Saturday, April 11, 2009

Choosing the parts

Before you jump onto the web and start spending lots of money on expensive computer parts,
there are two important questions you should answer which will guide your purchases:
1. What are you going to use your new computer for?
2. Will parts be available to use from your old computer--or do you want to reuse parts from
your old computer?

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 devices have drivers available for current
versions of Windows (generally, anything 2000, XP or newer); if you want to run an alternative
operating system, you'll have to do some research -- many alternatives have extensive
'Hardware Compatibility Lists'.

CPU (Processor)

The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the heart of your computer as it performs nearlly all
functions that require extensive processing power. Therefore, it is very important that you
choose a suitable CPU for your function as the choice of CPU directly affects the speed and
stability of your system.
Before we can explain differences between CPUs, you must first be familiar with certain CPU
properties.

Motherboard

It cannot be stressed more 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 financiallyacceptable, both) as your motherboard is what connects different parts of the computertogether. In addition, the difference between a cheap and a nice motherboard is typically around$100 US. A good motherboard allows a modest CPU and RAM to run at max efficiencywhereas a bad motherboard causes high-end products to run only modestly.There are 6 things one must consider in choosing a motherboard, CPU Interface, Chipset, IDEor SATA support, Expansion Slot Interfaces and Other Connectors.CPU Interface The CPU interface is the "plug" that your processor goes into. For yourprocessor to physically fit in the motherboard, the interface must be an exact match to yourprocessor.

RAM (Random Access Memory)

The amount of RAM you use is dependent on the purpose that you want to use it for. Older
versions of Windows and Linux will run comfortably, though slowly at times, on 128 MB.
Some newer operating systems such as Windows XP require 256MB of RAM to run
comfortably. Many people now have 512 MB or more for better performance. Users of modern
games and graphics software, or people who may wish to host Internet services such as a Web
site, may want 1 GB or more.
Hard Drive
Things to consider when shopping for a hard drive:
•The Interface of a drive is how the hard drive comunicates with the rest of the computer. The
following hard driver interfaces are avalible:
•IDE cables can be distinguished by their wide 40-pin connector, coloured first-pin wire, and
usually white "ribbon" style cables. This technology is rapidly deteriorating, as it cannot keep
up with the increasing speed of current hard drives. IDE based hard drives do not exceed 7,200
RPM.

CD/DVD

Optical drives have progressed a long way in the past few years, and you can now easilypurchase DVD writers that are capable of burning 9GB of data to a disk for an insignificantamount of money. Even if you don't plan on watching or copying DVDs on your computer, it isstill 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 they should also be Dual Layer compatible. This will ensure that you can burn toalmost all recordable DVDs currently on the market (the other major format, DVD-RAM isalmost unused, for the most part, so don't worry about it).

Floppy Drive

Though generally not needed, floppy drives are often installed anyway. Floppy drives havebeen made obsolete in recent years by devices such as USB "Thumb Drives" and CD writers.Floppy drives are sometimes required for BIOS updates and exchanging small files with oldercomputers. Floppy drives block air movement with wide cables, and can make computers set tocheck the drive take longer to start (most have an option in their bios to disable this.) Thedrives and disks are also notoriously unreliable. One option to overcome the cable problem andto make it easier to install is to buy an external USB floppy drive. These are potentially a littlebit 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 oldermotherboards. Most newer systems do now though. A USB floppy drive is considerably moreexpensive and since floppy drives are not needed much anymore, this is rarely a useful option.You can easily get a thumb drive holding more than 50 times as much as one floppy disk forthe same price as a USB floppy drive.

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 cost - a fewdollars 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 realsoundcard for gaming.Good quality in sound cards depends on a few factors. The digital-analog conversion (DAC) isgenerally the most important stage for general clarity, but it is a poorly measurable process.Reviews, especially those from audiophile sources, are worth consulting for this; but don't gopurely by specifications, as many different models with similar specs can produce completelydifferent results. Cards may offer digital (S/PDIF) output, in which case the DAC process ismoved 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 theirparticular 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 CPUfor the task. Professional music cards tend to be built both for maximum sound quality and lowlatency (transmission delay) input and output, and include more and/or different kinds of inputsthan those of consumer cards.ModemA modem is needed in order to connect to a dial up internet connection. A modem can also beused for faxing. Modems can attach to the computer in different ways, and can have built-inprocessing or use the computer's CPU for processing.Modems with built-in processing generally include all modems that connect via a standardserial port, as well as any modems that refer to themselves as "Hardware Modems". SoftwareModems, or modems that rely on the CPU generally include both Internal and USB modems, orhave 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 ofWindows 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 fornon-Windows operating systems. The manufacturer is unlikely to support the hardware withnew drivers after it is discontinued, forcing you to buy new hardware. Most such modems areinternal 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 andUSB modems are more easily autodetected by the operating system and less likely to haveproblems 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.

Peripherals

Your computer and you interact through the peripherals. The keyboard and monitor are prettymuch the barest minimum you can go with and still be able to interact with your computer.Your choice in peripherals very much depends on personal preference and the complexity ofthe interactions you intend to have with your computer.Keyboard & MouseWhen choosing a mouse, there is generally no reason to not choose an optical mouse. They areconsiderably lighter (and as such, reduce RSI) as they have no moving parts, they are muchbetter at smoothly tracking movement, and they donĂ¢€™t require constant cleaning like ballmice (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 asMicrosoft or Logitech, as lower-end optical mice will skip if moved too fast. Mice of mediumto-high quality will track the 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 extra buttons, and they can comein handy for playing First Person Shooter games. One thing to note is that with some micethose extra buttons are not actually seen by the computer itself as extra buttons and will notwork 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 acertain keyboard key so that it will be possible to use it in games in this manner.Wireless keyboards and mice do not have a hugely noticeable delay like they once did, andnow also have considerably improved battery life. However, gamers may still want to avoidwireless input devices because the very slight delay may impact gaming activities -- thoughsome of the higher end models have less troubles with this -- and the extra weight of thebatteries can be an inconvenience.

