1

How To Assemble A Desktop

PC
by Wikibooks contributors

Created on Wikibooks, the open content textbooks

collection.

Copyright 2007 Wikibooks contributors.

Permission
is
granted
to
copy,
distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free
Documentation License, Version 1.2 or
any later version published by the Free
Software Foundation; with no Invariant
Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no
Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license
is included in the section entitled GNU Free Documentation
License.

Contents
Introduction 1
1 Choosing the parts
3
What operating system am I going to use? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
What will be the main function of the computer? . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Do I plan on overclocking my computer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Do I plan on underclocking my computer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Can I use any of the parts from my old computer? . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Where do I find the parts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11
What should affect the choice of any part/peripheral? . . . . . . . . .
12 Primary components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15 Secondary components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
29 Peripherals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

10
10

2 Assembly 37
Tools and equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Preparation .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
39 Power up
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Additional hardware and peripherals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3

Software 49
Operating system(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Security
...................................
52
Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
4

Overclocking
57
Things that cant be overclocked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
58
Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Getting
the few extra MHz out of a chip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
62
External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
i
Silencing 65
Fans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Water
cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
66 Oil cooling
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Hard disk . . . . . . . .
..........................
67 Other
.............
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 See also
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
69
Conclusion

71

A External links
73
Related Wikibooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
73 Related
Wikipedia articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
73 discussion
forums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Operating systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
B

Document Information
77
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
77 PDF
Information & History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
77

GNU Free Documentation License 79

1. APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
79
2. VERBATIM COPYING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
81 3.
COPYING IN QUANTITY
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
4. MODIFICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
82
5. COMBINING DOCUMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
84 6.
COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 7.
AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS
........
85 8. TRANSLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
85 9. TERMINATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
85 10. FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE
.......
.....
85
ADDENDUM: How to use this License for your documents . . . . . . 86

ii

Introduction
live version
Building and assembling a computer, for those who have a
penchant to do so, may be a very rewarding experience. If you
are reading How To Assemble A Desktop PC (Personal
Computer), you are probably contemplating building or
assembling a computer instead of purchasing one pre-built or
pre-assembled. Building or assembling a desktop PC is a viable
option for many people and may bring significant benefits, such
as:
Learning about computer components and how they fit and work
together;
Understanding
computer;

the

internal

and

hardware

workings

of

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 prefabricated and assembled may also be contraindicated for certain
people and may pose a significant challenge if you:
Dont 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 packaging and checking to ensure that everything is present;

Are
disinterested
in assembling
items
and
components
into a custombuilt
PC
designed
and built
accordin
g to your
own
specifica
tions;
1
discussion
edit
comment
report
error

an

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 warranty/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
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 on.
A computer is made up of a case, also called a chassis, which
houses several internal components, and the external components,
including peripherals. Inside the case go the following internal parts:
live version
discussion
edit
comment
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 off, 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
Video Card/Graphics Card/GPU does 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 wont 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
otherwise?
3. How much can you afford 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,
youll 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? 9

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 processors
(especially from AMD or Intel) will work with the Windows XP
operating system.
For other hardware, see Microsofts compatibility list.

Linux hardware support lists

As one of the most popular free operating systems, Linux is a very
good alternative. It has versions for many different 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 different
versions of Linux, produced by different 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 different distros will
support different 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 wont be too old.

BSDs hardware support lists

DesktopBSD, see FreeBSD 5.4/i386 and FreeBSD 5.4/amd64

Dragonfly BSD

FreeBSD

NetBSD

10 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

OpenBSD

PC-BSD, see FreeBSD 6.0/i386

What will be the main function of the

computer?
If youre going to build a computer from scratch for a specific
purpose, youll want to keep that purpose in mind when choosing
your components; dont just 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 offer adequate Internet browsing and wordprocessing capabilities. For an office 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 good 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 processor or 3D graphics card. A modestly 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

WHAT WILL BE THE MAIN FUNCTION OF THE COMPUTER? 11

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/keyboard, and case/power supply in that order.

Office computer
An office computer can be expected to do word processing,
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
office 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.
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 staff) 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
MP3s and homework 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 internet.
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

12 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

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 usually 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 shooters 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
reflections and a lot of other confusing terminology that describes
visual effects designed to make your system fall down on its knees
and cry like a little girl.
So youre going to need the fastest processor you can afford 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 wont be enough, so youll need to offload 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 GPUs (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 GPUs are released, it seems, twice
a month. So do your research and buy the best current cards you
can afford.
The other component which can offload some of the burden from
your CPU is a good audio card. The DSPs (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 afford.
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 mode you choose.
Generally a serious gaming rig will require at least a 500 watt

WHAT WILL BE THE MAIN FUNCTION OF THE COMPUTER? 13

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 afford.
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 effect 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 afford 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 look more like a stereo component, the size of which
can present a challenge when it comes to getting all the necessary
parts fitted.
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 youll likely
be watching/listening in the same room. For this application it

14 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

makes sense to trade a little power for passively-cooled (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 complicated array-based simulations of real
world phenomena. The niche that these computers filled between
high end PCs and low end minicomputers has essentially
evaporated. The serious scientific applications have migrated to
clusters of PCs with near super-computer speeds, and end-user
applications, like video editing, music production and CAD, run well
on high-end PCs. 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 processor
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 chiefly 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 that. Youre spending a lot of money, usually,
for your key app, so get advice from the people who wrote it.

Other components

WHAT WILL BE THE MAIN FUNCTION OF THE COMPUTER? 15

A worthwhile addition to any computer is a basic printer; printed
webpages are portable and can be used when the computer is
turned off, 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 browsing, 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
overclocking are
generally not very expensive
(though
overclockable memory is), but the price of a component is by no
means a guarantee of its overclocking potential. Overclocking
usually voids your warranty and is risky (you can destroy your entire
computer), so be warned! You need to think hard about cooling 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 nonvolatile medium, such as DVDs or tape.

