FFXIAH.com
Language: JP EN DE FR
New Items
2023-11-19
users online
Computer build guide
⌨Building a Desktop Computer⌨

((Nodes Open For Edit))

Since there are always computer help threads, I decided to make a guide on how to build a Computer. It may look like there is a lot of information here but reading it should help you understand how everything fits together and help you decide on what you want to buy.


Disclaimer

I worked real hard on this so please no negative comments I am only trying to help. ^.^ I did not write all of this from scratch. There are chunks of copy and paste from all over the web and I will mention some of the web sites at the bottom of this guide. all questions are welcome. so don't be shy
^.^


Table of Contents

1. Introduction.
2. Why build?
3. Designing your Computer
4. Components
5. Processor (CPU)
6. Motherboard
7. Memory (RAM)
8. Video Cards (GPU)
9. Hard Drives (HDD)
10. Solid State Drives (SSD)
11. Power Supplies (PSU)
12. Case
13. Cooling←I Could do a guide just on cooling, water cooling, air cooling etc. If you want me to do a cooling guide send me a message
14. Citation









⌠Introduction⌡

The idea of building their PC intimidates a lot of people, but there's really nothing worry about. Building a PC is no more technically challenging than putting together a LEGO® set. PC components connect together like building blocks. Component sizes,screw threads, mounting hole positions, cable connectors, and so on are standardized, so you don’t need to worry about weather something will fit. There are minor exceptions, of course. You must verify, for example, that your motherboard supports the processor you plan to use. But over all there are few”gotchas” in building a computer. Nor do you need to worry about damaging the computer. Taking simple precautions such as grounding your self before touching static sensitive components should prevent any damage to your new components.

NOTE: most compatibility issues come when you are mixing new components with older ones.






Why Build?


Lower Cost
The main reason is cost, PC makers aren't in business for charitable reasons the need to make a profit, so they need to sell computers for more than they paid for components and labor to assemble them. Building a Computer will save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars and everyone likes saving money. Also, when you’re done you can say I built that, which makes you feel awesome


More Choice
When you buy a PC, you get a cookie cutter computer. You can choose options such as larger hard drive, more memory or better video card. But basically you get whatever the vender decides to give you.


Flexible design
One of the best things about building your own computer is you can optimize its design to focus on what is important to you and ignore what isn't. Most off the shelf commercial PCs are jacks of all trades and masters of none. System venders have to strike a happy medium that is adequate, if not optimum, for the “mythical” average user.


Better Component Quality
Most computer venders cut costs buy using OEM versions of popular components if there visible and no-name components if their not. By “visible” I mean a component the people seek out by brand name even in a prebuilt PC, such as an AMD or NVIDEA video card. Invisible components are ones that buyers rarely ask about such as motherboard, power supply etc. and that’s were they will cut down on quality to make computer have a more appealing price.


No Bundled Software
Most purchased PCs include some sort of bundled software such as Microsoft windows usually comes with Microsoft office bundled together adding to the price. Building your own computer allows you to avoid paying the “Microsoft tax”.


Warranty
The retail-boxed components you'll use to build your computer include manufacturer warranties, which may run from 1 to 5 years or more depending on the component. PC makes use OEM components which often include no manufacture warranty to the endorser.


Experience
If your buy a computer, your experience with it consists of taking it out of the box and setting it up. If you build a computer you know exactly what went into it, and you’re in a much better position to resolve problems that occur. You are also able to say I built that to anyone who asks were you got it which feels great.


Upgradability
If you design and build your own PC, you can upgrade it later using industry standard components. That’s sometimes not the case with commercial systems, some of which are intentionally designed to be incompatible with industry-standard components. PC makers do this to force you to buy upgrade and replace components from them, at whatever price they want to charge. Or they will make it so if any component is changed it will void the warranty on your system.






✍ Designing Your Computer✍

when building a computer every choice you make involves a trade off, and balancing those trade-offs is the key to designing the computer that’s perfect for your needs. If you focus on element while designing your PC, you will soon realize that compromises are inevitable. If small size is essential, for example, you must make compromises in expandability. The trick is to decide, before you start buying components, which elements are essential, which are important, which would be nice to have and which can be ignored. once you have the priority of those elements firmly fixed in your mind, you can make good purchasing decisions. Novice PC builders often ignore the important concept of balanced design. Balanced design means allocating your component budget to avoid bottle-necks. If you designing a gaming PC, for example, it makes no sense to spend $50.00 on a processor and $500.00 on a video card. The resulting system is non optimal because the slow processor is a bottleneck that prevents the expensive video card from performing at its full potential.

