RAVEENDRA'S DEN

earn from your sites/blog

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:09:00 +0000

T20 live scores

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 10:20:00 +0000

Cricket Live Score Widget from CricketerNews.comgreat free widgetsWidgetbox

Pc tools and Help

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:53:00 +0000

Hi viewers, in this category you can find pc help and tools if you have any problem in your pc you can straightly write a mail to us or visit our fourm.
so you can find sub menues in this tab and also you can search in the blog.
any queryies or suggestions write to us at rana.ravindra1@gmail.com

Wi-Fi

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:50:00 +0000

Wi-Fi : for certified products based on the IEEE standards(WLAN) and Wi-Fi). This certification warrants interoperability between different wireless devices.

The term Wi-Fi often is used by the public as a synonym for wireless Internet (WLAN); but not every wireless Internet product has a Wi-Fi certification, which may be because of certification costs that must be paid for each certified device type.

How Does GPS Work?

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:50:00 +0000

Global Positioning System satellites transmit signals to equipment on the ground. GPS receivers passively receive satellite signals; they do not transmit. GPS receivers require an unobstructed view of the sky, so they are used only outdoors and they often do not perform well within forested areas or near tall buildings. GPS operations depend on a very accurate time reference, which is provided by atomic clocks at the U.S. Naval Observatory. Each GPS satellite has atomic clocks on board.
	Each GPS satellite transmits data that indicates its location and the current time. All GPS satellites synchronize operations so that these repeating signals are transmitted at the same instant. The signals, moving at the speed of light, arrive at a GPS receiver at slightly different times because some satellites are farther away than others. The distance to the GPS satellites can be determined by estimating the amount of time it takes for their signals to reach the receiver. When the receiver estimates the distance to at least four GPS satellites, it can calculate its position in three dimensions.
There are at least 24 operational GPS satellites at all times. The satellites, operated by the U.S. Air Force, orbit with a period of 12 hours. Ground stations are used to precisely track each satellite's orbit.
Determining Position A GPS receiver "knows" the location of the satellites, because that information is included in satellite transmissions. By estimating how far away a satellite is, the receiver also "knows" it is located somewhere on the surface of an imaginary sphere centered at the satellite. It then determines the sizes of several spheres, one for each satellite. The receiver is located where these spheres intersect

How to the Human Resources ?

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:50:00 +0000

1.Human resorces is the main part of compny and every business system .
2.It is not to the business then not powerfull this business
3.This department control to every part to business and every thing to employe and management.
4. Its understand to all thing empolye salary .which garade to provide to employe amount the salary.
5. There are the example of humam body part .the main part of human body is back bon is not to the human then human is not to walk then is same thing human resorece department is not then not to work any bady business.

Are you tired of the typical adult chat rooms?

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:49:00 +0000

Are you tired of the typical adult chat rooms you see out there? Adult chat net has created a web site in order to provide adult users a safe and clean chat environment. The chat is staffed with on-site moderators and our users come from all over the world. This chat room is intended for users considered to be an adult. Although this site DOES NOT have explicit content, in order to keep the demographics of the chat rooms in line, it asks that underage users stay out. The best part of this chat room is that it is FREE! Please note that the chatrooms are not staffed 24 hours a day so please use with safety in mind. Please follow all rules and obey instructions given by the moderators

Chatting Tips

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:49:00 +0000

Here are some basic tips to keep in mind if you want to have a positive chatting experience:

Never type in all capital letters. WHEN YOU TYPE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU ARE SHOUTING! People generally find this very annoying.
Be polite to strangers. If you don't know the people you are talking to, it is appropriate to be as polite as if you are meeting someone for the first time in real life.
If someone doesn't want to chat, don't harass them. There are plenty of people in Active Worlds to talk to. If one person doesn't want to chat with you, just move on, don't pester them.
Don't be offensive. Offensive behavior is totally inappropriate unless you are in private and among good friends who have indicated that they do not mind. Otherwise, you will just annoy everyone and you will wind up getting muted. Also in certain worlds and areas within

Rename ‘Recycle Bin’ To Whatever You Want

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:48:00 +0000

Don’t forget to backup your registry before doing this.

CLICK ON “START” BUTTON
SELECT “RUN”
In The box Type “REGEDIT.EXE” (WITHOUT QUOTES”) Press Enter.
go to:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/CLSID/{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

and change the name “Recycle Bin” to whatever you want (Without quotes).

done enjoys

Hide a file inside another file!

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:45:00 +0000

1. Gather your image and the files you wish to lodge into it. Here I have a fun.txt which I will hide inside my cricket.jpg.
2. Add the files you want to hide into a new RAR archive. (so fun.txt.rar created newly)
3. Open Command Prompt and go to the folder where your files are located, e.g., ‘C:\temp’.
5. At command prompt type ‘copy /b cricket.jpg + fun.txt.rar PC.jpg’ (without quotes).
(cricket.jpg is the picture I want to show, fun.txt.rar is the file to be hidden, and PC.jpg is the file which contains both.
6. Now test the PC.jpg by double clicking it, and verifying it still opens.
7. Now try opening that same PC.jpg file from menu:file->open of WinRar.

It will show the original hidden file fun.txt.

Done !!!!!

Now PC.jpg is a simple JPEG for others, but it contains a secret file fun.txt for you !!!!!!!!!

hard disk recovery

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:44:00 +0000

Data Recovery
Hard disk drive repair
RAID repair and recovery
Data Recovery after any disaster or data loss
We recover data from all types of systems:
Broken or damaged hard disk drives
Damaged or corrupted File systems
RAID system Failures
Viral infections
Lightning hits
Natural disasters (fire, flood...)
Accidental deletions
Employee sabotage
Accidental reformat
Burn out etc...
RAID Array Recovery - RAID 0/1, RAID 5, RAID 10, RAID 3, RAID 1 and more ...
Any File System or Media
We work with all file systems:
Windows (MS-DOS, 95, 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista, Server 2003, etc.)

Novell (2.1, 3.11, 3.12, 4.11, 5.0, etc.)

Linux (minix, ext2, ext3, jfs, reiser, etc)

Macintosh (OS X, OS 9, OS 8.6, etc.)
Other Unix based systems (Solaris, Ultrix, HP/IX, Alpha, AIX, etc.)
Proprietary and unusual file systems including av systems
Flash memory and microdrives
Magnetic Tape
Recovery Services
Emergency, Weekend, and Priority Service
Full Class 100 Clean Facilities
Hard disk drive repair and recovery
Floppy, zip disk, CD, and DVD recovery
Magnetic tape recovery
RAID Array Repair and Recovery (RAID 0, 1, 5, 0+1, 10)
File system recovery from corruption due to virus or operating system failure
Recovery of deleted files or reformatted systems
NAS, Maxattach, Snapserver and other network storage devices
Special Services
Forensic Analysis and E-discovery
On site services
Disaster Recovery Consulting
Experience in Handling Sensitive Government Data
Data Protection and Computer Crime Consulting
Data Destruction and Drive Sanitation
Media and Data Conversion

Secure your computer with Folder Guard

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:44:00 +0000

Folder Guard® is a powerful computer security software that you can use to control access to files, folders, and other Windows resources, such as Control Panel, Start Menu, and so on. You can use Folder Guard to lock your personal files and folders with passwords, to stop other users from peeking into your records. You can even completely hide your private folders from virtually all applications, and such folders would remain invisible until you enter a valid password. You can also protect sensitive system files from modification or destruction, disable access to the removable drives, restrict access to Control Panel, and more.
Folder Guard Professional edition combines the 32-bit and x64 editions of Folder Guard in one convenient package. When installed on the 32-bit versions of Windows it offers the same functionality as Folder Guard 32-bit Edition. When installed on the x64 versions of Windows, it works in the same way as Folder Guard x64 Edition. The older MS-DOS-based releases of Windows (such as Windows, 95, 98, Me) are NOT supported by this edition.
You can download Folder Guard Professional 8.1 from HERE!

This guide is for anyone and everyone who needs a little tutorial on how to install Windows XP.

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:42:00 +0000

After serious system problems it’s often necessary to wipe your Windows XP system clean and start over from scratch - a procedure referred to as a “Clean Install”. This guide is broken into of 34 steps and will walk you through every part of the clean installation process.
The most important thing to realize before performing a clean installation of Windows XP is that all of the information on the drive that Windows XP is currently on (probably your C: drive) will be destroyed during this process. That means that if there’s anything you want to keep you should back it up to a CD or another drive prior to beginning this process.
Some things to consider backing up hat usually reside on the same drive as Windows XP (which we’ll assume is “C:”) include a number of folders located under C:\Documents and Settings\{YOUR NAME} such as Desktop, Favorites and My Documents. Also check these folders under other user’s accounts if more than one person logs onto your PC.
When you’re absolutely sure sure that everything from your computer that you want to keep is backed up, proceed to the next step. Keep in mind that once you delete all of the information from this drive (as we’ll do in a future step), the action is not reversible!

DJ Nikit's dil tote MixX

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:41:00 +0000

COPY THE CODE TO SCRAP OTHERS

DJ Nikit's Drop The Temperature

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:41:00 +0000

copy the code to scrap others

DJ Nikit's EmoTionAl AttyaChaar HarD EleCtRo MixX

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:41:00 +0000

To send the song to your beloved ones just copy the code and send on orkut,hi5,fac book and all

DJ Nikit's Maahi Electro Kick Mix

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:41:00 +0000

to send the song in to your friends on orkut,hi5,and all just copy the code and scrap it

DJ Nikit's MarJaani electro House mixX

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:40:00 +0000

to scrap this song copy the code below

DJ Nikit's Bebot Electro Mix

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:39:00 +0000

to send to ur friend in hi5,orkut and all just copy the link and send to them

DJ Nikit's Masak Kali Sweet Electro Mix

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:39:00 +0000

copy the code and scrap to your friends

Assembling the 2005.05.14 standard workstation

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:37:00 +0000

Assembling a computer from components
This page is obsolete. I have a new page explaining how to build the 2006.01.07 standard workstation.
Assembling the 2005.05.14 standard workstation
The instructions below are for the 2004.10.10 standard workstation.
The 2005.05.14 standard workstation has the following changes:

The UATA hard drive (and cable) have been replaced by a SATA hard drive (cable included with the motherboard). Effects on assembly: the hard drive uses a different cable from the one shown below, and plugs into a different spot on the motherboard.
The Zalman fan has been replaced by a three-speed Antec fan with a 4-pin power connector. Effects on assembly: the fan plugs into main power instead of the motherboard; the power-supply fan plugs into the motherboard.
The video card and DVD-ROM drive are different. Effects on assembly: none, but slightly different pictures.
The 2005.08.23 standard workstation has more changes. There turns out to be a serious bug in the motherboard BIOS in the 2005.08.23 workstation, and fixing that bug requires the following extra steps once the computer has beeped:

On a working computer, download the file A8V-ASUS-0213.ROM from the Asus A8V download page. This file has MD5 checksum 9c44e207cb3e37a6dc797aa6e1b99f5e.
On a working computer, rename the file as A8VB.ROM and burn that file to a CD.
On the standard workstation, as soon as the initial boot screen appears, press Alt-F2 to enter the BIOS EZ Flash utility, and then insert the CD. The EZ Flash utility will read A8VB.ROM from CD, erase the system's BIOS, and copy A8VB.ROM to the system's BIOS; don't turn the computer off while this is happening!
After reboot, don't worry about the bad-checksum message; simply press F2 to continue.
Other changes in the 2005.08.23 standard workstation are not reflected here yet.
Assembling the 2004.10.10 standard workstation
The 2004.10.10 standard workstation is a very nice x86 (Intel-compatible) computer: solid, extremely fast, and reasonably inexpensive. I have a separate page explaining how to buy the components of the standard workstation. This page explains how to assemble those components into a working computer.
Some of these instructions, and most of the pictures, are specific to the 2004.10.10 standard workstation. If you're using any different components, you'll have to figure out appropriate modifications to the instructions.

Unpack the computer case. Discard its plastic wrap. Put on an antistatic wrist strap, and attach it to ground (for example, to the screw on a typical light-switch plate).

Unscrew the big screws on the back of the case. Pull on the side latch to open the case. Take the power cord and the brown box out of the case. Open the brown box to find a bag of screws and brass standoffs:

Take five brass standoffs out of the bag.

Look for four brass standoffs already installed at the back of the case:

Two of them are in line at the bottom; screw another into the third hole at the bottom. Two more are in line at the middle; screw another into the third hole at that height. Screw three more into the first, fourth, and sixth holes on the top, roughly (not exactly) lined up with the three standoffs on the bottom and the three standoffs in the middle:

Use a hammer to tap the face plate out of the case:

Open the motherboard box and find a replacement face plate. Tap the replacement face plate into the case, with two holes at the top and three holes at the bottom. The face plate has three tabs bent into the case; bend them further so that they are at 90 degrees to the plate.

Take the motherboard out of its box, and lay it on a non-metallic flat surface, such as a wooden table:

Look at the pattern of silver-circled holes on the motherboard; those will eventually line up with the brass standoffs in the case. Move the brass standoffs if necessary to match the motherboard.

Unpack the DIMM. Push apart the two white DIMM holders on the ends of the blue DIMM slot on the motherboard:

Push the DIMM solidly into the blue DIMM slot:

Pull the CPU-socket locking lever slightly out, then up to vertical:

Take the CPU out of its plastic container and off of the black foam, revealing an array of gold pins:

Put the CPU into the CPU socket, with the CPU triangle on top of the triangle marked on the motherboard; opposite corner from the lever. When the CPU is aligned properly with the socket, it will drop gently into the socket:

Push the CPU-socket locking lever back to its original position:

Take the plastic cover off the heatsink. Put the heatsink on top of the CPU, with the gray square face down on top of the CPU, and with the big black clip toward the center of the motherboard:

Make sure that the big black clip is pointing up, and push the silver hook onto the black tab below it:

Do the same with the silver hook on the other side. Make sure that both hooks are firmly below their tabs. Rotate the big black clip---it will push back at you somewhat---and hook it into place:

Attach the dangling plug into the three pins at the edge of the motherboard labelled ``CPU fan.'' Orient the plug so that its lips hook around the pins:

Lay the case flat on its side. Put the motherboard gently into the case:

Slide the motherboard towards the edge of the case; it will fit snugly into the face plate (under the three tabs that you bent earlier) and the brass standoffs will be visible through the holes. Screw nine small Phillips-head screws into the nine holes. Don't overtighten.

The case has several slots for expansion cards, each slot covered by a plate. Unscrew the second plate from the top. Plug in, and screw in, the video card:

Unhook the 3.5'' drive cage from the case:

Take the 3.5'' drive cage out of the case:

Plug in the Zalman fan. Plug the fan connector into the fan resistor:

Change the hard drive jumper from CS to Slave. Slide the hard drive into the middle of the 3.5'' drive cage, slightly more than halfway, so that two of its screw holes are visible. Screw the hard drive into the drive cage:

Screw in the other side.

Wrap the fan cable around the fan so that it will end up coming out towards the back of the case:

Slide the drive cage back into the case, and hook it into place:

Slide two drive rails out of their holders on the bottom of the case. Screw them onto the DVD-ROM drive:

Change the DVD-ROM jumper from Slave to Master.

Push the top side buttons on the case to release the top front of the case. Take the front off, and pop the middle 5.25'' drive cover out:

(Why the middle position? The top position is bad for two reasons: first, it doesn't give heat from the DVD-ROM drive any room to rise; second, the nice IDE cable won't reach from the hard drive to the top position. In retrospect, the bottom position is even better heat-wise, and makes the cabling less of a stretch, but my pictures assume the middle position.)

Slowly wiggle the corresponding metal plate inside the case back and forth until it snaps off. Watch out for sharp edges.

Slide the DVD-ROM drive into the case from the front until it snaps into place:

Slide the front of the case back on, around the DVD-ROM drive:

If you moved the case, lay it flat again:

Plug the IDE cable into the DVD-ROM drive (master), the hard drive (slave), and the motherboard:

Screw the IDE cable's grounding connector to the case:

Take the rubber band off the power cables from the power supply:

Two cables are different: they have two rows of pins. Plug these cables into the motherboard until they click:

Plug the front fan connector into the motherboard:

Plug 4-pin power cables into the rear fan, the DVD-ROM, and the hard drive:

Plug the reset-switch, power-switch, HDD-LED, speaker, and power-LED connectors into the motherboard, all labels facing upwards:

Plug the USB cable into the motherboard:

Don't worry about the IEEE 1394 (FireWire) cable. Don't worry about the power-supply fan cable. (I didn't realize, when I was selecting components for the standard workstation, that there were only two fan connectors on the motherboard. The next version of the standard workstation will have either a $2 3-pin-to-4-pin converter or a 4-pin case fan.)

Starting now, be very careful not to touch anything inside the case. Power will be flowing into the computer in a moment; if you touch something inside the case, you can electrocute yourself!

Take off the antistatic wrist strap. Turn the case's rear power switch off (0). Plug power into the case. Turn the power switch on (1). Watch the CPU fan, and press the front power button on the case. If the CPU fan doesn't start spinning, turn power off immediately; you have a problem. If the computer doesn't beep within thirty seconds, turn power off; you have a problem. If the CPU fan starts spinning and the computer beeps, turn power off; you have a working computer. Put the side of the case back on.

How to assemble a desk top

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:36:00 +0000

Introduction
•
live version
Building and assembling a computer, for those who have a penchant to do so,
•
discussion
may be a very rewarding experience. If you are reading “How To Assemble A
Desktop PC” (
Personal Computer
), you are probably contemplating building
•
edit
or assembling a computer instead of purchasing one pre-built or pre-assembled.
•
comment
Building or assembling a desktop PC is a viable option for many people and
may bring significant benefits, such as:
•
report an error
• Learning about computer components and how they fit and work together;
• Understanding the internal and hardware workings of a computer;
• Learning computer hardware terminology and ’geek-speak’;
• Ability to customise a computer according to specialised specifications;
• Building and assembling something from components;
• The satisfaction of a job well-done;
• Engendering technical problem solving ability;
• Saving money; and
• Having fun!
Building your own computer instead of purchasing one pre-fabricated and
assembled may also be contraindicated for certain people and may pose a sig-
nificant challenge if you:
• Don’t enjoy the building and assembly process;
• Have no interest in researching and choosing the parts;
• Are not mindful of quality control processes when opening boxes and pack-
aging and checking to ensure that everything is present;
• Are disinterested in assembling items and components into a custom-built
PC designed and built according to your own specifications;
1

2
• Are used to and like calling a technical support person to fix your PC
technology issues, rather than fixing them yourself;
• Value a centralized warranty service (each part will have its own war-
ranty/return policy), so if a part fails youll have to deal with either the
company you bought it from or the actual manufacturer.
This information is provided to help you determine whether this book, “How
To Assemble A Desktop PC,” is right for you!

Chapter 1
Choosing the parts
•
live version
The first step to building a computer is acquiring the parts. This guide will
start with a quick explanation of essential parts and elaborate on them further
•
discussion
on.
•
edit
A computer is made up of a case, also called a chassis, which houses several
internal components, and the external components, including peripherals.
•
comment
Inside the case go the following internal parts:
•
report an error
• Power Supply/PSU power supply unit, converts outlet power, which
is alternating current (AC), to direct current (DC), which is what the
internal components require, as well as providing appropriate voltages
and currents for the various internal components.
• Motherboard/mainboard As the name indicates, this is the electronic
centerpiece of the computer, everything else connects to the motherboard.
• Processor/CPU central processing unit, the “brain” of the computer,
most actual computation takes place here.
• RAM random access memory, the “short-term memory” of a computer,
used by the CPU to store program instructions and data upon which it is
currently operating. Data in RAM is lost when the computer is powered
o , thus necessitating a hard drive.
• Hard Drive/Hard Disk the “long-term memory” of the computer, used
for persistent storage i.e. the things stored on it remain even when the
computer is powered down. The operating system, and all your programs
and data are stored here.
• Optical Drive device for reading/writing optical disks. May read CDs,
DVDs, or other optical media, depending on the type. It is essential for
installing many operating systems and programs. It may be able to write
some of these discs, as well. Some people like to have two such drives for
copying disks.
3

4 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS
• Video Card/Graphics Card/GPU do es processing relating to video
output. Some motherboards have an “onboard” GPU built in so you dont
need (but may add) a separate video card. Otherwise, you will need a
video card. These plug into a slot on the motherboard and provide a
place to connect a monitor to your computer.
On top of the internal components listed above, you will also need these
external components:
• Keyboard for typing on. Many motherboards won’t even boot without
a keyboard attached.
• Mouse for pointing and clicking. Unless you chose a text-based operating
system, you will likely want one of these.
• Monitor This is where the pretty pictures go. They come in many forms,
the most common being
CRT
and
LCD
.
These are the parts that a standard PC will use. We are not considering
such esoterica as headless, touchscreen, or voice-controlled systems. You might
want to make a check list (perhaps using a spreadsheet) of parts to use as you go
about your process of research and selection. That way you wont find yourself
sitting down with a pile of brand new hardware only to find that you forgot an
essential component.
Before you jump onto the web and start spending lots of money on expensive
computer parts, there are three important questions you should answer which
will guide your purchases:
1. What will be the main function of the computer?
2. What useful parts do you have on hand, from an old computer or other-
wise?
3. How much can you a ord to spend on the system?
What operating system am I going to use?
Before you buy components, be sure that they are supported by the operating
system you plan to use. Almost all current, commonly available PC devices have
drivers available for current versions of Windows (generally, anything 2000, XP,
Vista, or newer); if you want to run an alternative operating system, you’ll have
to do some research; many alternatives have extensive ’Hardware Compatibility
Lists’ as well as software comaptibility.

