Build a better PC Part 1

Posted at: Tuesday 30th August 2005 by Gareth Ogden

Building a custom PC isn't easy. It requires total commitment, a serious mind

and a midi-chlorian count to rival Darth Vader's. This usually takes years of
training, but not if you heed Gareth Ogden's advice

It's easy to be blasé about building PCs when you've spent the last 18 years
doing just that, but the truth is that building a PC can be an extremely
daunting prospect, especially if you've never built one before.

In fact, learning how to build PCs is a bit like learning how to drive a car.
When you slide into the driver's seat for the first time you already know what
all the bits do, but that still doesn't stop you stalling the engine five times, before finally kangarooing the car
down the road to the amusement of onlookers and passers-by. However, by learning from your mistakes, and
practising a lot, you soon get the hang of it. Before you know it, you're cruising down the high street in your fully
maxed-out pimpmobile, turning heads and picking up hot chicks.

Learning to build a PC is very similar, except for the part about picking up hot chicks, of course. You probably
already know what all the various components are for, and what goes where, but if you've never built a PC
before, the end result could be just as embarrassing as your first driving lesson.

In the past, we've assumed that every CPC reader is already a proficient PC builder, but this attitude was
perhaps a little shortsighted. As our increasing circulation shows, more people are becoming interested in PCs
and performance hardware every month, and while some of these people already know how to drive, others
want to learn.

That's why we've taken a dual-pronged approach to our annual 'Build a Better PC' feature this year. For those
who already have their PC-building licence, we have our component guide on p112, which details the best
performance hardware to buy at three different price levels. If you already know how to cobble a PC together,
but want to know which components to use, then this is the place to start.

However, if you're not yet a proficient PC builder, or if you've never attempted to build one before, then look no
further. Over the following pages, I'll explain, step by step, how to build a professional-looking PC that will belie
your status as a PC-building n00b. And, even if you have built a few PCs before, it won't hurt to give this a read
anyway - you might pick up a few new tricks.

WHERE'S YOUR TOOL?

As any good tradesman will tell you, the right tools for the job are essential. A screwdriver is obviously pretty
important, so make sure you have a good No.2 Phillips-head screwdriver to hand. It's a good idea to get a
magnetic-tipped one, as this will make your life much easier, as will a ratchet-screwdriver. A pair of long-nose
pliers, and a pair of wire cutters or sharp scissors may also come in handy.

You'll also need to buy some cable ties and spiral cable wrap, both of which will help to keep cables neat and
tidy, which is essential for that 'professional' look. Neat cabling will also improve airflow through the case too, so
there's a practical benefit too.

AUNTIE STATIC

PC components are highly susceptible to static electricity, so it's important to take a few safety precautions. For
starters, wearing a Lycra jumpsuit underneath your favourite shell suit and moonwalking around the house
wearing rubber-soled shoes isn't the best idea when you're handling expensive PC parts.

The golden rule when working with any static-sensitive component, such as a 3D card or motherboard, is to
only handle them by their edges. Regularly grounding yourself to purge your body of static charge is also a
good idea, and the best way to do this is to touch the bare metal pipe of a radiator.

However, constantly interrupting your build to grab hold of a radiator pipe can get tiresome (and painful, if the
radiator is on), so the best way to make sure you don't fry your components is to earth yourself using an
antistatic wrist strap, which you can pick up for £4.99 from www.maplin.co.uk. This keeps your body earthed
and prevents any static charge from building up. To be totally safe, it's also worthwhile investing in an antistatic
mat, which provides an earthed surface for you to work on.
You could argue that both of these measures are a little overcautious, and it's true that 99 per cent of the time
you can get away without them, providing you obey the golden rule. Whether you want to take the chance is up
to you, though. After all, a fiver for a wrist strap is a lot cheaper than buying a new CPU.

BE PREPARED

Boy Scouts aren't famed for their modding skills (although there is a Computers merit badge, apparently), but
their motto 'Be Prepared' certainly applies to PC building. If you plan ahead, and make sure you have
everything you need to hand, then your build should go without a hitch.

First of all, make sure that you have a suitable area on which to build your PC, such as a large desk. Planning
is the next stage; you should know exactly where each component is going and how to get power to them
before you even take them out of their anti-static bags. That isn't to say the hit and hope approach won't work,
but this style of PC building is a bit like button-bashing in Tekken - the end result may be positive, but it won't be
as dignified.

