PC Build questions

[Dave_Lethal]

Hello

First off, I went with an Asus A8N5X motherboard and an AMD Athlon 3800+ processor.

I just got done putting in my motherboard and processor (I was unaware that I needed thermal paste so I have not installed the fan on it yet) and I just got done hooking up all the wires on the motherboard. There are a few things I'm confused about though:

The System Panel Connector



There is a color coated wire and a white wire on each connector. The instructions that came with the case label these as + for the color wire and - for the white wire. The instructions for the motherboard label the wires as Ground and PWR (or whatever the function is)

My question on that is, do the white wires (-) go into the Ground pins or do the color (+) wires? Right now I have it so that all the white wires are on the Ground side. Sorry if my explanation is a bit unclear, but it's hard to explain, hopefully I got my question across.

Another thing about the System Panel Connector, there doesn't seem to be a connector coming from my case to hook up to the System power LED slot. The instructions for the case label this as a green and white wired cable, but I don't have a green and white wired cable. I do have two cables that are blue and white though. One of them goes into one of the slots, and the other one, I have no idea what it is or where it goes. I'm assuming it's the System power LED cable, but it doesn't seem to fit anywhere. Here is a picture of it, it has two prongs:




My next question is about the Firewire (1934) connector. There doesn't seem to be a place for it on my motherboard Also, there are spots on the motherboard labeled USB56, USB78, and USB910. I have the extra USB ports that came with the motherboard plugged into the USB56 slot and the front panel USB hooked up to the USB910 slot. Is there a difference between these slots and is there a certain way they should be hooked up?


Those are the only questions I have for now, here's a pic of everything I have done so far.



Thanks for any help anyone can offer, and if I have any more questions I'll post them in this thread.

[freelobotomy]

Hey Dave, what case did you buy? Any case I've bought in the last 5 years has labeled motherboard connectors, detailed such as HDD LED, PWR, RESET, PWR LED, etc.. White is - , colored is + , meaning white is GRND & colored is PWR or whatever but there's not much to worry about as far as hooking them up wrong. If it doesn't boot, switch the connectors. If the HDD light doesn't flicker, switch 'em.

I saw nothing as far as the specs on your board regarding 1394 (FireWire) which I find odd for an nForce4 board (I have 2 nForce4's & both have 1394 although I've never used it). The empty turquoise box between your system connectors and your USB connectors looks like my FireWire connector so if you got the back panel adapter, it should plug right in. Neither of mine are Asus now, but I've owned Asus in the last 2 years.

BTW, I have a 3800+ Dual Core on an eVGA nForce4 board & it's a rocket ship. That 2 pronged connector pictured looks like a chipset or system fan but you say it is a case connector meaning it's attached to the case and not coming from the motherboard?

The USB connections that came with the motherboard are easy because you normally just have 1 plug. It only fits one way. The case connectors for front case USB ports can be tricky and you should take great caution in double checking the 8 individual wires it takes to use those front USB ports.

I've built about 10 systems in the last year so I'd like to help more...Let me know if I can.

[Dave_Lethal]

Thanks for the reply

I bought the Rosewill TU-155 case. They are labeled as you described I was just confused as to which wire was supposed to be in the ground plug. But thanks for making that clear.

And, unfortunately, my processor is the single core version of the 3800+. I'm hoping it meets my high expectations for it, I've heard great things about it.

I have the firewire cable coming off of the front panel of the case. The does not fit into that turqoise box, the missing pin is on the wrong end, and the box is labeled COM1 and is described in the manual as a Serial Port connector, for a serial port module cable. If the missing pin was on the other end, or on the bottom row instead of the top, it would fit.

And right, that strange two prong cable is coming out of the front of the case, not the motherboard. All the fan hookups have 3 prongs, and the chipset fan came already on the motherboard and plugged in, but I checked that also and it's also 3 prongs. I believe it's the System power LED, since I don't seem to have a cable for that, even though the case instructions list it as being a green and white wired cable which I do not have. The two pronged cable has electrical tape or something around the end of the cord and it is not labeled.

The USB plug that comes from the front of the case also only fits one way, I just want to be sure I have the right ones plugged into the right slots.
USB56, USB78, and USB910, are there no difference between those three?

Oh and I do have one more question: I originally had the Hard Drive mounted on the bottom rack where you put the extra hard drives, I figured it's next to the front cooling fans so it would stay cooler, however the SATA cable coming from the PSU didn't reach all the way down there so I had to move it up to the slot right underneath the floppy drive slots (as you can see in the picture). Is my hard drive going to stay cool enough there? Or should I buy something so that I can hook it up to a PCI slot in the back and have the front case fans that I'm going to put in blowing on it?

