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How to Install Windows Operating System (OS)

A. Windows XP
1. Guide 1
2. Guide 2 ( 3 Parts)
3. Video Guide
B. Windows 7
1. Guide 1
2. Guide 2 (4 Parts)
3. Video Guide
C. Windows 8
1. Guide 1
2. Video Guide
D. LINUX OS (Ubuntu)
1. Guide 1 (Ubuntu 13.04)
2. Guide 2
DUAL BOOTING WINDOWS AND UBUNTU
1. Guide 1
HARD DISK PARTITIONING AND FORMATTING

What is Disk Partitioning
1. Guide 1 (Using Windows 7)
2. Guide 2 (Using Windows 7)
PARTITION AND FORMATTING TOOLS:

Download AOMEI Partition Assistant here.
HOW TO BACKUP AND RESTORE FILES

A. Windows XP
1. Guide 1
B. FOR XP, WIN7, WIN8, MAC

1. Guide 1
C. WINDOWS VISTA
1. Guide 1
How to Install Windows XP

This procedure demonstrates how to install Windows XP Professional. The procedure to install Windows XP home edition is very similar to the
professional edition. Since Windows XP Pro is more advanced operating system, it will be used to demonstrate the installation procedure.
The best way install Windows XP is to do a clean install. It is not difficult to perform a clean installation. Before you perform the installation I
recommend that you checkWindows XP Compatibility List to ensure that your hardware is supported by XP. If your hardware is not on the
compatibility list you can check your hardware manufactures website to download the drivers for Windows XP. Save all the necessary drivers onto
floppy disks or CD before you start the installation.
All versions of Windows XP CD are bootable. In order to boot from CD/DVD-ROM you need to set the boot sequence. Look for the boot sequence
under your BIOS setup and make sure that the first boot device is set to CD/DVD-ROM. You can then perform the following steps to install
Windows XP:
Step 1 - Start your PC and place your Windows XP CD in your CD/DVD-ROM drive. Your PC should automatically detect the CD and you will get
a message saying "Press any key to boot from CD". Soon as computer starts booting from the CD your will get the following screen:
Step 2 - At this stage it will ask you to press F6 if you want to install a third party Raid or SCSI driver. If you are using a an IDE Hard Drive then
you do not need to press F6. If you are using a SCSI or SATA Hard drive then you must press F6 otherwise Windows will not detect your Hard
Drive during the installation. Please make sure you have the Raid drivers on a floppy disk. Normally the drivers are supplied on a CD which you
can copy to a floppy disk ready to be installed. If you are not sure how to do this then please read your motherboard manuals for more information.
Step 3 - Press S to Specify that you want to install additional device.
Step 4 - You will be asked to insert the floppy disk with the Raid or SCSI drivers. Press enter after you have inserted the disk.
Step 5 - You will see a list of Raid drivers for your HDD. Select the correct driver for your device and press enter.
Step 6 - You will then get a Windows XP Professional Setup screen. You have the option to do a new Windows install, Repair previous install or
quit. Since we are doing a new install we just press Enter to continue.
Next - How to install Windows XP (Part 2)

Step 7 - You will be presented with the End User Licensing Agreement. Press F8 to accept and continue
Step 8 - This step is very important. Here we will create the partition where Windows will be installed. If you have a brand new unformatted drive
you will get a screen similar to below. In our case the drive size is 8190MB. We can choose to install Windows in this drive without creating a
partition, hence use the entire size of the drive. If you wish to do this you can just press enter and Windows will automatically partition and format
the drive as one large drive.
However for this demonstration I will create two partition. The first partition will be 6000MB (C: drive) and second partition would be 2180MB (E:
drive). By creating two partition we can have one which stores Windows and Applications and the other which stores our data. So in the future if
anything goes wrong with our Windows install such as virus or spyware we can re-install Windows on C: drive and our data on E: drive will not be
touched. Please note you can choose whatever size partition your like. For example if you have 500GB harddrive you can have two partition of
250GB each.
Press C to create a partition.
Step 8 - Windows will show the total size of the hard drive and ask you how much you want to allocate for the partition you are about to create. I
will choose 6000MB. You will then get the screen below. Notice it shows C: Partition 1 followed by the size 6000 MB. This indicates the partition
has been created. We still have an unpartitioned space of 2189MB. Next highlight the unpartitioned space by pressing down the arrow key. Then
press C to create another partition. You will see the total space available for the new partition. Just choose all the space left over, in our case
2180MB.
Step 9 - Now you will see both partition listed. Partition 1 (C: Drive) 6000MB and Partition 2 (E: Drive) 2180MB. You will also have 8MB of
unpartitioned space. Don't worry about that. Just leave it how its is. Windows normally has some unpartitioned space. You might wonder what
happened to D: drive. Windows has automatically allocated D: drive to CD/DVD-ROM.
Select Partition 1 (C: Drive) and press Enter.
Step 10 - Choose format the partition using NTFS file system.This is the recommended filesystem. If the hard drive has been formatted before
then you can choose quick NTFS format. We chose NTFS because it offers many security features, supports larger drive size,
and bigger size files.
Windows will now start formatting drive C: and start copying setup files as shown on the two images below :

Step 11 - After the setup has completed copying the files the computer will restart. Leave the XP CD in the drive but this time DO NOT press any
key when the message "Press any key to boot from CD" is displayed. In few seconds setup will continue. Windows XPSetup wizard will guide you
through the setup process of gathering information about your computer.
Step 12 - Choose your region and language.
Step 13 - Type in your name and organization.
Step 14. Enter your product key.
Step 15 - Name the computer, and enter an Administrator password. Don't forget to write down your Administrator password.
Step 16 - Enter the correct date, time and choose your time zone.
Step 17 - For the network setting choose typical and press next.
Step 18 - Choose workgroup or domain name. If you are not a member of a domain then leave the default settings and press next. Windows will
restart again and adjust the display.

Step 19 - Finally Windows will start and present you with a Welcome screen. Click next to continue.
Step 20 - Choose 'help protect my PC by turning on automatic updates now' and press next.
Step 21 - Will this computer connect to the internet directly, or through a network? If you are connected to a router or LAN then choose: 'Yes, this
computer will connect through a local area network or home network'. If you have dial up modem choose: 'No, this computer will connect directly
to the internet'. Then click Next.
Step 22 - Ready to activate Windows? Choose yes if you wish to active Windows over the internet now. Choose no if you want to activate
Windows at a later stage.
Step 23 - Add users that will sign on to this computer and click next.
Step 24 - You will get a Thank you screen to confirm setup is complete. Click finish.
Step 25. Log in, to your PC for the first time.
Step 26 - You now need to check the device manager to confirm that all the drivers has been loaded or if there are any conflicts. From
the start menu select Start -> Settings -> Control Panel. Click on the System icon and then from the System Properties window select
the Hardware tab, then click on Device Manager.
If there are any yellow exclamation mark "!" next to any of the listed device, it means that no drivers or incorrect drivers has been loaded for that
device. In our case we have a Video Controller (VGA card) which has no drivers installed.
Your hardware should come with manufacturer supplied drivers. You need to install thesedrivers using the automatic setup program provided by
the manufacturer or you need to manually install these drivers. If you do not have the drivers, check the manufacturers website to download them.
To install a driver manually use the following procedure:
(a) From the device manager double click on the device containing the exclamation mark.
(b) This would open a device properties window.

(c) Click on the Driver tab.
(d) Click Update Driver button. The Wizard for updating device driver pops up as shown below:
You now get two options. The first option provides an automatic search for the requireddriver. The second option allows you to specify the location
of the driver. If you don't know the location of the driver choose the automatic search which would find the required driverfrom the manufacturer
supplied CD or Floppy disk. Windows would install the requireddriver and may ask you to restart the system for the changes to take affect. Use
this procedure to install drivers for all the devices that contain an exclamation mark. Windows is completely setup when there are no more
exclamation marks in the device manager.
Disk partitioning
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article may be in need of reorganization to comply with Wikipedia's layout guidelines. Please help by editing the article to make
improvements to the overall structure. (March 2015)
GParted is a popular utility used for disk partitioning
Disk partitioning is[1][a] used to mean the partitioning or division of certain kinds of secondary storage (such as hard disk drives (HDDs)), via
the creation of multiple partitions. Partitions are[2][3] logical containers which are usually used to housefilesystems, where operating systems,
applications, and data are installed on. A single partition may span the entirety of a physical storage device.
A partition editor software program can be used to create, resize, delete, and manipulate these partitions on the HDD. A partition on a
traditional mechanical hard drive consists of a range of cylinders of HDDi.e. each partition is defined by both a start and end cylinder (the
size of cylinders varying from disk to disk).[4]
Contents
[hide]
1 Benefits of multiple partitions
2 Disadvantages of multiple partitions
3 PC partition types
3.1 Primary partition
3.2 Extended partition

4 Partitioning schemes
4.1 DOS, Windows, and OS/2
4.2 Unix-like systems
4.3 Multi-boot and mixed-boot systems
4.4 GUID Partition Table
5 Partition recovery
6 Compressed disks
7 See also
8 References
9 Notes
10 Further reading
11 External links
Benefits of multiple partitions[edit]
Logical partitions require extended partitions. In Windows, extended partitions can be used to create many logical partitions.
Creating more than one partition has the following advantages:
Separation of the operating system (OS) and program files from user files. This allows image backups (or clones) to be made of
only the operating system and installed software.
Having a separate area for operating system virtual memory swapping/paging.
Keeping frequently used programs and data near each other.
Having cache and log files separate from other files. These can change size dynamically and rapidly, potentially making a file
system full.
Use of multi-boot setups, which allow users to have more than one operating system on a single computer. For example, one could
install Linux, BSD, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows or other operating systems on different partitions of the same HDD and have a
choice of booting into any compatible operating system at power-up.
Protecting or isolating files, to make it easier to recover a corrupted file system or operating system installation. If one partition is
corrupted, other file systems may not be affected.
Raising overall computer performance on systems where smaller file systems are more efficient. For instance, large HDDs with only
one NTFS file system typically have a very large sequentially accessed Master File Table (MFT) and it generally takes more time to
read this MFT than the smaller MFTs of smaller partitions.
"Short stroking", which aims to minimize performance-eating head repositioning delays by reducing the number of tracks used per
HDD.[5] The basic idea is that you make one partition approx. 2025% of the total size of the drive. This partition is expected to: occupy
the outer tracks of the HDD, and offer more than double the throughput less than half the access time. If you limit capacity with short
stroking, the minimum throughput stays much closer to the maximum. This technique, however, is not related to creating multiple
partitions, but generally just creating a partition less than the disk size.
For example, a 1 TB disk may have an access time of 12 ms at 200 IOPS (at a limited queue depth) with an average
throughput of 100 MB/s. When it is partitioned to 100 GB (and the rest left unallocated) access time may be decreased to 6 ms at
300 IOPS (with a bigger queue depth) with an average throughput of 200 MB/s.
Partitioning for significantly less than the full size available when disk space is not needed can reduce the time for diagnostic tools
such as checkdisk to run or for full image backups to run.
Disadvantages of multiple partitions[edit]

Creating more than one partition has the following disadvantages, as compared to having a single partition spanning the same disk area:
Reduces the total space available for user storage on the disk, as it forces the operating system to duplicate certain file system
administration areas on the disk for each partition.
Reduces overall disk performance on systems where data is accessed regularly and in parallel on multiple partitions, because it
forces the disk's read/write head to move back and forth on the disk to access data on each partition [6][7] and to maintain and update file
system administration areas on each partition. It also prevents disk optimizers from moving all frequently accessed files closer to each
other on the disk, which could reduce the number and distance of required head movements. Files can still be moved closer to each
other on each partition, but those areas themselves will still be far apart on the disk. (See "short stroking" considerations above.) This
issue does not apply toSolid-state drives as access times on those are neither affected by nor dependent upon relative sector positions.
Increases disk fragmentation because it lowers the average size of contiguous free blocks on each partition as compared to a
single partition of the same overall size after the same amount of data has been written to them.
May prevent using the whole disk capacity, because it may break free capacities apart. [8] For example, if one has a disk with two
partitions, each with 3 GB free (hence 6 GB in total), one can't copy a 4 GB DVD image file on that disk, because none of the partitions
will actually provide enough space for that even though there is more than enough free capacity in total on the disk. If the same files
on those two partitions would have been stored on a single partition spanning the whole disk, then the 4 GB file could be easily stored
in the 6 GB of free space.
Hurts portability and might impose constraints on how entities might be linked together inside the file system. For example, Unix file
systems and the NTFS file system allowhard links to be created only as long as both the link and the referenced file reside inside the
same volume/partition.[9][10][11][12] Also, under Windows if one is referencing a file on another partition, one can do that only by specifying
the partition's assigned drive letter (or mount point) - which, however, might change with time and depending on the drives installed.
This renders references invalid and dependent on actual drive letter assignment, which is not an issue if one has to reference
files/directories only on the same partition, as in this case one can use directory-relative or root-relative references, without including
the drive/partition letter.
Moving files across volumes will require actual copying (of bytes), whereas moving files within a volume generally requires only the
"meta-data" to be updated.
PC partition types[edit]
This section describes the master boot record (MBR) partitioning scheme, as used in DOS, Microsoft Windows and Linux (among others)
on PC-compatible computer systems. For examples of partitioning schemes used in other operating systems, see the general article
on partition tables.
The total data storage space of a PC HDD can contain at most four primary partitions, or alternatively three primary partitions and
an extended partition. The Partition Table, located in the master boot record, contains 16-byte entries, each of which describes a partition.
The partition type is identified by a 1-byte code found in its partition table entry. Some of these codes (such as 0x05 and 0x0F) may be
used to indicate the presence of anextended partition. Most are used by an operating system's bootloader (that examines partition tables)
to decide if a partition contains a file system that can be used to mount / access for reading or writing data.
Primary partition[edit]
Further information: Partition type
A primary partition contains one file system. In DOS and all early versions of Microsoft Windows systems, Microsoft required what it called
the system partition to be the first partition. All Windows operating systems from Windows 95 onwards can be located on (almost) any
partition, but the boot files ( io.sys , bootmgr , ntldr , etc.) must reside on a primary partition. However, other factors, such as a
PC's BIOS (see Boot sequence on standard PC) may also impose specific requirements as to which partition must contain the primary OS.
The partition type code for a primary partition can either correspond to a file system contained within (e.g. 0x07 means either an NTFS or
an OS/2 HPFS file system) or indicate that the partition has a special use (e.g. code 0x82 usually indicates a Linux swap partition).
The FAT16 and FAT32 file systems have made use of a number of partition type codes due to the limits of various DOS and Windows OS
versions. Though a Linux operating system may recognize a number of different file systems (ext4, ext3, ext2, ReiserFS, etc.), they have all
consistently used the same partition type code: 0x83 (Linux native file system).
Extended partition[edit]
Further information: Extended Boot Record
An HDD may contain only one extended partition, but that extended partition can be subdivided into multiple logical partitions.
DOS/Windows systems may then assign a unique drive letter to each logical partition.
Partitioning schemes[edit]
DOS, Windows, and OS/2[edit]
With DOS, Microsoft Windows, and OS/2, a common practice is to use one primary partition for the active file system that will contain the
operating system, the page/swap file, all utilities, applications, and user data. On most Windows consumer computers, the drive letter C: is
routinely assigned to this primary partition. Other partitions may exist on theHDD that may or may not be visible as drives, such as recovery
partitions or partitions with diagnostic tools or data. (Microsoft drive letters do not correspond to partitions in a one-to-one fashion, so there
may be more or fewer drive letters than partitions.)
Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and Windows 7 include a 'Disk Management' program which allows for the creation, deletion and
resizing of FAT and NTFS partitions. The Windows Disk Manager in Windows Vista and Windows 7 utilizes a new 1 MB partition
alignment scheme which is fundamentally incompatible with Windows 2000, XP, OS/2, DOS as well as many other operating systems.
Unix-like systems[edit]
On Unix-based and Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, OS X, BSD, and Solaris, it is possible to use multiple partitions on a disk
device. Each partition can be formatted with a file system or as a swap partition.
Multiple partitions allow directories such as /tmp, /usr, /var, or /home to be allocated their own filesystems. Such a scheme has a number of
advantages:
If one file system gets corrupted, the data outside that filesystem/partition may stay intact, minimizing data loss.
Specific file systems can be mounted with different parameters e.g. read-only, or with the execution of setuid files disabled.
A runaway program that uses up all available space on a non-system filesystem does not fill up critical filesystems.
A common configuration for Linux desktop systems is to use two partitions: one holding a file system mounted on "/" (the root directory) and
a swap partition.
By default, OS X systems also use a single partition for the entire filesystem and use a swap file inside the file system (like Windows) rather
than a swap partition.
In Solaris, partitions are sometimes known as slices. This is a conceptual reference to the slicing of a cake into several pieces.
The term "slice" is used in the FreeBSD operating system to refer to Master Boot Record partitions, to avoid confusion with FreeBSD's
own disklabel-based partitioning scheme. However, GUID Partition Table partitions are referred to as "partition" world-wide.
Multi-boot and mixed-boot systems[edit]

Main article: Multi-boot
A GRUB startup menu showing Ubuntu Linux (with three different boot modes) and Windows Vista options
Multi-boot systems are computers where the user can boot into one of two or more distinct operating systems (OS) stored in separate
storage devices or in separate partitions of the same storage device. In such systems a menu at startup gives a choice of which OS to
boot/start (and only one OS at a time is loaded).
This is distinct from virtual operating systems, in which one operating system is run as a self-contained virtual "program" within another
already-running operating system. (An example is a Windows OS "virtual machine" running from within a Linux OS.)
GUID Partition Table[edit]
Main article: GUID Partition Table

The GUID Partition Table (Globally Unique IDentifier) is a part of the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface(UEFI) standard for the layout
of the partition table on a physical hard disk. Many operating systems now support this standard.
Partition recovery[edit]
When a partition is deleted, its entry is removed from a table and the data is no longer accessible. The data remains on the disk until being
overwritten. Specialized recovery utilities, (such as TestDisk, M3 Partition Recovery[13] and gpart), may be able to locate lost file systems
and recreate a partition table which includes entries for these recovered file systems. Some disk utilities may overwrite a number of
beginning sectors of a partition they delete. For example, if Windows Disk Management (Windows 2000/XP, etc.) is used to delete a
partition, it will overwrite the first sector (relative sector 0) of the partition before removing it. It still may be possible to restore
a FAT or NTFS partition if a backup boot sector is available.
Compressed disks[edit]
HDDs can be compressed to create additional space. In DOS and early Microsoft Windows, programs such as Stacker (DR-DOS except
6.0), SuperStor (DR DOS 6.0),DoubleSpace, or DriveSpace (Windows 95) were used. This compression was done by creating a very large
file on the partition, then storing the disk's data in this file. At startup, device drivers opened this file and assigned it a separate letter.
Frequently, to avoid confusion, the original partition and the compressed drive had their letters swapped, so that the compressed disk is C:,
and the uncompressed area (often containing system files) is given a higher name.
Versions of Windows using the NT kernel, including the most recent versions, XP and Vista, contain intrinsic disk compression capability.
The use of separate disk compression utilities has declined sharply.
See also[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has
media related to Disk
partitions.
Amiga Rigid Disk Block
Disk formatting
Extended boot record covers a Linux partition naming convention
File System
Filesystem Hierarchy Standard
List of disk partitioning software
LVM
Master boot record covers the partition table layout
Partition alignment
RAID, JBOD
References[edit]
1. Jump up^ Mueller, Scott (2003). Upgrading and Repairing PCs. Que Publishing. p. 613. ISBN 9780789729743.
2. Jump up^ Partition, as referenced by The Free Dictionary by Farlex at American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
Accessed April 30th 2015
3. Jump up^ Partition at FOLDOC, 1996-12-06. Accessed April 30th 2015
4. Jump up^ Ward, Brian (2004). How Linux Works: What Every SuperUser Should Know. No Starch Press. p. 39. ISBN 9781593270353.
5. Jump up^ Schmid, Patrick; Roos, Achim (2009-03-05). "Accelerate Your Hard Drive By Short Stroking". Tomshardware.com. Retrieved 2012-1024.
6. Jump up^ Kozierok, Charles M. (2001-04-17). "Partitioning and Volume Position". Pcguide.com. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
7. Jump up^ Blake, Ken. "Understanding Disk Partitioning". Computorcompanion.com. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
8. Jump up^ Smith, Roderick W. (2000-03-01). The Multi-Boot Configuration Handbook. QUE. p. 178. ISBN 0-7897-2283-6. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
9. Jump up^ link(2) Linux Programmer's Manual System Calls
10. Jump up^ link(2) BSD System Calls Manual

11. Jump up^ link(2) Solaris 10 System Calls Reference Manual
12. Jump up^ "CreateHardLink function". Microsoft. 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
13. Jump up^ "Partition recovery software to recover RAW drive and recover deleted or lost partition".
Notes[edit]
1.
Jump up^ Partitions are also termed "slices" for operating systems based on BSD, Solaris or GNU Hurd.
Further reading[edit]
Stphane Martineau, Jens Olsson, Nick Roberts (2002-11-02). "The Alt-OS-Development Partition Specification (AODPS)". 0.4.
Andries Brouwer (19952004). "List of partition identifiers for PCs".
Andries Brouwer (1999-09-16). "Minimal Partition Table Specification".
"partitioning primer". Ranish. 1998-08-05.
Allen Smith. "ATA (EIDE) Drive Capacity and Addressing".
Microsoft (2005-06-03). "Using GPT Drives".
"MS-DOS Partitioning Summary". Support. Microsoft.
External links[edit]
The Wikibook Guide to
Unixhas a page on the
topic of:Partitioning
Disks
Linux Partition HOWTO
Partition Definition - by The Linux Information Project (LINFO)
Multiple OS Installation in multiple partitionsguide to using chainloaded bootloaders to enable multiple OSs to coexist
Partition Types
Properties of partition tables
List of partition tables file system codes.
Guide with advantages and disadvantages to disk partitioning
Create and format a hard disk partition

Windows 7
To create a partition or volume (the two terms are often used interchangeably) on a hard disk, you must be logged in as an
administrator, and there must be either unallocated disk space or free space within an extended partition on the hard disk.
If there is no unallocated disk space, you can create some by shrinking an existing partition, deleting a partition, or by using a
third-party partitioning program. For more information, see Can I repartition my hard disk?
For information about reformatting a hard disk, see Formatting disks and drives: frequently asked questions.
Hide all
To create and format a new partition (volume)

1.
Open Computer Management by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Security,
clicking Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking Computer Management.
If you're prompted for an
administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
2.
In the left pane, under Storage, click Disk Management.
3.
Right-click an unallocated region on your hard disk, and then click New Simple Volume.
4.
In the New Simple Volume Wizard, click Next.
5.
Type the size of the volume you want to create in megabytes (MB) or accept the maximum default size, and then
clickNext.
6.
Accept the default drive letter or choose a different drive letter to identify the partition, and then click Next.
7.
In the Format Partition dialog box, do one of the following:
8.
If you don't want to format the volume right now, click Do not format this volume, and then click Next.
To format the volume with the default settings, click Next.
Review your choices, and then click Finish.
Note
When you create new partitions on a basic disk, the first three will be formatted as primary partitions. Beginning with the
fourth, each one will be configured as a logical drive within an extended partition.
To format an existing partition (volume)

Warning
Formatting a volume will destroy any data on the partition. Be sure to back up any data you want to save before you
begin.
1.
Open Computer Management by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Security,
clicking Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking Computer Management.
If you're prompted for an
administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
2.
In the left pane, under Storage, click Disk Management.
3.
Right-click the volume that you want to format, and then click Format.
4.
To format the volume with the default settings, in the Format dialog box, click OK, and then click OK again.
Notes
You cannot format a disk or partition that is currently in use, including the partition that contains Windows.
The Perform a quick format option will create a new file table, but will not fully overwrite or erase the volume. Aquick
format is much faster than a normal format, which fully erases any existing data on the volume.
Tip:
Resources
Create a New Partition on a Windows 7
Hard Disk
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The Windows 7 Disk Management tool provides a simple interface for
managing partitions and volumes.
Heres an easy way to create a new partition on your disk.
1.
Open the Disk Management console by typingdiskmgmt.msc at
an elevated command prompt.
2.
In Disk Managements Graphical view, right-click an unallocated

or free area, and then click New Simple Volume. This starts the New
Simple Volume Wizard. (Note: If you need to create unallocated
space, see the Tip Easily Shrink a Volume on a Windows 7 Disk for
information on how to do this.)
3.
4.
Read the Welcome page and then click Next.

The Specify Volume Size page specifies the minimum and
maximum size for the volume in megabytes and lets you size the
volume within these limits. Size the partition in megabytes using the
Simple Volume Size field and then click Next.
5.
On the Assign Drive Letter Or Path page, specify whether you

want to assign a drive letter or path and then click Next. The
available options are as follows:
Assign The Following Drive Letter Select an available drive letter

in the selection list provided. By default, Windows 7 selects the
lowest available drive letter and excludes reserved drive letters as
well as those assigned to local disks or network drives.
Mount In The Following Empty NTFS Folder Choose this option
to mount the partition in an empty NTFS folder. You must then type
the path to an existing folder or click Browse to search for or create a
folder to use.
Do Not Assign A Drive Letter Or Drive Path Choose this option if
you want to create the partition without assigning a drive letter or
path. Later, if you want the partition to be available for storage, you
can assign a drive letter or path at that time.
6.
Use the Format Partition page to determine whether and how the
volume should be formatted. If you want to format the volume,
choose Format This Volume With The Following Settings, and then
configure the following options:
File System Sets the file system type as FAT, FAT32, or NTFS. NTFS
is selected by default in most cases. If you create a file system as FAT
or FAT32, you can later convert it to NTFS by using the Convert utility.
You cant, however, convert NTFS partitions to FAT or FAT32.
Allocation Unit Size Sets the cluster size for the file system. This is
the basic unit in which disk space is allocated. The default allocation
unit size is based on the size of the volume and, by default, is set
dynamically prior to formatting. To override this feature, you can set
the allocation unit size to a specific value. If you use many small files,
you might want to use a smaller cluster size, such as 512 or 1,024
bytes. With these settings, small files use less disk space.
Volume Label Sets a text label for the partition. This label is the
partitions volume name and by default is set to New Volume. You
can change the volume label at any time by right-clicking the volume
in Windows Explorer, choosing Properties, and typing a new value in
the Label field provided on the General tab.
Perform A Quick Format Tells Windows 7 to format without
checking the partition for errors. With large partitions, this option can
save you a few minutes. However, its usually better to check for
errors, which enables Disk Management to mark bad sectors on the
disk and lock them out.
Enable File And Folder Compression Turns on compression for
the disk. Built-in compression is available only for NTFS. Under NTFS,
compression is transparent to users and compressed files can be
accessed just like regular files. If you select this option, files and
directories on this drive are compressed automatically.
7.
Click Next, confirm your options, and then click Finish.
The Windows 7 Disk Management tool will now show the space
configured as a new partition.
Tip adapted from Windows 7 Administrators Pocket Consultant by

William R. Stanek
Article translations
Support for Windows XP has ended

Microsoft ended support for Windows XP on April 8, 2014. This change has affected your software updates and security options.
Learn what this means for you and how to stay protected.
Article ID: 308422 - View products that this article applies to.
System TipThis article applies to a different version of Windows than the one you are using. Content in this article may not be relevant to you.Visit the Windows 7 Solution Cente
This article was previously published under Q308422
Expand all | Collapse all
On This Page
Summary
This article describes how to use the Backup utility to back up files and folders on a computer that is running Windows XP Home Edition. Althoug
Backup utility is included with a default installation of Windows XP, it is not automatically included with a default installation of Windows XP Hom
Edition. Therefore, to use the Backup utility, you must first install it.
You can also watch a video included with this article for a demonstration of how to back up files and folders on your computer. To watch the vide
the "More information" section.
This article is intended for a beginning to intermediate computer user.
You may find it easier to follow the steps if you print this article first.
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How to install the Backup utility
Before you can back up important information on your computer, you must install the Backup utility. The Backup utility is included on the Windo
Home Edition CD.
Note If Windows XP Home Edition was preinstalled on your computer and you do not have the original Windows XP CD, contact the computer
manufacturer or visit the manufacturer's Web site for more information. You can also use backup software that you purchase separately.
To install the Backup utility from the Windows XP CD:

1. Insert your Windows XP CD into the CD drive or DVD drive of the computer.
2. Click Exit.
3. Locate the CDDrive:\ValueAdd\Msft\Ntbackup folder on the CD.
4. Double-click Ntbackup.msi to install the Backup utility.
5. When the Backup or Restore Wizard prompts you, click Finish.
6. Remove the Windows XP CD.
Now that you have installed the Backup utility, you are ready to back up your important information.
How to back up files and folders

To back up your files and folders, follow these steps:
Note In order to back up files and folders, you must be logged on to the computer as an administrator or as a user who is part of the Administra
group. To verify that you are logged on to Windows with a user account that is a computer administrator, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://support.microsoft.com/gp/admin
Note The following steps explain how to use the Backup utility to back up your files and folders manually. You can also use the Backup and Rest
Wizard to back up your files and folders. However, the steps will be slightly different from those that are listed in the following section.
Step 1: Start the Backup utility

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. Type ntbackup.exe in the Open box, and then click OK.
Note If you receive the following error message, make sure that you followed the steps in the "How to install the Backup utility" sec
correctly:
Windows cannot find 'ntbackup.exe'
Step 2: Select items to back up and select the location for the backup file
1. Click Advanced Mode.
Note If the Backup and Restore Wizard starts, the utility is running in Wizard mode. You can click to clear the Always start in wiza
mode check box, and then restart the Backup utility. If you continue to use the Backup and Restore Wizard, the steps will be slightly
different from those that are listed in the following section.
2. Click the Backup tab.
3. On the Job menu, click New.
4. Select the check boxes next to the drives that you want to back up. If you select specific files or folders, expand the drive where the
or folders are located. Then, select the check boxes for the files or for the folders that you want to back up.
5. Select the System State check box that is located under My Computer in the navigation pane.
Note If you want to back up system settings and data files, back up all the data on your computer and the System State data. The S
State data includes the registry, the COM+ class registration database, files that are under Windows File Protection, boot files, and o
system files.
6. If the Backup destination list is available, click the backup destination that you want to use.
Note If you selected File in this step, type the full path and file name for which you want to back up data in the Backup media or
name box.
You can specify a network share as a destination for the backup file. Typically, backup files have the .bkf file name extension. Howev
can use any file name extension that you want.
Step 3: Start the backup
1. Click Start Backup to open the Backup Job Information dialog box.
2. Under If the media already contains backups, do either of the following:
If you want to append this backup file to previous backup files, click Append this backup to the media. This option adds th
backup to the existing backup file so that you can maintain all previous backups in one file. This option is useful if you ever wa
restore a backup from a specific day. Be aware that the size of the backup file will grow with each new backup. You might wan
monitor the file size to make sure that it does not fill up your hard disk over time. If the file becomes too large, you might cons
saving the file to an external hard disk. Or, if you are concerned about the file using too much hard disk space, select Replace
data on the media with this backup instead.
If you want to overwrite previous backup files with this backup file, click Replace the data on the media with this backup
option is useful if you only want to maintain the current backup and do not care about keeping the previous backups. Or, use
option if you are concerned about the file using too much hard disk space on your computer.
3. Click Advanced.
4. Select the Verify data after backup check box.
5. In the Backup Type box, click the kind of backup that you want to create. For a description of each backup type, click the backup ty
the description appears under "Description." You can select any of the following backup types:
Normal
Copy
Incremental
Differential
Daily
6. Click OK, and then click Start Backup. A Backup Progress dialog box is displayed, and the backup starts.
Step 4: Exit the Backup utility