The main enemy of balanced design is the constant hype of manufacturer advertising and enthusiast web sites. Its easy to fixate on the latest “must have” component, even though it's price may be much too high to justify. Many people just cant help themselves. Despite their best intentions, they end up buying a $400 video card when a $150 would have sacrificed. If your budget is unlimited then go for the latest and best. But if you're building a system to a fixed budget, every dollar you spend needlessly on one component is a dollar less you have to spend somewhere else, where it might make more of a difference. Balanced design does not necessarily mean giving equal priority to all system components. But takes into consideration performance as well as nonperformance issues such as physical size, noise level, reliability and efficient cooling. You might, for example, have to chose a less expensive processor or smaller hard drive in order to reserve sufficient funds for a quieter case or more reliable power supply. The key to achieving this is to look dispassionately at the available alternatives, and choose accordingly. Which can be very difficult.






⌠Choosing your Components⌡

The following hopefully will clear up the confusion on what all you need to know to choose the best parts for your new computer. To begin you start by choosing a primary piece of hardware either the Motherboard or Processor and then expand off of that.



∞Processor's∞
The Processor is the brain of the computer. It is one of the main components that will determine the overall performance of your computer. There are 2 main company’s who make processors-Intel and AMD (Advanced Micro Devices). Both of them have Pros and Cons the following should help you with your decision on which brand to go with.



If you’re looking for power and raw performance Intel is the way to go. Intel’s i7 sandy Bridge E processors on the LGA 2011 socket with their 6 cores, large amount of cache and quad-channel DDR3 RAM give you a huge amount of power and performance but with that comes a huge price tag ranging from $299.99 ~$1,069.99 they will put a dent in your pocket, they use the LGA 2011 socket so your limited on motherboard choice. But there are alternatives, there Ivy Bridge Line (such as Core i7 3770k & Core i5 3570k) are currently the best mainstream processors ranging from $49.99 ~ $329.99. There’s also the bonus that they fit in any of the hundreds of motherboards with a LGA 1155 slot


If you’re looking for good price and decent performance AMD’s new FX-Series processors deliver great performance for the price and there FM1 processor line that has a integrated graphics processing unit (APU) which delivered speeds something close to twice what you'd get from Intel's new HD 4000 technology. That means if you have real tight budget you could get away with not buying a video card. you will be able to play some modern games at reasonable resolutions and detail settings. But they are still not fast enough for dedicated gaming. There current line of processors ranges from $38.99~$199.99 a amazing price considering it comes with a built in video card.



Key Features
Here is a list of specifications you will find when looking at CPU's. This should help you understand what they all mean and which are important



Socket type
Once you know whether you're buying an AMD or Intel CPU, and how much money you'll have to spend, you need to think about the CPU socket which the processor will fit into on the motherboard. AMD currently has two main sockets: FM1 (for use with its APUs) and AM3+ (which accommodate their current high-end Bulldozer-based CPUs. On the other hand, Intel's mainstream processors now use the LGA1155 socket and 1150 socket, whereas its enthusiast models use the LGA2011. You can still find chips for older Intel sockets like LGA1166, LGA1366, and more.


Number of Cores
A core is simply a processing unit. Processors with cores can perform multiple processor operations at once. Thus the more cores the better the CPU is at multitasking. For all intents and purposes, almost every CPU feature from two to six processing cores, which all work together to crunch data and thus save you time. Of course, the more cores a processor has, the more it's going to cost. It's not impossible to find CPUs out there that have only one processing core, but on the off chance you do should try to avoiding them. Sure, you'll save a ton of money. But even dual-core CPUs are so ubiquitous and inexpensive now that it's smarter to go with two or more cores than it is to select just a single-core chip.


Clock Speed
Multiple processing cores are the most useful initial determiner now, but clock speed is still crucial. Clock Speed is measured in gigahertz (GHz), or the number of billions of times per second the CPU's clock "pulses" into the microprocessor. It’s generally safe to assume A 3GHz CPU will be faster than a 2GHz processor with a similar number of cores. however on multicore processors, the number of pulses stack , so a four-core 3GHz CPU can outperform a dual-core CPU running at 3.3GHz. That’s why the number of cores matters so much.

NOTE: The 3 qualities listed above are the most worth keeping in mind when you're shopping for a processor. But there are some other specifications that may not directly influence your buying decision, but that you'll want to be aware of just in case.


