Warning: due to recent demands for AMD cards for non gaming purposes, they are hard to find at normal prices.
Choosing a GPU is fairly simple compared to other parts, while they are the hardest to understand when it comes to knowing why they perform well compared to each other. The gaming oriented lines from each company is the Nvidia Geforce GTX series, and the AMD Radeon HD series.
1) Performance
The primary cards worth purchasing from either Nvidia or AMD are generally going to be priced at $100 and above. As prices drop below $100 the performance tends do drop of exponentially so we will be ignoring that category all together. Within each brand the numbering shows performance levels, For example an HD R9-270x is better than a R9-280x and a Geforce 770 is better than a Geforce 760. Between brands comparing performance is difficult without checking benchmarks. The good news is that competition quickly insures that pricing is appropriate so you will generally get what you pay for. If two card's are priced at 200 dollars they may not perform the same, but they will perform somewhat close.
Note: In addition to numbering Nvidia uses "ti" and "ti boost" suffixes, unlike manufacturer upgrades (such as OC or Superclocked) these suffixes denote completely different models and represent a significant performance change
VRAM is another important feature of a video card, however for the most part you don't need to worry about this. 1GB of VRAM is enough for most lower end cards and 2GB of VRAM wont offer as much of a performance upgrade as just choosing a higher end model will.
Note: Avoid cards with DDR3 VRAM, it should be GDDR5.
2) Other features
When you start looking for your video card you will probably quickly notice that for any given model (such as a GTX 760) that a large number of variants exist, with many different prices. The primary difference between these comes down to their clock speed and their cooling method. the more expensive variants will generally employ a better cooler, and as such ship with a higher speed. This speed change is very little compared to the speed change from going up a model however. The other change is that the better cooling units will generally be quieter than the cheap versions of the same model of the card.
3) Choosing the video card
Actually choosing what you get is going to depend on your budget and your expectations
Cards in the low 100's range such as the R7-260x, and the GTX 650ti will be able to run most games at acceptable settings, but won't be enough to max many newer high demand games
Cards in the upper 100's such as the R9-270x and GTX 650ti boost will be better able to run more games on high and max.
Cards 250 and above such as the GTX 760 and R9-280x will be even more powerful, maxing almost all games even with higher levels of MSAA
Cards 350 and above such as the R9-290 and the GTX 770 are often more powerful than what is needed for standard 1080p gameplay, these are ideal for larger resolutions such as 1440p, Multi monitor gameplay, and 3d monitors
The Builder's Reference is the one stop quick reference site for your PC building, upgrading, and troubleshooting needs.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Guide: Power Supply Features
Power supplies are simple to understand but play the primary role in determine what parts and features you can use, as well as effecting general reliability. There are only a few things that you need to look at when choosing your power supply, but it is important to check them to ensure that the power supply will meet your needs.
Wattage: Ensure that the power supply's rated wattage meets the power needs of your computer. It's okay to purchase a power supply rated higher than what you need as well. This would give you more upgrade options in the future.
12v Amperage (And other amperages): The rail amperages are the maximum amperages any given rail can deliver. In some cases the amperage may be split between multiple rails for a single voltage. This shouldn't be an issue so long as you choose a reputable brand. Because the main power hungry components of a PC are 12v dependent, it is important to ensure that the power supply is capable of delivering most of it's wattage as 12v.
For example a Corsair CX 430 is rated for 32A on it's 12v line. This works out to 384w and is a fairly good ratio (about 90%).
On the other hand a Logisys PS550 is only rated for 25A on it's 12v line. This is only 300w (ratio is about 55%), which is less than the CX430.
Because the PS550 delivers less 12v wattage it is functionally worse than the CX430 despite being rated at 550w
Efficiency: Some power supplies are more efficient at converting AC power to the DC power your computer uses. more efficient power supplies generally are marked with the "80 plus" certification. This does two things for your computer. First and the most obvious is that it reduces your power bill. The second is that it reduces waste heat. In general "80 plus" and "80 plus bronze" are adequate for most builds, with the savings from a "80 plus gold" PSU often never being able to pay off their much higher price point.
Brand quality: This generally ties in with 12v amperage ratio and efficiency, but also effects reliablity and build quality as well. If you choose a reputable brand and product line, you generally don't even need to look at the amperage because you can reply on them to be sufficient. Reputable brands include Corsair, NZXT, OCZ, Seasonic, and Antec. Brands that have some less than stellar product lines mixed in with good product lines include Cooler Master, Rosewill, and others. Pay attention to reviews to get an idea how reputable a brand or product line is.
Wattage: Ensure that the power supply's rated wattage meets the power needs of your computer. It's okay to purchase a power supply rated higher than what you need as well. This would give you more upgrade options in the future.
12v Amperage (And other amperages): The rail amperages are the maximum amperages any given rail can deliver. In some cases the amperage may be split between multiple rails for a single voltage. This shouldn't be an issue so long as you choose a reputable brand. Because the main power hungry components of a PC are 12v dependent, it is important to ensure that the power supply is capable of delivering most of it's wattage as 12v.
For example a Corsair CX 430 is rated for 32A on it's 12v line. This works out to 384w and is a fairly good ratio (about 90%).
On the other hand a Logisys PS550 is only rated for 25A on it's 12v line. This is only 300w (ratio is about 55%), which is less than the CX430.
