How to Build a PC

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University of Maryland, University College *

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102

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Mechanical Engineering

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Jan 9, 2024

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docx

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How to Build a PC Building a computer can be a difficult task, but a necessary skill in order to be the best possible computer technician. Often building a computer on your own can save you and your client money and give them the best possible solution to their unique goals. Depending on who your client is will dictate what goes into a computer and for this work guide we will be building a computer that is well rounded for a scope of tasks from data entry to an average level of computer gaming. Part 1 of 12: Workspace Preparation With a computer build, your workspace is vital to the overall completion and how effective you are at building it. Things to consider: personal safety of the technician, environmental concerns, protection for computer component’s, and proper power concerns. First thing you will need to do is clean your workspace (See 1.1) and make sure it is within proper Electric Static Discharge (ESD) protective measures. ESD protection is vital to the protection of your computer especially is the internal components and using a tool like an ESD wrist strap (see 1.2) will better prepare you for the install of some of those internal components like your motherboard. A computer in the early stages of its construction must be treated like a sterile environment to protect the longevity of its parts. The room you work in is important if you are in a room with carpet remember that walking the room can cause you to generate electricity so make sure to test your grounding prior to any installs in the computer.
1.1 Example of a clean workspace 1.2 ESD Wrist Strap PART 2 of 12: Installing a Motherboard Your motherboard is the nervous system of a computer it houses connections to various different system components. First you will take your motherboard from its packaging and inspect it for and defects such as bents pins or swollen or blown capacitors. If all is in order, we will be building an ATX form factor system. See 2.1.1 (before) and 2.1.2 (after) for an example of how to place the motherboard in your computer case. You need to make sure you properly screw the motherboard in and use the standoffs that are located on the computer case, there will be 9 standoffs. IMPORTANT! Make sure you the line up the I/O faceplate on the back of the computer prior to screwing in the motherboard (see 2.1.3). Use example 2.1.4 to verify that you have the correct position for the motherboard and that all 9 screws are placed correctly and do not over tighten them. Finally, you will need to hook up the case specific cables like and proper placement of case to motherboard cables for items like the power switch, HDD status light, and reset switch you can find this information in the motherboard manual there is also a reference of proper cable placement on example 2.1.5. Congratulations you have installed the motherboard.
2.1.1 Example of an empty computer case 2.1.2 Example of where the motherboard goes in an ATX configuration.
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2.1.3 I/O backplate proper alignment 2.1.4 Screw positions for ATX motherboard configuration
2.1.5 System panel connectors for the motherboard Part 3 of 12: Installing a Power Supply A power supply is probably the most important part of a computer as without it your computer would not function. After maintaining proper ESD protection with your wrist strap take the power supply out of the box and it helps to place the computer on its side so that you can maintain control of the power supply and avoid damaging the motherboard see 3.1 for proper placement of the power supply. Your power supply will have the option for either 115V or 230V so make sure you check your local power standards in order to make sure you protect the operation of the computer. Reference the motherboards manual for proper location of power cables. Use reference 3.2 for the final image of all the cables from the power supply to the motherboard, you will need to reference this later on during the build for the use of power cables for things like the hard drives and graphics card.
3.1 Example of proper location of the Power Supply 3.2 Example of proper placement of the motherboard power and CPU power connectors
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Part 4 of 12: Installing a CPU The central processing unit or CPU is the brain of a computer it controls all the operations for the computer. The CPU install can be tricky so take your time with the following directions. Use the motherboard manual for proper placement and installing of the heatsink so be sure to read it entirely prior to starting any portion of the install. Use reference 4.1 for the location of the CPU in our current build and remember to wear that ESD wrist strap. The overall install should be rather quick and there should not be any forced actions when installing a CPU to protect its fragile components. The heatsink can be unique depending on whether you use the one included or if you use a more complex cooler like a liquid cooler for this build, we will use the heat sink included see 4.2 for proper placement of the device and the hook up of the 4-pin power connector. 4.1 Proper placement of a CPU
4.2 Placement of the heatsink Part 5 of 12: Installing the RAM Random Access Modules or RAM are computer components that upgrade the computers overall memory to speed up many different processes on the computer. Installing RAM is rather easy and very difficult to mess up, the motherboard manual will include supported speeds so make sure to reference that prior to install and wear your ESD wrist strap. RAM is best installed in pairs of at least two sticks but can support more depending on your motherboard RAM tends to operate in the means of balancing data between two sticks and with one it will work however you run the higher chance of overloading and creating a bottleneck in your system. For this install we are going to use DDR3 as it gives the best performance to the CPU. We will be running three RAM sticks in a triple channel configuration in the A1, B1, C1 positions as line out in the motherboard’s manual and please use 5.1 as a reference. Begin by flipping the clips outward and taking each RAM stick and place them straight down aligning them with the proper middle gap that is roughly in the middle of the stick. Once the RAM is completely seated properly the clips should automatically flip into the closed position locking the RAM into the RAM slots on the motherboard.
5.1 RAM in the A1, B1, C1 position
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