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Motherboard Preparation Guide
When building a new pc from parts it is much easier to perform all motherboard preparation before installing the board into the case. This guide will take you through the process of setting jumpers on your new board.
Working with motherboards and performing the motherboard prepartation can be an intimidating task to the first time system builder. In actuality they are very straight forward to work with if you read the manual before you begin. If there is something in the manual that you do not understand then look it up.
Not reading and understanding the manual can cause simple mistakes to delay the process of installing your system and cause high levels of frustration.
Motherboards are highly configurable because they are designed to work many different types of hardware. The settings the board uses are controlled by which circuits are carrying an electric current.
Some motherboards use jumpers to control these settings. Jumpers are nothing more than a pair of pins, each carrying an electric current. When these pins are left in a non-connected state the circuit is broken and the jumper is considered to be in the off state. By placing a small plastic cap over top of the pins the circut is completed and the jumper is in the on state.
Some of the new motherboards are called jumperless. This is because they do not user jumpers to set most of the main system settings. These are instead done through the BIOS. These boards are easier to perform motherboard preparation on, but still require some patience.
If you have a jumperless motherboard you should go ahead to the CPU Installation Guide. If your board has jumpers then please read on.
Here is a basic outline of the settings you will need to check on your board. As I said above you will need to have your manual handy and follow the specific instructions outlined in it:
Set the Voltage settings on the motherboard- your manual will outline the jumpers to use and what pins to jumper. Set the voltage to match the settings of your intended CPU.
Set the processor speed on the motherboard- This is usually done by setting the system bus speed and the multiplier. The multiplier is the number when multiplied by the system bus speed gives you the processor speed. There is a separate jumper for each of these settings. You should set these to match your intended CPU.
Once these have been set you will want to double check them and all of the factory default settings. These should be outlined in your manual.
When you have finished double checking your work you are ready for the CPU Installation Guide.