Step by step instructions on building a computer!
CurrentBuild Dream PC
Current build 2
Once the computer has been designed, we have to put it together. We thought some of you may want
the fun, satisfaction and learning of assembling your computer by yourself. Others may have an
interest in just knowing how your computer is assembled. Yes, in the sharing spirit of the wonderful
Internet we give this information away! These step by step instructions are for a prior version of this
model.
Getting the Computer Case Ready
Lay a soft cloth on a table big enough to accommodate both the case, the monitor and keyboard. Make
sure that power supply can be reached. Remove case from packing box, making sure not to scratch
case or destroy packing that will be recycled in shipping. Place case on table. Keep all packing materials
back in the box. Remove all brochures, fliers, instruction materials. Place them in a manila folder. Do
the same for all paperwork that comes with all components. The contents of this folder will be sent
with the computer to the customer at delivery.
Unscrew the screws at the back of case and remove left and right side panels. Place computer on rear
and remove front panel by pulling under and up from the bottom front. Remove all papers & packing
boxes inside case.
Install Power Supply (PSU)
Stand the case. Slide power supply unit from inside the case toward the case rear with power socket
facing the rear & fan facing down into the case. Fasten 4 long screws that came with case through
rear of case into PSU to hold PSU in place. Tighten all screws in the assembly with fingertips force only
on the screwdriver to avoid over tightening and potential damage.
Install Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
Put one hard drive plastic rail that came with case onto each side of hard disk. Align metal knobs on
the rail with screw holes on the drive and snap into place. Make sure the rails stick out on the
connectors side of the hard drive. Push drive with rails into lowest slot of hard drive rack in the case
till it snaps into place and locks.
Install DVD Drive (DVD)
Slide DVD into top slot of exterior 5.25” drive bay rack. Align rear lower screw hole of DVD with second
to rear hole on plastic lock assembly on rack. Push plastic handle forward to tighten. Now you will see
both screw holes on DVD drive aligned with holes on plastic assembly. Push the lock down and
installation is done. Screw in 2 thin screws, that came with the case, in the two holes you see. Also on
the other side of the case, screw in two screws into the DVD in a diagonal pattern.
Install Motherboard (mobo)
DO NOT SCRATCH MOBO TO AVOID POTENTIAL DAMAGE TO ETCHINGS ON MOBO
Lay case on its side with open side facing up, back of case (input/outputs) closest to you. Drape all
long wires including PSU wires outside case, making sure not to scratch case.
Remove input output shield that came with case and install the one that came with the motherboard.
Remove by snapping along edges. On the new shield bend back to the outside of the shield the metal
strips on the two RJ45 and mouse slot holes. Remove S/PDIF input and output blockers from the new
shield. Align the RJ45 hole on the shield to your right when facing the case to install shield. Install new
shield by snapping along edges till small points take hold.
Screw 9 motherboard hexagon stud screws, that came with the case, into the case. Use the 9 holes
that align to the holes on the mobo. These holes are marked A1 - A9 on the case for the ATX case size.
Tighten with mobo hexagon tool with fingertip force only to avoid damage. Also, remember at some
point in the future you may want another mobo and you don't want a nightmare unscrewing overly
tightened screws. Place motherboard on top of the studs. Fasten 9 thin short screws, that came with
case, through the mobo into the studs to fasten mobo. Use a Phillips head screwdriver that sticks to
the screws so the screws do not fall on the mobo. Again, careful that the screwdriver or screws do not
scratch mobo.
Clear CMOS, Check Wake-up Headers
Clear CMOS memory moving jumper from pins 1&2 to 2&3 for 5 seconds, then back to pins 1&2.
Check all six wakeup headers in default position. Refer mobo manual.
Connect power to mobo
Plug in 20 + 4 pin main power to main power slot on mobo. Plug in 4 pin first. Make sure 11, 12, 23 and
24 pins are in right slots.
