# How to build a computer



## zekrahminator (Aug 3, 2006)

Show article


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## Batou1986 (Sep 1, 2006)

wow u literately built my computer i have the same case no side window same gfx card with same cooler same sound card only things that  look different is the mobo which i assume is a gigabyte like mine only i got the ga-k8u 939 with agp  and the hsf combo

anyway thats a damn good tut for people that dont know how and might even teach the ppl that do know a few things they didn't know


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## zekrahminator (Sep 1, 2006)

The motherboard's an ASRock 939Dual-SATA2...I'm glad you liked it! .


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## Dippyskoodlez (Sep 2, 2006)

Very nice picture guide 

Although I'm not sure about the static friendlyness of the floor mat..

However, I would prefer a wood desk 

I' sure this will get quite a few views!


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## magibeg (Sep 2, 2006)

This was a very well done and in depth guide. Its always good to read these things atleast once just to make sure your doing things right. (message to one of my friends... never use a magnetic tipped screwdriver)


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## Azn Tr14dZ (Sep 2, 2006)

Great job! Very nice. I remember when you first got the idea to make this guide... 

Thanks for including me in the "Special Thanks".

-Azn


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## drade (Sep 2, 2006)

Great Job! Thats just the basics for the hardware, Software would really help those though after this, I use to have a ton of software issue my first time....But other then that great review!


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## KennyT772 (Sep 2, 2006)

props!


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## POGE (Sep 2, 2006)

> If your motherboard has a 20 pin connector and your PSU has a 24 pin connector (or vice versa). Just plug the connector in and it will work. The extra four pins are for additional power which might not be needed. Your system will still work fine.



No! Your system MIGHT work fine.  Like you said, the extra four pins are for additional power which MIGHT not be needed.  It might also need it to be stable!  My DFI NF4 motherboard wont run stable without all 24 pins plugged in.  It is okay to plug a 24 pin into a 20 pin, but not a 20 pin into a 24 pin... it might work sometime... MIGHT.


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## Azn Tr14dZ (Sep 2, 2006)

20-pin to 24-pin MIGHT work, but lets say you overclock, you won't get a higher overclock as if you had 24-pin, stince it's there for stability. Also, if your motherboard has both 8-pin EPS 12v, and 24-pin, and you're only using 4-pin and 20-pin, it's not recommended to overclock.

POGE, do you have an SLI Bridge you don't use.


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## POGE (Sep 2, 2006)

I have a home-made one.  Its just a bunch of wires on a clip.  I dont think youll want it though, LOL.


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## Azn Tr14dZ (Sep 2, 2006)

Does it actually work?


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## POGE (Sep 2, 2006)

I havent tested it yet I made it back when I was planning on getting 7800gt's.  It should work.  It looks really fragile though...


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## W1zzard (Sep 2, 2006)

Azn Tr14dZ said:


> 20-pin to 24-pin MIGHT work, but lets say you overclock, you won't get a higher overclock as if you had 24-pin, stince it's there for stability. Also, if your motherboard has both 8-pin EPS 12v, and 24-pin, and you're only using 4-pin and 20-pin, it's not recommended to overclock.



do you have any hard evidence for this?


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## Thermopylae_480 (Sep 2, 2006)

Yeah, I question that too?  A 20-pin with a seperate 4-pin ATX connector is the same as a straight 24-pin in my opinion.  You plug them in differently, but it has the same effect.  My motherboard and PSU allow both ways.  I can either plug the 4-pin in next to the 20-pin thus creating a 24-pin; or plug the 20-pin in, placeing the 4-pin in its spot next to the processor.  I've done it both ways and haven't noticed any ill effects?  Of course I haven't put it through rigorous and comprehensive testing, but I haven't noticed any decrease in my overclocking potentials.


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## Canuto (Sep 2, 2006)

I have a 20-pin with 4-pin ATX connector and i can oveclock just fine but like you said this MIGHT not work for other sytems, this is just proof i'm giving.


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## Dippyskoodlez (Sep 2, 2006)

W1zzard said:


> do you have any hard evidence for this?



I had actually run some tests using the 20 Vs 24 pin...


