How hard can it be?

By Ian Urie

I was slowly getting more and more cheesed off with my P.C.

The computer I owned was an aging Time machine with an Athlon 750Mhz processor.

True, it had quite a lot added over the years and updated, but it was now showing its age. I had added more memory (512mb, which was the limit for the motherboard). I had updated the drives; it started with a combo cd/rw –DVD drive. Just to give an idea, the cd/rw part was 4 speed…………..

It now used a 16-speed DVD drive and a NEC 3500a 16 speed DVD/rw. Not to mention, the printer had been replaced, a network card added, new modem, TV card………..another larger hard drive as a slave. All in all, quite a bit.

But, I felt it was now time to spread my wings and try something new.

I searched around and decided to build my own.

I mean, it’s not exactly rocket science, is it?

So, what all did I need?

Well, I decided on a new case………..just a plain beige box. I’m not particularly fussy how it looked, just that it worked.

I needed a motherboard, memory, graphics card, processor, fan to keep it cool. All the drives would come from the old machine.

I trawled around the computer shops in Glasgow, and ended up in Infiniti computers.

The guys in there sounded knowledgeable and the prices weren’t the cheapest, but they weren’t too expensive either.

The cheapest prices are for those that know exactly what they are doing!!

I spoke to the guys, explained what I wanted to do, and they gave friendly advice. I told them I wanted to run windows and Mandrake, didn’t play many games, but did need a fast machine with a decent sound card.

As I said, I got a plain beige box with two usb sockets at the front, and the usual power and drive light at the front. The power supply I chose was a 350w. I didn’t want any power problems, no matter what I hung off the board.

They recommended the Asus board, I also said I wasn’t prepared to go for a 64 bit system yet.

The Asus had a decent sound card built on the board and an 8 speed AGP socket for the graphics. It also had raid capability (for SATA drives), as well as built in LAN. The bus speed was 400Mhz………..

The processor……….

Yeah, that’s the processor I chose. I decided to stick with the Athlon. This little baby is a Barton XP3200. ………goes like shit off a shovel !!!

Now, a fan that can keep this cool………

A graphics card as well. I don’t play many games, but I’d like to be able to, if I wanted. The guys recommended a Vida based card, namely the FX5200 with TV out and 128mb ram.

Memory. I chose the fastest that the board could handle which was DDR400 type……..a meagre 512mb to start with. I’ll see if it needs more in the coming months.

Right, that was me sorted, and for roughly £300 ……..

Considering I paid more than a £1000 a few years back, not considering the upgrades, I thought I had got off lucky.

Time to see if I could make it all work.

First, take your boxes, and open them all up………

One beige box……….roomy, ain’t it?

The motherboard……….

They always tell you to make plenty of room, have the right tools, all the usual warnings about static etc.

This was all built on my bed……….I used a set of miniature screwdrivers and a multi head screwdriver.

Processor and fan.

Looks like a mis-match, doesn’t it. All that fan for that tiny little chip…………appearances are deceptive. That little chip helps heat the house!

The graphics card……..

Wowsers, a fan on the graphics card as well………….wonder if it’s just for decoration?

Ok, let’s get down to the nitty gritty.

Firstly remove BOTH sides of the case. Remember, you need to put in screws to hold the drives on both sides.

This picture was actually taken after the motherboard was in and you can see the optical drives as well as the floppy.

Got the sides off, lets fit the motherboard.

Motherboards fit easily, but always remember to keep it insulated from the case!

The fixing screws will either come with insulators (spacers, or the case will have raised screw holes achieving the same effect.

I found that it was easier to fit the memory (simply clicks in) and the processor and fan before installing it in the case.

I should mention how easy the processor is to fit……….and how shitty I found it to be to fit the fan. I was sure the fan was going to break the motherboard. The processor slips in and the fan has a glued patch on the bottom to adhere to the processor. It will only fit one way, but it is an absolute pig to fasten down. This is partly due to how desperate the manufacturers are to ensure good contact with the processor. A bad contact could destroy your chip, due to it not getting cooled sufficiently.

As you can see above, I fitted the board after this, and then fitted the graphics card. It’s now a good idea to start fitting all the connections on the board. The fan plugs in, a group of connections for motherboard power plugs in and you have the connections from the front of the case for the lights and the usb to connect up. Always read the manual for your motherboard carefully here………

I jumpered out the SATA raid system and checked the jumpers for the bus speed at this point.

Next, start fitting the drives.

I fitted the floppy first……….

Then the DVD writer and the DVD reader……………

Notice how quickly the space is getting used up. The ribbon cables are especially hard to control, but after finishing, you can always go back and tidy them with cable ties.

Finally the hard drives. Looks a right mess, doesn’t it.

I decided to try my luck and power it up there and then……….before I put the covers on. This let me check all the fans kicked in and nothing untoward happened…….like smoke appearing!!

Ah well, there’s always one mistake. I confused the primary and secondary headers for the hard drives……….. A quick unplug and reroute of the plugs sorted that.

I then put the covers on and plugged everything in properly.

The ending…………happy, of course.

I now have a much faster machine without major outlay.

I reckon if you already have a monitor, the drives you want, this is the way to go.

Everyone is different, though. If you decide to get a new monitor (TFT,perhaps), want fast SATA drives, and all the rest of the gubbins, I think you will be cheaper simply going to a box shifter like Dell, time etc and going down that route. If you feel adventurous, try my way.

Just for added interest, I should also point out how bad I felt finally removing all the drives from my old computer……….

So much so, when my son suggested he would like it, I ran out and bought another hard disk for the old one and another floppy. I felt much better after fitting one of the leftover CD/rw drives from a previous upgrade and another old DVD drive as well. An old monitor and a new keyboard, coupled with a cabled mouse completed it.

Another interesting point was that after powering up the new computer, Mandrake booted first time and never looked back…………Windoze crashed and burned.

I finally had to format and reinstall it.

Go on, be adventurous………..what do you have to lose?

The skill level required and the tools required are negligible and you can then proudly boast that you built your own. The key is getting friendly staff in a computer shop to recommend hardware to you based on what you want.