Installing the Essentials on the Motherboard (QuIcK gUiDe #1)
For all the newcomers to PC gaming, welcome! As the Covid-19 situation improves a bit and parts get in stock (for now), many people are finally buying their dream machine and making use of the time, building it themselves too! This will be a short guide on installing the difficult components on your motherboard. We have an MSI Pro VDH b365m with us, a good budget motherboard. Let’s get started.
First things first, unlearn everything from The Verge’s video you saw 2 years ago. Let’s start with storage. Plug the SATA cable into your spinning drive (we’re low spec ofc). Then take the power cable from the PSU, it’s keyed so only goes one way, and plug that into the spinning drive too.
After that, the RAM. They are the easier to install, line them up with the RAM slots and gently push them in until you hear a distinct “click” sound. And if you 2 RAM sticks, insert them into alternate sockets (e.g., 1 & 3 or 2 & 4) unless the motherboard has only 2 DIMM slots. (pic)
Now time for the fans. I will skip the CPU fan’s part because there are multiple tutorials for that (and also because it’s complex), just take care of 1 thing- insert the cooler’s connector in the fan header present in the top right of the motherboard and not anywhere else (in case of our motherboard, it’s left of the RAM slots and is clearly labelled as CPU Fan too).
Time for the case fans. This is how their connectors look. For the worst-case scenario, we’ll assume you have a prebuilt with 2 intake fans but 0 exhaust ones. Remember, having an exhaust fan is more important than having 2 intake fans, so we’re far better off with a 1:1 push: pull config, temps wise.
There are only 2 fan headers in most budget mobos excluding the CPU one, 1 on the left side, and 1 on the right. Rarely fan connectors are long enough to reach from the front to the left connectors, so it becomes a limitation (especially when you don’t have a fan splitter). Hence unscrew a front fan (carefully, different cases have a different system) and place it in the exhaust fan location. Now simply insert the fan connectors into the fan headers and screw them in place, easy.
Now it’s time for the “tiny” cables, jfp1.
And while we’re at it, there should be a USB 3.0 cable with clearly written “USB” on it. This cable goes into any of the ports marked in the image on the side.
And for the “big fat blue cable”, it goes right into this slot marked in the image on the side. Take extra care, it’s pins bend easily, and they go only 1 way in too.
Now find a cable labeled “HD_Audio” and insert it into this slot.
Now time for the bad boy, the GPU. I’ll skip it like the CPU (and the CPU fan) because there are enough tutorials but a quick recap, remove the brackets at the back of the case where the GPU is supposed to line up. And then you release the tab to the right of the PCIe slot and then slot it in. Then plug the PCIe power cables into it (don’t forget to reconnect the brackets at the back after you’re done with the GPU)
For the sake of argument, let’s assume we have a 1660 (basically a good GPU with a budget mobo and PSU). That won’t be an issue because the 1660 (taking ASUS TUF as an example) has 8 pins. The PCIe slots are 6 + 2 pins. So we need to pair the 6 + 2 into one so that it becomes an 8 pin and plug the GPU in it.
Congrats, you just built a pc!! Now just plug it into the wall and plug your keyboard, mouse, and monitor. But don’t forget to turn on your PSU, a widespread mistake. Remember, “|” is on, and “o” is off.
Now for some troubleshooting. If nothing turns on, check your power button, the front panel. Recheck those cables because it’s another common mistake. Follow the motherboard’s manual for this process as it’s different for every mobo. If looking at an internet guide, always double-check the model number of which mobo they are using.
Although the manuals are self-explanatory, let’s discuss briefly. The pin goes into the plug. Each cable has a positive and negative end; colored is positive and white negative. The one that matters the most is the power switch. If the manual isn’t easy to follow, just do trial and error for the rest of the cables. Remember, activity lights are dumb! After pressing the power switch again, if nothing lights up, recheck the PSU cables and the 24 & 8 pin CPU cables. If still, nothing happens, check if the CPU fans are running and reset the power connections (take them out and put it back in).
Also, if your GPU lights up at any point in time, it means there’s no problem with your PSU, and the 24 pin is good.
If all the fans (including the CPU fan) work but you don’t get a post (bios screen on the monitor after turning on the pc), check if the input is correct for the monitor (like HDMI1). If everything still works, but there’s nothing on the monitor, try resetting the RAM and GPU (remove and reattach) and trying another HDMI/display port cable. Also, make sure you plugged the monitor into the GPU and well…not the mobo. If your CPU doesn’t have an iGPU (Intel F series CPU’s, for example), then the monitor won’t show anything.
Now just get a USB stick with Windows (64bit) and install it if you have a fresh storage device.
