Build a perfect PC

Step 1: Preparing the case

It's important to get to know your case, since an appreciation of the
terrain can make the coming campaign much easier. Remove both side
panels and any other parts of the case that might get in the way. If your
case has a removable motherboard tray, slide it out of the frame. We
used a Cooler Master Stacker 830, which is quite a pricey case but, as
it's large, it's easy to work with.

The Stacker ships with a plastic grid behind its right-hand side panel for mounting fans, which we removed
before starting work. We also took out the back fan mount and the backplate retention module (the bracket into
which you screw PCI/PCI-E cards) to enable easier access to the motherboard tray.

It was then time to fit the motherboard standoffs. These come with the chassis, and prevent the motherboard
touching the metal case, thus short-circuiting when it's powered up. Some thoughtful case manufacturers will
indicate which holes in the motherboard tray need a standoff, but most don't. To find out, carefully position the
motherboard in the case, and you'll see that the pre-drilled holes in the PCB match up with nine holes in the
chassis; these are the holes that need standoffs. Put the standoffs in tightly - if you need to remove the
motherboard later, you don't want them to come out when you try to unscrew the board. Tighten with pliers if
necessary

As you can see from the picture, we've also cable-tied the leads that come from the case's top USB ports and
what's called the 'front panel', which means the power and hard disk lights, plus the power and reset switches.
Step 2: It's a wrap
During the initial inspection of the Stacker, we noticed that it features a removable hard disk caddy (picture 1),
which also contains the front fan. Removing both this and the rear fan mount (picture 2) meant that we could
easily cover the cables for both fans in spiral wrap. Not only does this keep the wires together, but the plastic
covering also makes it easier to shape the cables neatly inside the case.

Having removed the hard disk caddy, we took the opportunity to install our two 500GB Hitachi Deskstar T7K500
hard disks. When installing multiple disks, leave an empty bay between them, as this will ensure optimum
airflow. Coarse-threaded screws should be used to fix the disks in place; a good tight fit with the screws will
minimise the amount of vibration coming from the disks. After this, set the module aside.

Step 3: Prepare to power up

The first component to install in the case is the PSU. Almost every other piece of kit in your PC needs power
from this, and the PSU also creates the biggest mess, so installing this first makes it easier to manage. We
used a 750W Enermax Infiniti, which is a modular PSU. These are much easier to work with than PSUs with
hard-soldered cables, as you can minimise the number of cables inside the case.

Out of the box, the Infiniti only has the wires to power the motherboard fitted - the 24-pin ATX 12V wire, and the
8-pin EPS 12V cable (picture 1). On the Infiniti, this latter cable splits in two, since some motherboards only
need a 4-pin ATX 12V power connection. For the other components, we need to add extra wires to the Infiniti.
We're using two S-ATA hard disks, a single optical drive and we'll be running two graphics cards in SLI, so we'll
need two S-ATA power connectors (flat, usually black), one Molex (flat, 4-pin, usually white), and two PCI-E
plugs (square, 6-pin). Once you've added the wires to the PSU, cover them in spiral wrap (picture 2).

It's then time to install the PSU. In order to access the case, you'll probably have to remove a retention plate
from the back panel. Slide in the PSU, and screw the plateback into place, so that the PSU is securely held
(picture 3). If you aren't using a modular PSU, you'll have lots of spare wires left. To prevent them from
cluttering up the case, wrap them tightly with cable ties and store them around or above the PSU if there's
room; otherwise, keep them in the roof of the chassis so they're out of the way.

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Step 4: Stand and deliver

The next step is to place the motherboard in the case. It's important that you check the metal standoffs are in
the correct position - lay the board inside the case and make sure that the standoffs match up with the holes in
the board. This is important, as just one stray metal standoff could ruin your day when you power up the PC.
Although you might be tempted to screw the board into the standoffs at this point, if you want a neat wiring job
then don't - leave it lying in position, as this will enable you to hide wires behind it.
Step 5: Sketches of the PC as a young computer
Once you've got the motherboard into the case, place the wires from the PSU in the basic positions they'll
need to go (picture 1). This 'rough sketch' enables you to easily see the cable congestion you'll have to
deal with when you plug in all the components.

The first wires to plug in are those that power the motherboard - the 24-pin ATX and the 4-pin ATX 12V or
8-pin EPS 12V connections. If the ATX/EPS 12V connection on the board is near the edge, it's sometimes
possible to place the wire behind the board. As you can see from the highlighted area in our picture (A),
the connection on our Gigabyte GA-N680SLI-DQ6 is located right by the VRM heatsinks, which makes
this impossible.

