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Tutorial Computers: A General Guide

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Introduction

There are many benefits with the ability to build your own computer. By building your own computer, you can have a computer that will do what you want it to do for the best price. For someone who isn't familiar with computer hardware, building your own computer might sound hard and complex but, in reality, it's actually a fairly simple. A lot of people consider PC building to be a hobby!

I will be giving you an overview of everything there is to know about PC and what you need to know before making a computer build.


Components

Computers are made of many different parts, here's a short list of parts that your PC should have.
  • CPU
  • Motherboard
  • RAM
  • Graphic Card
  • Hard Drive
  • Power Supply
  • Case
  • OS
There are a few other optional components such as sound cards, wireless adapter, case fans, etc...


CPU

A CPU is another vital piece of the computer construction puzzle. All programs you run on your computer use the power from your CPU to run. In the field of a home desktop there are 2 brands of processors to choose from. Intel and AMD. Each brand offers many solutions at different price points.

Intel
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Intel is the largest processor company in the world. They have been making processors since 1968. As you can see from the above picture the processor does not have pings. When Intel first released Socket 775 in 2004 they stopped using pins on the processors. Instead the motherboard contains the pins which touch the contact points on the processor. This is known as LGA. LGA stands for Land Grid Array. LGA was first designed to allow for a higher density of pin contact points to ensure a stable power connection. It also turned out that the chances of damaging the CPU during handling or installation decreased.

AMD
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AMD stands for Advance Micro Devices and is the second largest manufacturer of processors in the world. AMD was founded in 1969. Since then they have the number 1 competitor with Intel. They have been trading performance blows with Intel since the 90’s. From the picture above you can tell that AMD is still using pins on the CPU itself for their processors. And will continue to do so for the next generation. AMD does offer LGA chips but they are meant for server applications.

Choosing Between Intel and AMD


Probably the most asked question ever when building a computer. Should I go Intel? Or should I go AMD? Let me help you decide what is best. Each company has its own advantages. Let me start off by saying just because X processor has more cores or GHz does not make it better. There are many factors that make one processor better than another. Now we shall start with Intel.

Intel, hands down, makes the best performing processors in this computing era. But performance can come at a price. And this price is not limited to just the initial cost of the processor. When comparing cost just between processor and processor a majority of the time you can get a comparable or better Intel processor for the same or slightly more than the AMD counterpart. The other factors you have to include are the motherboard and memory costs.

Recently Intel has been trigger happy with introducing new sockets. This can be very frustrating and costly to people. Within a few years they have introduced 3 new sockets, while AMD has held firm with one combination. With the introduction of each new socket they target separate audiences. LGA2011-3 is the high performing socket of the base Core i7 series. Its counterpart 1151 is the more cost effective variant.

LGA 1366 has a few features that are found lacking with LGA 1156. 1366 supported Intel’s highest performing six, 8, 10 and 12 core processors. 2011-3 is also the only current Intel platform to support triple channel mode for triple channel memory kits.

LGA 1151 is the younger brother of LGA2011-3. 1151 supports quad core processors form the Core i7 77xx series and Core i5 7xxx series. 1151 also supports the Core i3 dual core processors. The Core i3 and i7 supports hyper threading which allows windows to create 2 logical cores from one physical core. This does not mean a dual core with hyper threading is a quad core. It just helps in applications that feature multi-core support.

LGA 1151 is the newest series from Intel. 1151 supports the newest Core i7 7700, Core i5 7600 and Core i3 7100 series. The only difference between the Core i7 7700 and Core i5 7600 is hyper threading support. The Core i3 7100 is the dual core variant of this series. This new series is known as “Kaby Lake”. Kaby Lake is a slightly enhanced version of the original Core i7 67xx series. The performance of Kaby Lake is so strong that the dual core i3 is just as powerful as some of the quad core processors from the LGA 1150 processors which are in the same performance bracket as AMD’s eight-cores.