BUILD IT

You should now have the right tools, a spacious work area and a good idea about where each of your
components will go. All that's left to do is put it all together. Unfortunately, there's no hard and fast rule about
how to do this, as it's very much a matter of personal preference. So, while the method I'm about to outline is
how I personally like to build PCs, you may find that you prefer to tackle it slightly differently. This is absolutely
fine. Just think about the following guide as a recipe and, like all good recipes, it's open to interpretation.

CASING THE JOINT

The case is the foundation of your PC, so this is the first port of call. Start by removing both side panels, and
the motherboard tray, if your case supports this, so you have an unrestricted view. Then dig out the bag of
screws and fixings, if you haven't already done so, as you'll need them very soon.

The first task is to fit the PSU, assuming you haven't bought a case with a PSU pre-installed. If you followed my
earlier advice and planned where your components are going, you should know how many power cables you'll
need and where you need to run them. For example, you'd need to route a Molex or S-ATA power connector for
each hard drive, one for each optical drive, one (or two) for the 3D card, as well as the ATX and ATX 12V
connectors. You may also need a floppy disk drive power connector, and some more connectors for the fans
too. Your fan controllers and other bay units may also need powering, so make sure you account for these too.

Most PSUs supply at least two plugs (Molex or S-ATA) per run of cable, and although it's fine to power pairs of
optical drives and hard disk drives off a single cable run, it's preferable to give a graphics card a separate run,
as this will aid stability, particularly during overclocking. If you have a turbo-nutter card with two Molex
connectors, then it's best to feed them from separate runs for the same reason. High-end PCI-E cards typically
only have one PCI-E power connector, so make sure your PSU has the appropriate PCI-E power plug,
otherwise you'll need to use a Molex to PCI-E splitter.

Unless you're installing masses of optical and hard disk drives, it's unlikely that you'll need to use all of the
cables provided by the PSU. And, as the whole object of this exercise is to build a neat PC, you'll want to hide
the spare cables so that they don't dangle in the middle of the case. Different cases have different nooks and
crannies for stashing spare cables, but generally, a good location is behind the motherboard tray, where they
can be easily fixed flat against the surface using cables ties. Obviously this will be a little difficult if you've
removed the motherboard tray, so this step may have to wait until later.

There are also often gaps above and to the sides of the PSU, and this is another good place to hide spare
cables. Don't worry about how it looks; once the side panels are back on, you won't be able to see them.

With your PSU installed and any spare cables neatly hidden away, you can move on to installing the
motherboard. Before you do this, though, remove the existing ATX backplane from the case (push it at the
corners from the outside) and fit the plate supplied with your motherboard, as this will exactly match the ports
on your motherboard's backpanel (audio jacks, Ethernet ports and so on). If you don't do this then your
motherboard will either not fit properly or there will be gaps where the standard backplate doesn't match up with
the ports on the motherboard. This isn't a huge problem, but any holes will allow noise to seep out, and it looks
untidy too.
STAND AND DELIVER

The next job is to install the motherboard standoffs, which are little pillars that the motherboard rests on to stop
it short-circuiting on the metal motherboard tray. They also prevent the board from flexing, and potentially
breaking or unseating components. Most cases supply little brass-coloured metal standoffs, which simply screw
into the motherboard tray, although the older plastic push-connect standoffs still crop up from time to time. It
isn't important which type you have though; what is important is making sure you put them in the right place,
particularly the metal standoffs.

The easiest way to do this is to test-fit your motherboard in the case and match up its mounting holes with the
corresponding holes on the motherboard tray. After that, place your standoffs and test-fit the board again,
making sure that all the standoffs match up with the holes, and that you haven't put in an extra one by mistake.
This is important - one stray metal standoff could really ruin your day when you switch the PC on.

CORE COMPONENTS

You're now ready to install the motherboard, but before you do this, check the mounting method used by your
CPU HSF. Some HSFs (such as the Zalman CNPS7000B-CU) fasten to a bracket on the underside of the
board, which requires you to remove the existing HSF retention bracket and install a new one. Obviously, it's a
good idea to do this before you screw the motherboard into the tray. Once you've sorted out any special
requirements on the HSF front, fit the motherboard to the tray.

If you removed the motherboard tray from the case then this is also a pretty good time to fit the CPU, HSF and
memory. You can do this with the motherboard tray installed, of course; it's just a little more awkward. Installing
the CPU is one of the most nerve-wracking parts of the whole build, given how awkward and fragile (not to
mention expensive) CPUs are, but it's actually very simple. However, the precise method will depend on the
type of CPU you have, which is why I've covered CPU installation separately. I've concentrated on Socket
754/939 and LGA775 mounts, as they're the most common type. Besides, if you're building a new PC now, you
really should be using a modern socket.

