anything I should know that may be overlooked

[c959]

I am building an AMD Thunderbird 1.333 GHZ with an Asus A7A266 motherboard with 1 256 MHZ DDR RAM module. I have never built a system before, but I have read a few online guides and it looks pretty straight forward. -I am now in the process of installing all of the components into the case.

Is there anything I need to know that is often overlooked by 1st timers building a computer that could fry the hardware?
I have the motherboard grounded to the case by the metal spacers that the motherboard screws into. Somewhere I think I heard the motherboard should be insulated from the chasis by plastic washers? Is this true?

-Also, should I configure the Bios and system 1st with a 2D PCI video card- then later install my Geforce 2 Pro AGP? I read in the Bios setup guide that the AGP is setup in the BIOS. Does that mean that an AGP video card wouldn't work/be ruined if it was plugged in before the BIOS was setup?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You.

 

[evil_homer]

I have never had a problem with having to use plastic washers on the metal mounting posts, but what do I know.
About your video card. I have found that when you first build a computer it is best to start it up with the least amount of components, I avoid putting in sound, network, and any other card that would just make windows confused on the initial setup procedure. Anyways, I would actualy like to hear if you have any problems with your A7A board, because I am considering buying one myself.


PC load letter.....

 

[Guest]

I agree with evil_homer. Just start off with little components as possible-video card, floppy drive, hard drive, cd-rom drive...everything else can hold off 'till windows (or whatever OS your using) is installed.

make sure your heatsink/fan is nice and tight and secured (and plugged into your mobo or power supply). make sure you got your power supply voltage set to the right voltage wherever you live. for the motherboard settings, you should be able to figure it out by reading the manual. ... ummm thats all i can think off the top of my head...

<font color=blue>"640 Kilobytes of computer memory ought to be enough for anybody." - Bill Gates, 1981</font color=blue>

 

[CALV]

in addition to the above, I always power on with the case open, and ensure the CPU fan spins up (also any motherboard/card fans)

Next time you wave - use all your fingers