Getting my new power supply

It's coming today... nervous...
My boyfriend is making me install it myself. Lazy!
Anyway, I didn't want to post this on the tech forum since it isn't a big deal, I can always do my own research...
I practiced removing and re-installing power supplies on our old computers and it seems to be pretty straight forward, right?
The 4 pin long connectors go into stuff like dvd drives, the big one plugs into the motherboard, and the 12 v... if I got that right, plug into stuff like fans etc...? I haven't opened up my case to see what's connected to what yet, but I should be safe as long as I plug it in the same way the old power supply is plugged in, I think. I will be looking up instructions for my motherboard and have read up on some tutorials, which didn't say much other than "plug 4 pin into DVD drive, 20 pin into motherboard" etc...
Is there anything I need to know before I do this? Any way it can blow up? Obviously I won't have it plugged in when I'm working on it, I'm not Kelly Bundy .
I will try not to spill Champagne all over it and make it sentient either. Hmm... suggestions?

 

There's not much to it. The Molex plugs go into the DVD and H.D. drives; the small flat one into the F.D.D.; the big, power plug and a smaller 4 wire square plug into the MOBO. Just take a good look at what plugs in where when you pull the old P.S.U. out.

 

Yes, it's reletively simple and straight forward.
You can't connect plugs in the wrong places due to the housing is moulded in such a way to only fit in one specific socket.

Just take your time and double/tripple check everything.
Make sure they are seated firmly (some of them can be a bit tight so make sure it's in all the way.
Some have a clip lock so keep pushing until you feel/hear the click.

The biggest thing IMO when installing new PSU is to make sure none of the cable interfear with fans and none of them are touching anything thats likely to get hot (heat sink for example)

I'm sure you'll be fine, if you have any doubts just come back and ask

 

And make sure you discharge any static electricity before you start.

 

Ya, it's easy as all the connectors are idiot proof. What you may find is a whole bunch of extra cables with the new PSU that are not needed and in the way of airflow, perhaps those could be tied together. Another thing is watching out for connectors that you may have dislodged in the process, like your CPU fan etc. Make sure to check those before powering up. One last tip is if you have SATA hard drives with both the largish 4-pin Molex connector and the SATA slimline 6-pin power connector, do only one or the other or forever rue the day.

 

Yep. Wouldn't want a giant mutant computer Frankenstein on my hands now, would I!

I'm lucky that my case is pretty big and there is tons of room for everything, but I will probably tie up the cables anyway. I will keep this information in mind, and well, what's the worse that can happen... I destroy the computer, right? Not that I wouldn't be upset, but eh, if I worry about it too much I will go completely sane. Thanks for the tips!

 

Highly unlikely, the worst you're likely to experience is something not plugged in far enough and it simply wont boot or fire up.

Good Luck!

 

EVEN BETTER! Thanks. I don't know why I didn't start playing around with computer parts sooner in life. It isn't that hard, and I eventually was going to build my own computer. I might as well learn how things are put together by upgrading my existing computer as much as I can.
Anyway, I feel a lot better about this. By tomorrow I will be able to use my new graphics card... I hope.

 

New GFX card eh? If you did your homework first then you should be OK. I didn't see a thread here.:confused Prolly missed it.:-o

 

Yeah, I have a post somewhere around here about it. My boyfriend did all of the research since he wanted me to get one so much. I installed it once already with an underpowered power supply and it ran great until the power gave way. Good thing it recovered or I wouldn't have been able to use my computer until the new one got here. But it installed nicely without a hitch and ran great. And it has a huge fan. Again, the thread is somewhere around here... under Games if it wasn't moved.