1. When the backup is complete, click Close.
2. On the Job menu, click Exit.
NEXT STEPS
If these steps do not work or you have problems during the backup, you can use the Microsoft Customer Support Services Web site to find solut
your problem. You can also visit this Web site to learn more about how to back up your important information on your computer. Some services
Microsoft Customer Support Services Web site provides include the following:
Searchable Knowledge Base: Search technical support information and self-help tools for Microsoft products.
Solution Centers: View product-specific frequently asked questions and support highlights.
Other Support Options: Use the Web to ask a question, contact Microsoft Customer Support Services, or provide feedback.
If you cannot find the help you are looking for through the Microsoft Customer Support Services Web site, you might want to contact Support:
http://support.microsoft.com/contactus
More information
Watch a video about how to use the Backup utility

The following video shows you the backup process. To watch this video, click the Play button.
Note To view the video, you must have Microsoft Windows Media Player 7.0 or a later version installed on your computer. To obtain the latest ve
Windows Media player, visit the following Microsoft Web page:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/AllDownloads.aspx
http://support.microsoft.com/servicedesks/ShowMeHow/308422.asx
1.1 Categorize storage devices and backup media
Submitted by admin on Sat, 11/17/2012 - 04:49
FDD
Floppy Connection on Motherboard

Floppy Drive
(floppy disk drive) has only 1.4 Mb storage space. Was used for backup of data and mode of transferring data from one PC to another.
As of 2005 3-inch drives were still common equipment on many new PCs other than laptops. But have become pretty much
obsolete, portable storage options, such as USB storage devices and recordable or rewritable CDs / DVDs have taken its place.
HDD
(hard disk drive) A device containing one or more inflexible platters coated with material in which data can be recorded magnetically,
together with their read/write heads, the head-positioning mechanism, and the spindle motor in a sealed case that protects against
outside contaminants. The protected environment allows the head to fly 10 to 25 millionths of an inch above the surface of a platter
rotating typically at 3600 to 7200 rpm; therefore, much more data can be stored and accessed much more quickly than on a floppy
disk. Most hard disks contain from two to eight platters.
Solid state vs. magnetic
Solid state disk drive, a mass storage device that holds data in RAM rather than in magnetic storage.
Magnetic disk, a computer disk enclosed in a protective case (hard disk) or jacket (floppy disk) and coated with a magnetic material
that enables data to be stored in the form of changes in magnetic polarity (with one polarity representing a binary 1 and the other a 0)
on many small sections (magnetic domains) of the disk surface. Magnetic disks should be protected from exposure to sources of
magnetism, which can damage or destroy the information they hold.
Optical drives
CD-ROM Compact Disc Read-Only Memory Used for data storage and data transfer. A standard 120mm CD-ROM holds 650 or 700
Mb of data.
DVD-ROM Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage,
including movies with high quality video and sound. DVDs resemble compact discs as their physical dimensions are the same but
they are encoded in a different format and at a much higher density allowing for a greater data capacity of about 4.7 GB
CD-RW
CD-RW recorder can rewrite 700 MB of data to a CD-RW disc roughly 1000 times.
CD-RW recorders can also write CD-R discs. Except for the ability to completely erase a disc, CD-RWs act very much like CDRs.
CD-RWs cannot be read in CD-ROM drives built prior to 1997.
CD-R is considered a better technology for archival purposes as disc contents cannot be modified.
DVD-RW
Rewritable optical disc with equal storage capacity to a DVD-R, typically 4.7 GB.
Primary advantage of DVD-RW over DVD-R is the ability to erase and rewrite to a DVD-RW disc.
DVD-RW discs may be written to about 1,000 times before needing replacement, making them comparable with the CD-RW
standard.
DVD-RW discs are commonly used for volatile data, such as backups or collections of files.
Dual Layer recording allows DVD-R and DVD+R discs to store significantly more data, up to 8.5 Gigabytes per disc, compared with
4.7 Gigabytes for single-layer discs
BLU-RAY
Is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the standard DVD format. Its main uses are for storing high-definition
video, and other data, with up to 25 GB per single layered, and 50 GB per dual layered disc. The disc has the same physical
dimensions as standard DVDs and CDs.
The name Blu-ray Disc derives from the blue-violet laser used to read the disc. While a standard DVD uses a 650 nanometer red laser,
Blu-ray uses a shorter wavelength, a 405 nm blue-violet laser, and allows for almost six times more data storage than a DVD.
Removable storage
Tape drives mainly for backup and long-term storage. Can be connected with SCSI (most common), parallel port, IDE, USB,
FireWire or optical fibre. Tape drives can range in capacity from a few megabytes to upwards of 800 GB compressed.
External CD-RW and hard drive May be used for backup, easy transfer of data to another PC, and are good choices for offsite
backup data storage in case of fire et..
Thumb drive, flash and SD cards small, lightweight, removable and rewritable data storage devices. Some recent USB flash
drives act as two drives - as a removable disk device , and as a USB floppy drive. This is likely intended to make it easier to use them
as a bootable device.
Hot swappable devices and non-hot swappable devices
Hot swapping and hot plugging are terms used to separately describe the functions of replacing system components without shutting
down the system. Hot swapping describes changing components without significant interruption to the system, while hot plugging
describes changing or adding components which interact with the operating system. Both terms describe the ability to remove and
replace components of a computer, while it is operating. For hot swapping once the appropriate software is installed on the computer,
a user can plug and unplug the component without rebooting. A well-known example of this functionality is the Universal Serial Bus
(USB) that allows users to add or remove peripheral components such as a thumb drive, external hard drive, mouse, keyboard, or
printer.
A plus Essentialsup1.2 Explain motherboard components, types and features
Search
What are the Different Motherboard Components and Their

Functions?
Understanding your motherboard components and functions is simple... Join us as we explain the different parts of a
motherboard with pictures.
At the first glance, the components of a motherboard can appear complicated... even daunting to some. How are we supposed
to figure out this big jumble of connectors, ports, slots, sockets and heat sinks?
Good news: Finding your way around a motherboard isn't hard... You simply need to be able to identify the different
motherboard parts and understand their functions.
Join us as we take you on a guided tour of the different motherboard components (complete with photos and plain English
descriptions):
1. Back Panel Connectors & Ports

Connectors and ports for connecting the computer to external devices such as display ports, audio ports, USB ports, Ethernet ports,
PS/2 ports etc. See image below for a close-up view.
For details on the individual back panel ports, click here for our guide to computer cable connections.
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/motherboard-components.html#sthash.SbPBzcnO.dpuf
2. PCI Slots
PCI: Peripheral Component Interconnect

Slot for older expansion cards such as sound
cards, network cards, connector cards. See
image below for a close-up view.
Have been largely replaced by PCI-Express
x1 slots (see motherboard parts #3 below).
3. PCI Express x1 Slots
Slot for modern expansion cards such as sound cards,

network cards (Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth), connector cards
(USB, FireWire, eSATA) and certain low-end graphics
cards. See image below for a close-up view.
8. Front Panel USB 2.0 Connectors
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4. PCI Express x16 Slot
Slot for discrete graphic cards and high bandwidth devices n
such as top-end solid state drives. See image below for a e
close-up view.
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5. Northbridge
Also known as Memory Controller Hub (MCH).
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Beginning from Intel Sandy Bridge in 2011, this
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motherboard component is no longer present as it has been B
integrated within the CPU itself.
6. CPU Socket
2
Insert CPU here. To learn how to install a CPU, click here .
for our guide to installing a CPU.
7. ATX 12V Power ConnectorConnects to the 4-pin power cable of a power supply unit
which supplies power to the CPU.
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10. IDE Connector
11. CMOS Battery
Supplies power to store BIOS settings and keep the realtime clock running. See image above for a close-up view.
The CMOS battery found on most motherboards is the
CR2032 lithium coin cell.
12. Southbridge
Also known as the Input/Output Controller Hub (ICH).

Chipset that allows the CPU to communicate with PCI
slots, PCI-Express x 1 slots (expansion cards), SATA
connectors (hard drives, optical drives), USB ports (USB
devices), Ethernet ports and on-board audio.
13. SATA Connectors
Connects to modern hard disk drives, solid state drives and
optical drives for data transfer. See image above for a closeup view.
14. Fan Headers
Supplies power to the CPU heat sink fan and computer case
fans. See image above for a close-up view.
15. RAM Slots
Insert RAM here. To learn how to install RAM, click here

for our guide to installing RAM.
16. ATX Power Connector
Connects to the 24-pin ATX power cable of a power supply

unit which supplies power to the motherboard.
17. mSATA Connector
Connects to a mSATA solid state drive. In most cases, this

SSD is used as cache to speed up hard disk drives, but it's
possible to re-purpose it as a regular hard drive.
18. Front Panel USB 3.0

Connector
Connects to USB 3.0 ports at the front or top of the

computer case.
19. Power & Reset Button
Onboard button to turn on, turn off and reboot the
computer.
This motherboard component is more common among high
end boards.
Recommended Motherboard CPU Combos
Budget Computer: Intel Celeron G1820 CPU + MSI H81M-E34 Motherboard
Mid Range Computer: Intel Core i3-4160 CPU + Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H Motherboard
Gaming Computer: Intel Core i5-4690K CPU + MSI Z97 Gaming 7 Motherboard
Home Theater PC: AMD A6-6400K APU + MSI A88XI AC Motherboard
Click here for our buyer's guide to the best motherboard CPU combos.
MOTHERBOARD GUIDE
What is a Motherboard and How It Works
Best Motherboard CPU Combos
Motherboard Components and Parts
Motherboard Form Factors
How to Choose a Mini ITX Motherboard
How to Choose a Micro ATX Motherboard
How to Choose an ATX Motherboard
Intel Motherboard Socket Types
AMD Motherboard Socket Types
The Difference Between USB 2.0 and 3.0
How to Install a Motherboard
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/motherboard-components.html#sthash.Sf9L4LCo.dpuf
What is a Motherboard? - Definition and How Motherboards

Work
What is a motherboard? Uncover the answer to this basic but important question and learn how motherboards work with our full
motherboard guide.
MOTHERBOARD GUIDE
What is a Motherboard and How It Works
Motherboard Components and Parts
Motherboard Form Factors
How to Choose a Mini ITX Motherboard
How to Choose a Micro ATX Motherboard
How to Choose an ATX Motherboard
Intel Motherboard Socket Types
AMD Motherboard Socket Types
How to Install a Motherboard
Definition of Motherboard: A motherboard is the main circuit board inside a computer that connects the different parts of a
computer together. It has sockets for the CPU, RAM and expansion cards (e.g. discrete graphics cards, sound cards, network
cards, storage cards etc)... and it also hooks up to hard drives, disc drives and front panel ports with cables and wires.
Also known as a mainboard, system board, mobo or MB, here's how a motherboard looks like:
Now this is the same motherboard with the CPU, heat sink fan and RAM installed on it:
Motherboard definition aside, an easier way to understand what is a motherboard is picturing it as your body's nervous system.
It links all the individual parts of a computer together... and in doing so, allows the CPU (brain) to access and control these
separate parts.
Other than bridging internal components, the motherboard ports (see image below) also allows you to connect external devices
to the computer. Such external devices would include the monitor, speakers, headphones, microphone, keyboard, mouse,
modem and other USB devices. For more details, click here for our guide on computer cable connections.
Let's take a look at the motherboard ports and connectors found at the back panel of a computer:
Other than being the connection headquarters, a motherboard is also home to the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System), making it
the control center of your computer as well. Motherboard BIOS screenshot:
The motherboard BIOS performs hardware checks whenever your computer powers on and allows you to access system
settings such as:
view hardware information and status
change your computer's boot-up device (e.g. hard drive, disc drive, flash drive etc.)
manage power settings and savings
overclock or underclock the CPU and RAM
Now we know how motherboard works, let's move on to the motherboard components and their functions.
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/what-is-a-motherboard.html#sthash.21LlU0V7.dpuf
Best Motherboard CPU Combo 2015

Find out what is the best motherboard CPU combo for a basic, mainstream, gaming and home theater PC right here.
With so many processors and boards to choose from, how does one single out the best CPU motherboard combos? This is
how we do it:
1. Best match between motherboard and CPU. Having a socket that fits is just the beginning... a CPU and motherboard have to
complement each other well. For example, pairing a "B" or "H" series motherboard with an unlocked Intel CPU is a common
mistake. While they will work together, the motherboard is going to cripple the CPU's overclocking capabilities.
2. Must-have features for different computer types. Having built hundreds of computers, we know what's important for different
users: HDMI ports for HTPCs to connect to televisions, SATA3 ports for mainstream PCs to fully support solid state drives, SLI
and CrossFireX capable motherboards for a gaming PC to accommodate two or more graphics cards... the list goes on.
3. Rock solid motherboards made by top tier manufacturers - Asus, Gigabyte, ASRock and MSI (Biostar and ECS are
considered tier 2 in general). Besides branding and warranty, we will scour user forums to weed out models with defective
batches and known issues. For higher end boards, we will also examine other quality indicators such as capacitors, soldering,
power phases etc.
1. Best CPU Motherboard Combo under $125

3. Best CPU Motherboard Combo for Gaming
4. Best CPU Motherboard Combo for HTPC
1. Best Motherboard CPU Combo under $125

Intel Celeron G1820 CPU + MSI H81M-E34 Motherboard
Aimed at budget users, Intel Celeron CPUs are priced to compete with low end AMD processors in the entry level market.
Despite their low prices, they are able to offer adequate performance for less demanding users... making them excellent
choices for a cheap motherboard CPU combo.
Thanks to Intel Celeron G1820's aggressive pricing, we were able to snag this entire motherboard CPU for ~$100 on Amazon.
Don't let its Celeron label fool you. Test results by PCLab.pl have revealed that this CPU slightly outperforms mid end Core 2
Duos of earlier generations, so we know it is more than able to tackle everyday tasks such as web surfing, email, office
applications and multimedia programs.
While it's rated at 53W, this CPU pulls just 15 to 30W in actual use. Besides shaving dollars off your electricity bills, its low
power requirements allows you to get away with a cheaper (but good quality) power supply such as Corsair Builder Series CX
430W.
No matter how we see it, integrated graphics is a must for budget CPUs. One, modern integrated graphics are able to meet the
needs of most basic users. Two, you won't have to fork out extra money for a separate graphics card.
Therefore it's good to know that this CPU comes with Intel HD Graphics - This decent integrated graphics allows you to view
high res images, play full HD (1080p) videos and run older games on low settings.
Retailing for just $50+, the MSI H81M-E34 motherboard offers everything a budget user can ask and hope for:
Two DIMM slots supporting up to 16 GB of DDR3 RAM... Four SATA ports for installing up to four hard drives or optical drives
(two of them is SATA3 for better support of solid state drives).
We also love how this motherboard comes with all three popular display ports (VGA, DVI, HDMI) so you'll be able to hook it up
to any monitor or TV. This is a big plus since most budget boards only offer two such ports.
There is also ample room for upgrades. There is one PCI-E x16 slot for installing a discrete graphics card plus two PCI-E x1
slots for installing sound cards, network cards or connector cards.
With USB 3.0 gaining widespread use and boasting three times faster transfer speeds, USB 3.0 ports are now a must (rather
than a nice bonus) for budget motherboards. We're pleased to see that this board offers six USB 3.0 ports, four at the back plus
two more that you can connect to the front of a computer case. That's in addition to six USB 2.0 ports (four front + two back).
Low power consumption, decent performance and good hardware support makes this the best motherboard CPU combo for the
money - It will meet and even exceed the needs of most light users.
However we do have to be realistic at this price range. This cheap motherboard and CPU combo isn't going to cut it for CPU or
GPU intensive chores, such as mainstream gaming, graphics editing, media encoding and moderate multitasking.
CPU: Click here for Intel Celeron G1820's latest price & specs.
Motherboard: Click here for MSI H81M-E34's latest price & specs.

Intel Core i3-4160 CPU + Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H Motherboard
A mid range CPU and motherboard combo has to be powerful enough for most users... while remaining affordable for the
masses. Call us greedy, but we will also want some degree of future-proofing, so this motherboard CPU combo has to offer
good upgrade and expansion options as well.
Now let's see how much value we can squeeze from this ~$210 motherboard CPU combo:
Intel Core i3-4160 has two physical cores with Hyper Threading. That means each core is able to execute two instructions at
the same time, allowing it to operate as a quad core CPU and boosting its performance by up to 30% (vs similar processors
without Hyper Threading).
Whether it's browsing the web, working with office documents, playing media files, compressing files or backing up data, this
CPU handles them all with ease (as tested by XbitLabs). It even packs enough processing power to take on moderate
multitasking and light virtualization, though a Intel Core i5 will fare even better for those demanding jobs.
Embedded with the latest Intel HD 4400 Graphics, solid graphics performance is another reason for choosing this CPU.
Besides viewing ultra sharp images and playing high res videos, its robust integrated graphics also allows you to fiddle with
graphics editing and video encoding. In fact, you can even push it to play most newer game titles on low settings.
Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H's rich set of features and expansion options outclasses most other motherboards in the $80 price
range: four DIMM slots (for up to 32 GB RAM), four USB 3.0 ports (two front + two back), eight USB 2.0 ports (four front + four
back), six SATA connectors (for internal hard disk, solid state and optical drives), high speed LAN port (for wired Internet).
Its Realtek ALC892 is one of best onboard sound chips you'll find on a mainstream motherboard, supporting both 7.1 HD audio
and S/PDIF digital audio. While audiophiles and enthusiasts will always insist on having their own dedicated sound cards, the
rest of us will be more than satisfied with this motherboard's clear audio output.
A triple combination of VGA, DVI and HDMI ports gives you the freedom of hooking up to any monitor and TV you want (with
the rare exception of DisplayPort-only monitors). If you intend to install a discrete graphics card, then you'll be pleased to know
that this board has not one... but two PCI-E x16 slots that supports AMD CrossFireX for a dual graphics card setup.
This motherboard's solid build quality also deserves praise. Japanese solid caps, ferrite core chokes, high grade MOSFET,
glass fabric PCB and dedicated USB fuses enable it to better withstand high temperatures, power surges, electrostatic
discharges and humid environments. What we have here is a durable motherboard that should outlast its three year warranty.
Whether it's for home or office use, this robust and versatile motherboard CPU combo will be more than adequate for most
people. Unless you're someone with exacting needs (heavy gamer, graphics designer, video professional, overclocker), this
value-for-money combo is going to serve you well for the years to come.
CPU: Click here for Intel Core i3-4160's latest price & specs.
Motherboard: Click here for Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H's latest price & specs.
3. Best Motherboard CPU Combo for Gaming

Intel Core i5-4690K CPU + MSI Z97 Gaming 7 Motherboard
Mobile phones, tablets, laptops, handheld consoles, video game consoles... Nowadays you can game on so many devices, but
still nothing matches a gaming PC's visual prowess and vast selection of games.
There are good reasons that make Intel Core i5-4690K so popular among gamers and techies:
Impressive performance - Four cores running at 3.4 GHz (3.8 GHz with Turbo Boost) doesn't sound mind blowing on paper, but
extensive testing by credible sites (AnandTech, TechPowerUp, XbitLabs, OverClock3D etc.) have all led to the same
conclusion: This higher end CPU delivers outstanding performance for its price.
Intel Core i5-4670K aced everything that the reviewers tossed at it... synthetic benchmarks, office software, graphics editing,
video rendering, 3D modeling, data processing and of course hardcore gaming (with a discrete graphics card). In fact, it
outperforms AMD's FX-8350 in most tests, an astonishing feat considering that FX-8350 is a eight core monster running at 4.0
GHz.
Overclockable - With a good "Z" series motherboard (see below) and aftermarket heat sink, you can push this unlocked CPU to
4.2 GHz and beyond. While seasoned overclockers will complain that older Sandy Bridge CPUs overclock better (and they're
right), you have to remember that this CPU runs about 15% faster at the same clock speed and consumes less electricity.
Intel HD Graphics 4600 - Yes, we know you'll be installing a discrete graphics card (or two) in all likelihood, but it's still
reassuring to know that you have this high end integrated graphics as back up. If you ever have to send your graphics card for
repairs, you'll be still able to continue with casual gaming and graphics editing.
For the best gaming motherboard CPU combo, we'll need to pair this killer CPU to a rock-solid motherboard with first rate
features and competitive prices:
Asus ROG and Gigabyte G1 boards have been dominating the gaming scene for years, but their $300 plus price tags are just
too much for most people to stomach. Retailing for less than $190, MSI Z97 Gaming 7 motherboard offers almost as much in
features and build quality... at a fraction of the price. No wonder that it has been winning over gamers and reviewers in droves.
Let's begin with its graphics card support: Three PCI-E 3.0 x16 slots with SLI and CrossFireX support gives us a motherboard
that is able to accommodate up to three Nvidia or AMD graphics cards at the same time. Along with its four other PCI-E x 1
slots, this ATX board has seven expansion slots in total for graphics cards, sound cards, network cards, connector cards etc.
Killer is the undisputed champion in game networking, with enthusiasts routinely forking out $100+ for a dedicated Killer
network card. That explains why we were excited to find a Killer LAN port on board. This luxury component has its own
processor to direct Internet traffic and minimize game lag.
Its premium onboard sound also deserves an honorable mention. By combining a top end audio codec (Realtek ALC1150) with
custom refinements (EMI shielding, high grade capacitors, gold plated audio jacks), this motherboard is able to produce
superior sound that's almost on par with dedicated sound cards.
True to its name, MSI's OC Genie makes overclocking so simple that it's almost magical. Press the "OC GENIE" button on the
motherboard. That's it - MSI automatically tweaks the clock speeds and voltages to overclock your CPU and RAM. Power users
who prefer manual control can turn to MSI's Extreme Tuning Utility to push the CPU, RAM and graphics card even harder.
To round things off, here's a quick run-down of its other features: connects up to eight internal hard drives (with RAID for instant
backup and quicker data transfers), onboard mSATA slot (for SSD caching) and 10 USB 3.0 ports (two front + eight back).
At the end of the day, we end up with a gaming motherboard CPU combo that truly does it all: hardcore gaming, heavy graphics
editing, heavy multitasking, heavy overclocking and more. The real triumph for us is achieving this without breaking the bank.
While most gaming motherboard CPU combos cost $500 to $600+, this high end combo goes for just ~$400 on Amazon.
CPU: Click here for Intel Core i5-4690K's latest price & specs.
Motherboard: Click here for MSI Z97 Gaming 7's latest price & specs.
4. Best Motherboard CPU Combo for HTPC

AMD A6-6400K APU + MSI A88XI AC Motherboard
Once considered as oddities, home theater PCs have been gaining mass popularity in recent years, replacing traditional Hi-Fi
systems in living rooms across the world.
Introduced in 2011, AMD APUs are a refreshing development in CPU design. While most CPUs focus on processor speed and
power, APUs lavish attention on the integrated graphics. The end result is APUs having so-so CPU performance but boasting
superb integrated graphics. This makes them especially ideal for HTPCs where video performance matters a lot more.
AMD A6-6400K is a dual core 3.9 GHz CPU that sports 8470D integrated graphics. Retailing for just $70+, its graphics and
video performance blows away anything Intel has to offer at that price range. For most scenarios, its graphics capabilities are
comparable to Intel's HD Graphics 4600 (found only in $140+ CPUs).
This AMD motherboard CPU combo handles all common HTPC tasks with ease: watching full HD videos, streaming 1080p
videos online, encoding videos, playing and burning Blu ray & DVD discs, listening to music and viewing high res images.
What's more, it can even double as a light gaming machine that runs most modern games at low settings (or older games at
mid settings).
This CPU motherboard combo has a neat feature that's often overlooked: overclocking. In fact, AMD A6-6400K is one of the
cheapest processors that comes fully unlocked... allowing you to overclock both its CPU and integrated graphics for
performance gains.
Since most people prefer a small HTPC that can placed on a TV shelf or tucked away in a corner, we have selected a compact
Mini-ITX motherboard that will easily fit into a small form factor case.
For starters, MSI A88XI AC comes with what all good Mini ITX motherboards should have:
One PCI-E x16 slot (for a dedicated graphics, sound or TV tuner card etc.), two standard DIMM slots (supporting up to 32 GB
RAM), four USB 3.0 ports (2 front, 2 back), six USB 2.0 ports, four SATA3 ports (for hard disk, solid state and optical drives)
and a high speed LAN port.
When it comes to display ports, this motherboard has it all. With a VGA, DVI and HDMI port, you can hook up this mini ITX
motherboard CPU combo to virtually any monitor, TV or projector.
High quality audio is also essential for a HTPC, and we were pleased to find a very respectable Realtek ALC887 sound chip on
board. It supports 7.1 HD audio and S/PDIF digital audio, allowing you to connect to high end speakers and headphones for a
true home theater experience.
But what really excites us about this little board are its integrated wireless features: It comes with the latest Wi-Fi 802.11ac and
Bluetooth 4.0 on board, allowing you to connect to the Internet and Bluetooth devices (phones, tablets, wireless speakers etc.).
This frees up your USB ports and PCI-E slot, plus you won't have to spend a cent on separate wireless adapters.
CPU: Click here for AMD A6-6400K's latest price & specs.
Motherboard: Click here for MSI A88XI AC's latest price & specs.
CPU GUIDE
What is a CPU and What Does It Do?
Intel CPU Socket Types
AMD CPU Socket Types
How to Check CPU Temperature
Idle, Normal, Max CPU Temperatures
What is CPU Thermal Paste?
How to Apply CPU Thermal Grease
How to Install a CPU
How to Install a CPU Heatsink Fan
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/motherboard-cpu-combo.html#sthash.nnxHt0Uo.dpuf
What are the Different Motherboard Form Factors?

What are the popular motherboard form factors and how are they different? Get the plain English answers here with our
motherboard size guide.
While there are dozens of form factors for desktop computers, most of them are either obsolete or developed for specialized
purposes.
As a result, almost all consumer motherboards sold today belong to one of these form factors: Mini-ITX, MicroATX and ATX.
To help you compare the difference in motherboard sizes, we have laid out all three standard motherboard form factors side by
side in the image below:
Motherboard Form Factor Comparison Chart

Mini-ITX
MicroATX
Maximum Size
17 x 17 cm
6.7 x 6.7 in
24.4 x 24.4 cm
9.6 x 9.6 in
RAM Slots
2 to 4
RAM Type
DIMM, SODIMM
DIMM
Expansion Slots
2 to 4
Graphics Cards
0 to 1
1 to 3
SATA ports
2 to 6
4 to 8
In addition to the above difference, you will often find that the cheapest motherboards are in MicroATX form. This makes sense
since Mini-ITX boards require more refined manufacturing while ATX boards have more components.
That being said, high-end motherboards come in all three form factors including MicroATX ones.
What do Mini-ITX, MicroATX and ATX Motherboards Have in Common?

Budget Computer:
Intel Celeron G1820 CPU
MSI H81M-E34 Motherboard
Mid Range Computer:
Intel Core i3-4160 CPU
Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H Motherboard
Gaming Computer:
Intel Core i5-4690K CPU
MSI Z97 Gaming 7 Motherboard
Home Theater PC:
AMD A6-6400K APU
MSI A88XI AC Motherboard
Despite their difference in size and features, all three types of motherboards share a surprising number of common traits:
1. They can support the same CPU

As long as they are of the same generation, all three form factors will have the same CPU socket. This is a big deal, since it
means that a Mini-ITX motherboard is able to pack as much as computing punch as its full-sized ATX cousin (provided you're
not overclocking or going for top end CPUs like Intel-E).
2. They run the same graphics cards

...IF the motherboard has a PCI-Express x 16 slot AND the graphics card is able to fit into the computer case. However, highend graphics cards tend to be massive so most Mini-ITX cases (and some MicroATX ones) won't have enough space to
accommodate these behemoths.

