How do you make a computer?

Answer 1

Pretty much all that you need would be:

• computer case with PSU
• motherboard
• graphics card
• a few fans
• keyboard
• mouse
• a monitor
• CPU
• memory
• hard drive
• optical drives
• operating system installation media

Here is a recommended installation order:

Prepare the motherboard: The first things to do would be to install the memory, CPU, and CPU heat sink onto the motherboard.

Prepare the case: Then you want to install the standoffs into the case, using the holes on the motherboard as a guide to know where to put them. But you likely won't want to mount the motherboard yet.

Wire the case to the motherboard: Then you would use the motherboard manual to figure out how to wire the front panel and power supply connectors to the motherboard. All the wires from the front panel need to go to the motherboard unless they are incompatible or you don't want some functionality. For instance, you might not want to install the front speaker jack on a case designed for an AMD machine when installing a modern Intel motherboard (not compatible). Then you have to install the power connectors to the motherboard from the power supply. There is the main ATX power supply connector to the motherboard, and there is usually one other required connector, either the 4-pin CPU power connector, or the 8-pin variant (Intel). You *might* get by with plugging the 4-pin connector into an 8-pin socket. However, you might run into side-effects such as wires running hot, less cores being functional than the CPU has, or the bus not operating at full speed. So you need to make sure the case and power supply are compatible with the motherboard before installing the motherboard. One caveat here is to make sure you don't force any plugs. Some power supplies have both the 4-pin ATX plug and 1-2 of the 4-pin GPU plugs, so if the plug doesn't fit, don't force it. The ATX and GPU 4-pin connectors are NOT interchangeable, and their polarities are wired opposite from one another, meaning that if you mix them, you WILL fry something.

Mount the motherboard: Assuming you haven't mounted the motherboard yet, now is the time to do so. Insert the backplane I/O shield if you haven't yet. Then carefully seat the motherboard into the case. If you used any plastic "darts," then snap the board over those first. Use the fine screws with the fiber washers to fasten the board. Be firm but not tight with the screws and apply the pressure evenly among the screws.

Install any hard drives, optical media drives, etc: Do this before populating the motherboard with any large peripheral cards. Physically mount them to the case, but you might want to plug them up if you can before mounting them. At any rate make sure that both ends of the data cables are installed and that power connectors are attached to the drives.

Install and plug up any fans: The CPU fan(s) will need to be plugged into a fan connector on the motherboard. Any case fans will also need to be connected.

Install any video cards and expansion cards: You might have multiple video cards of the same type if you want to use SLI or other multiple-GPU arrangement. If you need any specialized cards or have opted for a hard drive on a card rather than a SATA (or even SAS if the board supports that) drive, then install whatever you desire.

Double-check all your internal connections: Check to make sure all the cables are connected, that none are forced into place, that the CPU is socketed, that the CPU heatsink is properly installed using heat sink compound, that the memory is installed, etc.

Make your external connections: Plug up the keyboard, the mouse, the power cord, and the monitor. Make sure the monitor is both attached to the outlet and/or its power supply (if it uses one), and attached to the video card (or built-in video socket).

Test it out: Press the On switch. If nothing happens, make sure the computer is getting power and that the power supply switch on the back is on. If you get a display or warnings about a CMOS mismatch or other errors, that is a good sign. Then check to see if the front panel lights are working properly and that any internal speaker is not getting hot. If the lights are not working properly, you might have them hooked up backwards. In that case, turn them around. The speaker should not get hot if you have one. If it does, then make sure it is plugged into the correct terminals (or modify the plug if its plug is not compatible with the speaker header according to where the manual says the speaker connectors are -- wiring the speaker to the power LED connector is a common mistake).

Install the OS: Start installing the OS. This helps to test things.

Close the case: Once you know everything is working as you want, put the panels on your new computer.