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Build Your Own PC

Install Motherboard

May 31, 1999
By David Risley

Now you need to install the motherboard into the case. For further information on this procedure, you can check out the page on upgrading your motherboard. But, since that procedure is written for upgrades, and you are building a brand new system, the relevant steps are outlined below.

1. Once the case is positioned correctly for work, locate the holes on the motherboard and the holes on the case. You might want to hold the board just above the case motherboard plate and see which holes on the case line up with holes on the motherboard.
2. Now gather your spacers, pictured to the right. Screw them in to the hole in the case or mounting plate that line up with holes on the motherboard. You can tighten them with a 3/16" nut driver.
3. For the holes that line up with a eyelet hole on the case (a hole that is very long so that you can slide things in it), install a plastic stand-off on the motherboard. The stand-off should poke through the motherboard and expand to keep them in place. The little disk on the other end of the stand-off will later be used to slide into the eyelet holes. If your case does not provide eyelet holes, don't worry about this step.
4. Now slide the board into the case. Make sure it sits on the spacers and that all the spacers line up with an available hole on the motherboard. If you have any stand-offs installed, make sure the little disks on them are placed into the wide end of the eyelet hole, then slided over to the narrow part, thus locking them in. Once the stand-offs are locked in, all spacers should line up.
5. Inspect the screws you will use to tighten the board down. If the head of the screws are too wide, and you think they might contact any circuitry on the motherboard, place a plastic washer over each hole.
6. Tighten the board down. Install the screws into each of the spacers underneath, through the board, and the washers if you used them. Tighten them down by hand first, then finish them with a screwdriver. Make sure you don't tighten them too much. You don't want to crack your board.
7. Install the panel if your case uses one. This usually involves inserting a rail on the bottom end of the plate into a tab or guide on the case. Then, like a hinge, raise the top until the plate is vertical with the board inside the case. This removable plate is then closed by locking in a spring loaded handle, or simply screwing it in.
8. Double check your work. Check to be sure that the back of the motherboard is not touching any part of the case or mounting plate. Make sure the slots and connectors line up with the holes on the back of the case. And definitely be sure that the board is rigid and tight. If you press down on the board at any point, it should not bend down.

Previous: « Install Memory

Next: Install I/O Port Connectors »

Skip To Page 1 Introduction 2 Purchase/Collect Components 3 Remove System Case 4 Prepare Case 5 Install Floppy Drive 6 Configure Hard Drive & CD-ROM 7 Install Hard Drive 8 Install CD-ROM 9 Configure the Motherboard 10 Install the CPU 11 Install Heat Sink 12 Install Cache Module 13 Install Memory • 14 Install Motherboard 15 Install I/O Port Connectors 16 Connect the Motherboard to the Case 17 Connect Floppy to Motherboard 18 Connect Hard Drive 19 Connect CD-ROM 20 Install Video Card 21 Post-Assembly 22 Initial Boot-Up 23 Configure the BIOS 24 Test Your System 25 Install Additional Hardware 26 Prepare the Hard Drive 27 Install Drivers and OS

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