Articles - Roll Your Own Thunderbird pt. 3


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Roll Your Own Thunderbird pt. 3

Jun30

Written by:Rip Rowan
Saturday, June 30, 2001 12:00 PM

Step 1: Install the CPU onto the motherboard

Note that CPUs and RAM are particularly static-sensitive. Generally you won't have a problem with static, but for safety you can always ground yourself to grounded metal when handling these devices.
Lift the locking lever all the way up before trying to place the CPU in the socket.
Gently place the CPU into the CPU socket on the motherboard. It should drop in without any pressure at all. Note that the pins will only allow the CPU to be entered in the correct orientation. If it doesn't drop in, don't force it!
Gently lower the locking lever all the way down until it locks into place.

Step 2: Install the heatsink and fan

Your heatsink should have a layer of thermal paste already applied to the contact patch. If the heatsink instead ships with a tube of thermal paste, be sure to use a very thin, even layer of paste on the contact patch. Do not install a heatsink without thermal paste.
The heatsink will only fit on the socket one way. Be sure to correctly align the "wide" side of the heatsink to the "wide" side of the socket.
Gently set the heatsink in place and attach one side of the clamp bar. Note that one side of the clamp bar should have a socket into which you can insert a large flat-head screwdriver to apply pressure.
First, attach the other side of the clamp bar. Then use the screwdriver to gently press the remaining side of the clamp bar into place.
Note that Athlon processors are quite fragile! Although the clamp bar should fit very tightly, be as gentle as possible and avoid any kind of shock while attaching the heatsink.
After installing the heatsink, connect the CPU fan to the motherboard's CPU fan connector. This is the plug near the CPU between the row of five black capacitors and the pink parallel port.

Step 3: Install the motherboard standoffs

Note that we have removed the cover from the case and removed the stainless steel crossbrace from the top of the case.
The standoffs are included with the case and are small brass doo-dads with both male and female threaded ends.
Different motherboards have different mounting hole configurations. For the KK266 there are nine holes which line up with the case (shown).
Some people only install four to six standoffs. In this case I have installed all nine to minimize vibration, improve grounding, and lessen the chance of damage to the motherboard from pressure.

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2 comment(s) so far...

Are you squeamish about building your own PC from scratch? It's not as hard as you might think. If you are really mechanically-challenged, or don't know your RAM from your SCSI, then maybe this is ...
# Rip Rowan

By TrackBack on Wednesday, August 01, 2007 8:19 PM

Are you squeamish about building your own PC from scratch? It's not as hard as you might think. If you are really mechanically-challenged, or don't know your RAM from your SCSI, then maybe this is ...
# Rip Rowan

By TrackBack on Wednesday, August 01, 2007 8:31 PM

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