Connect power to CPU
Plug in 4 pin CPU power to CPU power slot on mobo. Make sure to use correct CPU power connector
by matching plastic shapes on connector to sockets on mobo.
Connect aux power to mobo
Connect aux power slot on mobo to last molex connector on one 12v rail (the one without the floppy
connector at the end). Bring the rail from behind main power header at right angles to keep clutter
down.
Connect case rear exhaust fan to mobo
Connect case rear exhaust fan directly to mobo System fan header. Remove molex adapter cable
attached to rear exhaust fan cable if necessary.
Connect case wires to front panel headers on mobo and to PSU
Connect case wires: hled/rst/spkr/pwr/pled to front panel header on mobo. Refer mobo manual for pin
orientation. Stick the tie holder, a one inch square piece of plastic with a sticker backing, to the case
bottom close to the front panel header. This tie holder comes with the case screws. Now you can tie
these case wires together to the tie holder with a plastic tie provided. This will reduce mobo clutter.
Connect case blue led side lights connector to the second molex connector on the PSU power rail that
is also connected to mobo aux power.
Install Processor (CPU), CPU heat sink & CPU fan
Lift CPU lever, Insert CPU, drop and lock CPU lever
Remove the plastic covering the thermal grease on heat sink. Place heat sink and CPU fan on CPU
making sure CPU fan wire is on the side with easy access to CPU fan header on mobo. Make sure
thermal paste material on heat sink is not wiped off by placing on another surface. Click side latches
and lock by turning lever. Connect CPU fan to CPU fan header on mobo
Install Memory
Insert memory sticks in DIMM1 and DIMM2 (both same color) for dual channel. Make sure notches on
DIMM slots lock memory into place.
Install Video Card
Remove second adapter card slot holder from top and connect the video card into the PCI express x16
slot. Screw the video card holder to the case.
Connect case front panel USB to mobo
Connect case front panel USB cable from case to USB header 1 on mobo
Connect case front panel 1394a (FireWire) to mobo
Connect case front panel 1394a connector into 1394a header 2 on mobo.
Install extra USB & 1394a (FireWire) Bracket
Remove lowest slot holder, install extra USB & FireWire port holder. Screw down.
Connect USB connector from this bracket to USB header number 2 on mobo.
Connect 4 pin 1394a connector to 1394a header 1 on mobo.
Connect Case front panel HD audio to mobo
Connect case front panel HD audio cable from case to front panel audio header on mobo
Connect Power to Hard Drive and DVD
Connect SATA power cable from PSU to HDD. Use the corner SATA power connector for HDD
Connect SATA power cable from PSU to DVD. Use a SATA power adapter cable bought separately, to
convert the first connector on a power rail (the one with the floppy disk drive connector at the end)
to be SATA compatible.
Connect SATA cables from mobo to Hard Drive and DVD
Connect SATA cable that came with mobo from mobo SATA1 header to HDD.
Connect SATA cable that came with mobo from mobo SATA2 header to DVD.
Tuck wires, Place mobo layout sticker on inside case panel
All PSU rails run around mobo behind the main power connector to keep mobo uncluttered. Tuck extra
rails and connectors into external 5.25 drive bay empty space. Use ties as appropriate.
Place mobo sticker on left case panel top.
Snap back case front panel
Remove top 5.25 cover from front panel. Snap back front panel. Make sure all 4 connectors snap.
Place CurrentBuild Dream PC logo label on case
Place CurrentBuild Dream label sticker at bottom center of front panel under the input output panel.
Place computer on its back to get it straight. Height of label is same as flat space available so align
with top edge of flat section to fit right in between. Center between 9th and 10th letter.
Connect power to case left panel fan
Connect case left panel fan to the first molex connector on the same PSU power rail that is also
connected to mobo aux power. Do not screw back left panel yet.
Plug in power supply cord
Plug PSU cord into PSU and wall outlet and start computer.
