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greenmedic88 on 15 February 2010
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Epoch said:
Squilliam said:
Epoch said:

So I got my parts today and have begun putting the stuff together. So far its pretty easy, some of the stuff seems like I had to push harder than I would have expected to get it into place. 

My question is, how do I attach the motherboard to the case? I only have metal standoffs, is that ok for my motherboard? Some sites say motherboards may use non-conducting standoffs, but I don't have any.  There are no instructions in the Mobo manual, so I'm kinda wary of shorting the thing out.

Any advice?

The ones that you are given are fine. Enthusiasts tend to take things to the extreme and often without care to what you actually need. The motherboards are engineered to expect the screws that they give you with the motherboard. I wouldn't use anything but the same. I suspect that if they are insulating then it may allow static to build up on the motherboard.

I hope you're installing the motherboard first before you put any components on the board. Its just easier that way.

Damn you.... I put the ram and CPU in before installing the mobo to the case. It wasn't too bad though.

The first time I tried to turn it on, not much happened. Turns out I hadn't connected the power to the CPU.  Now it turns on and asks me to insert a boot disc, which I don't have yet =(.  Still waiting on my school to give me an access code for Windows 7 pro.  Probably took me 3 hours to put together, I had an issue getting the graphics card to attach to the case because it was just slightly out of line with the screw holes in the chassis.  Other than that it went pretty well.

For those interested:  This is what $1500 gets you in Canada

Motherboard partly assembled.

In the case

Almost there

Tower assembled!

Thanks again for all your help guys. Went much better than I expected and I would definitely do it again. It would probably take me half the time to put another one together.

 

The next time you rebuild, it probably will take you half the time or less since you're familiar with the process.

If or when you decide to get into overclocking, you will be rebuilding (replace stock CPU cooler, quality thermal interface material) since most decent aftermarket CPU coolers will require you to pull the motherboard (have a back plate for mounting). While it's out, look up examples of cable management online to see how you can arrange all wiring behind the motherboard or neatly zip-tied against flat surfaces of the case. All excess SATA cable lengths should be rolled and zip-tied out of the way as well. It's not just for aesthetics; good cable management will help airflow, necessary for air cooled overclocked systems.

Personally, unless this PC is your toy and you don't actually need it for productivity (a novel idea), I'd just leave it running at stock clocks or with a mild overclock if you can keep your temps low. Lian Li cases are very nice, but don't exactly have the best airflow for extreme overclocking anyway.