS settings that may need to be changed from the factory defaults.

Thanks again.

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Never play leap frog with a unicorn

[Paleo Pete]

Two things not to worry about: RAID, overclocking.

RAID requires identical hard drives, and is an option, not a requirement. THe RAID controller is available if you need it, but the board should be able to function quite well with standard IDE controllers, which should be also onboard.

Overclocking is not recommended, especially for individuals with limited computer knowledge and experience. With a 2.2GHz CPU I can't imagine a reason to overclock anyway...it should be planty fast even if it's underclocked a few hundred MHz...

Assembly should be fairly easy, as long as you remember a couple of basic things.

ESD - Electrostatic Discharge - otherwise known as static electricity. If you feel it, it's 2000 volts. If you hear it, 2500 volts. 100 volts or less can fry components. Make sure you ground yourself before touching anything.

Power switch - The AGP bus and some other parts of the motherboard are always powered unless the main power switch is OFF, or the power supply is unplugged from the outlet. Frying the video card or memory is quick and easy if you leave it plugeed in or turned on.

And my favorite rule...ONE THING AT A TIME

Once the motherboard is installed in the case, install ONLY these components and power it up, make sure you get video and a beep code: Motherboard, CPU (with fan and heatsink), RAM, video card, keyboard. That's to make sure you don't have a ground problem, which is much harder to trace with everything installed.

Then install one component at a time, starting with floppy drive, and make sure each works before installing another.

Installing the motherboard in the case should be the easiest part, place it inside the case and note which mounting holes match screw holes, install mounting screws in those, bolt it in and snug it down. Connect the power supply leads, and you should be ready to install components. The LED wires, fan connections etc should also be connected, but for the first test post only the speaker is absolutely required. You DO want to hear a beep code...good, bad or indifferent...

I would advise reading the motherboard manual thoroughly before attempting to do anything at all, familiarize yourself with jumper settings or BIOS options to set CPU speed and voltage, and the features of the board. Make sure you have a good boot floppy compatible with the OS you plan to install.

Take your time, go one step at a time, and ASK if you have any doubt at all. I'm sure others will have more comments and advice, stay tuned...

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If your nose runs and your feet smell...
You're built upside down!
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