Test Connections
Test to see the following work - all 5 fans (2 case, CPU, PSU, video card), power button, reset button,
speaker beep, 3 PLED lights (two on side), HDD led light, motherboard main and aux power leds for
standby power, motherboard power on led and DVD led.
Screw back case left and right panel
Screw back left panel with 2 thumb screws. Screw back right panel with 2 regular screws.
Check case
Put scotch tape on power and rest button so they do not come out during shipping
Check all outside case screws tightened. Fingertip pressure only.
More Testing
To test CPU/video card/memory/mobo/hard drive/DVD/PSU/case/keyboard/mouse/audio - connect
the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers to the computer and install the operating system.
Install Operating System (OS)
Enter BIOS and make the boot order DVD first, HDD second.
Install Windows Vista Home Premium with original CD from the DVD drive.
Place Vista Certificate of Authentication sticker on case rear.
Remove CD from DVD drive.
Enter BIOS and change the boot order back to HDD first, DVD second.
Install Utilities, Update BIOS, Install latest Drivers and Install Programs
Create a new folder called CurrentBuild on the hard drive. Under CurrentBuild create a separate sub
folder for each driver and utility to be installed. Copy the latest separately downloaded or otherwise
provided driver or utility installation file to its respective sub folder. Double click on each installation
file in each sub folder to start installing in the order below.
Install latest motherboard BIOS update utility downloaded from motherboard website.
Use the BIOS update utility to update to the latest BIOS file downloaded separately from motherboard
website.
The new BIOS will reset all changes in the BIOS back to default settings so make changes as desired,
particularly the boot order to HDD first and CDROM second.
Install latest motherboard chipset drivers downloaded separately from motherboard website. Do not
install the RAID drivers. They are not needed and will slow down Windows Vista starting time.
Install latest HD audio driver downloaded separately from Realtek's website.
Install latest video card driver downloaded separately from video card manufacturer's website.
LAN should now be working. Connect the RJ45 cable from your DSL or cable modem to the RJ45 jack in
the back panel of the case and test it by browsing a web page.
Install anti virus program and update it from anti virus program's website.
Install AbitEq utility downloaded from motherboard website.
Install CPUZ utility downloaded from CPUZ website and check CPU and memory performance.
Install latest monitor driver downloaded from monitor website, for the monitor to be used.
Install latest keyboard driver for Microsoft Digital Media Keyboard downloaded separately from
Microsoft hardware website, if that is the keyboard to be used.
Install latest mouse driver for Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical downloaded separately from Microsoft
hardware website, if that is the mouse to be used.
Activate Windows Vista Home Premium online from the Control Panel under 'System'.
From Control Panel under 'Appearance' change Windows color scheme to Windows Aero.
From Control Panel under 'Appearance' adjust screen resolution and from the sub menu 'Advanced
Settings' adjust refresh rate as desired.
Use Windows Update to download and install all security fixes and software patches for the OS.
Download and install latest version of Adobe Reader, Flash Player and Java from respective websites.
Even More Testing
Play movie clip to test. Play audio CD to test Let system run for 12 hrs
Wipe down and clean case with moist cloth
Yeah, lets get rid of those fingerprints!
Pack
Pack case in plastic bag and encase corners with foam packing recycled from original packing.
Packing Slip
CurrentBuild Dream PC - Packing Slip
Ship – Your computer is on its way!
CurrentBuild Dream PC
Current build 2
Once the computer has been designed, we have to put it together. We thought some of you may want
the fun, satisfaction and learning of assembling your computer by yourself. Others may have an
interest in just knowing how your computer is assembled. Yes, in the sharing spirit of the wonderful
Internet we give this information away! These step by step instructions are for a prior version of this
model.
