Home Hacking Projects for Geeks

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Part II: Home Entertainment

I won’t tell you which heatsink/fan you should use,

since the software is not dependent on these items and

CPUs are often bundled with a heatsink/fan anyway.

Whichever CPU cooling solution you choose, make sure

it’s approved for your CPU, and follow the manufactur-

er’s guidelines for installation. Finally, plug the CPU fan

into an appropriate power source. My fan has a 3-pin

power connector that plugs into the header marked

CPUFAN1; your CPU fan might have a standard 4-pin

power connector that connects directly to the power

supply harness. Take a look at Figure 7-3 to see what I

mean.

The last thing to do before installing the motherboard

is to insert the memory into the sockets. If you look

closely at the edge of the memory module that has all

the contacts, you’ll see an off-center notch. This aligns

with a ridge in the socket that prevents it from being

inserted backward. Making sure the module is oriented

correctly, press it firmly into place until the locking tabs

at both ends close. It’s generally easier to get one end

of the module inserted and locked before pushing the

other end in. My system uses two 256MB modules for a

total of 512MB.

3. Install the motherboard in the chassis

Motherboards can be mounted to the chassis in several

different ways. If you take a look at your