Installing memory is much more straightforward. However, before you start ramming the RAM into place, check
your motherboard manual to make sure you that you install the DIMMs into the correct slots. If you bought a
matched pair of DIMMs, and your motherboard supports dual-channel mode, then make sure you use the
correct pair of slots. This varies from board to board, so you really do need to read your motherboard's manual.

Once you've identified which slots to use, push back the plastic retaining clips and carefully pick up a DIMM
(remembering to take precautions against static electricity), locate the notch in the PCB and match this with the
corresponding bump in the socket. Make sure that each end of the DIMM is resting inside the grooves in the
retention clips and apply steady pressure to the centre of the module, working your way out to the edges. The
retention clips should then snap into place and secure the DIMM in the socket.

While you have the motherboard tray out of the case, you may also want to fit the EIDE cables, as they can be
tricky to install. Don't bother fitting the S-ATA cables yet, though, as these are much easier to slot in later.

When you've finished, fit the tray back into the PC.

EXTRA, EXTRA

If you dig around inside your motherboard box, you should find at least one PCI blanking plate with extra USB
2, FireWire or audio ports, and it's a good idea to fit these while the case is still relatively clutter-free. It's best to
install these towards the bottom of the case, as the cables will then rest on the chassis floor, rather than
dangling inelegantly in mid-air.

The cables sprouting from theses blanking plates connect to spare headers on the motherboard, which are
usually colour-coded and keyed to prevent you installing them incorrectly. Again, refer to your motherboard
manual to see which headers to use. The manual will also come in very handy if you have USB, FireWire or
audio ports on the chassis, as these typically have split connectors to ensure compatibility with all
motherboards, and have to be wired in one pin at a time. You may find that a small torch comes in handy for
this, and you might want to enlist the help of someone with nimble fingers too, in case your own bear a striking
resemblance to Wall's pork sausages.

While you have a nimble-fingered helper nearby, it's also worth enlisting their services to wire up the front panel
connections and fan headers. These include the power, reset, hard disk drive activity LED, power LED and PC
speaker (if present) connections. Again, refer to the manual to see which pins go where, although modern
motherboards and chassis typically colour-code the headers and pins to make the job easier. If, when the time
comes to power on the PC, you find that the LEDs aren't lit, simply rotate the appropriate header by 180
degrees and it should work. For the sake of neatness, it's also worth using some spiral wrap to cover the front-
panel wire bundle, and hiding it away in the nearest available nook.

DRIVE TIME

The tricky parts of the build are now done, which just leaves the hard disk drives, optical drives and peripheral
cards.

Most modern motherboards favour S-ATA connections over EIDE, and it's definitely a good idea to buy S-ATA
drives over EIDE if you can. There won't be a massive difference in performance, but S-ATA cables are much
easier to manage than EIDE cables. S-ATA also has only one drive per channel, which means you don't have to
worry about configuring Master and Slave settings, as you do with EIDE drives.

However, if you do have EIDE drives then now is the time to configure their Master/Slave priorities. Each
channel on the EIDE bus can support two drives, although to avoid conflicts, one must be designated the
Master, and the other the Slave. The settings are determined by placing a jumper on the rear of the drive. The
position of the jumper for each setting is usually detailed on the label stuck to the top or bottom of drive, but it
will also be listed in the manual or online, if you're desperate. Typically, all drives will be set to Master by
default.

As a rule, it's always best to set the drive that you use the most as the Master - for example, the main optical
drive and the boot hard disk drive, which you can split between the primary and secondary EIDE channels.
Your motherboard may also have additional EIDE channels controlled by a third-party chip, such as a Promise
or HighPoint controller. These will allow you to attach another two drives per channel (typically), although you
may need to set this up using the controller's separate BIOS, which is accessible during the boot cycle. The
process is similar to configuring a RAID array, and will vary depending on the controller and BIOS, so it's best
to refer to the manual in the motherboard box.

From a purely aesthetic point of view, optical drives should go in the uppermost 5.25in bays. However, if you
have two drives and regularly do lots of disc-to-disc copying, I would suggest leaving a gap between them, as
they can get very hot.

