Motherboard Details ...

After installing the RAM, you are ready to hook up the power supply and some of the smaller cables to the motherboard.

Connecting the power supply to the motherboard is a cinch, as the largest plug running from the supply fits one way into the large slot on the motherboard, depicted at the right.

Motherboard Power - Build PC Guide - FAST PC

LED Connections - Build PC Guide - FAST PC

 
  • SPK - Speaker - Basic speaker mounted in the case

  • PWR SW - Power switch - System power on/off

  • RST SW - Reset switch - Reset system

  • PWR LED - Power LED - Light shows when system is on (usually green)
  • HDD LED - HDD LED - Light shows when system is accessing HDD (usually red)
  • SLP LED - Sleep LED - Light shows when system is suspended (in 'sleep' mode)

All motherboards group the pins mentioned above in the bottom right corner of the board.

You should find these described in the manual that came with your motherboard. The abbreviations printed on the board itself are not particularly useful for beginners, who may find the following short explanation of the abbreviations useful.

The polarity (or which way you plug the cable onto the pins) doesn't necessairly matter. The Reset and Power switches will work no matter how they are connected, but the LEDs will not light up if they are connected in reverse polarity.

If you can hear disk activity but the LED does not light, simply reverse the plug.

 LED Cables - Build PC Guide - FAST PC
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The cables are labeled individually, as shown in the picture, and there is corresponding labeling on the motherboard as well (and in your motherboard manual is there to assist you too).

There can very well be other cables to connect, like front USB ports, FireWire ports and the like, but after connecting the cables above, you'll have no problem whatsoever hooking those up as well.

 

Next, we're going to install whichever cards you bought (sound cards, video cards, etc.) in your soon-to-be-completed PC (!).

 

 

Next - Assemble a Computer: Installing the Video Card and PCI Cards »

 

 

Tip: People can get a little intimidated by this step, but there really is no reason to. The manual is pretty good at outlining what goes where; occasionally the case has more connections than your motherboard will, so you might have some extra loose cables at the end. You can always purchase a Barebone PC kit, which normally already has all the cables plugged in; just pick your hard drive, CD drive, video card, and memory!