16 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

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?
computer will no longer be used. If you, or someone else, is going to
continue using your old computer, its probably best just to leave it
intact.
One important point if you are selling your old computer its a
good idea to erase the hard drive before giving it to its new owner.
Special precautions must be taken to ensure that you are not giving
away your sensitive or personal information. Dont 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 effectively
shred your data, making it unrecoverable. Driver floppies or CDs
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 its of
sufficient 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 floppy drive,
CD-ROM drive, and possibly the sound card and hard drive
(depending on how good 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 motherboard 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 install may be
necessary to allow Windows to install a new Hardware Abstraction
Layer. Back up your data before trying this.

WHAT WILL BE THE MAIN FUNCTION OF THE COMPUTER? 17

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
difference between, say, DDR and DDR2 memory.
There are several places to buy parts:
Internet retailers generally offer 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.
Auction sites like eBay and several others offer 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.
Local PC shopsTheir 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 dont
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 good
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.
Theyre usually glad to let you go through it, but dont leave a mess.
Taking advantage of this can yield incredible finds, with a price tag
of nothing or very little.

OEM vs retail

18 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

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 offer 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 differently than their
retail counterparts, parts may be clocked slower, and ports or
features may be missing. Again, do your research.

What should affect the choice of any

part/peripheral?
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 manufacturers 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 youre
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.)

WHAT WILL BE THE MAIN FUNCTION OF THE COMPUTER? 19

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, GPUs, 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 cooler
we can make these parts, the better.
If you are not going to overclock your system, stock air cooling,
when paired with a good case with adequate fans, should be
enough to keep your system cool. If you want a quiet computer then
components designed for passive ( fanless ) cooling can be paired
with very low noise case fans (or a well-vented case). In general,
high-end parts will require more attention to cooling.
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
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 overclocking. Its 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

20 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

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 youve 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 offer perks such as free
shipping, limited warranties, or 24-hour tech support. Many
websites, such as CNET and ZDNet offer 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 room 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 dont 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

21

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 off 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 impractical 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 anyones taste. And as current components
require much more power, power supply quality and size is an
important issue
If you are only building an office 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 wont be
running a high-end processor or graphics card. As a guide, youll
want a power supply with a rating of more than 300 watts; any less
wont reliably power modern 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 sufficient for your components. Power requirements are usually
listed in the manuals that came with your components. It is
important to note a power supplys 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 dont matter.

22 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

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 choose a fanless power supply
more expensive but well worth it if noise is a concern, but be sure to
monitor system temperatures to make sure cooling is adequate.
For cases and power supply here are some things to consider:
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 efficient 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 efficient 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
choose a motherboard compatible with your cases form factor.
Number of storage drive spaces
Internal hard drives/floppy drives (which
and internal CD/DVD drives (which go in
up space in the case, so make sure you
you will need and what size slot they

go in the small 3.5 bays)

the large 5.25 bays) take
consider how many drives
require. Note that optical

PRIMARY COMPONENTS

23

drives and floppy 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 doesnt go into the
case at all.
Note that its 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 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 efficient PSU. Efficient PSUs 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

24 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

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 cool
outside air in, the other pushes hot interior air out). The more air
these fans can move, the cooler 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 120s are generally preferred even though they cost a
little more. Good 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 Processing 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 affect the ultimate speed
of the computer more than any other single component.
Before we can explain the differences between CPUs, you must
first be familiar with certain CPU properties.
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 clock speed generally indicates a faster
processor. But not all CPUs perform an equal quantity of work
per cycle, meaning two CPUs at the same clock speed can
potentially perform at very different 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 motherboard, 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.

PRIMARY COMPONENTS

25

Interface (Socket/Slot) CPUs plug into a socket on the

motherboard. It is very important that your CPU is a
COMPLETE MATCH to your motherboard 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
simplification; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64-bit for
details). For our purposes 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 boost 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 its
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 product 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 .
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 effect, as will the fundamental architecture of the
core or cores themselves.
Slower processors are generally preferred for overclocking, as
they can often achieve higher overclocking percentages. Retail

26 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

CPUs 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 Toms Hardware Guide or
Anandtech. A current (as of 14 February 2006) beginners
explanation can be found at Behardware.
Multiple cores
Advantages Dual-core processors are a fairly new innovation built
by both major processor manufacturers (Intel Core Duo / Core 2 Duo
and AMD Athlon 64 X2).
Multitasking: Each processor has two processing centres (cores) for
a theoretical 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
advantage of this technology by using a technique known as
Multithreading.
Power Saving: Dual core processors (especially Intel Core Duo) have
the ability to turn off 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 CPUs 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

PRIMARY COMPONENTS

27

Often in advertisements (especially for prebuilt systems) a

processor will be described briefly, like this:
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 (=3200 MHz )
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 clock
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 suffix J signifies XD technology.
E.g. Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz L2-1MB with HT Intel Pentium 4
530 J

28 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

There is also the Core 2 Duo range out at the momentits
naming scheme is relatively normal, except for the models ending
with 50, they have 1333 mhz 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
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

PRIMARY COMPONENTS

29

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 afforded by the transition from 32bit to 64-bit
(a 32-bit address space tops out at 4 Gigabytes while a 64-bit space
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 temperatures can cause unreliable operation, such as
computer freezes, or slow operation. Extremely high temperatures
can cause immediate CPU destruction by melting 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 cooling at all. It is an extremely stupid
thing to do. Turn your computer on just to test whether my CPU
works and youll likely find that the CPU fries in less than 5 seconds
and you will be off 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 sufficient to cool the CPU at stock speed. Overclockers
might want to use a more powerful aftermarket 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 diffuse the heat

30 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

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 off 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 effective,
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 carbonbased ones perform better still. When
applied improperly both can be conductive, 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 off a considerable amount of
computing speed. The current generation of duo core processors
are more efficient than their predecessors, but give off more heat
than the Via processors. You can also underclock your CPU, giving
up some unneeded performance for some peace and quiet. Another
option is to choose a large copper heat sink with an open fin
pattern. However, true fanless operation is difficult 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 airflow 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
choose 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 different parts of the
computer together. In addition, the difference between a cheap and
a quality motherboard is typically around $100. A good