For those of you relying on integrated graphics, the good news is that motherboard size no longer affects graphics performance
ever since Intel and AMD fused their graphics processing unit with the CPU (instead of leaving it on the motherboard).
3. Their back panel ports are similar

The space taken up by back panel ports and connectors (see image below) on a motherboard is about the same regardless of
its size. Rather, the number and type of back panel ports on a motherboard are influenced by its price (expensive board = more
and better ports).
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/motherboard-form-factors.html#sthash.quSscpF6.dpuf
Everything You Need to Know About a Mini ITX Motherboard

What is a Mini ITX motherboard and is this small form factor motherboard right for you? Find out now and learn how to choose
your Mini-ITX mainboard.
Mini-ITX motherboards had their humble beginnings in 2001 as embedded circuit boards for industrial use.
With the rising popularity of home theater personal computers (HTPC) and small form factor (SFF) computers in recent years,
this form factor has emerged into limelight as a popular motherboard choice for pint-sized computers.
Measuring at a modest 17 x 17 cm (6.7 x 6.7 in), this is how a Mini-ITX (also known as mITX) motherboard looks like:
When to Choose Mini ITX Motherboards - Benefits

1. You need a computer for your home theater
It's no surprise that Mini-ITX is the most popular form factor for HTPCs (since HTPCs have lower performance needs in
general). With a low power CPU and graphics processor, a Mini ITX system can be silent while being small enough to fit inside
a TV cabinet.
The idea of having a small, power-saving computer also appeals to basic computer users who don't need an imposing full
tower computer loaded with four graphics card just to surf the net or watch some videos.
2. Saving space is important to you

Since most Mini-ITX cases are often just the size of large shoe boxes, you're able to free up a lot more desktop space or leg
room (depending on your computer placement). This makes it an attractive option in situations where space is a luxury, such as
people working in office cubicles or living in small homes.
3. Your computer needs to be semi-portable

It's not something that you can just slip into a backpack... but given its compact form and average weight of 4 to 7 kg (8.8 to
15.4 lbs), transporting it won't be an ordeal. This appeals to gamers who attend LAN parties and folks who move often (e.g.
hostel students, foreign workers).
To better illustrate its size and cuteness, here's a shoebox Mini ITX computer (on the left) next to a mid-tower ATX computer (on
the right):
When to Avoid Mini ITX Motherboards - Drawbacks

1. You're going for high performance or overclocking
While modern Mini-ITX computers are respectable performers capable of mainstream gaming, they're still no match for their
larger MicroATX and ATX cousins when it comes to raw processing power and break-neck clock speeds.
First reason: Mini-ITX mainboards don't support top-tier CPUs such as Intel Extreme processors. The motherboard VRM just
can't handle the demands of these power-hungry beasts, plus where are we going to find room for quad channel RAM?
Second reason: Overclocking a Mini-ITX computer is possible but depressing. While you can overclock it, the extent that you
can push the CPU, RAM and graphic card limits is often severely impaired - The motherboard doesn't have enough phase
power, there's no room for a tower heat sink fan or even sufficient space for proper air flow.
2. You want a computer with good expansion options

One of the most glaring limitations of a Mini ITX motherboards is its single expansion slot. Multiple graphics cards (Nvidia SLI,
AMD CrossFireX) are out of the picture, and you're out of luck too if you ever need two or more expansion cards (e.g. a
discrete graphics card plus dedicated sound card).
How to Choose the Perfect Mini ITX Motherboard

Budget Computer:
Mid Range Computer:
Gaming Computer:
Home Theater PC:
AMD A6-6400K APU
Being a small form factor motherboard, mITX boards tend to come with less slots, ports and connectors than their bigger
cousins (see our Comparison of the Different Motherboard Form Factors for more details)... so extra care is needed to make
sure that your Mini ITX motherboard has all the features that you'll need. Here's our recommendations:
Expansion Slot
Always go for a PCI Express x 16 slot (see image below). Reason? A PCI Express x16 slot is able to accept PCI Express x1, x4
and x16 cards. Remember you only have one precious slot, and you'll want to make it count - A PCI Express x16 slot is able to
accommodate the most types of modern expansion cards.
If your budget is really tight and you're certain that you won't ever need a discrete graphics card, then a PCI Express x1 or x4
slot is also acceptable.
SATA Connectors
The number of SATA connectors determines the amount of internal hard drives and optical drives a motherboard can support.
For general use, we recommend least three SATA connectors. This allows you to install a main hard drive and a DVD/Blu Ray
drive... leaving one free port in case you want to add a solid state drive or another hard disk drive in the future.
If you're intending to install a (SATA 3) solid state drive, then choose a motherboard with at least one SATA 3 port so that you
can unleash the full speed of your drive.
Display Ports
Choosing the correct display ports is crucial if you're running on integrated graphics. Find out what are the display ports that
your monitor accepts (VGA and DVI ports are the most popular ones), then make sure that the motherboard comes with those
ports.
For those of you hooking up your computer to a TV (e.g. home theater PC), a HDMI port is essential since it allows you to
connect to almost all modern TVs... plus you just need a single HDMI cable to output both video and sound.
Others
With USB 3.0 gaining widespread use and boasting impressive real-world speed gains over USB 2.0 (two to four times faster in
most cases), we recommend buying a Mini ITX motherboard with at least one USB 3.0 port for connecting to external storage
devices (e.g. USB 3.0 flash drives, hard disk drives and even solid state drives).
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/mini-itx-motherboard.html#sthash.IhsR4zAf.dpuf
Before Buying a Micro ATX Motherboard, You Should Know

These Facts
What makes Micro ATX motherboards so popular for desktop computers? Find out if this form factor is right for you and how to
choose a MicroATX motherboard right here.
When ATX and MicroATX (also known as mATX) motherboards were introduced back in 1995, ATX quickly took over as the
most popular form factor for desktop computers while the compact Micro ATX fell by the wayside as a niche product.
Fast forward to today and things are looking quite different - In recent years, Micro ATX has been steadily replacing ATX as the
preferred form factor for mainstream consumers.
Why the newfound love for MicroATX? With more and more features integrated into the CPU and motherboard chipset, a large
ATX motherboard with seven expansion slots is starting to look like overkill for most people. Current motherboards don't need a
dedicated sound card, and integrated graphics has evolved to a stage where it's able to match low-end discrete graphics cards.
See the image below for a motherboard size comparison between MicroATX (24.4 x 24.4 cm, 9.6 x 9.6 in) vs. ATX (30.5 x 24.4
cm, 12 x 9.6 in):
When Should You Buy a Micro ATX Motherboard?

1. You are going after the cheapest possible motherboard
With a bit of homework and bargain hunting, you will discover most of the lowest-priced motherboards are MicroATX ones. This
comes as no surprise, since the smaller Mini ITX motherboard calls for more refined manufacturing techniques while the larger
ATX board requires more components.
On top of that, most Micro ATX cases are able to accept standard components such as ATX power supplies and full-height
expansion cards so gives you more (cheap) choices for your other hardware as well.
That being said, we want to add that Micro ATX motherboards come at all price points... from the bargain basement boards to
the top-end models with all the bells and whistles.
2. You want a compact computer for flexible placement

Some people prefer to have their computers on the desk while others rather have them sit on the floor. A Micro-ATX mini tower
allows you to do both with comfort.
The diminutive Mini-ITX case looks good on a desk, but it's too short for you to leave it on the floor (you'll have to do a sit-andreach each time to turn on the computer).
And sure, noone's stopping you from hefting a ATX full tower onto the table, but imagine the amount of workspace it's going to
take up (assuming that your table is able to support its weight)... plus imagine the hassle if your USB ports, audio ports and
power switch are located at the top of the case.
3. You want a computer that's good enough for most purposes

There are no official figures, but it's quite safe to say that a mATX motherboard are able to satisfy the needs of at least three
quarters of computer users. Other than price, that's the other major reason for the Micro ATX form factor gaining widespread
popularity with mainstream consumers.
However, being a jack of all trades also implies Micro ATX isn't the best form factor for some specific needs.
For example, the even smaller Mini-ITX is a better choice in general if you're building a home theater PC, NAS or a semi-
portable computer. At the other end, power users such as serious gamers, overclockers, server admins and graphics designers
will be better off with the full-sized ATX form factor.
How to Choose the Perfect Micro ATX Motherboard

Budget Computer:
Mid Range Computer:

Gaming Computer:
Home Theater PC:
AMD A6-6400K APU
RAM Slots
Most budget MicroATX motherboards have two RAM slots, while mid to high end models tend to offer four slots. So should you
go for four slots or make do with just two?
The answer will depend on the intended use for your computer. We highly recommend that you read our "How Much RAM Do
You Need" article for more details.
Our general advice is to go for a motherboard with four RAM slots... Unless budget is a big concern or you're certain that two
slots will suffice for now and the foreseeable future. You can always begin with two RAM sticks and leave two free slots in case
you need more RAM for the future.
Expansion Slots
Micro ATX mainboards can have two, three or four expansion slots. Given that modern CPUs and motherboards come with
tons of integrated features (e.g. video, audio, network capabilities), most light to moderate users will do just fine with two
expansion slots.
What matters more (than the number of slots) is what type of expansion slots are on the motherboard. If possible, always try to
go for PCI Express slots (unless you still have older expansion cards that make use of the outdated PCI slots).
If you intend to use your computer for gaming, then it's quite essential to have at least one PCI Express x 16 slot so you can
install a discrete graphics card. Heavy gamers can go a step further and opt for Micro ATX motherboards that support multiple
graphics cards (Nvidia SLI, AMD CrossFireX).
SATA Connectors
Every internal hard drive and optical drive requires an individual SATA connector. Modern mATX motherboards have at least
four such connectors, which is enough for most users. What's more important is to make sure that you have at least one SATA
3 connector (vs. the slower SATA 2) if you intend to install a SATA 3 solid state drive.
Power Phases
In general, a motherboard with more power phases is able to deliver cleaner and more stable power to the CPU and RAM...
allowing the them to hit higher overclocks. Having more power phases also means less load on motherboard transistors,
prolonging their lifespan.
If you intend to overclock your CPU and RAM on a Micro ATX motherboard, it should at least have a 4 + 2 power phase (6 + 2
is better). 4/6 here is the number of phases for the CPU while 2 refers to the number of phases for the memory (RAM)
controller.
All the power phases in the world is not going to matter if you don't have a high quality VRM (Voltage Regulator Module) to
begin with. To avoid substandard VRMs, stick to reputable motherboard manufacturers: Asus, Gigabyte, ASRock, MSI.
Others
Whenever possible, always choose Micro ATX motherboards with USB 3.0 back panel ports and/or USB 3.0 front panel
connectors. They make a big difference over USB 2.0 (two to four times real-world speed improvement) when you're hooking
up your computer to USB 3.0 storage devices (flash drives and external hard drives).
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/micro-atx-motherboard.html#sthash.rmVMImBz.dpuf
Everything You Need to Know About an ATX Motherboard

What is the standard ATX form factor and is an ATX motherboard right for you? Learn the answer here and how to choose the
best ATX mainboard.
Introduced by Intel in 1995 to replace the aging 1980s AT form factor, ATX (Advanced Technology eXtended) quickly became
the dominant form factor for desktop computers due to a few reasons: smaller size (easier motherboard installation), improved
power design, customizable back panel ports and most important of all... lower manufacturing costs.
While the smaller Mini ITX and MicroATX motherboards have been chipping away at ATX's lion share of the market in recent
years, ATX boards still remain as a popular choice among power users such as serious gamers, overclockers, server admins,
graphics designers etc.
Now let's meet this ATX form factor that has found such long-lasting success in the PC world:
When Should You Buy an ATX Motherboard?

1. You intend to overclock your CPU, RAM and/or graphics card
There's no competition here: Dollar for dollar, ATX offers the best overclocking performance (vs. Micro ATX and Mini ITX).
The extra real estate on an ATX mainboard allows it to have:
More power phases for cleaner and more stable power
More clearance around CPU socket to accommodate those huge after-market heat sinks
Wider gaps between expansion slots for better graphics cards cooling
All the above factors add up to superior overclocking results. And let's not forget the spacious ATX mid-tower and full-tower
cases with enough room for half a dozen case fans, water cooling setups, tall (CPU and RAM) heat sinks and all that other cool
stuff.
2. You intend to build a computer for serious gaming

While modern MicroATX motherboards are able to meet the needs of mainstream gamers, an ATX system is still the way to go
if you're craving for a gaming beast that can run the latest games at maximum resolution with ultra-high settings (while breezing
along at 60+ fps).
It's the only consumer form factor that supports up to four graphics cards for an extreme quad graphics card setup. Even if you
have just one or two graphics cards, a well-designed ATX board allows for wider spacings and better air flow. This is essential
given that high-end graphics cards are easily the hottest components in your entire computer.
Most mid to high-end MicroATX boards support up to two graphics cards at best. There are rare mATX models that can sustain
three graphics cards, but they come with massive price tags and the poor graphics cards are going to be packed like sardines.
3. You want a simple-to-build computer with more useful years

While it's common knowledge that ATX motherboards cater well to power users, an often-overlooked fact is that they are also
easier to work with... making them an ideal choice for first time builders.
Most Mini ITX cases (and some MicroATX ones) have strict hardware restrictions such as SFX power supplies, low-profile
expansion cards, low-rise heat sinks or SODIMM RAM etc. On the other hand, ATX cases are able to accept a wide range of
hardware, giving you more computer parts to choose from.
The larger number of expansion slots on a ATX board also makes it more "future-proof", allowing you to take advantage of new
technologies as they emerge. For example, if your current motherboard lacks USB 3.0 ports, you can just pop in an USB 3.0
expansion card.
How to Choose the Perfect ATX Motherboard

Budget Computer:
Mid Range Computer:
Gaming Computer:
Home Theater PC:
AMD A6-6400K APU
RAM Slots
Most standard ATX motherboards come with four DIMM slots (though you might have to make do with two on some budget
models). Four slots will be adequate except for the most demanding of users - See our "How Much RAM Do You Need" article
for more info.
In case you do need that much RAM (e.g. server applications, virtualization, RAM disk), there are motherboards for Intel
Extreme processors that come with up a mind-boggling eight RAM slots.
Expansion Slots
The number of expansion slots on an ATX board varies from a minimum of four to a maximum of seven. Even four slots are
plentiful for most people since an average user is just going to fill up one to two slots.
Most modern motherboards offer three types of expansion slots: PCI Express x16, PCI Express x1 and the aging PCI (see
image below):
Not all PCI Express x16 slots are built equal. They can have different number of lanes: 4, 8 or 16. If you're installing a (mid to
high end) graphics card, the slot needs to have at least eight lanes so that it doesn't hold back your card's full potential. To
check for the number of lanes, refer to the motherboard's specifications page.
Our general recommendation for an ATX board is to choose one with at least two PCI Express x16 slots and two PCI Express
x1 slots. The remaining slots will depend on your usage. For example if you have an older PCI card, then you'll want to have at
least one PCI slot as well.
SATA Connectors
Every internal hard drive and optical drive requires its own SATA connector. Most ATX motherboards have six or more
connectors (four minimum), which is enough for most users. What's more important is to make sure that you have at least one
SATA 3 connector (vs. the slower SATA 2) if you intend to install a SATA 3 solid state drive.
Power Phases
All things being equal, a motherboard with more power phases = cleaner and more stable power to your CPU and RAM. This is
especially important for overclocking since you'll be tinkering with voltages.
One of the reasons why most overclockers prefer ATX motherboards is the extra real estate for accommodating more power
phases. For serious overclocking, you should buy an ATX board with at least 8 + 2 phases (8 for the CPU, 2 for the RAM). For
the rest of us who don't overclock, 4 + 2 phases works well enough.
A high quality motherboard VRM (Voltage Regulator Module) is essential for its longevity, especially if you intend to overclock.
Well-built motherboards often have (Japanese) solid capacitors and ferrite chokes. Motherboard brands with good VRMs: Asus,
Gigabyte, ASRock and MSI.
Others
With USB 3.0 gaining widespread use and boasting impressive real-world speed gains over USB 2.0 (two to four times faster in
most cases), it is fast becoming a necessity rather than an optional feature.
That's why we recommend buying an ATX motherboard with at least one USB 3.0 port for connecting to external storage
devices (e.g. USB 3.0 flash drives, hard disk drives and even solid state drives).
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/atx-motherboard.html#sthash.r4fsKEqr.dpuf
Intel CPU Socket Types and Timeline

Intel CPU socket identification made simple - Learn which CPU socket you have with this picture guide to Intel processor
socket types.
1. Buying a new CPU and motherboard combo?
Scroll down to our Intel processor socket list below for compatible matches. You can also check out our recommended
motherboard CPU combos for different computer types.
2. Buying a new CPU for your current motherboard?
Download and run CPU-Z. Click on the Mainboard tab and look for your motherboard chipset under the "Southbridge" field
(e.g. Z87, H77, H61 etc.). See our list below for CPUs that are compatible with your motherboard chipset.
You also can tell what type of motherboard you have by looking at its model name (e.g. Asus Z87-Pro, Gigabyte H77M-D3H,
ASRock H61M-DGS, MSI H55M-E33).
3. Buying a new motherboard for your current CPU?
Download and run CPU-Z. Click on the CPU tab and look for your CPU model under the "Name" field (e.g. Intel Core i7
4790K). See our list below for motherboards that are compatible with your CPU.
SEE ALSO: Best Motherboard CPU Combos
LGA 1150 Intel CPU Socket (Launched in 2013)
LGA 1150 Motherboards

Broadwell
H97, Z97
H97 and Z97 motherboards are compatible with all Haswell, Haswell Refresh and Broadwell CPUs. No BIOS update is
required.
Haswell
H81, B85, Q85, H87, Q87, Z87
H81, B85, Q85, H87, Q87 and Z87 motherboards are compatible with all Haswell and Haswell Refresh CPUs. A BIOS update
may be required for Haswell Refresh CPUs.
LGA 1150 CPUs

Haswell Refresh
Celeron - G1840, G1840T, G1850
Pentium - G3240, G3240T, G3250, G3258, G3250

Core i3 - 4150, 4150T, 4160, 4160T, 4350, 4350T,
Core i5 - 4460, 4460S, 4460T, 4590, 4590S, 4590

Core i7 - 4785T, 4790, 4790K, 4790S, 4790T
Haswell
Celeron - G1820, G1820T, G1830
Pentium - G3220, G3220T, G3420, G3420T, G343

Core i3 - 4130, 4130T, 4330, 4330T, 4340
Core i5 - 4430, 4430S, 4440, 4440S, 4570, 4570, 4
Core i7 - 4765T, 4770, 4770K, 4770S, 4770R, 4770

Ivy Bridge
B75, Q75, Z75, H77, Q77, Z77
B75, Q75, Z75, H77, Q77 and Z77 motherboards are compatible with all Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge CPUs. No BIOS update
is required.
Sandy Bridge
B65, H61, Q65, H67, P67, Q67, Z68
B65, Q65 and Q67 motherboards are compatible with all Sandy Bridge CPUs. They don't support Ivy Bridge CPUs.
H61, H67, P67 and Z68 motherboards are compatible with all Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge CPUs. A BIOS update may be
required for Ivy Bridge CPUs.
LGA 1155 CPUs

Ivy Bridge
Celeron - G1610, G1610T, G1620, G1620T, G163
Pentium - G2010, G2020, G2020T, G2030, G2030
Core i3 - 3210, 3220, 3220T, 3225, 3240, 3240T, 3
Core i5 - 3330, 3330S, 3335S, 3340, 3340S, 3450

3570K, 3570S, 3570T
Sandy Bridge
Core i7 - 3770, 3770K, 3770S, 3770T
Celeron - G440, G460, G465, G470, G530, G530T
Pentium - G620, G620T, G622, G630, G630T, G63
Core i3 - 2100, 2100T, 2102, 2105, 2120, 2120T, 2
Core i5 - 2300, 2310, 2320, 2380P, 2390T, 2400, 2

Core i7 - 2600, 2600K, 2600S, 2700K

Haswell-E
X99
X99 motherboards are compatible with all Haswell-E CPUs. They don't support Sandy Bridge-E or Ivy Bridge-E CPUs.
Ivy Bridge-E
X79
Sandy Bridge-E
X79
X79 motherboards are compatible with all Sandy Bridge-E and Ivy Bridge-E CPUs. A BIOS update may be required for Ivy
Bridge-E CPUs.
LGA 2011 CPUs

Haswell-E
Core i7 - 5820K, 5930K, 5960X
Ivy Bridge-E
Core i7 - 4820K, 4930K, 4960X
Sandy Bridge-E
Core i7 - 3820, 3930K, 3960X, 3970X

Westmere (Clarkdale)
H55, P55, H57, Q57
Nahelem (Lynnfield)
H55, P55, H57, Q57
H55, P55, H57 and Q57 motherboards are compatible with all Westmere (Clarkdale) and Nehalem (Lynnfield) CPUs. A BIOS
update may be required for Westmere (Clarkdale) CPUs.
LGA 1156 CPUs

Westmere (Clarkdale)
Celeron - G1101
Pentium - G6950, G6951, G6960
Core i3 - 530, 540, 550, 560
Core i5 - 650, 655K, 660, 661, 670, 680
Nehalem (Lynnfield)
Core i5 - 750, 750S, 760

Core i7 - 860, 860S, 870, 870K, 870S, 875K, 880

Westmere (Gulftown)
X58
Nehalem (Bloomfield)
X58
X58 motherboards are compatible with all Westmere (Gulftown) and Nehalem (Bloomfield) CPUs. A BIOS update may be
required for Westmere (Gulftown) CPUs.
LGA 1366 CPUs

Westmere (Gulftown)
Core i7 - 970, 980

Core i7 Extreme - 980X, 990X
Nehalem (Bloomfield)
Core i7 - 920, 930, 940, 950, 960

Core i7 Extreme - 965, 975
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/intel-cpu-socket.html#sthash.BJ2H36t8.dpuf
AMD CPU Socket Types and Compatibility

What are the different AMD motherboard CPU combos? Our AMD CPU socket list will show you which AMD CPUs and
motherboards are compatible.
The most precise and simple method of determining which CPUs and motherboards will work together is to see if they share
the same CPU socket.
If you're shopping for a new CPU and motherboard, then you can proceed straight to our AMD processor socket list below.
Want to upgrade your CPU but keep your existing motherboard? Then we'll have to identify the CPU socket on your
motherboard first:
1. Download and run CPU-Z.
2. Under the default CPU tab, the "Package" field will show which AMD CPU socket you have.
Examples of AMD CPU sockets: Socket FM2 (904), Socket AM3+ (942), Socket FM1 (937)
SEE ALSO: Best Motherboard CPU Combos
AMD APU Socket FM2+ (Launched in 2014)
Socket FM2+ motherboards are compatible with the following AMD APUs and CPUs:
Kaveri (Steamroller)
A4-7300
A6 PRO-7400B, A6-7400K
A8-7600, A8 PRO-7600B
A10-7700K, A10-7800, A10 PRO-7800B, A10 PRO-7850B, A10-7850K
Athlon X2 450, Athlon X4 840, Athlon X4 860K

Richland (Piledriver)
A4-4000, A4-4020, A4-6300, A4-6300B, A4-6320, A4-7300

A6-6400B, A6-6400K, A6-6240K
A8-6500, A8-6500B, A8-6500T, A8-6600K
A10-6700, A10-6700T, A10-6790K, A10-6800B, A10-6800K
Sempron X2 250
Athlon 350, Athlon X2 370K, Athlon 750, Athlon X4 760K
Trinity (Piledriver)
A4-5300, A4-5300B
A6-5400B, A6-5400K
A8-5500, A8-5500B, A8-5600K
A10-5700, A10-5800B, A10-5800K
Athlon X2 340, Athlon X2 340, Athlon X4 740, Athlon X4 750K
FirePro A300, FirePro A320
AMD APU Socket FM2 (Launched in 2012)
Socket FM2 motherboards are compatible with the following AMD APUs and CPUs:
Richland (Piledriver)
A4-4000, A4-4020, A4-6300, A4-6300B, A4-6320, A4-7300

A6-6400B, A6-6400K, A6-6240K
A8-6500, A8-6500B, A8-6500T, A8-6600K
A10-6700, A10-6700T, A10-6790K, A10-6800B, A10-6800K
Sempron X2 250
Athlon 350, Athlon X2 370K, Athlon 750, Athlon X4 760K
Trinity (Piledriver)
A4-5300, A4-5300B
A6-5400B, A6-5400K
A8-5500, A8-5500B, A8-5600K
A10-5700, A10-5800B, A10-5800K
Athlon X2 340, Athlon X2 340, Athlon X4 740, Athlon X4 750K
FirePro A300, FirePro A320
AMD CPU Socket AM3+ (Launched in 2011)
Socket AM3+ motherboards are compatible with the following AMD CPUs:
Vishera (Piledriver)
FX-4300, FX-4320, FX-4350

FX-6300, FX-6350
FX-8300, FX-8320, FX-8320E, FX-8350, FX-8370, FX-8370E
FX-9370, FX-9590
Zambezi (Bulldozer) FX-4100, FX-4120, FX-4130, FX-4150, FX-4170

FX-6100, FX-6120, FX-6130, FX-6200
FX-8100, FX-8120, FX-8140, FX-8150, FX-8170
Phenom II (K10)
Sempron - 130, 140, 145, 150, 180, 190

Phenom II X2 - 511, 521, 545, 550, 550 BE, 555 BE, 560 BE, 565 BE, 570 BE (BE = Black Edition)
Phenom II X3 - 700e, 705e, 710, 715 BE, 720, 720 BE, 740 BE (BE = Black Edition)
Phenom II X4 - 650T, 805, 810, 820, 830, 840, 840T, 850, 900e, 905e, 910, 910e, 920, 925, 940 BE, 945, 955, 955
BE, 960T BE, 965 BE, 970 BE, 975 BE, 970 BE, 975 BE, 980 BE (BE = Black Edition)
Phenom II X6 - 1035T, 1045T, 1055T, 1065T, 1075T, 1075 BE, 1090T BE, 1100T BE (BE = Black Edition)
Athlon II (K10)
Athlon II - 160u, 170u

Athlon II X2 - 210e, 215, 220, 235e, 240, 240e, 245, 245e, 250, 250e, 250u, 255, 260, 260u, 265, 270, 270u, 280
Athlon II X3 - 400e, 405e, 415e, 420e, 425, 425e, 435, 440, 445, 450, 455, 460
Athlon II X4 - 600e, 605e, 610e, 615e, 620, 620e, 630, 635, 640, 645, 650
Motherboards with AM3+ AMD CPU socket supports both AM3+ (Vishera, Zambezi) and AM3 (Phenom II, Athlon II, Sempron)
CPUs right out of the box.
AMD APU Socket FM1 (Launched in 2011)
Socket FM1 motherboards are compatible with the following AMD APUs and CPUs:
Llano (K10)
E2-3200
A4-3300, A4-3400, A4-3420
A6-3500, A6-3600, A6-3620, A6-3650, A6-3670K
A8-3800, A8-3820, A8-3850, A8-3870K
Sempron X2 198
Athlon II X2 221, Athlon II X4 631, Athlon II X4 638, Athlon II X4 641, Athlon II X4 651, Athlon II X4 651K
AMD CPU Socket AM3 (Launched in 2009)
Socket AM3 motherboards are compatible with the following AMD CPUs:
Phenom II (K10)
Sempron - 130, 140, 145, 150, 180, 190

Phenom II X2 - 511, 521, 545, 550, 550 BE, 555 BE, 560 BE,
565 BE, 570 BE (BE = Black Edition)
Phenom II X3 - 700e, 705e, 710, 715 BE, 720, 720 BE, 740 BE
(BE = Black Edition)
Phenom II X4 - 650T, 805, 810, 820, 830, 840, 840T, 850,
900e, 905e, 910, 910e, 920, 925, 940 BE, 945, 955, 955 BE,
960T BE, 965 BE, 970 BE, 975 BE, 970 BE, 975 BE, 980 BE
(BE = Black Edition)
Phenom II X6 - 1035T, 1045T, 1055T, 1065T, 1075T, 1075 BE,
1090T BE, 1100T BE (BE = Black Edition)
Athlon II (K10)
Athlon II - 160u, 170u

Athlon II X2 - 210e, 215, 220, 235e, 240, 240e, 245, 245e,
250, 250e, 250u, 255, 260, 260u, 265, 270, 270u, 280
Athlon II X3 - 400e, 405e, 415e, 420e, 425, 425e, 435, 440,
445, 450, 455, 460
Athlon II X4 - 600e, 605e, 610e, 615e, 620, 620e, 630, 635,
640, 645, 650
While AM3 motherboards do not officially support the newer AM3+ CPUs (Vishera, Zambezi), some motherboard
manufacturers have released BIOS update that allow their AM3 motherboards to work with AM3+ CPUs.
If your motherboard has a AM3 AMD CPU socket, then check out the manufacturer's website to see they have added AM3+
CPU support for your specific motherboard model.
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/amd-cpu-socket.html#sthash.i5mkPl5t.dpuf

Discover the difference between USB 2.0 and 3.0 today. Find out how much faster is USB 3.0 and whether it is backwards
compatible with USB 2.0.
Since its release in 2000, USB 2.0 has made its way in almost every device imaginable... computers, laptops, tablets, phones,
cameras, storage devices, televisions and even bitcoin miners. While it has enjoyed tremendous popularity for over a decade,
its successor USB 3.0 has been gaining rapid adoption among newer devices.
Promising higher transfer speeds and quicker charging, does USB 3.0 deliver? Read on for the full answer:
USB 2.0 vs 3.0: Speed Difference

On paper, USB 2.0 is capable of transfer speeds of up to 480 Mbps while USB 3.0 caps out at 5,000 Mbps. This would suggest
that USB 3.0 is at least 10 times than USB 2.0, but we all know these figures are meaningless unless it's backed up by real
world tests.
Real world speed tests by TweakTown, NetworkWorld and even The New York Times have all led to similar results: USB 3.0 is
about 2.5 times to 3.5 times faster than USB 2.0. While this falls short of its marketing claim, 3 times faster is still a significant
speed boost.
To verify this, we performed our own USB 3.0 vs 2.0 speed test. We connected a Toshiba Canvio USB 3.0 external hard drive
to an idle desktop computer and measured its transfer speed with CrystalDiskMark. We first connected it to an USB 2.0 port
and recorded its speed, then repeated the process with a USB 3.0 port. Here are our speed test results:
USB 2.0
USB 3.0
Read Speed
34.82 MB/s
75.19 MB/s
Write Speed
30.68 MB/s
74.48 MB/s
Our results indicate that USB 3.0 is about 2.5 times faster, which tallies with findings of the other real world tests.
However, most articles fail to mention one very important point: Not all devices will benefit from USB 3.0's superior transfer
rates. Yes, external hard drives and flash drives will be able to take full advantage of USB 3.0's speed boost. USB 3.0 mobile
phones and tablets are also 2 to 3 times faster when transferring large files from their internal memories.
But for other USB devices such as external optical drives, keyboards, mice, webcams, printers, speakers, network adapters
etc... there is little performance difference between USB 2.0 and 3.0.
USB 2.0 vs 3.0: Charging and Power

A USB 2.0 port is able to deliver 0.5 A of power while USB 3.0 is able to output 0.9 A. This means two things: USB 3.0 devices
are able to charge faster and USB 3.0 ports can support more power-hungry devices.
Samsung's Galaxy Note 3 is the first phone in the world with a USB 3.0 port, making it ideal for comparing USB 2.0 and USB
3.0 charging speeds.
We first connected our Note 3 to a desktop computer's USB 2.0 port and recorded the time it took for the phone battery to
charge from 0 to 100%. The same process was then repeated with a USB 3.0 port and a wall charger.
Charge Time
USB 2.0
USB 3.0
7 h 48 min
5 h 8 min
Take-home lesson: If you're using a desktop or laptop computer to charge your devices, then USB 3.0 will save you a good
chunk of waiting time. However, USB 3.0's improved charge speed still pales in comparison to a wall charger (Note 3's default
wall charger is rated at 2.0 A).
USB 2.0 vs 3.0: Ports and Cables

Color is the key to telling the difference between USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports. In almost all cases, USB 3.0 ports are blue while USB
2.0 ports are black or white in color (see image below):
Standard USB cables follow the same color scheme as well. In the image below, we can see that USB 2.0 connectors are white
(or black), while USB 3.0 connectors are blue in color. It is also common to find a "SS" (SuperSpeed) label on USB 3.0 cables.
As for Micro USB cables (often used with mobile phones, tablets and external hard drives), you can tell the difference between
USB 2.0 and 3.0 from the shapes of their connectors - Micro USB 3.0 connectors are wider than 2.0 ones. If you look closer at
the image below, you will be able to spot a "SS" label on the Micro USB 3.0 cable as well:
Is USB 2.0 and 3.0 Compatible with Each Other?