The easiest wires to hide are usually those for the case's front USB ports and front panel, as their route
takes them from the top of the case to the bottom right-hand corner of the motherboard. As you can see
from the pictures, we were able to place them neatly behind the right-hand edge of the motherboard
(picture 2).

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Step 6: Port side out, starboard home
To plug in the front ports, locate the plan of your motherboard in its manual and find the USB headers (picture
1). Then plug the connector into this. The header will be missing a pin, which will correspond to a hole on the
connector (picture 2), enabling you to make the connection correctly.

Wiring up the front panel is more awkward, but it's a similar process to that used for the USB ports. Check the
motherboard's manual to find the front panel header, and then connect the wires inside the case (picture 4) to
the correct prongs. As you can see from the pictures, the board will also have a small label (picture 3) to help
guide you, and the wires should be labelled too (black wires correspond to negative (-) pins).

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Step 7: Hide and seek
The next stage of the build is the most time-consuming. Add components, and methodically work at hiding and
controlling the wires. The first one to tackle is the large 24-pin ATX cable (picture 1). This is too big to hide
under the motherboard, so the best way to control it is to tie it to the case. We used two cable ties, looping a
thin one through two convenient holes in the motherboard tray to create an anchor point, and then using a
stronger, black cable tie to shackle the cable (picture 2).

We then re-installed the Stacker's rear fan and backplate retention module. The rear fan needed Molex power,
so we routed its cable behind the motherboard into the top cavity of the case (picture 3). This enabled it to grab
a Molex plug from the cable powering the optical drive, which was a neat solution.

As we were unable to put the EPS 12V cable under the board, we opted for tightly spiral-wrapping it, and
tucking it under the edge of the Gigabyte board's large VRM heatsinks (picture 4).

Next, we re-installed the Stacker's hard disk caddy and front fan module. The Gigabyte board has a 3-pin fan
power header in exactly the right position on the right-hand edge of the board (picture 5). We then plugged in
the power for the disks, and cable-tied the S-ATA power wire to the 24-pin ATX cable to keep it neat (picture 6).

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Step 8: S-ATA hell
With the disks in place, we connected the S-ATA cables. Despite being much thinner than EIDE cables, they
can still create a mess (picture 1). Routeing S-ATA cables at right angles is the neatest approach, so we used
cable tie bases (picture 2, picture 3) to keep them on the straight and narrow.

Each time we installed a base, we used cable ties on the preceding section of cable (picture 4). When we
reached the S-ATA ports, we folded the cables over to get rid of the excess (picture 4), leaving room to insert
the S-ATA connectors (picture 5).

Problem alert: Be very careful when routeing S-ATA cables, as it's easy to snap off the thin plastic S-ATA
connectors on your hard disks. It's advisable to disconnect the disks while you're bullying the cable into shape
to avoid this danger.

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Step 9: Optical drives

The final drive to install is the optical drive. As most of these still use EIDE connections, you'll have a big cable
with which to contend. A rounded cable, such as the cable we used, makes life easier. To keep it under control,
we used a tactic similar to the one we adopted with the 24-pin ATX wire and used two cable ties.
Step 10: Stop, CPU time
With the majority of the cables now neatly routed, it's time to think about screwing the board into place. Before
you do this, however, check which installation method your CPU cooler uses. Some, such as the Tuniq Tower
and many Zalman HSFs, need to be fixed in place using a bracket on the underside of the board. If this is the
case, you may have to install the CPU and cooler at this point. I opted not to install the CPU until much later in
the build, partly to provide a clearer view of the PC's internal layout, but also because of the large size of
current CPU HSFs. It's often easier to install them towards the end of a build.

If you're installing the CPU in an LGA775 board, you'll first need to remove the protective plastic cover if there
is one. Next, lift up the metal lever to release the retention bracket and pull it back to reveal the rows of pins
underneath. There are two notches in the chip and the socket; line these up and gently lay the CPU on top of
the pins (picture 1). It should sit flush in the socket. Lay the bracket on top of the chip, and lock it in place using
the lever (picture 2). You may need to use a little force.

The process is similar for a Socket 939/AM2 board, although with AMD CPUs, the pins are on the chip rather
than the motherboard. Flip up the lever beside the socket to unlock it (picture 3), then line up the CPU with the
socket - the chip has a gold arrow in one corner (bottom left) that corresponds to an arrow indentation on the
socket (picture 4).