ANtec 350w 20 pin (smartpower)

20 pin+4pin on my DFI performed, and overclocked FINE. I could not over stress it with what I had (2500mhz winnie, x700).

I then modded my own 4 pin connector out of a molex and ran it.

NO difference.

I tried a 20->24pin adaptor. 

NO difference.




*Chipsets are yet to be reliant on the 24 pin PSU.(NF4+ATi x200, atleast)* The only issue I had with mine was installing windows on my 20 pin, but I believe that was a one time fluke releated to my bios settings.


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## pt (Sep 7, 2006)

Great guide 
it will surely help a lot of ppl


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## Jimmy 2004 (Sep 7, 2006)

Nice guide in general, guessing most people on the forums won't need a guide like this too much but it's good for some of the newer people and anyone who googles.


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## firly mcnasty (Sep 10, 2006)

*help  wiring problems asrock 939 dual vista*

having problem wire up power any 1 able to get better pic of power and reset  my old board had more pins and im unable to hooh up 1 of lights or what have argggggggg
and is it posable that the power swich can just go ?


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## zekrahminator (Sep 10, 2006)

You need to connect the headers as indicated in the awful MSPaint that took me about 3 minutes . 





Warning: ONLY CONNECT HEADERS LIKE THIS FOR 939Dual-SATA2! Plugging your case wires in like this on any other motherboard model probably won't work.
Note: I should have mentioned a reference point...the bottom of the motherboard is the bottom of the drawing, the PCI slots are to the left of the drawing, and the CPU is above the drawing.


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## firly mcnasty (Sep 10, 2006)

cool thanks
 i got it finily fired up but now it wont reconize keyboard our mouse so i cant install windows or mobo disk ahhhhhhhhhh


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## firly mcnasty (Sep 10, 2006)

*lil more help plz*

i got it finily fired up but now it wont reconize keyboard our mouse so i cant install windows or mobo disk ahhhhhhhhhh
amd 939  3800
3 x 512
ati x1600pro 256


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## Jimmy 2004 (Sep 10, 2006)

Have you got another keyboard you can try? Is it USB at the moment? PS2 normally works best when installing OSes or working in the bios, some USB devices aren't recognised. This may sound stupid but make sure they are plugged in correctly.


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## zekrahminator (Sep 10, 2006)

Jimmy's right, you need to have at least a PS2 keyboard until you enable Legacy USB support in BIOS.


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## Dippyskoodlez (Sep 10, 2006)

zekrahminator said:


> Jimmy's right, you need to have at least a PS2 keyboard until you enable Legacy USB support in BIOS.



I never had to touch a single thing in my bios... and my USB keyboard and mouse have worked flawlessly.. I cant even find my ps2 keyboard...

Maybe its just how cool the G15 and g7 really are


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## zekrahminator (Sep 10, 2006)

Yeah, your motherboard, keyboard, and mouse pwn . My (and firly's) motherboard am teh sux, and we have to enable Legacy USB. Oh well...it's not exactly a big problem.


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## Azn Tr14dZ (Sep 10, 2006)

W1zzard said:


> do you have any hard evidence for this?



For my board at least. For both of my RMA'd DFI board, and new DFI board, they won't overclock well (have stability issues early) if I don't have the FDD and 4-Pin Molex connectors plugged in. But only in my situation.


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## firly mcnasty (Sep 10, 2006)

i got it finily fired up but now it wont reconize keyboard our mouse so i cant install windows or mobo disk ahhhhhhhhhh
ive tried 2 keyboards both are ps2 mouse is usb with a ps2 adptor
amd 939 3800
3 x 512
ati x1600pro 256


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## Dippyskoodlez (Sep 10, 2006)

Azn Tr14dZ said:


> For my board at least. For both of my RMA'd DFI board, and new DFI board, they won't overclock well (have stability issues early) if I don't have the FDD and 4-Pin Molex connectors plugged in. But only in my situation.