Because the PS550 delivers less 12v wattage it is functionally worse than the CX430 despite being rated at 550w
Efficiency: Some power supplies are more efficient at converting AC power to the DC power your computer uses. more efficient power supplies generally are marked with the "80 plus" certification. This does two things for your computer. First and the most obvious is that it reduces your power bill. The second is that it reduces waste heat. In general "80 plus" and "80 plus bronze" are adequate for most builds, with the savings from a "80 plus gold" PSU often never being able to pay off their much higher price point.
Brand quality: This generally ties in with 12v amperage ratio and efficiency, but also effects reliablity and build quality as well. If you choose a reputable brand and product line, you generally don't even need to look at the amperage because you can reply on them to be sufficient. Reputable brands include Corsair, NZXT, OCZ, Seasonic, and Antec. Brands that have some less than stellar product lines mixed in with good product lines include Cooler Master, Rosewill, and others. Pay attention to reviews to get an idea how reputable a brand or product line is.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Troubleshooting: PC not showing new hard drive / 2nd hard drive in new build
1) If you just installed a second hard drive and it isn't showing up in windows it likely because you have not yet initialized and formated the drive. Read Guide: Initializing and formatting a second hard drive for more information
2) If you cannot initialize and format the drive double check your connections, ensure that the hard drive is both getting power and is connected to the motherboard.
3) Check BIOS. If the drive doesn't show up under BIOS either, it may be a sign that the hard drive is faulty, or that there is some form of compatibility issue between the drive and your motherboard.
2) If you cannot initialize and format the drive double check your connections, ensure that the hard drive is both getting power and is connected to the motherboard.
3) Check BIOS. If the drive doesn't show up under BIOS either, it may be a sign that the hard drive is faulty, or that there is some form of compatibility issue between the drive and your motherboard.
Guide: Initializing and formatting a second hard drive
This guide will cover how to initialize and format your secondary hard drive or new hard drive in Windows 7. This guide should also function for Windows 8, although the steps may be slightly different.
I've just installed a third hard drive into this computer, as you can see only two hard drives and my camera show up under Computer. I will be preparing the new hard drive for use. |
First, hit the Start button and search "Disk Management" One of the results should be "Create and format disk partitions". That is the result that you will use. |
As soon as you launch Disk Management it should prompt you to initialize the hard drive. Choose MBR for a hard drive with a capacity of 2TB of less, otherwise select GPT, then hit OK |
With the hard drive initialized it will appear in the bottom half of the Disk Management window as an unallocated disk as shown. Right click the unallocated drive and select "New Simple Volume". |
The drive should now show up under Computer and is ready for use. |
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Guide: Upgrading a Video Card (GPU)
This guide will cover upgrading a video card in a typical consumer PC.
This guide assumes that you have already upgraded your power supply if needed. See Guide: Upgrading a Power Supply (PSU)and Guide: Choosing a Power Supply (PSU)for more information.
Some low wattage cards such as the HD 7750 see so little wattage that running them on a 300w original power supply is acceptable.
Some computers ship with a higher wattage power supply and can safely skip to this guide as well.
This guide assumes that you have already upgraded your power supply if needed. See Guide: Upgrading a Power Supply (PSU)and Guide: Choosing a Power Supply (PSU)for more information.
Some low wattage cards such as the HD 7750 see so little wattage that running them on a 300w original power supply is acceptable.
Some computers ship with a higher wattage power supply and can safely skip to this guide as well.
This guide will be using a HP pavilion desktop |
We have already upgraded the power supply in the previous guide. Guide: Upgrading a Power Supply (PSU) |
Locate the mechanism that holds the PCI slot covers in place, they may be held in place with an external clamp, or by internal screws. |
Remove the PCI slot covers occupying spaces that will be used by the video card. Some may be easy to remove replaceable covers and some may be weak metal that has to be removed. |
Most gaming grade video cards will need power directly from the power supply, the plug coming from the power supply will either be a 6 pin PCIe power cord, or a 6+2 pin PCIe power cord as shown |
The video card is now installed, replace the side panel, start your computer, and install drivers either off the included CD, or off of AMD or Nvidia's website. |
Guide: Upgrading a Power Supply (PSU)
This guide will cover how to replace or upgrade the power supply in a typical consumer PC.
PC being used as an example is an HP pavilion with a 300w power supply |
First, remove the side panel |
All power connections discontected |
Remove the screws fastening the current power supply. Keep these as you will use them to mount the new power supply. |
There may be an additional latch inside the case that will need to be depressed to free the power supply. It may take a little wiggling to free the power supply. |
You are half way done, set your old power supply aside |
The new power supply will be a Corsair CX430 |
Your current motherboard may have a 4pin ATX12v socket. Your new power supply will probably have an 8 pin EPS/ATX12v cable |
This cable will either be 2 independent 4 pin cables, or it will latch together using hooks as shown here. |
Plug in all power cables that you removed earlier (2 mobo, 1 hard drive, 1 dvd drive in this case) and replace the side panel Congratulations, you have upgraded your power supply. |
Troubleshooting: PC turns on but nothing is displayed
Follow these steps to fix and diagnose a PC that starts, but fails to display anything on screen
NOTE: For each step that requires working inside your computer, you should turn your power supply off until you're finished working, then turn it back on when you go to test.
NOTE: For each step that requires working inside your computer, you should turn your power supply off until you're finished working, then turn it back on when you go to test.