USB 3.0 is backwards compatible, so the short answer is yes. To make things clear and simple:
USB 2.0 port + USB 2.0 device = USB 2.0 performance

Any combination will work... but to take advantage USB 3.0's improved speed and charging, you'll need 3 ingredients: USB 3.0
port, USB 3.0 device and USB 3.0 cable.
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/usb-2-and-3.html#sthash.vU3bUmL5.dpuf
1. How to Build a PC - Step by Step Guide

Let's learn how to build a PC today... without any pain or fuss. Even if you're a complete beginner, there IS an easy way to build
your own PC, and we shall show you how to do it right here.
HOW TO BUILD A COMPUTER

1. Should I Buy or Build a PC?
2. Parts to Build a Computer
3. Installing a CPU Processor
4. Installing a CPU Fan

5. Installing RAM Memory
6. Installing a Motherboard
7. Installing a Power Supply
8. Power Supply Connectors

9. Installing a Hard Drive
10. Installing a DVD Drive
11. Installing a Graphics Card
12. Computer Cable Management
13. Computer Cable Connections
Why Should I Learn to Build a Computer?

1. Building a PC is cheaper than buying one
Everyone know it's cheaper to build a PC from scratch, but how much do you really save? If you compare a pre-assembled vs
self-build PC with similar specifications, you can expect to save anywhere from $50 to $400 depending on how high-end the PC
is (You tend to save more on higher end systems).
But the savings don't just stop there. In a few years' time, you'll be needing a more powerful PC again and you'll have two
options: Upgrade your existing PC vs. buying a new one. That's where the big savings kick in... if you choose to upgrade
instead of shelling out cash on a new PC.
Chances are that you will still be able to re-use your existing computer case, power supply, optical drive, monitor, keyboard,
mouse and even operating system (e.g. Windows). In most cases, upgrading a PC will cost you less than half of a new
computer's price.
2. You can custom build your dream machine
Many a time a store-bought PC either does not offer what you need, or it comes overloaded with all the extra bell and whistles
that you don't want (but still have to pay for anyway).
Sure, some computer makers, most notably Dell, do allow you to customize your PC and tinker around with some specs but
your choices are still fairly limited:
Want an after-market heat sink so you can overclock your CPU? Nope. How about installing a 1,000 watt power supply for your
gaming beast? Nope again. Hmm perhaps something simple then: choose the brand of your hard drive? Sorry, still a nope. On
the other hand, learn how to build a PC and the possibilities will be limited by just your imagination (and wallet).
15
3. You get to enjoy longer product warranties

Most of the time, popular PC makers such as Acer, Dell, HP and Lenovo offer a standard one year warranty on the desktop
computers that they sell. Want a longer warranty? Sure, then cough up (~$100 to $200) more for an extended warranty.
However it's a different story when you buy individual computer parts to build your own PC. Here are the average warranty
periods offered by manufacturers of different computer parts (no extra fees or charges):
Warranty Period
CPU
3 years
Motherboard
3 years
RAM
Lifetime
Power Supply
2 to 7 years
Hard Drive
2 to 5 years
Optical Drive
1 year
Computer Case
1 to 3 years
Graphics Card
2 to 3 years
Monitor
3 years
Their standard one year PC warranty is starting to look a bit underwhelming, don't you think so?
When Should I Buy a Computer Instead?

While building your own PC is a rewarding pastime, it does call for time and effort (especially if you're a newbie). Someone with
zero hardware experience would probably have to set aside one to two days to shop for his or her PC parts, plus invest another
day to put it all together.
And sometimes, you build a PC and it just refuses to boot up at the first go. Maybe it's a SATA cable that has come loose, or
perhaps it's a RAM stick that is not inserted correctly. So a bit of patience is required to troubleshoot the misbehaving PC.
The good news is that once you know your way around the insides of a PC, things start speeding up and knowing how to build
your own PC becomes a time-saving skill. A master PC builder can churn out a complete PC in under 30 minutes, and anyone
with some experience should take less than two hours from start to finish (excluding installation of the operating system).
NEXT: Parts to Build a Computer

- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/build-a-pc.html#sthash.yCPS2qhl.dpuf
What are the Parts to Build a Computer?

Knowing what are the parts to build a computer is one of most valuable hardware knowledge you can have. Learn it all today
with our complete computer parts list (with pictures).
How many basic parts of a computer are there? 15? 20? 50?
The answer astounds most people when they first hear it: Seven including the computer case. Yes, you heard right... it takes
just seven parts to build a PC for mainstream users (six if you're not installing an optical drive).
Graphics cards are absent from our computer parts list below because almost all current CPUs do come with integrated
graphics, making discrete graphics cards an optional upgrade.
1. CPU and Cooler

CPU: Central Processing Unit, also known as processor, microprocessor
CPU Cooler: Also known as CPU heat sink, CPU fan, heat sink fan, HSF
CPU manufacturers Intel and AMD often bundle their CPUs together with heat sinks (with certain exceptions such as Sandy
Bridge Extreme processors). So when you buy a boxed CPU, you are in fact getting a heat sink as well.

2. Motherboard
Also known as mainboard, system board, mobo, MB

Most motherboards will come with an I/O (Input/Output) shield, SATA cables, user manual and driver CD.
3. RAM
RAM: Random Access Memory, also known as memory, main memory, system memory
Recommended RAM
Budget Computer: Crucial 4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz
Mid Range Computer: Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB DDR3 1600 MHz x 2
Gaming Computer: Corsair Vengeance Pro 4GB DDR3 2400 MHz x 2
Home Theater PC: Crucial Ballistix Sport VLP 4GB DDR3 1600 MHz
4. Power Supply Unit
Also known as power supply, PSU
Recommended Power Supplies

Budget Computer: Corsair Builder Series CX 430W
Mid Range Computer: Seasonic G Series 550W
Gaming Computer: Corsair Professional Series AX 760W
Home Theater PC: Seasonic M12II Bronze 620W
Click here for our buyer's guide to the best computer power supplies.
5. Hard Drive
Before we go any further, it's important to know that there are two distinct types of hard drives:
1. Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
This is your (traditional) mechanical hard drive that stores data on spinning disks. Compared to solid state drives, they are
slower, drain more electricity and are more prone to physical failures... but they make it up with bigger storage capacities and
cheaper prices (per MB)
2. Solid State Drive (SSD)
Solid state drives are the up-and-coming successors in hard drive tech. Driven by electronic controllers (with zero moving
parts), solid state drives read and write data faster, multitask better and can survive harder knocks. The big downside is that
they cost magnitudes more and still run into occasional firmware problems (being a less mature technology).
For more details on the differences between them, be sure to check out our SSD vs HDD article.
In the image below, we have a 3.5 inch hard disk drive HDD on the left, and a 2.5 inch solid state drive SSD on the right:
Recommended Hard Drives

Budget Computer: Western Digital Blue 1 TB
Mid Range Computer: Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD + Western Digital Blue 1 TB
Gaming Computer: Samsung 850 Evo 500 GB SSD + Western Digital Black 2 TB
Home Theater PC: Western Digital Green 3 TB
6. Optical Drive
There are two choices for your optical drive when you are choosing parts to build a computer: DVD drive and Blu-ray drive
There are a few different types of DVD drives, with DVD-RW drives being most common:
DVD-ROM Drive: Can only read DVD discs
DVD-R Drive: Can read and record/write data to DVD-R discs once
DVD-RW Drive: Can read and rewrite (record and erase) data to DVD-RW discs multiple times.
7. Computer Case
Also known as computer casing, computer chassis
Now that you know what are the essential parts to build a computer, let's take a quick peek inside the case of an assembled
computer to see how the different parts of a computer all hang together to form a complete system:
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/parts-to-build-a-computer.html#sthash.32IseBBe.dpuf

NEXT: Installing a CPU Processor
Installing a CPU - How to Install a CPU

A CPU is the brains of your computer, but don't worry installing a CPU isn't brain surgery. Learn how to install a CPU today with
these simple steps.
All motherboards should come with a plastic cover that protects the CPU socket. This cover has to be removed to free up the
socket for your CPU. To begin your CPU installation, push the socket lever down and slide it to the right (see photo below).
Lift up the socket lever and the load plate will pop up (see image below). You can now remove the CPU socket cover. Be sure
to keep this cover - You'll need it when selling your motherboard or sending it back for repairs.
Remove the CPU from its plastic tab and insert it into the motherboard's CPU socket. When installing a new CPU, be sure to
hold it by the sides and avoid touching the golden pins at the bottom. See the photo below for the correct way to hold a CPU:
Gently align the two CPU notches (circled in yellow above) with the two protruding socket keys (circled in yellow below). Gently
set the CPU onto the socket.
Note: Do not apply any force at this stage or you may bend the CPU/socket pins and damage them.
To confirm that the CPU has been correctly seated, lightly rest your finger on top of the CPU and gently move it around. The
CPU should not budge at all if it has been correctly inserted into the socket.
Now lower the load plate and slide it under the shoulder screw. Once this is done, lower the socket lever under it touches the
motherboard and slide it left to lock it into place. See image below:
NEXT: Installing a CPU Fan

- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/installing-a-cpu.html#sthash.8HKnukut.dpuf
Installing a CPU Fan - How to Install a CPU Fan

Installing a CPU fan correctly is important for keeping your computer cool and quiet. Learn how to install a CPU fan in a few
quick steps.
Before installing a CPU fan and heatsink, you'll first have to determine whether you need to apply thermal paste to the CPU.
As we have explained in our "What is CPU thermal paste" article, it is essential to have thermal paste between the CPU and
heat sink. Without it, your CPU will run about 20 to 30C hotter under load. Even if your CPU doesn't overheat and shut down
immediately, its lifespan is going to be shortened considerably.
If you're installing the default Intel or AMD heat sink fan for the first time, then there is no need to apply any thermal compound.
The reason is simple - The standard CPU fan (called a stock cooler) that comes with every boxed Intel and AMD CPU has
thermal paste pre-applied to its base. You can see the three grey stripes of pre-applied thermal paste in the image below:
If you're installing a stock cooler than has been used before or an aftermarket heatsink fan, then it's a must to apply thermal
compound to the CPU before proceeding - Click here to learn how to apply CPU thermal grease.
Begin CPU fan installation by making sure that all four push pins are facing the correct direction. The grooves on the push pins
should be facing the center of the CPU fan (see image below):
To install a CPU fan and heat sink, you will need to align the four push pins of the heat sink (circled in yellow above) with the
four pin holes on the motherboard (circled in yellow below):
Once everything is aligned, place your thumbs on the two diagonally opposite push pins and press down on both pins at the
same time until you hear a "click" sound. See image below:
Once you have pushed down all four pins, take a look at the bottom of the motherboard. If you have installed the CPU cooler
correctly, the pins should protrude fully as shown in the image below:
Now we are down to the final step of installing a CPU fan: Plug the CPU fan power connector into the 4-pin CPU fan header on
the motherboard. On most motherboards, this header will be located near the CPU socket:
NEXT: Installing RAM Memory

- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/installing-a-cpu-fan.html#sthash.w9jjhc1n.dpuf
5.
Installing RAM Memory - How to Install RAM Memory
Installing RAM memory is easy but there are important details to know and mistakes to avoid. Learn how to install RAM
memory correctly here.
Before touching a RAM memory stick, ground yourself first by touching a metal object such as your computer case. The correct
way to hold a RAM memory is grip it by the sides with your index fingers and thumbs (see image below). Avoid touching its
golden contacts at all times.
If you look closer, you will see that your RAM memory has a small notch (circled in yellow below). Don't underestimate this little
notch - It's there to make sure you align your memory in the correct direction during RAM installation.
RAM memory are installed into the DIMM slots (RAM sockets) on your motherboard. To see what a DIMM slot looks like,
please refer to the image below.
Just like RAM memory modules, DIMM slots have little notches as well (circled in yellow below). Together they form a foolproof
design such that you can only insert your RAM memory in one direction.
How to install RAM memory: Flip open the retaining clips. Note the position of the notches to align your RAM memory correctly.
Holding your RAM memory as shown in the image below, apply equal downward pressure on both sides and push it into the
DIMM slot. Both retaining clips will snap into place once the RAM memory has been fully inserted:
While installing RAM memory requires you to apply moderate pressure, avoid excessive force or you may end damaging it. If both retaining
clips don't snap in, check if the RAM memory has been inserted in the correct direction.
NEXT: Installing a Motherboard

- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/installing-ram.html#sthash.NAc0Ww3Q.dpuf
6.
Installing a Motherboard - How to Install a
Motherboard
With our step-by-step picture guide, installing a motherboard is a breeze even if you're a total beginner. Learn how to install a
motherboard in a case now.
Before installing a new motherboard, you should have already done all of the following:
1. Installed the CPU
2. Mounted the CPU cooler
3. Inserted RAM memory
If you haven't installed the CPU, cooler or RAM, you can click on the above links for their installation steps.
Even if your computer case has a CPU cut-out (to allow for CPU installation), it's still easier to install the above parts first before
squeezing your motherboard into the cramped quarters of a case.
1. Install I/O Shield (Metal Back Plate)

All motherboards should come with a metal plate with cutouts for the back connectors and ports. This metal plate is called the
I/O shield (Input/Output shield). The I/O shield snaps into the back end of computer cases - No screws needed.
Before installing a motherboard in a case, you have to make sure the I/O shield is inserted in the correct direction. If your I/O
shield is the type with tiny protruding bits, they should point towards the insides of the computer case (see image below):
2. Install Motherboard into Case

Now let's turn our attention to the motherboard standoffs (circled in yellow above). Also known as motherboard pegs, these
brass-colored objects are used to secure your motherboard to the case.
Some computer cases come with motherboard standoffs pre-installed, while for others you will have to screw in the standoffs
yourself. Remember to tighten the pegs with a pair of pliers instead of just using your thumbs.
Installing a motherboard: Lower your motherboard slowly into the computer case such that
1. the motherboard holes align with the standoffs on the case

2. the rear motherboard ports line up with the I/O shield
How to install a motherboard: Grab a screwdriver and fasten your motherboard to the computer case with the screws that come
with your computer case (see image below). For a motherboard to be properly secured, it should be fastened with at least four
screws.
3. Connect Front Panel Connectors to Motherboard

In order for the power button, reset button, front USB ports, front audio ports and LED lights of the computer case to work, you
will need to plug their front panel connectors into the front panel header on the motherboard.
Manufacturers tend to use abbreviations to label front panel connectors and headers. When installing a motherboard, it's
important that you know what these abbreviations stand for:
H.D.D LED, HD - hard drive LED
POWER LED, PWR LED, PLED, - power LED
POWER SW, PWR SW, PW - power switch
RESET SW, RESET, RES - reset switch
SPEAKER, SPEAK - internal PC speaker
HD AUDIO, AC' 97, F_AUDIO - front panel headphone and microphone jack
USB, F_USB - front panel USB port
Moving on with our motherboard installation guide, let's take a look at the front panel connectors:
How to connect front panel connectors to motherboard: Locate the F_panel front panel header which is a cluster of small
upright pins on your motherboard (see image below). Now it's a good time to take out your motherboard manual if you need
help finding this header.
The front USB and audio connectors are the easiest to connect: Not only are they are larger in size, but they also have a
foolproof design such that you can only connect them in one direction. The only thing to note is that if you have both HD AUDIO
and AC' 97 audio connectors, always choose HD AUDIO for better sound quality.
The power switch and reset switch connectors will work in any orientation so no worries there.
The power LED and hard drive LED are the biggest headaches you will encounter when installing a motherboard. In order for
the LEDs to light up, you will need to plug in a positive connector into a positive header pin and the same goes for their
negative counterparts.
While the positive and negative pins on motherboard are always labelled (see image below), it's common to find front panel
connectors without any positive and negative labeling. As a general guideline, the connectors with white/black wires are
positive and the connector with colored wires are negative. In case the LEDs don't light up, simply swap the positions of the
connectors.
4. Connect Case Fans to Motherboard

Now we're down to the last step of installing a motherboard and it's a simple one: Connecting the computer case fans to your
motherboard.
All you have to do is take the case fan's connector (circled in yellow below) and plug it into a 3-pin or 4-pin fan header on your
motherboard. This header is often labelled as SYS_FAN or PWR_FAN.
No worries if you don't have enough fan headers for all your case fans - We will show you how to power them with molex
connectors in a later section of this guide.
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/installing-a-motherboard.html#sthash.pUzgrN8B.dpuf
Installing a Power Supply - How to Install a Power Supply

Are you installing a power supply into a computer? Learn how to install a power supply today with these simple steps.
With its big assortment of cables and connectors, a power supply unit (PSU) can appear daunting to hardware newbies, but
PSU installation is often easier than most would expect.
Installing a computer power supply is a two step process:
1. Secure the power supply unit inside the computer case (explained below).
2. Connect the power supply cables to the other internal components.
Here we have a standard ATX power supply unit that can be found in most desktop computers:
Look for the power supply cut-out at the back of the computer case - It should be located either at the topmost or the
bottommost of the case:
Now place the power supply unit inside the computer case with its fan facing down (doesn't matter whether it's mounted at the
top or bottom of the case). Slide the PSU towards the back of the case:
There are four screw holes at the back of your power supply (the side with the 1-0 on-off switch). Align them with the four screw
holes at the back of the computer case (circled in yellow below). Using a screw driver, secure the power supply unit to the case
with screws:
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/installing-a-power-supply.html#sthash.6NXpnSVG.dpuf
Power Supply Connectors - How to Connect PC Power

Connectors
Connecting a power supply? Learn how to identify and connect PC power supply connectors with this full picture guide.
Let's begin with some good news: All computer power supply connectors have a foolproof design such that they can only be
connected in a single direction (so there's no way to mess up here).
And while a power supply looks like a big mess of cables to the untrained eye, there's only a few types of PC power connectors
that you'll need to know when connecting a power supply.
Since SATA and Molex power connectors do not have clips, be sure to insert them firmly so that they won't come loose or get
disconnected.
1. (20 + 4 Pin) ATX Power Connector

Also known as main power connector
Connects to: ATX motherboard power connectors (see image below)
2. (4 + 4 Pin) ATX 12V Power Connector

Also known as CPU power connector, P4 power connector
Connects to: ATX 12V power connectors on motherboards (see image below)
Note: For most computers, you will just need to connect a single 4 pin connector.
3. SATA Power Connector

Also known as SATA power cable, Serial-ATA power cable
Connects to: power connectors on SATA hard drives and SATA optical drives
Note: Always make sure that your SATA power connectors are fully inserted. Since it doesn't have a clip, this PC power
connector tends to loosen and detach itself.
4. (4 Pin) Molex Connector

Also known as peripheral connector
Connects to: power connectors of IDE hard drives and IDE optical drives
Note: IDE drives are going the way of dinosaurs but Molex connectors are still well and alive... thanks to the following adapters
that allow them to power SATA drives and computer case fans:
Molex to SATA Power Adapter
Connects to: power connectors of SATA hard drives and SATA optical drives
Molex to 3 Pin Fan Adapter
Connects to: power connectors of computer case fans
5. (6 Pin) PCI Express Connector

Also known as PCI Express power cable, PCI-E connector, PCIe connector
Connects to: power connectors of PCI Express graphics cards (see image below)
Note: Whether a graphics card requires this power supply connector will depend on its power consumption. Low end graphics
cards may not need it at all, while high end graphics card (such as the one pictured below) may require up to two such
connectors to run. There are also 8 pin (6 + 2) PCI Express connectors that deliver more power than the regular 6 pin
connectors.
6. (4 Pin) Floppy Drive Connector

Also known as FDD connector
Connects to: power connectors of floppy disk drives

Note: This connector has been obsolete for ages, but we are including it in this PC power connectors guide because you can
still (strangely) find it on modern power supply units.
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/power-supply-connectors.html#sthash.kfmOTzxp.dpuf
Installing a Hard Drive - How to Install a Hard Drive

Installing a hard drive only takes a few simple steps - let us show you how. Learn how to install a hard drive today with this full
picture guide.
In this guide we shall be installing a hard disk drive (HDD) - The steps for installing a solid state drive (SSD) are the same since
they both have the same SATA power and data connectors.
A desktop hard disk drive belongs inside a 3.5" drive bay within your computer case.
With its SATA connectors facing outwards, slide the hard drive into an empty bay. Align the hard drive's screw holes with the
bay holes, then secure your hard drive inside the bay with screws or toolless fasteners:
A SATA hard drive has two L-shaped connectors: The larger connector (on the left) is the power connector while the smaller
one is the data connector. See image below:
Connect a SATA power cable (see image below) from the power supply unit to the hard drive's power connector. SATA power
cables are notorious for coming loose so be sure to insert it fully into the connector.
Connect one end of a SATA data cable to the hard drive's data connector. Here's how a SATA data cable looks like:
Plug the other end of the SATA cable into a SATA connector on your motherboard (see image below).
Most modern motherboards have both SATA 2 and SATA 3 connectors. On a motherboard, SATA 2 connectors are often
labelled as SATA2 or SATA_3G, while SATA 3 connectors are tagged as SATA3 or SATA_6G. As always, your motherboard
manual is your best friend when learning how to install a hard drive.
In addition, most motherboards will also color-code the connectors to help you differentiate them. In the image below, SATA 2
connectors are blue in color while the SATA 3 connectors are white.
While SATA 3 motherboard connectors are backwards compatible and works with SATA 2 hard drives, save them for your SATA
3 drives (especially solid state drives).
Once you are done installing a hard drive, it should end up looking something like this:
NEXT: Installing a DVD Drive

HOW TO BUILD A COMPUTER
1. Should I Buy or Build a PC?
2. Parts to Build a Computer
3. Installing a CPU Processor
4. Installing a CPU Fan

5. Installing RAM Memory
6. Installing a Motherboard
7. Installing a Power Supply
8. Power Supply Connectors
9. Installing a Hard Drive
10. Installing a DVD Drive
11. Installing a Graphics Card
12. Computer Cable Management
13. Computer Cable Connections
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/installing-a-hard-drive.html#sthash.qdpxGTRk.dpuf
Installing a DVD Drive - How to Install a DVD Drive

Installing a DVD drive in a PC only takes a few simple steps - Learn how to install a DVD drive in a computer today with this full
picture guide.
First step of installing a DVD burner: Mounting it into a 5.25 inch bay of your computer case.
Before you can install a DVD burner into the bay, you'll need to remove the front 5.25 bay cover (see image below). Since most
bay covers have their retaining clips hidden on the inside, we'll have to take out the front panel of the computer case first.
Most front panels are attached to their cases by tabs (circled in yellow below), so you'll need to look for any gap, handle or
lever that allows you to pull the panel outwards. For this computer case, you will notice that that is a gap at the bottom of the
front panel.
While it can take a bit of nudging to remove the front panel, you should never yank it too hard. One, you may break its plastic
tabs. Two, you may damage the front panel connectors that are attached to it.
Now that the front panel has been taken off, you can go ahead and remove the bay cover. In most cases, you should be able to
detach the bay cover by pressing on the retaining clips. With your bay cover out of the way, snap the front panel back into
place.
Take your DVD drive and slide it into the 5.25 bay, taking care to align the DVD drive's screw holes with the bay holes (see
image below). Using a screw driver, secure the DVD drive to the bay with screws or toolless fasteners (that are included with
your computer case).
Next step of installing a DVD drive: Connecting the drive to your computer.
You will find two L-shaped connectors at the back of a SATA DVD drive: A larger power connector (on the left) and a smaller
data connector (on the right):
Connect a SATA power cable (see image below) from the power supply unit to the DVD drive's power connector.
Connect one end of a SATA data cable to the DVD drive's data connector. Here's how a SATA data cable looks like:
Plug the other end of the SATA data cable into a SATA 2 connector on your motherboard (see image below). SATA 2
connectors are often labelled as SATA2 or SATA_3G on a motherboard:
Once you are done installing a DVD drive, it should end up looking like this:
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/installing-a-dvd-drive.html#sthash.PezS4TIK.dpuf
Installing a Graphics Card - How to Install a Graphics Card

What's the best method of installing a graphics card in a desktop computer? Learn how to install a graphics card step by step
here.
Now that most current Intel and AMD processors have integrated graphics, installing a video card (also known as discrete
graphics card, dedicated graphics card or graphics processing unit GPU) is an optional upgrade rather than an essential step.
Still, integrated graphics have a long way to go before they can match the raw power of a mid to high end graphics card and
this makes them important to demanding users such as gamers and design professionals.
Installing a new graphics card: Locate the PCI Express x16 slot on your motherboard (outlined in yellow below). In most cases,
it's the longest expansion slot and has a small clip at one end:
Before you can install a video card, you'll first have to remove the metal bracket that is next to the PCI Express x16 slot.
Depending on your computer case's design, you remove this bracket by unscrewing it, releasing its toolless fastener or simply
twisting it off.
Once the metal bracket has been removed, it should look something like this:
How to install a graphics card: Align the golden contacts at the bottom of your graphics card with the PCI Express x16 slot on
your motherboard. Make sure the graphic card's metal bracket is facing the back of the computer case.
Apply gentle downward pressure on the graphics card until it is fully inserted into the slot. For those of you who grew up in the
1980s, this step of installing a graphics card is remarkably similar to loading a video game cartridge into a Sega Genesis Drive
or Super NES console.
Screw the graphics card's metal bracket to the back of the computer case (see image below):
Here's how it should look once you're done installing a graphics card in a desktop computer:
While a PCI Express x16 slot is able to power a low-end graphics card by itself, mid to high end graphics cards often require
additional power from the power supply unit.
In that case, you will need to connect a PCI Express power cable from the power supply to the graphics card power connector.
For high end graphics cards like the one pictured below, you will need two PCI Express power cables to fuel the graphics card.
NEXT: Computer Cable Management

- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/installing-a-graphics-card.html#sthash.8f9od7LN.dpuf
Computer Cable Management - How to Organize Computer

Cables
Computer cable management is essential for your PC to not just look good... but perform better as well. Learn how to organize
computer cables and wires right here.
So why should you organize the cables inside your computer? The reasons are numerous:
With your cables tidied and tucked away, there will be better airflow within your computer case. This lowers the
temperature inside your case, prolonging the life span of your hardware in general.
Messy cables and tangled wires trap dust inside your computer. Dust clogs up your heat sinks and fans, impairing their
effectiveness. This in turn leads to overheating (especially for your CPU and graphics card), which can damage or even
kill your computer hardware in the long run.
It looks good... that's why so many computer cases come with a window. Even if you have a monster machine loaded
with state-of-the-art goodies, nobody's going to be impressed when all they can see is a mess of cables.
Now let's find out how to organize computer wires and cables inside a PC. We shall demonstrate using a basic computer case
with no cable management features.
With this computer cable management guide, you'll be able to transform this sad-looking mess...
... into this tame bundle of neatness (in under 20 minutes):
Please allow us to introduce you to the humble computer cable tie (see image below). To most people it's just a little strip of
plastic but it's quite possibly the superstar of computer cable management.
10 cm (4 in) and 15 cm (6 in) cable ties are most suited for organizing the cables and wires inside a computer case:
There are three general guidelines for computer cable management:

1. Make sure that your cables and wires aren't blocking any of the fans in the case (CPU fan, case fans, power supply fan
etc).
2. Don't over-tighten cable ties, especially around slimmer cables such as case connectors and fan wires.
3. Cut off the excess ends of the computer cable ties that stick out. We have purposely left them uncut for this PC cable
management guide so that it's easier for you to spot them.
First let's work on the power supply cables since they make up most of the mess. Tie up all the extra power cables that aren't in
use as shown in the image below:
Once you have tied up your power supply cables, find a hiding place to tuck them away from sight. The extra space next to
your 3.5" drive bays (outlined in yellow below) often makes a perfect hiding spot:
Next let's draw our attention to the computer case connectors. Since these cables tend to be quite long, it's a good idea to tie
them along several points:
To hold your computer cables and wires in place (and to prevent them from blocking any fans inside the case), you can simply
fasten them to any open screw holes with cable ties:
NEXT: Computer Cable Connections

- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/computer-cable-management.html#sthash.yateQHas.dpuf
Computer Cable Connections - How to Connect Computer

Cables
Learn how to identify computer cable connections and hook up your computer in minutes today... with our computer cable guide
(with pictures).
Let's begin with display cables. There are four types of computer cable connections to a monitor: VGA, DVI, HDMI and
DisplayPort.
If your monitor accepts two or more cables types (e.g. VGA and DVI), you should just connect a single display cable to it. For
this example, you can hook up your monitor to either a VGA cable or DVI cable (but not both).
If your CPU has integrated graphics and you install a discrete graphics card, you'll end up with two sets of display ports. In this
case, ALWAYS connect your display cable to your graphics card and not the motherboard.
1. VGA Cable
Also known as D-sub cable, analog video cable
Connect one end to: computer monitor, television (PC input port)
Connect other end to: VGA port on computer (see image below)
2. DVI Cable
Connect one end to: computer monitor

Connect other end to: DVI port on computer (see image below)
3. HDMI Cable
Connect one end to: computer monitor, television

Connect other end to: HDMI port on computer (see image below)
Note: If you're hooking up a television to your computer, then we would recommend that you use a HDMI cable as your PC
cable connection since it is able to transmit both display and sound - So you can not only use your TV screen as a monitor, but
also make use of your TV speakers to play PC audio.
4. PS/2 Cable
Connect one end to: PS/2 keyboard, PS/2 mouse

Connect other end to: PS/2 ports on computer (see image below)
Purple PS/2 port: keyboard
Green PS/2 port: mouse
5. Ethernet Cable
Also known as RJ-45 cable
Connect one end to: router, network switch

Connect other end to: Ethernet port on computer (see image below)
6. 3.5mm Audio Cable

