Assemble yourself or get it the usual way ?

[vwad]

Hello,

I have not learned anything related to hardware at all. But I see people offering videos regarding how to assemble the PC on youtube. How much reliable these videos are for a total novice like me to follow ?

I mean should I try assembling myself with the help of different videos from YT or will it be better if I go for regular computer hardware engineers doing it for me ?

I want to know regarding this since the feel of making your machine yourself is so amusing but at the same time, I am damn scared of jumpers, ESD and other devils of hardware engineering :scared:

[Cool Buddy]

Although assembling a simple PC isn't tough, I would suggest not to do it yourself if you haven't seen anyone do it before or have no experience of fixing a RAM on a motherboard. Ideally, people buy their first PC, after sometime they open the cabinet & clean it. Then after a few days they buy a new RAM/HDD & fix it themselves. After a couple of years they open the RAM, power cables to do a thorough cleaning/fixing some errors or for upgrading. Then someday they disassemble their whole PC & assemble it again just for fun. It is at this stage that a person gets the confidence to assemble a new PC himself.

Having said that, these jumpers actually still puzzle me, I bought a 2nd HDD and fixed it with USB just because I didn't know what to with the jumpers. Can anyone please explain!!!

And yes, if you are the risk taking type you can try to assemble with the help of youtube videos. make sure you read the motherboard's instruction manual carefully before assembling. follow the instructions over there about front USB, front Audio & power & reset buttons. if you have any confusion regarding connectors like SATA/processor fan/power connector or PCIe, just keep posting, we'll try to explain with pics.

[vwad]

Originally Posted by Cool Buddy

Although assembling a simple PC isn't tough, I would suggest not to do it yourself if you haven't seen anyone do it before or have no experience of fixing a RAM on a motherboard. Ideally, people buy their first PC, after sometime they open the cabinet & clean it. Then after a few days they buy a new RAM/HDD & fix it themselves. After a couple of years they open the RAM, power cables to do a thorough cleaning/fixing some errors or for upgrading. Then someday they disassemble their whole PC & assemble it again just for fun. It is at this stage that a person gets the confidence to assemble a new PC himself.

Having said that, these jumpers actually still puzzle me, I bought a 2nd HDD and fixed it with USB just because I didn't know what to with the jumpers. Can anyone please explain!!!

And yes, if you are the risk taking type you can try to assemble with the help of youtube videos. make sure you read the motherboard's instruction manual carefully before assembling. follow the instructions over there about front USB, front Audio & power & reset buttons. if you have any confusion regarding connectors like SATA/processor fan/power connector or PCIe, just keep posting, we'll try to explain with pics.

Thanks. WOW Very exclusive reply. I guess I will go for it.

[ajai5777]

Yeah..me too learned like that.Now I assemble PC's for my friends.I use motherboard manual to fix jumpers.

[mumblehere]

anything to do with jumpers, i didnt do anythin

[cute.bandar]

forget about jumpers. For a assembling a simple PC jumpers do not come into play , I think.

[asingh]

Believe me it is awesome to assemble your own system. Gives a real 'high'. It is really not that complicated. I think there are two points where you can go wrong. If you dock the CPU incorrectly (damaged pins), and if you plug in an EPS 12V 4 PIN into a 6 PIN PEG connector or vice-versa since they are grooved quite similar. Everything else, cannot JUST fit in incorrectly. All the parts / connectors (RAM/GPU/SATA connectors, ATX 20+4 pin, molex, HDD power connectors) are grooved so you cannot force fit. All mother boards come with a detailed manual / schematics which help a lot. Basically have an open net connection when assembling, keep the manual open, lots of patience and you should be fine. First time around it took me like 10-12 hours to assemble mine, but was worth it. Yes, the HDD light, on/off/reset jumpers are 'slightly' complicated, but the mother board diagram examples it perfect. if you can read and comprehend assembling is fun. Why pay the local idiots to do it, I would never trust them with expensive equipment. Honestly they know jack about what they are doing, plus they rough-handle the equipment.