Display

When choosing a display for your computer, you have two key choices of technology: theCathode Ray Tube (CRT) screen, or an LCD screen. Both technologies have their advantagesand disadvantages: CRTs are generally preferred by gamers and graphic artists, for both theprice at which they can be bought and their generally superior response times, but this is offsetby the added size and weight that a large screen requires. LCDs are generally more expensivethan CRTs, but high-end 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 theydo not need as much space as a similarly-sized CRT.

LCD Panels

Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD's) have the advantage of being a completely digital setup, whenused with the DVI-D digital connector. When running at the screen's native resolution, this canresult in the most stable and sharp image available on current monitors. Many LCD paneldisplays are sold with an analog 15-pin VGA connector or, rarely, with an analog DVI-Iconnector. Such displays will be a bit fuzzy, and are generally best avoided for a similarlysizedCRT. If you want an LCD displays, be sure to choose a digital setup if you can; however,manufacturers have chosen to use this feature for price differentiation. The prime disadvantageof LCDs is "dead pixels", which are small failing areas on your monitor, which can be veryannoying, but generally aren't covered under warranty - this can make purchasing LCD displaysa financial risk. LCDs are generally OK for fast-paced gaming, but you should be sure that yourscreen has a fairly fast response time (of 25 ms or lower) if you want to play fast games. Nearlyall 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 ofyour 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 yourentire screen isn't filled), or by stretching the image (which leads to much lower quality).Running at a higher resolution than your monitor can handle will either make everything on thescreen smaller, at a significant quality drop, or will display only a part of the screen at a time(which can be annoying).Cathode Ray Tube DisplaysThe other key type of display is the CRT or Cathode Ray Tube display. While CRT technologyis older it often outperforms LCD technology in terms of response times, color reproduction,and brightness levels, although LCD displays are quickly catching up. There are two types ofCRT displays, shadow mask and aperture grill. An aperture grill display is brighter andperfectly flat in the vertical direction, but is more fragile and has one or two mostlyunnoticeablethin black lines (support wires) running across the screen. CRTs are generally 2-4times as deep as similarly-sized LCDs, and can weigh around 10 times as much, but thisnormally isn't a concern unless you will be moving your computer a lot. If you purchase a CRTdisplay over the internet, shipping is much quicker, which is good for gaming, however, cancause headaches in some people at lower rates, so it may be ideal to pick a screen offeringhigher update frequencies at whichever resolutions you intend to use. Most people who haveproblems with low frequencies (60Hz) find it preferable to have at least 80Hz at the intendedresolution. Some won't be bothered by this at all however.Note that sometimes the CRTs with a flat screen instead of curved are called "flat screens" sothis is not to be confused with the term "flat panel" used to refer to LCDs.Speakers

Cathode Ray Tube Displays

The other key type of display is the CRT or Cathode Ray Tube display. While CRT technologyis older it often outperforms LCD technology in terms of response times, color reproduction,and brightness levels, although LCD displays are quickly catching up. There are two types ofCRT displays, shadow mask and aperture grill. An aperture grill display is brighter andperfectly flat in the vertical direction, but is more fragile and has one or two mostlyunnoticeablethin black lines (support wires) running across the screen. CRTs are generally 2-4times as deep as similarly-sized LCDs, and can weigh around 10 times as much, but thisnormally isn't a concern unless you will be moving your computer a lot. If you purchase a CRTdisplay over the internet, shipping is much quicker, which is good for gaming, however, cancause headaches in some people at lower rates, so it may be ideal to pick a screen offeringhigher update frequencies at whichever resolutions you intend to use. Most people who haveproblems with low frequencies (60Hz) find it preferable to have at least 80Hz at the intendedresolution. Some won't be bothered by this at all however.Note that sometimes the CRTs with a flat screen instead of curved are called "flat screens" sothis is not to be confused with the term "flat panel" used to refer to LCDs

Building the physical computer

Now that you have selected your parts, you get to what is arguably the more fun part of theprocess, and that is actually building the computer.Tools and EquipmentThere are a few tools that you will need to begin assembling your computer. The following is agood starting point, as they include the bare minimum to build a working computer.

Basic Tools

Before you begin building or refitting a computer, you will need some basic tools:
•#2 Phillips head screwdriver
•Needlenose pliers
•Motherboard manual
•Anti-static Wrist Strap or Grounding Mat

Optional, but useful

Some other tools and equipment can come in handy as well, such as:
•Magnet for grabbing screws - very useful (keep this away from magnetically sensitivecomputer components, though!)
•Wire stripper
•Electrical tape
•Flashlight
•A second, working computer to swap parts, look for tips, ask for help online, download driversand patches, etc. - very useful

Preparation

Find a dry, well-ventilated place to do your work. You should have plenty of light to see yourcomponents with, and if possible, you should choose an area without carpet on the floor, ascarpet tends to attract a lot of static, and most of this can be averted by choosing a conductivefloor surface. An unfinished basement is a perfect work location!To assemble your components, you will need a basic toolkit. For this kit, you will need aphillips-head (cross-shaped) screwdriver, and an anti-static wrist strap, for grounding yourselfwith (these can be purchased at your local electronic supply store) - this can often be a hugesaving over the amount of money that you waste by destroying your components with staticelectricity. Do not be tempted to connect yourself directly to a tap or other grounded objectwith only a length of copper wire, if the machine is still plugged in and there is an electricalfault, the consequences could be fatal. Anti-static wrist straps have a high resistance, thuslimiting any potential current flowing through your body to safe levels.Unpack all the components, and put them on top of the anti-static bags they came in, as thiswill prevent stray static from reaching your components. Make sure you read the followingsection, as it contains some important safety information.

