Building Your Own Computer the Assembly Process

If you have followed along with my computer building articles, then you should have every component picked out and should be ready to assemble your own computer. If you have missed any of the steps so far, please refer to my specific articles on choosing each component for your computer build.

Now that you have everything in front of you, it is time to start the assembly process. I do not intend for this article to cover every step of the assembly process. This article is more of a primer and will cover the basics of assembly. Every computer component will be slightly different and may have different assembly instructions. Please refer to the manufacturer of you individual products for additional assembly instructions.

To begin assembly, you must first get every component together, gather the tools needed if any, and find a suitable work area. You should purchase a grounding strap at a computer building store. This strap will ground your wrist to the computer case to avoid static discharge into your components. Static discharge can and will destroy your computer components. The use of a grounding strap should be considered as necessary.

Additional tools you may need include screwdrivers, wire ties, electrical tape, needle nose pliers and maybe a few other tools based on your components.

I suggest finding a well lit area where you can work on your computer at waist level or higher. Find a suitable countertop, tabletop, or workbench to assemble your computer. You will need a generous amount of room to spread out everything you have and lighting will be critical as many of the pieces and connections are extremely small. Choose an area that will allow you to work on the computer for an entire day or longer. Make sure that you don't choose an area that is in the way of the daily working of your home. You will need an adequate amount of time to complete your computer build, and needlessly moving a non-finished computer is not recommended.

So you have your tools, your components, your grounding wrist strap at the ready and a suitable work area picked out, your first step will be a lit bit boring, but mandatory. Read all of the manuals included with every component if you haven't already done so. There could be some important information somewhere in those manuals.

Now that the reading is done, open your computer case. Take off the side panel and the front panel and set them aside. You will not need either of them for awhile. Next, located the motherboard mounting posts and screws that should be included with the computer case you purchased. Refer to your case manual to determine which holes will be needed to mount your motherboard. The holes in the side of your computer case should be numbered. Located the holes you have to use for your motherboard and screw in a post into every hole needed. Next, align your motherboard with the holes and screw it into place. Do not over tighten the screws. You may end up cracking the motherboard if you do so.

With the motherboard in and secured, you will start attaching components to it. The first component to attach will be the CPU or processor. Each processor will attach differently so consult the installation instructions for your specific processor. Be careful not to damage any of the pins and do not apply excessive force. The processor should install with ease. Do not force it.

Next you will attach the heat sink and fan for the processor. Again, each heat sink and fan installs slightly differently. Be sure to check to see if there is thermal grease or thermal past on the underside of the heat sink. This is necessary to cool your processor correctly. If thermal past or grease is not already installed on the underside of the heat sink, do not proceed until you have purchased and applied your own thermal paste or grease. The heat sink and fan is position directly on top of the processor and securely attached by clips or a screw down method. Some force may be needed to attach the heat sink and fan. If you have to use excessive force, the unit is probably positioned incorrectly. Reposition and try again.

With the processor and heat sink mounted we will now turn to installing the memory or RAM. The memory will insert into slots on the motherboard labeled DIMM. If your motherboard has four slots labeled DIMM 1-4 and you are only installing two memory sticks, you must install them into either slots 1 and 3 or slots 2 and 4. Do not install 2 stick of memory into slots 1 and 2 while leaving slots 3 and 4 empty. The computer will not operate. If your motherboard has 4 DIMMS and you are installing 4 memory sticks, you can install them in any order you choose. If your motherboard only has 2 DIMMS, you will use both of them and put memory sticks into each one.

To install memory stick, you simply line up the notch in the memory stick with the plastic divider on the DIMM on the motherboard. Memory sticks will only line up one way and cannot be installed incorrectly. Once you are certain that you have lined up the notch on the memory with the plastic divider on the motherboard, you simply apply pressure until the memory click into place. Then lock the tabs on the motherboard that are located on the sides of each DIMM location.

Just a reminder, during this entire process, the grounding strap should always be attached to your wrist and always attached to the case of the computer in some fashion. Failure to do so may result in a non working computer.

