SPEN555

I have so far added additional RAM, installed a bigger hard drive and use the existing hard drive as a secondary drive. The other upgrade I have done is to install a combo CD-RW/DVD player.

I now want to upgrade the motherboard, chip, RAM, Graphics card and the PSU.

How dificult is upgrading the motherboard?

I see it like this,

(1). Connect motherboard to tower.
(2). Install chip and attach cooler having set jumpers correctly.
(3). Connect PSU to tower and connect PSU to motherboard.
(4). Connect RAM to board followed by all other items such as hard drive, floppy etc.

When switching on I presume I need to go into the BIOS to properly set up the PC for the components I have installed on the motherboard.

I am sure I am being over simplistic in this as my current board has jumpers all over the place.

Any advice would be appreciated.

p.s. I have not bought the motherboard or proccessor yet as I am trying to get a feel for how difficult it is.

Thanks in advance,

Damian.

super_si

ive done it so anyone can lol

build 2 now, easy

DJ Dunk

iTrader: (5)

Thats pretty much all there is to it. Most modern motherboards are jumperless now, so no messing about required.

Just go into the bios and setup your harddrives etc

super_si

mine had a softmenu which is disabled anyway its all literaly plug and play

DominicA

The following will simplify the build process.

1. Buy good components.
2. Use a wriststrap or anti-static mat.
3. Take time when installing CPU/heatsink and read any instructions properly. Read them once. Do something else. Read them AGAIN.
4. Always do a fresh install of the OS.

SPEN555

Cheers,

Just one thing though? Dominic, how do I differentiate between what are 'good' components and what is not?

Damian.

DominicA

Good components can be found reviewed on places like Toms hardware, Anantech etc or in PCPRO etc...

Example... good memory would be Crucial (there are many others)
Good graphics cards would be Nvidia GF4 based, Gainward / Hercules will be able to run at much higher memory speeds.
Good hard disks could be IBM GXP120 series.. Seagate Barracuda 4..
Motherboard would be Soyo Dragon+...

all i'm saying is you're less likely to have problems with GOOD branded RAM, a good graphics card, motherboard etc...

Chris_S199

You'll also find that good components come with a decent warranty so if you try and build it and a component doesn't work then you can return it to the manufacturer without a problem...

Hanslow

I would research some of the hardware bulletin boards as well for known conflicts and other issues. I fell foul of the A-Bit KT7a and GeForce 2 booting issues. They're still there but I have a 100% workaround and can't be arsed to send the motherboard back to have some capacitors changed.

Generally it's easy to build the machine, and 90-95% of the time it will run with no stability issues. Occasionally you will get glitches and slight compatibility issues that may be hardware or software related.

Good luck

ChrisS/P1

Make sure your PSU is powerfull enough (would suggest at least 300 for modern processors). This also helps when you start slamming a load of cards in. Make sure you have a big enough fan. Otherwise the damn thing will crash every 10 minutes.

SPEN555

Keep it coming! Very grateful for these pearls of wisdom

Damian.

howardb

I built my own PC at Xmas and its pretty easy, ok I am an electronics engineer so it would be embarasing if i had failed.

The worst part for me was putting it all into the case, as Im not mechanically sympathetic.

Take care with the processor! Its got lots of pins that you can easily damage. These things dislike static, so make sure you are earthed or touch something earthed before touching the processor. With todays processor you need to fit good heatsinks and fans or else they will fry before your eyes!

Select your processor and then buy the best heatsink and fan you can affoard - call it insurance but the temps rocket when you start to 'use' the processor in anger - ie gaming!!

Also get a PSU with greater than 350W, 400W+ to be safe, given the trend in processor and graphics power!

Im running an Epox 8kha+, 768MB ram, 2 Maxtor drives, Geforce3 graphics, 450W PSU, DVD and CD drives. All in a nice aluminium case. Theres something like 9 fans in this box to try and keep components cool.

Take a look at some of the overclockers sites in the uk as they have forums similar to this and reviews where you can read abour your intended purchase. Be warned, computer gear is out of date as soon as you buy it! Buy wisely!

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/
http://www.tekheads.co.uk/tekheads/index
http://www.amdworld.co.uk/
http://www.amdmb.com/
http://www.overclock.co.uk/index.php
http://www.theoverclockingstore.co.uk/
http://www.crucial.com/uk/index.asp

Tony_W

I've been building Pc's as a hobby for the last 4 years, and have built over 40 of them in this time for friends e.t.c.