WHAT WILL BE THE MAIN FUNCTION OF THE COMPUTER? 5
Windows hardware support lists
Windows XP supports most processors and motherboards based on the i386
(x86; 32-bit) or x86 64 (AMD64/EM64T; 64-bit) architectures. Put simply, all
available consumer pro cessors (especially from AMD or Intel) will work with
the Windows XP operating system.
For other hardware, see
Microsoft’s compatibility list
.
Linux hardware support lists
As one of the most popular free operating systems, Linux is a very good alter-
native. It has versions for many di erent architectures, including i386, x64 and
PowerPC, though i386 versions are much more common. It will also support all
kinds of processors, enabling it to be used on Palm PCs and even iPods. There
are many di erent versions of Linux, produced by di erent companies. These
are called ’distributions’ or ’distros’ for short. For a desktop PC, you should
make sure to pick a desktop distro, one where the company/organisation has
desktop users in mind, e.g. Ubuntu, SimplyMEPIS or Mandriva. SUSE is also a
good choice, and has tools that make it easy to use as a server. Ubuntu has won
many awards from PC magazines and is noted for being particularly easy to use
(for basic tasks, e.g. web, email, word processing). It should be noted, however,
that many popular programs, especially games, are not available for Linux, and
the only way to run them is with special compatibility layers or programs like
Wine, which may or may not work with a specific program.
All this is important to bear in mind as di erent distros will support di erent
hardware (generally more ’bleeding-edge’ distros will support newer hardware
look at Fedora, SuSE, Ubuntu, but not the stable release of Debian). A good
rule of thumb is to buy hardware that is 12 to 18 months old, as it most likely
has Linux support with most distros, but won’t be too old.
BSDs hardware support lists
• DesktopBSD, see
FreeBSD 5.4/i386
and
FreeBSD 5.4/amd64
•
Dragon y BSD
•
FreeBSD
•
NetBSD
•
OpenBSD
• PC-BSD, see
FreeBSD 6.0/i386
What will be the main function of the computer?
If you’re going to build a computer from scratch for a specific purpose, you’ll
want to keep that purpose in mind when cho osing your components; don’t just

6 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS
go to the store or an online shop and start buying. Consider what you want to
use the computer for, you may be able to save money by specifying expensive,
premium parts only where needed.
Any reasonably configured computer built from current components will
o er adequate Internet browsing and word-processing capabilities. For an o ce
computer, this is often all that is needed. As long as you provide enough RAM
for your chosen operating system (256 MB to 1 GB for XP or Linux, 2 GB for
Vista) any processor you can buy new will provide acceptable performance. If
the computer is for gaming, a fast processor, the addition of a high-end graphics
accelerator card (or two) and extra RAM will provide a more satisfactory gaming
experience. Besides gaming, computers intended for video editing, serious audio
work, CAD/CAM, or animation will benefit from beefier components.
Here are some general system categories. Your own needs will probably not
fit neatly into one of these, but they are a goo d way to start thinking about
what you are going to use your computer for. With each weve indicated the
components you should emphasize when building the system.
Simple web surfer
To provide basic functionality to a user who just needs web surfing, a little
word processing, and the occasional game of solitaire, its important not to go
overboard. Such a user has no need for a top of the line pro cessor or 3D graphics
card. A mo destly configured system with an adequate internet connection will
suit this user best and can be assembled quite cheaply.
This usage pattern is not going to stress any particular component, you
should be looking at a mid- to low-level processor (historically, and currently,
at about the 110 ($200 approx.) price point or less), enough RAM for the OS
and a mother board with built in Ethernet, video and audio. You can use a
mid-level case/power supply combo (these components are often sold as a pair).
If you have a little extra money, spend it on a better monitor, mouse/key-
board, and case/power supply in that order.
O ce computer
An o ce computer can be expected to do word pro cessing, spreadsheet and
database work, internet and intranet access (including e-mail) and a little light
development of spreadsheets, databases, and presentations. It might also be
called on to do page layout work, some 2D graphic creation, and/or terminal
emulation.
None of this stresses any particular component either, but since o ce workers
often run several applications at the same time, and because time is money in
this space, a strong mid-level processor is suggested. Typically this would be the
processor one or two places from the top of the line, the Intel Core 2 Duo 6600
or 6700 would be a good current example. Plenty of RAM will also facilitate
multitasking and save time.

WHAT WILL BE THE MAIN FUNCTION OF THE COMPUTER? 7
You will not need much in the way of 3D graphics but youll want to make sure
that the video subsystem has its own memory rather than using system RAM.
Many integrated video systems do this and it can really slow things down. A
cheap (sub $100) (for this and other prices in US dollars see www.xe.com/ucc/ or
other currency converter of your choice for conversion into your local currency)
video card with 64 meg or more can be a good investment.
Youll want a sturdy case (computers kept under desks get kicked by users
and poked by cleaning sta ) with a reliable power supply but nothing fancy. If
you plan on keeping the system running nearly all the time, look for a power
supply with a good reliability record. Any extra budget after the above should
focus on a better monitor, better/more ergonomic mouse/keyboard and more
RAM.
Server
A server these days can be anything from a home unit serving MP3’s and home-
work files to the kids, to a machine running a business-critical system for a small
business, to a 3u rack mount unit serving up millions of hits a day on the inter-
net.
The thing that most servers have in common is that they are always on and
therefore reliability is a key characteristic. Also they serve more than one user
while storing and processing important information. For this reason servers are
often equipped with redundant systems such as dual power supplies, RAID 5
arrays of four or more hard disks, special server grade processors that require
error-correcting memory, multiple high-speed Ethernet connections, etc.
All of this is a little beyond the scope of the current work, but, in general,
servers need lots of RAM, fast redundant hard drives, and the most reliable
components your budget will allow. On the other hand, since nobody is usu-
ally sitting at them, you can get away with the cheapest possible keyboard,
mouse and monitor (in fact many servers run “headless” with no monitor at
all). Graphics are also a very low priority on these machines, and a read only
CD/DVD-ROM optical drive (used, infrequently, for installing software and
updates) will do just fine.
Gaming system
Were not talking here about the occasional game of solitaire or a secret late
night Zuma obsession. Were talking about cutting edge 3D gaming first-person
sho oters or real-time strategy games with thousands of troops on the screen
at the same time, with anisotropic filtering and anti-aliasing and mip-mapped
specular re ections and a lot of other confusing terminology that describes visual
e ects designed to make your system fall down on its knees and cry like a little
girl.
So you’re going to need the fastest processor you can a ord and plenty of
RAM, as well as a motherboard to match, since the speed of the motherboard
buses can limit high-end components. But even that won’t be enough, so youll

8 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS
need to o oad as much of the work from the processor as you can. The first way
you can do this is by adding a video card (or cards) with cutting edge GPU’s
(Graphic Processing Units).
ATI
and
NVIDIA
have been competing for “king
of the graphics card” honours for years and the competition is so keen that new
cards running on new GPU’s are released, it seems, twice a month. So do your
research and buy the best current cards you can a ord.
The other component which can o oad some of the burden from your CPU
is a goo d audio card. The DSP’s (Digital Signal Processors) on the audio card
can take over a lot of the sound processing and free up the CPU for other
tasks. Currently
Creative Labs
pretty much owns this space, but again do your
research (partly by reading on) and get the best audio card you can a ord.
Finally all of these components are going to require a pretty hefty power
supply, particularly if you decide to run two graphics cards in Crossfire (ATI)
or SLI (NVIDIA) mode, in which case make sure the power supply is rated
for the dual-graphics card mo de you cho ose. Generally a serious gaming rig
will require at least a 500 watt supply; units are available up to 1000 watts (1
Kilowatt) and two Kilowatt supplies have been announced. Keep in mind that
having a higher-rated power supply will not actually increase the power your
computer draws. The rating is the maximum that the power supply is designed
to provide. Get the best you can a ord.
As you may have noticed, pretty much every component inside the computer
needs to be top of the line; the same is true outside the case. Youll want a big
monitor, and a high resolution mouse. There are even gaming keyboards with
the keys specially arranged, not to mention joysticks, throttle controllers, driving
wheels, etc.
So, given that your budget is not bottomless, how do you prioritize? Well,
the processor and video card are the components that will have the most e ect
on your gaming performance. Next comes the motherboard and RAM. If you
use one instead of two video cards, you can also use a less expensive power
supply. One of the advantages to building your own computer is that you can
get the components you can a ord now and plan to upgrade them later.
A note on cases for gaming rigs it is not necessary to get a case with a
side window that reveals glowing blue fans and revolving animated heatsinks.
A well-built plain case will do just as well and let you spend more money on the
components that matter. But if you have the cash, and thats your taste, there
is lots of bling available these days, so go crazy.
Entertainment system/media center
This is a computer designed to sit in the living room with the rest of your
A/V gear. The idea is that it will record and serve audio and video files for
replay via your existing television and stereo. The current notion is that this
computer should be built in a special case that makes it lo ok more like a stereo
component, the size of which can present a challenge when it comes to getting
all the necessary parts fitted.

WHAT WILL BE THE MAIN FUNCTION OF THE COMPUTER? 9
For this system a mid-range processor will be fine, along with a generous
amount of RAM. A fast Ethernet connection will facilitate sharing large files.
Youll also want a TV tuner card (or two) to get video in and out of the machine.
Many of these also provide
DVR
(digital video recorder) functionality, often
without the monthly subscription fees and
DRM
(digital rights management)
restrictions required by companies like Tivo. A wireless keyboard and mouse
provide for couch-based use and a separate monitor may be unnecessary as your
TV will fill that role.
All components should be as quiet as possible since you’ll likely be watch-
ing/listening in the same room. For this application it makes sense to trade a
little power for passively-co oled (without fans) parts.
Workstation
A workstation was, originally, a single-user computer with more muscle than a
PC, intended to support a demanding technical application, like CAD or com-
plicated array-based simulations of real world phenomena. The niche that these
computers filled between high end PCs and low end minicomputers has essen-
tially evaporated. The serious scientific applications have migrated to clusters
of PC’s with near super-computer speeds, and end-user applications, like video
editing, music production and CAD, run well on high-end PC’s. One sector
that still uses large workstation farms from Sun or Silicon Graphics is serious,
Pixar-style animation.
For any of the following uses, you will need the fastest pro cessor and the
most RAM you can manage.
Video editing
Big and fast hard drives are key. 10000 RPM Raptors in Raid 0 as working
space with multiple 750 GB drives or 1 terabyte drives for storage is a good
target. SATA/300 is highly recommended and SCSI subsystems should also
be considered. A large amount of memory (2GB, 3GB, even 4GB) would be
beneficial.
Music production
Plenty of disk space is important, but a music production (recording and mixing)
workstation is chie y distinguished by specialized external components studio
reference monitors instead of speakers, mixing consoles, microphones, etc. One
piece of advice, if you have extra money, get better microphones, even if you
have to trade the Bluesmobile.
CAD/CAM
More than most, a CAD/CAM workstation tends to be a machine that runs a
single application, so choose your software and build the computer to support

10 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS
that. Youre spending a lot of money, usually, for your key app, so get advice
from the people who wrote it.
Other components
A worthwhile addition to any computer is a basic printer; printed webpages
are portable and can be used when the computer is turned o , whether it be a
recipe for use in the kitchen or road directions for use in the car. Also, almost
everyone will need to print and send letters at times.
These days, a dial-up (56kbps) modem is no longer adequate for web brows-
ing, since so many sites now have Active-X, Flash, and other content which
demands a fast connection (if the user is not to spend a lot of time waiting for
pages to download). For anyone who will be using the Internet often, a faster
connection (at least 1Mbits per second) is a must.
Do I plan on
overclocking
my computer?
Overclocking consists of running components at faster internal speeds than they
are rated for. If you are serious about
overclocking
your computer, you need
to do extensive research into the components you select, as some parts respond
to overclocking better than others. Processors that respond well to heavy over-
clocking are generally not very expensive (though overclockable memory is), but
the price of a component is by no means a guarantee of its overclocking poten-
tial. Overclocking usually voids your warranty and is risky (you can destroy
your entire computer), so be warned! You need to think hard about co oling the
computer as overclocking generates heat. Anything from a few extra fans to a
liquid-cooled system may be necessary depending on the nature of your system.
Do I plan on
underclocking
my computer?
This can be ideal for always-on entertainment systems. Underclocked parts run
cooler, often enabling passive cooling options to be used, which leads to a much
quieter system.
The risk here is not destroying your computer, as with overclocking, but
possible problems with hard-disk data integrity. It is a good idea to back up
your disk data periodically on a non-volatile medium, such as DVD’s or tape.
Can I use any of the parts from my old computer?
This depends on your situation; if your computer is more than four years old,
chances are that most of the parts will be too old, slow or incompatible for
your new machine. On the other hand, if you are upgrading from a fairly new
machine, you may be able to use many of the parts. All of this assumes the old

WHERE DO I FIND THE PARTS? 11
computer will no longer be used. If you, or someone else, is going to continue
using your old computer, it’s probably best just to leave it intact.
One important point if you are selling your old computer it’s a goo d idea
to erase the hard drive before giving it to it’s new owner. Special precautions
must be taken to ensure that you are not giving away your sensitive or personal
information. Don’t forget that a simple ’delete’ command does not actually
erase the data on your hard drive. The original data will still be present and can
later be recovered by someone else using special programs and/or equipment. To
avoid this, programs are available that will e ectively ’shred’ your data, making
it unrecoverable. Driver oppies or CD’s that come with some hard drives may
also have programs to do this, that write 0s or 1s (either way, “blankness”)
to the whole drive. Lower-tech approaches include running a speaker magnet
around the hard drive a few times or drilling a few holes in the drive. Obviously,
the latter prevents it from being used again.
Since monitor technology moves quite slowly, you can probably keep your
current monitor and use it on the new computer if it’s of su cient size and
clarity for your work. The same can go for keyboards, as well as mice, printers,
scanners, and possibly speaker sets. On the inside, you may be able to take out
the oppy drive, CD-ROM drive, and possibly the sound card and hard drive
(depending on how goo d they are, of course). Sometimes so much is used from
the old computer, that the line between an upgrade and a new computer can
become blurred.
Reusing a hard drive is an easy way to keep data from your old computer.
With most Windows operating systems moving a boot drive from one mother-
board to another will entail a series of reboots and installation of new drivers.
In the case of newer Windows systems, like 2000 and XP, an entire ’refresh in-
stall’ may be necessary to allow Windows to install a new Hardware Abstraction
Layer. Back up your data before trying this.
Where do I find the parts?
Once you have decided what youre going to use your computer for, and have
reviewed which parts are available for reuse, you should make a list of what
components you will need to buy. A few hours of research can save you years
of regret, so make sure that the computer you build will do what you need it to
do.
Computer terminology can be confusing, so if there are terms you dont
understand, be sure to look them up. Wikipedia is an excellent place to start
if, for example, youre not clear on the di erence between, say, DDR and DDR2
memory.
There are several places to buy parts:
• Internet retailers generally o er the best price for new parts. If a part
needs to be returned, you may be stuck for the shipping; check return
policies before you purchase.

12 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS
• Auction sites like eBay and several others o er very good prices for used
parts. This is especially useful for parts which do not wear out. Returns
can be problematic or impossible. Some auctions may not be legitimate.
Always check the shipping cost before you bid.
• Lo cal PC shops—Their prices are often higher, but they may make up
for this by providing a lot of expertise. Get opinions from other sources,
however, as they may be eager to sell you parts you don’t need.
• Big local retailers often lack technical expertise and higher prices, but
can be useful because they usually handle returns quickly. Also good if
you need something right then.
• Trade shows that occur from time to time also provide a go od place to
shop, as the prices are often significantly reduced.
Also, your local town dump may have a special section for computers &
monitors that others have got rid of. These can be more or less brand new
computers with trivial problems such as a busted power supply or faulty cables.
Of course if the dump does have such a section, you should ask permission of
those in charge. They’re usually glad to let you go through it, but don’t leave
a mess. Taking advantage of this can yield incredible finds, with a price tag of
nothing or very little.
OEM vs retail
Many hardware manufacturers will sell the same components in both OEM and
Retail versions. Retail hardware is intended to be sold to the end-user through
retail channels, and will come fully packaged with manuals, accessories, software,
etc. OEM stands for “original equipment manufacturer”; items labeled as such
are intended to be sold in bulk for use by firms which integrate the components
into their own products.
However, many online stores will o er OEM hardware at cheaper prices
than the corresponding retail versions. You will usually receive such an item
by itself in an anti-static bag. It may or may not come with a manual or a
CD containing drivers. Warranties on OEM parts may often be shorter, and
sometimes require you to obtain support through your vendor, rather than the
manufacturer. OEM components are also sometimes specified di erently than
their retail counterparts, parts may be clocked slower, and ports or features may
be missing. Again, do your research.
What should a ect the choice of any part/periph-
eral?
Many things should be taken into account when deciding what parts to buy.
Below are some things to consider.

WHAT SHOULD AFFECT THE CHOICE OF ANY PART/PERIPHERAL?13
Compatibility
Youll want to make sure that all the parts you buy work together without
problems. The CPU, the motherboard, and the RAM in particular must be
compatible with each other. Check the motherboard manufacturer’s web site;
most will list compatible RAM and processors. Often quality RAM that is
not on the approved list (but is of the proper type) will work anyway, but the
manufacturers list of processors should be rigidly adhered to.
Again, youll also want to make sure that your operating system supports
the hardware you choose. Windows is supported by almost everything, though
watch out for older components if you’re planning on using Vista. If you have
any interest in running Linux or another operating system now or in the future,
buy parts that are supported by that OS. It is also worth checking around the
Internet to make sure there is no history of your chosen components clashing
(e.g. certain combinations of hardware causing instability, crashing, etc.)
Ergonomics
Ergonomics is the science of designing things so that they work with the human
body. This is obviously important when choosing peripherals such as a keyboard
or mouse but should also be considered when selecting a monitor, and especially
when setting up the computer for your use. If your wrist hurts or youre getting
a crick in your neck, look at the physical setup of your computer, check your
chair height and posture. An ounce of prevention here can avert troublesome
repetitive strain injuries.
Operating temperature
Modern components, notably processors, GPU’s, RAM, and some elements on
the motherboard, are very small and draw a lot of power. A small area doing
a lot of work with a lot of power leads to high temperatures. Various factors
can cause electronic parts to break down over time and all of these factors
are exacerbated by heat. Very high temperatures can burn out chips almost
instantly, while running hot can shorten the useful life of a part, so the co oler
we can make these parts, the better.
If you are not going to overclo ck your system, sto ck air cooling, when paired
with a goo d case with adequate fans, should be enough to keep your system cool.
If you want a quiet computer then components designed for passive (fanless)
co oling can be paired with very low noise case fans (or a well-vented case). In
general, high-end parts will require more attention to co oling.
To keep your system at a proper operating temperature, you can monitor
vital components with software (which usually comes with your motherboard).
If you are seeing high temps, make sure the interior of your case is dust free, and
remember that most cooling solutions can not reduce the temperature of your
computer parts below room temperature. Of course, unless you happen to have

14 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS
your computer outdoors in a climate such as the Sahara, room temperature will
be well within the thermal limits of any component on your computer.
Which brings us to overclo cking. It’s specialty cooling solutions that make
overclocking possible, a processor that might run stable at a maximum of 3.3
GHz at 60C could hit speeds as high as 5 GHz with specialized cooling systems.
A sensible person wanting a 20% overclock could add a special fan/heatsink to
his CPU and some extra case fans. An enthusiast seeking a major overclock
might go with a water-cooling solution for the CPU and GPU and sometimes
other chips. The real fanatics have been known to use liquid nitrogen or total
immersion in pure water or oil. You should not try any of the more extreme
solutions unless you ’really’ know what you are doing.
Price
Today, there are a wide array of hardware components and peripherals tailored
to fit every home computing need and budget. With all these options to choose
from, it can be a bit overwhelming if you’ve never bought computer parts before.
Shop around and remember to factor in shipping and handling, and taxes. Some
places may be priced a bit higher, but o er perks such as free shipping, limited
warranties, or 24-hour tech support. Many websites, such as
CNET
and
ZDNet
o er comprehensive reviews, user ratings, and links to stores, including price
comparisons.
Since prices for any given part are always falling, its tempting to just wait
until the part you want goes down in price. Unfortunately the reason prices
decline is that better/faster parts are coming out all the time, so the part you
want this year that costs $500 may well be $200 next year, but by that time you
wont want it any more, youll want the new, better part that still costs $500.
At some point youve got to get on the bus and ride, even if the prices are still
falling.
Usually the best bet is to buy just behind the bleeding edge, where, typically,
you can get 90% of the performance of the top of the line part for 50% or 60%
of the price. That last 10% is very expensive and if you dont need it, you can
save a lot of money with the second-tier part.
It may well pay you to think of future upgradeability when selecting some
components. While the computer that you are building today may be fine
for your current needs you will probably need to upgrade it later. So look
for components that support the newest standards and have room for future
expansion, like a motherboard that will allow you to fit more memory than you
are planning to use, or a case that has ro om for extra hard drives. If your
current machine is maxed out the only possible upgrade is often another new
machine.
You may also find that by overspecifing in some areas you can save money
on others, e.g. if you don’t currently need fantastic sound but you do need
IEEE1394 (Firewire, iLink) then you might want to purchase a sound card
anyway as some of the higher end sound cards also have a IEEE1394 port.