So far, we have the motherboard, processor, heat sink and fan, and memory installed. There are several more components to go.

At this point, it would be logical to make some power connections so we will now install the power supply. The power supply slide into the upper portion of the case and is mounted using a few screws. The screws are attached on the back side of the case. Once the power supply is installed you can refer to your power supply manual to connect the motherboard connector, the video card connector and any other fan connections that must be made. The additional wires can be pushed aside at this point.

Now we will turn to the front of the computer case. You will need to install the hard drive and the optical or multi drive. The exact process for installing these items should be outlined in the manual for your computer case. Follow the procedure and install the hard drive and the multi drive. Once installed, you can install the fan into the front of the computer if you have one and replace the front cover for your computer case. Be sure to reconnect any wires that you had to detach when you removed the front cover.

Now that the front cover is back on, there will be several connections to be made on the lower portion of the motherboard. These connections will power the USB ports, headphone jack, microphone jack, and lights on the front of the computer. These connections can be a little tricky to figure out. Thoroughly read the motherboard manual and the case manual to determine the correct connections to be made. The small connectors and small pins on the motherboard may require you to use needle nose pliers to reach certain area. Use caution and be gentle as you make the connections.

Once all of the front panel connections are made, you may now make the additional power connections to the hard drive and multi drive.

After that, you will install the video card. The video card will install in either a PCI slot or PCIe slot depending upon which type of video card you purchase. To install the video card, refer to your case manual to find out how to remove the slot covers on the back of the computer. Determine which slot cover to remove, remove it, and set it aside. Now, the video card installs just like the memory stick do. Line up the plastic tab with the notch in the card, apply pressure to seat the card, and lock any tabs into place. After installing the video card, refer to your case manual for any other mounting instructions. Some cases have set screws to lock the video card in to place while other cards have plastic hinge like mechanisms for looking the video card down.

Now make any additional power connections required for your video card.

At this time, you are ready to run cables from the motherboard to your hard drive and optical drive. Depending upon which models you choose, these connections may be either IDE ribbon cable connections, or SATA connections. Refer to your motherboard manual for specifics on which slots to use depending on which types of drives you are installing. In general, the hard drive will be connected to the lowest port number. For exampled, if your motherboard has two IDE ports and they are labeled as IDE 1 and IDE 2 and both your optical drive and your hard drive use IDE type connections, the hard drive will almost always be connected to IDE 1 with the optical drive connected to IDE 2. If in doubt, refer to your motherboard manual for specifics on making the appropriate connections.

Now we will install the rear exhaust fan. This fan does most of the cooling work for the computer. Most cases make the installation of this fan simple. You usually slide the fan into a mounting bracket already supplied on the case. Refer to your case manual for specifics on mounting the exhaust fan. Once you have mounted the fan, attach its power connector to the appropriate pins on the motherboard. They will by labeled as system fan or something similar. Refer to your motherboard manual for specific instructions.

At this point, all of the components should be installed. Double check every connection to make sure that it is secure and properly inserted. Look over everything in the case. Route your wires out of the way of airflow and try to keep them from touching any components. Be certain that no wire will make contact with any of the fan on the unit. Once you have checked everything and its all looks ok, you are ready to fire up your computer. Don't expect much to happen, but your computer should make noises for the first time and should go to a bios screen.

If you computer does not fire up and does not go to a bios screen, then you will have to begin troubleshooting. The problem is usually something very minor, but could just be overlooked. There is a chance that a certain part is non-functioning and may require replacement. If your computer did not make it through its first boot or did not start, then please refer to troubleshooting directions in your motherboard manual or contact the manufacturer of your motherboard directly. They should be able to walk you through the next steps to get your computer up and running.

If your computer started successfully and everything is operational, give it a visual inspection to make sure that all of the fans are spinning and that nothing looks wrong. Shutdown the computer and install the side panel. You are now ready to add an operating system to your computer and begin computing on your new computer build.

If you have missed any steps along the way, then please refer to my previous articles that take you step by step through the component selection and computer building process. If you are ready to move on, please read my articles on selecting and installing an operating system.