PRIMARY COMPONENTS

31

motherboard allows a modest CPU and RAM to run at maximum

efficiency 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 processor goes into. For
your processor 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 sockets, AM2, 754 and 939. The new AM2 sockets are faster
(compatible with DDR II RAM) and more efficient than the older two.
Socket 754 was aimed at the value market, while Socket 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 motherboards 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 stock cooling fan which will work well at stock speeds, stick
with this if you have any doubts.
Chipset
Chipsets are also important as they determine the efficiency of RAM
and Expansion slots
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

32 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

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 too 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) connections 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 connected 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
flow 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:
AGPfor graphics cards (ranging from AGP 1x, 2x, 4x and 8 x )
PCIfor expansion cards and low end graphics cards
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 its way out. You may come

PRIMARY COMPONENTS

33

upon ancient motherboards with neither AGP nor PCI, but please
dont waste your time trying to reuse them.
Due to the evolution of new graphics cards on the serial PCIExpress Technology, current newer motherboards have the following
connections:
PCI-Express 16x for mainstream graphics cards (4 times speed of
AGP 8 x )
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 efficiency is about 4
times that of the AGP 8 x 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 PCIExpress variants.
Other connectors
USB In addition to the USB 2.0 ports provided on the back panel,
most motherboards 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 peripherals 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 parallel ports are much less used than they used to be.
Many motherboards have dropped the parallel port (formerly
used almost exclusively for connecting 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 modem, both of
these devices now connect via USB. Unless you are connecting
some seriously old peripheral hardware, these ports will be of
minimal importance

34 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

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 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 suffice 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 choose 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 accommodate the
amount of RAM you have in mind.
Another thing to consider when choosing the amount of RAM for
your system 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
CPUs Front Side Bus (FSB). Your motherboard may not be able to

PRIMARY COMPONENTS

35

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 lowlatency RAM will help with overclocking 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, its best to check
if your machine 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 different 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).
SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic RAM) is labeled by its clock speed
in megahertz (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
efficient DDR RAM.
128MB SD-133 = 128MB PC133 RAM
DDR RAM can be labeled in two different ways. It can be labeled
by approximate bandwidth; as an example, 400MHz-effective DDR
RAM has approximately 3.2GB/s of bandwidth, so it is commonly
labeled as PC3200. It can also be labeled by its effective clock
speed; 400MHz effective 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,
( mainstream ) and DDR-533 ( rare )

DDR-333,

DDR-400

DDR2
supports
DDR-400,
DDR-533
(mainstream)
rare/expensive DDR-667, DDR-800, DDR-1066

and

36 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

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 retrieving short bursts of
information, and also allows prefetching of data. Most modern
hard drives have 8MB cache, which gives better performance
when compared to 2 MB.
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 largefor most people, somewhere in the range of
160-300GB will be sufficient. 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 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 cooling 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

PRIMARY COMPONENTS

37

both the health and temperature of your hard drive(s), its a

good idea to check from time to time.
Warranty Many manufactures offer 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
ribbon style cables. This technology is losing popularity because
SATA uses thinner cables, eliminates contention for the IDE bus that
can occur 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
worthwile on high performance workstations and servers. Few
consumer desktop motherboards built today support SCSI, and for
building a new computer, the work needed to implement it may be
outweighed by the relative simplicity and performance of IDE and
SATA. SCSI hard drives can reach

38 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

SECONDARY COMPONENTS
rotational speeds of up to 15,000 RPM, though these are
generaly prohibitively expensive.
USB or IEEE1394 can be used for connecting external drives. An
external 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
majority of home and office computers, which predominatly use 2D
graphics for office applications and web surfing can use an
onboard or integrated graphic processor which will be included on
most low to mid range motherboards. For gaming, or 3D modelling,
a good 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
products, 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. Dont be
fooled, though; memory is only part of the card and the actual video
processor is more important than the memory. It is important to
understand that an integrated graphics card uses the systems RAM,
and relies heavily on your systems 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 different needs. Many video
card and chip makers are known to measure their products
performances in ways that you may not find practical. A good video

39
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 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 DVIComponent 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 offer this option, and youll need two of
them. However, it can be a useful upgrade path to consider. A SLIcapable motherboard is usually not much more expensive than the
regular model, 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 different 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 motherboards that have integrated graphics will also
have one of the other three slot interfaces available so it isnt 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 PCIE, the cards are still available as are a few
motherboards that support them. There are 4 different 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

40 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

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
Keep in mind that to provide best picture quality your graphics
card must be capable of displaying the same resolution as your LCD
displays native resolution.

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 dont 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 major format,
DVD-RAM is almost unused, for the most part, so dont 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 block 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

41
cable problem and to make it easier to install is to buy an external
USB floppy drive, these are potentially a little bit faster and can be
plugged into a different system ( such as a laptop without a floppy
drive.) However, not all systems support booting from a USB floppy
drive most notably older motherboards.
It should be noted that floppy 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 floppy disk.

Sound card
Most motherboards have built-in sound features. These are often
adequate for most users. However, you can purchase a good sound
card and speakers at relatively low costa few dollars at the low
end can make an enormous difference in the range and clarity of
sound. Also, these onboard systems tend to use more system
resources, so you are better off 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 dont go purely
by specifications, as many different models with similar specs can
produce completely different results. Cards may offer digital
(S/PDIF) output, in which case the DAC process 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 outstandingly well for their particular purpose. In
games various effects 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 different kinds of inputs than
those of consumer cards.

Modem
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 different ways, and can have
built-in processing or use the computers 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

42 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

Modems. Software Modems, or modems that rely on the CPU
generally 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 difficult to upgrade. Software Modems
are also very difficult 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 modems 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 modems are more
easily autodetected by the operating system and less likely
to have problems with setup. USB and serial port modems
often require an extra power supply block.
Gaming modems are normal modems that default to
having a low compression 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 local area
network or a cable or DSL modem. 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, its best to get a motherboard with that
connector built in.
PERIPHERALS

Peripherals
Anything outside the case that connects to your computer is
considered a peripheral. 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.