Safety Precautions

1. Dismantling electronic components such as your Power Supply or Monitor is anextremely dangerous thing to do - do not do it! They contain several high-voltage exposedcomponents, and can cause you severe electric shock if you touch them. So, please, don't eventhink of trying.2. Nobody except you is at fault if you shock your components with static electricity. Makesure that you take the precautions in the previous paragraph to ground yourself from staticelectricity, such as with an anti-static wrist strap or grounding mat. (Note: if you really mustwork on a computer and haven't got proper anti-static equipment, it is usually OK if you makesure that you don't move about much; are not wearing any static-prone clothing; handlecomponents by the edges; and regularly (once a minute or so), touch a grounded object.)3. Please construct your computer in a dust free enviroment! The worst thing forcomponents (besides static and it mostly affects fans) is being clogged with dust. If thisoccours, the fans will fail, and cause your system to overheat and fail. However, if they areclogged, just buy a can of compressed air and blast the fans with it to clean them.4. Unplug your PC's Power Supply before installing or removing any components - if poweris flowing to components as they are installed or removed, they can be seriously damaged.5. Be wary of sharp edges! Many PC cases have sharp, unfinished edges. This is especiallyso on interior surfaces, and where the case has been cut or punched-out. Use care and take yourtime to avoid cut hands.

Construction Motherboard and Power Supply

Start by putting your case down on your work surface, with the side opposite of the case doorfacing down, and open the case. Many cases include power supplies that are already installedon the back of the computer. However, if you buy a power supply separately, install the PSU inthe top at the back of the case. Then try to find the motherboard standoffs that should havecome with the case. They are screws with screw holes on the top.Insert the standoffs into the holes on the motherboard plate in the case that correspond with theholes on your motherboard and screw them into the bottom of the case. Also remove the I/OShield that came with the case, and put in the I/O Shield that came with your motherboard.Insert the motherboard by placing it into the open case. The ports in the upper left hand cornershould line up with the I/O Shield and go through the holes in it. The screw holes should lineup with the motherboard standoffs. Put a screw into each hole in the motherboard with a holebelow it.Now that you have your motherboard in, you may plug in the other components.

CPU

An example of a CPU socket, Socket AAs installation of the different makes of CPU can differ between brands, it is generally safer torefer to the manufacturer's instructions, that are provided with the CPU. If you are using athermal paste with your CPU, follow the directions that came with them for details on how toapply it.The two things that go wrong the most often and most expensively (minimum of a killed32CPU, sometimes more) in building one's own computer are both related to the CPU and itscooler: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 timesand a thousand times as fast as a cooking area on your stove!) By the time you will get the firstdisplay on the screen, your CPU will already be severely overheating and might be damagedbeyond repair.2. Mounting the CPU cooler improperly. Read the instructions that came with your CPUand cooler very carefully and ensure you are using all components in the correct order andcorrect place.Make sure you get a cooler that is compatible with the CPU you have. Most brands come withmultiple mounting brackets that will suit all different chipsets, but it's best to check forcompatibility just in case.If using thermal paste, apply it only to the CPU die (the square piece of silicon in the middle ofthe CPU) and do so sparingly -- most modern CPUs take no more than a grain of rice sized dabof thermal paste. Some people do like to wipe some onto the heatsink's surface and then wipe itsmoothly off so that bits of it may get into tiny holes for better heat transfer. See Arctic SilverInstructions for more info on how to apply and remove thermal paste/grease. (It was written tobe specifically for Arctic Silver paste, but the same techniques can be applied to other brandsof thermal paste.)If using a thermal pad supplied with your cooler, make sure you remove any protective tapejust before installing and do not get it dirty - and do not combine thermal pads with thermalpaste, it's either one or the other. Then, check that you install the cooler in the right orientationand that you set it flat on the CPU die without exerting undue pressure on any edges or corners- the 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, whichmeans to smooth out the bottom surface. To do this, start by sanding in smooth circular motionswith a coarse grain sandpaper to smooth out the worst of the uneveness, then, as it starts to getsmoother, switch to a finer grained sandpaper (the numbers go up as the sandpaper is finer, sosomething such as 60 is coarse while 220 will be very fine.) If you get it right, it should have asurface which feels completely smooth to the touch where you can almost see a reflection in it.Some companies producing heatsinks lap the surface themselves and this will be unnecessary,but, it is very rare. A lapped heatsink is far more effective due to having better contact with thechip.Tighten the cooler using only the specified holding devices - if you did everything right, theywill fit. If they don't fit, check your setup - most likely something is wrong. After mounting thecooler, connect any power cables for the fan that is attached onto the cooler. Then, ifeverything is seated tightly and firmly, you can safely run your first test, making sure the CPUfan does run (you have a few seconds of safety margin here, but if the fan is not running, switchoff the system and check your cabling quickly.)33As an aside to the instructions above, it has been my personal experience that fitting the CPUand 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.