- If your computer power supply has a 115/230v switch on the back ensure that the voltage is set to the appropriate voltage for your country
- Ensure that if you are using a video card that your monitor is plugged into your video card, and not the motherboard.
- Open your computer if it wasn't already and check over the 24 pin ATX cable and 8 pin ATX12v (may be a 4 pin on some motherboards) and ensure both are plugged in firmly.
- Ensure that your video card is plugged in. Many video cards require power from a 6 pin PCIe power connector.
- Ensure that the RAM is fully seated. If you have more than one module attempt to boot with the first removed, then try again with the first installed and all others removed. If booting works with a specific stick removed that stick can be assumed to be the issue.
- Ensure that the standoffs are correctly installed and there are no extra standoffs under the motherboard that do not correlate with screw holes on the motherboard.
- Unplug the hard drive and disk drives and if your PC has integrated video remove the video card as well. attempt to boot again, if boot up is successful reconnect parts one at a time to determine the problem part. If the problem part is the video card the issue might be power supply related or video card related.
If you were unable to diagnose the possibilities are.
- motherboard
- RAM (unlikely if you had 2 sticks and could test individually)
- CPU (fairly unlikely, these don't show up dead often)
- Video card (if you had integrated graphics this can be ignored)
- PSU (this is very unlikely, especially if you had integrated graphics)
Troubleshooting: PC doesn't turn on (no response from power button)
These are the steps you should take when a PC does not boot at all when attempting to fix and diagnose the issue.
NOTE: For each step that requires working inside your computer, you should turn your power supply off until you're finished working, then turn it back on when you go to test.
- Ensure that the PC is firmly plugged in and that the power supply's switch is set to on.
- If your computer power supply has a 115/230v switch on the back ensure that the voltage is set to the appropriate voltage for your country
- Open your computer if it wasn't already and check over the 24 pin ATX cable and 8 pin ATX12v (may be a 4 pin on some motherboards) and ensure both are plugged in firmly.
- Ensure that the RAM is fully seated
- Ensure that the standoffs are correctly installed and there are no extra standoffs under the motherboard that do not correlate with screw holes on the motherboard.
- Verify that the front panel header for the power switch is properly connected to the motherboard
- Unplug the hard drive and disk drives and remove the video card completly. attempt to boot again, if boot up is successful reconnect parts one at a time to determine the problem part. If the problem part is the video card the issue might be power supply related or video card related.
- Test to ensure that the power supply functions at all. The Paperclip Test is the most common method to do this. Click the link for directions to do the test. If the test fails the issue is the power supply
If any part except the video card in test #7 causes failure you can assume it to be the issue. If the video card is the issue in test #7 is the issue ensure that your power supply has enough wattage and 12v amps to handle the video card. If the PSU has adequate wattage and amperage then the issue is probably the video card, but could still theoretically be the PSU being unable to deliver it's full power due to a defect. Cross reference parts to a different PC if possible otherwise assume the video card first
If the PC fails to boot after checking all of these and the PSU is determined to be functional, it is reasonably safe to assume the issue is the motherboard.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Guide: Choosing a Video Card (GPU) (Old)
A new version of this guide is available at http://buildersreference.blogspot.com/2013/12/guide-choosing-video-card-gpu.html
Choosing a GPU is fairly simple compared to other parts, while they are the hardest to understand when it comes to knowing why they perform well compared to each other. The gaming oriented lines from each company is the Nvidia Geforce GTX series, and the AMD Radeon HD series.
1) Performance
The primary cards worth purchasing from either Nvidia or AMD are generally going to be priced at $100 and above. As prices drop below $100 the performance tends do drop of exponentially so we will be ignoring that category all together. Within each brand the numbering shows performance levels, For example an HD 7850 is better than a HD 7770 and a Geforce 660ti is better than a Geforce 660. Between brands comparing performance is difficult without checking benchmarks. The good news is that competition quickly insures that pricing is appropriate so you will generally get what you pay for. If two card's are priced at 200 dollars they may not perform the same, but they will perform somewhat close.
Note: In addition to numbering Nvidia uses "ti" and "ti boost" suffixes, unlike manufacturer upgrades (such as OC or Superclocked) these suffixes denote completely different models and represent a significant performance change
VRAM is another important feature of a video card, however for the most part you don't need to worry about this. 1GB of VRAM is enough for most lower end cards and 2GB of VRAM wont offer as much of a performance upgrade as just choosing a higher end model will.
Note: Avoid cards with DDR3 VRAM, it should be GDDR5.
2) Other features
When you start looking for your video card you will probably quickly notice that for any given model (such as a GTX 660) that a large number of variants exist, with many different prices. The primary difference between these comes down to their clock speed and their cooling method. the more expensive variants will generally employ a better cooler, and as such ship with a higher speed. This speed change is very little compared to the speed change from going up a model however. The other change is that the better cooling units will generally be quieter than the cheap versions of the same model of the card.
3) Choosing the video card
Actually choosing what you get is going to depend on your budget and your expectations
Cards in the low 100's range such as the HD 7770 Ghz, and the GTX 650ti will be able to run most games at acceptable settings, but won't be enough to max many newer high demand games
Cards in the upper 100's such as the HD 7850 and GTX 650ti Boost will be better able to run more games on high and max.