43

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 off
the lens with a q-tip or other soft tool on occasion). 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 too fast. Mice of medium-to-high quality will track your
movement almost flawlessly.
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 delay 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 models
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, always check
how much new cartridges cost, as replacement cartridges can
quickly outweigh the actual printers cost. Be aware of other
possible quirks as well.
For example, Epson has protection measures that make refilling
your own ink cartridges more difficult because an embedded

44 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

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 office users that plan to do quite a bit of black and white
printing buying a black and white laser printer is now an affordable
option, and the savings and speed can quickly add up for home
office users printing more than 500 pages a month.
Scanners are useful, especially in office 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-ScannerCopiers) are often a cost-effective 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
technologies
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 offset 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 models 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 screens 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,

45
manufacturers have chosen to use this feature for price
differentiation. The prime disadvantage of LCDs is dead pixels,
which are small failing areas on your monitor, which can be very
annoying, but generally arent covered under warrantythis can
make purchasing LCD displays a financial risk. LCDs are generally
okay for fast-paced PERIPHERALS
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 flat 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
isnt 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 response times, color reproduction, and
brightness levels, although LCD displays are quickly catching up.
CRTs are becoming increasingly difficult to find and have almost
vanished from mass-market retail. High end CRTs are still available,
though they are rapidly being discontinued, and now cost the moon.
Used CRTs on the other hand, can often be had for a song as
people change over to LCD screens, this wont last forever though.
There are two types of CRT displays, shadow mask and aperture
grill. An aperture grill display is brighter and perfectly flat in the
vertical direction, but is more fragile and has one or two mostlyunnoticeable 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, CRTs can cause headaches in some
people when run at lower frequencies, so it may be ideal to pick a
screen offering higher update frequencies at whichever resolutions
you intend to use. Most people who have problems with low

46 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

frequencies (60Hz) find it preferable to have at least 80Hz at the
intended resolution. Many wont be bothered by this at all however.
Note that sometimes CRTs with a flat screen instead of a curved
one are called flat screens, this is not to be confused with the
term flat 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 suffer from low bass
response or inadequate amplification, both of which compromise
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 should start to see features like standard audio
cables (instead of manufacturerspecific ones), built in DACs, and a
separate control box.
The surround sets include a sub-woofer, 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 together 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 different measure, PMPO which appears much higher.)
Headphones can offer good 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

47

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

Tools and equipment

edit

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 tools and equipment can come in handy as well, such
as:
1. Grounding Mat or anti-static carpet
2. Spring action parts grabber.

48 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

3. Electrical tape
4. Flashlight
37
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 airuseful 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
potentially 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 floor, as carpet tends
to generate a lot of static, and this can be ameliorated by choosing
a nonconductive floor surface. An unfurnished basement is a good
work location.

Safety precautions

49
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.
2. Nobody but you is at fault if you shock your components with
static electricity. 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
havent got proper anti-static equipment, it is usually OK if you
make sure that you dont 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 PCs 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 off your computer and unplug your Power Supply before
installing or removing any componentsif power is flowing to
components as they are installed or removed, they can be
seriously damaged.
4. Never cut the grounding pin off 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 shock if
you touch them. These hold a charge even when the unit is not
plugged in and are capable of delivering a fatal shock.

50 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

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 standoffs 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
accommodate the ports on the back of the motherboard.
Some case styles make it difficult 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 (well put it back in later).
Now locate the screw holes on your motherboard and find the
corresponding holes on the motherboard plate (or tray) in the case.
Put a standoff in each of these holes on the tray and position the
motherboard so that you can see the holes in the top of the
standoffs 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 standoffs 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 standoffs.
Now fasten a screw through each of the motherboard screw
holes into the standoffs 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 its time to plug the other
components into it.

CPU

51
Installing the CPU, and the CPUs heatsink and fan, are by far the
most difficult 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
the heatsink/fan combination, canFigure 2.1: An example of a CPU
require pretty firm pressure, sosocket, Socket A (GFDL, by Lzur)
dont be
afraid to push a little harder if
youre sure everything is set up
correctly.
The details of the installation process differ in slight but
important ways for each manufacturers processors, and even within
a manufacturers product 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 (minimum of a killed CPU, sometimes more) in building
ones own computer are both related to the CPU and its cooler:
1. Switching the computer on just to see if it works before
adding any CPU cooling unit. Without cooling, CPUs heat up at
extreme rates ( a CPU heats up anywhere between ten times
and a thousand times as fast as a cooking 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 cooling 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 different
chipsets, but its best to check for compatibility just in case.

52 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

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
modern CPUs take no more than a grain of rice sized dab of thermal
paste. Some people do like to wipe some onto the heatsinks
surface and then wipe it smoothly off 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 dirtyand do not combine thermal pads with thermal
paste, its either one or the other. Then, check that you install the
cooler in the right orientation and that you set it flat on the CPU die
without exerting undue pressure on any edges or cornersthe latter
can make small pieces of the die break off, 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 flat surface; a piece of thick window
glass will work. Fasten your sandpaper on the flat 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
smooth 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 the
surface already looks like a perfect mirror, leave it alone. A lapped
heatsink is more effective as it will have better surface contact with
the chip.
Tighten the cooler using only the specified holding devicesif
you did everything right, they will fit. If they dont fit, check your
setupmost likely something is wrong. After mounting the cooler,
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 flexing of the motherboard.
If youve got the CPU and its cooler 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.

53

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 module 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 module is
fully seated. Although this does require a fair bit of force, dont over
do it or you may break the RAM module.
Take a good look at your seated RAM, if one side seems to be
higher than the other, odds are its improperly seatedtake 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
dont have a stick in Bank 0 or DIMM 1 the system will think
there is no RAM and wont boot.
On newer motherboards with 4 slots, youll 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, its best to use
dual channel 512MBx2 sticks. Put the first 512MB stick in slot 1,
and put the 2 nd 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 differently, see the documentation that came with yours.
Some power supplies come with modular cables, so you can plug
in only those youll be using, now is a good time to figure out what

54 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

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
documentation 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 fluorescent 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 motherboards 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, dont be afraid to push it
until its 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.
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
different 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 8 x.
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 its 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.

