70 JANUARY2021|COMPUTERSHOPPER|ISSUE395
PREPARETHE MOTHERBOARD
FORFITTING
B
eforeyou candoanything else,you
need to haveyour motherboard ready.
Youshouldremove theboard from its
packaging, butit’sworth keeping the
anti-static bagthatitshipped with.You
canuse thistostand the motherboardon
whileyou getonwith the initialjob of
preparing it. We oftenstand the
motherboard on the anti-static bag, on
topofthe motherboardbox,just so that
the more delicatesolderjoints on the
underside aren’t on ahardsurface.
As faraspossible,it’sworth working
on the motherboard before youput it
in thecase, as thiswill giveyou abit
moreroom.
LINEUPTHEREARI/OSHIELD
In the boxofaccessories,you’ll find the rear
I/Oshield(ametalplatewith holes cutout
to fit aroundthe motherboard’s rear ports).
Thisshield fits into the rectangular hole at
the rear of your case, provided you’ve
inserteditthe rightway round.
To do this,lineupthe blanking platewith
the ports on the rear of your motherboard.
Thedescriptiveinformation and anysymbols
should be pointing away from the board so
youcan see them from outsidethe case.
FITTHEI/OSHIELD
When youknowwhich wayaround theshield
should go, youcan fit it into thecase. You
INSTALLTHE MAIN COMPONENTS
O
nceyou have the placefor the
motherboard, youcan fit the most
fiddlycomponents,giving youmoreroom to
work andcuttingdownonthe chances
that you’ll makeamistake.
INSTALLRAM
RAM is straightforwardtofit,although you
need to make surethat youinstall your
memory in the correct slots.
Most motherboards support dual-
channelmemory, whereRAM is installed in
pairs. Fordual-channel to work properly,
youneedtouse matching slots. Some
motherboardshavecolour-codedslots,
while othersjust number them. Check your
motherboard’s manual to see which slots
youshould use. Of course, if you’re filling
all your slots, youcan justskip this and
installall your RAM.
Once youknowwhich RAMslots you’re
going to use, open up the retainingcatches
at the end of the slots. Some motherboards
willhavetwo slots (one at eachend),some
justhaveasingle one. Now, take astick of
RAM andlineitupwith the slot, making
surethat the cutout in the RAM lines up
withthe nodule in the slot.
Once done, push firmly(butnot toohard)
down on the RAM, placing your thumbson
eitherend.When the retainingclips click
into place, your RAM is inserted correctly.
Asecond push just to make surethat your
RAM is in placemakes sense. Repeat until
you’veused up all your RAM. 1
INSTALLANINTELPROCESSOR
If youhaveanIntel processor,the
installation procedureisthe same forall
types.First, youneedtocarefully remove
the plastic protector on topofthe CPU slot.
Nowtakethe handle on the slot, and push it
away from the slotand lift. The processor
cage will lift up. Take it carefully andfold
thecage all the wayback. Do nottouch
the processorsocket itself,asyou risk
damaging the delicatepins inside.
Intelprocessors canonlybeinserted
one way. To work outthe correct position
forthe CPU,lookatthe processor,and
you’ll see it has twonotches in the side.
These should line up withthe nodules
sticking outinthe socket. Second,every
CPU has an arrow on it,which should line
up withthe part of thesocketthat hasa
diagonalrow of pins.
Carefully lowerthe CPUintoplace, but
don’t use anyforce:the CPU shouldjust
gently sit on the rowsofspringypins.
With theCPU linedupcorrectly, fold over
the CPU cage and pulldownthe handle,
clipping it back into itsretainer.This will take
abit of pressure,sodon’t worry;ifitfeelsas
if there’stoo much resistance,makesurethe
CPU is sittingcleanly in its socket. 2
INSTALLANAMDPROCESSOR
AMD processors areall installed in the same
way, regardless of type. The differencefrom
Intelprocessors is that AMD CPUsall have
pins that stick out from the processor. First,
flipopen the handlenexttothe CPUsocket:
you’ll see the socket move.
Lineupthe processorwith the socket,
makingsurethat the arrowonthe CPU
matches the arrowonthe socket.When it
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