Build Your Own PC
Configure the MotherboardMay 31, 1999
By David Risley
Now you have your drives installed into the case. It's time to get your motherboard ready to install. The first step is to configure it.
Configuring your motherboard usually requires setting jumpers on the motherboard according to the CPU you plan on putting on it. Not all boards use jumpers -- some make use of DIP Switches. For more info on these setups, see the section on jumpers and DIP switches. Also, other newer boards are jumperless, making use of a system called SoftMenu, in which the settings normally set with jumpers or DIPs are set in a special CMOS type program. If the motherboard you are installing is jumperless, you can basically skip this step because it will have to be done later. You might want to read through it, though, because even the jumperless design has at least a few jumpers.
You need to have the manual for your board available. If you do not have the manual, log on to the manufacturer's web site and see if you can find this info there. You can also try their tech support via telephone.
Motherboard manuals come in two main formats. Some are friendly for hardware buffs by listing a separate jumper or DIP switch for CPU core voltage, I/O voltage, multiplier, and system bus speed. They then tell you the settings for each of these. This format is better because of the increased control. Other manuals list the settings next to a list of commonly used CPU's, showing the common settings for each. While this format is easier for the end user for easy setup, it is tougher if you like increased control of the settings, for overclocking for example.
There are few things to be careful of. When setting the processor speed via the jumpers, use the processors true speed. If your chip is rated with the P-rating system, it does not run at this speed. The P-rating is simply a comparison to the Intel chip. Such an example is the AMD K5-166. This chip has a P-rating of 166MHz, but actually runs at 116.7MHz.
When playing with the board, be careful with it. It is usually best to place it on the static bag it was in when setting the jumpers. Always place the board on a flat surface. And always ground yourself before handling the board. When handling the board, handle it by the edges only when at all possible.
- Read the Manual. Always read the listings for settings and locate all jumpers on the motherboard itself and what settings they control.
- Set the voltage settings. Most older chips use one single voltage, and the newer chips we use today use a split voltage. All newer motherboards provide jumpers for the core voltage and I/O voltage. Set them to match your intended CPU. If you are using an older chip with one voltage, just set both voltages to be the same. For more information on processor voltage and a table of common CPU voltages, see Processor Voltage.
- Set the processor speed. This is not usually done with a single jumper. It is, instead, done by setting the system bus speed and a multiplier. The multiplier is the number which when multiplied by the system bus speed gives the processor speed. There is a separate jumper for each of these settings. Configure these to match the intended CPU. If you know what you're doing and would like to overclock the chip a tad, set these jumpers a little differently. If your manual lists settings by CPU, just do what it says. You can sometimes infer from the manual which switches control voltage, multiplier, etc. Also, watch for chips that use different multiplier settings than they actually use. For example, many 233MHz chips use a 3.5x multiplier, but since some boards don't offer this option, they interpret the 1.5x multiplier to be 3.5x.
- Some boards make use of a jumper to set the cache size and type. Set this now, if need be. If you have on-board cache, which most do, you won't need to bother.
- Older boards often had a jumper setting for telling the system how much memory it had. If your has it, set this now. Most Pentium-class boards don't have this jumper.
- Most of the configuring is done. Now you want to double-check the other settings that were set my the manufacturer to make sure they are correct. Make sure the CMOS-clear jumper is set to normal so that you can change the BIOs settings later. Make sure the battery jumper is set to onboard battery instead of external battery. If you have a jumper enabling Flash BIOS, make sure this is disabled. Also, check to see if all jumper enabling or disabling onboard controllers are set correctly. All these settings are usually set correctly by default, but you need to make sure.
- Double check all of your own work. It's better to be safe than sorry.
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