Cards in the low 200's such as the GTX 660 and the HD 7870 will be able to max most games at 1080p, but won't handle higher levels of MSAA in some games
Cards 250 and above such as the GTX 760 and HD 7950 will be even more powerful, maxing almost all games even with higher levels of MSAA
Cards 350 and above such as the HD 7970 and the GTX 770 are more powerful than what is needed for standard 1080p gameplay, these are ideal for larger resolutions such as 1440p, Multi monitor gameplay, and 3d monitors
Choosing a GPU is fairly simple compared to other parts, while they are the hardest to understand when it comes to knowing why they perform well compared to each other. The gaming oriented lines from each company is the Nvidia Geforce GTX series, and the AMD Radeon HD series.
1) Performance
The primary cards worth purchasing from either Nvidia or AMD are generally going to be priced at $100 and above. As prices drop below $100 the performance tends do drop of exponentially so we will be ignoring that category all together. Within each brand the numbering shows performance levels, For example an HD 7850 is better than a HD 7770 and a Geforce 660ti is better than a Geforce 660. Between brands comparing performance is difficult without checking benchmarks. The good news is that competition quickly insures that pricing is appropriate so you will generally get what you pay for. If two card's are priced at 200 dollars they may not perform the same, but they will perform somewhat close.
Note: In addition to numbering Nvidia uses "ti" and "ti boost" suffixes, unlike manufacturer upgrades (such as OC or Superclocked) these suffixes denote completely different models and represent a significant performance change
VRAM is another important feature of a video card, however for the most part you don't need to worry about this. 1GB of VRAM is enough for most lower end cards and 2GB of VRAM wont offer as much of a performance upgrade as just choosing a higher end model will.
Note: Avoid cards with DDR3 VRAM, it should be GDDR5.
2) Other features
When you start looking for your video card you will probably quickly notice that for any given model (such as a GTX 660) that a large number of variants exist, with many different prices. The primary difference between these comes down to their clock speed and their cooling method. the more expensive variants will generally employ a better cooler, and as such ship with a higher speed. This speed change is very little compared to the speed change from going up a model however. The other change is that the better cooling units will generally be quieter than the cheap versions of the same model of the card.
3) Choosing the video card
Actually choosing what you get is going to depend on your budget and your expectations
Cards in the low 100's range such as the HD 7770 Ghz, and the GTX 650ti will be able to run most games at acceptable settings, but won't be enough to max many newer high demand games
Cards in the upper 100's such as the HD 7850 and GTX 650ti Boost will be better able to run more games on high and max.
Cards in the low 200's such as the GTX 660 and the HD 7870 will be able to max most games at 1080p, but won't handle higher levels of MSAA in some games
Cards 250 and above such as the GTX 760 and HD 7950 will be even more powerful, maxing almost all games even with higher levels of MSAA
Cards 350 and above such as the HD 7970 and the GTX 770 are more powerful than what is needed for standard 1080p gameplay, these are ideal for larger resolutions such as 1440p, Multi monitor gameplay, and 3d monitors
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Guide: Choosing a Case
While choosing a your computer case is a fairly simple task and helps to give your PC it's customized feel, it's important to choose a case that meets all of your needs. This article will go over the primary features of cases that you should look at, as well as give some suggestions for each case size.
1) Case Form Factor (Size)
This is the most important thing to look at in your case as if your motherboard doesnt fit in your case, you may have a problem. The four major case sizes are; ATX full tower, ATX mid tower, MicroATX, and MiniITX
ATX full tower: These cases are the largest consumer aimed cases you can get. They are gigantic and generally accommodate large amounts of air flow. They will generally accommodate Extended-ATX, ATX, MircoATX, and MiniITX motherboards. Most of these cases will allow for larger air coolers such as the often used Cooler Master 212 EVO.
Suggested cases: NZXT Phantom, Antec Twelve-Hundred
ATX mid tower: These cases are smaller than the ATX full tower cases and will accept the same motherboards with the exception of the Extended-ATX. Since most motherboards are ATX and smaller this will not be an issue for a vast majority of builds. These cases very somewhat heavily in level of airflow, clearances, and cable management. Most quality cases will offer adequate levels of all three however.
Suggested cases: NZXT Phantom 410, Cooler Master HAF, NZXT Source 210 Elite
Micro-ATX: These cases are generally very small and many do not accommodate larger coolers. The fact that it will only accept Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX motherboards, hinders a good amount of upgradability. However these cases are compact and much easier to transport, and tend to be fairly cheap. Some of these cases may be slim form factor which will prohibit you from using most video cards.
Suggested cases: Fractal Design Core 1000, Xion Performance 560, NZXT Vulcan
Mini-ITX: These cases are generally very small and many of them are slim form factor. There is generally very little room for larger CPU coolers and video cards may not fit well in cases not designed around accommodating large video cards. cheaper ITX cases are almost always slim however BitFenix, Cooler Master, and Silverstone all make ITX lines that accommodate full size video cards
Suggested cases: Cooler Master Elite 120, BitFenix Prodigy, Silverstone Sugo SG05
2) Internal Clearances and Cable Management
Ensure that the case you choose has ample room for your chosen video card and room for your aftermarket coolers if you have chosen to purchase one. Many cases have room behind the motherboard tray to allow you to route cables out of the way of any airflow and keep the case looking neat and tidy. Other cable management features include hard points to zip tie cables to, and rubber grommets where you pass cables behind the motherboard tray.