55
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 drives instructions on how to set
the jumpers. The jumper configurations 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
automatically 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 doesnt 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, and a corresponding
blocked socket 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 1and usually will line up
next to the molex power connection on your drive. Use this rule of
thumb if your connectors arent 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

56 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

connector (a flat 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 floppy disk drive, the cable is very similar to the
IDE cable, but with fewer wires, and a strange little twist in the
middle. Floppy drives do not
have
master/slave
configurations. The floppy 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
differently: this is pin 1. There
is usually some indication on
the floppy drive as to which
side this is. The power plug for
a floppy is 4 pins in a line, but
rather
smaller
than
the
standard hard drive power
connector. Plug the end of the
cable with the twist into the floppy drive
Figure 2.2: Floppy Disk Drive Cable
(drive A:). Plug the other
end
(GFDL, by Shakespeare)
of the floppy ribbon cable into the
motherboard. If you install a second floppy 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 youre 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
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 difficult to
read because the print is very small. The documentation that came
with your case and motherboard should tell where these connectors
1 PC Guide

57
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, complete
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. Briefly this includes a case with a
motherboard in it, a processor (and its cooling unit) and some RAM
plugged into the motherboard, hard and floppy 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 boot CD
or floppy, or modify 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

58 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

that you havent left any foreign objects (wheres that screwdriver?)
in the case.
POWER UP

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 youve 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 look
for is that the CPU cooler fan spins up, if it does 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 documentation
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 manufacturers logo. If you see this, take a moment to
bask in the glow, youve built a computer!
If this happy event does not occur, if smoke appears, or if the
computer doesnt do anything, unplug the power cord immediately
and check the steps above to make sure you havent 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 off, and refer
to your motherboards 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 off. This probably means something is shorted, and
leaving it on could damage the parts.
If all is well its time to turn the computer off, and close it up.
Then you may want to turn it on again and set certain options in the
Computers 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

59
set the computers hardware clock 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 bootable 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 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
stuff.

60 CHAPTER 1. CHOOSING THE PARTS

Chapter 3

Software
live version
Now that youve got a functioning computer, youll
need to install some software 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 hardware)
followed by security software and utilities. And thats
as far as were going to go with you, but youll also
want to install some application software games,
word
processors,
databases,
programming
languages whatever floats 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 system). 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 boot
into all of
them.
Choosin
g between
Microsoft
Windows,
GNU/Linux,
or one of
the other
operating
systems is
largely
depepende
nt on what
software
you need
to
run.
Simply put,
can
you

accomplish your day to day tasks with the software

that will run
49
discussion

edit

61

comment
report
error

an

62
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 efficient.
Some people find that its useful to create separate partitions for
the operating 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 Windows 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 storage
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 floppy disk containing 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

63
still be the case for many distributions. However, NTFS does 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)
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
S
ee also: Linux Guide The primary problem faced in installing
GNU/Linux is choosing between distri See also: List of Linux
disbutions. 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.

64

CHAPTER 3. SOFTWARE
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. Its
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 choose between
alternatives whether to run KDE or
Gnome, for instance, or to install vi or
Emacs. If the terms are unfamiliar a quick
Google will usually bring enlightenment.
Also, as in these two examples, most such
choices are a matter of preference and
either choice will work.

Security
After installation, security should be your priority.

Updates

65
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 its sometimes wise to wait a
little while to be sure the update itself does 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 developers 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 choosing Control
Panel then double-clicking the WIndows Firewall icon.
As soon as you are on the Internet, run your operating systems
update facility to fix any security flaws that have been found since
your CD was printed. To do this under Windows, simply click on your
Start Menu, click on All Programs, and then click on Windows
Update, and follow the instructions. If you use other Microsoft
products, such as Microsoft Office, then it can be valuable to use
Microsoft Update, which covers updates for all Microsoft products.
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
distribution to distribution.
For SuSE, there are two ways:
1. YaST
DRIVERS

66
CHAPTER 3. SOFTWARE
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
distupgrade
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 distupgrade
Automatic updates
If your computer will be running overnight, it may be good to have
your computer update itself.
Debian
based
Windows

cron-apt
Windows
Update

Anti-nasty
Programs such as Anti-Virus, Anti-Spam and Anti-Spyware of
commercial quality 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 nonWindows 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.

67
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 a driver.
Although, most of your hardware will come with a cd containing
the necessary driver, consider downloading the driver straight from
the companys Internet site. This will insure you have the latest
edition of the software. Knowing where to download the driver is
also good 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 youll 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 efficiency,
though there is always a risk that a brand new version may break
something. Downloading drivers for your motherboards 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 manufacturers website. Most
GNU/Linux systems already have all of the drivers installed, with the
exception of proprietary modem and graphics drivers. If you cant
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 processors to graphic
manipulation programs, there is plenty of software available online.
Though most of what is available is safe and useful, its always a
good 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

68
CHAPTER 3. SOFTWARE
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
Office Suite: OpenOffice.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
Security: Spybot: Search & Destroy, Ad-Aware Personal Edition, K9
Anti-Spam,ZoneAlarm Free Edition
Compression: 7-Zip, IZArc, TUGZip
Desktop Search: Google Desktop

GNU/Linux
Unlike Windows, on a GNU/Linux system the majority 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
Gentoo, APT for Debian-based distros like Debian and Ubuntu, etc.)
For some distributions you can simply download RPM or DEB files
from your distributions web site.
If they arent already installed by your distribution:
Web Browser: Firefox or Opera (Opera is usually faster on lower-end
hardware).
EMail Client: Mozilla Thunderbird.
Office Suite: OpenOffice.org or KOffice
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.

69

Windows Compatibility Layer: WINE.

x86 Emulator: QEMU.
PPC Emulator: PearPC.