RAM

Next, you will need to install your RAM. Start by pushing on the levers on both sides of theDIMM socket, so that they move to the sides. Do not force them too hard.Put the RAM module in the socket. Line up the notch in the center of the module with the onein the center of the RAM socket, making sure to insert it the right way. Force the module untilboth levers go into the notches on both sides of the module. Do not use too much force as itmay break the RAM module.Start adding RAM at "Bank 0" or "DIMM 1". If you don't start from "Bank 0" or "DIMM 1"the system will think there is no RAM and not boot.On newer motherboards with 4 slots, you'll see alternating colors. For example, slot 1 is blue,slot 2 is black, slot 3 is blue, slot 4 is black. If you were to put 1 gigabyte of ram in your pc, it'sbest to use dual channel 512MBx2 chips. Put the first 512MB chip in slot 1, and put the 2ndchip in slot 3 (the two slots that are blue) - leaving slot 2 empty. This will give you betterperformance, vs. putting 1gb in slot 1, or two 512mb chips in slot 1 and 2.

Video Card

You may or may not have an AGP video card. Your motherboard may have a built-in videoadapter, or you might have a PCI video card. If you do not have an AGP video card, skip thissection.Install the video card into the AGP socket. This is always the top expansion slot near the backof the computer. AGP slots are often brown, but can also be strange colours such as fluorescentgreen. Check the motherboard for levers (or similar devices) that are part of the AGP slot tohelp hold the card in place. These must be retracted before insertion of the card. Check themotherboard's manual for information on how to use these devices (if your motherboard hasone.) Push the card into the socket (AGP slots are often pretty tight, don't be afraid to push ituntil it's well inserted), then screw it in at the top of the metal bracket. If it has a powerconnector, connect it to a 4-pin molex connector. If it has a pass through, do not connect it to ahard drive.

Drives

Next install the hard drive and optical drives.Before you install IDE/ATA drives, you will need to set the drives jumpers, so that yourmotherboard knows which drive is which; consult your motherboard/drive's instructions onhow to do this. The jumpers configurations are usually either printed on the back, or on the topof the drive. Drives can be configured in 2 ways: Drive Select or Cable Select. Cable selectautomatically assigns slave/master based on the plug on the IDE cable the drive is plugged into.Put the jumper on CS. In drive select, master/slave is determined by the jumper. In this mode,configure one of the drives the master, and the other slave. If the IDE channel has only onedrive, then make that drive master.Each IDE/ATA channel can handle two drives, a master and a slave. SATA can only handleone drive, so there is no need to adjust jumpers. How a drive is installed will depend on thecase. When using an IDE cable, plug the two connectors that are closer together into the 2drives, and the third to the controller or motherboard. The connector furthest from the boardshould be attached to the Master drive. Make sure the drive that you will install your OS on isprimary master. (Note: IDE connectors are keyed, so it should be impossible to insert thembackwards. However, it doesn't require very much force to do this, and you may destroy yourmotherboard if so. Also look carefully at the drive and the cable connection before you try toconnect them. You will probably see a "missing" pin on the drive, and a corresponding blockedsocket on the connector. If you break a pin on the drive, you will probably have a worthlessdrive. Note: most parallel IDE cables have a colored stripe down one side. That colored stripesignifies "pin 1" - and usually will line up next to the molex power connection on your drive.Use this rule of thumb if your connectors aren't keyed.) Next, plug a 4 pin molex powerconnector into each hard drive and optical drive. If you are installing the power connector to aSATA drive, only install one of the power connectors. Some drives have the option of usingeither the SATA power connector (a flat about 1" wide connector) or the standard molexconnector; use one or the other, not both.If you install a floppy disk drive, the cable is very similar to the IDE cable, but with fewerwires. Floppy drives do not have master/slave. BUT the floppy disk connector is not usuallykeyed, and will go in either way up! One wire in the IDE cable will be coloured differently: thisis pin 1. There is usually some indication on the floppy drive as to which side this is. Thepower plug for a floppy is 4 pins in a line, but rather smaller than a molex one.

Expansions and Connections

Now, install any PCI cards that you have. These generally include sound cards, network cards,video cards, and TV tuners. These fit into the white slots that are just below your AGP slot (ifyour motherboard has one).Also plug in any power cords, including the 20pin and the 4 pin cords that you haven't pluggedin yet. Before you finish up and power it up, you need to connect the power/reset buttons andfront panel lights. The plugs from the front of the case will be labeled. The pins on themotherboard may be labeled, but they will be difficult to read because they are small. See thefoldout that came with the motherboard for where to connect these connectors. The front panelLEDs are polarised: usually the positive wire is white.In addition, you can optionally connect any case-specific port if it is supported by themotherboard. Some common examples include USB ports and sound ports.Next, close the case and take your computer to where you will be using it. Plug in the powercord, mouse, keyboard, monitor, and any other peripherals you may have to the computer.