3) Airflow and Fans
Take your build into consideration when looking at the present cooling available in a case. Most cases will include enough fans to ensure adequate airflow for mid-range builds, but for extreme overclocks and multi-GPU setups, additional cooling considerations may be needed
4) Other features
Ensure that your selected case has all the features that you want present in your finished product. Examples include; USB 3.0 front panel (requires a motherboard with 3.0 front panel header), Sound dampening, dust filters, toolless bays, etc.
5) Build Quality
Just because a case is full of features doesn't mean it's more structurally sound than a tin can. Higher quality cases will generally be much more structurally sound and just generally feel more solid than their cheap counterparts
6) Cosmetics
Make sure you like the way the case looks. Your case is one of the defining features that sets apart a custom build from something pre-made.
1) Case Form Factor (Size)
This is the most important thing to look at in your case as if your motherboard doesnt fit in your case, you may have a problem. The four major case sizes are; ATX full tower, ATX mid tower, MicroATX, and MiniITX
ATX full tower: These cases are the largest consumer aimed cases you can get. They are gigantic and generally accommodate large amounts of air flow. They will generally accommodate Extended-ATX, ATX, MircoATX, and MiniITX motherboards. Most of these cases will allow for larger air coolers such as the often used Cooler Master 212 EVO.
Suggested cases: NZXT Phantom, Antec Twelve-Hundred
ATX mid tower: These cases are smaller than the ATX full tower cases and will accept the same motherboards with the exception of the Extended-ATX. Since most motherboards are ATX and smaller this will not be an issue for a vast majority of builds. These cases very somewhat heavily in level of airflow, clearances, and cable management. Most quality cases will offer adequate levels of all three however.
Suggested cases: NZXT Phantom 410, Cooler Master HAF, NZXT Source 210 Elite
Micro-ATX: These cases are generally very small and many do not accommodate larger coolers. The fact that it will only accept Micro-ATX and Mini-ITX motherboards, hinders a good amount of upgradability. However these cases are compact and much easier to transport, and tend to be fairly cheap. Some of these cases may be slim form factor which will prohibit you from using most video cards.
Suggested cases: Fractal Design Core 1000, Xion Performance 560, NZXT Vulcan
Mini-ITX: These cases are generally very small and many of them are slim form factor. There is generally very little room for larger CPU coolers and video cards may not fit well in cases not designed around accommodating large video cards. cheaper ITX cases are almost always slim however BitFenix, Cooler Master, and Silverstone all make ITX lines that accommodate full size video cards
Suggested cases: Cooler Master Elite 120, BitFenix Prodigy, Silverstone Sugo SG05
2) Internal Clearances and Cable Management
Ensure that the case you choose has ample room for your chosen video card and room for your aftermarket coolers if you have chosen to purchase one. Many cases have room behind the motherboard tray to allow you to route cables out of the way of any airflow and keep the case looking neat and tidy. Other cable management features include hard points to zip tie cables to, and rubber grommets where you pass cables behind the motherboard tray.
3) Airflow and Fans
Take your build into consideration when looking at the present cooling available in a case. Most cases will include enough fans to ensure adequate airflow for mid-range builds, but for extreme overclocks and multi-GPU setups, additional cooling considerations may be needed
4) Other features
Ensure that your selected case has all the features that you want present in your finished product. Examples include; USB 3.0 front panel (requires a motherboard with 3.0 front panel header), Sound dampening, dust filters, toolless bays, etc.
5) Build Quality
Just because a case is full of features doesn't mean it's more structurally sound than a tin can. Higher quality cases will generally be much more structurally sound and just generally feel more solid than their cheap counterparts
6) Cosmetics
Make sure you like the way the case looks. Your case is one of the defining features that sets apart a custom build from something pre-made.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Guide: Choosing a Power Supply (PSU)
1) Determining power needs
The first step you should take when determining what power supply to purchase is determining just how much power your build needs. To get an estimate take CPU TDP, add GPU TDP, add 100w IF you plan to overclock your CPU, add 50w misc. power needs, then multiply the total by 1.25 to ensure adaquate headroom. The formula will look like this.
[(CPU TDP) + (GPU TDP) + (100w if you intend to overclock the CPU) + (50w)] * (1.25) = Minimum recommended power supply
Lets create an example. For a computer that will not be overclocked, has an AMD FX-6300 CPU (95w) and an AMD HD 7870 Ghz Video card (175w) you will need
[95w+175w+0w+50w]*1.25 = 320w*1.25 = 400w
From this you can see that this example build should have at least a 400w power supply. If you think you may upgrade the computer in the future it may be wise to purchase a power supply more powerful than the recommended wattage. Remember, a power supply only uses the electricity it needs, its ratings serve only serve as a maximum. A higher wattage power supply will not use any significant amount of extra electricity assuming that it is of the same efficiency so there is no downside to overbuying except for the cost.
2) Selecting the power supply
Once you have determined your needs. You should look for a power supply manufactured by a reputable brand that meets your wattage demands. Corsair, Antec, XFX, Seasonic, OCZ are highly recommended. Other manufactures make great power supplies as well but remember to check reviews and to check the 12v amperage ratings to ensure that it is capable of delivering enough amperage as 12V as some less reputable brands may under perform in this respect.
3) Examples
Non overclocked CPU + low to mid range video card = quality 400w+ PSU.