Let me know if you are interested, can write up a detailed guide.

[vwad]

Originally Posted by asigh

Believe me it is awesome to assemble your own system. Gives a real 'high'. It is really not that complicated. I think there are two points where you can go wrong. If you dock the CPU incorrectly (damaged pins), and if you plug in an EPS 12V 4 PIN into a 6 PIN PEG connector or vice-versa since they are grooved quite similar. Everything else, cannot JUST fit in incorrectly. All the parts / connectors (RAM/GPU/SATA connectors, ATX 20+4 pin, molex, HDD power connectors) are grooved so you cannot force fit. All mother boards come with a detailed manual / schematics which help a lot. Basically have an open net connection when assembling, keep the manual open, lots of patience and you should be fine. First time around it took me like 10-12 hours to assemble mine, but was worth it. Yes, the HDD light, on/off/reset jumpers are 'slightly' complicated, but the mother board diagram examples it perfect. if you can read and comprehend assembling is fun. Why pay the local idiots to do it, I would never trust them with expensive equipment. Honestly they know jack about what they are doing, plus they rough-handle the equipment.

Let me know if you are interested, can write up a detailed guide.

Wow !! That certainly boosted my confidence !! Thanks !! Once I decide, finalise my system, I will let you know, if it is OK with you by PM or else in this thread. Then I will be very grateful if you can arrange a tutorial specific for that.

That brings me to a point, how about an exclusive tutorial all-inclusive sort of by all the stalwarts over here on this subject ?

[gagan007]

I completely agree with everyone...I didn't assemble mine becuz I was a noob at comps when I purchased that but then after getting hands-on exp cleaning/upgrading it I got confidence. Assembled couple of systems for my friends...good thing about assembling is you can't do it wrong. just do not force it...you cannot fix the ram wrongly...it won't just fit...same goes for all the wires in the respective ports.it looks like if you are a little careful, everything just seem to "fall" in its own place...
it is like USB...you can plug it in one particular way and not the other...

[static_x]

I agree with asigh..why pay anyone when you can do it yourself...just follow the motherboard's manual....as asigh has already said..you need to be careful with the EPS 12V 4 PIN connection..everything else is quite simple...Also installing the processor's fan is little tricky...but for that you can follow the processor's manual and it will guide you how to do that....I would rather suggest you to do it urself...it will not only boost your confidence but also make you feel good....for any further help you can post your queries here so that we can help you...

[asingh]

Plus if you have assembled it your self, you always have the computer internals on your mind. You will know what is a weak point/what needs to be worked upon later. The in and out is with you. More control over the hardware. Love it...!

[Cool Buddy]

oh! that 4 pin connector! gave me nightmares once, I confused it with the CPU fan connector and it took me an hour to figure out why it won't go in. I don't know the names of all those connectors, so I suppose you are talking about the 4 pin part in the motherboard's 24pin power connector.
jumpers come into play only when one has 2 or more HDDs, for a single one, it's fine. And the RAM, yes, it can't go in wrongly, but I feel it doesn't want to go in correctly either. When I start forcing it, I feel the motherboard will break before it falls into place.

I haven't ever assembled a full system but have seen my brother do it. I have plugged in HDDs, RAMs, DVD drives, changed SMPS but haven't ever dealt with the front panel connectors and may be will never do. Coz I hate taking risks & am afraid of damaging things. But I've seen people who are much less afraid than me. For one, my brother would never think twice before opening the cabinet if there was some problem. But with me, first thing that happens is that my heart rate trebles as soon as a problem crops up for which I need to open the cabinet. and that happens often, sometimes PC doesn't boot, some times fan not working, overheating, power button not working etc. etc. I feel relaxed only after I have closed the cabinet & and the PC boots up normally.

For a successful assembly, it's necessary to have a good motherboard with a good instruction manual. Instruction manuals are quite detailed for all manufacturers afaik.

[static_x]

Jumpers come into the scene only when you use the IDE/PATA HDDs and there are no jumpers for the SATA HDDs so thinking about this is out of the question...

