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Step 1: Sit motherboard on mounting screws

Take the motherboard off the packing foam if you have it under the motherboard. Now sit the motherboard in the case on the mounting screws.

Before we can screw the motherboard in, we should verify two things:

1. Does the back of the motherboard line up with the holes on the I/O faceplate?
2. Do all the mounting screws line up with the correct holes on the motherboard?

It is crucial that no mounting screws come in contact with the circuitry on the bottom of the motherboard. This is why we only install the proper amount of screws and no extra.

If they do come in contact with the circuitry, this will result in errors when powering up or completely frying the motherboard. To avoid this please double check the locations of the screw holes and mounting screws to ensure they match up.

Once you are done verifying, proceed to the next step.

Step 2: Screw in the motherboard

Your case should come with screws that are slightly rounded on top. We are going to use these to mount the motherboard.

Sometimes the tabs on the faceplate push the motherboard towards the inside of the case pushing them off the mounting screws. With one hand, press and hold the motherboard against the back of the case until the holes line up with the mounting screws and screw in the motherboard with the other hand.

Note: When screwing in the motherboard, don't over tighten the screws. This may damage the motherboard.

Step 3: Plug the power supply into the motherboard

Most newer motherboards have a 24-pin power plug (sometimes a 20+4 pin plug) and a 4-pin power plug. Locate the cables on the power supply and plug them into the motherboard. There's only one way they can plug in.

This plug comes with a 20+4 pin power cable (the yellow plug is the other 4-pins) which means it can plug into motherboards that use 20 and 24 pin connectors.

This is the 4-pin plug. Do not confuse this with the 4-pin plug on the 20+4 pin power connector.

Next Lesson: Installing the Video Card

We have successfully installed the motherboard. Let's go ahead and install a video card: Lesson 11: Installing the Video Card.

If you do not have a video card, you can skip to:

Installing PCI Expansion Cards

or

Installing a SATA Hard Drive