First time self build questions

tonys920

tonys920

tonys920

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11 Nov 2009
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Hi I have decided to build my own pc after being quoted £160 + vat to assemble the components I want.

I have replaced memory and hard drives before so I have a little experience in what to expect but my questions are..

1. How much info is supplied with the power supply and motherboard to guide me to what cable should connect where ?
2. Are there any extra cables, brackets etc that I need to order ?
3. Should I remove the thermal paste from the H50-1 and use Arctic silver 5 ?
4. Any tips for a first time builder ?
5. How likely is it that I will have a problem due to a faulty component ? it will leave me wondering if I have cocked it up or the kit is faulty ?


Case Cooler Master ATCS 840 with a 120mm Scythe Gentle Typhoon 1450 rpm Cooling Fan fitted to the spare fan slot in case base
Motherboard Asus p6TD deluxe v2
Processor Intel i7 920, D0 SLBEJ S1366, Bloomfield, 2.66 GHz
CPU cooler Corsair H50-1 with 2 Noctua NF-P12 120mm fans in the exhausting configuration push pull, replacing the stock fan
Ram TR3X6G1600C8D -6GB Corsair Dominator DDR3, PC3-12800 (1600), 240 Pin, Non-ECC Un buffered CAS 8, DHX, XMP
Graphics card 896MB Palit GTX 275 55nm, 2268MHz GDDR3, GPU 633 MHz, Shader 1404 MHz, 240 Cores
PSU 850W Corsair 850HX PSU
Hard drive 3 x 1TB Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3, SATA 3Gb/s, 7200rpm, 32MB cache
Optical drive 1 x Sony Optiarc AD-7240S 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter
Sound card Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1 OEM PCI Sound card
Network card Edimax EW-7727In nMax 300Mbps Wireless Desktop PCI Network Adapter
Windows 7 64bit ultimate

I have read greywolf’s guide http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18046396 and it has given me more confidence to build it my self

I plan to overclock it to 3.8Ghz and it will mainly be used for 3d renderings, photo and video editing.

Thanks for any advice
 
1. I have the P6T MB and a 750w HX and there is plently of info supplied with both. Everything you need is in the manual. For anyhting else there is the forums! :D
2. All the cables will be packaged in with various components, you should not need to buy any more.
3. The supplied TP will be ok, but you might get an extra degree or 2 with AS5.
4. Take it slow. If you are not sure about anything re-read the manual, or ask on the forums. I was in this boat a fews weeks ago. Also have a clear work area is imprtant too. Have all of your components to hand, and all the tools ready. Also make sure you don't get a build up of static electricty, occasionally touch an earthed radiator or similar.
5. It is unlikey but it does happen. As long as you take your time and dont force things you will be fine. ;)

If you have not already read the guide in general hardware that is sticky. Lots of tips and info. :)
 
You have nothing to worry about building a pc, It's very simple everything is in the mobo manual of what goes where.
 
yea you cant go wrong aslong as you dont rush it, lego instructions are generally far harder than building a computer.

theres probably loads of video guides on youtube
 
You will be fine with the motherboard manual. I literally just followed it through when I wasn't totally confident. Hardest part I found was getting the front panel connectors on the right pins.
 
CooK1E said:
You will be fine with the motherboard manual. I literally just followed it through when I wasn't totally confident. Hardest part I found was getting the front panel connectors on the right pins.
Click to expand...

Thats prob the hardest part and even that ant hard if you sit down and look at the book the right way lool
 
atmax1 said:
Thats prob the hardest part and even that ant hard if you sit down and look at the book the right way lool
Click to expand...

on cases of old the connectors were really crap and didnt have proper markings on them meaning it was guess work as to which side was - and which was +

even on backwords the leds etc on the case just wouldnt function correctly i dont think its possible to damage a board from getting those front panel connectors the wrong way round.
on all modern cases ive seen the connectors have been idiot proof though
 
Building your own PC is a piece of cake, it's just like advanced lego blocks tbh!

It's always a good idea to setup your components outside of the case first, so if something does happen to be DOA you don't have to go tearing everything out of your case in order to RMA it.

Regarding the TIM on the H50, it's good enough, so I'd just leave that on instead of replacing it, as it will save you time and hassle cleaning it off and re-applying new paste.

Just take your time, and be careful when handling components and you should be fine, also remember to connect both the 24 pin ATX and 8 pin CPU power cables onto the motherboard, and 2 PCIe 6 pin cables into the graphics card, this is a fairly common mistake for first time builders.
 
Also search youtube for videos, there is one guy who takes you through the whole process in multiple videos. I used them as a refresher..I think it was an American dude from the accent, cannot remember the username though!
 
Ok thanks guys

Will the motherboard manual have instructions on what stage to update the bios and load various drivers etc. Greywolfs guide is great for the construction but seems to cut short on the full install process.

I think its..
set bios to load from optical drive
Install win 7
check Asus website for any bios updates
load graphics card drivers
load sound card drivers
load any tv card drivers if I end up with a tv card
Then check for any win 7 updates

is that correct ?
 
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