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Before installing the optical drive, you’ll need to remove the front panel on the case and remove a bezel from that piece to open a slot for the drive to slide into its bay.
Stand up the case. Remove the entire front panel by gripping the bottom and pulling it towards you while holding the rest of the case in place. Set that part face down continue by unscrewing the top bezel so that it remains open, allowing the optical drive to poke through when you eventually snap front panel back on.
Find your mounting screws from the bag that came with your case (refer to the photo to see what they look like), and affix them to the holes on the optical drive. Afterwards, slide in the optical drive through the first slot and push in until it locks.
Now, to install the hard drive you’ll have to remove the 3.5" drive cage directly underneath where the optical drive rests. To detach it, unlock the cage by swinging the latch to the left. Slide the HDD into the lower slot of the cage, since the top slots do not match with that of the hard drive, and the middle slot is a bit awkward to work with.
Push in the hard drive until the holes on both sides match up to the drive's screw sockets and then secure it in with the mounting screws that came with the hard drive.
Slide the cage back into the position it was before you pulled it out of the case and switch the latch to the right to lock it in and close it. You should now snap the front panel back onto the case.
Now it’s time for our favorite part of today’s segment—hooking up those data cables! You’ll need two SATA data cables to run one from your motherboard to your optical and another to the hard drive. Make sure that the hard drive that contains your operating system is plugged into the first SATA port on your motherboard. The MSI Board can connect up to six SATA devices, which leaves you plenty of room for upgrades in the future.
Next up are the tricky front panel connections. Find the color-coded cables near the front of your case and isolate the HDD LED, the power LED, the reset switch, and the power switch—this information should all be labeled on the connecting part of each wire. It’s easier to plug in the power and reset switches first, since their connecting areas are noticeably labeled on the mobo. Grab the isolated HDD LED line and plug it into the orange section, making sure the colored wire matches up with the + pin on the motherboard. Repeat this process with the power LED wire as well. Don’t worry if you manage to mix up the wires; a faulty connection will not harm your new system. Refer to the chart if you can't figure out which front-panel connector plugs into which colored pin on the motherboard.
| Description of Connector |
Marking on Motherboard | Wire Color |
Electrode |
| Front Panel Speaker | Speaker | Red | + |
| Black | - | ||
| Power Switch | Power Sw | Orange | + |
| White | - | ||
| Power LED | +P LED | Blue | + |
| -P LED | White | - | |
| Reset Switch | Reset Sw | Blue | + |
| White | - | ||
| Hard Drive LED | H.D.D.LED | Red | + |
| White | - |
We suggest that you hook up the case’s front-mounted USB ports, especially if you’ll be storing your newly assembled computer under a desk, where it can be a bit difficult to plug in a peripheral on a rear port. Connect the labeled USB cable to the JUSB1 pins; it should slide in very easily. The last connection you will need is for the front panel audio; again, consider how much easier it is to plug in a headset from the front than routing around to the back. Us the HD Audio connector and plug it into the JAUD1 pins on the bottom left corner of the motherboard.
Now that you’re finished taming those pesky wires, you may want to invest a buck on a bag of zip ties. Use them efficiently to group your wires together and reduce the mess of wire appendages roaming free in your computer cabin.
Comments are closed on this article
MAJORzer0
April 22, 2009 at 3:45am
Well if you want one that runs you could get an I-Phone.....I don't think you can play crysist on it though... I know you can play a really neat bowling game.
~No one said it would be easy....they just said it was worth it...~
457R4L
April 21, 2009 at 11:28pm
This is a decent desktop for the price. I'm somewhat impressed, it's amazing how much bang for the buck you can squeeze even on a budget today.
LatiosXT
April 21, 2009 at 9:53pm
As much as you shouldn't skimp on the PSU, I wouldn't go "OMFG WHAT ARE YOU DOING" if one chooses a generic or came with a case one. I've had two, one of them lasting two years over what most people claimed how long it'd last, the other lasted a full five years and it was my LAN party machine. It also had to endure mid 80s with 70% humidity six months of the year.
So I wouldn't really worry about the PSU. If you're on a budget, I dont' think it should be a priority.
SEALBoy
April 21, 2009 at 9:19pm
Don't skimp on the PSU. Chances are it will work out fine. Chances are it won't.
I really shouldn't be saying this as I myself run a 500W Ultra X-Finity, but I bought it before I knew about PSU quality, and it's served me faithfully for nearly 3 years.
But it's not worth the risk.
yogurt80
April 22, 2009 at 12:19am
Isn't Ultra made by PC power and cooling now? I thought I'd read that somewhere...
If you ever have any problems wih that power supply, they're very good on their warranty. I had a 500 watt XFinity,with two small fans. The exhaust fan went out after only 6 months. They were awesome about the warranty, even though they couldn't find any record of me registerin. I had a new power supply in 2 days, and was very pleased to find that it was replaced with a 650 watt PS with just one large, ultra- quiet fan. Very pleased.
penguinboy
April 22, 2009 at 8:25am
Warranty replacement is fine until you have 3 or more of them go out, then it gets annoying. That happened to me with Antec PSUs. They sent newer and fancier units each time, but it's still annoying and time-consuming. It's even more annoying when the replacement goes out. Now I avoid Antec PSUs like the plague. I've also had a couple of the cheaper (I think they were made by Allied) PSUs go out. I've just stopped bothering with warranty replacements on PSUs and I never settle on cheap ones anymore. When one goes out, I replace it with a PC Power & Cooling one. It's worth the extra money. I've been buying from them for a few years now and I haven't had any problems. I don't care that they outsource the manufacturing; their PSUs are still great.
Gailim
April 22, 2009 at 1:31am
PC Power and Cooling doesnt even make thier *own* units these days. they contract them out to Seasonic. Ultra units are suspect. very hit and miss. there is more to judge a power supply by than "it works"
MAXPCreader07
April 21, 2009 at 9:11pm
I would get a slightly cheaper video card and get a better case + power supply.
stige
April 21, 2009 at 11:49pm
the PSU is acceptable for this hardware and a pretty case doesn't help performance. they've created quite an interesting assembly of parts here. not too shabby, indeed.
if anything they should spend LESS on a case. get a $30 econo box and throw that extra $45 at a BETTER video card.
MAJORzer0
April 22, 2009 at 12:49am
I remember my first PC ever built. I spent about 40 dollars on the case/psu and it lasted me for 3 years. I decided to upgrade the case and psu. When I did I gave it off to my brother -in-law who built a linux server out of it. He's still using it today. 24/7 the lil psu is a champ.
If I was going to build this at 500 bones I would skimp even more on the case psu. It would be more important to get a mother board that was more up-gradable. In the long run you'd be able to pump it a bit more as you get the cash and still have a good machine over all.
~No one said it would be easy....they just said it was worth it...~
