What kind of case?

Actually, when I built my first system under the very watchful eyes of
a friend who was a computer repairman, he actually yelled STOP at me a
few times, and once even slapped my hand. It wasn't a negative in any
way - it got my attention and kept me from destroying $1200 in parts
and I was grateful - yes, grateful - of that attention. Sometimes we
need that that slap to the face to get our attention. I just let it
roll off as I realized it wasn't personal. It was a method of
stopping me immediately - and it worked. Obviously it still works, as
it got your attention.

On Tue, 1 Feb 2005 20:16:45 -0600, "Newtechie"
wrote:

Mr. Nobody,

If you can HONESTLY tell me that when you started out as newbie and the
people who assisted you when you had questions or needed help with the
anything, were rude to you just to make you understand what you were doing,
then I'll shut up. Otherwise, being that you have "all this experience", I
would assume you'd have a little more patience with people who's starting
out. There's a very tactful way to get your point across without name
calling and insults. Everyone here has been very nice and so supportive of
me in this endeavor and has offered me an overwhelming wealth of information
without being negative or mean. If you read a post and there's something in
it that irritates you, don't respond or let the poster know in a suggestive
manner what they could do to resolve their problem.

That's all.

Newtechie

"NobodyMan" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 01 Feb 2005 18:17:24 -0500, krok dundee
wrote:


Hey NewTechie, don't worry too much about trolls like Nobodyman, like
his user id says, he's a nobody. There's a few around. As you can see
all the other answers came from decent "once newbies" and gurus alike.
Good luck in your build. It is a very satisfying experience.
Take care, Krok

A nobody that's fixed more broken systems than you could possiblly
count, including dozens of them where a newbie decided to strike out
on their own and ended up shorting out the mainboard, video, audio,
memory, and even processors. I've seen newbies slap in the processor,
attach the heat sink/fan, and not include the thermal grease required
by the heat sink- and ended up with a nice expensive CPU paperweight.
Memory forced in backwards, breaking it or the mounts on the board.
Mainboards cracked/busted when too much force was used installing
periperhals.

But, yea, I must be a nobody. I obviously have no experience and my
advice can safely be ignored (I hope you noticed the sarcasm in my
post here).

Jim -

Ok - I assembled the motherboard on a sheet on a table. I have the CPU and
ram connected to the motherboard. Since I don't have the power supply or
video card, I can't test it to see if it starts up. I had to figure out for
myself where the holes on the motherboard aligned with the holes on the
metal case because it didn't say in the manual. I think the motherboard
probably touched the metal case just a little as I had to use it to find out
exactly where to place the standoffs. Do you think I could have shorten the
mobo even if the power supply or anything else wasn't connected? Is there a
way of testing it?

Newtechie



"Jim Macklin" wrote in message
...
Stand-offs came with the ANTEC cases I have used, over a
dozen. The mobo has mounting holes, the mobo manual will
show which holes to use. You should have every mounting
hole on the mobo used. It may be as few as 5 and as many as
a dozen, depends on the mobo.


--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.


"Newtechie" wrote in message
...
| Thanks Peters! I have been reading Tom's hardware.com.
Very informative I
| must say and there are a couple of video clips on some
things. Do you know
| which site you were used as your guide?
|
| As far as the stand offs, do you know how many you used in
total? Did they
| come with the case or motherboard?
|
| Newtechie
|
| "peter" wrote in message
| ...
| The stand offs worried me as well and they actually were
the hardest part
| of the whole process.
| Determining where to srew them on the Mobo tray was not
the problem...the
| problem was holding those damn little screws with a non
magnetic
| screwdriver and getting them in those small holes.It
took patience and a
| few Beers and Cigarettes to finally get them all in.Then
I proceeded to
| add the rest of the components.
| Before I started I did a Google on Computer builds and
came up with some
| really good websites... very detailed pictures and
videos.
| Might I suggest you do that??
| peter
| "Newtechie" wrote in message
| ...
| Leythos,
|
| Which are better? metal or plastic?
|
| Newtechie
|
|
| "Leythos" wrote in message
| news | On Mon, 31 Jan 2005 21:20:35 -0600, Newtechie wrote:
|
| Thanks Jim! I am pre-planning as we speak. I have
an old computer
| which
| I'm practicing on so hopefully that'll help. Is
there a way to keep
| the
| backside of the motherboard from touching the case?
|
| Since you won't have POWER turned on, and the power
cord will NOT be
| connected to the PSU, if the MB touches the case
during install you
| won't
| have a problem.
|
| You just need to make sure that you put as many
stand-off screws in the
| motherboard as you did stand-offs on the metal
backplate. You might also
| consider some of the plastic stand-off types in some
locations if you
| run
| out of metal ones.
|
| One last thing - make sure you use the right screws -
you DO NOT want
| the
| screw head going past the round doughnut pad around
the hole - certainly
| not so that it touches any electrical circuits.
|
|
| --
|
| remove 999 in order to email me
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