You've probably heard of overclocking before. Overclocking consist of "boosting" the clock speed of the CPU in order to get better performance. If you're planning on overclocking your system, be sure that you have sufficient cooling, an unlocked CPU and a motherboard that supports overclocking.
When overclocking, you should keep an eye on the temperature of your CPU. It should NEVER get past 90c. If the temperature does get higher than that, you're risking damaging your CPU and motherboard permanently.

AMD used tp creates some of the best priced components available. In the long run you’re going to save more money than if you bought Intel. For the past few years AMD has not changed the design layout of their processors. You may see that they release new variants such as FM2/FM2+ and AM3/AM3+. This does not affect the physical design of the processor. It only affects the core components inside the processor. This has allowed many motherboard manufacturers to release BIOS (Basic Input Output System) updates that allow some motherboards to support these new designs. Allowing you to continually use a motherboard if you chose for a long period of time while still being able to replace only the processor.

AMD released the AM4 platform(Zen) not long ago. The AM4 CPUs have high core count (From 4 to 8 core) and all have hyperthreading enabled. These CPUs are very good at rendering and streaming due to their high core count.


Motherboard

A motherboard is the quintessential piece of any computer. Without a mother board your components would not connect to anything. Without a place to interconnect the components of your computer would not be able to send and receive data.
Motherboards have different form factors. The form factor affects the size of the motherboard. The two most common form factors are ATX,and Mini ITX. Each form factor has different subcategories that either makes them smaller or larger.

When choosing a motherboard, you should always make sure that the socket is compatible with your CPU. If it is not, you will NOT be able to use your CPU with that motherboard. You should also look at the chipset of the motherboard. Not all chipset support overclocking, keep that in mind if you're planning on overclocking your system.

  • XL ATX- The largest ATX factor available
  • Extended ATX- Slightly larger than Standard ATX
  • ATX- The most common form factor available. Has a traditional layout as seen below.
  • Micro ATX- A small version of ATX
  • Mini ITX- Is an incredibly small form factor for use in applications that need a decent amount of power with a small footprint.
Top Overview
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This is a picture of a standard motherboard. It is what most standard ATX motherboards will look like. Let’s go over some of the labels.

  • 8-Pin CPU Power Connector: Exactly what it sounds like. A PSU(Power Supply Unit) will have either an 8-Pin plug or a 4+4 Pin plug that you connect to this socket. This line will provide the power needed to the CPU.
  • Memory Slots: This is where the memory goes. The reason for the coloring is to help you put your memory in dual channel mode. If you bought a 2x2GB pack of memory you would have 2 sticks totaling 4GB. To allow them to run in their full potential in dual channel mode you would put one stick in the light blue socket and the other stick into the other blue socket. You could choose to use the black socket to if you want. There is more to memory but we will get to that later.
  • 24-Pin ATX Power Connector: This is where the 24-Pin or the 20+4-Pin connector from your PSU would plug into. It provides power to a majority of the components on the motherboard. It supplies power to the memory, front panel indicators, PCI and PCI-E connectors that do not require and additional power source, and all of the rear panel connectors.
  • CPU Socket: This is where you would insert your compatible processor that you bought. There are many different types of CPU sockets available. We will get to this later.
  • PCI Express x1 Slots: This slot has uses ranging from sounds cards, wireless cards, even some low power video cards and RAID cards.
  • PCI Express x16 Slots: This slot is almost exclusively designed for graphics cards. It is the successor of the old AGP slot.
  • PCI Slots: PCI slots are designed for the same reasons as PCI Express x1 slots.
  • SATA Connectors: SATA connectors are where you would plug your HDD’s (Hard Drive Disc) and CD/DVD/BR drives.


RAM

RAM stands for Random Access Memory. Another term for RAM is memory. A single stick of memory is referred to as a DIMM. Which stands for Dual In-line Memory module. In today’s world of computing there are 4 types of memory to know about. DDR, DDR2, DDR3 and DDR4 memory. The “DDR” stands for Double Data Rate. As you may have assumed DDR4 is faster than DDR3 and DDR2. On average it is twice as fast.

