Building "The Dream": Build Process

This is your guide on how to build your own PC, whether an APU or a CPU. ALWAYS READ the manuals if you need help.

What you need:
     Before you start, grab a + screwdriver (we call it a Philips), an anti-static strap and your power supply. Connect the alligator clip to the fan grill of the power supply, and connect it to a power outlet. DO NOT FLICK THE SWITCH OF IT. It could possibly electrocute yourself. What it does is you become a ground of the system you are doing. This is to prevent static electricity going through the parts, as it may kill your parts before you actually use it.

You also need to get the box of your motherboard as a non-static surface. We don't know what will you use as surface, but the box would be the best option.

APU Installation

     Whether its an APU or a CPU, it is the same. Locate the triangle mark on it, then pull up the retention arm.

                       

 

     Grab your APU by its sides and locate the gold triangle mark on it. Carefully drop it to the socket, matching the triangles on the motherboard and the APU. Once done, return the retention arm to its original position to lock the APU.

RAM Installation

     Since the APU Cooler is quite large, we will first install the RAM. It is pretty straightforward: Open the tabs marked DIMM1, both left and right. Match the hole of the RAM to the part of the slot which doesn't has a hole. To lock the RAM, push one side first until it snaps into place. then push the other side. If you have another RAM stick, you need to put this to DIMM2.

APU Cooler

     This could take you longer than you installed the 2 pieces above. Get your Hyper T4 box, and find the part exclusively for FM2 motherboards. It is a long metal with one plastic opener at one side. Attach it to the cooler. The middle part should lock to the cooler itself. Else, flip it over and try again. Once done, grab a thermal paste and put a small line on top of your APU, put the cooler on top, slide first the one without the plastic arm to the lock, then secure the other side. Then do a 180-degree lock on the arm. Don't worry, apply as many force as you can to properly secure the cooler. Just don't break the motherboard.

 

POST outside of the case

     Before you put the motherboard to the case, make sure to POST is. POST means Power On Self Test. If it powers on, with or without case, it means it would work after you put it on the case. To do this, connect the 8-pin and the 24-pin connectors from the power supply to the motherboard (I'll explain later on how to), and locate the power switch on the front panel connectors. Tap it with any metal thing (the screwdriver head will do for now). And if it boots to your monitor, tap it again to shut it down. It means your system successfully boot up with no errors.

Putting it all to the case

If your POST end well, great! You can now put it on your case. Unplug every external connection (monitors and other peripherals) and the power supply connectors (both the 8-pin and 24-pin). Get your case, and start unscrewing the 4 thumbscrews at the back. Pull both the side panels and store it safely in the meantime. Once opened, you might see some connectors. Most of it are the front panel connectors, and some are fan connectors. In my build, I pre-installed a blue LED strip on the sides to produce a good blue-themed rig.

Put the motherboard

Prior to installing your motherboard, put metal standoffs into the holes where the motherboard holes and case holes match. If there are too many holes in the case, do the "hand method". Locate the top-leftmost hole (both on the case and motherboard), and measure the space between the hole on your motherboard. 

Screw on the right is the standoff.

Also, before putting the motherboard, get first the back IO shield. It is a metal strip with multiple holes to protect your IO panels at the back of your motherboard (or at the back of your system). Install it from the inside, and pop the 4 corners of it to the case. To ensure that the IO shield is intact, push it from the outside by a finger. Now that you have anything else, time to put the motherboard!

Power Supply

But wait! Since my motherboard has an 8-pin at the top, I installed first my power supply to prevent cable management problems later. There are two options on how to install a power supply: top-fan or bottom-fan facing. Top fan facing is a way to become an exhaust for the system as it will pull the air and push it outwards. Bottom fan facing is having its own air circulation, making it less heat output but prone to dust buildup. Since I have a fan filter underneath, I used the bottom-fan facing.

Slide down the power supply, and screw it using 4 of these screws to the designated screw spots.

  

The find the 8-pin connector and use the cable management holes so that the connector will be at the top.

Connecting the connectors

You can screw down the motherboard with the screw for the standoff (the silver screw with the standoff in the picture above). Once done, connect the 8-pin adn 24-pin that you manage earlier like this:

 

Next is the front panel connectors. They're probably the hardest to put because it's small, so do this now before ou put other cords. Best method is to go top to bottom, left to right, but other will go from rightmost to leftmost.

Next are the block connectors. They are big, unlike the front panel. Installing them is easier since the connector and the socket has one missing pin/pinhole. You can't get a mistake here. Most modern motherboards and cases offer a USB 3.0, but if you don't have, save it for a later upgrade. Install the USB 2.0 into the JUSB1 socket and your HD Audio to the AUDIO port. Since both my motherboard and case has USB 3.0, I installed mine.

Installing HDD

Tecware Infinity offered a slide-and-lock for 3.5" HDD, and for the 2.5" HDD/SSD, there is a pointy edge to place it and lock it on one side. This case also provided a different screw to put the 3.5" HDD. 

Once done, connect the SATA power and SATA cables. The power is connected to the power supply, and is the flat-headed connector. It only fits one-sided. For the SATA cables, there are two types: a straight-end and a 90-degree cords. I used the 90-degree for the 3.5" HDD and a straight-end for the 2.5" HDD. Connect the cables to the motherboard, and HDD installation is complete!

Fan Installation

This part is somehow optional, somehow required. Fans keep the air temperature inside the case cool. It can be one intake and one outtake, so air circulation will be good. Cool air goes in, warm air comes out.

In my case, I only added one outtake since my CPU cooler has a fan intake to the heat of the CPU. I also used a Buffer B4, an anti-vibration kit for fans. Put the B4 onto the fan and snap it out at the back of the case. If you're using screws, screw it tightly since it will be difficult on the new fans.

Close the case by returning back the side panels, and turn it on by plugging it to a power socket. Since I got an aftermarket cooler, I decided to overclock it a bit by turning it from 3.9 GHz to 4.5GHz. It can run Dota2 with ultra settings (V-Sync and AA: On) at 30FPS and high (V-Sync and AA: Off) at 40-45FPS. Sniper Elite v2 Ultra at 50FPS. And NBA 2k15 at high settings.

This concludes my blog post / tutorial on how to build your first PC. I'll be back with another set of build logs for future. Hope you enjoyed!