He was talking about the 24/24pin PSU not molexes. The floppy connector is needed (used for CPU/etc stuff i believe.. I saw teh CPU fan spin when I plugged it in once  )

The molex is not however, needed. Its used for SLI. Won't hurt though


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## Jimmy 2004 (Sep 10, 2006)

Dippyskoodlez said:


> I never had to touch a single thing in my bios... and my USB keyboard and mouse have worked flawlessly.. I cant even find my ps2 keyboard...
> 
> Maybe its just how cool the G15 and g7 really are



I didn't have to touch anything in my BIOS either but I have worked on PCs that don't get on well with USB keyboards...


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## Slater (Sep 11, 2006)

http://dragonsteelmods.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=370&Itemid=1

Congrats Zek


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## Thermopylae_480 (Sep 11, 2006)

I've had problems with USB keyboards and getting into BIOS.  I haven't tried it with this computer.  I just have a good old Logitech PS2 Keyboard.


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## zekrahminator (Sep 12, 2006)

Slater said:


> http://dragonsteelmods.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=370&Itemid=1
> 
> Congrats Zek



 I'm going to have to write some more articles (and maybe reviews if I get lucky) if people like them so much .


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## pt (Sep 12, 2006)

zekrahminator said:


> I'm going to have to write some more articles (and maybe reviews if I get lucky) if people like them so much .



do one about hiding cables, it would be a great help for some users


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## zekrahminator (Sep 12, 2006)

Ha ha what a convenient time for my motherboard to crap out, I can do multiple articles once my RMA is processed . One about hiding cables, one on how do install Windows, one on how to protect your computer from viruses...hee hee.


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## pt (Sep 12, 2006)

zekrahminator said:


> Ha ha what a convenient time for my motherboard to crap out, I can do multiple articles once my RMA is processed . One about hiding cables, one on how do install Windows, one on how to protect your computer from viruses...hee hee.



modding?


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## Chewy (Nov 23, 2006)

"He will leave knowing he has done his job, leaving you to your own devices. As you unpack everything, you slowly realize that you have absolutely no clue what to do."

 hey thats how I feel.. now that fear is over and its time to get started  without my case.


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## niko084 (Dec 9, 2006)

Heh very nice, I couldn't dream of doing such a thing... I have had people ask me before and I am just like okay, we can't read simple directions in manuals, how about I do it for you... Now I can link to here and they can stop calling me!


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## Shyska (Dec 17, 2006)

Nice article! Only thing I would do differently is order - 
1. I/O shield, PSU, mobo holders (plastic ones should have been mentioned too).
2. Case wiring and screwing mobo in place.
3. Put HDD's, FDD's (happens), DWD's and other front panel stuff in place. All *without* wiring, all wiring exept no2 wires, are connected in the end.
4. Put CPU and cooler in place, then memory. In case of a BIG CPU fan - other way around.
5. Connect any other hardware, ie. VGA, audio cards.
6. Wiring.
7. BIOS.
8. Testing.
9. Software.
10. Testing.


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## Jimmy 2004 (Dec 17, 2006)

Someone should add this to the Wiki.


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## Canuto (Dec 17, 2006)

I would if i knew how...


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## Jimmy 2004 (Dec 17, 2006)

I know how and if I get time I'll pm zek and ask him if he'd like me to. You power users aren't power using the Wiki enough! TBH, this is the first Wiki I've worked on and it doesn't seem hard. Just go to the page you want to change/make and click edit and go from there...


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## zekrahminator (Dec 17, 2006)

Go ahead Jimmy, I want to see you win that prize for most wiki entries .


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## pt (Dec 17, 2006)

Jimmy 2004 said:


> I know how and if I get time I'll pm zek and ask him if he'd like me to. You power users aren't power using the Wiki enough! TBH, this is the first Wiki I've worked on and it doesn't seem hard. Just go to the page you want to change/make and click edit and go from there...



i have school and works to do right now, im a bit busy and lazy...


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## Jimmy 2004 (Dec 17, 2006)

zekrahminator said:


> Go ahead Jimmy, I want to see you win that prize for most wiki entries .



Lol, TY - I doubt I'm anywhere near the guys that have contributed the most, but I'll add what I can anyway.

Edit: tbh, I've got almost three weeks free now so I should find time to add a few articles. But I'm like PT, I'm lazy!


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## roosevelt (Jan 11, 2007)

Its a very nice article. I did everything as you've said and motherboard and hardwares are compatible with each other. But the only problem I am having is that nothing is appearing in the screen?