DDR3 and DDR2 share the same 240-pin count design. This does not mean that they are interchangeable. There are many factors here which do not allow such to happen. As you can see from the image below the placement of the “notch” is not the same. If you were to try to insert DDR2 into a DDR3 slot, or vice-versa, you could potentially physically damage the memory stick and quite possibly the memory slot.
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Ram is regulated by the JEDEC. This stands for Joint Electron Devices Engineering Council. JEDEC is responsible for memory specifications such as speed classification, voltage, timings and many other factors. When looking at memory you will see that each company has a similar naming system. For example you will see many sticks say DDR2 1066, DDR3 1333, DDR4 3200 and etc… These are the speed standards set by JEDEC.

The style and quality of memory varies by company and price. When I say style I am referring to the heat spreaders on memory chips if they are used. Below I will have a picture of a DIMM with and without a heat spreader. On lower cost memory (not necessarily worse quality) the manufacturers do not bother putting heat spreaders to save money. Heat spreaders are required on higher clocked memory. The more power its producing leads to the more heat that is produced.
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The choice between memory depends on the motherboard you use and how much money you have to spend. Getting a motherboard that supports DDR4 is not much more money than one that supports DDR3. The same goes for the memory itself. But some people are unable to spend extra. So as long as money is not a huge limiting factor you should always pick DDR4 memory and a compatible motherboard.


Graphics Card

Graphics cards are what supply video to your monitor. Graphics card are either NVIDIA or AMDbranded. NVIDIA and AMD supply the cards to companies like EVGA, XFX, MSI and others to rebrand, modify and sell them. Everyone needs to have a graphics card (or onboard video). But how good of one you needs depends what applications you run. A person who only uses the internet, video streaming and basic applications such as word processors is not going to need a monstrous graphics card. It would be a waste of resources. Next up are people who do all the above and possibly some graphic designing. Certain applications are able to make great use of a graphics card with rendering and whatnot. There are cards made specifically for graphic workstations but they are far more expensive than their gaming counterparts. And are designed with graphic design in mind which can hinder their performance in areas such as gaming. Next we have the group of gamers. No I do not mean Facebook or any other flash games. Games such as Battlefield1, Crysis 3, GTA V and others. These games require a decently powerful graphics card to lay at optimal settings.

There are more factors than just the uses for a graphics card. A giant factor is your monitor’s resolution. A person who uses a resolution of 720p is not going to need an insanely powerful video card. Unless he plans to buy a new monitor that supports larger resolutions. Using a high end graphics card on a small resolution will not let you receive the full benefits that the card has to offer. People who play on larger resolutions such as 1080p and larger are the ones who are going to need more powerful graphics cards.

Another factor in graphics card performance is your processor. If you have a slow processor you could essentially bottleneck your card. This means that your processor does not have enough power to keep up with your video card and you will not be getting your maximum performance.

Now let’s help you decide which brand you are better off going with.


NVIDIA
Nvidia-PNG-Image.png

NVIDIA has been in the graphics game since 1993. Since then they have made many many graphics cards which has made them the largest market share in the graphics world. The most recent series from NVIDIA are the GTX900 and the GTX1000 series. They are very powerful performing cards. One advantage NVIDIA has over AMD is PHYSX. PHYSX processing adds great detail improvement to many games. But of course with this increased quality you can take a performance hit.

Another great feature from NVIDIA is CUDA. In a normal computer without CUDA most applications would run solely on the power of the processor which leaves your graphics card sitting idle. CUDA is an architecture built into newer NVIDIA GPU’s. If a developer uses CUDA in an application it can take advantage of the power of the GPU. This can immensely speed up processing time.

NVIDIA and AMD also share another feature that allows a user to use multiple (max of 4 if supported) graphics card of the same type, newer Nvidia GPU officially only support 2 cards. With NVIDIA this feature is called SLI. SLI stands for Scalable Link Interface. When you have a motherboard and video cards that support this feature you can theoretically double your performance. In most situations you will not get that much. Also the games you play must support SLI. SLI performance will also very game from game depending on how well it was coded.

Some other features that these cards have are 3D Vision and Stereo Surround. If you have a NVIDIA card capable of 3D, monitors that supports 120Hz and you have the NVIDIA 3D glasses kit you are good to go. Running in 3D severely cuts performance and not all games support 3D. Stereo Surround allows users with SLI to run on a triple monitor display setup. Stereo Surround uses insanely high resolutions and requires the best graphics cards available.