Also known as phone connector (since 3.5mm jacks are often found on mobile phones too)
Connect one end to: computer speakers, 3.5mm headphones, 3.5mm microphone
Connect other end to: audio ports on computer (see image below)
Green audio port: computer speakers or headphones
Pink audio port: microphone
Blue audio port: MP3 player, CD player, DVD player, turntable, electric guitar etc (line-in port to play and record sounds
from the above devices)
7. USB Cable
For USB computer cable connections, there are two popular formats: USB 2.0 and the newer USB 3.0
How to tell USB 2.0 and 3.0 cables apart: USB 3.0 cables have a blue tip, and sometimes you can find a SS "Super Speed"
label on it. See image below:
Since USB was intended to be the one computer cable connection to replace them all, it's no surprise that the possible uses for
a USB port are quite mind-blowing. For this computer cable guide, we have listed its more common uses below:
Connect one end to: USB device
Storage devices: USB flash drive, external hard drive, external optical drive
Input devices: USB keyboard (wired and wireless), USB mouse (wired and wireless), webcam, scanner, gamepad
Output devices: printer, all-in-one office machine, USB speaker
Wireless adapters: network (Wi-Fi) adapter, bluetooth adapter, 3G adapter
Data (and charging) cable for mobile devices such as mobile phone, tablet, MP3 player
Connect other end to: USB ports on computer (see image below)
How to tell USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports apart: USB 2.0 ports have black tips while USB 3.0 ports come with blue tips. See image
below:
USB 3.0 is backwards-compatible... meaning that you can connect a USB 2.0 device to a USB 3.0 port and vice versa (but the
USB 3.0 devices hooked up to a USB 2.0 port will perform at lowered rates) - Click here to learn more about the difference
between USB 2.0 and 3.0.
8. Computer Power Cord
Connect one end to: AC power socket

Connect other end to: power supply unit (see image below), computer monitor
Note: Always turn off your power supply unit (with the 1-0 switch at the back) before connecting a power cord to it.
Now that you have hooked up your computer cable connections, here's the rest of our computer building guide:
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/computer-cable-connections.html#sthash.52iUsMIm.dpuf
Desktop Computer Case Sizes

What is the difference between computer case sizes and which one will suit you best? Learn the answer here as we compare
the different types of desktop computer cases.
We can't speak for other things, but size matters a lot for a desktop computer case.
One, it determines the type and number of components that will fit inside your computer - For more details, see our Computer
Case Size Comparison below.
Two, it affects the cooling and ventilation within the case. A bigger case tends to have superior cooling - It contains more air to
dissipate heat plus it is able to accommodate more fans, larger coolers and taller heat sinks.
Most computer cases come in four distinct sizes: small form factor (SFF), mini tower, mid tower and full tower. The image below
shows the distinct difference between PC case sizes:
Computer Case Size Comparison

Unlike motherboard form factors, there aren't standardized specifications for computer cases. That said, our computer case
size chart below will apply to the vast majority of PC casings:
SFF
Mini Tower
Mid
Motherboards
Mini-ITX
Mini-ITX
MicroATX
MiniMicro
ATX
5.25" Drive Bays
1 to 2
2 to 5
3.5" Drive Bays
1 to 3
4 to 6
6 to 8
2.5" Drive Bays
0 to 4
0 to 4
0 to 1
Expansion Slots
7 to 8
Graphics Cards
1 to 2
2 to 3
Case Fans
1 to 3
2 to 4
3 to 9
5.25" Drive Bays - For optical drives (e.g. DVD and Blu-ray drives), multi card readers, fan controllers, cooling fans and even
drawers. Most 5.25" bays are external.
3.5" Drive Bays (Internal) - For desktop hard disk drives
3.5" Drive Bays (External) - For multi card readers, USB ports hub and cooling fans
2.5" Drive Bays - For solid state drives and laptop hard disk drives. Most 2.5" bays are internal. Some low end and older cases
lack 2.5" bays, but you can always install SSDs into 3.5" bays using converter brackets.
Expansion Slots - For expansion cards such as graphics cards, sound cards, network cards (Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth) and
connector cards (USB, FireWire, eSATA). Mid to high end graphics cards often take up two slots.
1. Small Form Factor (Mini-ITX Case)
Once cast aside as niche cases with limited uses, small form factor casings have been gaining rapid popularity in recent years.
Why this newfound love for the smallest computer case size? Let's find out...
Home Theater PC - A small form factor case is perfect for housing a HTPC. Their small size makes them a great fit for most TV
shelves and closets, plus they won't look out of place next to other home theater equipment. And since HTPCs don't demand
much computing power, you'll be able to squeeze the required hardware into a nice little case.
Space-Saving - A Mini-ITX case also makes a lot of sense for basic users with limited space. Whether you're working in a small
office or living in a cramped apartment, a SFF case will save you a lot of space... while being much easier and cheaper than
laptop to repair and upgrade.
Semi-Portable - While a shoebox case isn't going to fit into a traveling pouch, it is still light enough to be carried around. A
typical small form factor PC weighs around 4 to 7 kg (when fully loaded), making it an appealing choice for people who need to
move often and gamers who attend LAN parties.
SEE ALSO: Best Mini ITX Cases
2. Mini Tower (MicroATX Case)
With more and more people turning to smaller cases, mini towers have been gradually replacing mid towers as the most
common case size for average consumers. This growing preference for MicroATX cases isn't surprising when you consider the
following:
Budget PC - All things equal, mini towers tend to be the cheapest among the different computer case sizes (simpler design and
less materials needed). Mini towers also support MicroATX motherboards, which happen to be the most common form factor
for budget boards.
And the savings do not stop there - Despite their size, most mini towers are still able to accept (cheaper) standard sized
components. On the other hand, SFF cases sometimes require smaller and more expensive parts such as SFX power supplies
and low profile graphics cards.
Flexible Placement - Not too big, not too small... A mini tower's Godilocks size allows it to be stashed almost anywhere - It
works just as well sitting on your desktop or floor. Compare this to a shoebox case which is too short for the floor... or a full
tower that is massive enough to devour most table tops.
3. Mid Tower (ATX Case)
Once upon a time, mid towers were the standard computer case size for most people regardless of usage. While its smaller
siblings have eroded its market share over time, ATX cases remain popular to this day and there are good reasons for choosing
one:
Gaming - Most mid to high end graphics cards take up two expansion slots each and can stretch up to ~31 cm (12.1 inches)
long. Most mid towers are able to support two such cards, packing enough gaming muscle for at least 95% of gamers out there.
Some gaming mid towers can even take up to three cards, though we do recommend a full tower for a triple GPU setup.
And it's not about just squeezing big graphics cards into a case. Graphic cards are the hottest components in a PC, hitting
temperatures of up to 90C under load. Toss in a 60 to 70C CPU, and we end up with something capable of cooking eggs. A
mid tower's roomier interior allows for better air circulation, plus gives you more space for additional case fans and larger heat
sinks.
Cable Management - Power cables, data connectors, case wires... Left unchecked, the insides of a PC case can quickly
degenerate into a rat's nest of wires. The extra drive bays, additional cable routing holes and bigger side panel clearance all
add up to simpler and better cable management. This goes a long way in improving air flow and reducing dust buildup over
time.
4. Full Tower (EATX Case)

Full towers have always attracted a very dedicated following - server admins, PC enthusiasts, overclockers and hardcore
gamers. Why do these power users show such unwavering devotion towards mega cases? Let's explore the reasons in detail...
Servers - In order to accommodate a second CPU and extra RAM slots, server motherboards can get quite massive. Most mid
towers can't hold anything larger than a standard ATX motherboard, so you'll need a full tower to house the larger EATX and
SSI CEB server boards.
Overclocking - Pushing the limits of your computer requires a lot of cooling, and proper cooling equipment can take up a lot of
space. 230 mm case fans, dual tower heat sinks, triple radiators... only a full tower can contain these monsters with room to
spare. What's more, larger computer case size = higher air volume = better ventilation and heat dissipation.
Hardcore Gaming - For some, playing the latest games with relative smoothness isn't enough - They demand 4K resolution
gaming...with ultra settings...on a triple monitor setup. If that sounds like you, then you'll want a full tower capable of
transforming into a gaming monster with triple or even quad graphics cards.
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/computer-case-sizes.html#sthash.PnK2p8ut.dpuf
What is a Hard Drive?

What is a hard drive? What are the different types of hard drives? Get the complete answers in plain English right here.
HARD DRIVE GUIDE
What is a Hard Drive - Types of Hard Drive
SSD vs HDD - Should You Buy a SSD or HDD?
How to Run a Hard Drive Benchmark Test
How to Install a Hard Drive
Hard Disk Drive HDD
How to Choose and Buy Hard Disk Drives
Western Digital Caviar Blue vs Black vs Green
What Affects Hard Disk Speed?
How to Check and Lower Your HDD Temperature
Solid State Drive SSD
What is TRIM Support and How to Enable It
Hard drive definition: A hard drive is a sealed storage device with a fixed capacity. In layman's language, it's the part of your
computer where you store your operating system (e.g. Windows, Apple OS, Linux), programs, games, documents and media
(e.g. music, images, videos).
Before going any further, we need to drive home an important point: Hard disk drives (HDD) are NOT the only hard drives...
solid state drives (SSD) also belong to the family of hard drives. This is a tragic mistake that many websites (even tech ones)
make.
Here we have a hard disk drive on the left and a solid state drive on the right:
If you take a closer look at the image above, you can tell that they are both internal hard drives. Now this brings us further into
the topic of hard drive types: There are internal hard drives... and external hard drives.
In most cases, internal hard drives are supposed to be installed inside your computer for the long haul (until they break down or
it's time for an upgrade). In general, internal hard drives are faster, boost larger capacities and cost less (per gigabyte) when
compared to their external cousins.
However, external hard drives have their own appeal too: They are portable and remarkably easy to install. In fact, "installing"
an external hard drive can be as simple as plugging its data cable into the computer. For larger external hard drives (e.g. 3.5"
drives), you may need to connect it to a power cable as well but that's all to it.
In the image below, we have the highly popular USB external hard drive:
Now we have the big picture of what is a hard drive, let's move on to the specific difference in storage space, transfer speed
and price between the different types of hard drives.

- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/what-is-a-hard-drive.html#sthash.cDayOc6w.dpuf
SSD vs HDD - Should You Buy a Solid State Drive or Hard

Disk Drive?
SSD vs HDD - Which is better for your needs and budget? Let's pit solid state drives vs hard disk drives right now and find out
the answer once and for all.
In the past, buying or upgrading a hard drive was a straightforward affair - You simply grabbed a hard disk drive that met your
storage needs and appealed to your wallet.
Fast forward to today, and things are getting more complicated for the average hard drive shopper. With solid state drive prices
falling by the day and everyone touting how amazing it is, people are now asking themselves, "Should I be getting a solid state
drive instead?"
Before we go any further, let's meet our contestants first: In the left the corner we have the new, snazzy solid state drive SSD
that everyone is raving about, and in the right corner we have the traditional hard disk drive HDD that we all know and love:
SSD vs HDD Speed

Everyone knows that solid state drives are roaring speedsters but how much faster are they? For this SSD vs HDD battle, let's
compare the speed between consumer-grade solid state drives vs consumer-grade hard disk drives (7,200 RPM):
Sequential Read/Write Speeds
Solid State Drives
300 to 500 MB/s
Hard Disk Drives
100 to 160 MB/s
Sequential read/write speeds are excellent indicators of hard drive speeds when it comes to moving large files (e.g. computer
games, videos, photo collections, music libraries), installing programs and running large programs (e.g. computer games, video
editing software, databases).
However, it's not the end of the story yet - Random read and write speeds matter too.
IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second) measures the random read and write speeds of hard drives - A hard drive with
higher IOPS numbers is more responsive and able to multi-task better. For example, you can run a virus scan, download files,
play a movie and open 20 web browser windows at the same time without hiccups.
Random Read/Write Speeds
Solid State Drives
20,000 to 100,000 IOPS
Hard Disk Drives
75 to 100 IOPS
There is no competition here - The poor hard disk drive is thrashed by an embarrassing margin. If you are a heavy multitasker
or grapple with plenty of background programs (e.g. antivirus, firewall, torrents, instant messengers), then that's one solid
reason to consider solid state drives.
WINNER: SSD Solid State Drives
SSD vs HDD Storage Capacity

Having a blazing fast hard drive is good and all, but we have to keep in mind that the main purpose of a hard drive is to store
data... so having enough storage capacity is crucial as well.
As you can expect, hard disk drives don't just offer larger storage capacities, but at a lower price point too (we shall discuss
their price differences in detail later).
Let's compare the highest storage capacity offered by (consumer-grade) solid state drives vs hard disk drives at the time of
writing:
Maximum Storage Capacity
Solid State Drives
1 TB (1,000 GB)
Hard Disk Drives
6 TB (6,000 GB)
While the above figures are bound to increase in the future, the fact remains that hard disk drives will always have the edge
when it comes to the amount of storage space offered.
WINNER: HDD Hard Disk Drives
SSD vs HDD Power Consumption

While hard drives aren't the biggest power hogs in your computer (that honor belongs to the CPU and graphics card), no one
can complain about saving extra power.
Idle Power Draw

Solid State Drives
0.1 to 0.6 W
Hard Disk Drives
4.0 to 6.0 W
For this HDD vs SSD matchup, solid state drives emerge as the clear winners.
1. By upgrading to solid state drives, laptop users will get to reap many tangible benefits - Longer battery life, big performance
gains and improved durability (SSDs are able to withstand drops and knocks better as they don't have moving parts).
2. For desktop users, there are also tangible power savings to be had if you make the switch to a SSD. While some people feel
that a power savings of 4+ Watts is somewhat insignificant, others will argue that every Watt counts in a world of rising
electricity costs.
WINNER: SSD Solid State Drives
SSD vs HDD Price

Now let's talk money - Just like how everyone knows that solid state drives have a speed advantage, it's also common
knowledge that they burn a bigger hole in your wallet. So how much more does a SSD cost?
Let's compare the average price of hard drives per gigabyte at the time of writing:
Price per GB
Solid State Drive
US$0.80 per GB
Hard Disk Drive
US$0.04 per GB
Even with SSD prices free-falling in recent years, solid state drives will still cost you a whopping 20 times more when compared
to a hard disk drives of similar capacities.
The prices of both SSD and HDD will continue dipping in the future, with SSD prices falling faster and harder. Even so, solid
state drives are still going to cost heaps more than hard disk drives in the foreseeable future.
WINNER: HDD Hard Disk Drives
Our Recommendation
Struggling with a tight budget? Then the safe choice is sticking to a HDD that offers you enough storage. Yes, it's not going to
break any speed records but at least you are getting an all-purpose hard drive that is going to meet your basic needs.
However if you fit into either one of the profiles below, then we recommend that you buy a small, entry-level SSD instead:
1. You have low storage needs - e.g. You only use your computer for basic tasks such as web browsing, email, office programs
etc. You don't play demanding modern games or have large volumes of videos, images or music to store.
2. You're an advanced computer user who knows how to minimize the amount of hard drive space needed, such as installing a
light operating system (e.g. Linux), cleaning caches, removing bloatware and making use of cloud storage.
If you have more cash to spare, then we will highly recommend that you go for both - A small SSD for installing your operating
system (e.g. Windows, Apple OS) and programs, and an additional HDD for storing everything else (downloads, documents,
videos, images, music)
Here's the logic behind this popular method: operating systems and programs are the ones that will reap the most benefits from
a SSD. They are more stable, load faster and multi-task better when running on a SSD vs HDD.
On the other hand, some computer tasks just don't profit from the speed boost from a SSD. For example, you will be hardpressed to find a difference playing a song or movie that's stored on a SSD vs HDD.
If you happen to be an active gamer, then makes sense to invest in a larger, mid-sized SSD so that you have ample space to
install your favorite games on it. Larger SSDs also tend to be faster than smaller ones in general so that's another nice bonus
there.
HARD DRIVE GUIDE
What is a Hard Drive - Types of Hard Drive
SSD vs HDD - Should You Buy a SSD or HDD?
How to Run a Hard Drive Benchmark Test
How to Install a Hard Drive
Hard Disk Drive HDD
What Affects Hard Disk Speed?
How to Check and Lower Your HDD Temperature
What is TRIM Support and How to Enable It
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/ssd-vs-hdd.html#sthash.ShZxbu4s.dpuf
Hard Drive Benchmark - How to Run a Hard Drive Speed

Test
Ready for a hard drive speed test? Learn what are the best hard drive benchmark software and how to interpret your SSD and
HDD benchmark results.
Ask any techie and chances are they will tell you that hard disk speeds given by manufacturers are often overstated or
misleading (e.g. speeds attained under unrealistic scenarios).
In that case, the only sure-fire method to determine your real-world hard disk speed is to put it through a reliable hard drive
performance test.
And once you have the benchmark results, we'll point out what are the numbers to look for and what they mean in plain
English.
How to Run a SSD Benchmark or HDD Benchmark

Let's begin by introducing you to the big names in hard drive speed test software: Atto Disk
Benchmark, CrystalDiskMark and HD Tune.
While they are all dependable hard drive benchmark tools, we recommend CrystalDiskMark over the others for the following
reasons:
Works like a charm with almost everything - Hard disk drives, solid state drives, external hard drives, USB flash drives
and even memory cards.
Simple to use with a clean interface - Easy-to-understand benchmark results without excessive technical details (see
screenshot below):
The three simple steps for running a SSD benchmark or HDD benchmark with CrystalDiskMark:
1. Choose the drive that you want to benchmark (outlined in red above)
2. Leave the number of test runs and test size at default values (number of test runs: 5, test size: 1000MB).
3. Click the "All" button at the top left and wait for the benchmark results.
What Your SSD or HDD Benchmark Results Mean
Now that we have our hard drive benchmark results, let's make sense of the numbers:
1
The numbers that will matter to most people are the ones in the "Seq" and "4K" row (outlined in red above).
Seq is short for sequential (read/write speeds), and 4K refers to random (read/write speeds).
Sequential read/write - measures the speed of your hard drive when it comes to the transfer of large files (e.g. installing
programs, copying videos, programs, photo albums or music libraries from one hard drive to another). High sequential read
speeds will also shorten the loading time for large programs such as modern computer games and video editing software.
4K random read/write - measures how fast your hard drive is able to access small files that are randomly scattered across it. A
hard drive with higher 4K numbers will able to multi-task better, so your operating system will be more responsive and you can
run more background programs (e.g. virus shield, firewall, torrents, instant messengers etc) without any major slowdowns.
For an operating system boot drive, 4K random read speeds are the most important, followed by 4K random write speed.
For a mass storage drive (e.g. external hard drives and USB flash drives), sequential read/writes will matter more.
Home Theater PC: Western Digital Green 3 T
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/hard-drive-benchmark.html#sthash.XUT5TgLF.dpuf

Are you buying a HDD? Then learn how to choose and buy hard disk drives that don't just perform better, but cost less as well.
HDD Capacity - How Much Hard Disk Space Do You Need?

Your HDD is first and foremost a storage device, so buying a hard disk drive with enough space is crucial. To help you out, here
are some average file sizes:
Windows 8 - 20 GB
Windows 7 - 20 GB
Apple OS X - 8 GB
Microsoft Office - 3 GB
2 Hour Movie (DVD quality) - 800 MB
2 Hour Movie (Full HD quality) - 4GB
JPEG Photo - 3 MB
MP3 Song - 4 MB
When you buy hard disk drives, have you ever noticed that it always comes with less space than advertised? For example, you
buy a 1,000 GB (1 TB) HDD and instead showing up as 1,000 GB in Windows Explorer, you end up only having 930 GB of
storage space.
This happens because hard drive manufacturers assume that 1 kB = 1000 bytes, while your operating system recognizes 1 kB
= 1024 bytes. Take-home lesson of the day: When you buy a HDD, your actual hard disk space will be about 7% less than the
advertised numbers.
To avoid slow downs and fragmentation problems, you will also need to leave at least 15% of your hard disk empty.
So taking everything so far into account... Assuming that you're going to need 800 GB to store all your files, then you should
buy hard disk drives with at least 1 TB capacity.
HDD Speed - What Affects Your HDD Performance?
We have already covered this topic in detail in our Hard Disk Speed - What Affects Hard Disk Performance article, so let's have
a summary of the important findings here:
HDD speed is dictated by two factors: RPM (platter rotational speed) and data density (number of platters).
Consumer hard disk drives come in three rotational speeds: 10,000 RPM, 7,200 RPM, 5,400 RPM
10,000 RPM drives are the speed kings of the bunch, but they have fallen from grace in recent years due to the growing
popularity of solid state drives. If hard drive performance is essential to you, then we recommend that you buy a solid state
drive since they offer better value for money (tremendous speed gains at moderate price premiums over 10,000 RPM drives).
7,200 RPM are our recommended choice for most mainstream users since they provide a good balance of respectable
performance and cheap storage, making them ideal for a budget boot drive and general-purpose use.
What 5,400 RPM drives lack in speed... they make up for it in lower power consumption, lower temperatures and quieter
operations. This makes them appealing in situations that don't really benefit the higher speeds of 7,200 RPM drives, such as
media storage (videos, images and audio files) or for use in a NAS (multiple speed bottlenecks).
Always choose hard disk drives with the least number of platters (at your preferred capacity and RPM). All other things being
equal, hard disk drives with less data platters are going run faster and cooler.
HDD Reliability - What is the Most Reliable HDD Brand?

Which hard disk drive brand and model is the most reliable? If you're buying hard disk drives, chances are that you would have
wondered about this question...
No large-scale independent study on hard disk brand reliability has ever been published - Google published a
famous research paper on hard disk failures in 2007, but no brand or model was mentioned in their paper.
Russian data recovery firm Storelab.ru did publish a study which suggested that Hitachi drives were the most durable
while Seagate drives suffered the highest failure rates... but given its small sample size of 4,000 hard disk drives, we
would suggest you view their results as an interesting read rather than hard facts.
If you prod through tech forums and customer reviews, you will find that everyone has their own favorite brands... and
there is no clear winner among the major manufacturers.
Since buying a HDD by brand is essentially a big gamble, so what can you do to buy hard disk drives that are going to more
reliable?
Buy hard disk drives with longer warranties. Most hard disk drives come with two to five year warranties.
Buy hard disk drives that operate at lower temperatures, such as drives with lower RPM and fewer number of platters
- See our article on HDD temperature for more details.
Do a quick search on popular tech forums and consumer reviews to see if there are any major flaws and complaints with
the particular HDD brand and model that you're buying.
And no matter how rock-solid your hard disk drive is, always back up your data regularly. There is just no substitute for an old
school data back-up.
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/buy-hard-disk.html#sthash.px0MbKJw.dpuf

Which Western Digital Caviar drive will suit you best? Find out the answer as we explain the real difference between WD Blue,
Black and Green.
WD Caviar are 3.5" internal hard disk drives made for desktop computers, NAS and servers. Over two decades, they have
evolved into several breeds catering to different types of computer users.
If you're in a hurry, here's a cheat sheet showing you the difference between Western Digital Caviar Blue, Black and Green:
WD Blue
WD Black
Speed
Fast
140+ MB/s read
130+ MB/s write
15 ms access time
Fastest
140+ MB/s read
130+ MB/s write
6 ms access time
Reliability
Good
2 year warranty
Best
5 year warranty
Power Consumption
Below Average
6.8 W
High
9.5 W
Price
Lowest
High
Latest Blue prices
Latest Black prices
WD Blue - General Purpose Hard Drive for Everyday Use
In the hard drive universe, a WD Caviar Blue is the closest thing to a jack of all trades. Intended for budget and mainstream
users, they are designed to deliver solid performance for most tasks... while being friendly to your wallet.
Speed: Thanks to its 7,200 RPM spin speed, WD Blue offers solid performance for its price. Boasting 140+ MB/s read speeds
and 130+ MB/s write speeds, it is faster than Green by about 25%.
In fact, it is as quick as the higher end WD Black when transferring large files. However, its 15 ms access time is slower than
Black's 6 ms... making it less responsive when running programs and multi-tasking.
Reliability: While Western Digital Caviar Blue's two year warranty is nothing to shout about, it is widely regarded as one of the
most durable budget drives. In Amazon alone, it has earned a 4.5 stars rating from over 900 customer reviews.
Power Consumption: WD Blue's power draw of 6.8 W is lower than similar drives from other brands (Seagate: 7.5 W, Hitachi:
8 W). While WD Green consume even less power (4.5 W), we have to remember that it is a slower drive.
Price: Blue's retail price is the lowest among all Western Digital Caviar hard drives. For the same capacity, it is about 50%
cheaper than Black, and 10% cheaper than Green - Click here for the latest WD Blue prices.
RECOMMENDATION: WD Caviar Blue is the best choice if you're on a tight budget and intend to run and store everything
(operating system, programs, media files) on a single hard drive.
Its popular combination of value for money and performance has made WD Blue a long time best seller on Amazon (#1 most
sold internal hard drive at the time of writing).
WD Black - High Performance Drive with Extended Warranty
If Blue is a humble hard worker, then WD Caviar Black must be the flashy speedster. Built for performance and reliability, it
caters to demanding consumers such as gamers, graphics professionals, techies and business users.
Speed: As one would expect, Western Digital Caviar Black is top dog in overall performance. Its 140+ MB/s read speed and
130+ MB/s write speed makes it about 25% faster than Green when transferring large files. Blue puts up a great fight here and
is able to match Black's sequential transfer rates.
When it comes to random read and write speeds, Black's blazing fast 6 ms access time leaves the rest far behind. This means
Black is snappier when running programs (including the operating system) and offers superior multi-tasking.
Reliability: Western Digital Caviar Black's generous five year warranty is the longest you'll find for a consumer-grade drive,
and also hints at the manufacturer's confidence in its build quality.
Most retailers, techies and heavy users (some with hundreds of hard drives) agree that Black is the most reliable among the
different Caviar drives - A quick search on any popular tech forum will soon confirm this. Over the years, Black drives have
even gained a loyal following of fanboys who would accept no other in their beloved computers.
Power Consumption: In computing, high performance equals high power consumption and Black is no exception to the rule.
Black pulls about 9.5 W during use, compared to 6.8 W for Blue and 4.5 W for Green. That said, the extra 3 to 5 W is pocket
change when you consider that a high end or gaming computer gobbles up at least 300 W.
Price: It's no surprise that Black commands the highest price among the different WD Caviar drives. In terms of price per
gigabyte, Black costs about 50% more than Blue and 35% more than Green - Click here for the latest WD Black prices.
While there's no doubt that Western Digital Caviar Black costs the most, its generous five year warranty goes a long way to cut
down replacement costs and improve its resale value.
RECOMMENDATION: Offering both high performance and big storage, WD Black is ideal as a boot disk for running
demanding large programs such as operating systems, games, graphics editors and databases. If you're a business user,
Black's superior build quality also offers an added level of protection for your valuable data.
WD Green - Power Saving and Quiet Drive for Mass Storage
Hard drives exist for two main reasons. One, to install and run programs. Two, to store and back up data - WD Caviar
Green excels at reason two. Green isn't as fast as its Blue or Black sibling, but it is more quiet, runs cooler and consumes less
power.
Speed: Running at a fixed 5,400 RPM, Western Digital Caviar Green's read and write speeds are both in the 110+ MB/s
range... making it slower than Blue and Black when transferring large files. Its access time of 17 ms is almost on par with Blue's
15 ms, but pales in comparison with Black's lightning fast 6 ms.
That said, WD Green is not slow by any means. In fact, it still outperforms most 7,200 RPM hard drives made in 2009 or earlier
(back then they had average transfer rates of about 100+ MB/s). If you're using it to store and play media files such as images,
videos or music, you will see little to no difference between Green and its faster siblings.
Reliability: Backed by a two year warranty, WD Green has long enjoyed a reputation of being both dependable and long
lasting. Green's low operating temperatures of 32 to 38C plays a big part in reducing its failure rate over time.
If you plow through customer reviews and forum feedback, you'll find most users agree that Green is even more reliable than
Blue (though Black still ranks first).
Power Consumption: True to its purpose, WD Green consumes the least power among all Caviar drives. During use it pulls
just 4.5 W, compared to Blue's 6.8 W and Black's 9.5 W. At idle, its power usage falls even lower to a mere 3.3 W.
Price: Aimed at budget and mainstream consumers, WD Green is another affordable member of the Caviar family. Most of the
time, it costs a tad more than Blue (~10% more) while being much cheaper than Black (~40% less) - Click here for the latest
WD Green prices.
RECOMMENDATION: Western Digital Caviar Green is the best choice in two situations. One, as a mass storage or back up
drive for storing documents, images, videos and audio files.
Two, as the main hard drive of a home theater PC. For a HTPC, silent operation is far more important than breakneck
performance for a HTPC... plus Green's low temps are better suited for HTPC cases which tend to be smaller and more
cramped.
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/western-digital-caviar.html#sthash.EgOXu7RX.dpuf
Hard Disk Speed - What Affects Hard Disk Performance?