As long as there is no power applied, you can't short
anything. When I did mine, I put the mobo in the case, with
the ports aligned to the back panel. Then I used a Magic
Marker to mark the holes on the case. The goal is to fully
support the mobo and not have anything touching the backside
of the mobo that could short it out. That means no screws
left to rattle around too.

When you get it assembled, double check that all the fans
are connected correctly and connect the monitor, keyboard
and mouse. Turn it on and it should perform the POST (power
on self test) and then display(turned ON too) the message
that there is no operating system installed. It will have
some beeps on the way as it does that. Check the BIOS setup,
make sure the CD is the first device for boot order. Insert
the XP CD and reboot it, just press the power switch twice.
It will detect the XP CD (make sure the BIOS is set to first
boot device)

Follow the prompts. As soon as XP is loaded, install the
mobo drivers that come on the CD with the mobo. Just have
the bare bones, no printers, scanners or other devices
connected until later.
Then, created your Internet connection, turn the firewall
ON, and do Windows update.
Then install any additional hardware, applications and when
the system is running properly, install your backed up data.
It is best to do one item at a time so you know what is
causing problems should any happen.


"Newtechie" wrote in message
...
| Jim -
|
| Ok - I assembled the motherboard on a sheet on a table. I
have the CPU and
| ram connected to the motherboard. Since I don't have the
power supply or
| video card, I can't test it to see if it starts up. I had
to figure out for
| myself where the holes on the motherboard aligned with the
holes on the
| metal case because it didn't say in the manual. I think
the motherboard
| probably touched the metal case just a little as I had to
use it to find out
| exactly where to place the standoffs. Do you think I
could have shorten the
| mobo even if the power supply or anything else wasn't
connected? Is there a
| way of testing it?
|
| Newtechie
|
|
|
| "Jim Macklin" wrote
in message
| ...
| Stand-offs came with the ANTEC cases I have used, over a
| dozen. The mobo has mounting holes, the mobo manual
will
| show which holes to use. You should have every mounting
| hole on the mobo used. It may be as few as 5 and as
many as
| a dozen, depends on the mobo.
|
|
| --
| The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
| But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
|
|
| "Newtechie" wrote in message
| ...
| | Thanks Peters! I have been reading Tom's
hardware.com.
| Very informative I
| | must say and there are a couple of video clips on some
| things. Do you know
| | which site you were used as your guide?
| |
| | As far as the stand offs, do you know how many you
used in
| total? Did they
| | come with the case or motherboard?
| |
| | Newtechie
| |
| | "peter" wrote in message
| | ...
| | The stand offs worried me as well and they actually
were
| the hardest part
| | of the whole process.
| | Determining where to srew them on the Mobo tray was
not
| the problem...the
| | problem was holding those damn little screws with a
non
| magnetic
| | screwdriver and getting them in those small holes.It
| took patience and a
| | few Beers and Cigarettes to finally get them all
in.Then
| I proceeded to
| | add the rest of the components.
| | Before I started I did a Google on Computer builds
and
| came up with some
| | really good websites... very detailed pictures and
| videos.
| | Might I suggest you do that??
| | peter
| | "Newtechie" wrote in message
| | ...
| | Leythos,
| |
| | Which are better? metal or plastic?
| |
| | Newtechie
| |
| |
| | "Leythos" wrote in message
| | news | | On Mon, 31 Jan 2005 21:20:35 -0600, Newtechie
wrote:
| |
| | Thanks Jim! I am pre-planning as we speak. I
have
| an old computer
| | which
| | I'm practicing on so hopefully that'll help. Is
| there a way to keep
| | the
| | backside of the motherboard from touching the
case?
| |
| | Since you won't have POWER turned on, and the
power
| cord will NOT be
| | connected to the PSU, if the MB touches the case
| during install you
| | won't
| | have a problem.
| |
| | You just need to make sure that you put as many
| stand-off screws in the
| | motherboard as you did stand-offs on the metal
| backplate. You might also
| | consider some of the plastic stand-off types in
some
| locations if you
| | run
| | out of metal ones.
| |
| | One last thing - make sure you use the right
screws -
| you DO NOT want
| | the
| | screw head going past the round doughnut pad
around
| the hole - certainly
| | not so that it touches any electrical circuits.
| |
| |
| | --
| |
| | remove 999 in order to email me
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|

