Besides cpu, heatsink, and ram, what else actually connects directly to the motherboard?

Rizing · Apr 27, 2017

Hi all,

As excited as I was to build my first pc today, I might have to pay a small fee to watch a professional do it and replicate what they do for future builds. Why?

I noticed a lot of my parts have cables. I know that the cables are used to connect to other components, but I've suddenly realized that I'm not sure if I will need to pin any of the cables to the motherboard to get instructions relayed.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/274745-31-step-step-guide-building

According to this guide, the only parts that connect directly are the cpu, heatsink, and ram.
How do you know where else to put any other components?
What I mean is, the pins you see on the ends of the cables.

For ex, my case has 5 different fans pre-installed and have a total of 2 different connector types on the end. I have no idea where on the motherboard I would "pin" them to get them to activate when I finally turn on the computer. Same with every other component. Or do they connect to each other and never have to connect to the mobo? I've never studied my old motherboard before, so I'm totally lost on this.

Also, I was told that a b250 motherboard would work with a i7 7700 (the original suggestion for this mobo was an i5 6500), but that a z270 is better for gaming. Is the difference enough to return the 250 for a 270?

Thanks,

Thanks,

13thmonkey · Apr 27, 2017

Read your mobo manual it will tell you where your fan headers are on the board.

Other than that:
CPU onto board, HSf onto CPU, cpu fan into cpu fan header
24pin power to board
4/8pin EPS power to board
SATA data cables to board
SATA power cables to drives
GPU into board
PCI-E power cables to GPU (if present)
case switch cables to mobo (refer to manual)
Case USB to mobo

Rizing · Apr 27, 2017

13thmonkey :

Dude, thank you so much. You just potentially saved me $100.

The only steps i don't recognize the parts for are the 24 pin and 4/8 pins. Is that for the power supply? But I only remember one on my current psu, which is only 2 years old or so.

For the hsf, I keep seeing everywhere that a pea sized amount of thermal paste is recommended to avoid overflow. On the stock cooler for the cpu (i7 7700) though, I see a huge hectagonal size amount of thermal paste which has left me confused about whether I should wipe some away... I notice the fan is the on opposite side and realized how it dissipates the heat, but still confused nonetheless.

SATA data cables I assume are for the hard drives (both the regular platter and SSD I have). I've had to replace one so I'm good on that.

GPU I'm good on. I have done 2 switches on my own computer.

The case switch and case usb I assume are for the power/usb drives? I assume the mobo manual would tell me where to put these as well?

Thanks again!

Rizing · Apr 27, 2017

13thmonkey :

According to my manual, the mobo only has slots for 1 cpu fan and 2 chassis fans. I'm unsure if the z270 the professional recommended would have slots for an extra 3 chassis fans.

13thmonkey · Apr 27, 2017

24pin and 4/8 are from the PSU to your Mobo, make sure it is the EPS/ATX 4/8 pin and not the PCI-E 8 pin (which is normally a 6+2 configuration and not a 4+4), your manual will tell or if you need 4 or 8.

Leave the thermal paste exactly where it is, don't apply more, just fit it, do the push pins in diagonally opposite pairs, make sure they are secure, i've seen mobo's bend with the pressure, it's not that unusual. Make sure that the fan is plugged into the CPU_fan header on the mobo, else it will complain.

Power and reset switches etc. yes the mobo will tell you, it can be fiddly, but not technically difficult at all.

Make sure you have standoffs in the case for the mobo to sit on, one under each mobo mounting point, and no more than that.

You shouldn't have to force anything, take your time, use your eyes more than your strength and fingers.

13thmonkey · Apr 27, 2017

Rizing :

Quite normal. I would challenge if you actually need all of those fans, two intake at the front, one exhaust at the back is normally plenty. try it like that and then we'll see if you need more and how to deal with that. Some Z270 boards may have more headers, 5 is more than extreme, cpu + 4 would be normal.

Rizing · Apr 27, 2017

13thmonkey :

One last question. If I'm missing any cables, is it possible to reuse the old cables from my current computer?
Or recommended to get entirely new cables? (would need to do brand new research for that)

13thmonkey · Apr 27, 2017

the only cables that you can reuse are the sata data cables, everything else is attached to something, either the PSU or the case.

Rizing · Apr 27, 2017

Thank you so much for all your help!

Rizing · Apr 28, 2017

13thmonkey :

I had a follow up question.

I examined the cables leading out of my power supply.

The GPU was connected to the 8 PIN
The HDD was connected to the 6 PIN
The optical drive was connected to another 6 PIN
There was one wire coming out of the last 6 PIN that wasn't connected to anything

According to my mobo manual, it requires (24-pin EATXPWR, 4-pin ATX12V)
I have no idea what type of cable to get for that.
If possible, can you show me an amazon link or something?
How would I connect this to my mobo?
None of the pins coming out of the power supply in my current case led back to the mobo as far as I could tell.

13thmonkey · Apr 28, 2017

They are there, 24pin is just behind the ram slots, the 4 pin can be anywhere, but normally between the IO panel and the CPU socket. You don't need extra cables .

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Besides cpu, heatsink, and ram, what else actually connects directly to the motherboard?

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