Where you install the hard disk drives is also very important, as these can become extremely hot too. If you
chose a good case then the main 3.5in drive cage should be directly in line with the front intake fan, so that cool
air is blown over the disks. If you only have one drive, simply place it in the most convenient location for your
power and data cables. However, if you're installing two hard disk drives then it's best to leave a gap between
them to prevent heat transferring between the drives, and causing instability or data loss. This is particularly
important if you plan to configure them in RAID 1 or RAID 0, as both drives will operate at the same time. If you
have more than two hard disk drives then you need to prioritise which drives will be accessed the most and
make sure that they get the lion's share of cooling. If you run out of room in the 3.5in bay, use a specially
designed caddy, such as Aerocool's Hard Dock (available from www.kustompcs.co.uk for £18) to install it in a
free 5.25in bay instead. Once you have all the disks in place, cable them up, but don't tidy up yet, in case
something goes wrong and you need to remove a component.

SLOT MACHINE

The final part of the building process is to install the add-in cards, which will usually be a 3D card and possibly
a sound card or TV card. Again, be aware that these components will get hot, particularly the graphics card, so
space them out as much as possible. If you're installing a sound card, use a slot that's as far away from the
graphics card as possible to minimise the possibility of interference.

Installing add-in cards is easy, as long as you're careful. PCI and 1x PCI-E cards should slot in with only gentle
pressure, but most AGP and some high-speed PCI-E slots will have clips or brackets to help hold larger
graphics cards in place.

Once all of your cards are in place, use the spare PCI blanking plates to plug any unused slots, as this will help
prevent noise from leaking out. Leaving them open may provide extra ventilation, but if your case has good
cooling, and you've cabled your PC neatly, there's no need for it.
You should now have all the components installed and wired up, so it's time for the first power-on test. As you're
only testing to make sure the PC boots up and everything works, just plug in your monitor, mouse and keyboard
for now. After that, plug in the kettle lead at the back of the PSU, hit the 'on' switch and hold your breath. Your
PC will now have either sparked into life, or you'll have passed out due to asphyxiation. If the latter is true then
hope that a relative or loved one is nearby to resuscitate you, unplug your PC and head on over to 'Don't
Panic!' on p110.

BASIC BIOS TUNING

If you see a screen flash up, give yourself a hearty slap on the back and quickly press the 'Del' key to enter the
BIOS. The BIOS is normally the province of hardcore overclockers, but there are also plenty of BIOS settings
that don't involve sending extra volts through your CPU. Where the different options are situated will vary from
BIOS to BIOS, but generally, the basic settings are pretty similar.

First of all, go to the 'Standard CMOS Features' or 'Main' section, and check that your hard disk drives and
optical drives have been detected correctly. If any of them are missing, turn the PC off, and check the cables
and connections. Ensure that you've set the Master/Slave settings correctly as well. Remember that if you
installed a disk on a third-party EIDE or S-ATA controller then you may need to enter that controller's separate
BIOS to configure it. While you're in the 'Standard CMOS Features' section, set the correct date and time, and
turn 'Drive A' from '1.44M, 3.5in' to 'None' if you haven't installed a floppy disk drive.

Now enter the 'Advanced BIOS Features' section (or 'Boot' section if you have an AMI BIOS), and change the
first and second boot devices to your main optical drive and hard disk drive respectively, so that your PC will
boot from the Windows CD later on.

While we're configuring the drives, go to Integrated Peripherals (Onboard Devices Configuration in an AMI
BIOS), and turn on or off any additional S-ATA or EIDE controllers, as required. You should also be able to
enable or disable your motherboard's on-board audio from here, and we recommend disabling the serial and
parallel ports if you won't be using them, as these are almost completely obsolete now.

As far as basic BIOS tweaking goes, this is all you need to do. Most BIOSes will also have numerous options
for tweaking memory timings, front side bus speed, CPU multiplier and chipset voltages, all of which are
essential if you intend to overclock, but best left alone if you don't. We'll be covering overclocking in a separate
feature later in the year.

MAKE BILL GATES RICHER

However, before you even think about overclocking, you need to get an operating system installed and
configured. The best OS to install is, obviously, Windows XP, in whichever guise you prefer (Home,
Professional or x64 Edition), bearing in mind that the recently released 64-bit version of Windows may still have
a few quirks.

For most people, Windows XP Home will be fine, as the differences between Home and Professional are fairly
minimal (see www.microsoft.com). However, the recent launch of the dual-core Athlon 64 X2 and Pentium
CPUs complicates matters; officially, only XP Professional supports two physical processors and four logical
processors. This means that you should definitely buy XP Professional if you have a Pentium Extreme Edition
840, as this has two cores, each with Hyper-Threading. Windows XP Home supports one physical and two
logical processors, so Athlon 64 X2 and Pentium D CPUs should work. However, if you're willing to splash out
on a dual-core CPU, then you really should stump up the extra for XP Professional anyway.