I have run into a small problem. I can't figure out the connections with
the case fans. On the motherboard, there's two 3-pin connectors - one is
for system fan and the other is for power fan. In my Thermaltake case,
there are 3 fans: front, rear, and on the side door. For the front and
rear fans, how do I know which one to connect goes with the power or system
connector? I'm not for sure about the side door fan either as it has 2 IDE
power wires. Does this connect directly to the power supply?


"Jim Macklin" wrote in message
...
As long as there is no power applied, you can't short
anything. When I did mine, I put the mobo in the case, with
the ports aligned to the back panel. Then I used a Magic
Marker to mark the holes on the case. The goal is to fully
support the mobo and not have anything touching the backside
of the mobo that could short it out. That means no screws
left to rattle around too.

When you get it assembled, double check that all the fans
are connected correctly and connect the monitor, keyboard
and mouse. Turn it on and it should perform the POST (power
on self test) and then display(turned ON too) the message
that there is no operating system installed. It will have
some beeps on the way as it does that. Check the BIOS setup,
make sure the CD is the first device for boot order. Insert
the XP CD and reboot it, just press the power switch twice.
It will detect the XP CD (make sure the BIOS is set to first
boot device)

Follow the prompts. As soon as XP is loaded, install the
mobo drivers that come on the CD with the mobo. Just have
the bare bones, no printers, scanners or other devices
connected until later.
Then, created your Internet connection, turn the firewall
ON, and do Windows update.
Then install any additional hardware, applications and when
the system is running properly, install your backed up data.
It is best to do one item at a time so you know what is
causing problems should any happen.


"Newtechie" wrote in message
...
| Jim -
|
| Ok - I assembled the motherboard on a sheet on a table. I
have the CPU and
| ram connected to the motherboard. Since I don't have the
power supply or
| video card, I can't test it to see if it starts up. I had
to figure out for
| myself where the holes on the motherboard aligned with the
holes on the
| metal case because it didn't say in the manual. I think
the motherboard
| probably touched the metal case just a little as I had to
use it to find out
| exactly where to place the standoffs. Do you think I
could have shorten the
| mobo even if the power supply or anything else wasn't
connected? Is there a
| way of testing it?
|
| Newtechie
|
|
|
| "Jim Macklin" wrote
in message
| ...
| Stand-offs came with the ANTEC cases I have used, over a
| dozen. The mobo has mounting holes, the mobo manual
will
| show which holes to use. You should have every mounting
| hole on the mobo used. It may be as few as 5 and as
many as
| a dozen, depends on the mobo.
|
|
| --
| The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
| But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
|
|
| "Newtechie" wrote in message
| ...
| | Thanks Peters! I have been reading Tom's
hardware.com.
| Very informative I
| | must say and there are a couple of video clips on some
| things. Do you know
| | which site you were used as your guide?
| |
| | As far as the stand offs, do you know how many you
used in
| total? Did they
| | come with the case or motherboard?
| |
| | Newtechie
| |
| | "peter" wrote in message
| | ...
| | The stand offs worried me as well and they actually
were
| the hardest part
| | of the whole process.
| | Determining where to srew them on the Mobo tray was
not
| the problem...the
| | problem was holding those damn little screws with a
non
| magnetic
| | screwdriver and getting them in those small holes.It
| took patience and a
| | few Beers and Cigarettes to finally get them all
in.Then
| I proceeded to
| | add the rest of the components.
| | Before I started I did a Google on Computer builds
and
| came up with some
| | really good websites... very detailed pictures and
| videos.
| | Might I suggest you do that??
| | peter
| | "Newtechie" wrote in message
| | ...
| | Leythos,
| |
| | Which are better? metal or plastic?
| |
| | Newtechie
| |
| |
| | "Leythos" wrote in message
| | news | | On Mon, 31 Jan 2005 21:20:35 -0600, Newtechie
wrote:
| |
| | Thanks Jim! I am pre-planning as we speak. I
have
| an old computer
| | which
| | I'm practicing on so hopefully that'll help. Is
| there a way to keep
| | the
| | backside of the motherboard from touching the
case?
| |
| | Since you won't have POWER turned on, and the
power
| cord will NOT be
| | connected to the PSU, if the MB touches the case
| during install you
| | won't
| | have a problem.
| |
| | You just need to make sure that you put as many
| stand-off screws in the
| | motherboard as you did stand-offs on the metal
| backplate. You might also
| | consider some of the plastic stand-off types in
some
| locations if you
| | run
| | out of metal ones.
| |
| | One last thing - make sure you use the right
screws -
| you DO NOT want
| | the
| | screw head going past the round doughnut pad
around
| the hole - certainly
| | not so that it touches any electrical circuits.
| |
| |
| | --
| |
| | remove 999 in order to email me
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|