PRIMARY COMPONENTS
15
Power
If money is no object, this is an easy question; just buy the most powerful
components you can find. If, like most of us, there are limits to what you
can/want to spend, then focus on those areas where more powerful parts will
pay o for you and scrimp on others. Always look for that sweet spot on the
price/performance curve where you get the most bang for your buck.
Primary components
These are the components that will be the core of your new computer. It is im-
practical to put together a PC compatible computer without these components
and a bare set of peripherals.
Chassis (case) & power supply
In earlier eras most cases were beige, and since most components drew far less
power than similar components do now, power supplies received little attention.
Recently, however, cases for the home market have become considerably more
elaborate, with lights, side windows, glow-in-the-dark cables and other shiny/-
glowing embellishments. Cases now come in a plethora of styles and colors
to suit anyone’s taste. And as current components require much more power,
power supply quality and size is an important issue
If you are only building an o ce computer, the style of case will be of little
concern to you. You might want a inexpensive ATX case (ATX is a specification
which refers to the size of the motherboard. Any ATX motherboard, and the
parts designed therefore, will fit in any ATX case), and an inexpensive power
supply as you won’t be running a high-end pro cessor or graphics card. As
a guide, youll want a power supply with a rating of more than 300 watts;
any less wont reliably power mo dern components. Most case/PSU bundles are
adequate, but tend to feature a lower quality power supply than those that are
sold separately from cases. If possible, avoid power supplies with sleeve bearing
fans, as these are of considerably lesser quality.
Before purchasing any PSU, make sure that the supplied wattage is su cient
for your components. Power requirements are usually listed in the manuals that
came with your components. It is important to note a power supply’s total
power, and the power at each voltage: 3.3, 5 and 12V. If any of these do not
meet your requirements, the rest of the specifications don’t matter.
Some companies have calculators to help you determine what your power
supply needs are; if you are the type to just plug in the numbers without reading
the details, you should buy a power supply that is 1.5 to 2 times the wattage
that results from these calculators.
For a quiet system, you can cho ose a fanless power supply – more expensive
but well worth it if noise is a concern, but be sure to monitor system tempera-
tures to make sure cooling is adequate.
For cases and power supply here are some things to consider:

16 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS
Form factor
Form factor is the specification that provides the physical measurements for the
size of components and where mounting devices for them are located.
•
ATX
is the most common form factor and is the de facto standard. In
this form factor the motherboard is (usually) vertically mounted for more
space and more e cient cooling than some other standards.
•
microATX
, or ATX, is smaller than standard ATX, but at the cost of fewer
expansion slots. Many cases that support ATX also allow microATX. Flex
ATX is even smaller than microATX, but only allows 2 expansion slots.
•
WTX
is intended for workstations and servers.
•
BTX
is another formfactor designed for more e cient cooling.
– PicoBTX 8“x10.5”
– MicroBTX up to 10.4“x10.5”
– BTX up to 12.8“x10.5”
•
Mini-ITX
is even smaller than BTX, at 6.75” square.
•
NLX
Many OEM computers use non-standard form factors. Be sure to cho ose a
motherboard compatible with your case’s form factor.
Number of storage drive spaces
Internal hard drives/ oppy drives (which go in the small 3.5“ bays) and internal
CD/DVD drives (which go in the large 5.25” bays) take up space in the case, so
make sure you consider how many drives you will need and what size slot they
require. Note that optical drives and oppy drives will need what are called
“external” slots (meaning they have a hole in the case through which their face
can be accessed, while hard drives do not need to be manipulated manually
often, so they can usually go into an “internal” slot. This is not to be confused
with an external drive, which do esn’t go into the case at all.
Note that it’s possible to buy adapters to fit items that go in small bays
(usually hard drives) into large bays. It is, however, not possible to do the
reverse.
Power rating
The power supply you choose needs to supply enough DC current to run your
components. Beyond that it needs to supply stable, accurate voltages, i.e. the
12 volt rail needs to supply 12 volts (within normal tolerances of 10% or so)
steadily under any foreseeable load, likewise the 3 and 5v rails at their respective
voltages. Cheap power supplies tend to fall down in these areas. There are

PRIMARY COMPONENTS
17
several tech-heavy websites that actually throw a multimeter on the PSU in the
course of a review, seek these out and make sure you select a quality PSU.
In selecting a power supply, check carefully that it has the power feeds you
need, e.g. six-pin PCI power, 20 vs. 24-pin motherboard connectors, etc. If you
are planning on running two video cards in SLI (NVIDIA) or Crossfire (ATI)
mode, make sure your power supply is approved for that. Both companies have
certification programs.
There are several calculators that try to help you select an adequate PSU
for your system, such as:
•
http://web.aanet.com.au/SnooP/psucalc.php
•
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp
Choose an e cient PSU. E cient PSU’s run cooler and more quietly and
thus do not create as much noise (important if you plan to sleep (or think) in
the same room with it or use it as a media center PC).
More informations about this theme can be found in
Silent PC Review
,
OCAU Wiki
, among others.
Fans
Most cases mount one or more case fans, distinct from the fans that may be
attached to the power supply, video card and CPU. The purpose of a case
mounted fan is to move air through the system and carry excess heat out.
This is why some cases may have two or more fans mounted in a push-pull
configuration (one fan pulls co ol outside air in, the other pushes hot interior air
out). The more air these fans can move, the co oler things will generally be.
Fans currently come in two basic sizes, 80mm and 120mm. Cases tend to
support either one or the other; in that the case fan mounts can hold that size.
The larger 120mm fans spin more slowly while moving a given volume of air,
and slower fans are usually quieter fans, so the 120’s are generally preferred
even though they cost a little more. Go od 80mm fans can still be pretty quiet
though, so while fan size is a factor, it shouldnt be a deal-breaker if the case
has other features you like.
Make sure the power plug on any case fans is supported by your mother
board, 3 and 4-pin Molex connectors are common. Fans can also be powered
directly by the PSU, but in that configuration, the motherboard cant control
or report the fans speed.
CPU (processor)
The Central Pro cessing Unit (CPU) is the heart of your computer. It performs
nearly all the actual computation that takes place as the computer is used. The
choice of a CPU will a ect the ultimate speed of the computer more than any
other single component.
Before we can explain the di erences between CPUs, you must first be fa-
miliar with certain CPU properties.

18 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS
Clock speed Clock speed, measured in Gigahertz (GHz), (or Megahertz (MHz);1
GHz = 1000 MHz) is the number of calculation cycles that your CPU can
perform per second. Therefore, a higher clo ck speed generally indicates a
faster processor. But not all CPUs perform an equal quantity of work per
cycle, meaning two CPUs at the same clo ck speed can potentially perform
at very di erent levels.
IPC IPC, or instructions per cycle, is the amount of work a CPU can do in a
cycle. With modern processors this number is an average.
Front side bus speed (FSB) Front side bus speed is the rate at which the
CPU communicates with the northbridge chipset component on your moth-
erboard, measured in MHz. A larger FSB value shows that your CPU is
able to communicate with other components on the motherboard (and
thus your system) faster.
Interface (Socket/Slot) CPUs plug into a socket on the motherboard. It is
very important that your CPU is a COMPLETE MATCH to your moth-
erboard CPU socket. Plugging a CPU into the wrong socket will never
work and will usually break either the CPU, the socket, or both.
Bit width Modern processors are either 32-bit or 64-bit (this is a simplifica-
tion; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64-bit for details). For our pur-
poses a processor can be called 64-bit if it will support running a 64-bit
operating system. The newer chips from Intel and AMD all support this
for most 64-bit OSs. If you have any doubts, check the support materials
for the 64-bit OS you are interested in running.
Hyper-threading (HT) Hyper-threading is an Intel technology which allows
a single core processor to simulate having two cores, giving a performance
bo ost when running several programs at once. It requires motherboards
and chipsets supporting Hyper-Threading technology. The advantages of
the Hyper-Threading technology have never been breathtaking and Intel
has gone back and forth on it’s support in multi-core processors.
Cache Cache is memory implemented directly on the CPU. Data which is being
used in computations is stored in the cache as much as possible and can be
retrieved from there much faster than the same data can be pulled through
the northbridge from main memory. Generally, the larger the cache, the
faster the system will run. Cache comes in (usually) three varieties, L1,
L2, and L3. L1 being the smallest and fastest, and L3 being the largest
and slowest. Usually only the L2 cache size will be shown, as L3 is rarely
used in processor design, and L1 will often stay the same size throughout
an entire processor pro duct line.
Core The core of the CPU is the heart of the CPU. Often several cores will be
marketed under the same name, so look at what core you are buying. Its
a mistake to choose a processor based solely on its rated speed in hertz .

PRIMARY COMPONENTS
19
This number, while easy to understand, does not tell the whole story. The
number of cores and the way they communicate will have a big e ect, as
will the fundamental architecture of the core or cores themselves.
Slower processors are generally preferred for overclo cking, as they can of-
ten achieve higher overclocking percentages. Retail CPU’s come in a package
containing a HSF (Heat Sink Fan), instructions, and a warranty, often 3 years.
OEM CPUs do not include these.
The current CPU speeds and advantages change frequently, so for up-to-date
comparisons, you may want to check a website that specializes in Hardware
reviews, such as
Tom’s Hardware Guide
or
Anandtech
. A current (as of 14
February 2006) beginner’s explanation can be found at
Behardware
.
Multiple cores
Advantages Dual-core processors are a fairly new innovation built by both
ma jor processor manufacturers (Intel
Core Duo
/
Core 2 Duo
and AMD
Athlon
64 X2
).
• Multitasking: Each processor has two processing centres (cores) for a theo-
retical maximum of twice the operating power and for better multitasking.
Major advantages of dual core processors are evident when doing heavy
multitasking, such as encoding video and playing video games at the same
time.
• Application Support: Newer applications are being written to take advan-
tage of this technology by using a technique known as
Multithreading
.
• Power Saving: Dual core pro cessors (especially Intel Core Duo) have the
ability to turn o one of their cores when application demand is low to
save power.
Disadvantages
• Support: Older programs (with certain notable exceptions) do not support
multithreading and may run very slightly slower on dual core CPUs.
Multi-core Future? Quad core technology is finally here, and more and more
programs are being built to take advantage of multiple cores. The large chip
makers are discussing CPU’s with eight, sixteen, even thirty two cores in the
coming years. Only time and experience will tell how the advantages we are
seeing with duo and quad core configurations will scale.
Descriptions
Often in advertisements (especially for prebuilt systems) a processor will be
described brie y, like this:

20 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS
Pentium 4 at 3.2 GHz
But theres more to it than that, a more detailed specification would read as
follows:
Intel Pentium 4 3.2GHz LGA775 FSB800 HT L2-2MB
Which parses out to:
Model: Intel Pentium 4
Clock Speed: 3.2GHz (=3200MHz)
Interface: Land Grid Array 775
Frontside Bus: 800 Mhz
Other Spec: HyperThreading technology
L2-Cache: 2MB (=2048 kB)
So we can see that while 3.2 GHz is a screaming fast clo ck speed, this
processor might not be as fast as, say, a processor with a 4 megabyte L2 cache,
a 1066 Mhz front side bus and two cores, even if that processor runs at a slower
clock speed.
Intel
Intel classifies its CPUs using a series of numbers. 3xx, 4xx, 5xx, 6xx and
7xx of which 7xx denominates the highest end products. Generally, the higher
the number, the faster the CPU and the more expensive. Usually, models and
ratings correspond.
• 3xx Series: Intel Celeron (L2-128KB)
• 4xx Series: Intel Celeron D (L2-512KB)
• 5xx Series: Intel Pentium 4 / Celeron D (L2-1MB)
• 6xx Series: Intel Pentium 4 / Pentium 4 XE (L2-2MB)
• 7xx Series: Intel Pentium 4 XE
• 8xx Series: Intel Pentium D
• 9xx Series: Intel Pentium D
The number followed by su x J signifies XD technology.
E.g. Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz L2-1MB with HT –¿ Intel Pentium 4 530J
There is also the Core 2 Duo range out at the moment—it’s naming scheme
is relatively normal, except for the models ending with 50, they have 1333mhz
FSB.
• E6300/E6320: 1.86Ghz, 2MB L2 Cache (E6320 has 4MB), 1066MHz FSB
• E6400/E6420: 2.13Ghz, same as above
• (new) E6540: 2.33Ghz, 4MB L2 Cache, 1333MHZ FSB
• (new) E6550: 2.33Ghz, same as above

PRIMARY COMPONENTS
21
• E6600: 2.4Ghz, 4MB L2 Cache, 1066MHZ FSB
• E6700: 2.66Ghz, same as above
• (new) E6750: 2.66Ghz, 4MB L2 Cache, 1333MHZ FSB
• (new) E6850: 3.0Ghz, same as above
• X6800: 2.93Ghz, same as above except multiplier unlocked
AMD
AMD CPUs are even more confusing in classification. The AMD Athlon CPU
rating are not of the actual clock speed but rather the equivalence bench mark
performance corresponding to a comparison to the AMD Athlon Thunderbird
1.0Ghz. The conversion Table is as follows:
• AMD Athlon 1500+ = Actually runs at 1.33 GHz
• AMD Athlon 1600+ = Actually runs at 1.40 GHz
• AMD Athlon 1700+ = Actually runs at 1.47 GHz
• AMD Athlon 1800+ = Actually runs at 1.53 GHz
• AMD Athlon 1900+ = Actually runs at 1.60 GHz
• AMD Athlon 2000+ = Actually runs at 1.67 GHz
• AMD Athlon 2100+ = Actually runs at 1.73 GHz
• AMD Athlon 2200+ = Actually runs at 1.80 GHz
• AMD Athlon 2400+ = Actually runs at 1.93 GHz
• AMD Athlon 2500+ = Actually runs at 1.833 GHz
• AMD Athlon 2600+ = Actually runs at 2.133 GHz
• AMD Athlon 2700+ = Actually runs at 2.17 GHz
• AMD Athlon 2800+ = Actually runs at 2.083 GHz
• AMD Athlon 3000+ = Actually runs at 2.167 GHz
• AMD Athlon 3200+ = Actually runs at 2.20 GHz
You may wish to purchase a high end AMD64/EM64T (AMD and Intel,
respectively) processor, which provides support for 64-bit operating systems
(eg. Windows XP Professional 64-bit Edition). Most 64-bit processors are
backwards-compatible with 32-bit operating systems and applications.. Given
the huge expansion in addressable memory a orded by the transition from 32-
bit to 64-bit (a 32-bit address space tops out at 4 Gigabytes while a 64-bit space

22 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS
encompasses 17,179,869,184 Gigabytes) 64 bit operating systems are the wave
of the future. For the time being though, given the enormous quantity of 32-bit
software out there, and the limited advantages of 64-bit as of yet, the move is
likely to be a slow one.
CPU cooling
CPU cooling is very important, a less than average CPU temperature prolongs
CPU life (up to more than 10 years). On the other hand, high CPU tempera-
tures can cause unreliable operation, such as computer freezes, or slow operation.
Extremely high temperatures can cause immediate CPU destruction by melt-
ing the materials in the chip and changing the physical shape of the sensitive
transistors on the CPU. Because of this, never switch on the computer if your
CPU has no co oling at all. It is an extremely stupid thing to do. Turn your
computer on “just to test whether my CPU works” and you’ll likely find that
the CPU fries in less than 5 seconds and you will be o to buy a new one.
Most CPU installations use forced-air cooling, but convection cooling and
water cooling are also options. For traditional forced-air cooling, the heat sink
and fan (HSF) included with most retail CPUs is usually su cient to cool the
CPU at sto ck speed. Overclo ckers might want to use a more powerful aftermar-
ket fan, or even try water cooling to combat the increased heat engendered by
overclocking.
Many retail HSF units have a thermal pad installed. These transfer heat
from the CPU to the fan, helping to di use the heat created by the CPU. This
pad is usable only once. If you wish to remove the fan from another CPU so
that you can use it on your new one, or need to take it o for some reason,
you will need to remove the pad and apply a thermal paste or another thermal
pad. Note that some of the cheaper pads can melt in unexpected heat and may
cause problems and potentially even damage if you are overclocking. In either
case, thermal paste is usually more e ective, just harder to apply. If you plan
to do any high performance computing, or remove and replace the HSF often,
thermal paste is suggested. If you are planning on a long term installation a
thermal pad is often best.
Non-conductive thermal pastes made up of silicon are the cheapest and
safest, but silver-based thermal pastes sometimes perform better and carbon-
based ones perform better still. When applied improperly both can be con-
ductive, causing electrical shorts upon contact with the motherboard. A thin
properly-applied layer will usually prevent this problem, although some pastes
can become runny when they get hot. Users should also beware that many
“silver” thermal pastes do not actually contain any silver metal.
For quiet operation, start with a low-heat (low wattage) CPU. Processors
made by VIA, such as the VIA C3, tend to produce low amounts of heat, though
you will trade o a considerable amount of computing speed. The current
generation of duo core processors are more e cient than their predecessors, but
give o more heat than the Via pro cessors. You can also underclock your CPU,
giving up some unneeded performance for some peace and quiet. Another option

PRIMARY COMPONENTS
23
is to choose a large copper heat sink with an open fin pattern. However, true
fanless operation is di cult to achieve in most case designs. You can position
a case fan to blow across the heat sink, or mount a fan on the heat sink. With
either choice, a large and slow fan will give better air ow and less noise than a
small and fast fan.
Some low-noise CPU cooling fans require special mounting hardware on the
motherboard. Be sure that the cooling fan you cho ose is compatible with your
motherboard.
Motherboard
It cannot be over stressed that the motherboard is the MOST important part
of your computer. It is worth investing in a decent motherboard rather than
a CPU (although if financially acceptable, both) as your motherboard is what
connects di erent parts of the computer together. In addition, the di erence
between a cheap and a quality motherboard is typically around $100. A good
motherboard allows a modest CPU and RAM to run at maximum e ciency
whereas a bad motherboard restricts high-end products to run only at modest
levels. A high quality motherboard can go for UKS100/USD$200 or more.
There are six things one must consider in choosing a motherboard: CPU
interface, Chipset, IDE or SATA support, Expansion slot interfaces, and other
connectors. One must also make sure that the motherboard is of a form factor
compatible with the case.
CPU interface
The CPU interface is the “plug” that your pro cessor goes into. For your proces-
sor to physically fit in the motherboard, the interface must be an exact match
to your processor. Intel currently has two mainstream formats, the older Socket
478 (which is gradually being phased out) and the newer Land Grid Array 775.
AMD currently uses three so ckets, AM2, 754 and 939. The new AM2 sockets
are faster (compatible with DDR II RAM) and more e cient than the older two.
So cket 754 was aimed at the value market, while So cket 939 was for performance
applications.
Check with the motherboard manufacturer to ensure that the slot on the
motherboard will support the CPU you want to use. It is important to know
whether the motherboard’s bus can support the exact CPU you plan on using.
If the motherboard, CPU, and heatsink/fan are not compatible and installed
correctly, you can destroy the CPU and/or the motherboard in a matter of
seconds. Most modern processors come with a sto ck cooling fan which will
work well at sto ck speeds, stick with this if you have any doubts.
Chipset
Chipsets are also important as they determine the e ciency of RAM and Ex-
pansion slots

