New Mobo In and Upgrade Started

[Goodthrust]

Got my new mobo yesterday and started moving stuff into my new case (Antec 1080 - w00t!).

All I know is, I opened up the new case, then unpacked the new mobo and thought "Shit! There's a LOT of wires and stuff here". My next thought was " How in hell did Euro ever figure this out?" Then my last thought before I started to work was, "Wait a minute, Euro DID figure it out. Hell, it shoudn't be that bad, then." ;) :D

Well, I'm about half way finished (I think) and hope to wrap it up and power up tonight. Hope nothing starts melting ...

GT

p.s. I'm itching to buy that new processor (P4 2.53 - $193 @ newegg, P4 2.4 - $164 @ newegg; both out of stock, though; due in next week). Googlegear has 'em now for a little more (P4 2.53 - $210, P4 2.4 - $176).

[TotalCarnage]

If you get hung up just call GT. The biggest thing is making sure you pop out the back plate that came with the case and replace it with the one that came with the mobo. You will also have to add a few stand offs for the motherboard. Make SURE you get them in the right place. If you get one on a contact on the back of the board it can be disasterous :)

I normally mount my processor before I stick the motherboard in the case. That way you aren't flexing the board, I do the same with the RAM the first time out. Pull all the drive bays as well.

Run your CD rom IDE cables behind the support braket that's under the power supply and runs front to back on the case. Look at the shot of gramps machine and you will see what I'm talking about. It helps keep them out of the way. You can fold them over, just don't crease them to much or you can break a wire inside. If you have an extra case fan mount it in the front of the hard drive bay before you put your drives in. If you don't, I'd suggest running down and picking one up. Since you run 7200 RPM hard drives, the added air moving over them is nice, esepecially if you have 3. I think you said you ahve two, so mount one high in the bay and one low in the bay. That will give you more air circulation. If you look in the bottom of the 5.25" bay area you will see a 3/4" hole. Run your power supply cables through there, it helps keep them tidy and out of the way.

You will need the mobo manual to hook up the IEEE ports and the front USB. This is something you may want to do befoer you mount the board. The cables are long enough you should be able to do it. I have a pair of small long needlenose plyers that I use to do it in the case. If you ahve big hands its tough to get in there. I also picked up some of those stick on wire tie holders. THey are good for holding them in place. Don't be afraid to wire tie (plastic ones) your power wires coming from the top. They look tidier and it will increase the air flow. You will also want to tuck that IEEE/USB cable under the front corner of the mother board after its in place. It helps keep them from getting pulled off the header on the motherboard. Since those puppies are seperate they can move around a bit.

The only other real tip I have is make sure you get your mounting holes line up with the pings pretty good. Otherwise you could have problems sticking some cards in. Put your video card in last. Mine is pretty big so it was in the way of putting the HD's in and running mostof the cabling. :)

That's really all the tips I have. :)

[Goodthrust]

Thanks, TC!

I did install the CPU and mem on the mobo before I mounted it, as well as replaced the back plate). I currently have my HDs and 3.5" Floppy mounted in the upper pull out bay. I was gonna buy another fan and mount it in the lower pull out bay. I didn't think to check if I could get a fan mounted AND the HDs in the lower bay, leaving the upper bay with only my floppy. It didn't look like it would work with the snap in fan enclosure in the bottom pull out bay.

At first, I DID have both HDs mounted as you suggested, but then remembered that the floppy had to go in that upper pull out bay for access, so I moved 'em around. You're right, with both drives and the floppy in one pull out bay I will not get good air circulation for the HDs - I'm gonna need to change that.

I THINK I have the power cabling figured out, but may need your help on that. I've got the mobo manual for wiring layout, but it's not that clear (at least to me), especially for some of the indicator wiring (LEDs for Power On, HDD, etc. and things like fan speed and temp monitors). I may need some help on that stuff, also.

Man, can't wait to get back to working on it ... this is fun (well, at least until I hit the Power button the first time :) )!

Thanks mucho for the tips and offer to help!!! I may be giving you a hollar later tonight or this weekend.

Guy

p.s. Any suggestions on a good CPU heatsink? Mine's aluminum and I think I need a better one (especially if I try some O/Cing later.)

[TotalCarnage]

I'm just using the stock one with the intel processor. I am looking at a thermaltake. They have an adapter that moves the fan back to blow air across the sink more effectly. I'm still not sure which one to use yet.

[TotalCarnage]

Here is the one I'm thinking off trying.

http://www.thermaltake.com/products/heatsink/v9CoolMod.htm

Here is the adapter.
http://www.thermaltake.com/products/heatsink/ductingMod.htm

[Goodthrust]

I was just looking at the Thermaltakes, but the Volcano 9 says it is an AMD K7 and Intel Socket 370 compatible. The Thermaltake Spark 7 (or maybe the Volcano 7) looked to be the Socket 478 hsf, or did I miss something???

I also looked at the Thermalright SLK-900 (http://www.thermalright.com/slk900.html) . Have you looked at the Thermalright? They seem to get very good reviews, also. They are pretty pricey (and BIG), though.

[TotalCarnage]

You are right, my bad this one http://www.thermaltake.com/products/spark/spark7.htm