The fan connectors for the case fans are 12 volt Molex
connectors and you use the extra wires taps from the power
supply. The side door fan probably has what is called a
pass-through in that you can connect a power supply wire to
one side and another fan (the rear fan) to the other
connector.

You should have the manual for both the case and the mobo.

The reason there are three pin connectors on the mobo for
the CPU is that the third wire is for fan speed.
Here is a caution note from an Intel D865 board manual...
2.11.3 Fan Connector Current Capability

CAUTION

The processor fan must be connected to the processor fan
connector, not to a chassis fan

connector. Connecting the processor fan to a chassis fan
connector may result in onboard

component damage that will halt fan operation.

Table 44 lists the current capability of the fan connectors.

Table 44. Fan Connector Current Capability

Fan Connector Maximum Available Current

Processor fan 1600 mA

Front chassis fan 800 mA

Rear chassis fan 800 mA


--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.


"Newtechie" wrote in message
...
|I have run into a small problem. I can't figure out the
connections with
| the case fans. On the motherboard, there's two 3-pin
connectors - one is
| for system fan and the other is for power fan. In my
Thermaltake case,
| there are 3 fans: front, rear, and on the side door. For
the front and
| rear fans, how do I know which one to connect goes with
the power or system
| connector? I'm not for sure about the side door fan
either as it has 2 IDE
| power wires. Does this connect directly to the power
supply?
|
|
| "Jim Macklin" wrote
in message
| ...
| As long as there is no power applied, you can't short
| anything. When I did mine, I put the mobo in the case,
with
| the ports aligned to the back panel. Then I used a
Magic
| Marker to mark the holes on the case. The goal is to
fully
| support the mobo and not have anything touching the
backside
| of the mobo that could short it out. That means no
screws
| left to rattle around too.
|
| When you get it assembled, double check that all the
fans
| are connected correctly and connect the monitor,
keyboard
| and mouse. Turn it on and it should perform the POST
(power
| on self test) and then display(turned ON too) the
message
| that there is no operating system installed. It will
have
| some beeps on the way as it does that. Check the BIOS
setup,
| make sure the CD is the first device for boot order.
Insert
| the XP CD and reboot it, just press the power switch
twice.
| It will detect the XP CD (make sure the BIOS is set to
first
| boot device)
|
| Follow the prompts. As soon as XP is loaded, install
the
| mobo drivers that come on the CD with the mobo. Just
have
| the bare bones, no printers, scanners or other devices
| connected until later.
| Then, created your Internet connection, turn the
firewall
| ON, and do Windows update.
| Then install any additional hardware, applications and
when
| the system is running properly, install your backed up
data.
| It is best to do one item at a time so you know what is
| causing problems should any happen.
|
| SNIP{

It would help if we knew the Mobo you were installing
usually the power fan is for the fan in the PSU
There usually is a small wire comes off the PSU with a 3pin connector
The system Fan could be the CPU cooler........but nowadays mobo usually have 3
connectors with the 3rd one labelled Cpu_fan.
On the other hand I am used to AMD Systems
So if you do not have a Cpu_fan connection then the system fan connection is for
CPU
peter

"Newtechie" wrote in message
...
I have run into a small problem. I can't figure out the connections with the
case fans. On the motherboard, there's two 3-pin connectors - one is for
system fan and the other is for power fan. In my Thermaltake case, there are 3
fans: front, rear, and on the side door. For the front and rear fans, how do
I know which one to connect goes with the power or system connector? I'm not
for sure about the side door fan either as it has 2 IDE power wires. Does this
connect directly to the power supply?


