Installing RAM, DDR2, DDR and RDRAM
Installing Video Cards (PCI Express and AGP) and Modems
My illustrated guide to replacing a cpu |
Full size flowchart with text: |
It's much easier to install the CPU and heatsink before installing the motherboard in the case, as we do in each of the three example builds in the 4th edition of Build Your Own PC. The beefiest heatsink I've ever dealt with in my life is the copper slug that cools the Athlon 64 in our second build. The heatsink itself didn't ship with a thermal compound, so I used Arctic Silver, who's been making the premier branded stuff for some years. The 64 bit AMD Athlon 3800+ CPU would cook itself in a heartbeat without the heatsink installed, so don't go playing any "I just wanted to see if it would work," games.
The heatsink that came with our Pentium 4 560 is a new Intel design that features a round slug and spiraling fins, which are supposed to help break up the airflow. Since we chose to install the Intel Pentium 4 rig in our Antec case that features a fan hood directly above the ATX CPU location, the ventilation channel with the outside air is guaranteed. The heatsink was novel in another way, with plastic hold-downs that install and release with a twisting action, as opposed to being held in place with massive springs over the ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) socket that all modern CPUs employ.
The heatsink that shipped with the Pentium 4 in socket 478 was also quite novel for its time, with two levers moving in opposite directions to lock the heatsink over the CPU to the pre-installed infrastructure. Since CPU installation can be a nerve racking experience for the first time builder, we illustrate the CPU and heatsink install in each build with a whole series of photographs, from opening the socket and aligning the CPU to applying thermal compound and installing the heatsink.
After physically installing the CPU and heatsink, the next step is always connecting the heatsink fan to the proper power point. On older motherboards, you may have to make some manual selections as to the CPU type and speed, but new motherboards let you do all of this with BIOS settings, even for overclocking if permitted.
This illustrated guide to building a PC can't be updated due to my non-compete with McGraw-Hill. Click on B/W thumbnails for fullsize color images, use "Back" button on browser to return.
| Both the P-II and Celeron CPUs are packaged as SEC's (Single Edge Cartridges), but the Celeron lacks the external cache and locking package of the PII. Both SEC's are designed to accept heatsinks, the P-II (right), a single piece heatsink and fan for which the P-II package provides the locking mechanism, and the Celeron (left), which requires the two piece assembly. |
Celeron and P-II with Heat Sinks |
Installing P-II heatsink |
The P-II heatsink is installed on the unlabled side of the package, with four holes to accept the metal tabs that are attached to the heatsink with permanently mounted fan. Once the heatsink is placed on the P-II, hold it in place, turn over the whole assembly, and lock the heatsink in place with the two locking levers. |
| Shown here is the bare Celeron SEC, from the back, along with the bracket use to lock either CPU type to the motherboard. You can clearly see (click on pic) the double depth arrangement of traces on the card edge used to make all of the connections in a limited space, reminiscent of the EISA bus. |
Celeron from back with bracket |
Installing the Celeron heatsink mount |
The Celeron SEC comes without mounting hardware for a heatsink and fan, but does have four holes in the circuit board. A spring loaded backing plate with four male hold-downs is mounted on the back of the card, where you can see all the solder points for the CPU legs coming through in a square. |
| The actual heatsink with permanently attached fan is then pressed over the CPU side of the card, and locked in place by the four hold-downs protruding through the circuit card. You must take some care in this step because it takes a reasonable amount of force to compress the springs enough to lock on. |
Installing the Celeron heatsink |
P-II fan connection to motherboard |
New motherboards provide a dedicated connector for powering the heatsink fan required by the P-II or Celeron CPUs. Our Intel motherboard provides three different connectors for powering add-on fans. The proper connector for the heatsink is located between the DIMM banks and the P-II Slot 1 connector. |
| Finally, you can see the P-II mounted on the motherboard, which in turn is mounted on the removable pan. The P-II SEC is locked in place by the bracket, without the top piece required by the Celeron. A top view will be provided in Part IV. |
P-II with heatsink mounted on motherboard |
Step-by-step PC Repair Troubleshooting Techniques and Running a Computer Repair Business