AMD
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AMD has been around since 1985. In 2006 they were purchased by AMD. Since the late 80’s AMD has produced many great graphics cards. The most recent series from AMD are the R9 300 and RX 4xx series. They are great cards for the price. The price per performance crown goes to AMD. AMD does not have PHYSX and does not have great tessellation support but they can run games great.

Like NVIDIA’s SLI, AMD has Crossfire. It is also capable of running up to 4 supported graphics card. The scaling (performance) is about equal to SLI depending on the games you choose to play.

AMD’s equivalent of 3D Vision and Stereo surround is called Eyefinity. Eyefinity allows the use of graphics cards to power multiple displays.

In the end there are a few factors that can affect your purchase. First is being price. In general AMD tends to have better performance at the same price point. Do not interpret this as all AMD cards are better than NVIDIA. This is not the case. The development of games plays a big factor. Some games were designed on games running AMD cards and some were designed on NVIDIA cards. Another factor to look at is ease of use. Ease of use referring to driver installation, driver control panel and support issues. NVIDIA cards have solid driver support and rarely encounter driver problems. The NVIDIA control panel is an easy configuration tool that is not overwhelming. AMD has the Catalyst Control Center. The CCC has a staggering amount of configuration options. To a new and even a mild computer user these options can prove to be a headache. If you are ever reading about driver issues relating to video cards most of the time they relate to AMD cards. I’m not saying AMD is a horrible company and you should stay away. I encourage the use of AMD products at times. But for new users encountering an over encumbered control panel and dealing with driver errors can be a nightmare. In the end it all comes down to the overall amount of money you want to spend.

If you want more detail on AMD vs Nvidia, go read this thread. It will help you choose between AMD and Nvidia.


HDD/SSD

All of your data including your Operating System (OS) is stored on your hard drives. The more files you have the more space that tends to be used. You want to have the right balance between HDD capacity and HDD speed. There are to types of storage devices. Traditional Hard Drive Discs (HDD) that use spinning platters and magnets and Solid State Drives which are based off of flash memory.

HDD’s are the most common way we have been storing data for decades. A HDD contains platters. Each platter can hold a certain amount of data depending on the manufacturing process. The fewer and larger the platters are the faster speeds you’re generally going to achieve. The rated Read and Write speeds are not the only factor in a HDD’s performance. These other factors include Average Seek Time, Average Write Time and the average latency in general. These measurements are the amount of time it takes for your HDD to recognize the input. Latencies on HDD’s are measured in milliseconds. Even though the latency can range from 4-11ms it can be a lot faster. The read speeds are an important factor in load times. The faster your HDD can interpret the data the faster you can access data the less time wasted on waiting.

SSD’s are not a totally new breakthrough but an important one. A SSD does not use platters or magnets. It uses flash based memory. The same thing you would find in a flash drive. The SSD is made of many flash chips on a PCB. The flash chips communicate through the built in controller on the SSD. The flash chips are designed to work together which is why they are able to achieve such great speed. Unlike a HDD a SSD contains no moving parts. This is why they have virtually no latency. Resulting in as close to instantaneous response as possible. SSD are typically twice as fast as HDD but can be even faster.

One great feature of HDD’s and SSD’s is that you can chain them together. This is called a RAID array. RAID stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks. There are many types of RAID. The more common ones are RAID 0 and RAID 1. In a RAID 0 array you get double the capacity and theoretically double the speed. In reality you do not get linear performance unless you use a quality RAID card. But the speeds are greatly increased. RAID 1 takes the second HDD’s and copies all the data from the main HDD for a backup drive. In a RAID array it must consist entirely of mechanical HDD’s or all SSD’s. You cannot interchange. You can use multiple drives of different sizes though. But if you use different size drives the RAID array will only account for the capacity of the smaller drive. For example I you had a RAID 0 array between a 500GB and a 640GB HDD you would only get 1TB total size. The extra 140Gb would be unusable.


