Atom Mini-ITX Build: Part 2

Part 2 (of probably 3 for the hardware). Following on from yesterday's initial build (and thanks for the comments - good points, and yes it is the northbridge under the fan. I'll have to keep an eye on that). Anyway, here's the second installment. Today we're installing internal headers and connecting both the power and the SATA leads.

Connecting the internal headers

Audio, USB and Front Panel

Ok, first things first. Lets get rid of this Firewire cable as there's no Firewire on the motherboard. It'll improve airflow and tidy up the space a little. However, tidy-up could have been improved as we'll see later...

So,I'm advised by Serbrious that this is apparently the wrong side of the case for the motherboard. Connecting the headers wasn't too bad I thought (but this is my first build), but Serbrious and Dr. MPEG are both veterans and 'annoyances' like this upset them ;-). Anyway, onwards.

So, lets route the USB port and sound connectors from the case to the relevant motherboard headers. Sound is the connector facing 11 to 5 o'clock and USB is the on facing 2 to 7 o'clock. I vaguely remember a quick discussion at this point regarding which way around the USB and Audio case connectors went. Looking at the manual, the USB connector has no pin at slot 9. I also had to fight with Serbrious at this point to let me plug it in as he was now on a roll, almost relegating me to being the official photographer. Anyway, these are now in - check! We're routing the cables either side of the PCI slot to tidy as we go.

Now its time for Serbrious to consult the manual (I've not let it go and have already read it through twice before we started). We're connecting up the case controls for reset, power and HDD light. The Atom manual on page 30 covers this little setup (warning - 4MB file). I manage this one myself and am quite pleased with myself...

All done. There's no speaker header oddly, so that too was removed from the case (along with the Firewaire lead above). Now we're ready to look at attaching the power leads and SATA HDD cables.

Connecting the power supplies and SATA lead

So lets start here, with this P4 (2x2) header. It simply pushes into place near the CPU. You can also see the northbridge fan power attachment to the right of it (red, black and white lead).

Now back at the case end of things. You can just make out where the P4 leads go (smaller connector on the left). On the right, the connector running 1 to 7pm is the main ATX cable to both 'mainboard' and the DC-DC power supply (converts 12v DC to 3.3, 5.0 and 12V).

Time to inspect the BIOS jumper. Here it is (apologies for focusing on the wrong component). Anyway, make sure it covering pins 1 and 2 for 'normal' operation. Pins 2 and 3 are the 'configure' option (after POST runs, BIOS displays the maintenance menu - use this option to clear passwords). Removing the jumper altogether puts the BIOS into 'recovery' mode. In this mode, BIOS recovers data from a recovery diskette (assuming you've installed one) ;-). Anyway, its pins 1 and 2 for me. Pin 1 on this motherboard is denoted by the arrow.

Ok, so we're nearly done for this installment. Lets take a look at the SATA connectors. Here they are. SATA 0 (the one we'll be attaching our HDD to) is furthest away from us as we're looking. Its beginning to get a little cramped in there, but it does fit. Also, note the legacy P-ATA connector, handy if you are using an old P-ATA HDD/CD-ROM. However, the cable in the pack only had one header, so its a choice between the two.

So here we are at the end of part 2. Yes, I know its not cable tied yet (it will be). However, please note the less than ideal power connections for both the HDD, CDROM (S-ATA) and FDD. This mass of cables above could have been easily corrected with a soldering iron and some heat shrink (so Serbrious informs me). I'm sure he's right, but I'm too excited to wait and decide to assemble the cables as you see them. It'll work, I know it will.

Part 3 tomorrow (hopefully) - Installing the HDD, cable tidy up and turn on..