Examples: Corsair CX 430, Antec VP-450
Overclocked CPU + low to mid range video card OR
Non overclocked CPU + high end single GPU video card = quality 500w+ PSU
Examples: Corsair CX 500, Rosewill HIVE 550
Overclocked CPU + high end single GPU video card = quality 600w+ PSU
Examples: OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W, Corsair CX 600
The first step you should take when determining what power supply to purchase is determining just how much power your build needs. To get an estimate take CPU TDP, add GPU TDP, add 100w IF you plan to overclock your CPU, add 50w misc. power needs, then multiply the total by 1.25 to ensure adaquate headroom. The formula will look like this.
[(CPU TDP) + (GPU TDP) + (100w if you intend to overclock the CPU) + (50w)] * (1.25) = Minimum recommended power supply
Lets create an example. For a computer that will not be overclocked, has an AMD FX-6300 CPU (95w) and an AMD HD 7870 Ghz Video card (175w) you will need
[95w+175w+0w+50w]*1.25 = 320w*1.25 = 400w
From this you can see that this example build should have at least a 400w power supply. If you think you may upgrade the computer in the future it may be wise to purchase a power supply more powerful than the recommended wattage. Remember, a power supply only uses the electricity it needs, its ratings serve only serve as a maximum. A higher wattage power supply will not use any significant amount of extra electricity assuming that it is of the same efficiency so there is no downside to overbuying except for the cost.
2) Selecting the power supply
Once you have determined your needs. You should look for a power supply manufactured by a reputable brand that meets your wattage demands. Corsair, Antec, XFX, Seasonic, OCZ are highly recommended. Other manufactures make great power supplies as well but remember to check reviews and to check the 12v amperage ratings to ensure that it is capable of delivering enough amperage as 12V as some less reputable brands may under perform in this respect.
3) Examples
Non overclocked CPU + low to mid range video card = quality 400w+ PSU.
Examples: Corsair CX 430, Antec VP-450
Overclocked CPU + low to mid range video card OR
Non overclocked CPU + high end single GPU video card = quality 500w+ PSU
Examples: Corsair CX 500, Rosewill HIVE 550
Overclocked CPU + high end single GPU video card = quality 600w+ PSU
Examples: OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W, Corsair CX 600
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Guide: Choosing a Hard Drive and/or SSD
1) Hard Drive and SSD Features
It's important to know what the various features of HDD's and SSD's are so you can make an educated design about what is right for your PC
The major stats on HDDs are capacity, spindle speed, read/write speed, and response and seek time.
It's important to know what the various features of HDD's and SSD's are so you can make an educated design about what is right for your PC
The major stats on HDDs are capacity, spindle speed, read/write speed, and response and seek time.
- Capacity is a pretty obvious stat, Larger capaicty means it can hold more data. I recommend drives with at least 1TB of storage when building a PC. While many can get by just fine with less, the amount of money saved by dropping to a 500GB hard drive is generally minimal.
- Spindle speed and read/write speed tends to go hand in hand. Spindle speed is the speed at which the internal platters rotate, drives are generally 5400 RPM or 7200 RPM. The slower 5400 RPM drives use less energy and generally have more capacity, but are slower and often ill suited for use as a main hard drive and better suited for media storage and backup. The faster 7200 RPM drives generally boast faster read/write speeds and are better suited for gaming and general use.
- Response and seek times are much less important now than they have been in the past, most reputable brands have very fast timings on all of their drives with the advantage going to the faster drives as the speed of the platter is more often than not the limiting factor. An important consideration however is power saving features such as what are present on some 5400 RPM drives, when a drive slows down to save power the next time it is used it will incur a bit of lag time before it will operate.
The major stats on SSDs are capacity, read/write speed, and max random IOPS
- Capacity is obvious again, but is much lower than HDD's and will often be paired with a HDD as a secondary drive to compensate for this. price is much more linear in terms of GB per dollar however I still recommend at least a 120GB SDD to ensure that there is enough space to install all of your heavily used programs onto it.
- Read/write speeds on SSDs are many times faster than HDDs and are the reason people choose to use them. Read speeds on low end models tends to be near the limit of SATA 6.0 gbps however write speeds are significantly lower than the high end models (write speed will likely not effect gaming and general use, this effects professional work such as video editing much more)
- Random IOPS (input outputs per second) is a measure of how many random inputs and outputs that the drive can handle per second. As most files and programs will not load in a continuous manner, this is important to maintain the high speeds that the drive is capable of.
2) Choosing your Storage Solution
Single hard drive:
Pros
- Good capacity
- Consistent performance
- Cheap (a 1TB drive is around 70 dollars at the time of writing)
- Not as fast as an SSD
- No redundancy
Single SSD:
Pros
- Very fast
- Consistent performance
- Somewhat cheap (a 128GB SSD costs around 100 dollars at the time of writing)
Cons
- Low capacity
- No redundancy
SSD + HDD:
Pros
- Good Capacity
- Very fast for SSD installed software
- Allows duplication of important files
Cons
- Expensive
- Speed for HDD installed software is still low
Other solutions not mentioned are RAID, and Intel SRT
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Guide: Choosing a CPU
When you look at CPU's the primary features you will look at are going to be
- Clock speed: This is how many operations each core can complete per second.
- Core count: This is how many physical cores the CPU has. AMD generally has more cores at any given price point than Intel.
- Core efficiency (aka IPC): This isn't a listed stat on CPU's. Some CPU cores are more efficient at processing compared to alternatives with the same speed. It's important to check benchmarks relevant to you for this reason, but it's generally safe to assume that at any price point Intel will have better core efficiency while AMD will have higher core counts.