24 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS
• Intel 915 supports up to 533MHz PC4200 DDRII RAM
• Intel 925 supports up to 600MHz PC4800 DDRII RAM
All current and popular AMD formats use DDR RAM, with the standard
400MHz PC3200 being most common. Most Intel socket 478 processors also use
the older DDR RAM
The function of BIOS is highly important. Some BIOS features crash proof
functions essential for updating the firmware. Other motherboards allow BIOS
control of overclocking of CPU, RAM and Graphics card which are much more
stable and safer for overclocking. Newer BIOS have temperature controls, and
functions that shut down the computer if the temperature gets to o high.
IDE (ATA) or SATA interface
Most motherboards have two parallel , 44 pin IDE interface connectors. These
are used for connecting hard drives (though these PATA (parallel ATA) connec-
tions are rapidly being replaced by SATA (Serial ATA) connections for HDs)
and optical drives, like CD and DVD drives. Up to two devices can be con-
nected to each IDE port, in a Master/Slave configuration.. A 44 wire ribbon
cable is used for this connection with three connectors, one on each end and
one in the middle (actually a few inches from one end). One end is plugged
into the motherboard connection and the other end is plugged into the first (or
only) device. If two devices are connected the second is connected to the middle
connection. The device plugged into the end must be configured as a master
(usually via a jumper on a set of pins on the device) while the second must be
configured as a slave OR both must be configured as cable select.
Two devices connected on the same IDE port will contend for access to the
bus, this causes a compromise in the speed of the drives. The newer serial ATA
(SATA) interface has four separate slots that allow independent access and this
increases the speed at which hard drives work, though, as of yet, there are few
SATA optical drives available. The cables are also narrower, improving the ow
of air inside the case.
The support for older (PATA) IDE drives is starting to disappear. The
new G/Q/P 965 chipset series from Intel completely dropped support for such
devices. Nevertheless, all motherboard makers are still including an additional
IDE controller on their boards, and it will remain possible to buy an extra PCI
IDE controller.
Expansion slot interfaces
Old motherboards may have one or more the following slots:
• AGP—for graphics cards (ranging from AGP 1x, 2x, 4x and 8x)
• PCI—for expansion cards and low end graphics cards

PRIMARY COMPONENTS
25
ATI still manufactures PCI graphics cards, but for better performance try a
card supporting PCI-Express. AGP is not a good idea, becuase it is a standard
that is on it’s way out. You may come upon ancient motherboards with neither
AGP nor PCI, but please don’t waste your time trying to reuse them.
Due to the evolution of new graphics cards on the serial PCI-Express Tech-
nology, current newer motherboards have the following connections:
• PCI-Express 16x for mainstream graphics cards (4 times speed of AGP
8x)
• PCI-Express 1x for faster expansion cards (replacing older PCI)
• PCI for use of old expansion cards (will eventually be phased out)
Older AGP 8x graphics cards are generally being discontinued in favor of
PCI-Express 16x, as the speed and e ciency is about 4 times that of the AGP 8x
technology. Old PCI cards are either now built into the motherboard (for sound
cards, LAN cards, IEEE 1394 firewire and USB 2.0 interfaces) or becoming PCI-
Express variants.
Other connectors
USB In addition to the USB 2.0 ports provided on the back panel, most moth-
erboards will have connectors for additional ports, either on the front of
the case or in a panel that fits where a PCI card might otherwise be
connected. USB 2.0 ports (and be sure that your chosen motherboard
supports the faster 2.0 standard) are used for connecting various periph-
erals such as printers, external hard drives etc. USB connectors are also
used for connecting MP3 players, some cameras and an assortment of less
serious devices like fans, nerf missile launchers and drink warmers. Given
the growing popularity of USB devices, the more ports your motherboard
supports the better.
Serial (COM) or parallel (printer) ports Traditional 9-pin serial and par-
allel ports are much less used than they used to be. Many motherboards
have dropped the parallel port (formerly used almost exclusively for con-
necting printers) altogether, while serial ports, which once numbered as
many as four, are now usually solitary. The principal use for serial ports
was once connection to either a mouse or an external mo dem, both of these
devices now connect via USB. Unless you are connecting some seriously
old peripheral hardware, these ports will be of minimal importance
IEEE 1394 firewire Firewire ports are principally used for connecting DV
(Digital Video) cameras and external hard drives. This technology got a
foothold because it was much faster than USB 1.0 and 1.1. With the near
ubiquity of USB 2.0, however, the original (and still the most common)
IEE1394 implementation, firewire 400, was actually a little slower. For this
reason, and in spite of the existence of a faster but seldom implemented

26 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS
specification, firewire 800, firewire is not as popular as USB. Like USB,
most motherboards that support firewire will have one or more external
ports on the back panel and the ability to connect one or more additional
ports. One or two firewire ports will su ce for most users.
Note that, regardless of the motherboards native support, additional ports
of all kinds can always be added via a PCI or PCI-E 1 card
RAM (random access memory)
The amount of RAM you use has become a fairly simple choice. Unless you are
building on a very restricted budget, you just have to choose between installing
one gig or two. One gig of RAM is plenty for most modern operating systems
but all of them will run a little faster with two, it really comes down to a
financial decision. You might also cho ose to get one gig of high quality RAM
over two gig of lesser quality, especially if you plan to overclock. Some specialized
applications may profit from more than two gig of RAM, if you are planning
on using such, make sure you check that both your operating system and your
motherboard will accommo date the amount of RAM you have in mind.
Another thing to consider when cho osing the amount of RAM for your sys-
tem is your graphics card. Most motherboard-integrated graphics chips and
PCI Express graphics cards marketed with the “Turbo Cache” feature will use
system memory to store information related to rendering graphics; this system
memory is generally not available at all to the operating system. On average,
these graphics processors will use between 64MB and 512MB of system memory
for rendering purposes.
The actual type of RAM you will need depends on the motherboard and
chipset you get. Some current motherboards use DDR (Double Data Rate)
RAM but the industry is increasingly turning towards DDR2 RAM. Chipsets
that use dual-channel memory require you to use two identical (in terms of size
and speed) sticks of RAM. Your RAM should usually operate at the same clock
speed as the CPU’s Front Side Bus (FSB). Your motherboard may not be able
to run RAM slower than the FSB, and using RAM faster than the FSB will
simply have it run at the same speed as your FSB. Buying low-latency RAM
will help with overclo cking your FSB, which can be of use to people who want
to get more speed from their system.
If you are upgrading from an existing computer, it’s best to check if your ma-
chine requires specific kinds of RAM. Many computer OEMs, such as Gateway
and HP, require custom RAM, and generic RAM available from most computer
stores may cause compatibility problems in such systems.
RAM has di erent bandwidths, ie 400, 533, 600, 733, 800, the current trend
is moving from DDR2-400 RAM to DDR2-533 RAM as it is faster. Higher end
models are very expensive.
Labeling of RAM
RAM is labeled by its Memory Size (In MB) and clock speed (or bandwidth).

PRIMARY COMPONENTS
27
SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic RAM) is labeled by its clock speed in mega-
hertz (MHz). For example, PC133 RAM runs at 133MHz. SDRAM is nearly
obsolete as nearly all motherboards have withdrawn support for SDRAM. It is
now superseded by the more e cient DDR RAM.
• 128MB SD-133 = 128MB PC133 RAM
DDR RAM can be labeled in two di erent ways. It can be labeled by
approximate bandwidth; as an example, 400MHz-e ective DDR RAM has ap-
proximately 3.2GB/s of bandwidth, so it is commonly labeled as PC3200. It
can also be labeled by its e ective clock speed; 400MHz e ective DDR RAM
is also known as DDR-400. There is also DDR and DDR2 labeled as PC and
PC2.
• 256MB DDR-400 = 256MB PC 3200 RAM
• 256MB DDR2-400 = 256MB PC2 3200 RAM
DDR RAM has two versions: DDR (also DDRI) and DDR2 (or DDRII)
• DDR supports DDR-200, DDR-266, DDR-333, DDR-400 (mainstream)
and DDR-533 (rare)
• DDR2 supports DDR-400, DDR-533 (mainstream) and rare/expensive
DDR-667, DDR-800, DDR-1066
Hard drive
Things to consider when shopping for a hard drive:
Cache The cache of a Hard drive is a faster media than the hard drive itself,
which is normally 2MB (in low-end), 8MB (standard), or 16MB (large
disks only) large. The existence of a cache increases the speeds of retriev-
ing short bursts of information, and also allows prefetching of data. Most
modern hard drives have 8MB cache, which gives better performance when
compared to 2MB.
Form factor 3.5 inch drives are usually used in desktops; 2.5 inch drives are
usually used in laptops.
Capacity The smallest desktop drives that are widely available hold about 160
gig of data, although the largest drives available on the market can contain
1TB (1000GB). Few people will need disks this large—for most people,
somewhere in the range of 160-300GB will be su cient. The amount
of space you will need can depend on many factors, such as how many
high-end games and programs you want to install, how many media files
you wish to store, or how many high-quality videos you want to render.
It is usually better to get a hard drive with a capacity larger than you
anticipate using, in case you need more in the future. If you run out of

28 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS
space, you can always add an additional hard drive using any free IDE or
Serial ATA connector, or through an external interface, such as USB or
FireWire.
Rotational Speed The speed at which the hard drives platters spin. Most
laptop (2.5 inch) drives spin at 5400 RPM, while common desktop drives
come in at 7200. There are PATA and SATA drives that spin at 10,000
RPM and some SCSI drives hit 15,000. However drives above 7,200 RPM
usually have limited capacity, and a much higher price than comparable
7,200RPM drives, making drives above 7,200 RPM advisable only when
the fastest possible speeds are required.
Noise and Heat Modern hard drives are fairly quiet in operation though some
people are sensitive to the faint hum and occasional buzz they do make.
If your HD is loud, its time to think about replacing it.. Some hard drives
can also throw a lot of heat and additional co oling may be needed. If your
case is not very well ventilated, this is something to be concerned about.
There is software available that will allow you to monitor both the health
and temperature of your hard drive(s), its a go od idea to check from time
to time.
Warranty Many manufactures o er warranties ranging from 30 days (typically
OEM) up to five years. It is well worth spending an extra few dollars to
get the drive that carries a longer warranty.
Interface
The interface of a drive is how the hard drive comunicates with the rest of the
computer. The following hard drive interfaces are avalible:
•
Parrallel IDE
drives(PATA) use cables that can be distinguished by
their wide 40-pin connector, coloured first-pin wire, and usually gray “rib-
bon” style cables. This technology is losing popularity because SATA uses
thinner cables, eliminates contention for the IDE bus that can o ccur when
two PATA drives are attached to the same connector, and promises faster
drive access.
•
SATA
drives have the advantages outlined above. If you want Serial
ATA, you will either need to purchase a motherboard that supports it, or
purchase a PCI card that will allow you to connect your hard drive. Note
that some older motherboards will not allow you to install Windows XP
to a Serial ATA hard drive.
•
SCSI
, although more expensive and less user friendly, is usually worth-
wile on high performance workstations and servers. Few consumer desktop
motherboards built to day support SCSI, and for building a new computer,
the work needed to implement it may be outweighed by the relative sim-
plicity and performance of IDE and SATA. SCSI hard drives can reach

SECONDARY COMPONENTS 29
rotational speeds of up to 15,000 RPM, though these are generaly pro-
hibitively expensive.
•
USB
or
IEEE1394
can be used for connecting external drives. An ex-
ternal drive enclosure can convert an internal drive to an external drive.
Secondary components
These components are important to your computer, but are not as central and
necessary as the Core Components.
Video output
For a computer to use a display for monitoring it will need some form of video
card into which a display can be plugged. The ma jority of home and o ce
computers, which predominatly use 2D graphics for o ce applications and web
surfing can use an ’onboard’ or integrated graphic processor which will be in-
cluded on most low to mid range motherboards. For gaming, or 3D modelling,
a goo d quality graphics card will be needed.
Currently, two companies dominate the 3D graphics accelerator market;
nVIDIA and ATI. nVIDIA and ATI build their own graphics pro ducts, and
license their technologies to other companies. Both companies make a complete
line of cards with entries at every price/performance level, and each brand has
its own supporters. Video cards have their own RAM, and many of the same
rules that dominate the motherboard RAM field apply here: to a point, the more
RAM, and the faster it is, the better the performance will be. Most applications
require at least 32MB of video RAM, although 256MB is rapidly becoming the
new standard. On the other end, 512MB video cards top the consumer end of
the video card market. As a rule of thumb, if you want a high end video card,
you need a minimum of 128MB of video memory – preferably 256MB. Don’t
be fooled, though; memory is only part of the card and the actual video pro-
cessor is more important than the memory. It is important to understand that
an integrated graphics card uses the system’s RAM, and relies heavily on your
system’s CPU. This will mean slow performance for graphic-intensive software,
such as games.
It is generally better to choose your video card based on your own research,
as everyone has slightly di erent needs. Many video card and chip makers are
known to measure their products’ performances in ways that you may not find
practical. A go od video card is often much more than a robust 3D renderer; be
sure to examine what you want and need your card to do, such as digital (DVI)
output, TV output, multiple-monitor support, built-in TV tuners and video
input. Another reason you need to carefully research is that manufacturers will
often use confusing model numbers designed to make a card sound better than
it is to sell it better. For example, the Geforce 4 MX series of cards claim to be
a “Geforce 4,” however, the actual processor is closer to a Geforce 2, only more
powerful, meaning that these cards actually lack many features available even

30 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS
to the Geforce 3 series. However, when these cards were first produced, they
were considerably cheaper than a real Geforce 4 (the TI series) making them
an ideal choice if you were more interested in working on a spreadsheet than
in playing games. For this sort of reason, you have to carefully pick your card
depending on your needs. TV outputs can easily be adapted to your computer
by using a DVI—Component Video cable.
Newer technologies such as SLI and Crossfire allow the use of two video
cards to render the same video scene, similar to using two CPUs or a dual-core
CPU. These systems tend to be expensive, as only some video cards o er this
option, and you’ll need two of them. However, it can be a useful upgrade path
to consider. A SLI-capable motherboard is usually not much more expensive
than the regular mo del, and will work fine with a single video card. You can use
it with one card now, and buy another one in the future (which will probably be
much cheaper by then), which means you will take advantage of your old video
card too.
Interface
There are four di erent current graphics card interfaces: integrated, PCI, AGP
and PCI-Express.
Most retail computers will ship with an integrated graphics card. This means
that if you want to play new 3-D games you will need to upgrade. Most moth-
erboards that have integrated graphics will also have one of the other three slot
interfaces available so it isn’t hard to place a new card to suit your needs if the
need ever arises.
Older video cards use the standard PCI slots that are now growing obsolete
due to limited speed and memory. These cards are needed for a few rare systems
lacking an AGP or PCI-E slot (usually low end desktop systems designed to be
cheap.) They are also useful for adding aditonal video cards to a system.
Although the AGP standard has now, by and large, been superseded by PCI-
E, the cards are still available as are a few motherboards that support them.
There are 4 di erent speed and bandwidths of AGP, 1x, 2x, 4x and 8x. While
8x is the fastest and most common for high end products, the true performance
of your AGP card is limited by the lower AGP value of your graphics card and
motherboard. For example, an AGP 8x card on a 4x motherboard can only run
at up to 4x. AGP has mostly been phased out and there will not be an AGP
16x due to technical limitations.
The newest trend in graphics card is the PCI-Express (not to be confused
with
PCI-X
) system that supports up to 16x speeds. Some graphics cards still
come in both AGP and PCI-E 16x models but the newest models of graphics
cards are often PCI-E 16x only. While most motherboards have only one PCI-E
16x slot, those with two such slots can combine the power of two video cards
using technologies known as SLI for NVidia, and CrossFire for ATI. However,
you will have to match the video cards to a motherboard supporting the multiple
card technology of choice, and use two similar video cards that both support
dual video cards.

SECONDARY COMPONENTS 31
Keep in mind that to provide best picture quality your graphics card must
be capable of displaying the same resolution as your LCD display’s native res-
olution.
CD/DVD
Optical drives have progressed a long way in the past few years, and you can
now easily purchase DVD writers that are capable of burning 9GB of data to a
disk for an insignificant amount of money. Even if you don’t plan on watching
or copying DVDs on your computer, it is still worth purchasing a burner for
their superior backup capabilities.
When purchasing a DVD writer, you will want one that is capable of burning
both the ’+’ and ’-’ standards, and it should also be Dual Layer compatible.
This will ensure that you can burn to almost all recordable DVDs currently on
the market (the other ma jor format, DVD-RAM is almost unused, for the most
part, so don’t worry about it).
Floppy drive
Though Floppy drives have been made largely obsolete in recent years by devices
such as USB “Thumb Drives” and CD writers, they are often installed anyway
because they are sometimes required for BIOS updates and exchanging small
files with older computers. Floppy drives blo ck air movement with wide cables,
and can make computers set to check the drive take longer to start (most have an
option in their bios to disable this.). One option to overcome the cable problem
and to make it easier to install is to buy an external USB oppy drive, these are
potentially a little bit faster and can be plugged into a di erent system (such
as a laptop without a oppy drive.) However, not all systems support booting
from a USB oppy drive – most notably older motherboards.
It should be noted that oppy disks are not suitable for long term storage
of data, even in a backup role. Never keep your only copy of an important file
on a oppy disk.
Sound card
Most motherboards have built-in sound features. These are often adequate
for most users. However, you can purchase a go od sound card and speakers
at relatively low cost—a few dollars at the low end can make an enormous
di erence in the range and clarity of sound. Also, these onboard systems tend
to use more system resources, so you are better o with a real soundcard for
gaming.
Sound card quality depends on a few factors. The digital-analog conversion
(DAC) is generally the most important stage for general clarity, but this is
hard to measure. Reviews, especially those from audiophile sources, are worth
consulting for this; but don’t go purely by specifications, as many di erent
models with similar specs can produce completely di erent results. Cards may

32 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS
o er digital (S/PDIF) output, in which case the DAC pro cess is moved from
your sound card either to a dedicated receiver or to one built into your speakers.
Sound cards made for gaming or professional music tend to do outstand-
ingly well for their particular purpose. In games various e ects are oftentimes
applied to the sound in real-time, and a gaming sound card will be able to do
this processing on-board, instead of using your CPU for the task. Professional
music cards tend to be built both for maximum sound quality and low latency
(transmission delay) input and output, and include more and/or di erent kinds
of inputs than those of consumer cards.
Mo dem
A modem is needed in order to connect to a dial up internet connection. A
modem can also be used for faxing. Modems can attach to the computer in
di erent ways, and can have built-in processing or use the computer’s CPU for
processing.
Modems with built-in processing generally include all modems that connect
via a standard serial port, as well as any modems that refer to themselves as
“Hardware Modems”. Software Mo dems, or modems that rely on the CPU gen-
erally include both Internal and USB modems, or have packaging that mentions
drivers or requiring a specific CPU to work.
Modems that rely on the CPU are often designed specifically for the current
version of Windows only, and will require drivers that are incompatible with
future Windows versions, and may be di cult to upgrade. Software Modems
are also very di cult to find drivers for non-Windows operating systems. The
manufacturer is unlikely to support the hardware with new drivers after it is
discontinued, forcing you to buy new hardware. Most such mo dems are internal
or external USB, but this is not always the case.
Modems can be attached via USB, a traditional serial port, or an internal
card slot. Internal and USB mo dems are more easily autodetected by the oper-
ating system and less likely to have problems with setup. USB and serial port
modems often require an extra power supply blo ck.
Gaming mo dems are normal mo dems that default to having a low compres-
sion setting to reduce lag, but are generally no longer used by gamers, who
prefer broadband connections.
Ethernet card
An ethernet card is required in order to connect to a lo cal area network or a
cable or DSL mo dem. These typically come in speeds of 10Mbps, 100Mbps, or
1000Mbps (gigabit); these are designated as 10Mbps, 10/100Mbps, or 10/100/1000Mbps
products. The 10/100 and 10/100/1000 parts are most commonly in use today.
In many cases, one or two ethernet adapters will be built into a motherboard.
If there are none, you will have to purchase one—these typically are inserted
into a PCI slot. To get the full speed of 10/100/1000Mbps ethernet, it’s best to
get a motherboard with that connector built in.

