The Complete Build Your Own PC Manual The essential manual to A iIdin a computerThe Complete Manual Series Available on Readly orn MA oo) a = @ Tie | Coding Dear Raspberry een] Ld cea recone . The Complete Internet Cloud uri Networkink i Seouy ft Mes ore a £6) Papercut For a full list of titles available please visit: www.pclpublications.comThe Complete Build Your Own PC Manual Your essential step-by-step guide to building your own computer from planning to completion. Building your own PC is not something everyone will want or need to do. It takes some time, planning and careful thought and is not always the best possible way to get a new computer within your budget. However, if you want to feel a great sense of satisfaction, save money, learn more about how computers work and set yourself up to be able to solve hardware problems in the future, we recommend it to anyone. If you need to either get your first PC or replace an old one, this guide, aimed at the first time builder, takes you through every step: from planning the system to installing components and adding essential software. es) Papercut www.pclpublications.comBOISE MERCOMSIOC MAC ROL 32 Choosing a Graphics Card (GPU) SOMO eres scum Fame eee POs eaters) PR oT ON ee ene ster Oa CR Ure 42__ Expansion Cards and Extras POMmRen esata 44 CPU and Case Cooling 24 The Right RAM = sR MEM Maelo 28 HDD, SSD or Both? Te Teh ode taneee eesContents o Installing Software PYM ee ata a SOS cect sein Windows 7 or 8.1 MU een nea nares ele 1oct TiO Une aC aaeedacnemenes ocMmareet hace enn cris 110 __ Upgrading to a Solid State Drive (SSD) Wc es On soe) : eee reer t AA ne Se Tene ae ea i A ie ta Ema ane Carne Kener (areas ed 68 Fitting the Motherboard into the Case SP eeMGD)) Meee nes Mm se erste me ea Pomme ONE ne carns ead La ROU eee Mle ese1e18 eeeoe Plan Your Bhildiye Plan Your Build It is important before you start to build, that you make sure you have done some forward planning. Proper planning helps ROR Rural Mmmm ly Nee) Ue AEE CMR Rete R RUE ROR Tire) most of your budget. This section also helps you to better OTe RU Ue ie eM TC Ceeearn the main differe ommon Windows; E7v4 Intel® Xeon® _ | CHOOSING APC CASE CHOOSING A PROCESSOR HDD, SSD OR BOTH? Learn what to look orn a good PC ca ate ece are several ferent 0 Jropped and which features should be important categories of processor from both considerably but cots not theo 0 you a pute hese main chip ma nsideratio i NEED MORE POWER? ‘AUTIONS.Plan Your Build 10 Reasons to Build Your Own PC There are many reasons for building your own PC and if you took five different builders, all five might have a completely different reason for wanting to undertake this task. Here are our top ten reasons for choosing and enjoying to build PC after PC, in all shapes and sizes, for gaming, media and work. 1, PICK EXACTLY THE COMPONENTS YOU NEED. Shop around enough and throw enough money around and you will almost certainly be able to find a pre-built PC that matches your desired spec list. However, fyou have a budget, and let's face it, many of us will have finding an offthe-shelf PC that perfectly matches your needsis quite hard. Build your own and you can pick exactly the right parts you want, to best provide yourself with the capabilities required. = 7 W V -— S* 9s ad 2. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF DEALS. Ifyou are clever and shop around, pick the right time to buy and are prepared to perhaps wait a while for something to be reduced, you can definitely get more bang for your buck by building your own PC. We saved over £50 on our chosen CPU simply because one of the component retailers that sends us| newsletters had a flash (1 day) sale. We could have just saved the money but instead added itto our graphics card budget. 8 wpelpblcatonscom 3. THE SATISFACTION FACTOR Nowadays, many people never really get the chance to build something for themselves but there really are few better feelings, than those you get from successfully planning and building something with your awn hands. Even more so, with something. ‘as seemingly complicated as.a PC. Evenif you do not manage to save a huge amount of money, and massive savings arent always possible in today’s world of cheaper and cheaper pre-built systems, the satisfaction you can get certainly makes up for. 4, UNDERSTANDING YOUR PC BETTER Building your own PC isa great learning process. You will earn skills and techniques that can only help you use your PC more ficiently and confidently throughout it’s usable life. While you won't suddenly bean expert PC engineer, you will certainly understand how your PC works more clearly and be ina better position to notice i things go wrong ater. I also makes the task ‘of upgrading components less daunting.5, SPREAD THE COST Ifyou are prepared to commit to building your own PC, you can spread the cost without resorting to geting credit, Buy a ‘component each month for six months and you will have almost ‘everything you need, allthe major parts anyway, without having, to lay out a lump sum. You can of course, buy the parts in any order but we suggest leaving the processor, motherboard and graphics card until ast These arethe ‘ones most Ukely to see technology updates over that time, 6, AVOID BLOATWARE \When you buya pre-made PC, especialy from one ofthe big chain stores, tis kel to have software preinstalled. Some ofthis might be useful but often itis not. You willthen either have to spend time Cleaning this stuff of, you are even initially aware itisthere, or Wve vith t on your PC, When yourbuild your own PC, you choose what pesto! 