Getting the Computer Case Ready
Lay a soft cloth on a table big enough to accommodate both the case, the monitor and keyboard. Make
sure that power supply can be reached. Remove case from packing box, making sure not to scratch
case or destroy packing that will be recycled in shipping. Place case on table. Keep all packing materials
back in the box. Remove all brochures, fliers, instruction materials. Place them in a manila folder. Do
the same for all paperwork that comes with all components. The contents of this folder will be sent
with the computer to the customer at delivery.
Unscrew the screws at the back of case and remove left and right side panels. Place computer on rear
and remove front panel by pulling under and up from the bottom front. Remove all papers & packing
boxes inside case.
Install Power Supply (PSU)
Stand the case. Slide power supply unit from inside the case toward the case rear with power socket
facing the rear & fan facing down into the case. Fasten 4 long screws that came with case through
rear of case into PSU to hold PSU in place. Tighten all screws in the assembly with fingertips force only
on the screwdriver to avoid over tightening and potential damage.
Install Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
Put one hard drive plastic rail that came with case onto each side of hard disk. Align metal knobs on
the rail with screw holes on the drive and snap into place. Make sure the rails stick out on the
connectors side of the hard drive. Push drive with rails into lowest slot of hard drive rack in the case
till it snaps into place and locks.
Install DVD Drive (DVD)
Slide DVD into top slot of exterior 5.25” drive bay rack. Align rear lower screw hole of DVD with second
to rear hole on plastic lock assembly on rack. Push plastic handle forward to tighten. Now you will see
both screw holes on DVD drive aligned with holes on plastic assembly. Push the lock down and
installation is done. Screw in 2 thin screws, that came with the case, in the two holes you see. Also on
the other side of the case, screw in two screws into the DVD in a diagonal pattern.
Install Motherboard (mobo)
DO NOT SCRATCH MOBO TO AVOID POTENTIAL DAMAGE TO ETCHINGS ON MOBO
Lay case on its side with open side facing up, back of case (input/outputs) closest to you. Drape all
long wires including PSU wires outside case, making sure not to scratch case.
Remove input output shield that came with case and install the one that came with the motherboard.
Remove by snapping along edges. On the new shield bend back to the outside of the shield the metal
strips on the two RJ45 and mouse slot holes. Remove S/PDIF input and output blockers from the new
shield. Align the RJ45 hole on the shield to your right when facing the case to install shield. Install new
shield by snapping along edges till small points take hold.
Screw 9 motherboard hexagon stud screws, that came with the case, into the case. Use the 9 holes
that align to the holes on the mobo. These holes are marked A1 - A9 on the case for the ATX case size.
Tighten with mobo hexagon tool with fingertip force only to avoid damage. Also, remember at some
point in the future you may want another mobo and you don't want a nightmare unscrewing overly
tightened screws. Place motherboard on top of the studs. Fasten 9 thin short screws, that came with
case, through the mobo into the studs to fasten mobo. Use a Phillips head screwdriver that sticks to
the screws so the screws do not fall on the mobo. Again, careful that the screwdriver or screws do not
scratch mobo.
Clear CMOS, Check Wake-up Headers
Clear CMOS memory moving jumper from pins 1&2 to 2&3 for 5 seconds, then back to pins 1&2.
Check all six wakeup headers in default position. Refer mobo manual.
Connect power to mobo
Plug in 20 + 4 pin main power to main power slot on mobo. Plug in 4 pin first. Make sure 11, 12, 23 and
24 pins are in right slots.
Connect power to CPU
Plug in 4 pin CPU power to CPU power slot on mobo. Make sure to use correct CPU power connector
by matching plastic shapes on connector to sockets on mobo.
Connect aux power to mobo
Connect aux power slot on mobo to last molex connector on one 12v rail (the one without the floppy
connector at the end). Bring the rail from behind main power header at right angles to keep clutter
down.
Connect case rear exhaust fan to mobo
Connect case rear exhaust fan directly to mobo System fan header. Remove molex adapter cable
attached to rear exhaust fan cable if necessary.