What makes a real impact on hard disk speed (and what doesn't)? Learn the surprising facts today so you can buy a hard disk
that is indeed faster.
To understand what affects HDD speed, we'll first have to give you a crash course on how hard disk drives work:
Data inside a hard disk drive are stored on circular disks called platters. Most mainstream hard disk drives will have one to four
platters stacked on top of one another.
To read and write data, the hard disk platters are being spun around at dizzying speeds while a motorized arm moves a
read/write head to where the data is located.
High RPM Hard Drive Drive = Fast Hard Disk Speed - True
What is RPM? RPM stands for revolutions per minute, and it's used to measure the rotational speeds of hard disk platters. All
other things being equal, faster spinning platters will translate to quicker hard disk drives. In fact, the RPM of a hard disk drive
makes the biggest impact on its overall speed.
Consumer hard disk drives operate at 5,400 RPM to 10,000 RPM, with most desktop HDDs spinning at the standard 7,200
RPM. Just for general knowledge, the fastest hard disk drives clock in at a blazing 15,000 RPM, but these are enterprise-level
drives out of reach for end-users.
If you have already read our SSD vs HDD face-off, then you will know that HDD speed is determined by both sequential
performance (for large file transfers) and random performance (for running programs and multitasking):
Sequential Performance
5,400 RPM HDD
75 MB/s
7,200 RPM HDD
100 MB/s
10,000 RPM HDD
140 MB/s
From the above figures, we can see the impact that a hard disk drive's RPM makes on its speed. So all other things being
equal, higher RPM = faster hard disk speed
Not too long ago, 10,000 RPM drives were the superstars of mainstream storage, embraced by both techies and consumers
seeking performance. However, they have fallen from grace in recent years due to the free-fall in solid state drive prices. While
SSDs still cost more than 10,000 RPM HDDs (per GB), their dominating speed advantage more than makes up for it.
Nowadays if you are buying a hard disk drive for general purposes, 7,200 RPM drives tend to give you best bang for your buck
since they offer acceptable hard disk performance (and more storage space) at much lower price points compared to 10,000
RPM drives.
High Hard Disk Density = Fast Hard Disk Speed - True

Most people won't ever bother with hard disk data density (or the number of hard disk platters) when shopping for a new drive,
but you should... since it has a real-world effect on HDD speed.
In a nutshell, a hard disk drive with higher data density is able to store more data per platter. Since the data are packed closer
together, the read/write head has to travel shorter distances to access data on the hard disk drive. This time saved will translate
to quicker hard disk drive speeds.
Let's say that we have two 500 GB hard disk drives. The two drives are identical, except that the first HDD has one platter,
while the second HDD has two platters. In this case, not only is first HDD faster, it is going to produce less heat and consume
less electricity because it has less moving parts.
Lesson of the day: When you buy a hard disk drive, always try to settle for the one with the least number of hard disk platters
(highest data density).
SATA 3 Hard Disk Drive = Faster than SATA 2 Drive - False

It doesn't matter whether your hard disk drive is SATA 2.0 or 3.0 - It won't make a difference in hard disk performance.
Allow us to explain why: SATA 2 has a maximum real-world transfer rate of 300 MB/s while SATA 3 raises this maximum limit to
600 MB/s. However, even the wicked-fast 15,000 RPM drives are only able to achieve transfer speeds of about 200 MB/s. So
whether the drive is SATA 2 or SATA 3, you won't see a difference in hard disk speeds.
Imagine that SATA 2 is a highway with a maximum speed limit of 300 km/h while the SATA 3 highway has a higher speed limit
of 600 km/h. Now picture your hard disk drive as a car - Since even the quickest super car is only able to hit a top speed of 200
km/h, it doesn't matter if you're driving on the first (SATA 2) or second (SATA 3) highway... You'll still be traveling at 200 km/h.
Big Hard Disk Cache = Fast Hard Disk Speed - False

Next let's talk about hard disk cache (also known as hard disk buffer). Hard disk cache is like personal RAM for your hard disk It stores frequently accessed data and is bleeding fast compared to than the rest of the hard disk drive.
Before accessing data from the hard disk drive (which is a slow poke), the operating system will first check if the data is already
stored in the hard disk cache. If it is, then the computer will be able to access this data much quicker, therefore leading to
overall faster hard disk speed.
In the past when hard disk drives only had a miserable 1 to 2 MB of hard disk cache, it made sense to buy a drive with more
cache because it would indeed be faster.
However here's the catch: Once you hit 8 MB of hard disk cache, the speed gains from having more cache are negligible. So
whether your hard disk drive has 8 MB or 64 MB of cache, you're not going to see any real-world speed improvements. For
more details, check out this article on Tom's Hardware where they did a speed comparison of hard disk drives with different
cache sizes.
Since even the cheapest and most humble of modern hard disk drives will have at least 8 MB of cache, disk buffer size is no
longer a factor in hard disk speed.
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/hard-disk-speed.html#sthash.ltaH0WR9.dpuf
HDD Temperature - What is a Safe Range to Avoid Hard Disk

Failure?
What is a safe HDD temperature range to avoid overheating and hard disk failure? What is the method way to monitor and
lower your hard disk temperature? Get the full answers right here.
For years, overheating has been blamed as the main culprit for drive failures and while it made perfect sense on paper, there
were no hard facts from large-scale studies to support that belief.
Then Google came along and published "Failure Trends in a Large Disk Drive Population", a research paper that some
consider to be the Bible of HDD failure. Pulling data from more than 100,000 consumer hard disk drives, some of its major
findings included:
Hard disk temperatures higher than 45C led to higher failure rates
Temperatures lower than 25C led to higher failure rates as well
Aging hard disk drives (3 years and older) were much more prone to failure when their average temperatures were 40C
and higher
This study also suggested that the effect HDD temperature has on failure rate is not as severe as previously believed.
However, there was no mention of the effect of temperatures higher than 50C (probably because Google kept their hard disk
drives in server rooms with strict temperature controls).
What is a Safe Hard Disk Temperature Range?

Drawing conclusions from the Google paper, smaller independent studies and tech forum users:
Hard Disk Temperature

Less than 25C:
Too cold
25C to 40C:
Ideal
41C to 50C:
Acceptable
More than 50C:
Too hot
Hard disk manufacturers often state the operating temperatures of their hard disk drives to be between 0C to 60C - This can
be misleading because what they mean is that your hard disk will function at these temperatures, but it doesn't tell you anything
about how long they are going to survive at this range.
How to Check and Monitor Your HDD Temperature

There are a few popular hard disk temperature monitor freeware, but we highly recommend CrystalDiskInfo for a few reasons:
Clean, user-friendly interface - If you have multiple hard disk drives, the program makes it easy for you to tell them apart
and check their individual temperatures.
Alert features - the program will sound a warning alert or even email you if it detects any early signs of hard disk failure.
Helpful information - the program also display useful details such as your hard disk serial number, buffer (cache) size
and power on hours.
CrystalDiskInfo screenshot:
For other popular and reliable programs to monitor your hard disk drive temperature, you can also check
out HWMonitor and SpeedFan.
Effective Ways to Lower Your HDD Temperature

If you haven't bought your hard disk drive yet, then the first big step is to choose hard disk drives that operate at lower
temperatures.
Manufacturers often tout them as green or eco drives - These drives often spin at lower speeds (5,400 RPM) and have less
data platters to minimize hard disk temperature. Popular examples include WD Green drives and Samsung Eco Green drives.
If your existing hard disk drives are too hot for comfort, then one of simplest (and overlooked) methods to lower temperatures is
leave a gap between your drives:
This simple step alone has been shown to reduce hard disk temperatures by 2 to 4C in most cases.
If your hard disk drives are still running too hot, then check whether your computer case has vents that allow you to install
additional case fans to blow cool air at your hard drives. Since the hard disk drives are located at the front of most computer
cases, it's better to install the fan in the intake direction (blowing cool air from outside into the case instead of sucking hot air
out).
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/hdd-temperature.html#sthash.TzaiattV.dpuf
Why SSD TRIM Support is So Important and How to Enable

It
What is SSD TRIM support and what makes it so important to your solid state drive? Find out the answer here and learn how to
enable it for Windows now.
What is TRIM Support and Why is It so Important?

Before you can appreciate what TRIM does, you'll first have to know this: Left unchecked, the performance of a SSD will
deteriorate with use. This is due to the awkward way that solid state drives overwrite data to areas that already contain
information.
Example: You copy a file to your brand new SSD. Since the file is being copied to a fresh blank space, the SSD is able to write
the data directly at full speed. When you delete this file later, it is not instantly removed from the SSD - Instead the operating
system simply marks the space taken up by the file as "not in use".
When the operating system requires more space, it will simply overwrite this "not in use" zone. A traditional hard disk drive is
able to overwrite data in one single operation, but a solid state drive first has to erase all data in this "not in use" space before it
is able to record the new data.
This awful situation is compounded by the fact that solid state drives are only able to delete data in large 512 kB blocks so this
slows down the entire overwriting process even more.
Here's how SSD TRIM saves the day: When you delete a file from your SSD, the operating system will still mark the file space
as "not in use"... but in addition, a TRIM command is sent to wipe that marked space clean. That way, your SSD is able to write
data to that marked space as if it was brand new and skip the cumbersome deletion process.
That's why TRIM is so crucial: It makes sure that your SSD performance doesn't degrade with use, and keeps it (nearly) as fast
as new.
In order for TRIM to work its magic, two conditions have to be met first:
1. Your operating system has to support TRIM command (e.g. Windows 7 and Windows 8)
2. Your solid state drive's firmware has to support TRIM as well
While almost all current solid state drives support TRIM, it never hurts to confirm by checking out their technical specs on their
manufacturer's website.
How to Enable TRIM Support for Windows 7 and 8

First let's check if the TRIM command is already active in Windows:
1. Open a Command Prompt window (run as administrator)

Click on Start button Click All Programs Accessories Command Prompt
2. Type the following at command prompt and press enter:
fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify
There are two possible outcomes:
DisableDeleteNotify = 0 : TRIM is already enabled and working in Windows
DisableDeleteNotify = 1 : TRIM is not enabled Proceed to step 3 to enable it
3. To enable SSD TRIM support in Windows, type the following at command prompt and press enter:
fsutil behavior set DisableDeleteNotify 0
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/trim-support.html#sthash.1WeWLmjC.dpuf
Complete Guide to Your Desktop Computer Power Supply

A computer power supply may not be the most exciting component, but it's certainly the most crucial. Learn all about power
supplies and how to choose the best for your needs here.
POWER SUPPLY GUIDE
Introduction to Power Supplies for Computers
Best Computer Power Supplies
Desktop PC Power Requirements
Power Consumption of PC Components
Should You Buy a 80 Plus Power Supply?
What is a Modular Power Supply?
Should You Buy a Regular or Modular PSU?
How to Install a Power Supply Unit
How to Connect Power Supply Connectors
If a CPU is the brains of your computer, then a power supply unit has got to be the heart. A human heart draws oxygenated
blood from the lungs and pumps to the rest of the body; A power supply draws the alternating current (AC) from the wall socket,
converts it into direct current (DC) and delivers it to the rest of the computer.
Most desktop computers are fueled by an ATX power supply unit (see image below). ATX power supplies have three rails: +3.3
volts, +5 volts and +12 volts. The table below shows which devices are powered by the different rails:
+3.3 V Rail
RAM, PCI Express cards (except graphic cards), motherboard chipsets
+5 V Rail
solid state drives, hard disk circuit board, USB ports
+12 V Rail
CPU, graphics cards, hard disk motor, optical drives, fans
Here's how a standard ATX (Advanced Technology eXtended) power supply looks like:
All ATX power supplies have the same width: 15 cm (5.9 in) and height: 8.6 cm (3.4 in).
However they do vary in length. Most power supplies are 14 cm (5.5 in) to 18 cm (7.1 in) long, but some top end units can go
up to 22.5 cm (8.9 in).
This seems like a minor detail, but it matters a lot when you are working with small computer cases. So before buying an ATX
power supply, make sure that your case is able to acommodate its full length.
A computer power cord (see image below) connects the back of a computer power supply unit (see image above) to the wall
socket. Monitors are connected to the wall socket with the same type of computer power cord:
Once your PC power supply is hooked up to the wall socket, it's ready to distribute power to the rest of your computer with an
assortment of power cables and connectors (see image below).
To first timers it probably just looks like a big mess of cables, but no worries we got your back - Our full picture guide to power
supply connectors will show you how to hook up the power supply unit to your CPU, motherboard, hard drives, optical drives
and graphics cards in minutes.

Budget Computer: Corsair Builder Series CX 430W
Mid Range Computer: Seasonic G Series 550W
Gaming Computer: Corsair Professional Series AX 760W
Home Theater PC: Seasonic M12II Bronze 620W
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/computer-power-supply.html#sthash.VQ4DfSAl.dpuf
Best Computer Power Supply 2015

What is the best computer power supply for the money? No matter what type of computer you have, learn what's the best PC
power supply to buy today.
All power supplies recommended by us have to meet the following minimum requirements:
1. It hails from a reputable brand - Antec, Corsair, Enermax, FSP, OCZ, PC Power and Cooling, Seasonic, Silverstone and XFX
are well recognized as the best computer power supply brands. Coolermaster, Rosewill and Thermaltake produce solid power
supplies as well, but it's best to avoid their low end models.
2. It has been certified 80 Plus (at least 80% power efficient). For power users such as gamers and overclockers, the power
supply must be at least 80 Plus Gold (87+% power efficient).
3. It should come with at least two years of warranty. For higher end models, you can expect five years of warranty (or more)
from the best computer power supply manufacturers. On the other hand, three month warranties are often dead giveaways for
"kaboom" units.
4. It has passed rigorous testing by credible review sites. Besides faring well in expert reviews, positive feedback and
recommendations from actual users are important too.
1. Best Power Supply under $50

3. Best Power Supply for Gaming
4. Best Power Supply for HTPC
1. Best Power Supply under $50: Corsair Builder Series CX 430W
Computer technology has progressed to a stage where even the lowest end PCs will suffice for basic users, so what we want
here is a low cost power supply that doesn't cheap out on energy efficiency and reliability.
Frequently recommended by satisfied users (4.5 stars rating by 400+ Amazon customers), Corsair CX 430W is easily one of
the best computer power supply that you can get for under $50.
In this price range, it's hard enough finding a 80 Plus power supply by a top brand. Corsair trumps the competition by offering
consumers this 80 Plus Bronze model (82+% power efficient), which cuts down on your electricity costs and saves you even
more money in the long run.
Although this is an entry level model, Corsair doesn't cut corners on its build quality - CWT manufacturing, sleeved cables, ball
bearings fan and decent Samxon capacitors produce a reliable power supply with stable voltages.
While most budget power supplies do make with warranties from six months to two years, Corsair is giving a three year
warranty for this unit. This generous warranty period plus Corsair's excellent customer service works together to give buyers a
peace of mind.
Of course at this low price point, even the best computer power supply will have its limitations.
Its lowish 30C temp ratings and 12V rail that deliver a so-so 336 Watts means it is less than ideal if you're installing a high end
CPU and graphics card or operating your computer for long hours. If those are your needs, then Seasonic G Series 550W will
serve you better - See our pick for the best computer power supply under $100 below.
Click here for Corsair Builder Series CX 430W's latest price and specs.
2. Best Power Supply under $100: Seasonic G Series 550W
Office applications, playing media files, casual gaming etc. - A mid range computer is expected to handle a wide range of tasks,
so this all-purpose machine needs a versatile power supply that can power a large assortment of hardware... and be durable
enough to last for years.
The first thing you'll notice about Seasonic G Series is its excellent power efficiency. While most mainstream power supplies
are only able to achieve 80 Plus Bronze at best, Seasonic has outdone the competition by giving us a 80 Plus Gold unit (rated
at 88 to 91% efficiency in real world tests). This adds up to big electricity savings over the years.
Bundled with this modular power supply are ribbon cables that can be detached when unused. Commonly found in higher end
power supplies, these flat power cables are favored because they take up less space in a computer case.
There are six SATA connectors (for hard drives and optical drives), six Molex connectors (multi purpose) and two 6+2 pin PCI-E
connectors (able to power two mid-end or one high-end graphics card).
We do have some nitpicks with its power cables: One of the SATA and Molex cables are a fair bit shorter (425mm) and two
additional 6+2 pin PCI-E connectors would be nice. But to be fair, most mainstream users aren't going to be using massive full
tower casings or installing triple graphics cards so it's no issue to them.
Seasonic G Series's solid build quality also deserves a special mention. Teardowns by respected tech authorities have
revealed high grade Japanese capacitors, a well-built transient filter, clean soldering and a double ball bearing ball.
Its quality components and manufacturing translates into two things: excellent power performance (rock-solid voltages, minimal
noise and ripple levels) and longevity (backed by a generous five year warranty).
Click here for Seasonic G Series 550W's latest price and specs.
3. Best Gaming Power Supply: Corsair Professional Series AX 760W
Considered by many to be the best computer power supply for gaming and high end systems, let's find out what makes Corsair
AX760 so popular with gamers and enthusiasts. A top of the line model hailing from a top brand, Corsair AX760 certainly has
big shoes to fill.
Right off the bat, its highest possible 80 Plus Platinum rating pulls it ahead of the competition. Rigorous testing by authority
sites (TechPowerUp, Guru3D, HardwareSecrets) have rated its power efficiency at an impressive 90 to 93% under different
loads. More than just saving dollars off your electricity bills, it is also a testament to Corsair AX760's superior design and
engineering.
As you can expect from a high end model, this is a 100% modular unit with flat power cables that you can detach from it. One,
this reduces cable clutter and makes cable management a breeze. Two, it maximizes air flow and lowers the temperature within
the computer case, improving overall hardware health and overclocking performance.
Its selection of power cables can be summed up with one word: overkill. With six 6+2 pin PCI-E connectors, eight Molex
connectors and twelve SATA connectors, this unit is able to power three high end graphics cards, 12 hard drives (or optical
drives) plus all the cooling and accessories you will ever need.
A single +12V rail combined with 760 Watts output means this beast is able to handle up to four mid end or two top end
graphics cards with ease... so you can install a graphics card now and have the headroom to add more in the future.
First class components (Sanyo Denki fan, Chemi-con & Enesol solid caps) + exceptional manufacturing (separate mosfets
PCB, shielded AC receptacle, flawless soldering) = stellar power performance (90 to 93% power efficiency, 900+W output,
near-perfect power stability). No wonder it has wowed so many reviewers and won so many awards from respected tech sites.
While noise levels aren't the biggest concerns of gamers, you'll still be happy to know that this is a very quiet unit. In fact, the
fan doesn't even spin up until it hits 70% load.
And let's not forget its impressive seven year warranty, so it's not just the best computer power supply in its class... but also the
only one you'll need for a long, long time.
Click here for Corsair Professional Series AX 760W's latest price and specs.
4. Best HTPC Power Supply: Seasonic M12II Bronze 620W
The best computer power supply for a HTPC needs to have two key qualities: One, it has to be space saving so that it can fit
inside a small form factor case. Two, it must be silent to avoid noise distractions while you're listening to music or watching
videos.
Widely considered as one of the best computer power supply for the money, let's find out what makes Seasonic M12II a long
time favorite with HTPC owners.
Being a semi-modular unit, you can detach any unused cables to free up space inside a cramped HTPC case. Proper sleeving
on its power connectors also helps to minimize cable clutter and improve air flow within the case.
Seasonic has a reputation for producing the quietest power supplies even among top tier PC power supply manufacturers. This
M12II in particular has won universal praise among expert reviewers for being whisper quiet. Even under a full load, It purrs
along at less than 30 decibels and you can expect the noise level to pummel to about 20 decibels for a typical HTPC.
Despite being compact and silent, it is able to deliver up to 620 Watts, giving you ample power to add a discrete graphics card
for gaming or viewing ultra high quality videos (e.g. 4K videos).
And let's not forget this power supply is certified 80 Plus Bronze (82%+ power efficient) as well, so it will draw less power and
save you money in the long run.
Bundled with a five year warranty and selling for less than $90, there is very little to complain about Seasonic M12II. Some
lesser brands are able to offer higher efficiencies or more connectors for the same price, but they don't come close to M12II's
build quality and reliable silent performance. We highly recommend it as the best computer power supply for a HTPC.
Click here for Seasonic M12II Bronze 620W's latest price and specs.
POWER SUPPLY GUIDE
Introduction to Power Supplies for Computers
Best Computer Power Supplies
Power Consumption of PC Components
What is a Modular Power Supply?
Should You Buy a Regular or Modular PSU?
How to Install a Power Supply Unit
How to Connect Power Supply Connectors
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/best-computer-power-supply.html#sthash.L6MzKAos.dpuf

What are your desktop PC power requirements? From basic office computers to high end gaming rigs, learn how to choose
your computer power supply wattage here.
How much power does my computer need? This question has asked since computer pioneers were tinkering with their 8086
PCs in the late 1970s.
A simple (but crude) solution is to splurge on a high wattage power supply. While a 1,500 watt monster is able to deliver enough
power for almost all imaginable situations, it's going to burn a deep hole in your pockets.
A much better method is to determine your computer's maximum power consumption and match it with the correct PC power
supply wattage. To make sure that a power supply is able to deliver its rated wattage, it should have been tested to full load by
Ecova (80 Plus Certified) or a credible review site.
By popular request, we shall also recommend the best and most suitable power supplies for each computer type.
A high wattage power supply doesn't consume more electricity than a low wattage unit. Whether you have a 500 or 1,000 Watt power
supply, it's still going to draw the same amount of power from the wall.
Budget Computer
Purpose: web surfing, email, office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access), listening to music, viewing images,
watching videos.
Components
Lowest End CPU (Intel Celeron)
Low End Motherboard
RAM Module x 1
3.5" Hard Disk Drive
DVD-RW Drive
Case Fan x 1
Budget Computer Power Requirements
SEE ALSO: Best Power Supply under $50
Mid Range Computer

Purpose: web surfing, email, office applications, listening to music, viewing images, watching high resolution videos, light
gaming, light graphics editing
Components
Mid End CPU (Intel Core i5)
Mid End Motherboard
RAM Modules x 2
Low End Graphics Card (Under $125)
Solid State Drive
DVD-RW Drive
Case Fans x 2
Mid Range Computer Power Requirements
SEE ALSO: Best Power Supply under $100
Gaming Computer
Purpose: heavy gaming, heavy graphics editing, overclocking, moderate virtualization, web surfing, listening to music, viewing
images, watching high resolution videos
Components
High End CPU (Intel Core i7)

Aftermarket CPU Heatsink Fan
High End Motherboard
RAM Modules x 2
High End Graphics Card ($251 to $400)
Dedicated Sound Card
Solid State Drive
Blu ray Drive
Case Fans x 4
Gaming PC Power Requirements
SEE ALSO: Best Power Supply for Gaming
Home Theater PC
Purpose: watching high resolution videos, streaming online videos, viewing photos, listening to music, playing optical discs
(CDs, VCDs, DVDs, Blu ray discs)
Components
Low End CPU (Intel Core i3)
Mid End Motherboard
RAM Module x 1
Dedicated Sound Card

Blu ray Drive
Case Fans x 2
Home Theater PC Power Requirements
SEE ALSO: Best Power Supply for HTPC

- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/pc-power-requirements.html#sthash.X0tJAxQY.dpuf
Best Computer Power Supply 2015

What is the best computer power supply for the money? No matter what type of computer you have, learn what's the best PC
power supply to buy today.
All power supplies recommended by us have to meet the following minimum requirements:
1. It hails from a reputable brand - Antec, Corsair, Enermax, FSP, OCZ, PC Power and Cooling, Seasonic, Silverstone and XFX
are well recognized as the best computer power supply brands. Coolermaster, Rosewill and Thermaltake produce solid power
supplies as well, but it's best to avoid their low end models.
2. It has been certified 80 Plus (at least 80% power efficient). For power users such as gamers and overclockers, the power
supply must be at least 80 Plus Gold (87+% power efficient).
3. It should come with at least two years of warranty. For higher end models, you can expect five years of warranty (or more)
from the best computer power supply manufacturers. On the other hand, three month warranties are often dead giveaways for
"kaboom" units.
4. It has passed rigorous testing by credible review sites. Besides faring well in expert reviews, positive feedback and
recommendations from actual users are important too.

3. Best Power Supply for Gaming
4. Best Power Supply for HTPC
1. Best Power Supply under $50: Corsair Builder Series CX 430W
Computer technology has progressed to a stage where even the lowest end PCs will suffice for basic users, so what we want
here is a low cost power supply that doesn't cheap out on energy efficiency and reliability.
Frequently recommended by satisfied users (4.5 stars rating by 400+ Amazon customers), Corsair CX 430W is easily one of
the best computer power supply that you can get for under $50.
In this price range, it's hard enough finding a 80 Plus power supply by a top brand. Corsair trumps the competition by offering
consumers this 80 Plus Bronze model (82+% power efficient), which cuts down on your electricity costs and saves you even
more money in the long run.
Although this is an entry level model, Corsair doesn't cut corners on its build quality - CWT manufacturing, sleeved cables, ball
bearings fan and decent Samxon capacitors produce a reliable power supply with stable voltages.
While most budget power supplies do make with warranties from six months to two years, Corsair is giving a three year
warranty for this unit. This generous warranty period plus Corsair's excellent customer service works together to give buyers a
peace of mind.
Of course at this low price point, even the best computer power supply will have its limitations.
Its lowish 30C temp ratings and 12V rail that deliver a so-so 336 Watts means it is less than ideal if you're installing a high end
CPU and graphics card or operating your computer for long hours. If those are your needs, then Seasonic G Series 550W will
serve you better - See our pick for the best computer power supply under $100 below.
Click here for Corsair Builder Series CX 430W's latest price and specs.
2. Best Power Supply under $100: Seasonic G Series 550W
Office applications, playing media files, casual gaming etc. - A mid range computer is expected to handle a wide range of tasks,
so this all-purpose machine needs a versatile power supply that can power a large assortment of hardware... and be durable
enough to last for years.
The first thing you'll notice about Seasonic G Series is its excellent power efficiency. While most mainstream power supplies
are only able to achieve 80 Plus Bronze at best, Seasonic has outdone the competition by giving us a 80 Plus Gold unit (rated
at 88 to 91% efficiency in real world tests). This adds up to big electricity savings over the years.
Bundled with this modular power supply are ribbon cables that can be detached when unused. Commonly found in higher end
power supplies, these flat power cables are favored because they take up less space in a computer case.
There are six SATA connectors (for hard drives and optical drives), six Molex connectors (multi purpose) and two 6+2 pin PCI-E
connectors (able to power two mid-end or one high-end graphics card).
We do have some nitpicks with its power cables: One of the SATA and Molex cables are a fair bit shorter (425mm) and two
additional 6+2 pin PCI-E connectors would be nice. But to be fair, most mainstream users aren't going to be using massive full
tower casings or installing triple graphics cards so it's no issue to them.
Seasonic G Series's solid build quality also deserves a special mention. Teardowns by respected tech authorities have
revealed high grade Japanese capacitors, a well-built transient filter, clean soldering and a double ball bearing ball.
Its quality components and manufacturing translates into two things: excellent power performance (rock-solid voltages, minimal
noise and ripple levels) and longevity (backed by a generous five year warranty).
Click here for Seasonic G Series 550W's latest price and specs.
3. Best Gaming Power Supply: Corsair Professional Series AX 760W
Considered by many to be the best computer power supply for gaming and high end systems, let's find out what makes Corsair
AX760 so popular with gamers and enthusiasts. A top of the line model hailing from a top brand, Corsair AX760 certainly has
big shoes to fill.
Right off the bat, its highest possible 80 Plus Platinum rating pulls it ahead of the competition. Rigorous testing by authority
sites (TechPowerUp, Guru3D, HardwareSecrets) have rated its power efficiency at an impressive 90 to 93% under different
loads. More than just saving dollars off your electricity bills, it is also a testament to Corsair AX760's superior design and
engineering.
As you can expect from a high end model, this is a 100% modular unit with flat power cables that you can detach from it. One,
this reduces cable clutter and makes cable management a breeze. Two, it maximizes air flow and lowers the temperature within
the computer case, improving overall hardware health and overclocking performance.
Its selection of power cables can be summed up with one word: overkill. With six 6+2 pin PCI-E connectors, eight Molex
connectors and twelve SATA connectors, this unit is able to power three high end graphics cards, 12 hard drives (or optical
drives) plus all the cooling and accessories you will ever need.
A single +12V rail combined with 760 Watts output means this beast is able to handle up to four mid end or two top end
graphics cards with ease... so you can install a graphics card now and have the headroom to add more in the future.
First class components (Sanyo Denki fan, Chemi-con & Enesol solid caps) + exceptional manufacturing (separate mosfets
PCB, shielded AC receptacle, flawless soldering) = stellar power performance (90 to 93% power efficiency, 900+W output,
near-perfect power stability). No wonder it has wowed so many reviewers and won so many awards from respected tech sites.
While noise levels aren't the biggest concerns of gamers, you'll still be happy to know that this is a very quiet unit. In fact, the
fan doesn't even spin up until it hits 70% load.
And let's not forget its impressive seven year warranty, so it's not just the best computer power supply in its class... but also the
only one you'll need for a long, long time.
Click here for Corsair Professional Series AX 760W's latest price and specs.
4. Best HTPC Power Supply: Seasonic M12II Bronze 620W
The best computer power supply for a HTPC needs to have two key qualities: One, it has to be space saving so that it can fit
inside a small form factor case. Two, it must be silent to avoid noise distractions while you're listening to music or watching
videos.
Widely considered as one of the best computer power supply for the money, let's find out what makes Seasonic M12II a long
time favorite with HTPC owners.
Being a semi-modular unit, you can detach any unused cables to free up space inside a cramped HTPC case. Proper sleeving
on its power connectors also helps to minimize cable clutter and improve air flow within the case.
Seasonic has a reputation for producing the quietest power supplies even among top tier PC power supply manufacturers. This
M12II in particular has won universal praise among expert reviewers for being whisper quiet. Even under a full load, It purrs
along at less than 30 decibels and you can expect the noise level to pummel to about 20 decibels for a typical HTPC.
Despite being compact and silent, it is able to deliver up to 620 Watts, giving you ample power to add a discrete graphics card
for gaming or viewing ultra high quality videos (e.g. 4K videos).
And let's not forget this power supply is certified 80 Plus Bronze (82%+ power efficient) as well, so it will draw less power and
save you money in the long run.
Bundled with a five year warranty and selling for less than $90, there is very little to complain about Seasonic M12II. Some
lesser brands are able to offer higher efficiencies or more connectors for the same price, but they don't come close to M12II's
build quality and reliable silent performance. We highly recommend it as the best computer power supply for a HTPC.
Click here for Seasonic M12II Bronze 620W's latest price and specs.
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/best-computer-power-supply.html#best-htpc-power-supply
Power Consumption of PC Components in Watts

Typical power consumption of PC components in watts - Discover what are power requirements of your CPU, motherboard,
video card, hard drives and more.
Knowing the power usage of PC components serves two important purposes:
1. You can make an informed decision on the amount of computer power supply wattage needed.
2. You can pinpoint which components sap the most power and cut down on your electricity bills.
We shall cover the typical power consumption of PC components in your computer case during active use. This includes the
CPU, motherboard, RAM, graphics card, hard drives (HDD, SSD), optical drives and even case fans.
CPU Power Consumption
Intel Low End CPU (Core i3)
55 to 73 W
Intel Mid End CPU (Core i5)
73 to 95 W
Intel High End CPU (Core i7)
77 to 95 W
Intel Top End CPU (Core i7-E)
130 to 150 W
AMD Low End CPU (2 cores)
65 to 95 W
AMD Mid End CPU (4 cores)
65 to 125 W
AMD High End CPU (8 cores)
95 to 125 W
Long gone are the days when Intel and AMD were locked in an arms race for higher clock speeds and big performance gains at
the expense of everything else.
Today CPU manufacturers are more interested in lowering CPU power consumption while achieving similar or improved
performance. Their focus has shifted from raw performance to improved power efficiency and better integrated graphics.
Main factors which affect a CPU's power requirements include: number of cores (and number of threads), clock speed, voltage
settings and manufacturing process (in nanometers).