PERIPHERALS
33
Peripherals
Anything outside the case that connects to your computer is considered a pe-
ripheral. The keyboard, mouse and monitor are pretty much the bare minimum
you can go with and still be able to interact with your computer. Your choice
in peripherals depends on personal preference and what you intend to do with
your computer.
Mouse and keyboard
There are, broadly, two types of mouse: optical and mechanical. Mechanical
mice use a rubber coated ball bearing that contacts the mousepad or other
surface and actually rolls around. Optical mice use a bright light and a sensor
to track the movement of the mouse.
When choosing a mouse, there is generally no reason not to choose an optical
mouse. They are considerably lighter (and as such, reduce
RSI
) as they have no
moving parts, they are much better at smoothly tracking movement, and they
dont require constant cleaning like ball mice (though it may be wise to brush
o the lens with a q-tip or other soft tool on o ccasion). Make sure that you
spend money on a decent-quality mouse made by companies such as Microsoft
or Logitech, as lower-end optical mice will skip if moved to o fast. Mice of
medium-to-high quality will track your movement almost awlessly.
Although three buttons are generally enough for operating a computer in
normal circumstances, extra buttons can come in handy, as you can add set
actions to each button, and they can come in handy for playing various video
games. One thing to note is that with some mice those extra buttons are not
actually seen by the computer itself as extra buttons and will not work properly
in games. These buttons use software provided by the manufacturer to function.
However, it is sometimes possible to configure the software to map the button
to act like a certain keyboard key so that it will be possible to use it in games
in this manner.
Wireless keyboards and mice do not now display the sort of noticeable de-
lay that they once did, and now also have considerably improved battery life.
However, gamers may still want to avoid wireless input devices because the very
slight delay may impact gaming activities, though some of the higher end mo d-
els have less trouble with this. The extra weight of the batteries can also be an
inconvenience.
Printer and scanner
For most purposes, a mid-range inkjet printer will work well for most people.
If you plan on printing photos, you will want one that is capable of printing at
around 4800dpi. Also, you will want to compare the speed of various printers,
which is usually listed in ppm (pages per minute). When choosing a printer, al-
ways check how much new cartridges cost, as replacement cartridges can quickly
outweigh the actual printer’s cost. Be aware of other possible quirks as well.

34 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS
For example, Epson has protection measures that make refilling your own ink
cartridges more di cult because an embedded microchip that keeps track of
how much ink has been used keeps the printer from seeing the cartridge as full
once it has been emptied.
For o ce users that plan to do quite a bit of black and white printing buying
a black and white laser printer is now an a ordable option, and the savings and
speed can quickly add up for home o ce users printing more than 500 pages a
month.
Scanners are useful, especially in o ce settings, they can function with your
printer as a photocopier, and with software can also interact with your modem
to send Faxes. When purchasing a Scanner, check to see how “accessible” it is
(does it have one-touch buttons), and check how good the scanning quality is,
before you leave the store if possible.
Finally, “Multi-Function Centres” (also called “Printer-Scanner-Copiers”)
are often a cost-e ective solution to purchasing both, as they take up only one
port on your computer, and one power point, but remember that they can be a
liability, since if one component breaks down, both may need to be replaced.
Display
When choosing a display for your computer, you have two choices: a Cathode
Ray Tube (CRT) screen, or a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) screen. Both tech-
nologies have their advantages and disadvantages: CRTs have been preferred
by gamers and graphic artists, for their generally superior response times and
color gamut, but this is o set by the added size and weight that a large screen
requires. CRTs are still somewhat cheaper in sizes of 17 inches or less but LCDs
are generally less expensive than CRTs in sizes above 17 inches. In sizes above
21 inches LCDs are far cheaper, and much easier to find. High-end LCD mo dels
are generally preferred for tasks which need higher definition, such as movie
editing, and are also popular amongst people with little-to-no desk space, as
they do not need as much space as a similarly-sized CRT.
LCD panels
Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) have the advantage of being a completely digital
setup, when used with the DVI-D or HDMI digital connectors. When running
at the screen’s native resolution, this can result in the most stable and sharp
image available on current monitors. Many LCD panel displays are sold with an
analog 15-pin VGA connector or, rarely, with an analog DVI-I connector. Such
displays will be a bit fuzzier than their digital counterparts, and are generally
not preferred over a similarly-sized CRT. If you want an LCD display, be sure
to choose a digital setup if you can; however, manufacturers have chosen to
use this feature for price di erentiation. The prime disadvantage of LCDs is
“dead pixels”, which are small failing areas on your monitor, which can be
very annoying, but generally aren’t covered under warranty—this can make
purchasing LCD displays a financial risk. LCDs are generally okay for fast-paced

PERIPHERALS
35
gaming, but you should be sure that your screen has a fairly fast response time
(of 12 ms or lower) if you want to play fast games. Nearly all at panels sold
today meet this requirement, some by a factor of 3. When picking an LCD, keep
in mind that they are designed to display at one resolution only, so, to reap the
benefits of your screen, your graphics card must be capable of displaying at that
resolution. That in mind, they can display lower resolutions with a black frame
around the outside (which means your entire screen isn’t filled), or by stretching
the image (which leads to much lower quality). Running at a higher resolution
than your monitor can handle will either make everything on the screen smaller,
at a significant quality drop, or will display only a part of the screen at a time.
CRT (cathode ray tube) displays
The other key type of display is the CRT or Cathode Ray Tube display. While
CRT technology is older it often outperforms LCD technology in terms of re-
sponse times, color repro duction, and brightness levels, although LCD displays
are quickly catching up. CRTs are becoming increasingly di cult to find and
have almost vanished from mass-market retail. High end CRT’s are still avail-
able, though they are rapidly being discontinued, and now cost the mo on. Used
CRT’s on the other hand, can often be had for a song as people change over to
LCD screens, this won’t last forever though.
There are two types of CRT displays, shadow mask and aperture grill. An
aperture grill display is brighter and perfectly at in the vertical direction, but
is more fragile and has one or two mostly-unnoticeable thin black lines (support
wires) running across the screen. CRTs are generally 2-4 times as deep as
similarly-sized LCDs, and can weigh around 10 times as much. If you purchase
a CRT display over the internet, shipping is much more expensive than an LCD,
due to the significantly increased weight.
The response times of CRTs are often quicker than LCDs, which is good
for gaming, however, CRT’s can cause headaches in some people when run at
lower frequencies, so it may be ideal to pick a screen o ering higher update
frequencies at whichever resolutions you intend to use. Most people who have
problems with low frequencies (60Hz) find it preferable to have at least 80Hz at
the intended resolution. Many won’t be bothered by this at all however.
Note that sometimes CRTs with a at screen instead of a curved one are
called “ at screens”, this is not to be confused with the term “ at panel” used
to refer to LCDs.
Speakers
Computer speaker sets come in two general varieties; 2/2.1 sets(over a wide
range of quality), and “surround”, “theater”, or “gaming” with four or more
speakers, which tend to be somewhat more expensive. Low-end speakers can
su er from low bass response or inadequate amplification, both of which com-
promise sound quality. Powered speakers with separate sub-woofers usually cost
only a few dollars more and can sound much better. At the higher end, one

36 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS
should start to see features like standard audio cables (instead of manufacturer-
specific ones), built in DACs, and a separate control box.
The surround sets include a sub-wo ofer, and two or more sets of smaller
speakers. These support 5.1 or 7.1 standards that allow sound to be mixed not
only left and right, as with standard stereo speakers, but front and back and
even behind the listener. Movies and video games make use of this technology
to provide a more immersive experience. Make sure your sound hardware will
support 5.1 or 7.1 before buying such a speaker system.. If your budget allows,
you can avoid the computer speaker market entirely and look into piecing to-
gether a set of higher-end parts. If you are buying a speaker system designed
for PCs, research the systems beforehand so you can be certain of getting one
that promises clarity rather than just simple wattage. (Note: speaker power is
usually measured in RMS Watts. However, some cheap speakers use a di erent
measure,
PMPO
which appears much higher.)
Headphones can o er goo d sound much more cheaply than speakers, so if you
are on a limited budget but want maximum quality they should be considered
first. There are even headphones which promise surround-sound, though these
have not been favorably reviewed.
External links
• Power supply calculators
–
The JourneySystems Power Supply Calculator
–
The eXtreme Power Supply Calculator

Chapter 2
Assembly
•
live version
Now that you have selected your parts, you get to what is arguably the most
fun part of the process: putting the parts together.
•
discussion
•
edit
Tools and equipment
•
comment
You wont need many tools to assemble your computer, in fact the only must
•
report an error
have is the screwdriver, but if you can get most of the following together, youll
find things go a little easier.
Basic tools
Before you begin building or refitting a computer, you will need some basic
tools:
1. 2 phillips-head (cross-shaped) screwdriver
2. Needlenose pliers
3. Anti-static Wrist Strap
4. A large level working space
Optional, but useful tools
Some other to ols and equipment can come in handy as well, such as:
1. Grounding Mat or anti-static carpet
2. Spring action parts grabber.
3. Electrical tape
4. Flashlight
37

38
CHAPTER 2. ASSEMBLY
5. A second, working computer to swap parts, look for tips, ask for help
online, download drivers and patches, etc.—very useful
6. A can of compressed air—useful when working with older parts that have
collected dust. A better alternative but also more costly, is a vacuum
cleaner designed for cleaning electronics.
If you do not have access to an anti-static mat or wrist-band, when working
on a table rubber or leather-soled shoes can help prevent static charges obtained
from walking around, although if you move your hands upon the ground, say
picking up a dropped screw, your static charge WILL stay with you until you
touch something metal. Therefore, after doing anything that might have poten-
tially caused you to pick up a static charge, ground yourself on an unpainted
surface of the computer case before touching anything electronic.
Preparation
Proper preparation is the key to a successful build. Before you begin, make
sure you have all the tools you will need, and secure a clear, well-lit workspace.
Gather all the components youll be using and unpack them one at a time,
verifying that everything that is supposed to be there is actually present. At
this point you should leave the parts themselves in their protective anti-static
bags, and assemble all the accompanying manuals. Now I know you want to
get started, but trust me, read the manuals, check the diagrams, make sure you
understand where each part goes and how it attaches. If there is anything you
dont understand, now is the time to do a little extra internet research or call
the manufacturer with your questions.
Find a dry, well-ventilated place to do your work. You should have plenty
of light to see your components with, and if possible, you should choose an area
without carpet on the o or, as carpet tends to generate a lot of static, and this
can be ameliorated by choosing a nonconductive o or surface. An unfurnished
basement is a goo d work location.
Safety precautions
1. Static electricity is the biggest danger to the expensive parts you are about
assemble, even a tiny shock, much too small for you to feel, can damage
or ruin the delicate electronic traces, many times smaller than a human
hair, that make up your CPU, RAM and other chips. Its important to use
your anti-static wrist strap. Once you have the powersupply installed in
the case, clip the end of the wrist strap to the outside of the powersupply.
(Never plug your computer in while you are connected to it by a wrist
strap.) This will ensure that you, the case and the power supply are all
connected to a common ground, in other words there will be no inequality
of charge that will allow a spark to jump from you to the case. Its also
helpful to have an antistatic mat to set the case and other components on.

CONSTRUCTION
39
2. Nobody but you is at fault if you sho ck your components with static elec-
tricity. Make sure that you take the precautions in the previous paragraph
to ground yourself from static electricity. (Note: if you really must work
on a computer and haven’t got proper anti-static equipment, it is usually
OK if you make sure that you don’t move about much; are not wearing
any static-prone clothing; handle components by the edges; and regularly
(once a minute or so), touch a grounded object.). The case metal of your
PC’s power supply will usually be a suitable grounded object. As noted
above, touch it every few minutes while you are working on your PC if
you havent got a wrist strap.
3. Turn o your computer and unplug your Power Supply before installing
or removing any components—if power is owing to components as they
are installed or removed, they can be seriously damaged.
4. Never cut the grounding pin o your power cord. This “safety ground”
stands between you and potentially lethal voltages inside the power supply.
5. Be wary of sharp edges! Many lower-end PC cases have sharp, unfinished
edges. This is especially so on interior surfaces, and where the case has
been cut or punched-out. Use care and take your time to avoid cutting
your hands.If your case has this problem, a little time with some sandpaper
before you begin construction can spare you a lot of pain.
6. Dismantling discrete electronic components such as your Power Supply or
Monitor is dangerous. They contain high voltage capacitors, which can
cause a severe electric sho ck if you touch them. These hold a charge even
when the unit is not plugged in and are capable of delivering a fatal shock.
Construction
Start by putting your case down on your work surface, with the case door facing
up, and open the case.
Motherboard
Find the
motherboard
stando s that should have come with the case. They are
screws, usually brass, with large hexagonal heads that are tapped so you can
fasten screws into the top.
Remove the I/O Shield from the back of the case where the ports on the
back of the motherboard will fit, and put in the I/O Shield that came with your
motherboard. There may be small metal tabs on the inside of this face plate, if
so you may have to adjust them to accommo date the ports on the back of the
motherboard.
Some case styles make it di cult to install the motherboard or the CPU
with the power supply installed. If the power supply is in your way, take it out
and set it aside (we’ll put it back in later).

40
CHAPTER 2. ASSEMBLY
Now locate the screw holes on your motherboard and find the corresponding
holes on the motherboard plate (or tray) in the case. Put a stando in each of
these holes on the tray and position the motherboard so that you can see the
holes in the top of the stando s through the screw holes in the motherboard.
Now is the time to make sure the ports on the motherboard are mating
with the backplate you just installed, and make any necessary adjustments.
The small metal tabs are intended to make contact with the metal parts of the
connections on the back of the motherboard and ground them, but you may
have to bend these tabs a bit to get the ports all properly mounted, this is
where those needlenose pliers may come in handy.
If you have trouble lining up the screw holes, double check that you have
the stando s in the proper holes on the tray. With lower quality cases there are
sometimes alignment problems and you may have to forgo one or two screws.
If this is the case, make sure you remove the corresponding stando s.
Now fasten a screw through each of the motherboard screw holes into the
stando s underneath. These screws should be snug but not tight, there is no
reason to torque down on them, hand tight is fine, otherwise you can damage
the motherboard.
There, the motherboard is in, now it’s time to plug the other components
into it.
CPU
Installing the CPU, and the CPUs
heatsink
and fan, are by far the most
di cult steps youll have to complete
during your build. Here, more than
anywhere else, it will pay to read
the instructions carefully, look at the
parts, study the diagrams that came
with your CPU and/or third party
cooling solution, and make sure you
thoroughly understand what you are
going to do before you try to do
it. During the process, if anything
does not seem to fit or make sense,
put the parts down and look things
over carefully before you proceed.
Some operations, especially installing
Figure 2.1:
An example of a CPU
the heatsink/fan combination, can re-
so cket, Socket A
(GFDL, by
Lzur
)
quire pretty firm pressure, so dont be
afraid to push a little harder if youre
sure everything is set up correctly.
The details of the installation process di er in slight but important ways
for each manufacturers pro cessors, and even within a manufacturers product

CONSTRUCTION
41
line. Therefore, for these details, you should rely on the instructions that are
provided with the CPU.
The two things that go wrong the most often and most expensively (min-
imum of a killed CPU, sometimes more) in building one’s own computer are
both related to the CPU and its co oler:
1. Switching the computer on “just to see if it works” before adding any
CPU cooling unit. Without co oling, CPUs heat up at extreme rates (a
CPU heats up anywhere between ten times and a thousand times as fast
as a co oking area on your stove!) By the time you see the first display on
the screen, your CPU will already be severely overheating and might be
damaged beyond repair.
2. Mounting the CPU cooler improperly. Read the instructions that came
with your CPU and cooler very carefully and ensure you are using all
components in the correct order and correct place.
If you buy a third party co oling solution for your CPU make sure you get
one that is compatible with the CPU you have. Most brands come with multiple
mounting brackets that will suit many di erent chipsets, but it’s best to check
for compatibility just in case.
If using thermal paste, apply it only to the CPU die (the square piece of
silicon in the middle of the CPU) and do so sparingly – most mo dern CPUs
take no more than a grain of rice sized dab of thermal paste. Some people do
like to wipe some onto the heatsink’s surface and then wipe it smoothly o so
that bits of it may get into tiny holes for better heat transfer. See
Arctic Silver
Instructions
for more info on how to apply and remove thermal paste/grease.
(It was written to be specifically for Arctic Silver paste, but the same techniques
can be applied to other brands of thermal paste.)
If using a thermal pad supplied with your cooler, make sure you remove any
protective tape from the die just before installing and do not get it dirty—and
do not combine thermal pads with thermal paste, it’s either one or the other.
Then, check that you install the cooler in the right orientation and that you
set it at on the CPU die without exerting undue pressure on any edges or
corners—the latter can make small pieces of the die break o , killing the CPU.
One option you may consider, before installing the heatsink, is to “lap”
the heatsink, which means to smooth out the bottom surface. To do this, you
will need a very at surface; a piece of thick window glass will work. Fasten
your sandpaper on the at surface, invert the heatsink on the sandpaper and
sand in small circles, applying minimum pressure. Check frequently and when
you see a uniform pattern of scratches, switch to finer grained sandpaper (the
numbers go up as the sandpaper is finer, so something such as 220 is coarse
while 2000 will be very fine.) Remember that you are not trying to remove any
material, just polish out surface irregularities. If you get it right, you should
have a surface which feels completely smo oth to the touch (but dont touch it,
the oil in your fingers can cause corrosion of the fresh surface) with a mirror
finish. Some companies producing heatsinks lap the surface themselves, so if

42
CHAPTER 2. ASSEMBLY
the surface already looks like a perfect mirror, leave it alone. A lapped heatsink
is more e ective as it will have better surface contact with the chip.
Tighten the cooler using only the specified holding devices—if you did ev-
erything right, they will fit. If they don’t fit, check your setup—most likely
something is wrong. After mounting the co oler, connect any power cables for
the fan that is attached onto the cooler.
As an aside to the instructions above, it has been my personal experience that
fitting the CPU and heat sink is best done on a supportive surface (a telephone
directory on a table in my case) prior to installation, to avoid excessive exing
of the motherboard.
If you’ve got the CPU and its co oler installed, and the motherboard in the
case, youre over the hump, there just a few more easy pieces to go before that
momentous first power-up.
RAM
Next, you will need to install your RAM (random access memory). Find
the RAM slots on your motherboard; they will look something like the picture
above. To install the RAM modules, first push on the levers (white plastic in
the picture) on either side of the DIMM socket, so that they move to the sides.
Do not force them, they should move fairly easily.
Put the RAM mo dule in the socket. Line up the notch in the center of the
module with the small bump in the center of the RAM socket, making sure to
insert it the right way. Push down on the module until both levers move up into
the notches on the sides of the module. There should be a small “snap” when
the mo dule is fully seated. Although this does require a fair bit of force, don’t
over do it or you may break the RAM module.
Take a go od look at your seated RAM, if one side seems to be higher than
the other, odds are it’s improperly seated—take it out and try again. As you
handle the RAM, try not to touch the copper stripes you can see along the
bottom edge, as doing so is the best way to damage the part.
Start adding RAM at the slot labeled “Bank 0” or “DIMM 1”. If you don’t
have a stick in “Bank 0” or “DIMM 1” the system will think there is no RAM
and won’t bo ot.