The front panel connectors can be easily done by referring the motherboards manual.

One thing that is most important is that you must use some sort of packing between the mobo and the cabby (usually it comes with the cabby). The motherboard should not touch the cabinet when you tighten it using the screws...so watch this before doing anything else...

[asingh]

^^
I thought the motherboard is mounted on the array of spacers. So how will it ever touch the chassis..?

[static_x]

This is the problem with the cheap cabinets...I've faced it while assembling my friends PC...he bought some cheap zebronics cabby @ Rs. 400 and it has no spacers...finally i had to get some plastic spacers to mount the mobo...

[borax12]

hey ...its good to see people really care to take interest in custom pc building... asigh said it correctly....it does give u a high....and the added fact that u have the bragging rights to say that this pc was built entirely by you.........Also the advantage and flexibility to choose your own parts gives pc builder a lot of joy.( i know these things have already been said a numerous times before...but it actually make me say this one last time again)...and yeah regarding the confidence levels before assembling your own pc....it sure takes a lot of confidence and yeah to be frank, a lot of know how on connections and pc hardware...but a very easy solution to that is.....watch vids(or read on forums) about new upcoming computer components (specifically the motherboard,cpu,and graphics card,the pc case) and also watch unboxing videos of new hardware like motherboards....or vids of people building new gaming rig or tutorials on building a gaming or simple custom pc and then while watching the video you hear a new term or maybe come across something that sounds weird to you ...just go and google it and then like this you will be on your way to become a geek...a full fledged computer geek....and yeah even i have the time so i can help asigh with the guide on pc building(only if you are interested

[vwad]

One question to start with.

If I do the assembling, putting the hardware on a wooden teapoy while sitting on a small wooden stool like those used in "Poojas", will I be totally out of threat of ESD problems ?

[asingh]

^^
No that is incorrect. The board should never touch a hard surface. Most come with a soft anti static bag, and some soft foam, that should be used. Else it can be put on the bed. Though the only time the board would touch a surface when the HSF is mounted. Post that immediately it should be transferred on top of the spacers. Regarding other stuff RAM/GPU they can be placed on hard surfaces but the golden connectors should always be free. Not even touched by the hand.

@Borax12:
Will send you a rough draft before I post it. We can review it. Thanks for this.

[Cool Buddy]

One should sit on the floor while assembling a PC, earthing frees us from static. there are some anti static belts available too which you can use although they aren't really necessary.

@asigh
Is it OK to wear rubber gloves while assembling to prevent direct contact with hand?

[vwad]

Originally Posted by asigh

^^
No that is incorrect. The board should never touch a hard surface. Most come with a soft anti static bag, and some soft foam, that should be used. Else it can be put on the bed. Though the only time the board would touch a surface when the HSF is mounted. Post that immediately it should be transferred on top of the spacers. Regarding other stuff RAM/GPU they can be placed on hard surfaces but the golden connectors should always be free. Not even touched by the hand.

@Borax12:
Will send you a rough draft before I post it. We can review it. Thanks for this.

Originally Posted by Cool Buddy

One should sit on the floor while assembling a PC, earthing frees us from static. there are some anti static belts available too which you can use although they aren't really necessary.

@asigh
Is it OK to wear rubber gloves while assembling to prevent direct contact with hand?

Thanks a lot bros.

[asingh]

Originally Posted by Cool Buddy

One should sit on the floor while assembling a PC, earthing frees us from static. there are some anti static belts available too which you can use although they aren't really necessary.

@asigh
Is it OK to wear rubber gloves while assembling to prevent direct contact with hand?

I have never done this. No use being so paranoid. My back would break sitting on the floor working on a computer build.

I also do not wear rubber gloves. Its dead hardware anyways. I just make it a point not to touch any connectivity part on the hardware. Best to discharge all residual current before dismantling -- press the power button for a few seconds with PSU cable removed.