Power Up

Then press the power button. If smoke appears (it shouldn't, unless your power supply orcooling systems are really bad), or if the computer doesn't do anything, check the steps above tomake sure you haven't missed anything. Give special attention to the cables and powerconnections. If the computer does appear to come on, but, you hear beeps, listen carefully to thebeeps and then turn it off and refer to your motherboard's manual for the meaning of the beeps.Some boards have an optional diagnostic device, usually a collection of LEDs, which whenproperly plugged in will inform you of the nature of the problem. Instructions for installing thisas well as the meaning of it's display should be in the manual for the motherboard. If it turns onbut the only thing that comes on is your power supply, turn off your computer. This probablymeans something is shorted, and leaving it on could damage the parts.At this point, you will wish to set certain options in the Computer's BIOS (usually be pressing'F1' or 'Del' a few seconds after boot.) These options will be explained in the motherboardmanual. In general, the default options are OK, but you may wish to set the computer'shardware clock to the correct time and date. The BIOS is also where you determine the defaultboot 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 bootableCD-ROM such as Knoppix extremely useful.

Choosing and installing the computer's software

Once you have a working computer, the major difference between purchasing an OEMcomputer, and building your own is that you will also need to source your own software. If youmake informed decisions and select the right pieces of software you can avoid many hiddencosts that are often charged to your computer, such as the so-called "Windows Tax", charged toevery new OEM computer. Installing operating systems (OSes) and software to your ownspecifications can greatly improve performance.This section will attempt to explore the key options that you have when setting up yourcomputer for use.

Operating System(s)

The first thing to do after you have a working PC is install an operating system. You have theoption of installing more than one, as well. The first option, and the one taken by most people,is to just install Microsoft Windows, of which the current version is Windows XP. Anotheroption is to install a GNU system (a Free Software operating system). There are many otheroperating systems to choose from as well, notably the BSDs, which are also open sourceoperating systems. Note that you also have the option of installing more than one operatingsystem in what is called a multiboot setup.If you are going to install both, install Windows XP first. This is because Windows overwritesthe software that GNU requires to start up, even if something's already there. If you installWindows before all of your other systems, you will be able to easily boot into all of them.

Installing Windows

The installation of Windows is relatively easy. Push the button on the front of the PC, put theCD-ROM in your optical drive, and follow the on-screen instructions. Partitioning the harddisk(s) is different if you are dual-booting or going with just XP. If you are doing a plainWindows-only install, just allocate all of the hard drive to XP.If you are dual-booting, some extra considerations must be taken. NTFS, which is the defaultFilesystem that Windows uses, is not very well supported outside of Windows. GNU/Linuxsupport is up to the point where we can read, but not write, an NTFS filesystem. However, itdoes 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 Filesystems. If you are goingto be switching between the two frequently, then it might be in your best interest to create a37FAT32 for both operating systems to use.When it comes the time to partition the hard disk(s), remember to leave space for GNU (ifyou're installing it - a good amount is somewhere in the order of a third of your total hard diskspace). 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, as Linux's support for NTFSdisks is good, but not perfect. You should also modify the table as necessary - you may notneed as much space for Windows or you may need more in your FAT32 transfer area. But youmust ensure that you leave at least 3GB for your Windows installation, since the standardinstallation of Windows takes up about 2 GB of hard drive space, and it is always wise to leavea bit extra on, to allow for any changes that may occur.Some people find that it's 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 beformatted and the operating system can be reinstalled without possibily losing data.If you are installing Windows on a RAID drive, or a SATA drive in most cases you are goingto have to provide the Windows installer drivers to access the hard drive on the raid controller.To do this while Windows install is at the blue screen, at the bottom it will read "Press F6 toinstall any third party SCSI or RAID drivers." Later during the install it will come up with ascreen says "Setup could not determine the type of one or more mass storage devices installedin your system, or you have chosen to manually specify an adapter." At this screen you aregoing to want to hit 'S' to "Specify Additional Device," another screen will pop up asking youto insert the floppy disk containing the drivers, followed by a screen asking you to choose theappropriate driver out of the set contained on the disk (most disks will have a for each of themajor Windows operating systems).

Installing GNU

Before installing GNU, you need to be aware there is no single version of GNU. There aremany, each containing many different quirks of operation. The GNU distribution that is rightfor you is something only you can decide, although there are many popular ones. Some of themore frequently suggested distributions include: Suse Linux, Mandriva Linux, Ubuntu(basedon Debian), and Fedora Core Linux - since they are generally the more user-friendly ones.Distributions that tend to be more overwhelming to new-comers are: Debian, and Slackware -but they certainly have many advantages of their own.This is by no means a complete list, and there are many other distributions that you can selectfrom: for more help in picking a distribution see A Neutral Look at Operating Systems/Linuxor Distrowatch. If you are more comfortable with computers, Gentoo will arguably run fastest,but it is much harder to install.Installation instructions for GNU vary greatly between the distributions, so no instructions willbe given here, but look out for a section that installs software called GRUB or LILO. Upon38installation, you should be prompted about whether you have other operating systems (OS)(such as Windows), make sure that all operating systems on your computer are listed(otherwise you won't be able to boot them). The install for most distributions takes up about 4gigabytes of hard drive space, however this figure varies from distribution to distribution.If you are unsure as to whether GNU is for you or not, many distributions (most notablyKnoppix and Ubuntu) provide a LiveCD which boots a fully working GNU system from a CD,without affecting the data on your computer. This can be useful in evaluating whether GNU canprovide what you need. However, it must be remembered that distributions of GNU can beanything up to 5 CDs, so a single CD will not accurately reflect the breadth of softwareavailable on the platform.