Cache
There are many different types of caches but they all serve the same purpose. A cache stores recently-used information in a place where it can be accessed extremely fast. Processor Cache is memory that is stored on the processor, thus accessing that memory is much faster. There are three different kinds, and their names are all very similar: L1, L2, and L3. The "L" stands for "level," and thinking about caches in those terms makes them easier to understand. L1 is the CPU's primary cache, the fastest section of its memory and the one most closely responsible for a processor's performance because it's where instructions are stored while they're waiting to be processed. L2 functions in almost exactly the same way, but instead of feeding instructions to the microprocessor itself, it feeds them to the L1 cache (and uses slower memory). The L3 cache feeds the L2, and is slower still. But in general, the more memory is in all of these, the more efficient the CPU will be.


Thermal Design Power (TDP)
A CPU's Thermal Design Power (TDP) rating tells you how much you can expect it to require at full load. For most people, this isn't going to be a huge problem, Processors using the LGA1155 socket range in TDP from 35 watts to 95 watts—but if you decide to upgrade to say a Core i7-3930K on the LGA2011 socket, its TDP is 130 watts. Many computer components will use more than this, so it's probably not something you'll need to worry about, but it's worth your attention.


Overclockability
Overclocking your CPU (changing your motherboard's settings to make the processor run faster than its standard speed). if you're interested in pushing your PC to its limits—and you don't mind taking a few risks (overclocking can put serious stress on your components, and even cause damage if it's not done properly) you'll want to look for CPUs with unlocked multipliers. Unlocked CPU’s are marked with a K or X at the end of processer name for example: Intel Core i5-2500K.


Conclusion
As long as your CPU and motherboard socket match you really can’t go wrong. Pick the processer that is in your budget range and will be fast enough to support what you will be doing with your new system.






∞Motherboard∞
The motherboard is one of the most important components in any computer, and it can make or break a system. It is the heart of the modern computer system, as it affects almost every other component. Choosing a motherboard is a fairly complicated or simple, depending on what your computer is going to be used for.

Take some time to think about how you'll use your system. Someone with a power meter that requires a serial port and will care a lot more about the peripheral features than the average user will, while the hard-core gamer will focus on the GPU, CPU, and chip set.


Brands
Since the motherboard is such a critical component to a PC, in general you should purchase the best one you can afford. Some of the most-trusted motherboard manufacturers for quality and reliability are ASUS, MSI, EVGA, Intel, and Gigabyte. As of this post ASUS is the current leader in the Motherboard market.


Socket type
A motherboard is defined chiefly by what sort of processor it's designed to hold. Most current motherboards use one of five sockets: the AM3 (or AM3+) and FM1 for AMD CPUs; or the LGA1155 and LGA2011 for Intel CPUs. Under most circumstances, any processor designed for that type of socket will work. The good news if you're going with AMD is that AM3 and AM3+ sockets are backwards compatible with AM2 and AM2+ CPUs. But Intel’s LGA1155 and LGA2011 chips are interchangeable only within their families, not with each other. Once you buy a motherboard, you're limited to other processors of that type. Luckily, both Intel and AMD offer a variety of chips at all price and performance levels for all sockets, so you'll always be able to find something that works for your budget.


Memory (RAM) Support
Random Access Memory (RAM for short, or "memory") is the primary "workspace" for a computer, where data is processed after being removed from the hard drive, solid-state drive (SSD), and other media, and before being output. I will talk more about RAM in detail later on. Most motherboards have between two and eight, each of which holds one memory module or “DIMM” of a certain capacity and speed. Knowing what your motherboard can handle is vital if you want the best performance, if you’re RAM is faster than your motherboard supports, the extra potential is wasted; if it's slower, you'll run into processing bottlenecks when your processor tries to crunch more data than the RAM can store. In addition to the maximum amount of memory your motherboard can hold between 8GB and 64GB, though a few motherboards support up to 128GB), look out for the type and speed of memory the bay supports. The most common type of RAM right now is DDR3, although you may still encounter DDR2 in use on older systems; one kind won't work in a bay designed for the other, however. To make sure you get the right one, look at the memory standard your motherboard supports: If it says something like DDR3 1333 or DDR3 1600, just buy memory with that same value and you should be fine.


Chipset
If the CPU is the brains of the PC, then the chip set is the spinal cord, responsible for tying together all of the different devices in the computer, and moving data among them. The chip set is the single most important component of a motherboard and it can strongly influence performance. Since motherboards using the same chip set will usually have identical performance (barring serious design mistakes), they're differentiated by other features, such as the expansion slots, storage options, and other discrete chips that may be included.