The chip should then fall snugly into place, with the green edge of the silicon sitting flush with the socket. Unlike
an LGA775 install, you won't need to use any force - if you do then the odds are you haven't correctly
orientated the chip.

Problem alert: It's easy to bend the pins on an AMD chip, and if you do, don't panic. Hold the chip up to the
light to spot the bent pin and then use the blade of a Stanley knife to tease the pin straight. The key is to be
very gentle, and not move the pin too much.

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Step 11: Little Timmy

Once you've fitted the CPU, you may need to apply some TIM (Thermal Interface Material), although not if your
CPU HSF has a layer pre-applied to its base. If you do need to apply TIM, the key is to use it sparingly. TIM is
used to fill microscopic pockmarks in the surface of the CPU; it isn't the silicon equivalent of icing sugar, and
applying too much will add to the temperature of your chip. Place a small amount on the CPU (picture 1), cover
your finger in a piece of thin plastic (picture 2), and work the TIM over the surface of the chip to achieve a thin,
smooth finish (picture 3). For more details, check out our Hands On Guide (<a
href="http://www.custompc.co.uk/howtos/601060/apply-tim.html"
target="_self">www.custompc.co.uk/howtos/601060/apply-tim.html</a>).

The next job is to install the HSF. If it uses a backplate, the manual should explain the process. We used the
classic Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, which uses four push pins that pass through the LGA775 mounting.
Regardless of whether you're using push pins or screwing the cooler to a backplate, if it's an Intel system, most
coolers will use the four pre-drilled holes in the board, When fitting fastenings through these, tighten two at a
time at opposite corners for the best fit.

Problem alert: The HSF manual should detail the orientation of the cooler, and it's important to get this right,
especially if heatpipes are involved. Generally speaking, setting the fan to blow air towards the rear fan is a
sound move.
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Step 12: Add-in cards
Launch this GuideThe final components to install are the add-in cards. Start with those that require power,
such as graphics cards. We're installing two of these, as we'll be using them in SLI. They're Club 3D GeForce
8800 GTS 320MB cards, so they have big, double-slot coolers (picture 1), but aren't quite as long or power-
hungry as GTX or Ultra cards.

Keep the motherboard manual close at hand when fitting a graphics card, as it's important that it's fitted in a
PCI-E slot with 16x lanes. As with the front panel header, look for labels on the board (picture 3). The slots for
graphics cards on our Gigabyte board are widely spaced, leaving room for a Sound Blaster X-Fi between them.
When inserting the cards, make sure that the gold connectors on the edge are fully pushed into the slot, and
then fix the cards securely to the case using screws (picture 2). If you're using SLI or a newer version of
CrossFire, don't forget to snap on the ribbon cable(s) connecting the two cards. Once the cards are in, plug in
the power cables. We used cable ties to keep them under control.

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Step 13: Final steps

The final components to install are the sticks of memory. Again, check which slot to use, as you want to make
sure your RAM runs in dual-channel mode. Once all the components are in the case, perform a final tidy-up. I
used Velcro cable ties to neaten up the USB header and front panel wiring, and cable-tied the unsightly excess
hard disk power wiring to keep it out of the way.

Step 14: A new beginning

Launch this GuideWhen I wrote that Step 13 was the 'final steps', I was, of course, referring only to plugging all
the hardware together. Getting it working is another story altogether, but there's no reason that this can't be a
quick, happily concluded fairy tale rather than a long, drawn-out tale of woe.

Once the PC is assembled, connect the mouse, keyboard and monitor. On a modern graphics card, it doesn't
matter which output port you use, as the card will auto-detect which one is connected to the screen. You should
opt for DVI if your screen has a DVI input, though, as this is a high-quality digital connection.

Turn on the screen, then the PC. Check that all the fans spin up. You should see the POST screen. If you get a
chance, check that your CPU and memory have been detected correctly. Go into the BIOS (usually by pressing
the delete or F10 key), and make sure that the board has correctly detected all your hard disks and optical
drives. It's also worth delving around inside the BIOS to find the temperature display of the CPU (picture 1).
Check that it isn't sky-high (over 80˚C), but don't worry if it isn't super-low - you can check the CPU's internal
thermal sensor with the wonderful Core Temp (www.thecoolest.zerobrains.com/CoreTemp). If the temperature
is too high, turn off the PC, and re-install the heatsink. Assuming the chip isn't about to blow up, while you're in
the BIOS, check that other values such as the FSB, memory speed and timings are correct. If you're planning
to use RAID, as we are in this PC, ensure that the RAID controller is enabled.

