PC Assembly Guide PDF

2.1 Assemble the Computer © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 4 Open the Case and Connect the Power Supply Select the Case and Fans The choice of motherboard and external components influences the selection of the case and power...

2.1 Assemble the Computer © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 4 Open the Case and Connect the Power Supply Select the Case and Fans The choice of motherboard and external components influences the selection of the case and power supply. The motherboard form factor must be matched with the correct type of computer case and power supply. Factors affecting the choice of a computer case include: Model Type – The motherboard determines the type of case you can use. The size and shape must match. Size – A computer with many components will need more room for airflow to keep the system cool. Power Supply – Match the power supply rating and connection type to the motherboard. Appearance – There are many case designs to choose from. Status Display – LEDs mounted on outside of case tell you if the system has power, when the hard drive is in use, and when the computer is in sleep or hibernate mode. Vents – All cases have a vent on the power supply, and some have a vent in the back to draw air out of into the system. Some cases have even more vents. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 5 Open the Case and Connect the Power Supply Select the Case and Fans (Cont.) Case fans should be installed to move cooler air into the computer case while moving heat out of the case. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 6 Open the Case and Connect the Power Supply Select a Power Supply Power supplies convert AC input to DC output voltages. Power supplies typically provide voltages of 3.3V, 5V, and 12V, and are measured in wattage. The power supply must provide enough power for the installed components and allow for other components that may be added at a later time. If you choose a power supply that powers only the current components, you might need to replace the power supply when other components are upgraded. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 7 Install the Motherboard Components Video Demonstration – Install the CPU This is a video demonstration about installing the CPU: Step 1: Orient the CPU to the CPU slot. Step 2: Press the CPU into the CPU slot. Step 3: Lock the CPU into place. Step 4: Apply thermal paste to the CPU. Step 5: Install the heatsink. Step 6: Secure the heatsink. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 8 Install the Motherboard Components Select the Motherboard When selecting a replacement motherboard, make sure that it supports or accommodates: CPU RAM Video adapter, other adapter cards Socket and chipset on motherboard are compatible with the CPU The existing heat sink and fan assembly when reusing the CPU The number/type of expansion slots. They must match the existing adapter cards and allow for new cards The existing power supply connections must fit the new motherboard. New motherboard must fit into the current computer case. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 9 Install the Motherboard Components Select the CPU and CPU Cooling Before you buy a CPU, make sure that it is compatible with the existing motherboard. Manufacturers’ websites are a good resource to investigate the compatibility between CPUs and other devices. The following tables list the various Intel and AMD sockets available and their supported processors. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 10 Install the Motherboard Components Select the CPU and CPU Cooling (Cont. 1) The speed of a modern processor is measured in GHz. A maximum speed rating refers to the maximum speed at which a processor can function without errors. Two primary factors can limit the speed of a processor: Transmission Delay - The processor chip is a collection of transistors interconnected by wires. Transmitting data through the transistors and wires creates delays. Heat Generation - As the transistors change state from on to off or off to on, a small amount of heat is generated. The amount of heat generated increases as the speed of the processor increases. When the processor becomes too hot, it begins to produce errors. The front-side bus (FSB) is the path between the CPU and the Northbridge. It is used to connect various components, such as the chipset, expansion cards, and RAM. Data can travel in both directions across the FSB. The frequency of the bus is measured in MHz. The frequency at which a CPU operates is determined by applying a clock multiplier to the FSB speed. For example, a processor running at 3200 MHz might be using a 400 MHz FSB. 3200 MHz divided by 400 MHz is 8, so the CPU is eight times faster than the FSB. Processors are further classified as 32-bit and 64-bit. The primary difference is the number of instructions that can be handled by the processor at one time. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 11 Install the Motherboard Components Select the CPU and CPU Cooling (Cont. 2) The CPU is one of the most expensive and sensitive components in the computer case. The CPU can become very hot; therefore, most CPUs require an air-cooled or liquid cooled heat sink, combined with a fan for cooling. The table lists several factors to consider when choosing a CPU cooling system. Choosing a CPU Cooling System © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 12 Install the Motherboard Components Select the RAM New RAM may be needed when an application locks up or the computer displays frequent error messages. To determine if the problem is the RAM, execute the RAM test in the BIOS. The speed of the new RAM must be supported by the chipset. Memory may also be categorized as unbuffered or buffered: Unbuffered memory – This is regular memory for computers. The computer reads data directly from the memory banks making it faster than buffered memory. Buffered memory – Specialized memory for servers and high-end workstations that use a large amount of RAM. These have a control chip built into the module that assists the memory controller in managing large quantities of RAM. