92 DECEMBER 2019|COMPUTER SHOPPER|ISSUE 382
PREPARETHE MOTHERBOARD
FORFITTI NG
B
eforeyou candoanything else,you
needto haveyour motherboardready.
Youshouldremove the boardfromits
packaging, but it’sworth keeping the
anti-static bag that it shipped with.You
canuse thisto stand the motherboardon
whileyouget on with the initial jobof
preparing it.We oftenstand the
motherboardonthe anti-static bag, on
topofthe motherboardbox,just so that
the moredelicat esolder joints on the
underside aren’t onahardsurface.
As faraspossible, it’sworth working
on the motherboardbeforeyou put it
in thecase, as this will giveyou abit
moreroom.
LINEUPTHEREARI/OSHIELD
In the boxofaccessories,you’ll find therear
I/Oshield (a metalplatewith holes cut out
to fit around the motherboard’srear ports).
This shield fits into the rectangular hole at
the rear of your case, pr ovided you’ve
inserted it the rightway round.
To do this, line up the blanking platewith
the ports on therear of your motherboard.
The descriptiveinformation and anysymbols
should be pointing away from the boardso
youcan see them from outside thecase.
FITTHEI/OSHIELD
Whenyouknowwhich wayaround the shield
should go,youcan fit it into the case. You
INSTALLTHE MAIN COMPONENTS
O
nceyou havethe placefor the
motherboard,youcan fit the most
fiddlycomponents, givingyoumoreroom to
work and cutting down on the chances
that you’ll makeamistake.
INSTALLRAM
RAM is straightforwardtof it, althoughyou
needto makesurethat youinstallyour
memory in thecorrect slots.
Most motherboards support dual-
channel memory,whereRAM is installed in
pairs.Fordual-channelto work properly,
youneed to use matching slots. Some
motherboards havecolour-coded slots,
whileothers just number them. Checkyour
motherboard’smanualto see which slots
youshould use. Ofcourse, ifyou’refilling
all your slots,youcan just skip this and
install allyour RAM.
Once youknowwhich RAM slotsyou’re
goingto use, open up theretaining catches
at the endof the slots. Some motherboards
will havetwo slots (one at each end), some
just haveasingle one.Now, take astick of
RAM and line it up with the slot, making
surethat the cutout in the RAM lines up
with the nodule in the slot.
Once done, push firmly (but nottoo hard)
down on the RAM, placingyour thumbs on
either end. When theretaining clips click
into place,your RAM is insertedcorrectly.
Asecond push justto makesurethat your
RAM is in placemakes sense.Repeat until
you’veused up allyour RAM. 1
INSTALLANINTELPROCESSOR
If youhaveanI ntel processor, the
installation procedureisthe sameforall
types.First, youneed to carefully remove
the plastic protector ontopofthe 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
the cage all thewayback. Do nottouch
the processor socket itself,asyou risk
damaging the delicatepins inside.
Inte lprocessorscanonly be inserted
one way. To work out thecorrect position
forthe CPU,look at the processor,and
you’ll see it has twonotches in the side.
These should line up with the nodules
sticking out in the socket.Second,every
CPU has an arrow on it, which should line
up with the partof the socket that has a
diagonalrow of pins.
Carefully lowerthe CPU into place, but
don’t use anyforce:the CPU should just
gently sit on therowsofspringypins.
With the CPU lined upcorrectly,fold over
the CPUcage and pull down the handle,
clipping it back into its retainer.This willtake
abit of pressure, so don’tworry;ifitfeels as
if there’s toomuch resistance, makesurethe
CPU is sitting cleanly in its socket. 2
INSTALLANAMDPROCESSOR
AMD processors areall installed in the same
way, regardlessof type. The differencefrom
Inte lprocessors is that AMD CPUsall have
pins that stick out from the processor.First,
flip open the handle nextto the CPU socket:
you’ll see the socket move.
Line up the processor with the socket,
making surethat the arrow on the CPU
matches the arrow on the socket.When it
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