build the ultimate custom pc

[...]... attics; you can build a PC pretty much anywhere, including the outdoors if the weather is nice and there’s not much dust — in fact, about the only place we’d recommend you not try to build a PC is in the bathroom! For those still reading in a book shop, they probably won’t let you build a PC in there either We hope that you enjoy building your PC! Remember, take your time, enjoy the process and... book is about building a PC, a normal, regular PC Whether you end up with a budget PC or a super -PC is up to you and how much you’re willing to spend A PC is a PC, and we leave it up to you to decide what kind of PC you want that to be There’s a lot of jargon in the PC world, and we will lift the veil on the jargon surrounding the components so that you can make the right choices when buying the parts... after the build and give you step-by-step instructions on how to solve the problem and get your system up and running quickly! After the Build Most people get such a real jazz out of building a PC that they feel that they want to share the experience with others This is perfectly normal Given the number of PCs in existence nowadays only a tiny fraction of these have been built by their owners, so building... working environment There’s no need for you to dedicate a whole room or garage to building a PC, but having a good workspace makes the job of building a PC safer and easier Figure 1-1 shows the wrong environment for building a PC, and Figure 1-2 shows the right one FIGURE 1-1: The wrong PC- building environment 7 8 Part I — Choosing Components for Your PC FIGURE 1-2: An example of a good PC- building environment... most dangerous part inside a PC These warnings are there for good reason A PC that’s plugged into the electrical supply can, without doubt, be a dangerous environment But the main thing to realize when building a PC is that for 95% of the time, the PC being built won’t be plugged into the power supply anyway, making it safe to work inside But what about the other 5% of the time? Don’t worry! This book... for the generic tech support you’d otherwise get from the people who assembled the PC And building your own PC isn’t hard! In fact, it’s surprisingly easy! We’ll introduce you to all the parts, explain what they do, guide you through which parts you need, and then show you how to put them all together to make a working PC Who This Book Is For This book is basically for anyone who wants to build a PC. .. chapter you’ve been waiting for! In Chapter 13, “Assembling the Case and Fitting the PSU,” you begin the PC building process, carry out any assembly needed on the case and fit the power supply unit Chapter 14, “Fitting the Basic Parts,” cranks up the building several notches when you add the motherboard, CPU, CPU cooler, RAM, and video card into the PC We show you how to do this in simple steps In Chapter... make it safe to have the system plugged in and running while the case isn’t all buttoned up You can break down the dangers associated with building a PC into two categories: Ⅲ The dangers to you and those around you Ⅲ The dangers to the components that you are assembling into a PC Let’s begin by looking at the most important of these — the dangers to you! Personal Safety Inside a PC is a whole host of... electricity Most of the time when you are working on your PC you don’t need it plugged into the electrical supply That way, no power is going into the PC and the dangers of electrocution are eliminated There may be times when you will want to run your PC without having the case all buttoned up For example, you might want to check out whether all the fans inside the case are spinning properly The best advice... the power socket from the back of the PC, and you make it safe again Ⅲ Equip your workplace with a hanger for the PC power cable For this, a bent over bit of wire will do just fine Make this a visible spot, and remember to hang the power cord on the hanger when working inside the PC (the fluorescent plastic, paper, or fabric tag makes it even easier to spot when the PC is safe!) The following list includes . x0 y0 w1 h0" alt="" Build the Ultimate Custom PC Adrian W. Kingsley-Hughes Kathie Kingsley-Hughes 01_760994 ffirs.qxp 10/28/05 9:50 PM Page iii Build the Ultimate Custom PC 01_760994 ffirs.qxp. to Build the Ultimate Custom PC! If you’re reading this, then chances are that you’re either looking at this book in a book store or you’ve bought the book and you’ve started reading it (the. all the components that go into a PC. We’ll cover all the essential components that are core to a PC and examine their relationship to one another and how the parts come together to cre- ate a PC. This