[Cool Buddy]

OK, no paranoia from now on

[Sam]

Originally Posted by Cool Buddy

Although assembling a simple PC isn't tough, I would suggest not to do it yourself if you haven't seen anyone do it before or have no experience of fixing a RAM on a motherboard. Ideally, people buy their first PC, after sometime they open the cabinet & clean it. Then after a few days they buy a new RAM/HDD & fix it themselves. After a couple of years they open the RAM, power cables to do a thorough cleaning/fixing some errors or for upgrading. Then someday they disassemble their whole PC & assemble it again just for fun. It is at this stage that a person gets the confidence to assemble a new PC himself.

were you explaining my story?

Originally Posted by Cool Buddy

Having said that, these jumpers actually still puzzle me, I bought a 2nd HDD and fixed it with USB just because I didn't know what to with the jumpers. Can anyone please explain!!!

i got a couple of old buddies near me. they know & understand jumpers. i don't. so take help when need help.

Originally Posted by asigh

If you dock the CPU incorrectly (damaged pins)

being even least carefully shouldn't trigger this problem. just aligh the golden triangle on proccy to that of mobo. done.

Originally Posted by asigh

and if you plug in an EPS 12V 4 PIN into a 6 PIN PEG connector or vice-versa since they are grooved quite similar.

asigh, please little explanation here. not able get you at all. & what is PEG connector?

Originally Posted by Cool Buddy

oh! that 4 pin connector! gave me nightmares once, I confused it with the CPU fan connector and it took me an hour to figure out why it won't go in.

isn't the cpu fan connector & the 4pin (proccy power) different? or am i talking about something else?

Originally Posted by Cool Buddy

For one, my brother would never think twice before opening the cabinet if there was some problem.

one similarity between ur brother & me.

Originally Posted by asigh

^^
I thought the motherboard is mounted on the array of spacers. So how will it ever touch the chassis..?

usually desi cabbies (sub 1.5k) don't have. reason: reduce cost to that of 5kg potatoes.

Originally Posted by static_x

This is the problem with the cheap cabinets...I've faced it while assembling my friends PC...he bought some cheap zebronics cabby @ Rs. 400 and it has no spacers...finally i had to get some plastic spacers to mount the mobo...

spell it like this: cheap desi = no spacers.

[asingh]

^^
The EPS 12V connector which goes near the CPU dock has 4 pins. Now the PEG connector (PCI Express Graphics) connector has 6, but the 4 from EPS 12V can also fit in there. It is very easy to get confused, since both connectors are grooved quite similar.

I have come across cases where people docked the CPU wrong, tried to close the shutter frame, and damaged stuff. So that is why I mentioned it..!

Overall where one has to use their brain the most.

1. Cable management.
2. HDD/start/reset jumpers.
3. External USB connectors.

Rest is quite simple, honestly.

[borax12]

hey......the best way to mount hardware or components on to the motherboard is to.....use the anti static bag(these are the polythene like bags in which the motherboard is wrapped around).......place the wooden card board box on the table.....then place the polythene like bag on top of it.......touch the cabinet floors or the motherboard for few seconds (touching components which are to be used ....when placed onto anti static surface ....removes the chances of static discharge....)...i prefer to touch the cabinet floors and /or touch the motherboard surface kept on top of the anti static bag to make yourself grounded.....also the best idea is to first mount the cpu heatsink fan.....then install the memory sticks(RAM)...then mount the motherboard onto the cabinet (mounting screws to be used)...then continue with installation of other components

[vwad]

Originally Posted by asigh

^^
The EPS 12V connector which goes near the CPU dock has 4 pins. Now the PEG connector (PCI Express Graphics) connector has 6, but the 4 from EPS 12V can also fit in there. It is very easy to get confused, since both connectors are grooved quite similar.

I have come across cases where people docked the CPU wrong, tried to close the shutter frame, and damaged stuff. So that is why I mentioned it..!

Overall where one has to use their brain the most.

1. Cable management.
2. HDD/start/reset jumpers.
3. External USB connectors.

Rest is quite simple, honestly.