Security

After installation, your priority should be security.A newly installed Windows XP computer can be attacked within moments of being connectedto the Internet. The SANS Institute provides a PDF guide called Windows XP: Surviving theFirst Day, which explains how to update a new Windows XP box without immediatelybecoming infected by viruses and worms. To avoid having your new computer attacked, installa firewall, or activate the one that came with your OS. Both Windows and GNU have in-builtfirewalls: In some GNU distributions, it is enabled by default; in Windows XP Service Pack 2,it can be found in the program in your control panel.As soon as you are on the internet, run your operating system's update facility to fix anysecurity 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, thenit 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 Centerprogram mentioned above.The method of updating your GNU Operating system varies greatly from distribution todistribution. For Fedora Core, simply issue a "yum update" as root on the command prompt. Itis perhaps easiest to update the OS from Debian-based distributions such as Debian, Ubuntuand Linspire, where you simply have to typeapt-get updateapt-get dist-upgradeinto a terminal window, and if your computer will be switched on overnight, it is very easy toset these programs to run automatically in the background.Programs such as Anti-Virus, Anti-Spam and Anti-Spyware of commercial quality or better canbe found quite easily: Windows programs are listed in the software section below. (Usuallytheese are not needed for GNU OS')39An important point to note is that security software is one of the more important things to be setup rather than other applications first. In one case, a freshly-assembled computer runningWindows XP with no security precautions taken was hit by the Blaster worm as soon as it wasconnected to the Internet, and has picked up a variety of spyware after only visiting a fewwebsites; forcing the owner to reformat the hard disk and redo installation of the OS

Drivers

Now that your computer is relatively secure, you will need to install drivers for your variouspieces of hardware.Instead of installing drivers from CDs, it is generally a better idea to download drivers from theInternet (if you have a broadband connection) because these are usually more up to date, andcan be significantly faster, and can improve your computer's efficiency greatly. Even ifsomething seems to working fine, downloading new drivers may help. Your computer may beworking perfectly, but with slightly slow performance. Downloading drivers for yourmotherboard's chipset can often help. Finally, many monitors will not go above a certainrefresh rate without its driver, which may be of great concerns to gamers.If you are using Windows, you can generally find drivers for your selected hardware at itsmanufacturer's website. Most GNU computers already have all of the drivers installed, with theexception of proprietary modem and graphics drivers. If you can't find your required driver, asimple Google search will yield the best results.

Software

Finally, load it with some good quality software. The majority of what you need will beavailable for free, on both forms of operating system, including Word Processors and Anti-Virus. The following are recommendations for each system:Windows•Web Browser: Mozilla Firefox or Slimbrowser or Opera(make sure that if you get MozillaFirefox or Slimbrowser you look into extensions)•E-mail Client: Mozilla Thunderbird•Office Suite: OpenOffice.org•Disc Tools: CD Burner XP or Burn at Once40•Instant Messenger: Gaim or Trillian•Media Player: Nullsoft Winamp or iTunes or SnackAmp•Anti-virus: AVG Anti-Virus, Free Edition or avast!Antivirus Home edition or ClamWin•Security: Spybot: Search & Destroy, Ad-Aware Personal Edition, K9 Anti-Spam,MicrosoftAntiSpyware, ZoneAlarm Free Edition•Compression: 7-Zip,IZArc,TUGZip•Desktop Search: Google Desktop Search or Copernic or Yahoo Desktop Search or WindowsDesktop Search

GNU

Unlike with Windows, on a GNU system the majority of the software that you will want foryour computer is already included. You will probably not need to download anything. MostGNU distributions have a package manager (Portage for Gentoo, APT for Debian-based distroslike Debian and Ubuntu, etc.) For some distributions, simply download RPM files from yourdistribution's web site.If they aren't already installed by your distribution:•Web Browser: Mozilla Firefox or Opera(make sure that if you get Mozilla Firefox you lookinto extensions)•EMail Client: Mozilla Thunderbird•Office Suite: OpenOffice.org•Instant Messenger: Gaim•Media Players: Rhythmbox, mpd, amaroK (depending on what desktop environment you use)or Beep Media Player•Movie/DVD Player: Xine or MPlayer•Desktop Environment: KDE or GNOME•Windows Compatibility Layer: Wine•x86 Emulator/Virtualiser: QEMU•PPC Emulator: PearPC41

Additional Software

For additional software some excellent sources of free and open-souce software are•Tucows http://www.tucows.com/ a downloads site with freeware, shareware, open-source aswell as commercial software. It has many mirrors all over the world for speedy downloads fromlocal servers.•SourceForge http://www.sourceforge.net/ a site featuring many OpenSource projects. You canstart your own, or get software for almost every need. Most projects have GNU and Windowsversions. The mirror system isn't as large as Tucows, but you can still usually get a mirror onthe same continent.•Table of equivalents http://linuxshop.ru/linuxbegin/win-lin-soft-en/table.shtml can be useful ifyou want to know more about specific programs when changing from windows to GNU orvice-versa.

Optimizing and Overclocking

OverclockingOverclocking (OC) is taking your computer components above their recommended speedsettings.(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.)"Overclocking is the practice of making a component run at a higher clock speed than themanufacturer's specification. The idea is to increase performance for free or to exceed currentperformance limits, but this may come at the cost of stability."Think of the 3GHz on your new 3GHz Pentium 4 as a speed limit asking to be broken. This canbe done to several components in your computer. This often takes advantage of the fact thatmany manufacturers mark higher end components as lower in order to meet demand for a lowerend component. You will be able to get extra performance out of your components for free. It ispossible to get performance that is not possible even when using the top of the linecomponents. And you can buy cheaper parts, and then OC them to the clock speed of the higherend component.WARNING: OVERCLOCKING WILL VOID THE WARRANTY ON THE PARTSBEING OVERCLOCKED. DOING SO MAY ALSO CAUSE SYSTEM INSTABILITY,AND MAY ALSO CAUSE DAMAGE TO COMPONENTS AND DATA. BE CAREFULAND CAUTIOUS WHEN OVERCLOCKING.