Your final task in the BIOS is to set the first boot device to be the optical drive (picture 2). Insert the Windows
Vista DVD into the drive and exit the BIOS, remembering to save your settings.
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Step 14A: When the new beginning doesn't work

If the PC doesn't power up: Check that the power cable is correctly connected to the motherboard's front panel,
and that the mains AC socket and PSU are both on. If this doesn't work, check the power lead isn't damaged.
With the PSU switched on at the back, slowly insert the plug into the socket - you should hear a slight crackle
as you do this. If not, your cable may be damaged, and will need replacing. Alternatively, your PSU may be
damaged. You can easily identify the culprit by trying the power cable with a piece of working hardware.
If the PC turns on, but doesn't POST: If your motherboard has an LED display, cross-reference the number at
which it stops with the board's manual - this should help to locate the problematic piece of hardware. If you
don't have the display, it's time for some sleuthing. Remove the memory, and try starting the PC with one stick
inserted. Try different slots on the board. Check that the add-in cards are correctly seated and are in the correct
slots. If it still doesn't work, unplug the hard disks, optical drive, and any add-in cards, apart from the graphics
card, one at a time, testing if the PC will boot at each step. Finally, remove the graphics card. Obviously, you
won't see a display, but you should still be able to hear the error beep, signifying that the PC has turned on and,
unfortunately, that your graphics card is dead.

If the PC turns on but shuts down very quickly: This is probably a heat-related problem. Make sure that the
CPU HSF's fan connector is plugged into the correct header on the motherboard and that the HSF itself is fitted
correctly.

Step 15: RAIDers of the lost ark

Launch this GuideIn order to set up RAID, after rebooting the PC, you'll need to go into the RAID controller's
BIOS. After the initial POST screen has been and gone, the PC should display a small notice, telling you which
key to press - for our Gigabyte board, this was F10. Its RAID BIOS is fairly simple, displaying drives available
for RAID on the left.

From this list, I've picked both disks and moved them into the right-hand column to include them as part of the
array. I've then chosen 'Striping' (RAID 0) as my mode, with the block size left at optimal. The BIOS then takes
a few seconds to build the array. Remember to set the array as bootable, then save all the changes, quit the
BIOS and restart the PC.

Step 16: Vista, go!

Launch this GuideVista is very easy to install. Leave the DVD in the drive, then press a button when prompted
in order to start the installer. Unlike Windows XP, Vista doesn't require a floppy disk driver in order to recognise
RAID hard disks (although you'll still need the drivers on a CD or USB key), so the install process is simply a
matter of putting in your licence key, selecting the correct version and waiting for the files to copy. If you're
connecting your machine to the Web, make sure it's plumbed in before the install process begins, as Vista will
check for updates.
When Vista has loaded, as an XP user, you may be surprised at how functional your PC is even without drivers.
Unlike previous versions of Windows, you can change the screen resolution to something reasonable, and
networking works. However, don't be fooled into thinking you can do without drivers. As Vista is still young, it's
worth checking the Web for updated versions. Gigabyte even offers RSS feeds for driver updates, as well as a
manual and newer BIOS files. Before installing any drivers, wait for Vista to grab its own updates.

The driver installation process is similar to that for Windows XP: install drivers for the motherboard first, then
the graphics card, and finally, any add-in cards such as sound and WiFi. Don't worry if Windows keeps bugging
you to 'OK' every action - this is standard Vista behaviour.

Check Device Manager (now found in Control Panel > System and Maintenance > System) to make sure your
components are working properly (you shouldn't see any yellow exclamation marks on the device tree). Use
Core Temp to check the CPU's temperature, and CPU-Z (<a href="http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php"
target="_self">www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php</a>) to ensure the chip is up to speed. If the CPU is an Intel model,
don't be alarmed if the multiplier is lower than you'd expect - until you tax the system, it will save power by not
running at full speed.

The PC is nearly finished now, but before considering the job done, set it running a benchmark, (ideally on a
loop) to stress-test the machine. We used our new CPC benchmarks, and the PC happily churned through
them, scoring 875.

With our PC now built, stable and ready for use, our thoughts turned towards overclocking, an area that we'll be
covering in detail in a forthcoming feature. Well done for getting this far!

Problem alert: Vista reboots during its installation process - don't press a key to load the DVD installer again
when it does, or you'll start the whole process from the beginning!