ISSUE395|COMPUTER SHOPPER|JANUARY2021 75
HOWTOFITTHEPSUANDCABLES
W
ith everything in place,the final steps
aretoget powertoeverything.
Remember,ifyou canroutecables through
the rear of your case, do so, as this will
keep your computer lookingless cluttered.
If you’re using amodular PSU,only
connectthe cablesthatyou’ll need to
further reduce clutter.
FITTHEPSU
With mostcases, PSUsare fitted at the
bottom of thecase, sometimes in aseparate
caged-off area. Turn the PSU so that its fan
is facingdownwardstowardsthe bottom of
the case: youmay finditeasier to stand your
case up the normalway forthisstep.
Slide the PSUinand push it backwards,
so that the powerconnector is facing outthe
back of your case. From therear of your
case, screw in thepower supply. The mounts
will be clearly visible, andyou should need
four screwstohold thePSU in place.Screw
the PSU in quitetightly so that it’s pulled into
the rear of the case. 1
CONNECTTHE24-PIN
CONNECTOR
Find the large 24-pin connectoronyour
motherboard and plug in the matching PSU
cable. This will haveaseparate four-pin
connectorthat youhavetopush in to make
the full 24-pin plug. The cable canonly go
in one way, with the clip in the cable
designed to grasp the ridgeonthe
motherboard;ifyou can’tget the cable
to go in,try turning it around and trying
again. Alittlebit of force, followedbyaclick,
shows youhaveitright. 2
CONNECTTHESECONDARY
POWERCONNECTOR
Motherboardshaveasecondary power
connector(the ATXauxiliaryconnector). This
canbeafour-pin or an eight-pin connector.
If it’s the latter,you’ll need to squeeze
together the twofour-pin connectorsfrom
your PSU.Ifit’sthe former, lookatthe PIN
layout on the motherboardand linethisup
withthe correctfour-pin connector.
In all cases, the secondary power
connectorcan only plug in one way, with
the clipdesigned to grab the ridge on the
motherboard’sconnector.Afirmpushand
an audibleclick show you’vedonethe job.
CONNECTSATAPOWER
CABLES
Any2.5in SSDs,harddrivesand optical
drives needtohaveSATA powerconnectors
pluggedin. These canonly plug in oneway,
andshould connect withaslightclick,
letting youknowthat they’refirmly in the
right place. 3
TOP TIP
Makesureyouhavethe
secondarypower
connectorinplace;it’s
easytomissandmeansth
atyour
computerwon’tstartup.
2
1
3
BUILDYOURDREAMPCFROM SCRATCH