Connect case wires to front panel headers on mobo and to PSU
Connect case wires: hled/rst/spkr/pwr/pled to front panel header on mobo. Refer mobo manual for pin
orientation. Stick the tie holder, a one inch square piece of plastic with a sticker backing, to the case
bottom close to the front panel header. This tie holder comes with the case screws. Now you can tie
these case wires together to the tie holder with a plastic tie provided. This will reduce mobo clutter.
Connect case blue led side lights connector to the second molex connector on the PSU power rail that
is also connected to mobo aux power.
Install Processor (CPU), CPU heat sink & CPU fan
Lift CPU lever, Insert CPU, drop and lock CPU lever
Remove the plastic covering the thermal grease on heat sink. Place heat sink and CPU fan on CPU
making sure CPU fan wire is on the side with easy access to CPU fan header on mobo. Make sure
thermal paste material on heat sink is not wiped off by placing on another surface. Click side latches
and lock by turning lever. Connect CPU fan to CPU fan header on mobo
Install Memory
Insert memory sticks in DIMM1 and DIMM2 (both same color) for dual channel. Make sure notches on
DIMM slots lock memory into place.
Install Video Card
Remove second adapter card slot holder from top and connect the video card into the PCI express x16
slot. Screw the video card holder to the case.
Connect case front panel USB to mobo
Connect case front panel USB cable from case to USB header 1 on mobo
Connect case front panel 1394a (FireWire) to mobo
Connect case front panel 1394a connector into 1394a header 2 on mobo.
Install extra USB & 1394a (FireWire) Bracket
Remove lowest slot holder, install extra USB & FireWire port holder. Screw down.
Connect USB connector from this bracket to USB header number 2 on mobo.
Connect 4 pin 1394a connector to 1394a header 1 on mobo.
Connect Case front panel HD audio to mobo
Connect case front panel HD audio cable from case to front panel audio header on mobo
Connect Power to Hard Drive and DVD
Connect SATA power cable from PSU to HDD. Use the corner SATA power connector for HDD
Connect SATA power cable from PSU to DVD. Use a SATA power adapter cable bought separately, to
convert the first connector on a power rail (the one with the floppy disk drive connector at the end)
to be SATA compatible.
Connect SATA cables from mobo to Hard Drive and DVD
Connect SATA cable that came with mobo from mobo SATA1 header to HDD.
Connect SATA cable that came with mobo from mobo SATA2 header to DVD.
Tuck wires, Place mobo layout sticker on inside case panel
All PSU rails run around mobo behind the main power connector to keep mobo uncluttered. Tuck extra
rails and connectors into external 5.25 drive bay empty space. Use ties as appropriate.
Place mobo sticker on left case panel top.
Snap back case front panel
Remove top 5.25 cover from front panel. Snap back front panel. Make sure all 4 connectors snap.
Place CurrentBuild Dream PC logo label on case
Place CurrentBuild Dream label sticker at bottom center of front panel under the input output panel.
Place computer on its back to get it straight. Height of label is same as flat space available so align
with top edge of flat section to fit right in between. Center between 9th and 10th letter.
Connect power to case left panel fan
Connect case left panel fan to the first molex connector on the same PSU power rail that is also
connected to mobo aux power. Do not screw back left panel yet.
Plug in power supply cord
Plug PSU cord into PSU and wall outlet and start computer.
Test Connections
Test to see the following work - all 5 fans (2 case, CPU, PSU, video card), power button, reset button,
speaker beep, 3 PLED lights (two on side), HDD led light, motherboard main and aux power leds for
standby power, motherboard power on led and DVD led.
Screw back case left and right panel
Screw back left panel with 2 thumb screws. Screw back right panel with 2 regular screws.
Check case
Put scotch tape on power and rest button so they do not come out during shipping
Check all outside case screws tightened. Fingertip pressure only.