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 13 Install Internal Drives Select Hard Drives You may need to replace an internal storage device when it no longer meets your customer’s needs, or it fails. Signs that an internal storage device is failing might be unusual noises, unusual vibrations, error messages, or even corrupt data or applications that do not load. Internal drives usually connect to the motherboard with SATA while external drives connect with USB, eSATA, or Thunderbolt. Legacy motherboards may only offer the IDE or EIDE interface. When selecting a HDD, it is important to choose one that is compatible with the interfaces offered by the motherboard. Most internal HDDs are available in the 3.5 inch (8.9 cm) form factor, however 2.5 inch (6.4 cm) drives are becoming popular. SSDs are generally available in the 2.5 inch (6.4 cm) form factor. Note: SATA and eSATA cables are similar but they are not interchangeable. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 14 Install Internal Drives Select Hard Drives (Cont.) Factors to consider when purchasing a new hard disk drive are listed in the figure. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 15 Install Internal Drives Select Optical Drives Factors to consider when purchasing an optical drive are listed below the figure. Optical Drive Capabilities © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 16 Install Internal Drives Install the Hard Drive A computer case holds drives in drive bays. The table describes the three most common types of drive bays. To install an HDD, find an empty hard drive bay in the case that will accommodate the width of the drive, as shown in the figure. When installing multiple drives in a case, it is recommended to maintain some space between the drives to help airflow and enhance cooling. Also, mount the drive with the metal side face up. This metal face helps to dissipate heat from the hard drive. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 17 Install Internal Drives Install the Hard Drive (Cont.) Installation Tip: Slightly hand-tighten all the screws before tightening any of them with a screwdriver. This will make it easier to tighten the last two screws. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 18 Install Internal Drives Install the Optical Drive Step 1. From the front of the case, choose the drive bay that you want to hold the drive. Remove the faceplate from that bay if necessary. Step 2: Position the optical drive so that it aligns with the 5.25 inch (13.34 cm.) drive bay opening at the front of the case, as shown in the figure. Step 3. Insert the optical drive into the drive bay so that the optical drive screw holes align with the screw holes in the case. Step 4. Secure the optical drive to the case using the proper screws. Installation Tip: Slightly hand-tighten all the screws before tightening any of them with a screw driver. This will make it easier to tighten the last two screws. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 19 Install the Adapter Cards Video Demonstration – Install the Adapter Cards This is a video demonstration about installing the Adapter Cards: Step 1: Find an empty PCIe x16 slot on the case and remove the small metal cover. Step 2: Align the video adapter card to the appropriate expansion slot on the motherboard. Step 3: Press down gently on the video adapter card until it is fully seated. Step 4: Secure the video adapter card mounting bracket to the case with the appropriate screw. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 20  ATX SSHD PGA ATX12V LGA 3.5 Hot swappable Water cooling CO2 or Class C 5.25 Match: some terms may be used more than once 1 A hard drive that combines flash memory with spinning disks 2 Quieter method of cooling CPU and video card 3 Device can be changed out without turning off power 4 Best fire extinguisher for electrical fires 5 Intel CPUs and Intel-compatible motherboards 6 Common size for hard drives 7 AMD CPUs and AMD-compatible motherboards 8 Common size for optical drives © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 21  ATX SSHD PGA ATX12V LGA 3.5 Hot swappable Water cooling CO2 or Class C 5.25 Match: some terms may be used more than once 1 SSHD A hard drive that combines flash memory with spinning disks 2 Water cooling Quieter method of cooling CPU and video card 3 Hot swappable Device can be changed out without turning off power 4 CO2 or Class C Best fire extinguisher for electrical fires 5 LGA Intel CPUs and Intel-compatible motherboards 6 3.5 Common size for hard drives 7 PGA AMD CPUs and AMD-compatible motherboards 8 5.25 Common size for optical drives © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 22 Install the Adapter Cards Select Adapter Cards Adapter cards are designed for a specific task and add extra functionality to a computer. There are a variety of adapter cards: PCI Graphics Sound Storage Controller I/O NIC Capture PCIe x1 Adapter cards are inserted into two types of expansion slots on a motherboard: Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) PCI Express (PCIe) – PCIe has four types of slots; x1, x4, x8, and x16. PCIe x16 Note: If the motherboard does not have a compatible expansion slot, an external device may be an option. