Welcome to the EasyPCBuilder Master Course, where we offer 80 pages of the latest and most relevant details about how to choose your parts to build a computer and understand how each component relates to each other. This course will guide you through considerations of purchasing individual computer parts in detail, and aims to answer any and all questions that you have about purchasing and preparing parts to build a computer. This information is designed to be utilised in with support of the EasyPCBuilder videos available on the EasyPCBuilder website and YouTube channel which show you how to subsequently assemble your computer, and install your operating system on it. This document when used with our online videos, will ensure that you can not only learn, but become the master of computer building, building an enhanced, well rounded understanding of what is inside a computer, what makes it work, and how it all goes together. A personal thank you for purchasing this Master Guide, watching the EasyPCBuilder build videos and for supporting the website. Scroll below to start the EasyPCBuilder Master Course! 2016 EasyPCBuilder.com All rights reserved Page i
Introduction This book has been written for people wanting to learn, with a conscious effort made to avoid discussion of overly technical concepts and their related complex numerical analysis. This ntroduction to Computer B aims to encompass the concepts and detail as seen as relevant for new and intermediate builders. This Master Course has been created in efforts to excite and motivate, to aide your learning and understanding in the genre of Computer Building and its associated fields (Electrical, Electronic, Software design and analysis). As we were once new builders the field, we found some texts and analysis to be overly technical and intimidating, and have put the utmost effort into removing these barriers and any other items that have been seen as unnecessary or irrelevant for new and intermediate builders. The content of this book may be criticised by experts for its omission of specialised detail in some technical areas, where we have kept numerical analysis and overly complex details either brief or omitted in some areas. In these areas, we have aimed to provide educated and accurate assessments, stated in an accessible manner, summarising these technical concepts as clearly and concisely as possible. We aim to keep the concepts simple, providing relevancy, giving you a broad, general understanding, overview and analysis of this field. We have written this Master Guide to ensure that primary computer building concepts are communicated in a form that is readily understandable, which you can relate and build upon. This is the manner upon which we initially learnt, and then built upon these fundamentals with complex analysis after we had a firm understanding of the basic principles of the field. We hope that this book finds you well and that you gain your desired knowledge today, enabling you to create tomorrow, and indefinitely from herein. We hope that this book assists you in many ways on your journey forward. Kind Regards, 2016 EasyPCBuilder.com All rights reserved Page ii
The EasyPCBuilder Master Course Contents 1. General Build Information... 1 What tools you will need?... 1 Why use an anti-static wrist band? Will I be fine without one?... 1 Where do you connect the Anti-static wrist band to the case?... 2 Ground and Anti-Static Wrist Straps... 2 Further References... 2 Do the screws and mounting hardware come with the case or motherboard?... 3 2. Computer Case Types... 5 Defining case size - The Motherboard Form Factor... 5 Why do different form factor types exist?... 5 Mini ITX cases... 6 HTPC (Home Theatre PC) cases... 7 Micro ATX Case... 7 ATX Mid Tower... 8 -tower... 9 3. Computer Case Considerations... 10 Graphics Card Length... 10 CPU Cooler Height... 11 What is your power supply type and size?... 11 How many Hard Drives, Solid State Drives, DVD Drives will you use?... 12 Perspex Case Side... 12 Motherboard Risers / Standoffs... 12 Motherboard riser positions... 14 4. The Computer Motherboard... 16 The Motherboard Chipset... 16 Central Processing Unit (CPU) interface... 19 1x16 lane or 2x8 lane or 1x8 AND 2x4 PCI-Express 3.0 Graphics... 19 Motherboards with on board/on-chip graphics... 21 DDR4/DDR3L Up to 2133/1600MHz... 21 RAM installation to motherboards - Dual and Quad Channel RAM... 22 RAM and PCI-E 3.0 Graphics interfacing directly to the CPU... 24 Up to 20x PCI Express 3.0 lanes... 25 2016 EasyPCBuilder.com All rights reserved Page iv
6x SATA Ports... 26 Up to 10x USB 3.0 Ports, 14x USB 2.0 Ports... 27 Additional features that interface to your motherboard chipset:... 27 5. Central Processing Unit (CPU)... 29 CPU Misconceptions... 29 CPU Cores... 29... 30 CPU Clock Rate (Frequency)... 30... 30 CPU and Program Instruction set length (32bit x86 vs 64 bit x64)... 31... 31 6. CPU Heatsinks... 32 Variations of CPU cooler types... 32 7. Random Access Memory (RAM)... 34 The role of RAM in the computer system... 34 RAM Frequency... 34 Defining RAM quantities for computer roles... 36 Low Profile RAM... 38 DDR RAM Voltages: DDR2, DDR3, DDR4.... 38 ets... 38 Dual/Quad Channel Memory and its purpose... 39 CAS Latency (CL)... 39 Further notes about RAM... 40 8. Graphics Cards... 41... 41 Standalone Graphics Cards... 42 Standalone Graphics Card Primary Considerations... 42 Graphics processor type... 42 Chipset Core clock and Boost clock... 43 Graphics Card RAM Type and Frequency... 43 Graphics Card Memory RAM Size... 44 Graphics Card Cooling system... 45 9. Hard Disk Drives (HDD) and Solid State Drives (SSD)... 47 Hard Drives Explained... 47 Solid State Drives explained... 48 2016 EasyPCBuilder.com All rights reserved Page v
What to store on your HDD and SSD?... 49 HDD and SSD form factors... 50 HDD and SSD interfaces... 51 IDE / Parallel Data Interface Standard... 51 Serial ATA (SATA) data interface standard... 52 Why is Series (SATA) faster than existing Parallel (IDE) transfer?... 53 SATA 2.0 (3Gb/s), SATA 3.0 (6Gb/s) and recommended device assignments... 54 10. CD Drives and DVD drives... 55 General Role... 55 Installing an Operating System without a CD/DVD Drive... 55 11. Computer Power Supplies... 56 Power supplies and 80+ Certification... 56 Power Supply Power Rating (Idle and Peak)... 57 General power consumption for Office Computers... 57 General power consumption for Gaming Computers... 57 Power Supply Fans... 58 Power Supply Fan Sizes... 59 Modular Power Supply Cables... 59 Power Supply Connector Types... 60 Motherboard (24 pin power connector)... 60 CPU power connector (4 or 8 pin)... 60 GPU power (6 or 8 pin)... 61 SATA Power... 62 Molex (near superseded)... 62 CPU and GPU Power Adapters... 62 12. Computer Sound Cards... 64 Digital to Analogue convertors... 64 Amplification... 65 USB D to A convertors... 66 Sound Cards Summary... 67 13. Other Considerations... 68 Wireless connection for your PC... 68 14. Conclusion... 69 15. BONUS - EasyPCBuilder Peripheral Recommendations... 70 Dell UltraSharp Monitors... 70 2016 EasyPCBuilder.com All rights reserved Page vi