Need Help!

[pseven21]

So I have a couple of questions. I have AMD Phenom II x4 955 BE, ASRock 970 Extreme4 motherboard, Sapphire Radeon HD 6870, Cooler Master Storm Scout case.

First question: The stock fan for the AMD 955 for some reason does not fit into the mobo. The notch / lever on the fan is about 2 cm too high for the notches that match it on the motherboard. If I try to force it in, I feel like I will break the CPU and Motherboard.

Second question: For the videocard, is it fine to connect it directly to the PSU, or do I have to use the addaptar that comes with it (which also connect it to the PSU, but in a different pin format).

Third question: My hard drive and optical drive didn't come with any cables that connect to the motherboard. Do I have to buy those separately? The optical drive says SATA on the back, but I don't know kind of connection cord the hard drive needs for the mobo. The hard drive just says 'data' for the other connection.

Also, there is no AC '97 cord on my motherboard, which is needed for one of the wires on my case (Cooler Master Scout)

The case also has connection cords for: 'Power SW' 'Restart SW' 'H.D.D led' 'Power led+' 'Power led' all of which are 2 pin connections. I don't know how or where to connect these.


I am terribly sorry, but this is my first time building a computer, and I am dearly lost. Sorry

 

[itzdanielp]

The fan for the CPU will fit, sometimes you have to move it around a little bit to fit into the correct slot. Just move it back and forth and you will get it

GPU - yes, connect it directly to the PSU, that is what the connection on the PSU is designed for. If you don't have a cable on your PSU that will fit the GPU, use the adapter that came with it.

Your MB should have come with cables, they will be relatively thin cables with an L shaped connector on the end. You need 1 for both the HDD and the Optical drive. If you didn't get any with your MB they are relatively cheap to pick up most computer stores.

The AC97 refers to the audio connection, read the manual that came with your Motherboard, they will show you where and how to plug in the Audio. It is possible (I think my CM case came with) 1 cable for audio with 2 separate connections. 1 for AC97, and 1 for audio. they both do the same thing, and are designed for only 1 to be plugged in, depending on which your board supports. so if you have the audio plugged in, you don't need AC97, and vice-versa

All of the 2 pin connections for lights and switches are going to go on the opposite corner of the MB as the CPU/ IO panel. Go ahead and look in the manual for the MB to see which one goes where. They book will have a detailed section covering all of those connections.

Good luck! post with any other questions.

 

[JKatwyopc]

First question: The stock fan for the AMD 955 for some reason does not fit into the mobo. The notch / lever on the fan is about 2 cm too high for the notches that match it on the motherboard. If I try to force it in, I feel like I will break the CPU and Motherboard.

It sounds like you may be misunderstanding how that Fan/cooler works. Please provide a little more detail. Are you referring to the clip that holds it down or are you actually having trouble getting the cooler to go down onto the CPU and make contact? If you are having trouble with the clip, you do have to apply a fair amount of force to get it to hook under the mounting bracket. Assuming you are hooking it to the right bracket the force required is not going to break the CPU/motherboard. Just make sure you are trying to hook it onto the correct tab.

 

[pseven21]

It sounds like you may be misunderstanding how that Fan/cooler works. Please provide a little more detail. Are you referring to the clip that holds it down or are you actually having trouble getting the cooler to go down onto the CPU and make contact? If you are having trouble with the clip, you do have to apply a fair amount of force to get it to hook under the mounting bracket. Assuming you are hooking it to the right bracket the force required is not going to break the CPU/motherboard. Just make sure you are trying to hook it onto the correct tab.

Thank! I was afraid that I was going to break it, but I tried again with alot of force, and it worked!