"Jim Macklin" wrote in message
...
As long as there is no power applied, you can't short
anything. When I did mine, I put the mobo in the case, with
the ports aligned to the back panel. Then I used a Magic
Marker to mark the holes on the case. The goal is to fully
support the mobo and not have anything touching the backside
of the mobo that could short it out. That means no screws
left to rattle around too.

When you get it assembled, double check that all the fans
are connected correctly and connect the monitor, keyboard
and mouse. Turn it on and it should perform the POST (power
on self test) and then display(turned ON too) the message
that there is no operating system installed. It will have
some beeps on the way as it does that. Check the BIOS setup,
make sure the CD is the first device for boot order. Insert
the XP CD and reboot it, just press the power switch twice.
It will detect the XP CD (make sure the BIOS is set to first
boot device)

Follow the prompts. As soon as XP is loaded, install the
mobo drivers that come on the CD with the mobo. Just have
the bare bones, no printers, scanners or other devices
connected until later.
Then, created your Internet connection, turn the firewall
ON, and do Windows update.
Then install any additional hardware, applications and when
the system is running properly, install your backed up data.
It is best to do one item at a time so you know what is
causing problems should any happen.


"Newtechie" wrote in message
...
| Jim -
|
| Ok - I assembled the motherboard on a sheet on a table. I
have the CPU and
| ram connected to the motherboard. Since I don't have the
power supply or
| video card, I can't test it to see if it starts up. I had
to figure out for
| myself where the holes on the motherboard aligned with the
holes on the
| metal case because it didn't say in the manual. I think
the motherboard
| probably touched the metal case just a little as I had to
use it to find out
| exactly where to place the standoffs. Do you think I
could have shorten the
| mobo even if the power supply or anything else wasn't
connected? Is there a
| way of testing it?
|
| Newtechie
|
|
|
| "Jim Macklin" wrote
in message
| ...
| Stand-offs came with the ANTEC cases I have used, over a
| dozen. The mobo has mounting holes, the mobo manual
will
| show which holes to use. You should have every mounting
| hole on the mobo used. It may be as few as 5 and as
many as
| a dozen, depends on the mobo.
|
|
| --
| The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
| But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
|
|
| "Newtechie" wrote in message
| ...
| | Thanks Peters! I have been reading Tom's
hardware.com.
| Very informative I
| | must say and there are a couple of video clips on some
| things. Do you know
| | which site you were used as your guide?
| |
| | As far as the stand offs, do you know how many you
used in
| total? Did they
| | come with the case or motherboard?
| |
| | Newtechie
| |
| | "peter" wrote in message
| | ...
| | The stand offs worried me as well and they actually
were
| the hardest part
| | of the whole process.
| | Determining where to srew them on the Mobo tray was
not
| the problem...the
| | problem was holding those damn little screws with a
non
| magnetic
| | screwdriver and getting them in those small holes.It
| took patience and a
| | few Beers and Cigarettes to finally get them all
in.Then
| I proceeded to
| | add the rest of the components.
| | Before I started I did a Google on Computer builds
and
| came up with some
| | really good websites... very detailed pictures and
| videos.
| | Might I suggest you do that??
| | peter
| | "Newtechie" wrote in message
| | ...
| | Leythos,
| |
| | Which are better? metal or plastic?
| |
| | Newtechie
| |
| |
| | "Leythos" wrote in message
| | news | | On Mon, 31 Jan 2005 21:20:35 -0600, Newtechie
wrote:
| |
| | Thanks Jim! I am pre-planning as we speak. I
have
| an old computer
| | which
| | I'm practicing on so hopefully that'll help. Is
| there a way to keep
| | the
| | backside of the motherboard from touching the
case?
| |
| | Since you won't have POWER turned on, and the
power
| cord will NOT be
| | connected to the PSU, if the MB touches the case
| during install you
| | won't
| | have a problem.
| |
| | You just need to make sure that you put as many
| stand-off screws in the
| | motherboard as you did stand-offs on the metal
| backplate. You might also
| | consider some of the plastic stand-off types in
some
| locations if you
| | run
| | out of metal ones.
| |
| | One last thing - make sure you use the right
screws -
| you DO NOT want
| | the
| | screw head going past the round doughnut pad
around
| the hole - certainly
| | not so that it touches any electrical circuits.
| |
| |
| | --
| |
| | remove 999 in order to email me
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|