7. PICK THE PERFECT CASE Youcan buy pre-built Pcs ina fairy wide range of styles from LED lt gaming tomers to tiny media boxes. ifhowever,youwanta case that is more unusual, findinga pre-built ‘computer is much harder As longas youplan your buid propery, you can use almost any of the thousands of efferent cases available, rom bright ‘orange statement towers, tocamouflage painted Portable LAN boxes. a 10 Reasons to Build Your Own PC 8. BETTER COOLING Even fairly cheap cases now come with cable ‘management options and with several places to add fans, Thismeans that you cantuck away the PSU cables so that they do not Impede airflow and you can add ‘more fans later for increased cnolingtoo. f you buy a mid-tier case then you will typically get 2 oF fans, ‘maybe more witha high-end ‘one. Having good airflow, a pod heatsink forthe CPU and a graphics card witha good cooler means that all, your components willbe ‘well cooled. That means better longevity. 9. BETTER OS OPTIONS You can utilise slightly older OS. One thing holding a lot of people back from a new computer's the reluctance to adopt ‘Windows 10 and previously, Windows 8. Today retailers sell the vvast majority oftheir new hardware with Windows 8 or 10 preinstalled, whether you want it or not. Building your own machine offers the ability to load on your preferred OS: 7 if you ‘would rather stick with the familia, 10 ifyou are ready to make ‘the jump or GNU/Linux you really want something different. ® ubuntu 10. SELF-BUILDING IS FUN! ‘Owning a self-bult PC s great fun. The process isfllof packages artving, opening packages, putting things together and leaning ‘what goes where and why and how. Discovering anew trick for routing cables beter or learning about a faster type of transfer cable becomes exciting! You will love your new rig more than you could ‘ever ove one from a store because it takes you beyond mere hardware ownership and bestows hardware familiarity. vmapelpubcatonscom — 9Plan Your Build Choosing the System Type For most people who want to build their own PC, there are only two real choices when it comes to the system type, Intel or AMD. There are advantages to choosing either one of these options, which might not be immediately obvious to the very new builder. It might also not be obvious that compatibility problems can occur ifyou don't understand the difference between these two PC platforms. Your choice here will definitely influence every major component purchase you make later. I Why Choose Intel? intel. Intelis probably the better known PC platform and almost certainly has larger fllowing amongst PC builders around the lobe. Thisis largely because they lead the world in processor development, offer a wider range of chips and are better supported by ather component manufacturers. though intl’ advances in CPU technology has slowed in recent years, they are still constantly improving and refining ther chips. Ifyou are building a gaming or multimedia PC, Intel is probably the better choice and not only because their processors generally, offer beter speed and power, along with good overclocking properties on the K-seres processors, for the money. The choice ‘of CPU dictates the choice of motherboard (or vice versa) and some of the best gaming motherboards are made fo intel chips, so it makes sense to go down this route, ee a — Trying to keep up with the latest developments from Intel is ‘expensive, as you will always pay a premium for the latest chip and will also then need to make sure that you choose a ‘motherboard with a compatible socket. However, advancesin chip design also means that predecessor chips become more affordable and give you opportunities tofind a powerful bargain 10 wwpelpbtcatonscomChoosing the System Type I Why Choose AMD? if you are building on a budget, or if you are not worried about your PC being able to handle more taxing processing actions such {3s gaming or video editing, AMD could be for you. Not only are [AMD processors and motherboards usually cheaper than Inte, they also give you the option to combine the CPU and aGPU ina single unit: the APU. That isnt to say that AMD processors are completely unsuitable for gaming rigs, because some of the higher-end Ryzen CPUs now offer similar performance to Intel i7 or even 9, but you are {going for pure power, AMD may not be the best cholee, There is. ‘also a smaller choice with AMD and some of the processor architecture