FD R4, Fatal1ty Pro Z77, SSD new build questions

[Highlander]

My first full build and about 12 years since I seriously tinkered with h/w - and quickly hitting my tech limits! Please help!!!

The build:
Fractal Design Define R4
Asrock Fatal1ty Pro Z77 mobo
Intel 3570k
Corsair Vengeance LP 1600 8GB
Sapphire HD7850 O/C Edition
Xigmatek Gaia SD1283 cooler
Corsair TX650 PSU
Corsair 64GB M4 SSD
Corsair 256GB M4 SSD
Win 7 x64 OEM
Waiting on: DVD drive (OEM) and 300Mbps WLAN card (I have an external drive and a WiFi dongle)

The story so far:
Mobo assembled with CPU, cooler, memory, then inserted in case and GPU, 64GB SSD put in. PSU added.
Cables connected to mobo - PSU 24-pin, ATX 8-pin, then (from case) front and rear case fans, HD audio (to HD_AUDIO1), USB (to USB_4_5). Front panel header connections made - powerled+, powerled-, power sw to POWERBTN# & GND (problem?), reset sw to GND & RESET# (problem?). SATA 3 cable from SSD to SATA3_0, PSU to SSD. PCI-E from PSU to GPU.

Questions (atm):
There's no guide to the cables in the Fractal Design case, so which way up should I connect the power and reset cables (each shown as single pins on the mobo schematic, but are 2-pin connectors on the cables, so also fitting on to the GND pins) to the front header panel? There are also 4 unmarked cables from the case - two Molex 4-pin and two smaller ones I don't recognise but look like 3x 3-pin adapters (going by Googled images). What the hell are these for and where do I connect them, if at all? The number of cables from the PSU are mind-boggling, so can anyone point me towards a beginner's guide to connecting PSU cables, so that I don't blow my whole build to smithereens?
I've no experience at all with SSDs and I've read various things online about updating firmware that have left me completely confused. My intention is to use the smaller drive just for Windows, anti-virus/anti-malware progs and the smaller utilities I use regularly, while the larger one (and any future drives) will be used for other progs, including games. Should I treat them like any other (traditional) drives and complete the build, install Windows, then do any updating? Or should I be updating firmware before that, and if so, how?

I'm really looking for an idiot's guide with each of these points, so please don't feel that you're insulting my intelligence if you bring things down to newbie-level basics. BTW, I have already spent several hours Googling and failing to find answers to my questions.

Thank you.

[Samwood]

Im not sure about the cables. Check the manual that came with the case, the 3-pin cable sounds like a case fan to me...
Same applies for the PSU, look in the booklet that came with the PSU.
Here is a good guide to building a PC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_56kyib-Ls
It should provide some good revision for you!

As for the SSD, install windows on the small SSD. Make sure that it is the ONLY storage device connected when you do the install. This will stop you getting possible issues with pre-existing files on the drives.
Once windows is installed, put the DVD that came with the SSD in your system and install everything on there. There might be a few things you dont need on there, but its better to install everything and when its on your system just uninstall what you dont need.
You'll be amazed how much space a few games, movies, songs & files take up. I'd suggest that the 256GB SSD wont be big enough in the long run nor is the speed needed for these types of files. I would get a 1TB+ HDD instead for your secondary drive.

There are a few little tweaks you will want to do for the SSD to keep it healthy.
1) Disable auto-defragmentation.
2) Disable windows Indexing.
3) You might also want to move your Temp files folder to a HDD or RAMDisk.
These will all reduce writes to the SSD. Every time you write data to an SSD you degrade the cells a tiny bit, over time this decreases read/write speeds and increases the chances of data corpution/loss. There are plenty of guides. just a google search away. for how to do all of these.

Hope this helps,
Sam

[Highlander]

Thanks Sam, those procedural steps for the SSD are EXACTLY what I needed! Although there was no DVD with either of the SSDs, so presumably I'm still reliant on getting firmware updates etc from the Crucial website? I've been waiting for HD prices to get back to pre-flood prices or better, and grabbed the 256GB SSD in the Amazon Black Friday deals when it popped up at £99.99. FWIW though, my laptop still only has 280GB after about 18 months of acquiring all sorts of crap on it, so I don't feel under pressure space-wise.

As for the cables conundrum, I wish I could consult the respective manuals for more info (I learned the importance of the RTFM principle 30+ years ago, when I bought my first home computer) but those items are conspicuous by their absence and/or lack of detail. The case has a booklet with 2 pages in English, plus a foldout schematic, but no mention of cables anywhere. I've just used their online contact system to ask for clarification and hope their Support people are as good as their products. The PSU has even less info, just a warranty leaflet and another with a couple of paragraphs on basic safety issues. There's an online manual but imo it assumes the user already has a lot of knowledge. All my components came from reputable dealers (although sadly not Scan as the extra 15 quid shipping charge for my part of mainland UK makes them ridiculously expensive, especially against Amazon - in case any Scan staff read this *nudge nudge*) and were in authentic, sealed packaging, so I was surprised at the lack of 'proper' manuals.

I've watched several YouTube vids on system assembly, which have all helped me get this far, but another is always worth checking out. Unfortunately, the questions I have are pretty much specific to my combination of mobo/PSU/case.

Thanks again!