Things that can't 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-ROMdrive. The only solution to improving the performance of these components is to use fastercomponents in the first place, or in some special cases of hard disks, change the configurationto a RAID. Many OEM computers have the CPU frequency locked. (But you wouldn't bereading this guide if you're using an OEM computer, would you?)

Components CPU

The CPU's clock speed is the FSB clock speed (base, not effective speed) times the CPU'smultiplier. On most newer CPUs, the multiplier is locked, so you will have to adjust the FSBclock speed (However, it might be possible to 'unlock' the chip's multiplier on some older chips.See CPU Locking.) The FSB is not adjustable on a few motherboards, and many OEM systems.The FSB and multiplier, if not locked, are adjustable from within the BIOS. Note that uppingthe FSB clock speed also increases the clock speed of many other components, including RAM.When increasing the FSB clock speed, only 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 successfullyboots, increase the FSB some more. If it won't boot, lower the FSB until your computerproperly boots up. Repeat until you have the highest setting with which your computer willboot up. Next test your OS to make sure it is stable with a burn application, or any applicationthat uses 100% CPU power. If a crash or reboot results, lower the FSB speed some more until itruns smoothly. On some motherboards you are also able to change the voltage of the CPU andother 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.Video CardTwo 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 throughthird-party drivers, third-party software, or direct hardware modifications depending on yourvideo card type. Overclocking a video card is usually done through third-party or proprietarysoftware.Recent ATI proprietary Catalyst drivers feature an interface called Overdrive that allows fordynamic GPU frequency scaling based on its temperature and load. Increase the load, the clockrate increases for performance, but it's balanced against the increasing temperature. Sufficientfor simple increases in overall performance, but doesn't allow for the best performance increasewhich requires overclocking the memory. For this you need third-party applications or drivers.An example is ATITool. This program has many options, including GPU and memoryoverclocking, temperature monitoring, and fan control allowing for a much more completesolution to overclocking ATI based video cards. As for example drivers, for ATI there aremany, omegadrivers.net is one of them, also hosted there are nVidia drivers as well. Both ofwhich include integrated overclocking and many unlocked features, even including enhancedimage quality for nVidia-based cards. nVidia video cards can also be OCed through a hiddenfeature in the driver called coolbits.The most important thing to remember about overclocking a video card is cooling. This can't be44stressed enough. Just the same as a CPU can be damaged or have a shortened lifespan byoverclocking or excessive and prolonged heat, so can a video card. In the past year manyinexpensive and easy to install options have surfaced for cooling a video card, from adhesiveram heatsinks to attach to un-cooled ram chips, to rather expensive water-cooling solutions. Agood midpoint (both in cost and effectiveness) solution is to purchase and install a directexhaust, "sandwich" cooling solution. Direct exhaust means all air from the cooling fan isblown across the video card and directly out of the computer case, usually using the open PCIslot below the AGP (or PCIx) slot. This allows for substantially lower GPU temperatures. Asandwich 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 ofcopper heat pipe which allows for the hotter side to convey heat to the cooler side fordissipation. The GPU should never surpass 60 degrees celsius for optimal performance and toavoid damaging the card. Most of the latest video cards are rated to go up to 90c, but this isNOT recommended by anyone. The optimal temperature for a video card is 40-55c for the carditself (the GPU's temperature differs depending on which you have,) but the lower you can getit, the better.One important thing to note. Many think that the option which says "AGP voltage" in theirBIOS can be used to "voltmod" a video card to get a bit more power out of it. In fact, it's usedfor something else, and raising the AGP voltage can and probably will cause damage to a videocard.

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 throughthird-party drivers, third-party software, or direct hardware modifications depending on yourvideo card type. Overclocking a video card is usually done through third-party or proprietarysoftware.Recent ATI proprietary Catalyst drivers feature an interface called Overdrive that allows fordynamic GPU frequency scaling based on its temperature and load. Increase the load, the clockrate increases for performance, but it's balanced against the increasing temperature. Sufficientfor simple increases in overall performance, but doesn't allow for the best performance increasewhich requires overclocking the memory. For this you need third-party applications or drivers.An example is ATITool. This program has many options, including GPU and memoryoverclocking, temperature monitoring, and fan control allowing for a much more completesolution to overclocking ATI based video cards. As for example drivers, for ATI there aremany, omegadrivers.net is one of them, also hosted there are nVidia drivers as well. Both ofwhich include integrated overclocking and many unlocked features, even including enhancedimage quality for nVidia-based cards. nVidia video cards can also be OCed through a hiddenfeature in the driver called coolbits.The most important thing to remember about overclocking a video card is cooling. This can't be44stressed enough. Just the same as a CPU can be damaged or have a shortened lifespan byoverclocking or excessive and prolonged heat, so can a video card. In the past year manyinexpensive and easy to install options have surfaced for cooling a video card, from adhesiveram heatsinks to attach to un-cooled ram chips, to rather expensive water-cooling solutions. Agood midpoint (both in cost and effectiveness) solution is to purchase and install a directexhaust, "sandwich" cooling solution. Direct exhaust means all air from the cooling fan isblown across the video card and directly out of the computer case, usually using the open PCIslot below the AGP (or PCIx) slot. This allows for substantially lower GPU temperatures. Asandwich 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 ofcopper heat pipe which allows for the hotter side to convey heat to the cooler side fordissipation. The GPU should never surpass 60 degrees celsius for optimal performance and toavoid damaging the card. Most of the latest video cards are rated to go up to 90c, but this isNOT recommended by anyone. The optimal temperature for a video card is 40-55c for the carditself (the GPU's temperature differs depending on which you have,) but the lower you can getit, the better.One important thing to note. Many think that the option which says "AGP voltage" in theirBIOS can be used to "voltmod" a video card to get a bit more power out of it. In fact, it's usedfor something else, and raising the AGP voltage can and probably will cause damage to a videocard.