EDIT: According to the instructions on the Rosewill site, the system power LED is a blue and white wire. The wires seem to fit into a power supply plug, although there are only two and the other two will be empty. That's the only place that I can think of to put it though. I also have one more question, the rear panel fan has two plugs that look like power supply plugs on it instead of a three prong connector. One of them has prongs and the other has an input for prongs to go into. Do I plug one of them into the power supply? If so, what is the recieving plug for?

[freelobotomy]

Been outta town but here goes...First, I see no mention of FireWire supported on this motherboards' spec's and I've been thru the whole manual. You could add a PCI card for FireWire, if you need it, and they usually have an internal connector that your cases' front panel would connect to, like this.... http://www.compusa.com/products/product ... r_PCI_Card.
Notice the port on the back of the card that would be facing the front of your case. That's where you'd connect the cases' front panel FireWire cable. You can find them cheaper, I'm sure. Try NewEgg...is that where you bought your case? The latest reviews on the power supply that came with that case don't look so hot so you may want to upgrade that to a quality PS of 500 watts or more. The turquoise box IS COM1 so don't force that one, heh.

I need a little more info on the blue and white wires. I didn't see anything at Rosewill regarding them. Could you send me a link or some more pics? It may be a connector to monitor your Power supply fan speed and I've used them in the past but they are not essential and I don't know why that would be coming from your case and not your power supply. I'd still like to see more on that.

The USB connections you refer to are correct. There is no difference between these connections so hook 'em up in what ever order you prefer. While you are shopping for that FireWire card (if needed) buy a longer SATA cable or extension. That'd be cheaper than a front or rear fan gizmo....Looks like you've got plenty of ventilation so heat shouldn't be a big factor. You have to weigh ventilation versus noise. My main system has so many fans it practically hovers, lol. My power house is virtually silent. Hope this helps.

[Dave_Lethal]

The firewire is no biggie. I'm never going to use it.

I do plan on buying a new PSU in the near future.

If you go to the Rosewill website and download the manual for the case there, you will see the correction on there that the Power switch LED wire is actually blue and not green. So I know for a fact that this mystery wire is for the LED for the power switch on the front of the case.The question is where do I hook it up. My brother got his case the other day (not the same brand I got) and his came with the actual connector to the motherboard for his power switch led. I'm thinking I got a machine that was recently returned or something. Here are some more detailed pics:


The above is the mystery wire

And here it is attached to one of the cables from the PSU, which is the only place I can seem to hook it up:


Notice that it leaves two open spaces on the cord from the PSU. I'm not sure if it will hurt anything when I plan to do my first boot, which will be on Tuesday or Wednesday.

[freelobotomy]

Oh No, Dave, that's not right at all....Don't even think about it....That LED might blow right out of the lens. Let me do some more reading, I'll be in touch by tomorrow. Unplug that right away or you'll end up on the internet with the tag "What Not To Do", heh.

[Dave_Lethal]

Done.

[freelobotomy]

Dave, I searched everywhere & saw a few mentioned items regarding that male connector but no real solutions. I d/l'd another Rosewill cases' manual and found a phone # to call Rosewill and talked to Arthur today. I sent him your pics & pics from Newegg with the mystery connector circled via paint. Here is his reply;

"Hi Ken,

There should be a male to female connector on the blue white wire that you metioned. Since it is not there,

We will mail you a connector.

Please provide your address and phone No.

Regards

Rosewill
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Friday, August 04, 2006 9:15 AM
To: ** rma (us.rw)
Subject: Attn: Arthur TU-155 wiring pics


The motherboard connectors should all be female so where does this male connector go? The pic labeled Rosewill is a pic from Newegg with the wires in question circled in red and a 2 pin male connector. Thanks,
Ken"

Dave, PM me or something & we'll get you a "gender changer". Hope this is satisfactory. I've never had to work so hard on a new build but it was really nice to be able to talk to a real person and get a same day response.

[Dave_Lethal]

Wow, you didn't have to do all that for me, but thanks! You've been a big help, I will send you a PM.

[Dave_Lethal]

My first boot was a success, everything is running smoothly, and this computer is blazing fast! I love it!

[freelobotomy]

Congrats! Guess you got the adapter...or a reasonable facsimile...heh. Wouldn't hurt if that connector wasn't hooked up but I like all my lights blinkin'..

[Dave_Lethal]

I didn't get the adapter yet. I sent Rosewill an email though. That's the only thing not working on my case, the blue power LED. Rosewill hasn't responded, but I sent them my name address and phone number. They're phone customer service wasn't all that good. Some lady answered and said the guy wasn't in right now or something. I'll try again if I don't get something soon.