[aldo_14]

If I can manage it, it can't be hard.......

[Roanoke]

It's like anything. A little experience and the confidence you get from that goes a long way.

[Martinus]

[color=66ff00]The last two mobo manuals I saw were so thorough that the average builder would not need anything else.

I think it's a better idea to post tips that generally aren't in those kinds of manuals instead of re-iterating the contents of who knows how many websites devoted to PC assembly.
[/color]

[CP5670]

I agree, assembling a computer is mostly something any idiot can do using the instructions and a little common sense. As for the order, last time I did this I went with the bare essentials (motherboard, processor, one memory stick, video card, power supply), checked if it booted, and then added everything else except for the hard drive. I did all the stress testing with an old 19GB 5.25" hard drive and only plugged in my normal drive (which was from my previous setup and still contained all my stuff) once I was satisfied with the machine's stability, so there was almost no chance of a bad CPU overclock damaging anything on the hard drive.

Also, it's a very good idea to do extensive research on your motherboard, since they all have some little quirks that you wouldn't otherwise know about until you run into them. It's very useful to be aware of things like memory slot channels, BIOS compatibility with CPUs, unlocked SATA ports, vcore undervolting, cold boot bugs, chipset fans obstructing video cards and even sneaky auto-overclocking of the video card.

I haven't gotten a bad component from a manufacturer (bad on deliver, that is. I've had a few die a month or two later) in almost five years.

Boy are you lucky. I have gotten a bad hard drive, a bad video card and three bad monitors in the last few years. I mean, bad right out of the box.

Yeah. Still best IMO to do it while closing the tabs at the same time if possible, though. Another reason for slapping in the mobo last; you can grip both sides (top of DIMM & back of mobo) to make sure it's right good in.

Yeah, that is an absolute must. If you do it without pulling up the tabs simultaneously then you would need a freaking sledgehammer to get the things in. It actually wasn't quite that bad on the last three motherboards I used, but this A8V deluxe board required such insane force that I began to wonder if I was doing something stupid even though I had done it many times before.

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by Maeglamor
[color=66ff00]The last two mobo manuals I saw were so thorough that the average builder would not need anything else.

I think it's a better idea to post tips that generally aren't in those kinds of manuals instead of re-iterating the contents of who knows how many websites devoted to PC assembly.
[/color]

Lucky you.  My last mobo manual was in engrish.

[CP5670]

This is from my case manual:

1: Unscrew the side panel and remove it.
2: Lay the chassis.
3: Locate the motherboard with the location of motherboard screw location.
4: Secure the motherboard with suitable screws.

The box for the case said this on it in big, bold letters: (and CompUSA uses this product description on their website)

Centurion, an honorable name, represents quality of Discipline, Integrity & Loyalty. With the Centurion besides you, now you can concord the world feeling safe and proud without having to be a Caesar.

I recently forgot to put on the chassis intrusion jumper on my old A7M266 motherboard when I was putting together an old game computer with it, so when I booted it up it gave this message:

The system intruded, Chassis opened or tempered before.

This is in my monitor manual:

If the screen requires more than a light cleaning, apply water or soften neutral detergent with much water directly to a soft cloth and use it upon wringing water, to clean the glass surface.

Not quite as bad, but this is in my heatsink manual:

Remove stock RM by unscrew both Philip screws and drip a couple drops of nail polish remover on the sides of RM to unglue it from the motherboard, this way RM can be easily removed without damage PCB and components

At least Asus motherboard manuals are written properly for the most part, although the A8V manual is downright wrong about which memory slots correspond to which channels.

[Darkage]

Gonna build my own NAS in a while:D when the pay check comes in:D

When finished i should have around 1.2TB (6x 200GB drives) of disk space, after that i am gonna expand it with 400GB drives that would be nice 2.4GB disk space:D

[Grey Wolf]

I've never bothered with the chassis intrusion monitor.

[CP5670]

I don't use it either but the pins need to have a jumper on them or it thinks that a security mechanism has been tripped.