1. where can i learn
how to fix up the computer and know which parts go to which
part.
There are DIY PC guides online, or maybe in community centers,
but the best way to learn is to take apart your old PC and look at
what cables are connected to what, which parts are to be installed
where.
Components in a basic PC is actually very easy to install as
there is only ONE way you can connect them together, it is like the
USB port in the front of your PC, you can only plug it in in a
direction, unless you use brute force.
Installing the motherboard on the casing is easy, as motherboard
comes only in a few sizes, and the mounting holes are standard.
That also means that the casing have holes predrilled to fit your
motherboard. The only thing you need to do is to is installing the
'stand off' or copper things(suddenly forgot wad it is called) onto
the holes on the casing which corresponds to the layout of the
mounting holes on your motherboard
The riskier part will be installing the CPU into the socket, a
wrongly inserted CPU(as in direction) will spoil both the cpu and
motherboard if you force it in. On a CPU, there will be a small
notch or small 'triangle' marking, and that 'triangle' marking will
have to match up on the motherboard's 'triangle' marking, and the
notch fitting perfectly into the cpu socket's notch. It is like a
jigsaw puzzle, there is only one way you can fit it in.
DVD drive is 5.25 inch , and it can only fit in the 5.25 inch
bay(which is the top) of the casing, alignment is foolproof as you
want your drive tray to face outside casing so you can put ur disc
in
HDD for desktops are normally 3.5inch, and the connection side will
face the inside of the motherboard. Usually the HDD will be
installed at the bottom front of the casing
Nowadays graphics card are using the PCI express x16 slot(It is
the design of the slot). Meaning to say your old graphics card
using another slot design will not fit into your new
motherboard
2.I am deciding to retain the
following,-power supply, casing, dvd drive, monitor , and keyboard
which does not use usb end.
Depending on how old your powersupply is, if it is just a few
years old, you can still use it, but if it like 10 years old, the
powersupply's motherboard's power connection cable may only be
20pin, while nowadays's motherboard uses 24pin and an additional
4pin or 8pin
Casing are usually 90percent fine unless the casing you have now
only supports smaller sized motherboards, and you want to get a
motherboard of bigger size. If you are just getting a simple
system, a new casing and a "450w" powersupply(which is only 250w or
more in actual fact), will only cost $50
DVD drive you can reuse, even if it is still using IDE
connection(The long thick piece of cable which looks like a floppy
disk connector), as most motherboard still has it. However if i am
right, some highend motherboard already dont have floppy and IDE
connections.
Monitor you can reuse, if i were to assume your monitor uses VGA
connection:
Before that, you need to decide whether you want to use a graphics
card or not. If yes, make sure the
graphics card comes with a VGA out, or an adaptor. If no,
make sure your motherboard's onboard graphics also have
VGA out, if not you need an
adaptor. Reason is because nowadays the video output are by
DVI or HDMI
If your original ram is DDR2, and the current motherboard
you are buying supports DDR2, then you can reuse, if not, you have
to buy a new ram
The CPU you chosen is a dualcore cpu. The motherboard you chosen
is a P45 intel chipset, but manufactured by asus.
Just like rams, motherboard is designed to go with the CPU. You
cant install the Dualcore CPU you choosen on a P55 motherboard,
because the P55 motherboard's cpu socket's design is different from
the cpu you chosen. Simply put it, it is like putting a floppy
diskette into a dvd drive, they dont work together. This is
actually the more confusing part when building a new PC, as even
though you know what CPU to use, the motherboard you choose is
actually depending on your usage.
The difference between the motherboard name is just the
features.
Motherboard for INTEL processors are easier to differentiate than
Motherboard for AMD processors because of the way they are named(at
least to me)
Just fyi, you CANNOT install an AMD chip on a motherboard designed
for intel
And in Motherboard for intel processor alone, the way asus name
their motherboard is also not that good for beginners(Just look at
the naming format and you get what i mean).
When customers ask me what is the difference, i can only give a
rough guess(maybe because im inexperienced),. For example i will
say maybe the product model end with the letter R, it may mean it
supports Raid, and the one that doesnt have it doesnt supprot Raid.
The best way is to look at the box and compare.
Connecting cables, look at the part where i talk about the
powersupply
RAM - Kingston pc6400
800mhx 2GB = 59, and another one is
Kingston ddr400 pc3200 1GB = 56.
Just from the name alone, i think the first one you chose is
actually DDR2, because of the naming. 800mhz is the speed, and only
DDR2 rams run at that speed. And if you take 6400 divide by
8, you get 800mhz
Kingston ddr400 is a ddr1 if im right, because only DDR1 run at
that speed of 400mhz. dividing 3200 by 8 gives you
400mhz.
I dun really remember why i divide it by 8, there is a theory
behind it, but i forgotten
Just FYI, You cannot use DDR1 on a motherboard that supports
DDR2, the ddr1 ram jsut wont fit into the slot. Even if your
motherboard support both, you cant use them together, at least for
now