The Fan is spinning and I can see the green light in the motherboard but nothing is appearing in the monitor. Any idea why it is happening?


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## Jimmy 2004 (Jan 11, 2007)

roosevelt said:


> Its a very nice article. I did everything as you've said and motherboard and hardwares are compatible with each other. But the only problem I am having is that nothing is appearing in the screen?
> 
> The Fan is spinning and I can see the green light in the motherboard but nothing is appearing in the monitor. Any idea why it is happening?



I recommend you go and post that issue in the "General Hardware" part of the forums, you're more likely to get help there


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## D007 (Mar 19, 2007)

well I learned something already from this thread.. I forgot to buy a sound card.. DOH"


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## Jimmy 2004 (Mar 19, 2007)

D007 said:


> well I learned something already from this thread.. I forgot to buy a sound card.. DOH"



The majority of motherboards will have built in sound, which works well for most people.


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## D007 (Mar 19, 2007)

and again.. something new...lol.. dangit.. well it's a good card so alls good I guess.. I already ordered it for same day..   I am petrified about this SATA stuff though seeing as I'm buliding a system from scratch for the 1st time ever and it runs SATA.

It's all home waiting for me tonight from ups.. I'll be spending alot of time looking through here I suppose..lol.. God I hope I don't break 1400.00 bucks worth of new computer gear, saved up and used my whole income tax refund for this stuff....


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## Jimmy 2004 (Mar 20, 2007)

SATA is nothing hard to do - this PC was my first build and it uses SATA. Just don't rush, don't go fiddling with what you don't know, and remember to put the spacers on so you don't short your board. 

It isn't too hard.


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## ktr (Mar 20, 2007)

Also, i would try post your board out side the box, before you place it inside you case...mobos do post 100% of the time, but a scary 75-80%...(for me that is)...


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## D007 (Mar 20, 2007)

Jimmy 2004 said:


> The majority of motherboards will have built in sound, which works well for most people.



yea someone let me know that lol.. cool though thank you for the reply Jimmy.. I went ahead and bought one anyway, eh why not.. I figured If I'm going all out on these specs I can't just leave the stock sound card in it now can i? lol.. It'd be like one of those old junk cars with really nice rims...lol..  so I went ahead and got me a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic.


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## D007 (Mar 20, 2007)

ktr said:


> Also, i would try post your board out side the box, before you place it inside you case...mobos not post 100% of the time, but a scary 75-80%...(for me that is)...



i'm sorry but this kind of confuses me lol.. post my MOBO "outside" the board? lol.. Like an external MOBO? Is this some method to like work out static or something? sorry, but thanks for the input ktr, you have been very helpful.. hell all of u have been very helpful.. I'd be looking like a labotomy patient right about now if it wasn't for you guys..


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## ktr (Mar 20, 2007)

to save you a hell of a time, just place the board on top of the box of the board, install you cpu...memory...cooler...videocard, and power up the board and see if it post.


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## D007 (Mar 20, 2007)

ktr said:


> to save you a hell of a time, just place the board on top of the box of the board, install you cpu...memory...cooler...videocard, and power up the board and see if it post.



ahh I see what you mean now.. put the mobo on top of the box it comes with.. hook it all up and power it up just to see if it works to save myself the trouble of removing it if it doesn't.. k cool, thanx.. it won't make installing it harder I hope lol.. I bet it would make it easier actually huh.. that way I don't have to work in such a small area inside the computer.. cool. good idea.. thanks a bunch..


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## D007 (Mar 22, 2007)

great.. i hooked it up to the point where im supposed to get beeps and alll I see is a blue light on the MOBO no fan and no response from the power when i hit the switch on the case to turn it on.. blue light comes on when i power it up.. nothing else. This so sucks..


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## D007 (Mar 22, 2007)

Ok i got it working lol.. beeps and fans. yay.. apparently the manufacturers booklet with evga's 680 sli sucks anus.. fyi.. or im retarded, which is also possible..lol.. but the power switch for the case is still non responsive I had to power it up manually from the MOBO.. idk why the switch isn't working.. dangit..lol.. im so close I can taste it..

fix: lol i was retarded, plugged it into the wrong output.. their color coded on this MoBo, you can't miss where the chasis hook ups are supposed to go if you look for the colors.