Power Supply

Power Supplies (PSU’s) are what takes the power from the wall and distributes it properly among all of your components. The power from your wall is known as Alternating Current (AC) and the components in your computer use Direct Current (DC) voltage. Past that each individual component has different voltage requirements. Each cable of the PSU regulates the amount of voltage and current the component needs. There are 2 types of PSU’s that you can buy. Modular PSU’s and non-modular PSU’s.

Before the day of the modular PSU all PSU’s were non-modular. This means that all the cables are connected directly inside the PSU. You cannot remove or add cables based on your need. This in turn could mean that you have many extra cables that you have no use for lying around causing clutter. Or you could run into the problem of not having enough cables.

Modular PSU’s are a godsend. There are fully modular and partially modular PSU’s. A partially modular PSU will have a few essential/common connectors already hard wired into the power supply. A fully modular PSU will not have anything plugged in. You can choose at will which connectors that you are going to have.

When choosing PSU you have to take into account the wattage of the PSU and the Amperage. To get a fairly accurate rating you have to see the recommendations from each component. Due take note that the recommendations on components are overrated. But it is nice to have a buffer.


Optical Drives

Optical Drives have been around for a very long time. An optical drive is simply a device capable of reading data from a physical disc. Apart from reading data from discs certain optical drives can write data to discs. LightScribe is another feature that optical drives can offer. It allows you to etch designs on the tops of physical media.
CD/DVD is the most common drive you can find. Nearly every drive made today in addition to reading these types of media will allow you write data to acceptable media. CD/DVD’s are used for programs you buy from stores, movies that you buy and operating systems.

Blu-Ray is the newest widely used format in the physical media wars. Blu-Ray was developed by Sony and is used for PS3, PS4, xbox one games and HD movies. There are drives available that offer Blu-Ray read and write support. But generally they tend to cost quite a bit more than their counterparts.

LightScribe is a feature built into some CD/DVD drives that allows a user to laser-etch labels to acceptable media. If you purchase LightScribe certified media and you have a drive that supports LightScribe you can have whatever image you chose to be etched in the media. The only downside is that they are only in black and white.

Case

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A case is a place to store and protect all of your components. Cases come in many different shapes in sizes. Some cases are designed for portability, airflow or even water-cooling. When purchasing a case you must make sure it supports the form factor of your motherboard. There are some features which cases contain that can make your life considerably easier.

9445d1268432965-corsair-obsidian-800d-img_0065.jpg

In the above you probably see a few features that you may not be accustomed to. One of the nice features is the bottom mounted PSU. Traditionally PSU slots were located at the top of the case. This allowed the cables do dangle below casing clutter and restricting airflow. With a PSU mounted in the bottom it removes the clutter of having dangling wires. Another feature you may notice is the rubber grommets. With this case (Corsair Obsidian 800D) you actually pull the wires through the other sides of the case. Then you re-route them through these grommets. This greatly improves the airflow of a case and adds to appeal.

Now these features are nicer which means they can drive the cost of a case up. You also have to remember that they are not required just a luxury. Just remember when selecting a case to always make sure it supports your form factor.


Operating System

The Operating System is the software that brings all of your components together. It lets your components talk through an underlying interface. The 3 most well known operating systems are Windows, Linux and Mac.

The Windows operating system is by far the most widely accepted OS to date. It is on millions upon millions of personal, business and educational computers around the world. The newest revision of Windows is known as Windows 10. Windows 10 is the successor of the widely unpopular Windows 8. Windows 10 changed the GUI (Graphic User Interface) overall system stability and performance impact.

Linux is a mature OS based off of Unix. It is a completely free and open source operating system. Linux is the core of many popular distributions such as Ubuntu, Fedora and Arch Linux to name a few. SteamOS, a new OS made by Valve, the creator of Steam, DOTA 2, Counter-Strike and Half-Life, runs Linux, thus, will only run games that support Linux.

Mac is a proprietary operating system that was developed for Apple computers. The core of the Mac OSX is Linux. Mac OSX is not meant to run on traditional PC hardware. However there are OSx86 variants that can run off of certain traditional hardware.

