Can anyone point me in the right directions of any websites to help me learn about pc building please?
thanks dave.
thanks dave.
Build your own PC?
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There are many sites and forums you can hunt round that can offer advice and articles on starting from scratch right through to the ins and outs of tinkering, overclocking and custom builds.
I am a long-time member of forums.hexus.net where advice is readily available although there are no specific guides.
I'd also recommend forums.bit-tech.net where their guide http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=173675 is probably as good a starting point as any.
One of the great things about such forums is that they include everyone from beginners through to seasoned system builders. This means if you want to build a PC for the kids to surf with, a gaming power-house or a subtle media centre for the front room, there's advice and experience in abundance.
Just like on these forums I'd advise you have a good idea of budget and intended purpose so that when you post your questions the locals have a good point of reference from which to offer the best advice they can.
Other than that best of luck!
I hope you throughly enjoy it
I am a long-time member of forums.hexus.net where advice is readily available although there are no specific guides.
I'd also recommend forums.bit-tech.net where their guide http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=173675 is probably as good a starting point as any.
One of the great things about such forums is that they include everyone from beginners through to seasoned system builders. This means if you want to build a PC for the kids to surf with, a gaming power-house or a subtle media centre for the front room, there's advice and experience in abundance.
Just like on these forums I'd advise you have a good idea of budget and intended purpose so that when you post your questions the locals have a good point of reference from which to offer the best advice they can.
Other than that best of luck!
I hope you throughly enjoy it
i build pc's myself although i havent used any websites for it becuase iv been doing it for 10 years or so. but if you need advice on anything feel free to message me
Check out SilentPCReview (http://www.silentpcreview.com/), however, keep in mind that this might turn into another obsession.
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/
Can be quite helpful, lot of people building for music systems there too.
Can be quite helpful, lot of people building for music systems there too.
Thanks everyone for your replys and help, ill have a look at what i want and have a look at places mentioned. Just fancy a new challenge and thought this would be a good one!
dave
dave
reggaedave:
Thanks everyone for your replys and help, ill have a look at what i want and have a look at places mentioned. Just fancy a new challenge and thought this would be a good one!
dave
I'd have a significantly better hifi were it not for all my PC gubbins!
Have fun
Thanks everyone for your replys and help, ill have a look at what i want and have a look at places mentioned. Just fancy a new challenge and thought this would be a good one!
dave
I'd have a significantly better hifi were it not for all my PC gubbins!
Have fun
I built my own PC last year from scratch, and I used the Haynes "Build Your Own Computer" 2007 edition book as my reference quide.
Looked at loads of sites regarding the hardware i.e cost, performance, ratings etc. and ended up buying everything from one shop.
I'd tinkered before, changing fans, adding hard drives etc. but never a full PC. It was good fun putting it together, and that moment when you switch it on for the first time and hope it works was quite tense!
.
Looked at loads of sites regarding the hardware i.e cost, performance, ratings etc. and ended up buying everything from one shop.
I'd tinkered before, changing fans, adding hard drives etc. but never a full PC. It was good fun putting it together, and that moment when you switch it on for the first time and hope it works was quite tense!
.
My last advice is to always built a PC for its current purpose. The market advances so quickly that - no matter what some hardware kidos might proclaim - you cannot buy 'future proof' components.
Also, the less energy your PC consumes, the less heat is produces and cooling will be easier. Consequently, that means your fans can spin slower, which allows for a quiet computer.
Also, the less energy your PC consumes, the less heat is produces and cooling will be easier. Consequently, that means your fans can spin slower, which allows for a quiet computer.
one of my most important wants, is a quiet computer. On an acer laptop, fans so noisey its terrible, thats why i want to build a pc, and i want it to be silent as possible, any hints..
Plenty of hints and tips.
Generally PC noise comes from fans drives.
Fans tend to be quieter the larger you go but too big and they don't generate enough air pressure to shift heat out of the case. The sweet spot is currently 120mm for PC case fans although 92mm are ok and a few 80mm are worth considering. Avoid 60mm fans - they whine.
The problem with laptops is their tiny fans make a racket when you really use the machine. If the machine naturally vented heat better or used more efficient components then fans would need to do less work and you'd be a happier camper.
In a desktop you'll want to look for a case with good airflow that preferrably has at least one 120mm input fan pointing across the hard drives and space for another 120mm fan in the rear to pull air away from the CPU. Fan vents in the case side over the CPU and graphics cards can also help but the more fans you have the more noise you generate and for a media PC you'd hope the components don't need the extra cooling.
The CPU cooler is another good place to invest. Most OEM cooler are perfectly good for general use but can be improved upon. A carefully chosen CPU cooler will not only keep the CPU nice and cool but run quieter and help cool the rest of the case.