- TDP: this is how much wattage is needed to support the CPU at it's default speeds. It's generally safe to assume Intel will have lower wattage than an AMD equivalent.
- Integrated GPU: Some CPU's will have integrated graphics built in, this will be weaker than any decent dedicated card, but may be adequate for less demanding games. Almost all modern Intel chips have integrated graphics. AMD AM3+ CPU's do not have integrated graphics whatsoever, while AMD APUs have very powerful integrated graphics that tend to be much stronger than Intel's offerings.
2) Pros and Cons
2a) Intel
Pros
- Fast single-threaded performance makes most Intel CPU's ideal for gaming
- Generally power efficient
- Performs very consistently across a large variety of tasks
- Weaker integrated graphics than AMD APUs
- May loose out to AMD at multi-threaded performance at any given price point
2b) AMD AM3+
Pros
- Strong multi-threaded performance makes most AMD CPU's ideal for streaming and certain professional work
- AMD doesn't change sockets often, making upgrading in the future more efficient
Cons
- Low power efficiency
- No integrated graphics unless present on the motherboard
- Lower single-threaded performance leads to varied performance in games and single threaded applications
2c) AMD APU
Pros
- Integrated graphics are very powerful relative to intel's offerings at the same price ranges
- Higher end models such as the A8's and A10's offer 4 acceptably fast cores and great GPU performance for lower demand games such as League of Legends and Team Fortress 2 while remaining affordable
- Single threaded performance is still low relative to Intel
- The premium spent to get good integrated graphics is somewhat wasted if you ever decide to add a dedicated video card
- FM2 socket used by current APUs limits upgrade potential
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Guide: Choosing a Motherboard
Because your choice of motherboard is going to be greatly effected by your choice of CPU, you should read the CPU guide before reading this guide.
1) CPU compatibility.
First thing you will do is narrow down your motherboard choices depending on your selected CPU, if you chose an AM3+ CPU, you will need an AM3+ board, etc
2) Selecting your form factor
Extended ATX: These are the largest class of motherboard and only fit in ATX full tower cases, Advantages of this form factor are the stronger support for 3~4 Video cards and support for large quantities of drives. Disadvantages of this form factor is the size severely limits your case choices, and these boards tend to be much more expensive. Unless you think you are going to use the advantages it is best to avoid this format as it will just be an unnecessary expense
ATX: These boards fit in ATX full tower and ATX mid tower cases. This is the most common type of board used, as long as the board itself supports it is is large enough to accommodate multiple video cards, will usually have 4 RAM slots, and plenty of SATA ports.
MicroATX: These boards are smaller and will fit into any case MicroATX sized and larger. These are the second most common size of board used. While these boards can support multiple video cards they often do not as it will consume all available expansion slots in the case as most cards need 2 slots of room. These boards are often marginally cheaper than their ATX counterparts and often only support 2 modules of RAM, but many still support the full 4. Note that AM3+ CPU's do not have many good overclocking options on microATX. If you intended to overclock you will need ATX or to switch CPU type
Mini ITX: these boards are incredibly small and can fit in the very small ITX cases. Because of how small these boards are they can only support one video card, and are slightly more expensive than it's larger counterparts. These boards are more ideal for very compact computers and aren't ideal in any other scenario. There is no AM3+ support for mini ITX, if you want mini ITX you will need to choose a FM2/FM1 socket board or choose Intel
3) Selecting your chipset
The chipset of a motherboard determines most of the features that it will have and give you an idea of what it's purpose is.
3a) Intel Chipsets
LGA 1155
1) CPU compatibility.
First thing you will do is narrow down your motherboard choices depending on your selected CPU, if you chose an AM3+ CPU, you will need an AM3+ board, etc
2) Selecting your form factor
Extended ATX: These are the largest class of motherboard and only fit in ATX full tower cases, Advantages of this form factor are the stronger support for 3~4 Video cards and support for large quantities of drives. Disadvantages of this form factor is the size severely limits your case choices, and these boards tend to be much more expensive. Unless you think you are going to use the advantages it is best to avoid this format as it will just be an unnecessary expense
ATX: These boards fit in ATX full tower and ATX mid tower cases. This is the most common type of board used, as long as the board itself supports it is is large enough to accommodate multiple video cards, will usually have 4 RAM slots, and plenty of SATA ports.
MicroATX: These boards are smaller and will fit into any case MicroATX sized and larger. These are the second most common size of board used. While these boards can support multiple video cards they often do not as it will consume all available expansion slots in the case as most cards need 2 slots of room. These boards are often marginally cheaper than their ATX counterparts and often only support 2 modules of RAM, but many still support the full 4. Note that AM3+ CPU's do not have many good overclocking options on microATX. If you intended to overclock you will need ATX or to switch CPU type
Mini ITX: these boards are incredibly small and can fit in the very small ITX cases. Because of how small these boards are they can only support one video card, and are slightly more expensive than it's larger counterparts. These boards are more ideal for very compact computers and aren't ideal in any other scenario. There is no AM3+ support for mini ITX, if you want mini ITX you will need to choose a FM2/FM1 socket board or choose Intel
3) Selecting your chipset
The chipset of a motherboard determines most of the features that it will have and give you an idea of what it's purpose is.