Ureka!!!.. I'm editing this message the next day. I was up until 430 am and woke up at 8 for work lol.. but It's hooked up and running.. I formatted my hard drive and installed windows.. now all I need is another sata cable for my other hard drive and somewhere to tell me how to run this whole sata raid thing. Zek your page saved my arse..lol totally man.. I sat in front of another computer as I put mine together and just step by stepped it and it all works.. thanks a bunch for taking the time out to write this info man.. believe me it is very appreciated.. whoo hooo!!! check my specs.. woot!!! lol.. I built a friggin computer!! haha!!!

ps.. fyi some case fans run the 3 prong power switch LED.. I had to cut the middle prong out of the connection and hook up both left over halves as if it was a 2 prong to make it work with this MOBO..
Oh believe me it took me a while to figure that out..lol.. and alot of reading..

Revised:
If anyone has issues with errors on the evga 680i sli MoBo I might be able to help.. I'm sticking with xp though even though I have vista.. vista runs bad, it's just not worth it to me until DirectX 10 comes out on games. I also hooked up raid 0 with the dual HD's.. hehe went all out for a first attempt.. So i know how to deal with raid some now for this mobo and it has quirks..fyi 7F error just hit F1 and code FF means fully functional. 8 beeps means miseated video card..lol woops..Make sure you have a floppy with the raid drivers for xp. Vista has raid drivers on the installation cd, although I hear theres problems with raid on vista but I can't confirm it.


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## Trueballerisme (Jun 9, 2007)

Can anyone help me out with my setup?


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## britrb (Jun 12, 2007)

Thanks, there are a few tips that I didnt know. I'll recomend this thread to anyone I know who is building their own computer.

Good work mate


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## evil bill (Feb 14, 2008)

*hauls thread out of the crypt*

I'm just about to build my new PC so thought I'd have a wee read just to make sure I hadn't missed anything (I hadn't  )

Good comprehensive guide, but can I make a suggestions? Optical drives - at the time this was originally posted, SATA interface drives were far from the norm, but its probably now time to update this section to recommend them over IDE.


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## Nitro-Max (Feb 19, 2008)

Ive been building pcs for over 10 years my fist pc didnt even have windows lol there wasnt one out.It ran from good old dos. Games and apps always ran faster and without problems.As there was no hungry operating system eating resources up.Everything ran from a cmd prompt.

my fist overclock was a 33mhz chip lmao
now i feel old.


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## spearman914 (Apr 19, 2008)

Is it better to have a 20+4 pin rather then just a 24 pin mb connector?


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## swetha (Jul 25, 2008)

computers of today is gateway to whole digital world. can offer to buy PC for home as well as office.

====================================
jasicca
a place where we can find all things
wikimah


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## Conflict0s (Dec 19, 2008)

spearman914 said:


> Is it better to have a 20+4 pin rather then just a 24 pin mb connector?



They are equally the same :] PSU's now, mainly give you the option of what pin connector to use. So for example, they will give you a 20+4 pin connector, Just in case you have a 20 pin motherboard, or if you have a 24 pin motherboard you can use the +4 to the 20 pin connector (hope this makes sense) But to answer your question, 20+4 and 24 pin connectors are equal :] (I hope that was what you was on about lol)

And great guide by the way, love reading threw this kind of stuff even tho I know it already, it refreshes the mind.

Quick question about booting up and your motherboard not recognising your usb keyboard, you switch to a SP2 keyboard. But what happens if your motherboard doesn’t have a SP2 connect such as the Intel x58SO Board. Or would this not be a problem for the motherboard as it is already set up to recognise usb keyboards?

Many thanks for this Guide.


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## Braveheart (Jan 25, 2009)

do you use anti static gloves?


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## evil bill (Jan 25, 2009)

you can if you want, but its not absolutely essential - just make sure to ground yourself every so often by touching a radiator or something. Beware of childrens entertainers making balloon animals nearby.


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## Braveheart (Jan 25, 2009)

mhhm, radiators ok.


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