SATA ports
Hard drives and Solid State Drives are most frequently connected to your motherboard today by Serial ATA (SATA) ports, running at speeds of either 3 gigabits per second (Gbps) or 6Gbps Every motherboard will have between two or eight of these connectors make sure it has the correct amount of ports for your needs.


Expansion Slots
A motherboard's expansion slots give you the chance to add additional capabilities to your computer by way of add-in cards, most often video cards or sound cards. The most commonly utilized slot these days is PCI Express (frequently abbreviated to PCIe), which comes in four flavors: x16, x8, x4, and x1. The slot types look different (the x16 is the largest, for example, and is the standard for video cards), and are downward-compatible—in other words, a PCIe x1 card will work in a PCIe x16 slot, but not vice versa. PCIe 3.0 is the most current version it is backward-compatible with PCIe 2.0, so all your old cards will work, if not at the same speeds.) The older slot standard, PCI, is getting increasingly difficult to find, but slots using it still show up on older or less-expensive motherboards.


Form Factor
A motherboard's size and shape will determine its capabilities, and how much room it has for expansion the different styles are called form factors. The two you're most likely to come across are ATX and microATX. ATX motherboards typically offer the largest number of expansion slots. RAM slots and data connectors. Motherboards using the microATX form factor have fewer expansion slots RAM bays and other amenities. All high-end gaming desktop will have a ATX motherboard at its core.





∞Memory∞
RAM (Random Access Memory) is the memory in a computer used to store running programs, and the more RAM you have, the smoother your games and other programs will run. There are different types of RAM you can buy for your computer, such as SDRAM, DDR2 RAM, and DDR3 RAM. The latest type of RAM out on the market is DDR3 and this is the type of RAM I would recommend. When selecting the type of RAM for your PC, make sure your motherboards supports that particular type and speed of RAM that you plan to use. you don’t want to spend load of cash on nice fast memory then have the motherboard clock it down.


Capacity
You may be wondering how much RAM you will need The simple answer is “as much as you can afford” Adding memory to your system will show real results, and RAM prices these days are very cheap so adding RAM to your system is a very cost-effective way of increasing performance. 4GB of decent quality RAM is fine for the average user who games every once and a while. But if you’re a heavy gamer and I assume most of you are since you have read this much, then you will require more RAM than the average computer user. To play the latest games now and into the future you will need a minimum of 8gigs you should think of having at least 2 gig of RAM just for your Operating system. Remember, the more RAM the better, but to be safe make sure your motherboard will support the amount of RAM you plan on purchasing. Most motherboards out right now will support up to 16GB+, but it's always wise to double check and also note how many RAM slots your motherboard has.

IMPORTANT!! If you’re putting more than 4GB of memory in your computer you WILL need a 64bit Operating system. other wise the system wont recognize all your memory

Brands
An important factor when choosing the best computer memory for your PC is the actual brand name of the memory you buy. I highly recommend that you stick to buying from a quality manufacturer that is proven to provide reliable and high-performance RAM like Corsair, G.SKILL and Kingston to name a few


Speed
Speeds of memory are often expressed in MHz such as 1866MHz, 1600MHz, and 1333MHz. and as will Processors the higher the number the faster it is Not all Motherboards support every speed of memory so when you are purchasing your memory make sure your motherboard supports that particular speed of RAM.





∞Video Cards∞
Most people who buy a video card (also known as a graphics card) for a non-business PC are doing it for the purpose of playing games. The main reason video cards remain such a huge and fiercely competitive market is because, when it comes to playing games with major titles like Mass Effect 3, Batman: Arkham City or The elder Scroll V: Skyrim integrated graphics—even of the drastically improved varieties you find on the latest CPUs from AMD and Intel—just don't cut it.

The ugly truth about buying a Video card can essentially be summed up in five sad words: The more expensive, the better. There's almost no way around the fact that the more money you're willing to drop on a video card, the better your gaming experience will be. If you can spend $500+ you're going to be buying yourself an outstanding gaming experience, even if the rest of your computer isn't so special.

That said, there are a few additional things you'll want to keep in mind when selecting a video card. They're all subsidiary to that one (sorry), but may help you make a better determination if you don't want to buy a lone card for the same amount of money you could otherwise pay for a complete computer system.




Would you believe that this question just doesn't matter that much? I didn't think so. Like "AMD or Intel?", "Windows or Mac?", and "Desktop or laptop?", it's a question that inspires intense and often nonsensical debate among each side's adherents. There are substantial differences in the technologies in AMD's and Nvidia's graphics chipsets, and if you're really picky, you may have a very good reason for choosing one over the other.

