| <<< Which Parts |
| Getting Started |
| Motherboards |
| CPUs |
| RAM Memory |
| Power Supply |
| Video Card |
| Drive Jumpers |
| Drive Install |
| PCI Expansions |
| Boot Up |
| Peripherals |
| Choosing and Installing Software >>> |
| Optimizing and Overclocking your PC >>> |
Peripherals
Obviously, you will need to plug in peripheral devices such as keyboards, mice, monitors and optional devices like printers and speakers. Each of these comes with a connection cable and software to control them (driver). There are two standard connectors for mice and keyboards; PS/2 connectors and the more modern USB connectors. Plug the mouse and keyboard into their appropriate slots.
Note: If you intend to install an operating system from a boot CD or floppy, or modify bios settings you will need to use either a PS/2 keyboard, a USB to PS/2 converter, or a motherboard that supports USB devices. Otherwise your keyboard will not work until the operating system has loaded USB drivers.
To plug in speakers you'll need a sound card, which is usually a standard built into most motherboards. The speaker plug will probably be a standard 3.5 mm plug just like headphone plugs. Since speaker sockets and microphone sockets are the same size and type they are often color-coded. Green usually for speakers and pink for microphones. In many cases, a third plug is present - this is the input channel which allows the sound card to receive an additional audio input from another device, such as a stereo system.
Monitors will either have a VGA or a newer DVI plug. Most monitors use VGA connectors, and so most graphics cards have VGA output. If you have one type of plug and the graphics card has another, you can easily find and install an adapter.
Most other devices use USB connectors so follow the instructions you were given with them. Again these devices will not work until the operating system has loaded the USB drivers.