stil available to buy is getting near to the end ofits effective lf, The latest AMD gaming processors, in the AMA Ryzen family, include something for everyone and every budget. Ryzen 3 are the cheapest and lowest-powered, followed by the Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7. All include X versions (e.g. 2700X) which allow for ‘overclocking. The Ryzen family also includes a high-end version called the Threadripper, which uses a diferent socket (TRA) to allow up to a huge 32 cores and 6A threads. AMD also recently launched the EPYC range of CPU's, although these are aimed more at servers and other HPC workloads. hichever platform you choose, and both can result ina great fist PC, you ned to make sure that you ee ee ee ey eee will need a Peer ees etn eae eect tere) Re eceeeem eet Tene et eT ee 5 eee eee att reeset here tt vwomapelpubcatonscom LLPeer C) Yh Ty = ay! ny, easy a PC Case eT gee ee dee gee aM eed of case for your build is now much wider than it was ust a few years ago. From simple black boxes, to LED-it windowed showcases, there isa case style out there for everyone. However, choosing a case should be about Gon eee ne Nhe aa ca difference between a good and a great first build. Fenn ——Making Your Choice Choosing a PC Case ‘As with any purchase, there are several things you need to consider before you choose a case. Getting things wrong here could mean a difficult build or additional expense later. CASE SIZE Unless you have a very specific function planned for your PC, media Box or portable, i is best to choose the size based on the hardware you want to ft inside. For most frst time builders, a mid size tower is probably the best mix of size, budget and range of styles available f your intial build is a stepping stone to agaming rig, you might want to think about getting an E-ATX case from the start, You can read more about the different ‘ase sizes available on the next page. BUDGET ifyouare on a tight budget with this build, you are probably going to get better value for money with a mATX case You can expect to pay anything from £25 to £300 (530 to $350) for a mATX case, depending ‘on brand, quality and features. You really don't need to spend a fortune, as really ood qualty starter cases are available from around £40 ($45).Youcan expect to pay closer to £100 ($115) fora half decent E-ATX case and double that fora high-spec one. Our advice isto go fora cheaper big name case: Thermaltake, Coolermaster, Corsair, Antec et. rather than a flashy one from a lesser-known brand, seek Seas vith a PSU. Thes eee Torre ete cen erent. reese — ee ent cautious and check the spec ofeach before you buy STYLE “hiss very much a personal choice. Some builders wil ke the Windowed, vented and LED lt gamer-style cases; others wil prefer the understated black boxstyle, There are cases in almost every style imaginable but just make sure that you don't choose style over substance. Ia cases cheap but seems to have alot of extemal design elements, it could well be that the quality onthe insides, lacking. Our Thermaltake Core VBLisa nice mix of understated and modem gamer, with a ‘window to show off theinside, a sleek mesh front and great build quality and ll for ust £40 (645). FEATURES Although this should probably be higher up the list, we have piteand otenaly syed ae hat ier ug tener 140mm fans, a GS ane sovidbemade intent supply usually fall more int the budget B ma pelpubleaonscomPlan Your Build PC Case Sizes There are several different case sizes available, from Mi within these form factors but certain rules always apply. FULL TOWER (E-ATX) Fulltower, or Extended ATX, cases are generally larger than the standard ATX cases and almost always the most expensive off-the-shelf cases you can buy. E-ATX cases are mostly designed tobe gaming orserver cases, with lots of room insidefor massive sraphics cards (somehigh lend GFX cards are up to ‘30cm long, water cooling radiators and case fans. Fulltower cases usually have more expansion slots atthe back, a least two, and up tofour, front fans anda side panel window. These large cases are normally only suitable for E-ATKand ATX motherboards. MIDI TOWER (ATX) "Midi tower or mid tower were orginally known simply as tower or [ATK cases but since the arival ofE-ATX, the more descriptive name isused to show thatthey are between fll and mini towers. Mid tower cases are where you willfind the most choice, and probably the best value for money. You can spend alte or alot and as long asyou choose careful, still gta case perfect for your build. ATX cases wil usually accept ATX, Mini ATK and Micro ATX motherboards but itisworth double- checking before purchase, Our case isamidl tower 14 wwpelpletonscom ITX to full tower. Styles and sizes vary MICRO ATX Micro ATX, which ar often labelled as mATX or cube cases, are perfect for those with a lack of space and who don't need tft high lend GPXcards, water cooling, et. Just as with any othertype of case, mATX cases are available in arange of styles and at a