CONSTRUCTION
43
On newer motherboards with 4 slots, you’ll see alternating colours. For
example, slot 1 is blue, slot 2 is black, slot 3 is blue, slot 4 is black.
If you were to put 1 gigabyte of RAM in your PC, it’s best to use dual
channel 512MBx2 sticks. Put the first 512MB stick in slot 1, and put the 2nd
stick in slot 3 (the two slots that are blue)—leaving slot 2 empty. This will
give you better performance, vs. putting 1GB in slot 1, or two 512MB sticks in
slot 1 and 2.
Power supply
Installing your power supply is pretty straightforward, if it came with your case
it was preinstalled and if you took it out earlier to get the motherboard in, now
is the time to put it back. Otherwise a few moments of screwdriver work will
get the job done. Generally there will be a bracket on the top of the case where
the power supply is mounted and a few screws used to fix it in place. Some
cases place the PS di erently, see the documentation that came with yours.
Some power supplies come with mo dular cables, so you can plug in only
those youll be using, now is a goo d time to figure out what youll need and plug
them in. Other power supplies have all the cables hardwired in, youll want to
separate out the ones youll need and neatly coil the remainder somewhere out
of the way.
If your power supply has a switch to select 115v or 220v make sure it is
set properly, this is important. Many newer power supplies can automatically
select and dont have such a switch.
Once you get the power supply installed you should plug the main power, a
20 or 24 pin plug, into the motherboard. There may also be an additional four
or eight pin power lead on the motherboard that needs to be plugged in, this is
usually located near the processor socket. Make sure you check the motherboard
do cumentation carefully for the location of the power sockets.
Video card
If your motherboard has a built-in video adapter you want to use, skip this
section.
If you have an AGP video card, install the video card into the AGP socket.
This is always the top expansion slot near the back of the computer. AGP
slots are often brown, but can also be strange colours such as uorescent green.
Check the motherboard for levers (or similar devices) that are part of the AGP
slot to help hold the card in place. These must be retracted before insertion of
the card. Check the motherboard’s manual for information on how to use these
devices (if your motherboard has one.) Push the card into the socket (AGP
slots are often pretty tight, don’t be afraid to push it until it’s well inserted),
then screw it in at the top of the metal bracket. If it has a power connector,
connect it to a 4-pin molex connector. If it has a pass through, do not connect
it to a hard drive.

44
CHAPTER 2. ASSEMBLY
If you have a PCI Express video card, install it the same way as an AGP
video card, however the slot where it goes looks a little di erent having an extra
spot on the slot as opposed to the 2 slot parts on an AGP slot. PCI Express
slots used for video cards are commonly 16x as opposed to AGP 8x.
When your card is properly installed the line formed by the top of the card
will be exactly parallel to the motherboard, if one side seems to be higher than
the other, chances are that it’s not fully inserted, press a little harder on the
high side or pull it out and try again.
Installing drive jumpers
If you are using SATA drives there is no need to adjust jumpers – you can skip
this section.
Before you install IDE/ATA (PATA) drives, you will need to set the drives
jumpers. Each IDE/ATA channel can handle two drives, a master and a slave.
Consult your drive’s instructions on how to set the jumpers. The jumper con-
figurations are usually either printed on the back, or on the top of the drive.
Drives can be configured in 2 ways: Drive Select or Cable Select.
• “Cable select”: Use this if you have 80-pin cables. Cable select automat-
ically assigns slave/master based on the plug on the IDE cable the drive
is plugged into. Put the jumper on CS.
• “Drive select”: If you are using a 40 pin cable, you must use “drive select”.
Master/slave status is determined by the jumper. In this mode, configure
the drive on the end connector the master, and drive connected to the
middle connector the slave. If the IDE channel has only one drive, check
your motherboard documentation for the appropriate setting, which is
usually master.
Note that Drive Select will always work, while Cable Select will only work
if you have the proper cable.
Installing drives
Next install the hard drive and optical drives.
How a drive is physically installed will depend on the case.
When using an IDE cable, plug the two connectors that are closer together
into the 2 drives, and the third to the controller or motherboard. The connector
furthest from the board should be attached to the drive set as Master. Make
sure the drive that you will install your OS on is the primary master. This is
the master drive on the Primary IDE bus which is usually the IDE 40 pin port
on the motherboard labeled Primary or IDE 1..
Note: IDE connectors are keyed, so it should be impossible to insert them
backwards. However, it doesn’t require very much force to do this and it can
destroy your motherboard . Look carefully at the drive and the cable connection
before you try to connect them. You should see a “missing” pin on the drive,

CONSTRUCTION
45
and a corresponding blocked so cket on the connector. If you break a pin on the
drive, you will probably have a worthless drive.
Note: most parallel IDE cables have a colored stripe down one side. That
coloured stripe signifies “pin 1”—and usually will line up next to the molex
power connection on your drive. Use this rule of thumb if your connectors
aren’t keyed.
Next, plug a 4 pin molex power connector into each hard drive and optical
drive. If you are installing the power connector to a SATA drive, some drives
have the option of using either the SATA power connector (a at about 1” wide
connector) or the standard molex connector; use one or the other, not both.
Connecting both can break your hard drive. For better data transfer, you can
purchase heat-protected high-end data cables at your nearest electronics store.
If you install a oppy disk drive,
the cable is very similar to the IDE
cable, but with fewer wires, and
a strange little twist in the mid-
dle. Floppy drives do not have mas-
ter/slave configurations. The oppy
disk connector is not usually keyed,
making it all too easy to plug it
in the wrong way! One wire in
the IDE cable will be colored dif-
ferently: this is pin 1. There is usu-
ally some indication on the oppy
drive as to which side this is. The
power plug for a oppy is 4 pins
in a line, but rather smaller than
the standard hard drive power con-
nector. Plug the end of the cable
with the twist into the oppy drive
Figure 2.2:
Floppy Disk Drive Cable
(“drive A:”). Plug the other end
(GFDL, by
Shakespeare
)
of the oppy ribbon cable into the
motherboard. If you install a sec-
ond oppy drives, plug the middle connector into “drive B:”. The twist between
drive A: (on the end) and drive B (in the middle) helps the computer distinguish
between them.
1
Other connections
In order to turn the computer on, youll need to connect the power button and
while you’re at it, you might as well do the reset buttons and front panel lights
as well. There will be a set of pins, usually near the front of the motherboard
to which you will attach the cables that should have been supplied with the
motherboard. (Sometimes there are cables already connected to the case, use
1
PC Guide

46
CHAPTER 2. ASSEMBLY
them if they are there). These will plug into the front of the case. The plugs
in the front of the case will be labeled. The pins on the motherboard may
be labeled as well, but they can be di cult to read because the print is very
small. The documentation that came with your case and motherboard should
tell where these connectors are. The front panel LEDs are polarized: usually
the positive wire is white.
In addition, you can connect any case-specific ports if they are supported by
the motherboard. Many cases have front mounted USB, firewire and/or sound
ports.
Prepare for power up
Some people will put power to a system several times during assembly and
for experienced builders this may serve some purpose. For first timers though,
its best to assemble a minimal complete system before powering up. Minimal
because that way there are comparatively few potential sources of trouble, com-
plete so that you can test everything at once and because the fewer times you
have to put power to an open machine, the better..
If youve been working along with us you should now have such a minimal
system put together. Brie y this includes a case with a motherboard in it, a
processor (and its cooling unit) and some RAM plugged into the motherboard,
hard and oppy drives installed, and some kind of video available. If your
motherboard has built-in video, you might want to use that for this first try,
even if you are going to install a video card later.
For this test, youll want to have the computer open, so that you can see all
of the fans, and youll need to connect a monitor and a keyboard and a mouse
(OK, you dont really need the mouse . . .)
Monitors will either have a VGA or a newer DVI plug (see picture, as they
are a lot less apparent than PS/2 / USB comparision). 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 buy an adapter.
There are two standard connectors for mice and keyboards; PS/2 connectors
and the more modern USB connectors. Plug the mouse and keyboard in the
appropriate slot.
Note: If you intend to install an operating system from a bo ot CD or oppy,
or mo dify 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.
Once you have this all set up, its time to double check, then triple check
that you have made all the necessary connections and that you havent left any
foreign objects (wheres that screwdriver?) in the case.

POWER UP
47
Power up
The moment of truth now approaches, time to take a deep breath, exhale slowly,
then take a moment to check one more time that everything is as it should be.
Make sure you’ve removed your wrist strap, turn on the monitor, then press the
power button, and observe the inside of the open machine. (Do not touch any
part of the inside of the machine while it is powered up you will die and more
importantly your computer will break.) The first thing to lo ok for is that the
CPU cooler fan spins up, if it do es not, cut the power immediately. This fan
should start up right away; something is wrong if it doesnt and your CPU is in
danger of overheating so stop now and troubleshoot.
If the CPU fan spins up, check that all the other fans that should be spinning
case fans and fans on the power supply and video card (if installed) are also
spinning. Some of these fans may not spin up until a temperature threshold is
passed, check your do cumentation if anything is not spinning.
If the fans spin, you can turn your attention to the monitor, what you are
hoping to see is the motherboards splashscreen, usually featuring the manufac-
turers logo. If you see this, take a moment to bask in the glow, youve built a
computer!
If this happy event do es not o ccur, if smoke appears, or if the computer
do esn’t do anything, unplug the power cord immediately and check the steps
above to make sure you haven’t missed anything. Give special attention to
the cables and power connections. If the computer does appear to come on,
but, you hear beeps, listen carefully to the beeps, turn the computer o , and
refer to your motherboard’s manual for the meaning of the beeps. Some boards
have an optional diagnostic device, usually a collection of LEDs, which when
properly plugged in will inform you of the nature of the problem. Instructions
for installing this as well as the meaning of its display should be in the manual
for the motherboard. If the computer turns on but the only thing that comes
on is your power supply, turn it o . This probably means something is shorted,
and leaving it on could damage the parts.
If all is well it’s time to turn the computer o , and close it up. Then you
may want to turn it on again and set certain options in the Computer’s BIOS
(usually by pressing ’F1’ or ’Del’ a few seconds after boot.) These options will
be explained in the motherboard manual. In general, the default options are
OK, but you may wish to set the computer’s hardware clo ck to the correct time
and date. The BIOS is also where you determine the default boot order of the
system, typically Floppy, then CD-ROM, then Hard Disc.
If you want a further quick test, before you install an operating system, you
may find a bo otable CD-ROM such as
Knoppix
extremely useful.
Additional hardware and peripherals
Now that you have a working system its time to think about installing an
operating system, which is covered in the next section. Its best to leave the

48
CHAPTER 2. ASSEMBLY
installation of additional components (like soundcards, modems, and second
video cards) and peripherals (printers, joysticks, nerf missile launchers et. al.)
until after the OS install in order to allow the plug n play features of the OS to
do their stu .

Chapter 3
Software
•
live version
Now that youve got a functioning computer, youll need to install some software
•
discussion
if youre going to do anything with it. An operating system or two must come
first, then hardware drivers (so that the operating system can address your
•
edit
hardware) followed by security software and utilities. And thats as far as were
•
comment
going to go with you, but youll also want to install some application software
games, word processors, databases, programming languages whatever oats
•
report an error
your boat... Thats pretty much the point of this whole computer business after
all, though I hope youve found the journey of building it yourself has been
worthwhile in its own way.
In this section well consider what software youll want to install and how you
might go about doing so.
Operating system(s)
The first thing to do after you have a working PC is install an
operating system
(OS)
. You can select from several available on the internet or from your local
computer store. The first option, and the one taken by most people, is to install
Microsoft Windows
, of which the current version is Windows Vista. Another
option is to install a GNU/Linux distribution (a
Free Software
operating sys-
tem). There are many other operating systems to choose from as well, notably
the very famous
Linux
but let us not forget other free operating systems, such as
BSDs
. Note that you also have the option of installing more than one operating
system in what is called a multiboot setup.
If you are going to install both, install Windows XP first. This is because
Windows overwrites the software that GNU/Linux requires to start up, even
if something’s already there. If you install Windows before all of your other
systems, you will be able to easily bo ot into all of them.
Choosing between Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, or one of the other oper-
ating systems is largely depependent on what software you need to run. Simply
put, can you accomplish your day to day tasks with the software that will run
49

50
CHAPTER 3. SOFTWARE
under the operating system in question? Microsoft Windows is better in terms
of software availability, hardware compatability and support, but GNU/Linux
wins in terms of stability, ability to run on older equipment, and cost. Both
systems have a range of software, but determine your needs before installing
either operating system.
Note that, having installed Windows, you can always install GNU/Linux
later and, conversely, if you install GNU/Linux first, there is no throwaway cost
to regret if it turns out later that you need Windows.
Installing Windows
The installation of Windows is relatively easy. Push the power button on the
front of the PC, put the CD-ROM in your optical drive, and follow the on-screen
instructions (you may have to restart with the CD in place). If you are doing
a Windows-only install, just allocate all of the hard drive to XP. Again, for a
Windows only install, the NTFS file system is faster and more e cient.
Some people find that it’s useful to create separate partitions for the op-
erating system and data. This means that if something goes wrong with the
operating system, the partition can be formatted and the operating system can
be reinstalled possibly without losing data.
If you are installing Windows on a RAID drive, or a SATA drive in some
cases, you are going to have to provide drivers to the Windows installer so that
it can access the hard drive on the raid controller. To do this during the Win-
dows install wait for “Press F6 to install any third party SCSI or RAID drivers.”
to appear at the bottom of the screen and duly hit F6. Then you will see a
screen that says “Setup could not determine the type of one or more mass stor-
age devices installed in your system, or you have chosen to manually specify an
adapter.” At this screen you are going to want to hit ’S’ to “Specify Additional
Device,” another screen will pop up asking you to insert the oppy disk con-
taining the drivers, followed by a screen asking you to choose the appropriate
driver out of the set contained
Installing Windows to dual-boot with GNU/Linux
If you are dual-booting, some extra factors must be considered. NTFS, which
is the default file system that Windows uses, is not very well supported outside
of Windows. Only recently has
NFTS-3g
reached a usable stage, with users
reporting no data corruption or loss during ordinary use of the latest versions
of the driver, providing GNU/Linux users with a reliable way to read and write
NTFS partitions. Previously only read support was safe, and this may still be
the case for many distributions. However, NTFS do es have some advantages
over FAT32, in that a 4GB file size limit no longer exists. Likewise, Windows
has no support for any of the standard GNU/Linux file systems. If you are
going to be switching between the two frequently, then it might still be in your
best interest to create a FAT32 partition for both operating systems to use.

OPERATING SYSTEM(S)
51
When it comes the time to partition the hard disk(s), remember to leave
space for GNU/Linux (a good amount is on the order of a third of your total
hard disk space). You may want to have a spare FAT32 partition (of around
1 third of your disk space) on which to share documents between Windows
and GNU/Linux. You should also modify the partition table as necessary—
you may not need as much space for Windows or you may need more in your
FAT32 transfer area. But you must ensure that you leave at least 3GB for
your Windows installation, since the standard installation of Windows takes up
about 2 GB of hard drive space, and it is always wise to leave a bit extra on, to
allow for any changes that may occur.
Installing GNU/Linux
See also:
Linux Guide
The primary problem faced in installing GNU/Linux is cho osing between distri-
See also:
List of Linux dis-
butions. Of the many variants of GNU/Linux, Fedora, SuSE, and Ubuntu are
tributions
generally recommended, as they are updated regularly and compatible with a
See also:
Comparison of
broad range of hardware:
Linux distributions
•
Fedora
, currently at version 7. Used to be the de facto-standard GNU/Linux.
•
SuSE
, currently at version 10.2.
•
Ubuntu
, currently at version 7.04. Increasingly gaining popularity as an
easy to use desktop GNU/Linux.
Some GNU/Linux variants may support hardware that these do not. If you
have obscure or old hardware, you may want to search bulletin board sites for
various GNU/Linux variants to ensure compatibility.
For example, lets consider
Ubuntu
. It’s a variant of
Debian
, and is the
current standard for easy-to-use GNU/Linux distributions. One can download
the .iso image or order a CD set (containing the installation CD and LiveCD)
from its website. Most distros are available in these two ways. An .iso is
nothing more than a special file format that your CD drive burning software
uses to create a copy of the software, in this case a copy of Ubuntu GNU/Linux.
The installation of GNU/Linux is relatively easy. Push the button on the
front of the PC, put the CD-ROM in your optical drive, and follow the on-screen
instructions. By default, the installation version of Ubuntu will erase all files on
the hard drive and partition 1.8 GB for the OS. If you want to customize, follow
the on-screen instructions carefully. The LiveCd version does not erase your
hard drive and is intended solely for a user to test drive Ubuntu GNU/Linux.
When installing a GNU/Linux distro, you may be asked to cho ose between
alternatives whether to run KDE or Gnome, for instance, or to install vi or
Emacs. If the terms are unfamiliar a quick Go ogle will usually bring enlight-
enment. Also, as in these two examples, most such choices are a matter of
preference and either choice will work.

52
CHAPTER 3. SOFTWARE
Security
After installation, security should be your priority.
Updates
From time to time, software companies and independent programers release new
and improved versions to their software; these are known as updates. Updates
usually install new features or fix problems. Usually, you should download
the latest updates to improve system performance though it’s sometimes wise
to wait a little while to be sure the update itself do es not cause problems.
Many programs update themselves and this process is know as an automatic
update. If you have to manually update your software, do so through the
software developer’s site, not through a secondary source. This approach will
reduce the chance of contracting a virus or other piece of malicious software.
Windows
A newly installed Windows XP computer using a broadband connection can be
attacked within moments of being connected to the Internet. In severe cases,
the attacks can render a system unbootable or make a second reinstallation
faster or easier than manually removing the malicious programs causing the
problems. The SANS Institute provides a PDF guide called
Windows XP:
Surviving the First Day
, which explains how to update a new Windows XP box
without immediately becoming infected by viruses and worms. To avoid having
your new computer attacked, install a firewall, or activate the one that came
with your OS. Both Windows and GNU/Linux have in-built firewalls: In some
GNU/Linux distributions, it is enabled by default; in Windows XP Service Pack
2, it can be found by going to the Start button and cho osing “Control Panel”
then double-clicking the “WIndows Firewall” icon.
As so on as you are on the Internet, run your operating system’s update fa-
cility to fix any security aws that have been found since your CD was printed.
To do this under Windows, simply click on your Start Menu, click on ’All Pro-
grams’, and then click on Windows Update, and follow the instructions. If you
use other Microsoft products, such as Microsoft O ce, then it can be valuable
to use
Microsoft Update
, which covers updates for all Microsoft pro ducts. For
either of these, you can also switch on “Automatic Updates” from the Security
Center program mentioned above.
GNU/Linux
The method of updating your GNU/Linux system varies greatly from distribu-
tion to distribution.
For
SuSE
, there are two ways:
1. YaST

DRIVERS
53
2. ZENworks updater
For
Fedora
, type
yum update as the root user inside a terminal window.
It is perhaps easiest to update the OS from Debian-based distributions such
as
Debian
,
Ubuntu
and
Linspire
. For Debian and Linspire you type the following
into a terminal window while running as the root user:
apt-get update
apt-get dist-upgrade
Ubuntu has you run sudo to switch run a program as root. Type the following
into a terminal:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
Automatic updates
If your computer will be running overnight, it may be good to have your com-
puter update itself.
Debian based cron-apt
Windows Windows Update
Anti-nasty
Programs such as Anti-Virus, Anti-Spam and Anti-Spyware of commercial qual-
ity or better can be found for free online quite easily: Windows programs are
listed in the software section below. (Usually these are not needed for non-
Windows OSes)
Security software is important and should be set up first. The best procedure
is not to connect to the internet at all until your choice of anti-virus, anti-spyware
and firewall software is installed and activated, then connect to the internet and
update each of these programs.
If you are using software that must be downloaded from the internet for this
purpose, you can use another computer to download and burn the installation
files to a CD or thumb drive. If this is not possible, download, install and update
your anti-virus solution of choice first, disconnect from the internet and run a
complete system scan. Then you can reconnect and install your other security
software and be reasonably confident that you are not infected.
Once secured, your system should be safe for prudent internet browsing,
remember to schedule regular scans and keep your security software up to date.
Drivers
Now that your computer is relatively secure, you will need to install software to
control your various hardware components. This type of software is known as

54
CHAPTER 3. SOFTWARE
a
driver
.
Although, most of your hardware will come with a cd containing the neces-
sary driver, consider downloading the driver straight from the company’s Inter-
net site. This will insure you have the latest edition of the software. Knowing
where to download the driver is also goo d in case you lose the cd that came
with the device.
If you do not have a fast internet connection (broadband), the company
usually provides an option to receive the driver cd in the mail, in which case
you’ll want to use the CD you have now and update the driver later. Even if
something seems to be working fine, downloading new drivers may help increase
computer e ciency, though there is always a risk that a brand new version may
break something. Downloading drivers for your motherboard’s chipset can often
help if you are having a problem. Finally, many monitors will not go above a
certain refresh rate without the proper driver, which may be of great concerns
to gamers.
If you are using Microsoft Windows, you can generally find drivers for your
selected hardware on the manufacturer’s website. Most GNU/Linux systems
already have all of the drivers installed, with the exception of proprietary modem
and graphics drivers. If you can’t find the driver you need, a simple
Google
search will often yield the best results.
Software
There is an abundance of useful software available for download gratis. From
web browsers to word pro cessors to graphic manipulation programs, there is
plenty of software available online.
Though most of what is available is safe and useful, its always a goo d idea
to do a little research and make a backup before installing anything new. The
following are some proven and reliable programs that are available, free (or
gratis), for individual use (and sometimes more, check the license).
Windows
• Web Browser:
Mozilla Firefox
or
Opera
(Opera is usually faster on slower
hardware and works better on older versions of Windows).
• E-mail Client:
Mozilla Thunderbird
• O ce Suite:
OpenO ce.org
• Disc Tools:
CD Burner XP
,
Burn at Once
• Instant Messenger:
Gaim
,
Trillian
,
Miranda
• Media Player:
DivX Player
,
Nullsoft Winamp
,
iTunes
,
SnackAmp
• Anti-virus:
AVG Anti-Virus, Free Edition
,
avast!Antivirus Home edition
,
ClamWin

SOFTWARE
55
• Security:
Spybot: Search & Destroy
,
Ad-Aware Personal Edition
,
K9
Anti-Spam
,
ZoneAlarm Free Edition
• Compression:
7-Zip
,
IZArc
,
TUGZip
• Desktop Search:
Go ogle Desktop
GNU/Linux
Unlike Windows, on a GNU/Linux system the ma jority of the software that
you will want for everyday use of your computer is usually included. You will
probably not need to download anything. Most GNU/Linux distributions have
a package manager (Portage for
Gento o
, APT for Debian-based distros like
Debian and Ubuntu, etc.) For some distributions you can simply download
RPM or DEB files from your distribution’s web site.
If they aren’t already installed by your distribution:
• Web Browser:
Firefox
or
Opera
(Opera is usually faster on lower-end
hardware).
• EMail Client:
Mozilla Thunderbird
.
• O ce Suite:
OpenO ce.org
or
KO ce
• Instant Messenger:
Gaim
or
Kopete
.
• Media Players:
Rhythmbox
,
mpd
,
amaroK
(depending on what desktop
environment you use),
Beep Media Player
or
Video Lan Client
.
• Movie/DVD Player:
Xine
or
MPlayer
.
• Windows Compatibility Layer:
WINE
.
• x86 Emulator:
QEMU
.
• PPC Emulator:
PearPC
.
Additional Software
For additional software some excellent sources of free and open-souce software
are
•
Tucows
a downloads site with freeware, shareware, open-source as well as
commercial software. It has many mirrors all over the world for speedy
downloads from local servers.
•
Download.com
similar to tucows
•
SourceForge
a site featuring many OpenSource pro jects. You can start
your own, or get software for almost every need. Most pro jects have GNU
and Windows versions. The mirror system isn’t as large as Tucows, but
you can still usually get a mirror on the same continent.

