Technical Upgrading A Computer Fitting A Motherboard

Motherboard Do's And Don'ts

It is a good idea to earth yourself prior to handling components. Some engineers use anti static straps and earth the work surface, so if you are unsure touch the bare pipe of a central heating radiator. Before using any new motherboard it is really important to check that it is not physically damaged (as with any component purchased, new or old). Look for signs such as a bent board or any components that are loose. Most modern boards are quality checked  but a quick glance over the board before using it may reveal any defect, save time and effort.

Examine what mounts are on the motherboard. The mounting locations are usually signified by bright solder rings on the component side of the board. On the reverse the holes are surrounded by soldered spots. These are the earth points on the board. Only one of the holes needs be earthed to the chassis (case). The other holes are for raising the board away from the case to ensure there is no contact to the chassis.

At Scotsmist we like to test the motherboard and components outside of the case before final assembly. This saves time if the board is faulty and allows easier access to RAM slots, CPU and jumpers or switches and any other settings. Consult the motherboard manual if you have it or examine the board for markings, tables and jumper references. Jumpers usually start with JPx, where x is a number and are made of plastic. The purpose of a jumper is to close a circuit and hence enable its feature. By removing a jumper the feature or option is disabled. Some options have more than two pins and offer multiple configurations of a circuit. Switches are usually arranged in banks and are only able to either open or close the circuit.
Assuming that the case is available, that the cover is off and if necessary the side of tower type cases are off and ready for the motherboard to be overlaid. Overlaying the motherboard allows you to see at a glance alignment for the holes. Not all off the holes will necessarily be used. Once you know where the mounts are to be placed either connect these to the chassis (screw in type) or mount them on the motherboard. It can be awkward to attach the board to the chassis especially in a desktop model. It may be necessary to move the power supply on some desktop cases although not necessarily completely from the case (If you do, keep it and the screws to one side). The motherboard will need to be screwed down with suitable screws supplied with the mounts. Some cases come supplied with several, usually red felt type washers, however we at Scotsmist have not found much use for them in recent years. It will be necessary to use at least two screws to stop the motherboard moving. The felt washers are meant to be used with the second metal to metal fixing and separate the two and is the reason that we stopped using them. It is very awkward to do and we have worked on many branded machines that have not used the felt washers, so we copy them.

Do not be heavy handed when tightening the screws. You do not have to secure the motherboard at this stage if you are using plastic risers. The main objective now, is to stop the motherboard from shorting on any metal. Insert the processor in its socket taking care regarding the correct alignment. The pins on socket 7 chips have an indent in one corner and usually a marker on the side the heat sink attaches to. Add the heat sink and fan which you may also connect to the motherboard or wait and use a power outlet from the case, also add the RAM and the graphics card that is to be used in the system. Be careful with the graphics card as there is nothing to support it in the expansion slot. If you are using a tower type case move the side parallel to the case and connect the motherboard power cables. A good rule if needed is that the black cables go together. Try not to touch any contacts on the graphics card or RAM chips. If the motherboard is jumper less then you are ready to attach the kettle lead, monitor leads and keyboard to the motherboard and switch on. If not than either consult the manual for the correct motherboard settings or use the tables which are sometimes printed on the motherboard. You can download manuals for motherboards. There are links to sites on the web at this page (BIOS & Board Sites).

You need to set the core voltage for the processor, the clock multiplier of the processor and the processor bus speed. The RAM voltage is probably okay at the default setting as are most of the other jumpers. There may be a jumper for setting the speed or type of RAM (try the lowest setting if in doubt of the RAM speed), the PCI bus speed which usually works out to 33 MHz, and recently AGP bus speed. At this stage the only lead that needs to be connected is the switch on an ATX board, no leads are needed for AT format boards (I could almost assume nobody buys new AT boards anymore).

If the kettle lead is not connected do that now. It isn't necessary to refit the PSU at this stage. Attach the cable from the monitor to the graphics card taking great care try to support the card. It is okay to lean the face plate against the chassis, but under no circumstance allow any other part of the card or motherboard to touch bare metal. Connect a keyboard, switch on the monitor if the CPU fan needs to be connected to the PSU then do this now and power up the case. All being well the screen should show the logo of the BIOS and pause at the BIOS prompt waiting a keyboard entry. Note if the memory check is what you expected and that the CPU has identified correctly.

If any changes need to be made to the motherboard, graphics card or the RAM, or the CPU, graphics card, cooling fan or motherboard are faulty, you will find it easier not having mounted it all in the case. There are numerous reasons for the board not working if it is not a fault and will be the subject of another article. Once you are satisfied that everything so far, works switch off the PC and attach the side on a tower type case after removing the kettle lead, graphics card and keyboard from the motherboard and attach the leads for reset, all the LED's and speaker. Use turbo led as a standby indicator where available and if fitted the turbo button as a standby switch. Some motherboards have connections for Wan and modem wakeup features and need a suitable device with the correct amps to operate. It is also possible with a modern BIOS to enable the keyboard to be used as an on/off, standby instead of the buttons on the case. If this feature is not on a modern motherboard as a jumper setting it may be in the BIOS.

It is important once the board is properly mounted that it has no contact with the chassis other than through the risers. Cover plates supplied to be used over the ports at the back of cases are very awkward to fit sometimes and are best placed with the help of an assistant unless you have three hands. Remember not to over tighten screws its not necessary.

Graphics Card Issues