self building a pc - fitting the cpu
Building your own pc fitting the cpu and motherboard
Before setting up the cpu, you must first prepare the motherboard. This isn't a particularly complicated process but should be done correctly or you will have potential serious problems. Make sure motherboard is on a level surface and on a static bag if possible. No doubt you will have skimmed the motherboard manual (or not bothered at all) and are trying to figure out this jumper stuff.
First of all a jumper is basically a small cap that is coloured. What they are for is to set up the board for your particular CPU. Some common settings are for CPU Voltage, Bus Speed, and so on. So, READ THE MANUAL NOW !! then read this page again.The motherboard manual should layout what jumpers are on the board and go through each one step by step taking care not to jump ahead.
The CPU is the brains of the whole PC system.
You should start by examining the pins underneath the CPU taking care not to touch pins if you can help it. make sure no pins are bent or broken. If one of the pins is bent you can fix simply with a flat screwdriver or pocket knife. Just straighten the pins till they match up with the rest. If more than two of the pins are bent then return the product. I would suggest something has gone wrong.
Now along with your CPU you should have a heatsink and fan. This is a little piece of metal that has a fan on the top of it. This helps take heat away from a CPU. If you look closely at the CPU you will notice a notch cut into it. Now, look at the motherboard and you will see a socket that obviously holds the CPU (it tends to be white/ dirty white as pictured above). On this socket (called a ZIF) there will be the same notch. Lift the handle of the ZIF socket to the up position prior to insertion. With handle up and CPU aligned with socket simply drop in. This should go in very easy and without trouble. Do not force it, if it doesn’t seat that well, you may have pins that are bent or the motherboard is faulty. With CPU in place pull the socket 7 handle to the down position. The handle will lock under a small lip on the CPU.
Now the tricky part - you are ready to install the heatsink on the CPU. Try to use proper(i.e. manufacturer recommened) adhesive. Take the heatsink and sit it on top of the CPU before applying the adhesive to get a idea of where you want to mount it. Apply the adhesive then you will have a small hook or lever that is attached to the heatsink. This will hook onto the bottom of the ZIF socket itself.
Never carry out any work on your computer whilst is is plugged into the mains power socket, you could cause yourself and your PC damage.
The power supply does not contain any user servicable parts and contains hazardous voltages it should not be opened-even after it has been switched off.
Many desktop and tower cases have sharp edges be careful when working inside the case of your PC.