3a) Intel Chipsets
LGA 1155
- H61: This is an older budget chipset that may have compatibility issues with newer CPUS
- Z68: This is an older performance chipset that may have compatibility issues with newer CPUS
- B75: Newer chipset designed for the newest gen of LGA 1155 CPU's, this board is aimed and small businesses and common consumers. Generally features at least 1 SATA 3 port and multiple SATA 3.0 gbps ports. This is a budget friendly chipset that is adequate for basic gaming computers that will not be overclocking and will only run a single video card.
- H77: Same features as B75 with the addition of an extra SATA 3 port, Intel SRT support, and larger support for multiple video cards. This along with B75 are good chipsets for those who do not intend to overclock
- Z77: Same features as H77, with overclocking support. These will often have more features than the H77 but not necessarily. This chipset is more ideal for high end gaming computers and enthusiasts.
LGA 1150
- This is the new socket type employed by Intel's Haswell chips, B85 H85 and Z87 are roughly equivalent to their B75 H75 and Z77 counterparts.
3b) AMD chipsets
AM3+
- 760G: Basic budget chipset, may not be compatible with all CPU's check compatibilities first. generally lacks support for SATA 3.
- 880G: Similar to 760G, more support for SATA 3
- 970: Midrange chipset with support for crossfire and overclocking (depending on the quality of the board, some 970 chipset boards may be poor at overclocking). Generally has 2-6 SATA 3 ports
- 990FX: Similar to 970 but with much better overclocking support and with added support for SLI. generally has higher end features.
- Others: Some aren't listed as they are not common or are out of production
FM1/FM2
- A55: Budget chipset generally lacking SATA 3 and USB 3.0
- A85: Adds basic overclocking, SATA 3, crossfire, and USB 3.0 support
- A95X: High end board with good overclocking support
4) Other features
Just because a chipset supports certain features does not mean the board using it will. Some features to look at are
- Number of SATA 3 and SATA 2 ports
- Crossfire and SLI support
- RAM Capacity
- VRM phase count / quality (this primarily applies to overclocking boards, this determines max power delivery and power stability)
- Onboard audio (All modern broads will have onboard audio, some just have better onboard audio)
- USB 3.0 support / Presence of USB 3.0 front panel header
Monday, June 3, 2013
Guide: Choosing RAM
Choosing RAM is probably going to be one of the fastest choices you will make in your build as beyond amount and speed, there isn't much else to examine when determining your choice
1) Compatability
Ensure whatever RAM you choose is compatible with your motherboard and CPU. All modern CPU's and motherboards will use DDR3. If you are using an Intel CPU you may have to ensure that the RAM does not have a voltage greater than 1.5v
2) Amount
In general 8GB of RAM is more than adequate for heavy gaming and most tasks, greater amounts are only needed in certain professional applications such as video editing and rendering
3) Speed and Timings
Performance gains for ram faster than 1600 MHz is negligible in most systems. The exception is with AMD APU's as faster RAM pairs well with the integrated graphics.
Timings are generally close enough between manufacturers that you can safely ignore them so long as you are buying from a reputable brand and don't care about the very small performance differences.
4) Part suggestions
Corsair Vengance Blue 8GB Kit
Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB Kit
1) Compatability
Ensure whatever RAM you choose is compatible with your motherboard and CPU. All modern CPU's and motherboards will use DDR3. If you are using an Intel CPU you may have to ensure that the RAM does not have a voltage greater than 1.5v
2) Amount
In general 8GB of RAM is more than adequate for heavy gaming and most tasks, greater amounts are only needed in certain professional applications such as video editing and rendering
3) Speed and Timings
Performance gains for ram faster than 1600 MHz is negligible in most systems. The exception is with AMD APU's as faster RAM pairs well with the integrated graphics.
Timings are generally close enough between manufacturers that you can safely ignore them so long as you are buying from a reputable brand and don't care about the very small performance differences.
4) Part suggestions
Corsair Vengance Blue 8GB Kit
Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB Kit
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Guide: PC Building Basics
Building a PC isn't a daunting process but it is important to take the time to learn and understand the purpose of each part and learn what to look for when making your choices.
- Processor (CPU): This part is responsible for all general calculations that your PC performs. Which CPU you choose will determine what socket of motherboard your must choose as the CPU must match the motherboard
- Motherboard: This part is responsible for connecting all your hardware together and can determine how well and if you can utilize additional features of that hardware such as overclocking and SLI. The size of the motherboard also determines how many expansion cards can be installed and what cases you can choose.
- Memory (RAM): This hardware is where data is kept when it is in use or ready for use.
- Storage: Storage refers either to a hard drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD). Most systems will only have a HDD but many will incorporate a SSD instead, or use a combination of the two.
- Video Card (GPU): This hardware primary purpose is for rendering the image that is sent to your monitor. Integrated GPUs are built into motherboards and CPU's and are adequate for basic computer tasks. Dedicated GPUs offer much more power and and are more or less needed for modern gaming, but can also help with some other tasks such as video editing and rendering.
- Optical Drive: Usually a DVD drive but sometimes a Blu-ray drive. Fairly obvious function
- Power Supply (PSU): The power supply converts 115v/230v AC current into the usable DC currents that the PC needs
- Case: This is what holds all the hardware. While it's purpose it simple it is important to pick one that will fit your part selections, as well as have the features you want.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Troubleshooting: PC works perfectly
If your PC is working perfectly follow these steps to solve your issue
- Leave the troubleshooting section: You don't have a problem and aren't trying to solve one. You are in the wrong section.
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