Motherboard Power Consumption
Regular Motherboard
25 to 40 W
High End Motherboard
45 to 80 W
Factors that affect motherboard power consumption: number of power phases, type of voltage regulator, integrated chipsets
and modules (e.g. on-board sound, on-board Wi-Fi, add-on USB connectors, add-on SATA connectors etc.) and BIOS power
saving features.
RAM Power Consumption
DDR1 RAM (2.5 Volts)
4 to 5.5 W
3 to 4.5 W
2 to 3 W
RAM modules add very little to the power draw of PC components. The main reason why DDR3 RAM consumes less power
than DDR2 or DDR RAM is due to its lower operating voltage. A higher clock speed will also lead to higher power consumption
(e.g. DDR3 RAM running at 2,133 MHz will use more power than DDR3 RAM at 1,600 MHz).
Interestingly the amount of RAM has little or no effect on power consumption of PC components. A stick of 4 GB DDR3 RAM
will draw about the same amount of power as a stick of 8 GB DDR3 RAM (assuming that they have the same clock speed).
Recommended RAM
Video Card Power Consumption
Load Power Draw

Low End Graphics Card (Under $125)
25 to 86 W
Mid End Graphics Card ($125 to $250)
110 to 164 W
High End Graphics Card ($251 to $400)
162 to 258 W
Top End Graphics Card (Above $400)
240 to 350 W
As CPU power consumption dwindles with each passing generation, discrete graphics cards are taking over as the biggest
power hogs when it comes to power requirements for PC components.
To give you a better understanding on power consumption of PC components, we have broken down video card power
consumption into idle and load power draw.
Idle Power Draw - Computer is booted into a clean installation of Windows and left to idle (power savings turned off).
Measurements are taken once the power draw is stable.
Load Power Draw - Maximum power consumption measured during a video card stress test (with Furmark being the most
popular choice). These values are most useful in helping you choose your power supply wattage.
Hard Drive Power Consumption
0.6 to 2.8 W
2.5" Hard Disk Drive HDD
0.7 to 3 W
3.5" Hard Disk Drive HDD
6.5 to 9 W
Today we shall bust a myth on the power consumption of PC components: A solid state drive doesn't necessarily consume less
power than a hard disk drive. As you can see from the table above, there is negligible difference in power usage between a
SSD and 2.5" HDD. While 2.5" HDDs are more common in laptops, you can easily install them into any desktop computer.
That being said, solid state drives still consume less power than 3.5" hard disk drives (plus they are magnitudes faster and less
vulnerable to physical damage). For details on SSD vs HDD, we recommend that you read our "Should You Buy a Solid State
Drive or Hard Disk Drive" article.
Optical Drive Power Consumption
SATA DVD Drive
15 to 27 W
SATA Blu-ray Drive
25 to 30 W
The above table indicates the maximum power consumption of optical drives when burning a DVD or Blu-ray disc. Optical
drives consume just 1.5 to 5 Watts of power during idle, so they add very little to the total power consumption of PC
components.
Case Fan Power Consumption
80 mm Case Fan (2,000 RPM)
0.6 to 1.8 W
2.4 to 3 W
0.6 to 2.3 W
3.6 to 6 W
0.9 to 1.7 W
4.2 to 6 W
When calculating power consumption of PC components, most consumers fail to factor in case fan power usage. That is a
common mistake - While case fans typically don't contribute much to the power requirements of PC components, it does matter
in certain scenarios: e.g. building a NAS or HTPC (where every watt counts) or in high end rigs with five fans or more.
Factors affecting case fan power consumption: fan speed (measured in RPM), fan size (80 mm, 92 mm, 120 mm, 140 mm and
200 mm) and whether it has LED lights.
SEE ALSO: Desktop PC Power Requirements

- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/power-consumption-of-pc-components.html#sthash.DKA8z7uA.dpuf

What is a 80 plus power supply and should you get one for your computer? Get the full answers here with our complete power
supply efficiency guide.
If you have been shopping around for computer power supplies, chances are you would have spotted a few "80 plus" badges
proudly displayed on some retail boxes (see image below):
So what's the deal with this label and how does it affect you as a regular consumer? Let's find out the answer together...
What is a 80 Plus Certified Power Supply?

A 80 Plus power supply is one that has been tested and certified by Ecova to be least 80% energy efficient.
How do computer power supplies earn their 80 Plus certification?
1. Power supply manufacturers (e.g. Antec, Coolermaster, Corsair, Seasonic) send samples of their power supplies to
Ecova for testing. Ecova charges the manufacturers a fee for this testing and certification process.
2. Ecova will test the power supplies at 20%, 50% and 100% load. For a 1,000 watt power supply unit, this means drawing
200, 500 and 1,000 watts of power from it and measuring its efficiency at these three levels.
3. If the test unit is able to achieve a power supply efficiency of at least 80% at all three load levels, then it is certified as 80
Plus. Depending on its overall efficiency, Ecova will award it with a 80 Plus standard, bronze, silver, gold or platinum
certification.
A power supply has to meet the minimum efficiency levels below to earn itself a 80 Plus badge:
80 Plus
20% Load
Efficiency
50% Load
80%
80%
80 Plus Bronze
82%
85%
80 Plus Silver
85%
88%
80 Plus Gold
87%
90%
80 Plus Platinum
90%
92%
Ecova has a separate set of criteria and ratings for redundant (enterprise) power supplies, but we're leaving them out of this
discussion since it doesn't apply to consumers in general.

Budget Computer:
Corsair Builder Series CX 430W
Mid Range Computer:
Seasonic G Series 550W
Gaming Computer:
Corsair Professional Series AX 760W
Home Theater PC:
Seasonic M12II Bronze 620W
The short answer: Yes, you should buy a 80 Plus power supply unit. To be more precise, you should go for a high efficiency
power supply unit. We have good reasons for making this recommendation:
1. 80 Plus power supplies help you cut down on electricity costs

A 80 Plus power supply may cost more than a generic unit, but it's going to pay for itself in term of power cost savings.
To illustrate our point, let's take a look at this example: Suppose we have two different power supply units: a generic unit with
70% efficiency and a 80 Plus Gold unit with 90% efficiency.
If you install them in a computer that draws 200 watts of power, the generic unit will pull 286 watts from the wall socket (the
additional 86 watts are wasted as heat). The 80 Gold Plus unit will just pull 222 watts, resulting in a power savings of 64 watts.
Assuming that the computer runs for 10 hours daily and electricity costs $0.25 per kWh,
Annual Costs Savings
= power savings in kW x usage hours per year x cost per kWh
= (64/1000) x (10 x 365) x 0.25
= $58.40
High quality power supplies are expected to last for at least 3 years, so that's more than $175 in savings over its lifespan.
2. 80 Plus power supplies tend to run cooler and quieter

As we already know, efficient power supplies generate less heat. Since the power supply fan doesn't have to spin as fast to
keep temperatures low, it ends up producing less noise as well.
3. 80 Plus power supplies tend to have higher build qualities

Since 80 Plus power supplies require higher quality components and more sophisticated manufacturing, they tend to have
better build qualities than low efficiency power supplies. Having passed 80 Plus testing also indicates that the power supply
was able to deliver its full rated wattage, which is another quality indicator.
"Should I splurge on a 80 Plus Platinum power supply or is 80 Plus good enough?"
The answer will depend on your power usage pattern. The more power-hungry your computer is and the longer you leave it
running, the higher your power supply efficiency should be.
For example, a 100 watt family computer that is used for four hours daily will do just fine with a 80 Plus power supply... while a
1,000 watt server running 24/7 should be paired with a 80 Plus Gold or Platinum unit for maximum cost savings.
Shortcomings of the 80 Plus Program

While the 80 Plus program has been invaluable in promoting the awareness and importance of high efficiency power supplies,
its testing procedure does leave something to be desired:
1. Only one power supply sample is being tested, and the manufacturer gets to select that sample unit. A fairer method
would be to test multiple random units taken off retail shelves instead of a single unit picked by the manufacturer.
2. 80 Plus testing is carried out at 23 C (73.4 F). This is unrealistic since the temperature inside most computers hover
between 40 to 50 C (104 to 122 F). This matters because power supply efficiency tends to increase at lower
temperatures, resulting in artificially higher efficiency percentages during 80 Plus testing.
3. Some dishonest manufacturers have been caught labeling their power supplies as 80 Plus even though they were not
tested and certified by Ecova. HardwareSecrets ran an article that exposed several power supplies with fake 80 Plus
badges.
Fortunately this last issue can be easily resolved - Before buying a 80 Plus power supply, make sure that it is listed on the
official 80 Plus website.
SEE ALSO: Best Computer Power Supplies

- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/80-plus-power-supply.html#sthash.dxoC9xbT.dpuf
What is a Modular Power Supply Unit?

What is an ATX modular power supply unit? What is the difference between a fully modular vs semi modular PSU? Find out the
answers here.
A modular unit is a computer power supply where some (or all) of its power cables and connectors can be detached and
removed. This differs from a regular power supply where all its power cables are permanently hard-wired and non-removable.
While ATX modular power supplies have been popular among computer enthusiasts for a good number of years (since 2006
and earlier), they have just found their way to the mainstream market in recent years... thanks to falling prices and increasing
consumer awareness.
See the image below for an example of modular PSU. Take note of its sockets (that allow you to plug in and detach power
cables):
Fully Modular vs Semi Modular Power Supply Units

Budget Computer:
Corsair Builder Series CX 430W
Mid Range Computer:
Seasonic G Series 550W
Gaming Computer:
Corsair Professional Series AX 760W
Home Theater PC:
Seasonic M12II Bronze 620W
There are in fact two types of ATX modular power supplies: Fully modular and semi modular.
Fully modular indicates that every power connector is detachable and removable. High end power supplies tend to have a full
modular design. It's no surprise given that they appeal to hardware enthusiasts and cable management zealots by allowing for
total cable customization, such as changing the length, color and even sleeving of the modular power connectors.
Semi modular units have a few power cables that are permanently fused to the power supply while the remaining ones can be
detached. The image below shows a semi modular power supply unit with its full set of detachable power cables:
From the image above we can see that the essential cables are often hard-wired, such as the ATX power connector (that
powers the motherboard) and the P4 power connector (that powers the CPU).
Detachable power cables make up the rest: SATA connectors (for hard drives and optical drives), Molex connectors (for older
drives and case fans) and PCI-E connectors (for discrete graphics cards). For more details, check out our picture guide to the
different types of computer power connectors.
In general, we recommend semi modular over full modular power supplies. Semi modular models cost slightly less (cheaper to
manufacture) and tend to have higher power efficiencies (hard-wired connectors = lower electrical resistance).
For most consumers, there is only one practical reason to go for a fully modular PSU: If you have a very small and cramped
computer case. In this situation, a power supply that is fully modular allows you to swap out your standard length (~60 cm)
motherboard and CPU power connectors for shorter ones (~35 cm).
Are Modular Power Supply Cables Interchangeable?

Modular power cables are NOT interchangeable across different brands and manufacturers in general (e.g. you cannot pair
Seasonic power connectors with Corsair power supplies).
It's a real shame but there is no universal standard for modular power connectors. Different PSU manufacturers produce inhouse connectors that only work with their own power supply units. The image below shows the variation in modular power
connectors between two different brands:
Even power supplies from the same brand could be using different types of connectors. Whenever possible, you should stick to
modular PSU cables made for your particular brand and model.
If you're buying modular cables of the same brand but different models (e.g. Seasonic G Series vs Seasonic X Series), you
should check with the manufacturer first. Since most manufacturers do not state whether their modular power connectors are
interchangeable for different models (though they really should), you'll have to email or call their customer support.
SEE ALSO: Should You Buy a Regular or Modular PSU?
POWER SUPPLY GUIDE
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/modular-power-supply.html#sthash.Ea6DEySr.dpuf
What is RAM and How RAM Works

What is RAM and how does it affect your computer's performance? Read on for a plain English definition of RAM and find out
how RAM works in a computer.
RAM GUIDE
What is RAM and How It Works
Difference Between DDR2 vs DDR3 RAM
Max RAM Supported by Your Computer
How Much RAM Do You Need?
How to Test RAM for Errors
How to Install RAM Memory
What does RAM stand for: Random Access Memory (also known as memory, main memory, system memory)
Let's begin with the name: Random access refers to the fact that data that is stored anywhere on RAM can be accessed
directly regardless of its (random) location. This is in contrast with other types of data storage such as hard disk drives and
discs where they have to spin to the data's location first before being able to access it.
RAM is essentially memory chips soldered onto a stick of circuit board. Since a picture speaks a thousand words, let's meet our
RAM stick (also called a RAM module):
To understand how RAM works and the role it plays in a computer, we'll first have to learn a few of its important properties:
1. RAM is blazing fast compared to hard drives - Even the latest and greatest solid state drives are embarrassingly slow
when pitted against RAM. While top end solid state drives can achieve transfer rates of more than 1,000 MB/s, modern
RAM modules are already hitting speeds in excess of 15,000 MB/s.
2. RAM storage is volatile (temporary) - Any data stored in RAM will be lost once the computer is turned off. Comparing
computer storage to the human brain, RAM works like short term memory while hard drives resemble our long term
memories.
3. RAM is more expensive than hard drives - Even with RAM prices tumbling to new lows with each passing year, RAM will
always cost more per gigabyte. This is to be expected given RAM's massive speed advantage. Let's compare the
average prices of RAM vs hard drives at the time of writing:
4.
Price per GB
RAM
US$5.50 per GB
Solid State Drives
US$0.80 per GB
Hard Disk Drives
US$0.04 per GB
Super fast, volatile and relatively expensive... So what is RAM used for in computers?
Whenever you run a program (e.g. operating system, applications) or open a file (e.g. videos, images, music, documents), it is
loaded temporarily from the hard drive into your RAM. Once loaded into RAM, you will be able to access it smoothly with
minimal delays.
If you run out of RAM, your operating system will begin dumping some of the open programs and files to the paging file (see
image below). This is bad news... because your paging file is stored on the much slower hard drive. So instead of running
everything beautifully off RAM, a part of it is being accessed from your hard drive.
This is when you will begin to notice awful things like slow loading times, stuttering and general unresponsiveness (especially if
you have a mechanical hard disk drive).
So now we know what is RAM used for: Having enough RAM allows your computer to be more responsive, multitask better and
run memory-intensive programs (e.g. video editors, databases, virtual machines) with ease.
Recommended RAM
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/what-is-ram.html#sthash.QKrQJXKh.dpuf
Difference between DDR2 vs DDR3 RAM

DDR2 vs DDR3 RAM - What's the difference between DDR2 and DDR3 memory? How do you tell them apart? Can you use
DDR3 RAM in a DDR2 socket? Get the full answers right here.
The RAM found in most modern desktop and laptop computers is DDR3 RAM (DDR3 is short for Double Data Rate Type 3). To
be more precise, its full technical name is DDR3 SDRAM.
If your computer was built in 2008 or earlier, then chances are that it has the older DDR2 RAM instead.
At buildcomputers.net, we don't take chances or make guesses... so let's learn what are the differences between DDR3 vs
DDR2 RAM and how to tell them apart.
How to Tell If You Have a DDR2 or DDR3 RAM Module

In terms of physical appearance, DDR2 vs DDR3 RAM looks largely similar. They are of the same length (~13.3 cm or 5.25 in)
and have the same number of pins (240):
Here's the trick to tell them apart: Look at their notch positions (circled in yellow above).
As you can see from the image below, the DDR2 notch is located near the middle of the RAM stick while the DDR3 notch is
positioned nearer to the left side. If you want to be more precise,
DDR2: distance between left side of RAM stick and notch = 7.1 cm (2.8 in)
DDR3: distance between left side of RAM stick and notch = 5.4 cm (2.1 in)
This difference in notch position is also why you can't use DDR3 RAM in a DDR2 system or install DDR2 RAM into a DDR3 slot
(even though they have the same number of pins).
In short, DDR2 and DDR3 RAM are not compatible with each other: If your motherboard has DDR2 RAM slots, then you can
only use DDR2 RAM. The same applies to DDR3 RAM.
What's the Difference between DDR2 and DDR3 RAM?

Number of Pins
Clock Speed
Max Transfer Rate
Voltage
DDR2 RAM
240 pins
400 to 1,066 MHz
3,200 to 8,533 MB/s
1.8V
Number of Pins
240 pins
Clock Speed
400 to 1,066 MHz
Max Transfer Rate
3,200 to 8,533 MB/s
Voltage
1.8V
From the DDR2 vs DDR3 table above, we can see that DDR3 RAM offers better performance while consuming less power.
The difference in clock speed and max transfer rate numbers look impressive on paper, but DDR3 RAM is in fact just 2 to 10%
faster than DDR2 RAM for most real-world applications (depending on your hardware specification and usage).
DDR3 RAM consumes less power and produces less heat than DDR2 RAM at the same clock speed (e.g. DDR3 vs DDR2
RAM that is both running at 1,066 MHz). However there is a catch: RAM with higher clock speeds have higher power
consumption so DDR3 RAM running at 2,133 MHz will still drain more power than DDR2 RAM at 1,066 MHz.
Recommended RAM
RAM GUIDE
What is RAM and How It Works
Difference Between DDR2 vs DDR3 RAM
Max RAM Supported by Your Computer
How to Test RAM for Errors
How to Install RAM Memory
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/ddr2-vs-ddr3.html#sthash.v0yUPHF4.dpuf
What is the Max RAM that Your Computer Can Support?

Learn what limits the max RAM amount that your computer is able to support and find out how to increase your maximum RAM
limit right here.
There are three factors that limit the highest RAM amount your computer is able to use:
32 or 64 bit CPU
RAM limit of operating system
RAM limit of motherboard
Let's begin with the CPU first. It matters if your CPU is 32 bit (x86) or 64 bit (x64) because this affects what type of operating
system you can install. If you have a 32 bit CPU, you will only be able to install 32 bit operating systems, which effectively
lowers maximum amount of RAM to just 4 GB.
The good news is that almost all modern processors are 64 bit (with rare exceptions such as Intel Atom). Just to be safe, here's
how to check if your processor is 32 or 64 bit:
1. Download CPU-Z, a free program that reveals a wealth of info about your CPU
2. Under the CPU tab, look for the "Instructions" field (outlined in yellow below)
3. If your processor is 64 bit, it will show EM64T or AMD64 under "Instructions"
Max RAM Supported by Your Operating System

Windows 8 64 bit Enterprise
Windows 8 64 bit Pro
Windows 8 64 bit
Windows 8 32 bit
Windows 7 64 bit Ultimate
Windows 7 64 bit Enterprise
Windows 7 64 bit Professional
Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium
Windows 7 64 bit Home Basic
Windows 7 32 bit (except Starter)
Windows 7 32 bit Starter
Windows Vista 64 bit Ultimate
Windows Vista 64 bit Enterprise
Windows Vista 64 bit Business
Windows Vista 64 bit Home Premium
Windows Vista 64 bit Home Basic
Windows Vista 32 bit (except Starter)
Windows Vista 32 bit Starter
Windows XP 64 bit
Windows XP 32 bit
Mac OS X 64 bit
Linux 64 bit
Linux 32 bit
Linux 32 bit (with PAE)
Taking a closer look at the table above, you will notice that 32 bit operating systems can access just 4 GB of RAM at most.
And there's more bad news: This 4 GB memory limit is shared between RAM and other devices (e.g. video, audio and network
memory) so this further reduces the amount of available RAM to 3 - 3.5 GB in most cases.
Lesson of the day: If you intend to have 4 GB of RAM or more, it's highly recommended that you install a 64 bit operating
system (unless you are stuck with primitive device drivers or programs that only work in 32 bit).
Max RAM Supported by Your Motherboard

Since your motherboard manufacturer is the one who decides the max RAM amount that can be supported, the only sure way
to know is to consult your motherboard manual (outlined in yellow below):
If you're a laptop user, then your owner's manual will contain the answer to the maximum amount of RAM that can be
supported. Just look for it under "technical specifications".
Digesting everything that we have explained so far, a computer with a 64 bit processor, running Windows 8 64 bit (128 GB RAM
limit) and having a motherboard that supports up to 32 GB of RAM... will be able to support up to 32 GB of RAM.
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/max-ram.html#sthash.aAmp3yjG.dpuf

How much RAM do I need for a computer? Find out the answer to this important question as we reveal how much memory is
enough for Windows, gaming, video editing and common tasks.
"You can never have too much RAM" - This popular statement has misled countless of computer buyers into making bad
purchase decisions so let us clear the air once and for all.
What it really means is that having excessive RAM won't harm your computer's performance... but it's certainly going to hurt
your wallet since you won't gain any benefits with the extra RAM.
If you haven't done so, we recommend that you first check out our article on What is the max RAM amount supported by your
computer? It'll be an awful shame to shell out good money for 32 GB of performance RAM, only to find out later that your
computer is only able to support 8 GB.
2 GB RAM - Minimum Requirement for Basic Tasks

How much RAM is enough? While the answer to this question will depend your computer usage, all modern computers should
have at least 2 GB of RAM.
There's a reason for this 2 GB minimum: Popular operating systems such as Windows 8 (64 bit), Windows 7 (64 bit) and OS X
Mountain Lion require at least 2 GB of RAM. Meeting their basic RAM requirements is essential for a responsive and stable
computer.
With 2 GB RAM, your computer will be able to handle these basic tasks:
Surfing the Internet, email
Office applications: word processing, spreadsheets etc (e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
Listening to music, watching videos
Light gaming
However at this level of RAM, your computer is going to feel sluggish once you begin to multitask more (e.g. having 50 browser
windows opened while watching high-definition videos).
4 GB RAM - Recommended for General Purposes
4 GB of RAM is quite standard for most modern computers, and with good reason: At this amount of RAM, your computer will
able to handle a wide range of tasks (provided that your other system specifications are adequate).
In addition to the basic tasks listed above, 4 GB RAM is also sufficient for:
Moderate gaming (while 4 GB RAM is enough for most games, demanding games such as first person shooters, first
person RPG and racing titles may require up to 8 GB for optimal performance)
Light image editing
Moderate multitasking
If your computer is going to be used by a group of people (e.g. family computer, public computer) or you're still unsure of how
much RAM to get, then you should settle for at least 4 GB (or 8 GB if you want to play it safe).
8 GB RAM - Heavy Gaming and Graphics Editing

Now we're crossing over to big RAM territory. Applications that are graphics-intensive tend to be RAM-hungry too... so this is
how much RAM most heavy gamers and graphics designers should be gunning for.
Some mainstream consumers have chosen to go for 8 GB of RAM since RAM prices have dipped in recent years plus they
want some extra memory to "future-proof" their computers.
So what will you be able to achieve with 8 GB RAM? Let's see...
Heavy gaming (especially if you are playing first person or simulation games)
Heavy image editing (if you often work with huge image files, then 16 GB is recommended)
Light video editing
Heavy multitasking
Light virtualization (e.g. VMware, Virtual PC, VirtualBox)
So how much RAM is too much RAM? For most folks, we would say that it's 16 GB or more. But wait! Are you a IT professional
or graphics designer? Or perhaps you're just curious about what you can do with an insane amount of RAM? Then read on...
16 GB RAM - Heavy Graphics Editing and Servers

Most people won't ever find a need for 16 GB of RAM at this point in time, but there are real world applications and good
reasons to have 16 GB RAM (or more):
Heavy video editing
Heavy virtualization
RAM drive (using RAM as an ultra-fast hard drive)
Since servers vary greatly in type and purpose (web servers, cloud servers, game servers, database servers just to name a
few), there's just no way to generalize their RAM requirements. With that being said, it's common for high volume servers to
have 64 GB or more RAM.
Recommended RAM
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/how-much-ram.html#sthash.QuGqyegD.dpuf
How to Test RAM for Errors on Windows and Mac

What is the best RAM test software? Find out the answer and learn how to test RAM for errors on both Windows and Mac.
There are numerous reasons for testing RAM in your desktop or laptop computer:
You suspect that your RAM is faulty. Possible tell-tale signs: blue screens of death, failure to boot, error beeps during
boot, random system crashes.
You overclocked your RAM and want to stress-test it for stability.
You just bought a (new or second hand) computer and want to make sure that everything is working fine.
What is the Best RAM Test Software for Windows and Mac?
In the world of software, it's common to have a few close competitors vying for top dog. However when it comes to RAM
testers, most computer experts and techies swear by just one name: Memtest86+
What makes Memtest86+ so universally popular and recommended?
It is able to test all the RAM in your computer - Some programs are only able to scan RAM that is not in use.
It works on all major operating systems - Windows, Mac, Linux
It is very thorough and able to detect minor flaws that other RAM testing software miss.
Simple to use - See our step by step guide below.
You can't beat the price - It's free.
If you're overclocking your RAM, we will recommend that you also perform a RAM stress test with Prime95 in Blend mode (for
at least 12 hours) after passing Memtest86+.
How to Test RAM with Memtest86+ - Step by Step Guide

1. Download Memtest86+ - Auto-installer for USB Key
2. Unzip the downloaded file and run Memtest86+ USB Installer.
3. Insert a blank USB flash drive into your computer and install Memtest86+ into this USB flash drive.
4. Restart your computer and enter the Boot Menu during start up (by pressing F12, F10 or Esc depending on your
motherboard settings).
5. Choose your USB flash drive as the boot device.
6. Your computer will boot into Memtest86+ and the RAM test will begin. Let it run for at least 12 hours to make sure that your
RAM is working fine.
Recommended RAM
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/test-ram.html#sthash.t3XLz5aC.dpuf
What is a CPU? - Definition of CPU and What Does It Do

What is a CPU and what does it do? Learn the definition of CPU and its functions in a computer with our plain English CPU
guide.
CPU GUIDE
What is a CPU and What Does It Do?
Intel CPU Socket Types
AMD CPU Socket Types
Idle, Normal, Max CPU Temperatures
How to Install a CPU
How to Install a CPU Heatsink Fan
What does CPU stand for: Central Processing Unit. Also known as a microprocessor, a CPU is the brains of a computer. To be
more specific, a CPU fetches program instructions from RAM (input), interprets and processes it (execution) and then sends
back the computed results so that the relevant components can carry out the instructions.
What is a CPU made of? A CPU is a complex integrated circuit made of silicon. A modern CPU can have billions of microscopic
transistors mounted on it. The CPU is typically enclosed by a metallic heat spreader which allows for better heat dissipation.
Now that we know what does CPU mean, let's take a look at it. The first image shows the top of a CPU with its heat spreader
while the second image shows the bottom where you can see the golden CPU pins:
As we have just covered on what is a CPU, the main purpose of a CPU is to process program instructions. A (single core) CPU
has to process these instructions one by one in sequence.
What is CPU clock speed? A CPU that processes one instruction per second will have a clock speed of 1 Hz (Hertz). Based on
this calculation, a 3.9 GHz (Gigahertz) CPU is able to process 3.9 billion (3,900,000,000) instructions per second. All things
being equal, higher clock speeds = faster CPU.
What is a CPU core (outlined in red below)? You can picture a dual core CPU as having two separate processing units
squeezed into a single chip. Instead of having to process instructions one at a time, a dual core CPU will be able to handle two
instructions simultaneously. This vastly improves its multitasking capabilities and allows it to run multithreaded applications
faster.
Multithreaded applications are programs written to take advantage of two or more CPU cores at the same time. Many modern
software are able to make use of two cores while demanding games can use up to four cores. Certain CPU-intensive
processes such as image editing, video editing and virtualization can utilize eight cores or more at the same time.
While AMD CPUs use actual physical cores, Intel has its own Hyper-Threading technology which enables one physical core to
perform as two virtual ones (known as threads). Since the Intel CPU in the image below has eight threads, it will function as a
octa-core processor (even with just four physical cores):
Almost all CPUs found in laptops, desktops and servers (excluding supercomputers) are based on the x86 CPU architecture.
Together Intel and AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) account for more than 99% of all x86 CPUs worldwide.
Its name is derived from Intel's famous 8086 CPU released in 1978. The elder geeks among us can probably still recall its
descendants the Intel 286, 386 and 486 CPUs with fond memories. Bonus points if you can still remember the defunct budget
CPU maker Cyrix. My first computer (from the late 1980s) was powered by a 386 CPU that blazed along at 33 MHz.
Most processors for smart phones and tablets are based on the ARM CPU architecture (instead of the x86 architecture).
Qualcomm, Nvidia, Apple and Samsung are among the biggest CPU manufacturers of ARM processors.
To better understand what is a CPU, we will need to know the differences between a x86 vs ARM architecture: x86 CPUs are
more powerful, 64 bit (meaning they support more than 4 GB of RAM), run on more operating systems (including Windows XP
and 7). ARM's biggest advantage is its low power consumption, making it ideal for mobile devices that operate on batteries.
Update: The launch of iPhone 5S has propelled 64 bit ARM CPUs to the mass market, with ARM manufacturers scrambling to
produce their own 64 bit processors for mobile devices and servers.
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/what-is-a-cpu.html#sthash.WaPU8kUR.dpuf
Best Motherboard CPU Combo 2015

Find out what is the best motherboard CPU combo for a basic, mainstream, gaming and home theater PC right here.
With so many processors and boards to choose from, how does one single out the best CPU motherboard combos? This is
how we do it:
1. Best match between motherboard and CPU. Having a socket that fits is just the beginning... a CPU and motherboard have to
complement each other well. For example, pairing a "B" or "H" series motherboard with an unlocked Intel CPU is a common
mistake. While they will work together, the motherboard is going to cripple the CPU's overclocking capabilities.
2. Must-have features for different computer types. Having built hundreds of computers, we know what's important for different
users: HDMI ports for HTPCs to connect to televisions, SATA3 ports for mainstream PCs to fully support solid state drives, SLI
and CrossFireX capable motherboards for a gaming PC to accommodate two or more graphics cards... the list goes on.
3. Rock solid motherboards made by top tier manufacturers - Asus, Gigabyte, ASRock and MSI (Biostar and ECS are
considered tier 2 in general). Besides branding and warranty, we will scour user forums to weed out models with defective
batches and known issues. For higher end boards, we will also examine other quality indicators such as capacitors, soldering,
power phases etc.