The truth, it is nearly impossible to to be able to discern a difference in appearance between a game running on an AMD card and one running on a comparable product from Nvidia. Most people are going to pay more attention to how realistic a game looks and whether it stutters during play than the specific types of anti-aliasing, physics processing, and multi monitor technologies that are employed. If you find a card at a price you can afford, and reviews say it does well, go with it. Most of the other stuff is just gravy and often lumpy at that.

Fun Fact: Several years ago, AMD bought and absorbed video card maker ATI. All AMD's cards now carry AMD branding, but 5000-series and earlier models may still have ATI emblazoned on them somewhere.



Memory
You need a video card that has a good amount of memory to play games at high-resolution with quality graphics settings enabled. Good video cards usually have lots of memory (2~4GB) because all of that GPU horsepower will go to waste if you don't have enough memory space. It's possible for two video cards of the same type to have different amounts of memory Nvidia's GTX 770 is available with both 2GB and 4GB of memory, the one with more memory will tend to be faster and cost more.


It's all about the GPU
Memory is important but a video card's graphics processing unit (GPU) is what determines its video capabilities; a good rule of thumb is that the higher the number in the GPU's name, the more recent, powerful and expensive it is. For example, in Nvidia's top-of-the-line 600 series, the GeForce GTX 690. which has a face melting price tag of $999.99. On the other hand, we have Nvidia's GTX Titan that's the only significant exception at this point: Otherwise, within each company's catalog, a card with a higher number in its name is invariably a superior performer.


Power draw
System power requirements have become a major concern now that video cards have grown into strong, power-sucking behemoths. Video card manufacturers print the power-supply recommendations on the side of the box. The printed number is often slightly higher than actually necessary since it accounts for poor power-supply quality and overloaded systems Many of the top-end models really suck up the juice A recent test showed that a full high-end system with the GTX 690 installed was drawing about 414 watts under full graphics load, . Do some quick math, and if it looks like you'll come close to tapping out your average power supply, either choose a different card or buy a larger power supply (especially if you think you might want to add on more components in the future).


Length
Because PC cases come in a range of sizes, you may not be able to use every card in every system you want to build. The more powerful a card, the longer it's going to be, and the less likely it will fit into the average ATX case, or a even smaller micro ATX case. At 12.5 inches, the Radeon HD 7990 is the longest card you can buy, but some higher-end AMD and Nvidia cards come within an inch of that. If you're building a smaller computer, or you want to upgrade the video in a minitower you already have, be aware that your card choices may be limited.


DirectX
Video cards will support different versions of Microsoft's DirectX collection of (APIs), advanced programming interfaces will offer different graphical and processing features. the higher the version number of DirectX a card supports, the more realistic games that use it will look—and the more challenging they will be for your computer to run. The highest-level version as of spring 2012 is DirectX 11 (DX11), and cards that can run it will also be able to run the full feature sets of games written with DX10 or DX9, but DX9 or DX10 hardware won't be able to see all the effects of DX11.


Multiple-Card Setups
If your motherboard has more than one PCIe x16 expansion slot, chances are you can add a second, third, or even fourth video card to your computer to supercharge its video performance (provided your power supply is beefy enough and you have deep pockets). AMD and Nvidia each have a technology that lets you link up two or more cards, and have the computer recognize them as one powerful video solution. (AMD's is called CrossFireX and Nvidia's is called Scalable Link Interface, usually abbreviated as SLI.) On almost every motherboard on the market, you can't mix and match Nvidia cards you'll generally want two cards using exactly the same GPU, often even from the same manufacturer. There are a few exceptions to this, but that's information that only die-hard gamers and other enthusiasts will genuinely care about.


Special Features
It's with all the little extras that AMD and Nvidia distinguish themselves from each other. Since 2009, AMD has made a name for itself with its Eyefinity technology, which simplifies setting up and running as many as five or six monitors from a single video card effectively giving you the ability to create your own digital wall. Nvidia also has a version of this (called Nvidia Surround), but is better known for its use of PhysX, a technology that makes it easier for objects to behave according to real-world physics; and 3D Vision, which lets you play all games in stereoscopic 3D, provided you have the proper hardware. All these technologies don't come for free: Because controlling several monitors, rendering complex 3D animations, and making glass and fabric look ultra-realistic require a lot more pixels, they can slow even the more powerful video cards to a crawl. These are fun features, but they're not yet universally practical for regular use by ordinary users with most single-card setups.
Author: nayomi423
Date Created: 2017-11-19 17:06:10
Date Last Modified: 2018-02-05 12:50:13
Updates: 2
Bytes: 36094