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 23 Install the Adapter Cards Other Factors for Adapter Card Selection Before purchasing an adapter card, consider the following questions: What are the user’s current and future needs? Is there an open and compatible expansion slot available? What are the possible configuration options? Adapter Card Consideration Slot type Amount and speed of video RAM (VRAM) Graphics Card Graphics Processor Unit (GPU) Maximum Resolution Slot type Digital signal processor (DSP) Sound Card Port and connection types Signal-to-noise ratio Slot type Connector quantity Internal or external connectors Storage Controller Card Card size Controller card RAM Controller card processor RAID type © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 24 Install the Adapter Cards Other Factors for Adapter Card Selection (Cont.) Before purchasing an adapter card, consider the following questions: What are the user’s current and future needs? Is there an open and compatible expansion slot available? What are the possible configuration options? Adapter Card Consideration Slot ratio I/O port type I/O Card I/O port quantity Additional power requirements Slot type Speed NIC Connector type Wired or wireless connection Standards compatibility Storage Resolution and frame rate Capture Card I/O port Format standards Input interface types © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 25 Install the Adapter Cards Install the Adapter Cards Expansion cards are installed into an appropriate slot on the motherboard. Many video adapter cards require separate power from the power supply using a 6-pin or 8-pin power connector. Installation Tip: Research the length of the video card. Longer cards may not be compatible with certain motherboards. Some adapter cards may come with mounting brackets of different heights to accommodate these cases. Installation Tip: Some cases have small slots at the bottom of the hole where the cover was removed. Slide the bottom of the mounting bracket into this slot before seating the card. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 26 Select Additional Storage Select a Media Reader Several media card formats have been developed over the years including: Secure digital (SD) MicroSD MiniSD CompactFlash Memory Stick xD Choose a media reader based on current and future needs. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 27 Select Additional Storage Select External Storage External USB flash drives, sometimes called thumb drives, are commonly used as removable external storage. External storage devices connect to an external port using USB, eSATA, or Thunderbolt ports. Choose the correct type of external storage for your customer’s needs. For example, if your customer needs to transfer a small amount of data, such as a single presentation, an external flash drive is a good choice. If your customer needs to back up or transfer large amounts of data, choose an external hard drive. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 28 Install the Cables Install the Front Panel Cables A computer case typically has a power button and visible activity lights on the front of the case. The case will include front panel cables that must be connected to a common system panel connector on a motherboard. Writing on the System Panel Connector motherboard near the system panel connector shows where each cable Front Panel Connectors is connected. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 29 Install the Cables Install the Front Panel Cables (Cont.) System panel connectors include: Power Button Reset Button Power LED Drive Activity LEDs System Speaker Audio System panel connectors are not keyed. However, each front panel cable usually has a small arrow indicating pin 1, and each pair of System Panel Connector Pin 1 LED pins on the motherboard Indicator system panel connector has pin 1 marked with a plus sign (+). Pin 1 Arrow Indicator © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 30 Install the Cables Install the Front Panel Cables (Cont.) New cases and motherboards have USB 3.0 or USB 3.1 capabilities. USB connector cables are often 9 or 10 pins arranged in two rows. These cables connect to USB motherboard connectors. This arrangement allows for two USB Motherboard Connectors USB connections, so USB connectors are often in pairs. Sometimes the two connectors are together in one piece and can be connected to the entire USB motherboard connector. Internal USB Connector © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 31 Install the Cables Install the Front Panel Cables (Cont. 1) Front Panel Connection Specifics Aling pin 1 of the two-pin front panel power cable with the power button pins on the Power Button motherboard. Aling pin 1 of the two-pin front panel reset button cable with the reset pins on the Reset Button motherboard. Aling pin 1 of the front panel power LED cable with the power LED pins on the Power LED motherboard. Aling pin 1 of the front panel drive activity cable with the drive activity pins on the Drive Activity LED motherboard. Aling pin 1 of the front panel system speaker cable with the system speaker pins System Speaker on the motherboard. Due to the specialized function and variety of the hardware, consult the Audio Cables motherboard, case, and audio panel documentation for specific instructions. USB Aling pin 1 of the USB cable with the USB pins on the motherboard. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 32 Install the Cables Install the Front Panel Cables (Cont. 2) Generally, if a button or LED does not function, the connector is incorrectly oriented. To correct this, shut down the computer and unplug it, open the case, and turn the connector around for the button or LED that does not function. To avoid wiring incorrectly, some manufacturers include a keyed pin extender that combines multiple front-panel cables (i.e., power and reset LEDs) connectors into one connector. Installation Tip: The panel connector and case cable ends are very small. Take pictures of them to locate pin 1. Because space in the case can be limited at the end of assembly, a part retriever can be used to plug the cables into the connectors. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 33 2.2 Chapter Summary © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 34 Conclusion Chapter 2: PC Assembly Build a computer. Define general and fire safety standards. Connect the power supply. Install the motherboard components. Install internal drives. Install the adapter cards. Identify additional storage. Connect computer components with appropriate cables. © 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 35