3. Best CPU Motherboard Combo for Gaming
4. Best CPU Motherboard Combo for HTPC

Intel Celeron G1820 CPU + MSI H81M-E34 Motherboard
Aimed at budget users, Intel Celeron CPUs are priced to compete with low end AMD processors in the entry level market.
Despite their low prices, they are able to offer adequate performance for less demanding users... making them excellent
choices for a cheap motherboard CPU combo.
Thanks to Intel Celeron G1820's aggressive pricing, we were able to snag this entire motherboard CPU for ~$100 on Amazon.
Don't let its Celeron label fool you. Test results by PCLab.pl have revealed that this CPU slightly outperforms mid end Core 2
Duos of earlier generations, so we know it is more than able to tackle everyday tasks such as web surfing, email, office
applications and multimedia programs.
While it's rated at 53W, this CPU pulls just 15 to 30W in actual use. Besides shaving dollars off your electricity bills, its low
power requirements allows you to get away with a cheaper (but good quality) power supply such as Corsair Builder Series CX
430W.
No matter how we see it, integrated graphics is a must for budget CPUs. One, modern integrated graphics are able to meet the
needs of most basic users. Two, you won't have to fork out extra money for a separate graphics card.
Therefore it's good to know that this CPU comes with Intel HD Graphics - This decent integrated graphics allows you to view
high res images, play full HD (1080p) videos and run older games on low settings.
Retailing for just $50+, the MSI H81M-E34 motherboard offers everything a budget user can ask and hope for:
Two DIMM slots supporting up to 16 GB of DDR3 RAM... Four SATA ports for installing up to four hard drives or optical drives
(two of them is SATA3 for better support of solid state drives).
We also love how this motherboard comes with all three popular display ports (VGA, DVI, HDMI) so you'll be able to hook it up
to any monitor or TV. This is a big plus since most budget boards only offer two such ports.
There is also ample room for upgrades. There is one PCI-E x16 slot for installing a discrete graphics card plus two PCI-E x1
slots for installing sound cards, network cards or connector cards.
With USB 3.0 gaining widespread use and boasting three times faster transfer speeds, USB 3.0 ports are now a must (rather
than a nice bonus) for budget motherboards. We're pleased to see that this board offers six USB 3.0 ports, four at the back plus
two more that you can connect to the front of a computer case. That's in addition to six USB 2.0 ports (four front + two back).
Low power consumption, decent performance and good hardware support makes this the best motherboard CPU combo for the
money - It will meet and even exceed the needs of most light users.
However we do have to be realistic at this price range. This cheap motherboard and CPU combo isn't going to cut it for CPU or
GPU intensive chores, such as mainstream gaming, graphics editing, media encoding and moderate multitasking.
CPU: Click here for Intel Celeron G1820's latest price & specs.
Motherboard: Click here for MSI H81M-E34's latest price & specs.

Intel Core i3-4160 CPU + Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H Motherboard
A mid range CPU and motherboard combo has to be powerful enough for most users... while remaining affordable for the
masses. Call us greedy, but we will also want some degree of future-proofing, so this motherboard CPU combo has to offer
good upgrade and expansion options as well.
Now let's see how much value we can squeeze from this ~$210 motherboard CPU combo:
Intel Core i3-4160 has two physical cores with Hyper Threading. That means each core is able to execute two instructions at
the same time, allowing it to operate as a quad core CPU and boosting its performance by up to 30% (vs similar processors
without Hyper Threading).
Whether it's browsing the web, working with office documents, playing media files, compressing files or backing up data, this
CPU handles them all with ease (as tested by XbitLabs). It even packs enough processing power to take on moderate
multitasking and light virtualization, though a Intel Core i5 will fare even better for those demanding jobs.
Embedded with the latest Intel HD 4400 Graphics, solid graphics performance is another reason for choosing this CPU.
Besides viewing ultra sharp images and playing high res videos, its robust integrated graphics also allows you to fiddle with
graphics editing and video encoding. In fact, you can even push it to play most newer game titles on low settings.
Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H's rich set of features and expansion options outclasses most other motherboards in the $80 price
range: four DIMM slots (for up to 32 GB RAM), four USB 3.0 ports (two front + two back), eight USB 2.0 ports (four front + four
back), six SATA connectors (for internal hard disk, solid state and optical drives), high speed LAN port (for wired Internet).
Its Realtek ALC892 is one of best onboard sound chips you'll find on a mainstream motherboard, supporting both 7.1 HD audio
and S/PDIF digital audio. While audiophiles and enthusiasts will always insist on having their own dedicated sound cards, the
rest of us will be more than satisfied with this motherboard's clear audio output.
A triple combination of VGA, DVI and HDMI ports gives you the freedom of hooking up to any monitor and TV you want (with
the rare exception of DisplayPort-only monitors). If you intend to install a discrete graphics card, then you'll be pleased to know
that this board has not one... but two PCI-E x16 slots that supports AMD CrossFireX for a dual graphics card setup.
This motherboard's solid build quality also deserves praise. Japanese solid caps, ferrite core chokes, high grade MOSFET,
glass fabric PCB and dedicated USB fuses enable it to better withstand high temperatures, power surges, electrostatic
discharges and humid environments. What we have here is a durable motherboard that should outlast its three year warranty.
Whether it's for home or office use, this robust and versatile motherboard CPU combo will be more than adequate for most
people. Unless you're someone with exacting needs (heavy gamer, graphics designer, video professional, overclocker), this
value-for-money combo is going to serve you well for the years to come.
CPU: Click here for Intel Core i3-4160's latest price & specs.
Motherboard: Click here for Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H's latest price & specs.
3. Best Motherboard CPU Combo for Gaming

Intel Core i5-4690K CPU + MSI Z97 Gaming 7 Motherboard
Mobile phones, tablets, laptops, handheld consoles, video game consoles... Nowadays you can game on so many devices, but
still nothing matches a gaming PC's visual prowess and vast selection of games.
There are good reasons that make Intel Core i5-4690K so popular among gamers and techies:
Impressive performance - Four cores running at 3.4 GHz (3.8 GHz with Turbo Boost) doesn't sound mind blowing on paper, but
extensive testing by credible sites (AnandTech, TechPowerUp, XbitLabs, OverClock3D etc.) have all led to the same
conclusion: This higher end CPU delivers outstanding performance for its price.
Intel Core i5-4670K aced everything that the reviewers tossed at it... synthetic benchmarks, office software, graphics editing,
video rendering, 3D modeling, data processing and of course hardcore gaming (with a discrete graphics card). In fact, it
outperforms AMD's FX-8350 in most tests, an astonishing feat considering that FX-8350 is a eight core monster running at 4.0
GHz.
Overclockable - With a good "Z" series motherboard (see below) and aftermarket heat sink, you can push this unlocked CPU to
4.2 GHz and beyond. While seasoned overclockers will complain that older Sandy Bridge CPUs overclock better (and they're
right), you have to remember that this CPU runs about 15% faster at the same clock speed and consumes less electricity.
Intel HD Graphics 4600 - Yes, we know you'll be installing a discrete graphics card (or two) in all likelihood, but it's still
reassuring to know that you have this high end integrated graphics as back up. If you ever have to send your graphics card for
repairs, you'll be still able to continue with casual gaming and graphics editing.
For the best gaming motherboard CPU combo, we'll need to pair this killer CPU to a rock-solid motherboard with first rate
features and competitive prices:
Asus ROG and Gigabyte G1 boards have been dominating the gaming scene for years, but their $300 plus price tags are just
too much for most people to stomach. Retailing for less than $190, MSI Z97 Gaming 7 motherboard offers almost as much in
features and build quality... at a fraction of the price. No wonder that it has been winning over gamers and reviewers in droves.
Let's begin with its graphics card support: Three PCI-E 3.0 x16 slots with SLI and CrossFireX support gives us a motherboard
that is able to accommodate up to three Nvidia or AMD graphics cards at the same time. Along with its four other PCI-E x 1
slots, this ATX board has seven expansion slots in total for graphics cards, sound cards, network cards, connector cards etc.
Killer is the undisputed champion in game networking, with enthusiasts routinely forking out $100+ for a dedicated Killer
network card. That explains why we were excited to find a Killer LAN port on board. This luxury component has its own
processor to direct Internet traffic and minimize game lag.
Its premium onboard sound also deserves an honorable mention. By combining a top end audio codec (Realtek ALC1150) with
custom refinements (EMI shielding, high grade capacitors, gold plated audio jacks), this motherboard is able to produce
superior sound that's almost on par with dedicated sound cards.
True to its name, MSI's OC Genie makes overclocking so simple that it's almost magical. Press the "OC GENIE" button on the
motherboard. That's it - MSI automatically tweaks the clock speeds and voltages to overclock your CPU and RAM. Power users
who prefer manual control can turn to MSI's Extreme Tuning Utility to push the CPU, RAM and graphics card even harder.
To round things off, here's a quick run-down of its other features: connects up to eight internal hard drives (with RAID for instant
backup and quicker data transfers), onboard mSATA slot (for SSD caching) and 10 USB 3.0 ports (two front + eight back).
At the end of the day, we end up with a gaming motherboard CPU combo that truly does it all: hardcore gaming, heavy graphics
editing, heavy multitasking, heavy overclocking and more. The real triumph for us is achieving this without breaking the bank.
While most gaming motherboard CPU combos cost $500 to $600+, this high end combo goes for just ~$400 on Amazon.
CPU: Click here for Intel Core i5-4690K's latest price & specs.
Motherboard: Click here for MSI Z97 Gaming 7's latest price & specs.
4. Best Motherboard CPU Combo for HTPC

AMD A6-6400K APU + MSI A88XI AC Motherboard
Once considered as oddities, home theater PCs have been gaining mass popularity in recent years, replacing traditional Hi-Fi
systems in living rooms across the world.
Introduced in 2011, AMD APUs are a refreshing development in CPU design. While most CPUs focus on processor speed and
power, APUs lavish attention on the integrated graphics. The end result is APUs having so-so CPU performance but boasting
superb integrated graphics. This makes them especially ideal for HTPCs where video performance matters a lot more.
AMD A6-6400K is a dual core 3.9 GHz CPU that sports 8470D integrated graphics. Retailing for just $70+, its graphics and
video performance blows away anything Intel has to offer at that price range. For most scenarios, its graphics capabilities are
comparable to Intel's HD Graphics 4600 (found only in $140+ CPUs).
This AMD motherboard CPU combo handles all common HTPC tasks with ease: watching full HD videos, streaming 1080p
videos online, encoding videos, playing and burning Blu ray & DVD discs, listening to music and viewing high res images.
What's more, it can even double as a light gaming machine that runs most modern games at low settings (or older games at
mid settings).
This CPU motherboard combo has a neat feature that's often overlooked: overclocking. In fact, AMD A6-6400K is one of the
cheapest processors that comes fully unlocked... allowing you to overclock both its CPU and integrated graphics for
performance gains.
Since most people prefer a small HTPC that can placed on a TV shelf or tucked away in a corner, we have selected a compact
Mini-ITX motherboard that will easily fit into a small form factor case.
For starters, MSI A88XI AC comes with what all good Mini ITX motherboards should have:
One PCI-E x16 slot (for a dedicated graphics, sound or TV tuner card etc.), two standard DIMM slots (supporting up to 32 GB
RAM), four USB 3.0 ports (2 front, 2 back), six USB 2.0 ports, four SATA3 ports (for hard disk, solid state and optical drives)
and a high speed LAN port.
When it comes to display ports, this motherboard has it all. With a VGA, DVI and HDMI port, you can hook up this mini ITX
motherboard CPU combo to virtually any monitor, TV or projector.
High quality audio is also essential for a HTPC, and we were pleased to find a very respectable Realtek ALC887 sound chip on
board. It supports 7.1 HD audio and S/PDIF digital audio, allowing you to connect to high end speakers and headphones for a
true home theater experience.
But what really excites us about this little board are its integrated wireless features: It comes with the latest Wi-Fi 802.11ac and
Bluetooth 4.0 on board, allowing you to connect to the Internet and Bluetooth devices (phones, tablets, wireless speakers etc.).
This frees up your USB ports and PCI-E slot, plus you won't have to spend a cent on separate wireless adapters.
CPU: Click here for AMD A6-6400K's latest price & specs.
Motherboard: Click here for MSI A88XI AC's latest price & specs.
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/motherboard-cpu-combo.html#sthash.Tb1FKRMt.dpuf

Is your CPU overheating? Learn how to check CPU temperatures and discover which is the best CPU temperature software
that you can download for free.
Difference Between CPU Temp and Core Temp

Checking CPU temperature is supposed a straightforward affair, but the varying definitions of CPU temps have confused many
people (and techies). But no worries we're here to explain everything in plain English and clear the air once and for all:
CPU Temperature = Tcase

Tcase is CPU temperature measurement taken from the center of the CPU's top surface (heat spreader). This temperature is
measured by a diode embedded between the CPU cores.
When Intel, AMD and tech articles mention "CPU temperature", they are referring to Tcase (unless otherwise stated).
In short, Tcase is the only temperature that most computer users should bother with (unless you intend to overclock
heavily). It is useful for determining your CPU's idle temperature, normal temperature and maximum temperature.
Core Temperature = Tjunction
Tjunction (also known as TJ) is the CPU core temperature, measured by a digital thermal sensor DTS located within each CPU
core.
While Tjunction is of little concern to most people, serious overclockers do need to pay attention to their CPU's Tjunction Max
(or TJ Max). Tjunction Max is the highest temperature a CPU will tolerate before it throttles (lower its clock speed to prevent
overheating).
Therefore the goal of a hardcore overclocker is to push a CPU's speed as far as possible without going over its Tjunction Max.
However, we do not recommend this practice as running a CPU at such high temperatures will shorten its lifespan over time.
What is the Best CPU Temperature Software?

The good news is that there are a handful of excellent CPU temp software that you can download for free: Core Temp,
HWMonitor, Real Temp and SpeedFan.
Among these popular freeware, we find HWMonitor to be the best CPU temp software for most people due to the following
reasons:
It measures actual CPU temperature (Tcase) - This makes its results simple to understand and compare. On the other
hand, Core Temp and Real Temp measures Tjunction, which can be confusing to novice users who are learning how to
check CPU temperature.
It produces consistent and accurate temperature readings - While SpeedFan measures Tcase as well, its users have
reported inaccurate readings for certain CPU models.
It's an all-in-one temperature monitoring software - Besides checking CPU temperature, you can also monitor the
temperatures of your hard drives and graphics cards as well.
If you're intending to overclock your CPU past the maximum safe temperature recommended by Intel or AMD, then we
suggest Real Temp instead. With two calibration points (Tjunction Max and Tjunction Idle), it is the most accurate CPU temp
software for measuring core temps.
How to Check CPU Temperature in Windows

1. Download and install HWMonitor.
2. Restart your computer and leave it to idle at Windows desktop for 20 minutes (to give time for CPU temps to stabilize).
3. Open the HWMonitor program to check CPU temperature:
4. Your idle CPU temperatures will be listed under Core #0, Core #1, Core #2 and Core #3 (outlined in red above). If your CPU
has just two physical cores, the software will only display Core #0 and Core #1.
Now that we have our idle temperatures, let's find out what is your maximum CPU temperature. To do that, we'll need Prime95,
a torture test that will push your CPU to its limit so we can record its highest operating temperature.
5. Download and install Prime95.
6. Open Prime95 > Choose "Small FFTs (see image below) > Click OK
7. After running Prime95 for 20 minutes, open HWMonitor again to check CPU temperature. Take note of your Core #0, Core
#1, (Core #2 and Core #3) temperatures - These readings will indicate your maximum CPU temperature.
Running Prime95 for 20 minutes is more than sufficient for checking CPU temperatures. To test your CPU's long term stability,
you should leave Prime95 on for 12 to 24 hours.
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/check-cpu-temperature.html#sthash.b4Y6OF8m.dpuf
Idle, Normal and Max CPU Temperatures

What is a safe and normal CPU temperature range? Join us as we reveal Intel and AMD CPU temps during idle, normal and
maximum load.
All temperatures listed on this page are for CPUs running at default speeds with stock coolers. To give you a better
understanding of Intel and AMD CPU operating temps, we have included their temperatures at different usage levels:
Idle Temperature - Computer idling at Windows desktop (no open windows or programs)
Normal Temperature - Computer during heavy use (gaming, video editing, virtualization etc)
Max Temperature - Highest safe CPU temperature recommended by Intel or AMD
Most CPUs will begin to throttle (lower its clock speed to cut down heat) once they hit 95 to 105C. If temperatures rise further,
the CPU will shut itself down to avoid permanent damage.
We recommend that you measure the temperatures for your own CPU and compare them with the values below - Click here to
learn how to check CPU temps.
Intel CPU Temps - Haswell
Idle Temp
Normal Temp
Core i3-4130
34 to 38C
50 to 61C
Core i5-4670K
28 to 35C
47 to 60C
Core i7-4770K
34 to 39C
55 to 65C
Idle Temp
Normal Temp
Core i3-3220
28 to 35C
50 to 60C
Core i5-3570K
28 to 35C
50 to 62C
Core i7-3770K
30 to 40C
55 to 65C
Idle Temp
Normal Temp
30 to 37C
50 to 62C
Intel CPU Temps - Ivy Bridge
Intel CPU Temps - Sandy Bridge
Core i3-2100
Core i5-2500K
35 to 41C
55 to 65C
Core i7-2600K
32 to 40C
47 to 60C
Idle Temp
Normal Temp
28 to 33C
49 to 60C
Idle Temp
Normal Temp
A6-6400K
28 to 37C
49 to 57C
A10-6800K
28 to 35C
50 to 55C
AMD APU Temps - Kaveri
A10-7850K
AMD APU Temps - Richland
AMD APU Temps - Trinity

Idle Temp
Normal Temp
A6-5400K
25 to 35C
45 to 55C
A10-5800K
28 to 35C
50 to 55C
AMD CPU Temps - Piledriver

Idle Temp
Normal Temp
FX-4300
30 to 35C
45 to 55C
FX-6300
35 to 40C
50 to 60C
FX-8350
30 to 40C
50 to 55C
Idle Temp
Normal Temp
35 to 40C
50 to 60C
AMD CPU Temps - Bulldozer
FX-4100
FX-6100
30 to 35C
45 to 55C
FX-8150
30 to 35C
50 to 58C
Other Factors That Affect Your CPU Temperature Range

Even with default clock speeds and stock coolers, there are still other factors that will affect your normal CPU temperature:
Room Temperature
Ambient room temperatures can affect CPU temps by 5 to 10C. As a rough gauge, 1C rise in room temperature = 1 to 1.5C
rise in CPU temps. That's why experienced hardware reviewers and overclockers will factor in their ambient room temperature
when taking temperature readings.
Computer Case Cooling

A CPU can run 8 to 10C cooler in a spacious computer case with excellent ventilation vs a small, cramped case filled with dust
bunnies. Here's how to check if your computer case is doing a proper job of keeping the CPU cool:
Measure the temperature of your CPU with its side panels removed (see image below):
Close the computer case (put back the side panels) and check its temperature again. If the average CPU temperatures rises
more than 5C when the case is closed, then your computer case lacks adequate cooling. You'll need to organize your
computer cables, get more (or better) case fans and consider using a modular power supply to minimize clutter.
We know what you're probably thinking at this point... "Why don't I just leave the side panels open or go all out for an open air
rig?"
While this method will indeed lower temperatures in the short run, dust will quickly clog up your heat sinks and fans (leading to
even high temps than before). Therefore it only works if you're prepared to clean your heat sinks and fans every two to four
weeks. In fact, a good computer case with directed air flow and pressure difference will run even cooler when closed.
CPU Build Quality

Due to their complex manufacturing process, even CPUs of the same model and batch can have notable differences in quality.
While defective CPUs are discarded and inferior ones are rebadged, there is still a quality difference in those that make it past
factory inspections.
Getting a high quality CPU from a store is a matter of luck (which is why overclockers get so excited when they chance upon a
CPU of exceptional quality). All things being equal, a high quality CPU will run cooler and overclock better than a typical
sample.
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/cpu-temperature.html#sthash.qwLGPWSG.dpuf

What is CPU thermal paste used for and what is it made of? Learn about the different types of CPU thermal compounds with
our CPU thermal grease guide.
If you have ever removed a CPU heat sink, you would notice a gray or white paste on the top of the CPU and at the bottom of
the heat sink (see image below).
This paste-like or grease-like substance is what we call CPU thermal compound. It goes by a few other names... including
thermal paste, thermal grease or thermal interface material TIM.
In the image below, we can see the gray thermal paste covering the copper bottom of a CPU heat sink fan:
What is CPU Thermal Paste Used for?

What is CPU thermal grease used for? It is applied between the contact surfaces of the CPU and heat sink (or water block if
you have water cooling) to improve heat dissipation and lower the CPU temperature.
Applying thermal compound is a must because the contact surfaces are not perfectly even and smooth - Even brand new CPUs
and heat sinks have surface imperfections and microscopic scratches that traps pockets of air. Since air is one of the worst
thermal conductors on Earth, it will impede the heat sink's ability to lower the CPU temperature.
Without the humble thermal paste, CPUs will run about 20 to 30C hotter when operating under load.
Thermal paste fills up the microscopic air pockets between the contact surfaces to allow for better heat dissipation. We must
stress that CPU thermal paste is used for filling air pockets and NOT to create a separate layer between the two surfaces. This
will matter when we're showing you how to apply CPU thermal grease in the next page.
What is CPU Thermal Paste Made of?

There are three main types of CPU thermal compounds: Metal based, Ceramic based, Carbon based
Metal-based thermal grease (see image above) are gray in color and contain solid metal particles such as aluminum or silver.
Their high thermal conductivities makes them the best CPU thermal compound for lowering temperatures. On the average,
CPUs with metal-based thermal grease run about 4 to 6C cooler than those with generic ceramic-based compounds.
However, this type of CPU thermal grease also has its drawbacks. One, they conduct electricity. If you spill them onto the CPU
pins or motherboard components by accident, it may lead to a short-circuit and cause damage to your hardware. Two, metalbased thermal compounds tend to be more expensive (especially those with silver content).
Widely regarded as the gold standard for thermal compounds, Arctic Silver 5 is a consistent top performer in CPU thermal
paste reviews and a longtime best seller on Amazon.
Other plus points: It's easy to apply (not too viscous) and won't damage your electronics (Arctic has stated that it isn't
electrically conductive). Downside: Long cure time (takes up to 200 hours to achieve optimal heat transfer). We use Arctic
Silver 5 in all our PCs and highly recommend it.
Ceramic-based thermal compounds (see image above) are white to light gray in color and contain ceramic powder in a
suspension of silicone compound. Common ingredients for ceramic powder include aluminum oxide and zinc oxide. Silicon
dioxide is a popular choice for generic (read: cheap) thermal paste due to its low cost.
Since ceramic-based thermal grease do not conduct electricity, it makes them totally safe to use with electronics. Even you get
sloppy and splatter it all over your motherboard and other exposed components, there is no risk of electrical damage.
While most ceramic-based compounds aren't top performers, they are adequate for most day to day users. The best CPU
thermal paste with ceramic contents come close to their metal-based counterparts, losing out by just 1 to 3C in most
tests. Cooler Master High Performance Thermal Compound is awful cheap and just 2C hotterthan the famous Arctic Silver 5.
Carbon-based thermal paste (see image above) are the least common among all three, but they have gained a loyal following
among some enthusiasts and overclockers. Laden with exotic materials such as carbon particles, graphene oxide or even
diamond powder, it's no wonder that they tend to cost the most.
Carbon-based thermal grease claim to offer the best of both worlds: Safe foolproof application and superior heat transfer. The
first claim is true - Carbon-based thermal grease do not conduct electricity... so nothing is going to fry even if you slosh it all
over the CPU and motherboard.
When it comes to lowering temps, carbon-based compounds work just as well as metal-based ones. A 1 to 2C margin is all
that separates them in most CPU themal paste reviews.
Widely recognized as one of the best CPU thermal paste, Arctic Cooling MX-4 has been winning over reviewers with excellent
thermal performance that is comparable to Arctic Silver 5 (0.5 to 1C difference in most tests). Its manufacturer also claims that
MX-4 is able to last eight years with one application, sparing you the hassle of replacing your thermal paste every two years or
so.
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/cpu-thermal-paste.html#sthash.NqK5uvne.dpuf

Do you know how to clean off and apply CPU thermal grease? Learn the correct method of applying thermal compound with
our CPU thermal paste application guide.
Incorrect thermal grease application is one of the most common mistakes made by computer builders and upgraders. In most
computer forums and discussion boards, it's common to find users complaining about higher temperatures and overheating
after applying thermal compound to a CPU.
In most cases, it's not the user's fault at all. Who can blame them when even tech sites and blogs get it wrong sometimes? In
fact, some sites recommend incorrect methods that may even damage the motherboard and other components.
How to Remove CPU Thermal Grease
Before applying thermal grease, It's essential that you remove all thermal grease residue from the contact surfaces of the CPU
and heat sink.
Isopropyl alcohol (see image below) is the ideal solution for cleaning off thermal paste. 99% isopropyl alcohol works best, but
anything with 70% concentration or higher should do the trick as long as it doesn't contain any fragrances or additives.
While acetone is even more effective for removing thermal compounds, we do not recommend it because in high
concentrations, it can corrode plastic and cause damage to the CPU socket and motherboard.
Lint free and microfiber cloth (see image above) are the best material for wiping off thermal grease, followed closely by coffee
filters. They are recommended because they won't leave any fluff after wiping. For best results, we use and
recommend MagicFiber Cleaning Cloth from Amazon.
How to clean off CPU thermal grease: Detach the CPU from its motherboard socket. Pour a small quantity of isopropyl alcohol
onto a stamp-sized area of the wipe cloth. Apply light pressure with your finger tips when cleaning off the thermal paste.
Isopropyl alcohol will dissolve the paste after a few wipes. Repeat the same procedure for the CPU heat sink.
Do not attempt to scrape off the thermal paste with a credit card, cardboard or razor blade(!). You may scratch the contact surfaces of the
CPU and heat sink, reducing their heat dissipation capabilities.
The image below demonstrates the correct method to clean off thermal paste from the CPU. The black microfiber cloth has
been soaked with isopropyl alcohol:

As explained earlier in our "What is CPU Thermal Paste" article, the purpose of applying thermal paste is fill up any air pockets
between the CPU and heat sink. What we want to achieve here is to coat the contact surfaces with a thin and even film of
thermal grease.
If the thermal grease layer is too thick, it will impede CPU heat dissipation because the grease is a poor thermal conductor
compared to the two metal contact surfaces. Excessive CPU thermal paste application can cause CPU temperatures to
increase by up to 3 to 5C.
Applying too much thermal paste can also cause it to spill onto the motherboard, causing electrical damage if you are using a
metal-based thermal compound.
Method 1: Thin Vertical Line Across CPU

Apply a thin vertical stripe (1 to 2 mm in thickness) across two-thirds of the CPU as shown in the image below:
Method 2: Small Dot at Center of CPU

The correct amount of thermal grease to apply should be half the size of a pea (see image below). The pressure from the heat
sink plus the heat of the CPU will spread the thermal grease evenly over time.
Some people recommend applying a rice-sized grain, but that tiny quantity may be insufficient to cover the entire CPU surface.
If your CPU thermal paste is very thick and viscous, then the line method works better. If your thermal compound doesn't come
in a syringe or is very fluid, then the dot method will be easier. Otherwise both methods will work equally well in most other
cases.
- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/cpu-thermal-grease.html#sthash.CVfg8dn7.dpuf
Learn How to Build Your Own Computer

Have you always wanted to build your own computer? Then let us show you how to build a computer from scratch - complete
with step-by-step instructions and easy-to-follow photo illustrations.
Now here's a little secret that computer makers don't want you to know: Building a computer is quite simple, even if you have
zero experience.
When you break it down, all it takes to assemble a computer is to:
1. know what are the parts to build a computer
2. choose the best components for your needs
3. install these individual parts into a computer
And yes, we shall be covering everything above in full detail (and in plain English). So whether you're building a computer for
the first time or refitting an aging PC with new upgrades, you can count on our newbie-friendly tutorials:
How to Build a PC - Step by Step Guide

Want to build your own computer but don't know your way inside a computer case? Have no fear! Our picture guide will show
you the easiest method to build a computer from scratch.
CPU Guide for Dummies and Techies
Building a computer begins with choosing the right CPU. Join us as we explain what is a CPU, how it affects your computer's
performance and how to overclock it.
The Complete Guide to Motherboards

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facts here and how to choose the right one for your computer.
Everything You Need to Know about RAM

From the basic "What is RAM?" to the popular "How much RAM do I need?", get the full answers to these questions and more.
Buyer's Guide to Computer Power Supplies

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important hardware and how to choose a dependable power supply unit.
How to Choose and Buy a Hard Drive

Should you buy a hard disk drive or solid state drive? Find out how to choose an affordable hard drive that is large and fast
enough for your storage needs.
What is the Best Computer Case for You?

Join us as we explore the different types of computer cases and uncover which are the best ones for a budget, mainstream,
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- See more at: http://www.buildcomputers.net/#sthash.elfiXMG0.dpuf

DTENERIFE - Diagnose Computer Systems and Networks

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Diagnose Computer Systems and Networks

How to Install Windows Operating System (OS)

DUAL BOOTING WINDOWS AND UBUNTU

HARD DISK PARTITIONING AND FORMATTING

PARTITION AND FORMATTING TOOLS:

HOW TO BACKUP AND RESTORE FILES

B. FOR XP, WIN7, WIN8, MAC

How to Install Windows XP

Step 3 - Press S to Specify that you want to install additional device.

Next - How to install Windows XP (Part 2)

How to Install Windows XP

Next - How to install Windows XP (Part 3)

How to Install Windows XP

Step 12 - Choose your region and language.

Step 13 - Type in your name and organization.

Step 14. Enter your product key.

Next - How to install Windows XP (Part 4)

How to Install Windows XP

Step 25. Log in, to your PC for the first time.

(b) This would open a device properties window.

GParted is a popular utility used for disk partitioning

1 Benefits of multiple partitions

2 Disadvantages of multiple partitions

3.1 Primary partition

3.2 Extended partition

4.1 DOS, Windows, and OS/2

4.2 Unix-like systems

4.3 Multi-boot and mixed-boot systems

4.4 GUID Partition Table

Benefits of multiple partitions[edit]

Creating more than one partition has the following advantages:

Having a separate area for operating system virtual memory swapping/paging.

Keeping frequently used programs and data near each other.

Disadvantages of multiple partitions[edit]

Multi-boot and mixed-boot systems[edit]

GUID Partition Table[edit]

Main article: GUID Partition Table

Amiga Rigid Disk Block

Extended boot record covers a Linux partition naming convention

Filesystem Hierarchy Standard

List of disk partitioning software

Master boot record covers the partition table layout

10. Jump up^ link(2) BSD System Calls Manual

Andries Brouwer (19952004). "List of partition identifiers for PCs".

Andries Brouwer (1999-09-16). "Minimal Partition Table Specification".

"partitioning primer". Ranish. 1998-08-05.

Allen Smith. "ATA (EIDE) Drive Capacity and Addressing".

Microsoft (2005-06-03). "Using GPT Drives".

"MS-DOS Partitioning Summary". Support. Microsoft.

Linux Partition HOWTO

Partition Definition - by The Linux Information Project (LINFO)

Properties of partition tables

List of partition tables file system codes.

Guide with advantages and disadvantages to disk partitioning

Create and format a hard disk partition

To create and format a new partition (volume)

In the left pane, under Storage, click Disk Management.

In the New Simple Volume Wizard, click Next.

In the Format Partition dialog box, do one of the following:

To format the volume with the default settings, click Next.

Review your choices, and then click Finish.

To format an existing partition (volume)

In the left pane, under Storage, click Disk Management.