56
CHAPTER 3. SOFTWARE
•
Table of equivalents
can be useful if you want to know more about specific
programs when changing from windows to GNU or vice-versa.
Of course, it is also possible to buy copies of software, particularly for the
Windows operating system. To be fair, the library of proprietary software
available for Microsoft Windows is the largest and most comprehensive bo dy
of software in history, while that available from the open source community is
increasingly varied and mature.
See also
•
A Neutral Look at Operating Systems

Chapter 4
Overclocking
•
live version
Overclocking
is the practice of making a component run at a higher clock speed
than the manufacturer’s specification. The idea is to increase performance for
•
discussion
free or to exceed current performance limits, but this may come at the cost of
•
edit
stability.
Overclocking is like souping up a car, if you just want to get where you’re
•
comment
going, there’s no need for it. But it is fun and educational and can get you a
machine that provides performance all out of proportion to its cost.
•
report an error
Think of the 3GHz on your new 3GHz Pentium 4 as a speed limit asking to
be broken. Some other components in your computer can also be overclo cked,
including RAM and your video card in many cases. Over clocking is possible
because of the way electronic parts, especially VLSI (Very Large Scale Integra-
tion) chips are made and sold. All pro cessors in a given line, the Pentium 4 for
example, are made the same way, on a large die that is cut up into individual
pro cessors, those pro cessors are then tested and graded as to speed, the best
chips will be marked as 3.0 GHz the second best 2.8 etc. As time go es by and
pro duction processes and masks improve, even the lower rated chips may be ca-
pable of faster speeds, especially if vigorous cooling is implemented. Also many
manufacturers will mark chips that test faster at slower speeds if there is higher
demand for the lower end component.
Its important to note that not every chip will be overclockable; its really the
luck of the draw. Some companies that sell factory overclocked systems engage
in a practice called binning where they buy a number of processors, test them
for overclocking potential and throw the ones that dont overclock in a bin to
be resold at their rated speed. Even with pro cessors that have a reputation for
overclocking well, some parts simply will not exceed their rating.
That said, e ective cooling can give a boost to a chips overclo ckability. With
luck you will be able to get extra performance out of your components for free.
With luck and skill you can get performance that is not possible even when
using the top of the line components. Sometimes you can buy cheaper parts,
and then OC them to the clock speed of the higher end component, though the
cost of extra cooling can compromise any money you may be saving on the part,
57

58 CHAPTER 4. OVERCLOCKING
not to mention warranty and part life issues.
WARNING: OVERCLOCKING MAY VOID THE WARRANTY
ON THE PARTS BEING OVERCLOCKED. DOING SO MAY ALSO
CAUSE SYSTEM INSTABILITY, AND MAY ALSO CAUSE DAM-
AGE TO COMPONENTS AND DATA. REMEMBER THE 3 “C’S”
WHEN OVERCLOCKING:CAREFUL, CONSERVATIVE, and CAU-
TIOUS .
Things that can’t be overclocked
Although it is possible to overclo ck many of the components of a computer (such
as the CPU, FSB frequency and video card), it is not possible to overclo ck some
components. For example, it is not possible to increase the read/write speed or
access time of a hard disk or CD-ROM drive. The only solution to improving the
performance of these components is to use faster components in the first place,
or in some special cases of hard disks, change the configuration to a RAID.
Components
CPU
The CPU’s clo ck speed is the FSB clock speed (base, not e ective speed) times
the CPU’s multiplier. On most newer CPUs, the multiplier is lo cked, so you will
have to adjust the FSB clock speed (However, it might be possible to ’unlock’
the chip’s multiplier on some older chips. See
CPU Lo cking
.) The FSB is not
adjustable on some motherboards, and almost all OEM systems. The FSB and
multiplier, if not locked, are adjustable from within the BIOS. Note that upping
the FSB clock speed also increases the clock speed of many other components,
including RAM.
When increasing the FSB clock speed, do so in small increments of a few
MHz at a time. After you do this, boot up your computer to make sure it works.
If your computer successfully boots, increase the FSB some more. If it won’t
bo ot, lower the FSB until your computer properly bo ots up. Repeat until you
have the highest setting with which your computer will boot up. Next, test your
OS to make sure it is stable by running a burn application, or any application
that uses 100% CPU power. If a crash or rebo ot results, lower the FSB speed
some more until it runs smoothly. On some motherboards you are also able to
change the voltage of the CPU and other components in order to help stabilize
the system. However, this increases the components’ heat output and can harm
or shorten the life of your system instead.
Notes: On AMD K8-based chips (Athlon 64, Opteron, Turion, and Socket
754 and 939 Semprons), there is no FSB- there is an integrated memory con-
troller (IMC) and a HyperTransport bus (HTT). The IMC has a base clock
speed like a FSB does and for overclocking, it would be adjusted just like a
FSB would. The HTT can also be overclocked like the CPU core can be. Its

COMPONENTS
59
base clock speed is the exact same as the IMC’s and thus by default you will
overclock the HTT bus as you overclock the CPU. Note that the HTT bus has
a multiplier and it is adjustable. Many motherboards do not function well with
the HTT bus frequency much over the stock frequency- that’s where the ad-
justible HTT multiplier comes in. (It should be noted that overclocked systems
are most stable when the HTT is at or below 1000Mhz)
Also, some newer desktop pro cessors (AMD K8 series with Co ol ’n Quiet,
Intel Pentium 4 6xx series, Pentium D 830, 840, stepping C1 Pentium D 9xx se-
ries with Enhanced Intel Speed Step) and most mobile processors (exc. Celeron
M) can vary their operating frequency while running by lowering the CPU mul-
tiplier. This results in multipliers below the highest one being unlocked. This
allows for a very high FSB/base clo ck speed with a lower multiplier to use very
fast RAM to its full potential without overclocking the CPU so much that it is
not stable.
How to cho ose the best CPU for overclo cking
Assuming that you have selected quality components like an excellent mother-
board, high-quality RAM , an excellent thermal solution and an excellent power
supply; you may wonder why your pro cessor won’t exceed a certain speed limit.
Lets assume that you have a memory chip that is capable of taking the max-
imum frequency the motherboard can throw at it and yet, when you exceed a
certain speed limit you realize that your system becomes unstable.
A PCI bus generally runs at 33 Mhz. When you exceed 35-36 Mhz, the
hard disk and other IDE devices become unstable, because the IDE controller
is controlled through the PCI bus. Oftentimes, you may encounter texture
corruption, when your AGP bus exceeds a certain speed limit. This was often
observed on older motherboards that wouldn’t allow you to lock the AGP and
the PCI bus at stock speeds. The go od news: regardless of the FSB speed,
most motherboards nowadays automatically ensure that the frequency of the
PCI, AGP and other buses always remain constant (in other words; their speeds
are locked unless you deliberately change them). This implies that the other
components connected to the motherboard don’t undergo stress when the FSB
speed is raised. You have the fastest RAM you could find and the obscenely
fast speed ratings on your ensure that you can extract the most performance by
bumping up your FSB speed to the limits.
The main culprit that plays the spoilsport is your CPU. Even if you have an
exceptionally goo d thermal solution, your CPU won’t exceed a certain limit.
Example: I had experimented with a Pentium III 700E Mhz processor and
a Pentium III 800E MHz processor on an Asus CUBX-E motherboard using
Kingston PC-133 SD-RAM. The reason I chose these 2 processors for experi-
mentation was because they both used a FSB speed of 100MHz. This mother-
board was really exible, I was able to increment the FSB to 150Mhz. I was
able to extract 1050 MHz from the stock 700Mhz. This is because the multiplier
is 7, which unfortunately cannot be changed. So I bumped up the FSB from
100Mhz to 150 Mhz; which gave me the resultant speed of:

60 CHAPTER 4. OVERCLOCKING
7 (M ultiplier) × 150 (F rontSideBus) = 1050M Hz (resultantf requency)
Simple arithmetic? Yes. Now, logically speaking, if I can extract 1050Mhz
from a 700Mhz pro cessor; I should be able to extract 1200Mhz from an 800
MHz processor. This is not true. I tried doing exactly the same with the 800
MHz processor and the Computer crashed. However, it was stable when I set
the FSB speed to 133 MHz. When I set the FSB at 133 MHz ; this was the
result:
8 (M ultiplier) × 133 (F rontSideBus) = 1064 MHz (resul tantf requency)
This simple experiment shows that a CPU gets saturated after a certain
clock speed. Typical symptoms of an erratic CPU include instability and at
times, you may not be able to boot up at all.
This particular CPU die was manufactured using a 0.18u process. When
Intel launched a similar CPU using a 0.13u pro cess; they shipped those CPUs
with the sto ck speed of up to 1.4Ghz. This CPU core was based on the P6
Architecture and it used a 10 stage pipeline. Presently, Intel manufactures the
Pentium-M CPU which is based on the P-6 architecture; the di erence being
that they manufacture it using a 0.09u process and they have increased the
depth of the pipeline.
These terms may seem cryptic and this concept may be di cult for some
to grasp. It’s really very simple: To be a successful overclocker; you need to
purchase the best CPU possible; not necessarily the fastest. Always go for a
processor that uses the latest manufacturing process. A CPU rated at 3Ghz
which is manufactured by using a 0.13u process won’t overclock as well as a
CPU that is rated at 2.6Ghz using a 0.09u pro cess.
Deeper pipelines ensure that the CPU has the capability to scale higher
in terms of speed. The disadvantage is that a CPU with a deeper pipeline is
slower than a CPU that uses a smaller pipeline assuming that they are running
at the same speed. AMD Athlon CPUs are famous for their relatively short
pipelines. Thats why they perform better than the Pentium 4 CPUs at the
same clock speed. Before purchasing the fastest processor, always keep this in
mind. Choosing a processor smartly helps you extract the maximum speed out
of your machine. You don’t need to know what a pipeline exactly does. Refer
to the processor spec sheet, find out these basic details of the CPU core and its
architecture and choose accordingly.
To increase the computer’s stability, you may also disable the spread spec-
trum; set the PCI speed to 100MHz; set the voltage to the middle range, not
too high; and disable any smart fan settings. and those settings works for all
recommended boards.

COMPONENTS
61
Video card
Two di erent parts of a video card may be overclocked, the GPU (Graphics
Processing Unit) and the RAM. In addition, disabled pipelines on a video card
may also be enabled through third-party drivers, third-party software, or direct
hardware modifications depending on your video card type. Overclocking a
video card is usually done through third-party or proprietary software.
Recent ATI proprietary Catalyst drivers feature an interface called Over-
drive that allows for dynamic GPU frequency scaling based on its temperature
and load. Increase the load, the clo ck rate increases for performance, but it’s
balanced against the increasing temperature. Su cient for simple increases in
overall performance, this doesn’t allow for the best performance increase which
requires overclo cking the memory. For that you’ll need third-party applications
or drivers.
An application example is ATITo ol. This program has many options, includ-
ing GPU and memory overclocking, temperature monitoring, and fan control,
allowing for a much more complete solution to overclocking ATI based video
cards. There are many third party drivers, omegadrivers.net, for example hosts
ATI and nVidia drivers as well. Both of which include integrated overclocking
and many unlocked features, including enhanced image quality for nVidia-based
cards.
nVidia video cards can also be OCed through a hidden feature in the driver
called coolbits. Coolbits is a feature that can be unlo cked by creating a DWORD
in regedit for windows operating system. To use the coolbits feature, for win-
dows just simply open the regedit then open the directory HKEY LOCAL MACHINE
> Software > NVIDIA Corporation > NVTweak and create a new DWORD
value in the NVTweak folder named coolbits then right-click it¿mo dify type 3
for single card or 1A for SLI in the value name .It is a good a overclocking tool
as it has a fairly conservative “optimal clock” once you have thus increased the
core clock (not the memory clock!!) run a gpu intensive task like 3dmark, re-
peat until you have a sudden drop in the benchmark score. This is the thermal
throttling kicking in; do not push it any harder as it will result in permanent
damage to your gpu. Back o the clockspeed by about 20-30mhz
The most important thing to remember about overclocking a video card is
co oling. This can’t be stressed enough. Just as a CPU can be damaged or have
a shortened lifespan by overclocking or excessive and prolonged heat, so can a
video card. In the past year many inexpensive and easy to install options have
surfaced for cooling a video card, from adhesive ram heatsinks which attach
to un-cooled ram chips, to rather expensive water-cooling solutions. A good
midpoint (both in cost and e ectiveness) solution is to purchase and install a
direct exhaust, “sandwich” co oling solution. Direct exhaust means all air from
the co oling fan is blown across the video card and directly out of the computer
case, usually using the open PCI slot below the AGP (or PCIe) slot. This allows
for substantially lower GPU temperatures.
A sandwich cooler is two aluminum or copper heatsinks, shape formed for a
particular video card, that “sandwiches” the video card in between the two and

62 CHAPTER 4. OVERCLOCKING
are usually connected by some kind of copper heat pipe which allows for the
hotter side to convey heat to the cooler side for dissipation. The GPU should
never surpass 60 degrees Celsius for optimal performance and to avoid damaging
the card. Most of the latest video cards are rated to go up to 90c, but this is
NOT recommended by anyone. The optimal temperature for a video card is
40-55c for the card itself (the GPU’s temperature di ers depending on which
you have,) but the lower you can get it, the better.
One important thing to note. Many think that the option which says “AGP
voltage” in their BIOS can be used to “voltmod” a video card to get a bit more
power out of it. In fact, it’s used for something else, and raising the AGP voltage
can and probably will cause damage to a video card.
Getting the few extra MHz out of a chip
Cooling
When increasing the speed of any computer components you are making the
components work harder and by doing so they output more heat. Heat can
cause system instability so cooling is necessary to help keep your components
stable at higher speeds. Without go od co oling you could harm or shorten the
life of your system. CPU temperature can usually be checked from within the
BIOS. However, these are inaccurate as your CPU is under almost no load in
the bios. SiSoftware Sandra may be used within Windows to check temperature.
This should be done when your CPU has been under a heavy load for a while
for optimum results.
There are three types of cooling that are generally accepted for overclocking:
Air, water, and peltier.
With both air co oling and water cooling some type of transfer material is
needed to move the energy away from the sensitive electronics. The device used
for this purpose is a heatsink. The two most popular heatsink materials are Alu-
minum and Copper. The heatsink that is sto ck on factory computers by major
manufacturers (Dell, Gateway, IBM) is usually made of aluminum, which has
satisfactory heat transfer characteristics. However when overclo cking more heat
is being pro duced from the increase in power consumption. In order to obtain
lower temperatures a material with better heat transfer properties is important
and copper is the material that o ers the best ratio of price/performance.
Power
Chips at higher speeds may need more power. Raising the vcore voltage on a
CPU might enable it to go at slightly faster speeds but by doing so you add
a lot more heat output from the CPU. The vcore of a processor is the voltage
at which a chip is set to run at with the stock speed. This voltage may need
to be changed when the multiplier is raised because otherwise the transistors
in the chip won’t switch fast enough—transistors switch faster the higher the

EXTERNAL LINKS
63
supply voltage. If there is not enough voltage then the chip will begin to make
mistakes and give bad data results. Go od cooling is needed to keep the system
stable at higher speeds. Raising the vcore to o much may harm or shorten the
life of your system. Raising the vcore can also greatly a ect the stability of the
system. This is where a high quality PSU will come into play. While many
cheap, no-name brand PSU’s will crash and die with more vcore, a go od quality
one will live to serve you for a long time.
Note: increasing the speed (multiplier or fsb) without changing the voltage
will also increase heat output, but not as much as when also increasing voltage.
Having said that, increasing the multiplier or FSB without adjusting the voltage
may make your system unstable (undervolt).
External links
•
BIOS settings
•
Free access
•
Book on BIOS optimization for PCs
•
Overclocking guide for Centrino notebooks
•
Overclocking guide for ATI Mobility Radeon 9700

64 CHAPTER 4. OVERCLOCKING

Chapter 5
Silencing
•
live version
In contrast to overclocking, you may prefer to silence your computer. Some
high-performance PCs are very loud indeed, and it is possible to reduce the
•
discussion
noise dramatically. The main sources of noise are: Fans (CPU, case, power
•
edit
supply, motherboard, Graphics card), and Hard disks. While total silence in
a PC is possible, it is far cheaper and easier to aim for something ’virtually
•
comment
inaudible’.
Note that quieter computers sometimes run slightly hotter—especially in
•
report an error
small form factor (SFF) systems, so you need to monitor carefully what you
do. Usually you can’t overclock and silence at the same time (although it is
possible with the right CPU and cooling techniques). Sometimes CPUs are
underclocked and fans are undervolted to achieve greater silence at the expense
of performance.
Designing a powerful and quiet machine requires careful consideration in
selecting components, but need not be much more expensive than a normal, loud
PC. If you are looking to quiet an existing PC, find the o ending component
that produces the loudest or most irritating noise to replace first, and work
down from there.
Fans
See also:
Noise from cooling
In general, large diameter (120 mm), high quality fans are much quieter than
fans
small diameter ones, because they can move the same amount of air as 80mm
or 92mm fans, but at slower speeds. Temperature-regulated fans are also much
quieter, as they will automatically spin at a reduced speed when you computer
is not in heavy use. Wire mesh grills (or no grill at all) allow better air ow than
the drilled holes used in many cases.
CPU Modern CPUs can generate a lot of heat in a very small area—sometimes
as much as 100-watt lightbulb! For the vast ma jority of processors, a
dedicated fan will be a necessity. There are some, like VIA processors,
that require only a heat sink, but you will not find passively cooled CPUs
65

66
CHAPTER 5. SILENCING
at nearly the same speeds allowed by active cooling. However, for modern
computers, CPUs are not the limiting component for speed in daily tasks,
so unless you do demanding 3D gaming or video editing, then a passively
cooled processor may be just for you. They would also be very attractive
in media-center PCs, or other specialized applications where computer
noise would be more noticable.
The noisiest fan is usually the CPU fan: the Intel-supplied fan-heatsinks
are particularly loud, although they do provide go od co oling. Some BIOSs
allow you to slow the CPU fan down automatically when it is not to o hot—
if this option is available, turn it on. Also, you can get 3rd party co olers,
which are designed to be less noisy: for example, those made by
Zalman
.
Power Supply (PSU) Noisy power-supplies simply have to be replaced with
quieter ones. The case fans can be slowed down by using fan-speed con-
trollers, or resistors (but beware of insu cient co oling). Motherboard and
lower-end graphics-card fans can usually be replaced with a small, passive
heatsink.
After a few weeks, dust and debris can accumulate on fan blades. Dust on
PC components can act as an insulator, trapping in heat and forcing your fans
to spin at higher speeds to keep everything cool. Keep your PC clean to reduce
noise and increase e ciency.
Water cooling
An e cient, if expensive way to eliminate the need for most fans in ones com-
puter system is the implementation of water cooling devices. Water co oling kits
are available for beginners, and additional components or “water blocks” can be
added to the system, allowing virtually any system needing co oling to be put
“on water”.
Other cooling uids are possible in a sealed system, although plain water is
generally preferred because it has higher
heat capacity
and
thermal conductivity
than oil, and it is easier to clean up if a leak ever occurs: turn o the computer,
shake o most of the water, and use a hair dryer to evaporate the rest of the
water.
Oil cooling
Transformer oil
has been used to cool electrical equipment for decades.
Some people are experimenting with oil co oling personal computers. Since
oil is non-conductive, the motherboard and graphics card and power supply
(but not the hard drives or optical drives!) will continue to run submerged in
a “fishtank” filled with oil. Some people prefer colorless transparent “mineral
oil” or cooking oil, but
Frank Vlkel recommends motor oil
.