Additional Software
For additional software some excellent sources of free and opensouce 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 projects. You can
start your own, or get software for almost every need. Most projects
have GNU and Windows versions. The mirror system isnt as large
as Tucows, but you can still usually get a mirror on the same
continent.
Table of equivalents can be useful if you want to know more about
specific programs when changing from windows to GNU or viceversa.
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 body 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
Overclocking is the practice of making a component run at a higher
clock speed than the manufacturers specification. The idea is to
increase performance for free or to exceed current performance
limits, but this may come at the cost of stability.
Overclocking is like souping up a car, if you just want to get
where youre going, theres 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.
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 overclocked, including RAM and your video card in many
cases. Over clocking is possible because of the way electronic parts,
especially VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) chips are made and
sold. All processors in a given line, the Pentium 4 for example, are
made the same way, on a large die that is cut up into individual
processors, those processors 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 goes by and production processes and masks improve,
even the lower rated chips may be capable 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 processors that have a reputation for
overclocking well, some parts simply will not exceed their rating.

That
said,
effective
cooling
can
give a boost to
a
chips
overclockabilit
y. 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
live version

 discussion
edit
comment
report an error

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 DAMAGE
TO COMPONENTS AND DATA. REMEMBER THE 3 CS WHEN
OVERCLOCKING:CAREFUL, CONSERVATIVE, and CAUTIOUS .

Things that cant be overclocked

Although it is possible to overclock many of the components of a
computer ( such as the CPU, FSB frequency and video card), it is not
possible to overclock 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 CPUs clock speed is the FSB clock speed (base, not effective
speed) times the CPUs multiplier. On most newer CPUs, the
multiplier is locked, so you will have to adjust the FSB clock speed
(However, it might be possible to unlock the chips multiplier on
some older chips. See CPU Locking.) 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 wont boot, lower the FSB until your
computer properly boots 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 reboot 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
controller
(IMC) and a
HyperTranspor
t 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
base clock speed is the exact same as the IMCs 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- thats where the adjustible HTT multiplier comes in. (It should
be noted that overclocked systems are most stable when the HTT is at or below 1000
Mhz )
Also, some newer desktop processors (AMD K8 series with Cool n Quiet, Intel
Pentium 4 6xx series, Pentium D 830, 840, stepping C1 Pentium D 9xx series with
Enhanced Intel Speed Step) and most mobile processors (exc. Celeron M) can vary their
operating frequency while running by lowering the CPU multiplier. This results in
multipliers below the highest one being unlocked. This allows for a very high FSB/base
clock 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 choose the best CPU for overclocking

Assuming that you have selected quality components like an excellent motherboard,
high-quality RAM , an excellent thermal solution and an excellent power supply; you
may wonder why your processor wont exceed a certain speed limit. Lets assume that
you have a memory chip that is capable of taking the maximum 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
wouldnt allow you to lock the AGP and the PCI bus at stock speeds. The good 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 dont 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 good thermal solution, your CPU wont 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 SDRAM. The reason I chose these 2 processors for experimentation was because they
both used a FSB speed of 100MHz. This motherboard was really flexible, 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:
7 (Multiplier) 150 (FrontSideBus) = 1050MHz (resultantfrequency)

Simple arithmetic? Yes. Now, logically speaking, if I can extract 1050 Mhz from a
700Mhz processor; 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 (Multiplier) 133 (FrontSideBus) = 1064 MHz (resultantfrequency)

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 process; they shipped those CPUs with the stock
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 difference 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 difficult for some to grasp.
Its 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 3 Ghz which is manufactured by using a 0.13u
process wont overclock as well as a CPU that is rated at 2.6Ghz using a 0.09u process.
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 dont 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 computers stability, you may also disable the spread spectrum; 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

Video card
Two different 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 Overdrive that
allows for dynamic GPU frequency scaling based on its temperature and load. Increase
the load, the clock rate increases for performance, but its balanced against the
increasing temperature. Sufficient for simple increases in overall performance, this
doesnt allow for the best performance increase which requires overclocking the
memory. For that youll need third-party applications or drivers.
An application example is ATITool. This program has many options, including 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 unlocked by creating a DWORD in regedit for
windows operating system. To use the coolbits feature, for windows 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 itmodify 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, repeat 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 off the clockspeed by about 20-30 mhz
The most important thing to remember about overclocking a video card is cooling.
This cant 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 effectiveness)
solution is to purchase and install a direct exhaust, sandwich cooling solution. Direct
exhaust means all air from the cooling 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 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 GPUs
temperature differs 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, its 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 good cooling 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 cooling 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 Aluminum and Copper. The
heatsink that is stock on factory computers by major manufacturers (Dell, Gateway,
IBM) is usually made of aluminum, which has satisfactory heat transfer characteristics.
However when overclocking more heat is being produced 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 offers 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 wont switch fast enough
transistors switch faster the higher the EXTERNAL LINKS
supply voltage. If there is not enough voltage then the chip will begin to make mistakes
and give bad data results. Good cooling is needed to keep the system stable at higher
speeds. Raising the vcore too much may harm or shorten the life of your system.
Raising the vcore can also greatly affect the stability of the system. This is where a
high quality PSU will come into play. While many cheap, no-name brand PSUs will
crash and die with more vcore, a good 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
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 noise dramatically. The main sources of noise are: Fans
(CPU, case, power 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 inaudible.
Note that quieter computers sometimes run slightly hotter
especially in small form factor (SFF) systems, so you need to
monitor carefully what you do. Usually you cant 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 offending component that produces the loudest
or most irritating noise to replace first, and work down from there.

live version
discussion
edit
comment
report an error

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 80 mm 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 airflow than the
drilled holes used in many cases.
CPU Modern CPUs can generate a lot of heat in a very small areasometimes as
much as 100-watt lightbulb! For the vast majority 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 mediacenter 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 good cooling. Some BIOSs allow you
to slow the CPU fan down automatically when it is not too hot if this option is
available, turn it on. Also, you can get 3rd party coolers, 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 controllers, or
resistors (but beware of insufficient cooling). 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 efficiency.

Water cooling
An efficient, if expensive way to eliminate the need for most fans in ones computer
system is the implementation of water cooling devices. Water cooling kits are
available for beginners, and additional components or water blocks can be added
to the system, allowing virtually any system needing cooling to be put on water.
Other cooling fluids 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 off the computer,
shake off 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 cooling 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 doesnt require watertight
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 caseto-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 cooling fluids has been attempted, such as fluorinert or liquid
nitrogen.