One of the big questions about operating systems is to go x86 (32 bit) or x64 (64 bit). At one point in time the support for x64 was extremely limited and severely buggy. But since then the architecture has matured a great deal. There is simply no reason to choose x86 over x64. The chance of you running into an incompatible application is very small. The biggest advantage of x64 is the ability to use more than 4GB of memory. X86 have a limit of 4GB (2GB for Windows 7 Starter) usable. This includes the memory on your graphics card. Which will severely limit your performance on memory intensive applications.


Monitor

A monitor is an essential piece of computer hardware. It displays the video output generated by the GPU. Typically, monitors have a resolution of 1080p, 1440p or even 2160p(4k). Most monitor have an aspect ratio of 16:9 but there are monitor with aspects ratios of 16:10, 21:9 or even 24:9. Monitors are NOT simply televisions. The main difference is the response time, which is usually much lower on monitor than on televisions. The refresh rate is also usually higher on monitor.

Response time is a term used to describe the time taken by the monitor to display the signal it received. For example, a monitor with a 5 millisecond(ms) response time will have a delay of 5ms between the time that the GPU sends the signal and when the monitor will display that frame. Lower response time usually makes games feel more responsive. A typical gaming monitor will have a response time of less than 5ms.

Refresh rate is a term used to refer to the number of frames a monitor or television is able to display every second. For example, a 60Hz monitor will be able to display 60 frames per second. Typically, most monitor will have a refresh rate of between 60hz and 240hz. The higher the FPS, the smoother game will look.

Monitors have many different inputs (or interface). Most newer monitors have HDMI input, however, there are other widely used interface such as Mini-Display Port and DVI. If you're using a 4k monitor, you should be aware of the limitation of the HDMI and DVI interfaces. If you're planning on using a 4K monitor with an HDMI interface, make sure that the output from your PC has an HDMI 2.0 output. Or else, your monitor won't run at over 30hz. As for DVI, make sure that the output is a dual-link DVI output. Currently, Dual-link DVI does not support 4k at 60hz however.

There are many display panel types currently used, the two most popular however are IPS panels (In-Plane Switching) and TN panels (Twisted Nematic). The IPS panels usually have much better color reproduction when compared to TN panels. TN panels tend to have poor color reproduction but are usually cheaper and have higher refresh rates.

Some monitor uses frame sync. There are currently two type of frame sync: G-Sync (nvidia) and Freesync (amd).
Frame sync synchronizes the display refresh rates with the input refresh rate which usually results an a smoother and eliminates screen tearing.
Freesync monitors are usually much cheaper than G-Sync monitors for the simple reason that G-Sync requires a proprietary module which usually adds around 100$-200$ to the cost of the monitor. Beware that Freesync will not work with nvidia/intel GPU and G-Sync will not work with AMD/Intel GPU.


Mouse

The mouse is what lets you control the cursor, without it, you would not be able to do much on your computer. The mouse is usually connected through USB but, some older mouse may use the PS/2 connector. When looking for a mouse, you may see something called "DPI". The higher the DPI, the more your mouse will be sensitive to movements. Some mouse may also offer lighting or even offer dedicated programmable keys.


Keyboard

A keyboard is an essential piece of a computer, without it, you would not be able to do anything. Keyboards differ all around the world, for example, in country where accents are often used, keyboards will have those special characters printed on the keyboard. There are many different keyboard types such as the QWERTY keyboard and the AZERTY keyboard which are both widely used to this day. Keyboard usually connect through USB but some older keyboard connect via a PS/2 connection. Some keyboard may also lack a numb-pad, which is usually located on the far right side of the keyboard.

Most gamer like to use a specific type of keyboard: the mechanical keyboard. What makes mechanical keyboard better, you may ask? Well, for one, you get a more tactile feel when using them, you know exactly when you've clicked the key, which may help you when typing or gaming.
There are many different type of mechanical switch. The most widely used type of switches are made by Cherry which makes the Cherry MX line of switches. Those are typically considered to be the best and most reliable brand of switches. There are other switches such as the Kailh switches and the razer switches. Both of those are typically considered to be not as good as the Cherry MX counter parts.
There are many different type of Cherry MX switches, the most popular are the Cherry MX blue, brown, red and black. They all offer different tactile feedback. Most gamer prefer the cherry MX blue or red switches.