Getting the few extra MHz out of a chip Cooling

When increasing the speed of any computer components you are making the components workharder and by doing so they output more heat. Heat can cause system instability so cooling isnecessary to help keep your components stable at higher speeds. Without good cooling youcould harm or shorten the life of your system. CPU temperature can usually be checked fromwithin the BIOS. However, thelse are inaccurate as your CPU is under almost no load in thebios. SiSoftware Sandra may be used within Windows to check temperature. This should bedone 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, andpeltier.With both air cooling and water cooling some type of transfer material is needed to move theenergy away from the sensitive electronics. The deviced used for this purpose is a heatsink. Thetwo most popular heatsink materials are Aluminium and Copper. The heatsink that is stock onfactory computers by major manufacturers (Dell, Gateway, IBM) is usually made ofaluminium, which has satisfactory heat transfer characteristics. However when overclockingmore heat is being produced from the increase in power consumption and in order to obtain45lower tempertures a material with better heat transfer properties is important. For this reasonCopper is the material that offers the best ratio of price/performance.

Getting the few extra MHz out of a chip Cooling

When increasing the speed of any computer components you are making the components workharder and by doing so they output more heat. Heat can cause system instability so cooling isnecessary to help keep your components stable at higher speeds. Without good cooling youcould harm or shorten the life of your system. CPU temperature can usually be checked fromwithin the BIOS. However, thelse are inaccurate as your CPU is under almost no load in thebios. SiSoftware Sandra may be used within Windows to check temperature. This should bedone 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, andpeltier.With both air cooling and water cooling some type of transfer material is needed to move theenergy away from the sensitive electronics. The deviced used for this purpose is a heatsink. Thetwo most popular heatsink materials are Aluminium and Copper. The heatsink that is stock onfactory computers by major manufacturers (Dell, Gateway, IBM) is usually made ofaluminium, which has satisfactory heat transfer characteristics. However when overclockingmore heat is being produced from the increase in power consumption and in order to obtain45lower tempertures a material with better heat transfer properties is important. For this reasonCopper 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 mightenable it to go at slightly faster speeds but by doing so you add a lot more heat output from theCPU. The vcore of a processor is the voltage at which a chip is set to run at with the stockspeed. This voltage may need to be changed when the multiplier is raised because otherwise thetransistors in the chip wouldn't switch fast enough - transistors switch faster, the higher thesupply voltage. If there is not enough voltage then the chip will begin to make mistakes andgive 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.Note: increasing the speed (multiplier or fsb) without changing the voltage will also increaseheat output, but not as much as when also increasing voltage. Having said that, increasing themultiplier or fsb without adjusting the voltage may make your system unstable (undervolt).

Silencing

In contrast to overclocking, you may prefer to silence your computer. Some high-performancePCs are very loud indeed, and it is possible to reduce the noise dramatically. Note that quietercomputers sometimes run slightly hotter, so you need to monitor carefully what you do.Usually you can't overclock and silence at the same time. Main sources of noise are: Fans(CPU, case, power supply, motherboard, Graphics card), and Hard disks. One should be able tosit next to the computer, and hear birdsong from outside!

Fans

The noisiest part is usually the CPU fan: the Intel-supplied fan-heatsinks are particuarly loud,although they do provide good cooling. Some BIOSs allow you to slow the CPU fan downautomatically when it is not too hot - if this option is available, turn it on. Also, you can get 3rdparty coolers, which are designed to be less noisy: for example, those made by Zalman. Noisypower-supplies simply have to be replaced with quieter ones. The case fans can be sloweddown by using fan-speed controllers, or resistors (but beware of ensuring sufficient cooling).Motherboard and lower-end graphics-card fans can usually be replaced with a small passiveheatsink. Large diameter (120 mm), high quality fans are much quieter than small diameterones. After a few weeks, dust and debris can accumulate on fan blades. Keep them clean toreduce noise and increase efficiency.

Hard disk

A 'resting' hard disk is generally quite quiet compared with any fan, but increases dramaticallywhen it starts 'churning', as when you open or save a file or perform a virus scan. A goodsolution is to mount it on rubber mounts. But do ensure good cooling of the hard drive: runninga hard drive moderately hot can reduce its lifespan to under a year! Some mounts are designedto provide both extra cooling and silencing, such as the heat-pipe coolers. Spinning the HDDdown when not in use will also reduce noise, but it can reduce the life of the drive by increasingthe number of landings and take-offs performed by the read/white heads.A software tool created by Maxtor exists which can adjust a hard disk's noise/performance ratioto what your system requires. The technique is called acoustic management. However, onlycertain drives currently support this feature. You can read more on this topic here and get thetool here.Completely silent computers will need to use solid state memory like flash ram or eeprom. Thisis more expensive and has less capacity than a normal hard drive, so it can't be considered amainstream solution. At the moment, hard drives are the only practical option except in veryspecialised circumstances. However, there are plenty of options for reducing the noise output ofhard disks.