Once you've selected which OS to use, it's time to install it, which is actually very simple; the only slightly taxing
part is partitioning the hard disk, which we'll come to in a moment. Your PC is already set to boot from the
optical drive, so switch it on, stick the Windows XP CD in the drive and allow it to boot into the Windows setup
screen. If you already have a bootable hard disk drive in the PC, then you may need to press a key when
prompted in order to force the system to boot from the optical drive. Also, if you've set up a RAID array that you
intend to use as your boot drive then you also need to watch out for the 'Press F6 to install third-party driver'
prompt, and have your driver floppy disk ready to go.

Eventually, you'll reach the welcome screen, so press Enter and then accept the Windows licensing agreement
(grudgingly or willingly, it doesn't matter). If you already have a Windows installation on the drive then you'll
need to press Esc to bypass it, as you want a fresh installation of Windows.
You'll now be presented with a screen showing all of the existing partitions on the disk (if any) and the total
amount of unpartitioned space. Delete any partitions that you don't want (make sure you really don't want them
though) and then partition the disk as you see fit.

Some people prefer one massive partition, but many prefer to split the disk into two separate partitions: one for
the operating system and programs (BOOT); and one for general data and downloads (DATA). However, it's
much easier to create additional partitions in Windows later using the Disk Management tool, which you can
reach by right clicking on My Computer and selecting Manage; all you need to do here is create a BOOT
partition.

Next, you need to select a file system, which should be NTFS, and then format the partition. If you need older
FAT32-based computers to access files on your new PC over a network then you can always create a small
FAT32 partition, or install a separate drive formatted with FAT32.

It's also a good idea to do a full format on new drives, to make sure they're totally wiped, although if you've
used the disk before and know it's okay, then a quick format will be fine (and also considerably quicker, oddly
enough). After the drive has been formatted, simply follow the on-screen instructions.

DRIVER TIME

Once it's installed, your fresh installation of Windows will still be missing several drivers and will also require
updating from Microsoft's Windows Update site. The order in which you install drivers is quite important, as you
can quite easily mess up a new installation by adding drivers in the wrong order. As a general rule, install the
latest service pack first (if you didn't install using a CD with XP Service Pack 2 already integrated), then the
motherboard's chipset drivers, followed by the latest graphics driver, and any other stragglers, such as audio
and Ethernet, rebooting after each installation.

Once all of your drivers are installed, you can connect to the Internet and start the laborious process of
updating Windows. It sounds obvious, but make sure you've installed anti-virus and firewall applications before
you connect (or at whichever point your broadband installation routine prompts you to do so) and update these
straight away. If you don't already have anti-virus and firewall software, then we recommend Bit Defender
(www.bitdefender.com) and Zone Alarm (www.zonelabs.com), which are both free for home use.

BURN, BABY, BURN

Your new PC should now be up and running, and purring like a kitten. However, in the same way that you
shouldn't buy a new car and immediately burninate it down the motorway at 150mph, you shouldn't immediately
reboot into the BIOS and start overclocking. Instead, it's well worth giving your PC a burning-in period, just to
make sure everything's in order.

The best way to do this is to download Prime95 (www.mersenne.org) and run the torture test for a couple of
hours (ideally overnight). This will put a heavy load on the CPU and memory, which will not only get the
electrons flowing, but also determine if your cooling system can handle the heat. If your PC isn't stable,
Prime95 will soon find out. That said, Prime95 isn't multithreaded, so, to give dual-core systems a proper
workout, it's also worth running two instances of Folding@home. This will run both cores at 100-per-cent load,
which will generate the maximum heat output from the CPU.

You can also do a similar burn-in test for the 3D card by looping a game timedemo or 3DMark05 continuously
for a couple of hours. This will actually stress the 3D card, CPU and memory, which will give you a good idea of
whether the PC can handle intense gaming sessions.

BUILT TO LAST

And that's it, you've built, configured and stress-tested your PC and it's now ready to use. Of course, this is still
just a basic PC, and there are still plenty of tweaks you can carry out to customise and enhance your system,
from adding fan controllers and cold cathodes, to overclocking it for extra speed, all of which will be covered in
our forthcoming feature. But for now, enjoy your PC as it is. Happy building.