HARD DISK
67
Oil cooling is lower cost than water cooling, because it doesn’t require water-
tight “blocks” or hoses. Some people leave the fans running on the motherboard
and power supply to “stir” the oil. Other people remove all the fans and add
a (submerged) pump to “blow” a stream of oil onto the CPU hot spot. Some
CPUs, if given a big enough metal heat sink, can be adequately cooled by passive
convection currents in the oil (and the large surface area of the oil-to-case and
case-to-air), without any fans or pumps.
If any cable (the hard drive ribbon cable, the power cable, the monitor cable,
etc.) exits the case below the oil line, it must have an oil-tight exit seal – consider
making all cables exit the top of the case instead.
Immersion in other co oling uids has been attempted, such as
uorinert
or
liquid nitrogen.
Hard disk
A ’resting’ hard disk is generally quite quiet compared with any fan, but in-
creases dramatically when it starts ’churning’, as when you open or save a file
or perform a virus scan. As most hard drive manufacturers place capacity and
performance ahead of noise, it is recommended that you look for a hard drive
with good acoustics to start with. SilentPCreview.com do es comprehensive test-
ing, so picking any of their recommended drives will serve you well. There will
usually be a compromise between performance and sound, so opting for a slower
RPM or smaller capacity single-platter HDD may be necessary to reach very
quiet levels. Also, 2.5“ notebo ok drives can be much quieter than any 3.5”
desktop drive, but are more expensive and come in smaller capacities.
After selecting a quiet drive, or if you want to reduce the noise coming from
a loud drive, look into mounting options. Hard drives are usually mounted with
four screws attaching them directly to the case, providing very stable support,
some heat dissipation and a lot of direct transmission of HDD vibrations to the
case. Reducing this transmission to almost nothing is possible, though it is not
always easy.
But do ensure su cient cooling of the hard drive: running a hard drive mo d-
erately hot can reduce its lifespan to under a year! Some mounts are designed
to provide both extra co oling and silencing, such as the heat-pipe coolers. Spin-
ning the HDD down when not in use will also reduce noise, but it can reduce the
life of the drive by increasing the number of landings and take-o s performed
by the read/write heads.
The best noise reductions come from suspending the hard drive with elastic,
providing no direct route for sound transmission to the case. You can make
your own from elastic in a fabric store, or buy kits that provide materials and
instructions. (Rubber bands are not recommended, as they will become weak
from the HDD heat and snap.)
Foam can be used to dampen vibrations, but may trap more heat than is
safe. Resting the hard drive on the o or of your case on a bed of foam can be
very e ective at reducing noise.

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CHAPTER 5. SILENCING
Using silicone or rubber screws instead of metal mounting screws will give
you marginal sound reduction, but is easiest and cheapest to implement. You
also won’t have to worry about shifting of the HDD if you move your computer.
A software tool created by
Maxtor
exists which can adjust a hard disk’s
noise/performance ratio to what your system requires. The technique is called
acoustic management. However, only certain drives currently support this fea-
ture. You can read more from the
“Definitive Maxtor Silent Store Guide”
and
get
the to ol from Maxtor
.
Completely silent computers will need to use solid state memory like ash
drives or eeprom, which have no moving parts and make no noise. This is
more expensive and has less capacity than a normal hard drive, so it can’t be
considered a mainstream storage solution, yet could su ce for a web-browsing
PC. At the moment, hard drives are the only practical storage solution except
in very specialised circumstances, though this will likely soon change with the
rapidly dropping price of ash memory.
Other
• Steel cases are quiter than aluminum ones, because the denser material
vibrates less easily.
• Quiet cases are available, containing noise-damping acoustic foam. There
are 3rd-party acoustic foams that you may decide to add as well.
• Experiment with rubber or foam washers when mounting drives and fans.
These will dampen any vibration these devices cause.
• Keep cables tied up and neat. Not only will this keep them clear of fans
(which could quickly cause dangerous heat build-up), but the reduced
impedence of air ow throughout your case will make things cooler. Flat,
ribbon-shaped cables can safely be folded up to a fraction of their original
width.
• Make sure your case has rubber or foam feet if it rests on a hard surface.
Placing it on carpeting will also reduce vibrations.
• Underclocking will reduce system performance, but you can also then re-
duce the CPU voltage, and power consumption as a whole. Noisy fans may
then also be operated at reduced speed or eliminated altogether, as the
computer will produce less heat. The converse of the diminishing-returns
law for overclo cking is that underclo cking can prove surprisingly e ective.
• The really obvious, but surprisingly e ective: keep the computer under
your desk or even in a closed cupboard, rather than under or beside your
monitor.
NOTE: No matter what technique you use to quiet the machine, be sure to
keep a steady supply of fresh air over all components. Don’t put your machine

SEE ALSO
69
in a closed cupboard unless you are sure heat will not be an issue. If you
use acoustic foams, be sure they aren’t acting as insulators, too—and keeping
components hot.
See also
•
Noise from cooling fans
External links
•
Silent PC review
•
Microchip AN771: Suppressing Acoustic Noise in PWM Fan Speed Con-
trol Systems
•
“The Buzz on Quieter Computers”
article by Daniel Greenberg in The
Washington Post, September 3, 2006.
•
Technorati “silent PC” blog posts
•
“A Plea for Silence” by Loyd Case (ExtremeTech)
•
“How to Quiet Your PC” by Jason Cross (ExtremeTech)
•
“a diskless, fanless, completely silent PC”
•
fit-PC: a fanless PC that runs Linux or WindowsXP
•
Koolu: a fanless PC that runs Linux
;
Ko olu wiki
•
“Building a Silent PC: My Quest for Quiet” by Terry Gray
•
the oil-cooled computer wiki
(in German) and
oil-co oled computer discus-
sion forum
(in English)
•
“Quiet PCs shhh” by Thomas Ricker (oil-cooled computer)
•
“Aquarium Full of Oil For PC Cooling” on slashdot
•
“Want a Cool and Quiet PC? Dunk it in Oil” on slashdot
•
”Xoxide Resource Center: Building a Quiet Computer

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CHAPTER 5. SILENCING

Conclusion
•
live version
If you’re serious youve probably at least glanced over this book as you considered
•
discussion
building your own computer, and I hope it has inspired you to go ahead with
that pro ject. Throughout weve tried to steer you clear of some of the pitfalls
•
edit
and alert you to some of the safety issues involved, and in so doing, we have
undoubtedly overemphasized the dangers and di culty. In so oth, its pretty
•
comment
hard to hurt yourself building a computer and most people get through their
•
report an error
first build without burning up any parts. With a little planning, anyone who
can use a screwdriver can build a computer.
The computer you build will always mean a little bit more to you than
one you buy, not least because you designed it yourself and will no doubt be
upgrading it from time to time for years to come. You may find a little smile
of satisfaction creeping onto your face each time you hit the power button, and
I think youll find that smile is an ample return for your time and e ort.
Lastly, if you go through with it and build you own PC, youre bound to run
into something we’ve missed here; a problem we didnt anticipate, something we
forgot to mention, or something that has changed recently. If you do, please
come back here and add to or change this bo ok. You dont have to know every-
thing to contribute, just one thing thats true. If this guide has helped you at
all, think of it as payback.
71

72
CONCLUSION

Appendix A
External links
•
live version
Related Wikibooks
•
discussion
•
Computer Know How
for tips on using your computer.
•
edit
•
Computer Hardware
and
A Plus Certification
for technical details on what
•
comment
each part do es.
•
report an error
•
Buyers Guide For Building a Computer
Related Wikipedia articles
•
Case modding
•
Personal computer
•
IBM PC compatible
•
Desktop computer
discussion forums
•
Elephant Staircase wiki
sometimes discussing computer case mo dding.
•
“build your own arcade” wiki
•
the overclocking wiki
•
overclocker’s club forum
•
case modding forum
•
lrechner-Wiki
– a wiki about running computers submersed in oil as a
silent way of cooling.
73

74 APPENDIX A. EXTERNAL LINKS
Operating systems
Here are some links to Windows and Linux pages which might be useful when
you have to choose an operating system. Be careful and do your research to
make sure you get the OS that’s right for you. To download the CD images
(*.iso) for making installment CDs, you will want to have a DSL connection or
faster, since files are often around 700 MB (the size of one CD). Some distros
are larger than one CD.
Downloading tips
1. Download each ISO file seperately. If you do them all at the same time,
it will eat bandwidth and take lots of time to download.
2. Do not use dialup! It takes 3 hours to download a 12 MB Internet Explorer
install package on dialup. Dialup is also shared bandwidth, so if you
download, everything for most other people goes extremely slow.
3. Don’t download anything you think is unsafe. I recommend downloading
items with proper names and the names of companies. Don’t download
something like “WW32@Bugbear.3.E” or “timestamp maker”. Download
stu like “Adobe Acrobat 7.0.7” or “Macromedia Flash Professional”.
4. Virus check, and validate with the file’s MD5 checksum before using. This
ensures the download is not rigged or damaged.
Linux
Fedore Core
Based on Redhat, this is the newest Redhat supported distro
available. Has most of the features that Redhat once including a new
“bleeding edge” interface. This has become about the second most pow-
erful Linux distros on the web.
The Mandriva Distribution
A common one with multiple uses.
The SUSE Distribution
Comes in all shapes and sizes. The OSS or the
“Open Source Editon” is a set of four downloadable isos with many open-
source programs that are useful if you want a low cost o ce. The Novell
Editon is the paid for edition including stu like StarO ce, Mesa, com-
mercial/proprietary software. So if you have a business, where you want
quality and go od tools for your money then buy that.
The
Ubuntu
distros A very popular distribution, Ubuntu is an attempt at
“user friendly” Linux. Canonical Ltd. started Ubuntu with a 10 million
dollar grant, and in less than a year has become a ma jor player in the Linux
field. All these distros can be configured as servers as well as running on
their own.

OPERATING SYSTEMS
75
•
Ubuntu
The standard Ubuntu edition comes packaged with GNOME
and lots of other open source software.
•
Kubuntu
The same as the Ubuntu edition, except it runs KDE (K
Desktop Environment) instead of GNOME.
•
Edubuntu
Edubuntu in the educational release of Ubuntu running
GNOME or KDE and having more than 100 educational pieces de-
signed for use in the classro om. In fact, five school districts in the
United States now use the Edubuntu product, but of its educational
functionality.
•
Xubuntu
Ubuntu with the Xfce desktop. Good for lower-end systems.
Live CDs
Live CD Linux Distros are some distros that you can use in kiosk mode or
just for testing out the system. They are very useful for demonstrating the
capabilities of Linux.
•
Knoppix
•
SlaX
(Note: SlaX can run on a USB key)
Advanced Linux distros
Note: this section is only for pros. If you do not want to damage your newly built
computer, stick with a Linux distibution above, or ask your nearest computer
geek to help you. This is your final warning!
Gentoo
Gentoo is an advanced Linux distribution with one of a few nice fea-
tures including Portage. When you connect to the Internet, there is a
portage folder which has thousands of software, and software libraries at
your disposal. Cons: Need a geek to set it up. Refer to the instruction
manual on the Gento o Documentation page before you commence instal-
lation.
Slackware
Goo d Distro, though not up to date with go od graphical interfaces.
If you want something newer, get a distro above. Cons: Requires a geek
to install apps in Slackware.
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
is an operating system started in the late 80s after Apple
Computer created the Macintosh. This is the OS running on the ma jority of
PCs. Unlike open source systems like Linux, Windows is proprietary, and so
must be purchased with a license. It is relatively easy to use, and runs on all
PCs (except for Apple PCs, which run Apple’s proprietary MacOS).

76 APPENDIX A. EXTERNAL LINKS

Appendix B
Document Information &
History
History
This bo ok was created on the
Wikibo oks
pro ject and developed on the pro ject
by the contributors listed in Appendix
B
, page
77
. For convenience, this PDF
was created for download from the project. The latest Wikibo oks version may be
found at
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_To_Assemble_A_Desktop_PC
.
PDF Information & History
This PDF was complied from
L
TEX
on September 1, 2007, based on the Septem-
A
ber 1, 2007
Wikibooks textbook
. The latest version of the PDF may be found at
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Image:How_To_Assemble_A_Desktop_PC.pdf
.
Authors
AlbertCahalan
,
Andreas Ipp
,
Az1568
,
B9 hummingbird hovering
,
BimBot
,
Bpogi
,
DavidCary
,
Derbeth
,
Easyas12c
,
Everlong
,
Gcprakashh
,
Geocachernemesis
,
Hagin-
daz
,
HenryLewis
,
Herbythyme
,
Hyperlink
,
I Hate My User Name
,
Jcarroll
,
Jguk
,
Joecool94
,
JoiseyBill
,
Jomegat
,
KunalThaggarse
,
Mann Ltd
,
Noogz
,
Pinky49
,
PurplePieman
,
Reub2000
,
Robert Horning
,
Scottmso
,
Slothrop
,
Titoxd
,
Tlau-
gle
,
Webaware
,
Whiteknight
,
Withinfocus
,
Wknight8111
,
Yayyak
, and anony-
mous contributors.
77

78 APPENDIX B. DOCUMENT INFORMATION

Appendix C
GNU Free Documentation
License
Version 1.2, November 2002
Copyright c 2000,2001,2002 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA
Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this license
document, but changing it is not allowed.
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The purpose of this License is to make a manual, textbook, or other func-
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considered responsible for modifications made by others.
This License is a kind of “copyleft”, which means that derivative works of the
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We have designed this License in order to use it for manuals for free software,
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1. APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS
79

80 APPENDIX C. GNU FREE DOCUMENTATION LICENSE
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81
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satisfy these conditions, can be treated as verbatim copying in other respects.

82 APPENDIX C. GNU FREE DOCUMENTATION LICENSE
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E. Add an appropriate copyright notice for your modifications adjacent to
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83
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84 APPENDIX C. GNU FREE DOCUMENTATION LICENSE
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6. COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS
You may make a collection consisting of the Document and other do cuments
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85
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86 APPENDIX C. GNU FREE DOCUMENTATION LICENSE
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To download all in a pdf format please click below.

HISTORY OF BHIMAVARAM

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:36:00 +0000

Historical background :

Bhimavaram is a temple town of Lord Someswara, which is one of the five famous holy Pancharamas (five holy shrines of Lord Shiva). It is a pilgrim town, Where the king of Eastern Chalukya kings king Chalukya Bheema in the year 890-918 A.D he himself laid foundation and constructed a Siva temple. It is present Gunupudi. In the name of king Chalukya Bheema a town (puram) Bhimapuram developed.Bhimapuram gradually changed into present Bhimavaram town. Bhimavaram is the gift of king Chalukya Bheema. It is now developed into a prominent town. According to holy scriptures 'Bheema' means Lord Eeswara (lord Siva).

In the years 1120-1130 Bhimavaram main road linked with its adjacent villages Vissakoderu, Undi, Peda Amiram, in and around full of mango groves, and with Palmyra, tamarind and pipal trees. Then it is a Smallwood with thorny bushes. Difficult to walk even to pedestrians. In the year 1150 some migrate families cut the trees, cleared the thorn bushes, and leveled the land to dwell and settled. It is said by the elders then Bhimavaram is neither a town nor a village. It is in between even in the year 1935.

At present Bhimavaram :

Now present bhimavaram is a centre of aqua and paddy business. prime centre of commerce and business, a fully developed education centre with many education Institutions. Present with a population of 2 lakhs, divided into 39 wards geographically. Now it is upgraded as a selection grade Municipality. It is a prominent cultural centre. It is an epicenter of district political activities, facilitated with all Regional offices. It is a town where the per capita income is high. Here all products from cottage products to multinational sophisticated products available. It is not only an agricultural town but also aqua culture town. It is producing rich aqua wealth in our country and it is next to Cochin. (a major seaport city in Kerala state of India abundant with rich aqua wealth).

Bhimavaram is connected to by road and rail to all major cities. It has two railway stations (junction and town stations) and a bus station with a bus depot with several fleet of buses. It has train facility connected to metropolitan cities, such as Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkota and connected with a train to temple city "Tirupathi".

Bhimavaram now progressing with overall development. It is a town of many religions, castes and sub castes. It is a cosmopolitan town with communal harmony and religious tolerance.

Political Back Ground

ravindrasden@gmail.com (ravindra) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:35:00 +0000

The British a nation of shopkeepers set their foot as traders. By getting advantage of petty quarrels, and personal feuds (rivalry) among the local Lords got control over vast area in the name of "East India Company". They ruled with a policy "Divide-and Rule". They get present coastal districts (present circar districts). i.e (Chicacole, Vizianagaram, Vizagapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, Ongole, and Nellore districts from Nizam rulers. In the year 1857 a great Rebellion or Revolt took place. In 1857 East India Company transferred its rule to her Majesty. Her Majesty the Empress of England "Queen Victoria" got control over India. Her Majesty appointed a special secretary for Indian affairs with a cabinet rank.

In 1885 Indian National Congress formed. Activated both educated and peasants. In 1905 "Lord Curzon" bifurcated Bengal into two states. i.e "East Bengal" and "West Bengal"). According to Curzon it is for administration convenience but for Indian patriots it is a clear cut division between Hindus and Muslims with a cynical plan.

The people all over India strongly opposed this action. The ambition of reunion of Bengal leads to "Vandemataram Movement" (bow my head on the feet of mother India). It has its impact in West Godavari district- BHIMAVARAM also. Prior to the formation of West Godavari District as a separate District, it is a part in Krishna district. Great noble men like Sri Mutnuri Krishna Rao (The editor of "KRISHNA" journal), Sri Gadicharla Hari Sarvothama Rao, Avutupalli Narayana Rao toured Bhimavaram inspired youth with their emotional orations, they brought patriotic fervour among youth and peasantry.

In 1920 Mahatma Gandhi started Non-Cooperation movement. It raised the urge of Nationalism in Bhimavaram. Many patriots, Lawyers left their lucrative practice and joined in National Movement. Teachers, students, Munsiffs (heads appointed by British in villages), Patwaris or karanams (tax collectors and land revenue record keepers at village level) left their jobs and joined freedom struggle.

With the call for Mahatma Gandhiji's a small town once unknown to other regions stop paying of taxes to British Government. They rebel against the Mighty British. On knowing this movement, Gandhiji praised Bhimavaram in his journal "Harijan" named Bhimavaram as the Second Bardoli.

In 1931 on January 26th people celebrated "Poornaswaraj" (total independence day) in spite of prohibitory orders imposed by British to conduct Rallies and public meetings in Bhimavaram.

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