range of prices. Smaller doesn't need tomean cheaper and less innovative, Building a PC with ‘amATK case takes abit more planning than the previous twosizes we have dliscussed. Most graphics cards that wil ft in an ATX or EATK case, without you havingto think about t, Won't fit in many mATX. cases, The same applies tolarge CPU coolers. MINI ITX, ‘The smallest ofthe four main case form factors, TX or Min TX are ‘most often cubes but you can also find some that are ike mini tower cases. These allow fr very compact builds, for media PCs and often include features that allow them to be moved around easy with carryinghandles, ec, You wi have to use a special TX motherboard with this type of case but you should be ableto ft a mid-size rephics card into many of them. The ITXform factorisafalrly recent addition to the PC case ranges and because they are quite specialist, our choice of styles wil beslightly more limited than with more common sizes.Inside Your Case Here we take a look inside the Thermaltake Core V31 case that we are using in our build and Cee Te it are ee ped ava “The Core V31 comes with two fans installed, one atthe front and one at ‘the back, both of which are important for airflow. There are mounting eae 2 CUT OUTS FOR CABLES OR PIPES Poe er ere ets eg eee ee ety nd 3 TOOLLESS DRIVE TRAYS “The optical drive tray at the top and the HDD tray at the bottom are both toolles designs, sono screws to undo. Both ofthesetrayscan Peirce Eecenieen 4 EXPANSION SLOTS “The case provides the standard eight expansion slots that ATK cases Pee eee eens Poe eos EMU eles See eee eee eres Cee ene a eee SS etn sca CT PRU AURS ‘As youcan see this case provides mounting fortwo sizes of Ge en Ou ey required positions. ore eree 6Plan Your Build A ut) iV Motherboards Te ea geet dye ea cna ered aee eat the CPU you are going to use. However, ifyou want to get the best out of your new PC, you really need to choose Ce ee OO ae ee Tae ease center designed for general use or office work. Over the next few pages we will look at the many different Geer ee ara PCRChoosing a Motherboard Motherboards The motherboard (or mainboard) in your PC is the foundation of everything else you plan to ‘add, so it makes sense to ensure you choose the best one possible. INTEL OR AMD Your only real choice of processor is going to be between Intel ‘and AMD and so your choice of motherboard is going to be based initially, on which processor type you have decided to go with, Intel are the market leaders, with the fastest and mest powerful processors among thelr range. However, AMD make some very ‘00d processors and they tend to be considerably cheaper, soif you are on a very tight budget, this could be an option, Once you have decided which to use, your search for a motherboard can be narrowed down slightly. intel. SOCKET TYPE Although all processors might look, onthe outside, pretty identical they are almost continually being improved and updated, and will only fit into certain sockets. Once more your motherboard choice is going to be dictated by the processor you plan to use. We are using an Intel Core iS-6600K processor in our build, so our motherboard had to have an LGA 1151 socket. It ‘wouldn't have fitted into the slightly newer LGA 2011 socket used by an Intel Core 7-6800K. AMD use a different but similar system. Here your choice will be between AML, AM3+, FM2 and FM2s. Whichever you go for, make sure the motherboard socket matches your CPU, ort will be an expensive mistake. MOTHERBO ee! rire eee evecare Peete. ‘ ei tenet See eer ca ao eee Pea ater eee CHIPSET (INTEL) Assumingyouhave chosen to build with an intel CP, the next step to narrowing down your motherboard search Isto choose a chipset. A chipsets simply a set of electronic componentsin an integrated circuit, so chipset types are really just a way of. denoting different combinations of ‘motherboard features. Choosing between them is usually about what you plan to use the PC for ‘mainly. Gaming chipsets like 2170 and 297 Expresstend to allow cverclacking and multiple graphics cards, H chipsets (HS7, H110, etc) are usually more mainstream, losing the overclocking feature for example. Q and B chipsets are aimed more at business or rron-media builds FORM FACTOR Hopefully you now know the socket and chipset type you want Your motherboard to have, so now itis time to decide on the size ‘or form factor of the board. Motherboards are unequally divided into four main sizes (largest to smallest): E-ATK, ATX, mATX and ITX (or Mini TX). Whilst its possible to find boards in each size with a full complement of features, this is more about matching, the motherboard to the case you are using, or vice versa. E-ATX boards will only it in E-ATX cases; ATX wil fit in ATX and often E-ATK; mATX wil ft in ATX and mATX cases; and ITX normally only fits in TX cases. ATK is the most standard of the sizes, so you will have a better choice and be more likely to get a good deal, El graphic a ots, bat are re meee avis oes ae vmapetpubcatonscom 7