Hmm. How good are MSI motherboard's manuals for HDD start reset jumpers ? & External USB connectors means those which we see in front of the cabinets connected to motherboard with cables, am I right ?

Originally Posted by borax12

hey......the best way to mount hardware or components on to the motherboard is to.....use the anti static bag(these are the polythene like bags in which the motherboard is wrapped around).......place the wooden card board box on the table.....then place the polythene like bag on top of it.......touch the cabinet floors or the motherboard for few seconds (touching components which are to be used ....when placed onto anti static surface ....removes the chances of static discharge....)...i prefer to touch the cabinet floors and /or touch the motherboard surface kept on top of the anti static bag to make yourself grounded.....also the best idea is to first mount the cpu heatsink fan.....then install the memory sticks(RAM)...then mount the motherboard onto the cabinet (mounting screws to be used)...then continue with installation of other components

Thanks. Yes, almost all the videos I have seen follow this sequence. Yeah, that idea against ESD is good, I shall use it.

[Sam]

Originally Posted by asigh

^^
The EPS 12V connector which goes near the CPU dock has 4 pins. Now the PEG connector (PCI Express Graphics) connector has 6, but the 4 from EPS 12V can also fit in there. It is very easy to get confused, since both connectors are grooved quite similar.

I have come across cases where people docked the CPU wrong, tried to close the shutter frame, and damaged stuff. So that is why I mentioned it..!

Overall where one has to use their brain the most.

1. Cable management.
2. HDD/start/reset jumpers.
3. External USB connectors.

Rest is quite simple, honestly.

oh yah thanks. got it now

add to the list a 3rd option: cabinet speakers. in some mobos theres lot of option & if diagram not accurate/no tags given under the port, it'll cause problem.

[cute.bandar]

About spacers: some cabinets (like mine) have raised mounts, and hence don't require any other spacers, I think.

[Cool Buddy]

Originally Posted by Sam.Shab

were you explaining my story?

That's the story of many people, nice to know you learnt it this way too

Originally Posted by Sam.Shab

i got a couple of old buddies near me. they know & understand jumpers. i don't. so take help when need help.

I already got my answer which I already suspected, there are no jumpers on SATA HDDs

Originally Posted by Sam.Shab

isn't the cpu fan connector & the 4pin (proccy power) different? or am i talking about something else?

Yes they are different. In that particular SMPS which I was using, the 24pin connector was split into 20pin and a separate 4pin connector which goes in beside the 20pin. Now the processor fan power is also a 4pin connector. But these 2 pins cannot be plugged in wrongly as they have the cut on different ends. But I plugged in the 20pin connector and picked up the CPU fan connector to plug in beside it. I found it won't go in & was quite puzzled by it. It was long back, around 3 years. I don't know if these connectors have changed recently.

Actually, the thing is, the SATA connector on my mobo or HDD (I can't determine which) is damaged, so if I open my cabinet, the PC stops booting up. That's why I have opened my cabinet just twice in last 1 year and am now forgetting things.

[Sam]

Originally Posted by Cool Buddy

Yes they are different. In that particular SMPS which I was using, the 24pin connector was split into 20pin and a separate 4pin connector which goes in beside the 20pin. Now the processor fan power is also a 4pin connector. But these 2 pins cannot be plugged in wrongly as they have the cut on different ends. But I plugged in the 20pin connector and picked up the CPU fan connector to plug in beside it. I found it won't go in & was quite puzzled by it. It was long back, around 3 years. I don't know if these connectors have changed recently.

oh, mine is same but its attached together. 20(white) + 24(light green). and its not fan connector. its the cpu power connector. fan connector is a tiny one. size of jumper or chassis fan connector.

Originally Posted by Cool Buddy

Actually, the thing is, the SATA connector on my mobo or HDD (I can't determine which) is damaged, so if I open my cabinet, the PC stops booting up. That's why I have opened my cabinet just twice in last 1 year and am now forgetting things.

my last cabby (& the friends i referred above) have their cabbies open 24X7 (extra cooling) as we use cheap cabinets & theres no AC in our room. and yes we both use P4.