More Testing
To test CPU/video card/memory/mobo/hard drive/DVD/PSU/case/keyboard/mouse/audio - connect
the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers to the computer and install the operating system.
Install Operating System (OS)
Enter BIOS and make the boot order DVD first, HDD second.
Install Windows Vista Home Premium with original CD from the DVD drive.
Place Vista Certificate of Authentication sticker on case rear.
Remove CD from DVD drive.
Enter BIOS and change the boot order back to HDD first, DVD second.
Install Utilities, Update BIOS, Install latest Drivers and Install Programs
Create a new folder called CurrentBuild on the hard drive. Under CurrentBuild create a separate sub
folder for each driver and utility to be installed. Copy the latest separately downloaded or otherwise
provided driver or utility installation file to its respective sub folder. Double click on each installation
file in each sub folder to start installing in the order below.
Install latest motherboard BIOS update utility downloaded from motherboard website.
Use the BIOS update utility to update to the latest BIOS file downloaded separately from motherboard
website.
The new BIOS will reset all changes in the BIOS back to default settings so make changes as desired,
particularly the boot order to HDD first and CDROM second.
Install latest motherboard chipset drivers downloaded separately from motherboard website. Do not
install the RAID drivers. They are not needed and will slow down Windows Vista starting time.
Install latest HD audio driver downloaded separately from Realtek's website.
Install latest video card driver downloaded separately from video card manufacturer's website.
LAN should now be working. Connect the RJ45 cable from your DSL or cable modem to the RJ45 jack in
the back panel of the case and test it by browsing a web page.
Install anti virus program and update it from anti virus program's website.
Install AbitEq utility downloaded from motherboard website.
Install CPUZ utility downloaded from CPUZ website and check CPU and memory performance.
Install latest monitor driver downloaded from monitor website, for the monitor to be used.
Install latest keyboard driver for Microsoft Digital Media Keyboard downloaded separately from
Microsoft hardware website, if that is the keyboard to be used.
Install latest mouse driver for Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical downloaded separately from Microsoft
hardware website, if that is the mouse to be used.
Activate Windows Vista Home Premium online from the Control Panel under 'System'.
From Control Panel under 'Appearance' change Windows color scheme to Windows Aero.
From Control Panel under 'Appearance' adjust screen resolution and from the sub menu 'Advanced
Settings' adjust refresh rate as desired.
Use Windows Update to download and install all security fixes and software patches for the OS.
Download and install latest version of Adobe Reader, Flash Player and Java from respective websites.
Even More Testing
Play movie clip to test. Play audio CD to test Let system run for 12 hrs
Wipe down and clean case with moist cloth
Yeah, lets get rid of those fingerprints!
Pack
Pack case in plastic bag and encase corners with foam packing recycled from original packing.
Packing Slip
CurrentBuild Dream PC - Packing Slip
- Packaged Items
- CurrentBuild Dream PC, AMD build III with Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 Installed
- Microsoft Digital Media Keyboard with palm rest extension
- Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical
- Large Plastic Envelope
- Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 CD and documentation.
- Driver CDs (2) – Abit Motherboard and XFX Video Card (Please note: The latest drivers have
been downloaded separately and installed for you. These downloaded driver setup files have
been saved in the CurrentBuild folder on your hard drive. The drivers on the manufacturer CDs
are older and should not be used, but have been provided for your reference) - Motherboard Documentation
- Video Card Documentation
- CPU Documentation
- Case Documentation
- White Box 1 contents
- VGA DVI adapter
- Extra Video Cable
- Power supply cord
- Extra 2 pairs hard drive rails
- White Box 2 Contents
- Extra 4 SATA cables
- Extra 2 IDE Cables
- Extra 1 SLI bridge
- Extra 1 SLI holder
- Extra screws
- Extra 2 back panel slot holders
- Extra 5.25 drive bay cover
- Extra Input Output shield
- Individual component packing from manufacturers
- This packing sheet
Ship – Your computer is on its way!