Hard disk
A resting hard disk is generally quite quiet compared with any fan, but increases
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 does comprehensive testing, 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
notebook 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 sufficient cooling of the hard drive: running a hard drive
moderately hot can reduce its lifespan to under a year! Some mounts are designed
to provide both extra cooling and silencing, such as the heat-pipe coolers. Spinning
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-offs 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 floor of your case on a bed of foam can be very
effective at reducing noise.
68
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 wont
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 disks
noise/performance ratio to what your system requires. The technique is called
acoustic management. However, only certain drives currently support this feature.
You can read more from the Definitive Maxtor Silent Store Guide and get the tool
from Maxtor.
Completely silent computers will need to use solid state memory like flash 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 cant be considered a
mainstream storage solution, yet could suffice 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 flash 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 3rdparty 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 airflow
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 reduce 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 overclocking is that
underclocking can prove surprisingly effective.
The really obvious, but surprisingly effective: 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. Dont 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 arent acting as insulators, tooand keeping
components hot.

See also
Noise from cooling fans

External links

Silent PC review

Microchip AN771: Suppressing Acoustic Noise in PWM Fan Speed Control

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; Koolu wiki

Building a Silent PC: My Quest for Quiet by Terry Gray

the oil-cooled computer wiki (in German) and oil-cooled computer discussion
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

70

Xoxide Resource Center: Building a Quiet Computer

CHAPTER 5. SILENCING

Conclusion
If youre serious youve probably at least glanced over this book
as you considered building your own computer, and I hope it has
inspired you to go ahead with that project. Throughout weve tried
to steer you clear of some of the pitfalls and alert you to some of
the safety issues involved, and in so doing, we have undoubtedly
overemphasized the dangers and difficulty. In sooth, its pretty
hard to hurt yourself building a computer and most people get
through their 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 effort.
Lastly, if you go through with it and build you own PC, youre
bound to run into something weve 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 book. You dont have to know everything to
contribute, just one thing thats true. If this guide has helped you
at all, think of it as payback.

71
discussion
edit

live version
comment
report
error

an

72

CONCLUSION

Appendix A

External
links
live version

Related
Wikibooks
Computer Know How for
tips
on
using
your
computer.
Computer Hardware and
A Plus Certification for
technical details on what
each part does.
Buyers
Guide
For
Building a Computer

Related
Wikipedia
articles

Case modding

Personal computer

IBM PC compatible

Desktop computer

di
sc
us
si
on
for
u
m
s
Elep
ha
nt
Sta
irc
as
e
wik
i
so
me
tim
es
dis
cus
sin

g computer
modding.

case

build
your
arcade wiki

own

the
wiki

overclockers
forum

case
forum

lrechner-Wiki a
wiki about running
computers
submersed in oil as
a silent way of
cooling.

overclocking
club

modding

73
discussion

edit

comment

report an error

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 thats 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

dia
lup
.
Di
alu
p
is
als
o
sh
ar
ed
ba
nd
wi
dt
h,
so
if
yo
u
do
wn
loa
d,
ev
er
yt
hin
g
for
m
ost
ot
he
r
pe
opl
e

goes
slow.

extremely

3. Dont
download
anything you think
is
unsafe.
I
recommend
downloading items
with proper names
and the names of
companies.
Dont
download
something
like
[email protected]
.E or timestamp
maker. Download
stuff like Adobe
Acrobat 7.0.7 or
Macromedia Flash
Professional.
4. Virus check, and
validate with the
files
MD5
checksum
before
using. This ensures
the download is not
rigged or damaged.

Linux
Fedore Core Based onThe
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

seco
nd
mos
t
pow
erful
Linu
x
distr
os
on
the
web
.
The
Ma
ndri
va
Dist
ribu
tion
A
com
mon
one
with
mult
iple
uses
.
SUS
E
Dist
ribu
tion
Com
es
in
all

shapes and sizes.

The OSS or the
Open
Source
Editon is a set of
four downloadable
isos
with
many
opensource
programs that are
useful if you want a
low cost office. The
Novell Editon is the
paid
for
edition
including stuff like
StarOffice,
Mesa,
commercial/propriet
ary software. So if
you
have
a
business, where you
want quality and
good 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

bec
ome
a
maj
or
play
er in
the
Linu
x
field
. All
thes
e
distr
os
can
be
con
figur
ed
as
serv
ers
as
well
as
runn
ing
on
thei
r
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 designed for use in the
classroom. 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
features 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 Gentoo Documentation page before you commence
installation.
Slackware Good Distro, though not up to date with good 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 majority 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 Apples proprietary MacOS).
76 APPENDIX A. EXTERNAL LINKS

Appendix B

Document Information &

History
History
This book was created on the Wikibooks project and developed on the
project by the contributors listed in Appendix B, page 77. For convenience,
this PDF was created for download from the project. The latest Wikibooks
version
may
be
found
at
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_To_Assemble_A_Desktop_PC.

PDF Information & History

This PDF was complied from LATEX on September 1, 2007, based on the
September 1, 2007Wikibooks 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, Hagindaz, 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, Tlaugle, Webaware, Whiteknight, Withinfocus, Wknight8111,
Yayyak, and anonymous contributors.

77
78 APPENDIX B. DOCUMENT INFORMATION

Appendix C

GNU Free Documentation

License
Version 1.2, November 2002
Copyright 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.

Preamble
The purpose of this License is to make a manual, textbook, or other
functional and useful document free in the sense of freedom: to assure
everyone the effective freedom to copy and redistribute it, with or without
modifying it, either commercially or noncommercially. Secondarily, this License
preserves for the author and publisher a way to get credit for their work, while
not being considered responsible for modifications made by others.
This License is a kind of copyleft, which means that derivative works of
the document must themselves be free in the same sense. It complements the
GNU General Public License, which is a copyleft license designed for free
software.
We have designed this License in order to use it for manuals for free
software, because free software needs free documentation: a free program
should come with manuals providing the same freedoms that the software
does. But this License is not limited to software manuals; it can be used for
any textual work, regardless of subject matter or whether it is published as a
printed book. We recommend this License principally for works whose purpose
is instruction or reference.

1. APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS

79

94 APPENDIX C. GNU FREE DOCUMENTATION LICENSE

This License applies to any manual or other work, in any
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95
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96 APPENDIX C. GNU FREE DOCUMENTATION LICENSE

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Section. O. Preserve any Warranty Disclaimers.
If the Modified Version includes new front-matter sections or
appendices that qualify as Secondary Sections and contain no
material copied from the Document, you may at your option
designate some or all of these sections as invariant. To do this, add
their titles to the list of Invariant Sections in the Modified Versions
license notice. These titles must be distinct from any other section
titles.
You may add a section Entitled Endorsements, provided it
contains nothing but endorsements of your Modified Version by
various partiesfor example, statements of peer review or that the
text has been approved by an organization as the authoritative
definition of a standard.
You may add a passage of up to five words as a Front-Cover Text,
and a passage of up to 25 words as a Back-Cover Text, to the end of
the list of Cover Texts in the Modified Version. Only one passage of
Front-Cover Text and one of Back-Cover Text may be added by (or
through arrangements made by) any one entity. If the Document
already includes a cover text for the same cover, previously added
by you or by arrangement made by the same entity you are acting
on behalf of, you may not add another; but you may replace the old
one, on explicit permission from the previous publisher that added
the old one.
The author(s) and publisher(s) of the Document do not by this
License give permission to use their names for publicity for or to
assert or imply endorsement of any Modified Version.

99

5. COMBINING DOCUMENTS
You may combine the Document with other documents released
under this License, under the terms defined in section 4 above for
modified versions, provided that you include in the combination all of
the Invariant Sections of all of the original documents, unmodified,
and list them all as Invariant Sections of your combined work in its
license notice, and that you preserve all their Warranty Disclaimers.
The combined work need only contain one copy of this License,
and multiple identical Invariant Sections may be replaced with a
single copy. If there are multiple Invariant Sections with the same
name but different contents, make the title of each such section
unique by adding at the end of it, in parentheses, the name of the
original author or publisher of that section if known, or else a unique
number. Make the same adjustment to the section titles in the list of
Invariant Sections in the license notice of the combined work.
In the combination, you must combine any sections Entitled
History in the various original documents, forming one section
Entitled History; likewise combine any sections Entitled
Acknowledgements, and any sections Entitled Dedications. You
must delete all sections Entitled Endorsements.

6. COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS
You may make a collection consisting of the Document and other
documents released under this License, and replace the individual
copies of this License in the various documents with a single copy
that is included in the collection, provided that you follow the rules
of this License for verbatim copying of each of the documents in all
other respects.
You may extract a single document from such a collection, and
distribute it individually under this License, provided you insert a
copy of this License into the extracted document, and follow this
License in all other respects regarding verbatim copying of that
document.

7. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT

WORKS
A compilation of the Document or its derivatives with other
separate and independent documents or works, in or on a volume of
a storage or distribution medium, is called an aggregate if the
copyright resulting from the compilation is not used to limit the legal
rights of the compilations users beyond what the individual works

100 APPENDIX C. GNU FREE DOCUMENTATION LICENSE

permit. When the Document is included in an aggregate, this License
does not apply to the other works in the aggregate which are not
themselves derivative works of the Document.
If the Cover Text requirement of section 3 is applicable to these
copies of the
Document, then if the Document is less than one half of the entire
aggregate, the Documents Cover Texts may be placed on covers
that bracket the Document within the aggregate, or the electronic
equivalent of covers if the Document is in electronic form. Otherwise
they must appear on printed covers that bracket the whole
aggregate.

8. TRANSLATION
Translation is considered a kind of modification, so you may
distribute translations of the Document under the terms of section 4.
Replacing Invariant Sections with translations requires special
permission from their copyright holders, but you may include
translations of some or all Invariant Sections in addition to the
original versions of these Invariant Sections. You may include a
translation of this License, and all the license notices in the
Document, and any Warranty Disclaimers, provided that you also
include the original English version of this License and the original
versions of those notices and disclaimers. In case of a disagreement
between the translation and the original version of this License or a
notice or disclaimer, the original version will prevail.
If a section in the Document is Entitled Acknowledgements,
Dedications, or History, the requirement (section 4) to Preserve
its Title (section 1) will typically require changing the actual title.

9. TERMINATION
You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Document
except as expressly provided for under this License. Any other
attempt to copy, modify, sublicense or distribute the Document is
void, and will automatically terminate your rights under this License.
However, parties who have received copies, or rights, from you
under this License will not have their licenses terminated so long as
such parties remain in full compliance.

10. FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE

The Free Software Foundation may publish new, revised versions of
the

101
GNU Free Documentation License from time to time. Such new
versions will be similar in spirit to the present version, but may differ
in detail to address new problems or concerns. See
http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/.
Each version of the License is given a distinguishing version
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specified version or of any later version that has been published (not
as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation. If the Document does
not specify a version number of this License, you may choose any
version ever published (not as a draft) by the Free Software
Foundation.

ADDENDUM: How to use this License for

your documents
To use this License in a document you have written, include a
copy of the License in the document and put the following copyright
and license notices just after the title page:
Copyright c YEAR YOUR NAME. Permission is granted to
copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the
terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2
or any later version published by the Free Software
Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover
Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is
included in the section entitled GNU Free Documentation
License.
If you have Invariant Sections, Front-Cover Texts and Back-Cover
Texts, replace the with ... Texts. line with this:
with the Invariant Sections being LIST THEIR TITLES, with
the Front-Cover Texts being LIST, and with the Back-Cover
Texts being LIST.
If you have Invariant Sections without Cover Texts, or some other
combination of the three, merge those two alternatives to suit the
situation.

102 APPENDIX C. GNU FREE DOCUMENTATION LICENSE

If your document contains nontrivial examples of program code,
we recommend releasing these examples in parallel under your
choice of free software license, such as the GNU General Public
License, to permit their use in free software.