[Weezynin3r]

Well I knew this wasn't going to be easy but I didn't know I would have to bleed for this. I wonder what else this night has in store for me. Here's a timeline of events for you all.

5:10 pm Recieve cpu from UPS guy. Get all the materials ready for building the comp.
6:00 pm All I've accomplished is putting the cpu in the socket putting MORE than enough AS5 on the cpu and putting the XP-90 in place and securing it to the bracket. I also got AS5 on my skin which isn't bad but could have been prevented = noob mistake. Than dinner.
6:30 Return to comp. Takes 10 MINUTES just to put fan clips on the XP-90. I couldn't figure out which way they were supposed to go. After this I put the OCZ ram in, in the yellow slots too. The XP-90 is also "hanging over" the ram to help cool it.

This is the order I put stuff in the case (it was probably wrong or more time consuming/difficult)

mobo
graphics card
plugged front USB and LEDs into mobo (did the LEDs wrong )

Here comes the really good part. When I was poking the drive bay cover out with a pair of scissors from inside the case I cut a gash in my finger and blood was gushing everywhere, even a drop or two on the mobo ) After some ranting and argueing w/ parents whether I needed stiches or not I got a coke and watched some tv with a paper towel around my finger. The "shelf" thing where the floppy rest was sharp and I think I cut myself on that. Stupid $28 case.

floppy and HD ("shelf" where HD rested was screwed up and didn't match the holes on the HD so 2 screws on one side are holding the HD in.)
NEC 3540A DVD burner
Power supply
plugged all the IDE and power cables in

I was hungry so I went to the kitchen and had a peanut butter & fluff sandwich with some ho ho's and chocolate milk. . Mind you it was about 12:30 am at this time.

Then I pressed the power button and nothing happened. What a suprise. So I pressed the power switch on the DFI mobo and it booted to life, or was at least making noises and the fans were spinning. After finding out the exhaust fan blew air in and the intake fan blew air out I entered the bios. Then I put my mobo driver cd in only to find something was "not plugged in right" with my media device. I have the IDE cable and the power cable plugged in....

Now its 2:30 am and I'm tired but I must go on and format and install windows. Did I tell you NONE of the front LED's work so I'll have to fix that. O well now I have a band aid around my finger and am ready to go back to work. I"ll keep you posted whether I get this thing to work or go insane.

[Barret]

Things to think about...

1. Just take your time. It is a great experience, and it is worth the time. I know you are excited, and want to use the computer. But if you rush, you risk further injury to yourself/injury to your computer.

2. Have fun. When it stops being fun, cease work. Go over and watch some Tv or something .

[johnny5c]

Barret has some good advise. When things start to go bad, take a break and come back with a fresh outlook on the problem. Just keep in mind when your done you will have a killer rig that you built to be proud of.

As for you front LED's, try turning the plug around on the mobo. I always seem to get one backwards on the frist try. Check your power switch conector to, make sure you got the right pins on the front panel connectors.

[maxio098ui]

yeah avoid frustration cause to much makes you do stupid things

[NsOmNiA91130]

Do it slow, and check, recheck, and then do it all over again. I had to do it slow, as I got my parts over the course of 5 weeks, so I had plenty of time to check over everything I did.

[ajrettke]

Yeah, slow down! No ones timing you, it isn't a race, you don't get a prize if you get it done soon! It does take a lot of time to put everything together from scratch...and when your down you'll have to swim/crawl/gasp for air trying to get through the boxes, peanuts, styrofoam and whatever else is left over!

[mage_x]

Originally Posted by Weezynin3r

6:00 pm All I've accomplished is putting the cpu in the socket putting MORE than enough AS5 on the cpu and putting the XP-90 in place

Exactly how much AS5 did you put on? The amount needed is often VERY over estimated and will actually hurt your temperatures if you put on more than is needed.

[Janus67]

i didn't read you saying that you plugged in the cables from the case onto the motherboard (for the LED, power switch, and reset switch). Read through the manual and follow it step by step. There are also thousands of guides on the net on how to put together a pc.

here is my order:


case
(either psu here)
optical drives (cd/dvd/floppy)
hard drives
mobo
cpu
ram
heatsink
video card
(or psu here)

I believe that is about it, then you should plug everything in, ide cables/sata cables, cables from the case (led/reset/power like I mentioned earlier - and also front usb or what have you), then finally power cables.

[furiousfords89]

yeah just take your time, thats what i did on my first build. its a shame that i spent about 5 hours perfecting that build only to find out that i forgot to mount my mobo on standoffs....lol, at least u didnt do that

just out of curiousity, what case are you using weezy?

[Weezynin3r]

UPDATE: After calling it quits at 4:30 am I went to bed. You guys are right, slow and steady wins the race. I'm typing this on the new built rig I have a 4 gig partition for the windows install and the other partition is for other stuff. I'm using this case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811150017
I'm so glad everything's working fine. The only thing is my blowhole fan doesn't fit b/c my PSU is too big, so now I have a hole in the top of my case. Will have to fix that. Now all I have to do is START OVERCLOCKING. I'm definatly taking it SLOW. Don't want to fry anything. The front LED's don't work but the buttons do (power & reset). I think I need to switch the connectors (polarity). I'm going to do benchies at stock and then do 'em after I overclock to compare them. Should I burn in the ram and cpu before I overclock? Thanks.

[aeiou]

Yes. Run something like folding at home, seti, or prime 95 first to make sure it is completely stable at stock. I think the general recomendation is for about 24hrs. Do this again every step of overclocking, too.

[laynlow]

Thats not a bad looking little case for 30 bucks. Enjoy your new computer!