Main  DIY Computer  Site Map  Email:  Webmaster Mounting the CPU Once the motherboard has been mounted, it's time to mount the CPU. First make sure that if there is a label on the CPU socket, it is removed before attempting installation. Be careful that nothing falls into the little holes in the socket. If anything does, you can use a small sharp object (like a pin) to remove the debris. Socketed CPUs will have two odd corners that you can use to make sure that the pins are lined up correctly with. Note, in the below picture, that the right corners of the CPU are different than the left ones. Make sure that that odd corners line up with the odd corners of the socket (in the above picture, they are the bottom two). After figuring out which way the CPU goes into the socket, lift the lever. Then carefully insert the CPU. This should require no force. When lined up correctly, the CPU should "fall" into the socket. Use of any force will damage the CPU. After insertion, put the lever back down into its original position. Heat dissipation is an important aspect of installing the CPU. Without proper cooling, the CPU will overheat, which will reduce its useful lifetime. If your computer starts locking up during CPU intensive periods, then you may have a cooling problem. Most heat sinks require you to put a thermal compound in between the CPU and the CPU fan. The compound usually looks like a thick paste, and it usually comes with the heat sink. Put some onto the top of the CPU. In the pictures above, the thermal compound had already been applied. If your chip has a small copper square in the middle (as the above pictures do), it is important to get the compound onto this square. Most CPU fans look like the below picture. Note the metal tabs that stick out of both sides. Place the CPU fan onto the top of the CPU, and then line up the smaller tab with the post on the socket. Then push down the metal tab on the other side, and make sure that it engages the post on the socket. When you are done, it should look like the below picture. Finally, connect the CPU fan to the motherboard so that it can get power. Locate the power connector for the CPU fan. Then locate the pins on the motherboard that it should connect to. The pins are usually labelled "CPU FAN 1" or something like that. Connect the CPU fan to the motherboard using those pins. Back   Index   Next Sections Introduction Selecting the Components Mounting the Motherboard Mounting the CPU Installing the RAM Case Connections Mounting the Floppy Drive Mounting Drives Installing Cards External Connections POST Screen BIOS Setup Windows 2000 Biorobots Home  Site Map      Server Project Main      FAQ      How To      New Account Copyright 2006 Case Western Reserve University, Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. All rights reserved.