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Ive been buying various parts for my own built comp.....first time so everything pretty new
Anyway today i bought the case and ive noticed a few things.
There is a space for a fan at the back of the chasis...fair enough i knew this would be there from the dux walk through..however there is also a fan underneath where the hard drive sits pointing up the way where the hard drive will sit. Now on my motherboard there is only two conectors for fans..one for the cpu fan and one for the back chasis..or is supose it could be this fan. I take it i should just hook up the back chasis fan and leave the fan under the hard disk is that right?
Allso i was messing around with the floppy drive seeing how things fit and i noticed that the screws are really really difficult to get in the holes...##### near imposible actually.
The other thing is there are special screws for the motherboard they are like lttle "cups" almost but yet again, all the screws hardly fit into them.
Any comments.....like i say ive never bought a case before so im not sure how much of this is normal.

Alistair

Most motherboards come with brass standoffs (six-sided with a screw at the bottom and a threaded hole at the top) which screw into the the case and screws that fasten the motherboard to the standoffs. Most cases (all I’ve seen have screws that will fit all of the floppies drives I’ve seen. Do not force them and strip threads. Or, worse, brake-off a screw trying to force it in. 3-pin fans connect to motherboards. There are 4-pin fans that will connect directly to power supply connectors for 5 ¼ inch drives. There are 3-pin to 4-pin adapters. The fan is pointing up or towards the back of the case? Larry

The fan is the kind that conects to the motherboard...it is situated just under the bay where the floppy drive and hard disk are....the fan definetly points upwards.....i just cant seem to get to grips with these screws they just dont seem to want to work...they go in slightly then will not go in any more!

Alistair

Then they are the wrong screws (http://duxcw.com/digest/Howto/buildcom/pent2/pent2_6.htm and http://duxcw.com/digest/Howto/buildcom/socka/9.htm). How much did you pay for the case? Why do you need more than one chassis fan? I usually install one and at the back of the case where it blows out instead of sucking-in dirt from the floor or a sloppy desk. Larry

What brand/model case do you have, and does it have a good and ample power supply? I have a cheap CompUSA ATX case that has those "metal cups" which support the motherboard instead of the screw posts (very mickey mouse). The screws for the motherboard are secured in the hole in the top of those cups. As Larry mentioned, if you have to force the screws then they are not the right size.

I'm using my 300 Watt CompUSA case to power a ECS motherboard with a lowly 1 ghz Tbird. I was lucky that it worked out OK since its power supply isn't on AMD's recommended list.

Good luck.

Yes, I've seen those clips (http://duxcw.com/digest/Reviews/Cases/atop/at589p2.htm) and I do not like them. "Until someone convinces me that they make as good a ground contact with the chassis and the motherboard, I'll say I would really prefer old-fashioned screw-in standoffs." I have been using the Antec KS282 case with the 300 W power supply (http://duxcw.com/digest/Reviews/Cases/antec/ks282.htm) to build computers for customers for the last couple of years, and it is a very good one. They cost $52.72 retail (http://www.techstore.com/). If you spend much less than that for a case and power supply, you have probably shot yourself in the foot. Larry

Would it be possible to just change the mounts to another kind.....where the standoffs go there are rectangular holes...would other kind of standoffs fit into these holes.
Heres a link to the people i bought the case off of showing the case...i dont see a make however

http://www.pless.co.uk/acatalog/1517.htm

Thanks

Alistair

Procase (http://www.procase.net/case/6618.htm). I’m afraid you are stuck on the standoffs if you keep that case. My Son has a case (the one I reviewed) with those clips and his computer works OK. Larry

Yes, the clips work OK....as long as you don't have a earthquake. That case wasn't one of my better purchases.

I'd be more worried about the quality of the power supply.

Fair enough.....I think i will just exchange the case....they didnt really have a wide choice though, i did hunt around the area that i live.
Im not too sure about buying a case off the internet ( i live in the uk ) as i thought i should see the case before i buy.
Incidently why should i be mor worried about the power supply?

I'm not an electrical engineer, but my understanding is that some have better filtering of noise, etc. than others (AC is being converted to DC). Not all power supplies are created equal. Also, AMD has a list of recommended power supplies at their website and a concern is the combined output capacity of the 3.3 volt and 5 volt circuits. If you are buying an AMD processor, it would be safer to be sure you are getting one of those. Otherwise you might end up buying a new power supply to replace the cheaper one that came with your case (so much for the cost savings).

But if you already have the case, you might as well try it out. Many people have reported success with cheaper power supplies - I'm one of them. But if you do have problems with erratic performance or random shutdowns or blue screens of death, etc., you might consider the power supply as a possible culprit.

Good luck.

This is my first time building a computer.....i decided to just take the case back as i really want this comp to be good....for the sake of an extra 15 pounds i think i would rather have the piece of mind knowing that everythings ok )

thanks for all your help

Alistair

Money well spent. Upfront cost is not the only cost. Larry

Just some advice: Take your time and be patient in your project (I hope you have another computer to use in case you have problems with the new one).

Take breaks and get some fresh air.

Muster up enough courage to turn on the power switch the first time after completing the work.

Above all, come back here and Larry will be happy to bail you out.

Ive been buying the different parts gradually which is allowing me to study them and get a feel for where things are going to go....and how exactly things are going to work..thats why i was really confused by the case as it was different to the cases that were being talked about here (in fact just about everywhere )
Ive got another comp, i dont think im brave enough to try this without knowing that theres someone i can ask some questions
At first i was going to just buy my new comp but then read an article about motherboards and reviewing them...something i didnt have a clue about..then decided i would just build my own.

Thanks
Alistair

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