How long does it take to build a computer

[Maduag]

Re: How long does it take to build a computer

Cement is fine, like I said try to avoid carpeting, and even if ur in the basement, make a habit of jsut touching something metal near you ( while you NOT touching any of the computer components ).. jsut in case to discharge any staic on your body.. u never know u might be wearing a wool sweater of something :laugh: ...personally i have never had a problem with shocking anything, but theres a frist time for everything, and some ppl are jsut unlucky and they zap everything they touch.

[-TSF-Gen. Romano]

Re: How long does it take to build a computer

if i do or my hardware gets zapped is it anything major?

[Darkfox3889]

Re: How long does it take to build a computer

if i do or my hardware gets zapped is it anything major?

Nice name vic lol mxc rules. Anyway if you get zapped itl just feel like static electricity to you but say bye bye to what ever component got shocked, it will probably be dead. But Ive built many comps, and have yet to shock anything just touch the inside of your case every now and then and yould be fine. Also I'd set a whole day aside to build it if this is your first try. My personal record is 30 mins to build a comp

[DrunkenPirate]

Re: How long does it take to build a computer

if i do or my hardware gets zapped is it anything major?

PC components are very sensitive to static and EMI.
Make sure you are properly earthed and not wearing anything like a fleece.
If you want to be sure pick up an antistatic armband.

[Despach]

Re: How long does it take to build a computer

Cable ties are your ultimate friend for building a pc. Get all the cable tidied up and out of the way so you have good un-restricted airflow front to back.

I hope the case you are going for has front and rear 120mm fan mounts - quietist fan type and good airflow is essential in modern pc's.

[Despach]

Re: How long does it take to build a computer

Assembly language

Once you've amassed all the bits, it's a fairly simple job putting it all together. You can put it together in any order you want, but from experience we've learned that it's best to take it in logical steps. Also bear in mind that circuit boards are sensitive to static electricity, so we'd advise against wearing a shell suit, rubber-soled shoes and running around on a vinyl carpet before you start building. Find a suitable place to work and ground yourself frequently by touching a radiator or other earthed object. If you're still worried about frying your bits, then invest in an anti-static mat and grounded wrist strap (available from retailers like Maplin).

When you're ready, start by installing the PSU (assuming your case doesn't have one pre-installed) and then fix all the motherboard standoffs (supporting pillars) in place, making sure the positions match the holes in your motherboard. If your motherboard tray is removable, then do so, as it will make the process easier. Take your time over this part - one stray standoff could blow the whole project - literally.

Next, install the CPU and memory into the motherboard, attach the IDE and floppy disk cables and then gently screw it in to the case. If you went the Athlon route, remember to lay the Cool-Shim XP over the CPU first, then attach the cooler - you can choose to use the supplied heatsink compound, but as we intend to overclock the system, we used Arctic Silver Premium Silver 3. While the case is still relatively bereft of components you might want to wire up the front panel connectors. You'll probably need to read the manual for this first (shock, horror!).

Disk drives are next, but first check that you have the master/slave relationships set right. If you have two disks on the same channel (using the same cable) designate one as the master and one as the slave by moving the jumpers at the rear of the drive - the correct positions are often written on the drive itself. If you have an on-board RAID chip, see if you can use it to give each optical drive its own channel, as this will give the best performance. For the same reason, try and keep the primary IDE channel for the main hard disk only.

With this sorted you can then install the disk drives and fan bus and connect up all the power, fan and IDE cables, taking care to route the cables neatly so as not to impede airflow.

Add-in cards are next, along with any backplates supplied with the motherboard, and that's pretty much it. Power it up, give the DVD drive first-boot priority in the BIOS, slip Windows XP in to the tray and you're away!

Performance tuning

Barring a sudden lightning strike, power cut or hardware failure, you should now have a living, breathing PC. However, like all new-borns your system has yet to mature and realise the promise locked away in its electronic innards.

From there read the guide I linked earlier from tweakguides.com as it covers everything from os and driver installation to tweaking your system and getting rid of the crap.

But the biggest and best advice is:

Prepare everything in advance and take your time.

[=ExM=Gunner]

Re: How long does it take to build a computer

yeah im probably gonna spend a good 3 hours each day getting everything right, i may read over the mobo manual once before i build and also does the thermaltake tsuanmi case have brass post or a threaded riser?

you will like that tsunami case it is mostly screwless and the risers are brass only problem is if you have a 6800 series card you are gonna lose one hd slot because the card is so long (no biggie if you have 3 or less )

[-TSF-Gen. Romano]

Re: How long does it take to build a computer

Nice name vic lol mxc rules.

damn right lol


ok and about the static gloves, if i get them am i gaurenteed that i wont get zapped?

[jbean7457]

Re: How long does it take to build a computer

Just make it a habit of touching the metal of your case before fiddling around inside there or picking up any component. If you don't move around that much and are on concrete or hardwood you don't have to worry as much, but don't take any risks. If you have any doubts or concerns get an anti-static wristband (like others above me have said) and you don't need to worry about grounding yourself, cause you are grounded while wearing the wristband.

I personally don't wear one, I'm really good about grounding myself by touching my case every few minutes. If you live in a house where you get shocked all the time like when you touch doorknobs and stuff then definately do it in your garage or basement.

[IVfluids]

Re: How long does it take to build a computer

depends on how organized you are when you go about it and how much experience you have doing it. this one im sitting on right now, 2 hours and i was playing Desert Combat. and that time includes installing norton av, firewall, dvd software and all the other stupid shit, that is probably the most time consuming thing in the whole ordeal.

Make sure you burn any updated drivers (vid, sound, mobo platform drivers, net drivers) that you will need to a disk ahead of time, even windows service packs.

the more you build them, the faster you get. and, it is alot easier than alot of people make it sound, for the most part, it is almost impossible (without force) to plug shit into the wrong spot if you use common sense.

about the grounding part, i usually have part of my arm touching the case all the time, not hard to work like that. although, i am never too worried about static electricity either, guess cuz i never fried a part that way.

hell, if you have to, just read the installation guide for the motherboard, that will tell you about 90% of what you need to know anyways (how to install the cpu, ram, vid card, power plugins) if you read it step by step in the order they have laid out.

[-TSF-Gen. Romano]

Re: How long does it take to build a computer

ok im thinking of getting an anti static band just incase

[Despach]

Re: How long does it take to build a computer

Do yourself a favour and buy a tube of Artic Silver 5 for the cpu heatsink and if you feel somewhat adventerous take the vid card heatsink off clean off the crap they use on that with some Isoproyl Alcohol and apply Artic Silver to the ram and gpu.

In fact while you have the vid card heatsink off bin it and buy the Artic Cooling Graphics cooler, lots better and quieter than the crappy reference heatsink.

[-TSF-Gen. Romano]

Re: How long does it take to build a computer

where do you put the heat sink?

[Cicchetti]

Re: How long does it take to build a computer

doesnt take to long its worth it

[-TSF-Gen. Romano]

Re: How long does it take to build a computer

but where do you put it??