Some higher-end keyboards may offer back lighting, which eliminate the keyboard keys from underneath. It helps seeing the keys during the night and makes the keyboard look better. Some keyboard have RGB back lighting which lets you decide the exact color you want your keyboard back lights to be. Those are typically much more expensive.

Some keyboards may also offer programmable keys. Those keys can be used to execute macros, to open a specific software, to change the sensitivity of your mouse and even more.


Useful link

pcpartpicker.com
(A very useful site that allows you to create and share PC build easily and quickly. The site supports many country such as: USA, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Australia and many more.)

LinusTechTips (A very useful PC youtube channel with many great videos about computer hardware.)

Tech quickie (A very useful PC youtube channel with many great short videos about computer related subjects)

AMD GPU Driver Thread (A thread created to see which driver version is the newest and what was updated in the latest update)
Nvidia GPU driver Thread (A thread created to see which driver version is the newest and what was updated in the latest update)

*This post has been updated by Habofro.
 
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I'm Christian ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ノ raise your dongers ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ノ
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Thats a very long a great tutorial!
 
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Is this a c&p? Just saying because it is pretty damn long.

Nice guide anyways :smile:
 
SupremeCippy

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Nice guide, definitely deserves a sticky in computer hardware.
People above me left the most generic response's not even sure they read the title, its not relay a tut just allot of very useful information.
 
DanKKlol

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Building a computer takes like 30min lol :tongue: still nice tutorial :smile:)
 
waffle11

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Building a computer takes like 30min lol :tongue: still nice tutorial :smile:)

Putting the parts on the motherboard might for someone who has done it before, but for the inexperienced user (you know the people who would need a tut) it can take longer. Plus if you add the time it takes to find quality parts (which is the prime directive in this guide) it is even longer.
 
The Truth

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Great tutorial, very in depth, should help a lot of users become familiar with computers in general.
 
Haxalot88

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Now you just need a guide on how to select parts properly, and then actually building the computer.
 
xILemonHeadIx

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It already is and has been...

Ohh, I didn't visit this thread through the forum page so I didn't notice. I didn't expect it to be as it was posted such a short time ago.
 
Venomous Fire

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Graphics cards are what supply video to your monitor. Graphics card are either NVIDIA or ATI branded. NVIDIA and ATI supply the cards to companies like EVGA, XFX, MSI and others to rebrand, modify and sell them. Everyone needs to have a graphics card (or onboard video). But how good of one you needs depends what applications you run. A person who only uses the internet, video streaming and basic applications such as word processors is not going to need a monstrous graphics card. It would be a waste of resources. Nest up are people who do all the above and possibly some graphic designing. Certain applications are able to make great use of a graphics card with rendering and whatnot. There are cards made specifically for graphic workstations but they are far more expensive than their gaming counterparts. And are designed with graphic design in mind which can hinder their performance in areas such as gaming. Next we have the group of gamers. No I do not mean Facebook or any other flash games. Games such as Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Crysis, Metro 2033 and others. These games require a decently powerful graphics card to lay at optimal settings.


Mac is a proprietary operating system that was developed for Apple computers. The core of the Mac OS is Linux. Mc OSX is not meant to run on traditional PC hardware. However there are OSx86 variants that can run off of certain traditional hardware.

Thought is was a great tutorial, but I noticed a few things, bolded. Based on this, I cannot feel secure following your information thus making this tutorial a non-trusted source of information. Going back to google.




























jk, awesome tutorial, and with no trolling, Im so proud of you :smile:
 
Haxalot88

Haxalot88

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Thought is was a great tutorial, but I noticed a few things, bolded. Based on this, I cannot feel secure following your information thus making this tutorial a non-trusted source of information. Going back to google.

He wrote like 5,000-ish words over the course of a few hours while we were on Skype xD (yes i read the rest of your post).
 
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