All the advice is good. Also think about what you want from the PC..if for gaming then go high spec..if for just internet/word processing then go lower spec and save money.

You will need to decide whether to go Athlon or P4 processor as well, which effects motherboard choice.

I tend to go along the Athlon route as they are as good (if not better) than Pentiums now and cost less.

One other area you may wish to consider is updates.

I have now swung towards gygabyte boards, as they are dead simple to set up and you can easily get updates for them. You can pay a lot more money for "higher spec" boards but you won't visually see any difference when playing games.

One other thought..what memory you use is governed by motherboard choice.

If you would like me to put some ideas together on various specs and rough prices I can do so..you can then order from somewhere like DABS or Insight (I use a trade supplier) once oyu've made up your mind.

MartinM

Tony_W

I've built quite a few as well, but always feel that I can't do excellent value, since I have to buy from Insight, Dabs etc who are selling at low, but commercial rates.

I guess you don't need to tell me who your supplier is (but I wouldn't mind if you did), but what did you have to do to get a trade account. I don't have a letterhead or a company name, which seems to be the minimum requirement, plus I'm not that keen on promising a certain turnover per month.

Any advice you can help me with is appreciated

MarkehB

Hanslow, u got a work around for the kt7a and geforce 2 issue?? Care to share? Its been pissing me off for over a year!

Hanslow

Yep.....

It's tiresome, but....after shutting down your PC, turn off the power supply on the back of your case. There's a problem to do with capacitors holding charge too long and when you restart it, something ***** up and it can't address the AGP slot properly to check if the card is present, hence the no video beeps.

I thought of moving the power supply switch to the front of the case to save me reaching round the back, but as it's no real hardship, I've lived with it so far. Think they will sort them out if you send the Mobo back, but I can't be arsed to strip it all down again

Should have same results if you turn the power off at the wall after shutting down. There was some DIY stuff on a Mobo BB somewhere but it went into replacing capacitors yourself and my soldering isn't that good

See how you go with it, saves repeated on/offs to try and get it to boot anyway

MarkehB

Sweet cheers m8! I'll give it a whirl now.

Markus

Put it this way, I'm a bit clumsy, but even I can build a PC. It really is as simple as putting the motherboard in the case, plugging in the chip, RAM and cards, connecting it up and then powering it on.

When I built my own PC the motherboard came with a very simple step by step guide of how to build the PC.

now i have built a PC I'll never buy one from a shop, a) the quality is not as good as you might expect, and b) waaaaay overpriced, plus you can spec the system to your exact requirements, which you can't always do in a shop.

Give it a go, as long as you are careful it's easy

super_si

Just completey rebuilt mine 1hour - 1 1/2 tops!

Dirty_Den

Apart from the above, you might like to put some thermal compound between the CPU and the heatsink. Something like this....

http://web6.scan.co.uk/Products/Info.asp?WPID=9555

Den

Tony_W

MartinM..

www.microtec99.com

I used powerpoint and imagination when I set an account up!

They don't seem to have a minimum turnover.

They deliver next day, always on time which is good.

If you want to know more drop me a line at tonywilson@bigfoot.com

and I'll give you all the info. plus a contact number to set up an account.

Tony

JackClark

Are all motherboards the same shape? I want to keep my IBM tower case as it matches my PS2.

Ken E

If you are replacing things like motherboards and graphics cards then the first thing to do is remove any specific drivers for them. You need to revert back to the standard microsoft drivers (assuming you are using some form of windows) before you start. You should be able to remove a lot through Add/Remove programs, the rest through device manager using Update Driver and selecting the microsoft ones.

If you do not do this first then you can run into conflict problems after installing the new hardware.

Steps are:

1. Revert drivers back to MS standard
2. Remove drivers for components to be changed
3. Change the hardware
4. Boot up, set BIOS etc. if required
5. Install drivers for new hardware

Plug n Pray !!!

Edited to add:

Another top tip is to fit the processor, heatsink/fan and memory on the motherboard before putting the motherboard in the case. It is possible to break the motherboard if the clip for the heatsink is very strong and the board is not on a flat surface. Once the board is mounted in the case it can bend.

[Edited by Ken E - 7/10/2002 4:32:54 PM]