Finally on fans for the minute - the PSU is another noisy fan user so don't skimp on it. Some cases mount the PSU in the bottom of the case which can be great (if it's not on thick carpet!) because it draws air though the PSU and straight out the case thereby keeping the innards cooler.
Top mounted PSU's draw case air out through themselves so can help cooling - particularily useful in smaller cases with limited fans.
Air cooling can be very effective and for media PC's should be more than enough. However if you have the patience, cash and proper desire to tinker then watercooling can prove even more effective. It doesn't eliminate fans completely as the radiators require them but is much more efficient.
As for drive noise look for a case that offers rubber gommit mounting for drives so vibrations are not transferred to the case. This can also be added later.
If you've the cash then you could opt for solid-state drives (SSD's) with no moving parts but the cost per Gb is still prohibitive for large media storage applications. It may be better to use slower 5400rpm disc drives to get the best cost vs noise.
Last few tips for now:
1. Neat and tidy cabling maximises air flow, keeps the temps down and means fans can run slower. Look for a case with extra cable routing options to help achieve this.
2. Graphics cards kick out huge heat but top-end cards (the hottest) are not necessary for media use. Less powerful cards such as the now defunct Sapphire Radeon HD4650 offer passive cooling but can output HD for media use. However this relies on well planned case cooling.
3. Side mount hard-drive cages are easier to use but if designed badly will badly hinder air-flow through the case - especially if you only have one 120mm input fan. Read forums and reviews of your planned purchase carefully or you'll still have fast-spinning noisy fans.
4. You can make fans quieter with a fan controller. These range from a few pounds up but will vary the voltage supplied to your fans and therefore the speed they spin. This will give you direct control over the noise to heat ratio in your PC.
Do you know what you want to do with your PC?
Generally PC noise comes from fans drives.
Fans tend to be quieter the larger you go but too big and they don't generate enough air pressure to shift heat out of the case. The sweet spot is currently 120mm for PC case fans although 92mm are ok and a few 80mm are worth considering. Avoid 60mm fans - they whine.
The problem with laptops is their tiny fans make a racket when you really use the machine. If the machine naturally vented heat better or used more efficient components then fans would need to do less work and you'd be a happier camper.
In a desktop you'll want to look for a case with good airflow that preferrably has at least one 120mm input fan pointing across the hard drives and space for another 120mm fan in the rear to pull air away from the CPU. Fan vents in the case side over the CPU and graphics cards can also help but the more fans you have the more noise you generate and for a media PC you'd hope the components don't need the extra cooling.
The CPU cooler is another good place to invest. Most OEM cooler are perfectly good for general use but can be improved upon. A carefully chosen CPU cooler will not only keep the CPU nice and cool but run quieter and help cool the rest of the case.
Finally on fans for the minute - the PSU is another noisy fan user so don't skimp on it. Some cases mount the PSU in the bottom of the case which can be great (if it's not on thick carpet!) because it draws air though the PSU and straight out the case thereby keeping the innards cooler.
Top mounted PSU's draw case air out through themselves so can help cooling - particularily useful in smaller cases with limited fans.
Air cooling can be very effective and for media PC's should be more than enough. However if you have the patience, cash and proper desire to tinker then watercooling can prove even more effective. It doesn't eliminate fans completely as the radiators require them but is much more efficient.
As for drive noise look for a case that offers rubber gommit mounting for drives so vibrations are not transferred to the case. This can also be added later.
If you've the cash then you could opt for solid-state drives (SSD's) with no moving parts but the cost per Gb is still prohibitive for large media storage applications. It may be better to use slower 5400rpm disc drives to get the best cost vs noise.
Last few tips for now:
1. Neat and tidy cabling maximises air flow, keeps the temps down and means fans can run slower. Look for a case with extra cable routing options to help achieve this.
2. Graphics cards kick out huge heat but top-end cards (the hottest) are not necessary for media use. Less powerful cards such as the now defunct Sapphire Radeon HD4650 offer passive cooling but can output HD for media use. However this relies on well planned case cooling.
3. Side mount hard-drive cages are easier to use but if designed badly will badly hinder air-flow through the case - especially if you only have one 120mm input fan. Read forums and reviews of your planned purchase carefully or you'll still have fast-spinning noisy fans.
4. You can make fans quieter with a fan controller. These range from a few pounds up but will vary the voltage supplied to your fans and therefore the speed they spin. This will give you direct control over the noise to heat ratio in your PC.
Do you know what you want to do with your PC?
I really recommend browsing the slientpcreview articles. There are lots of recommended components to chose from. I don't know what case preferences you have, nor what programmes you run. If all you do is browse the internet and play music, you might as well go for an Asus eeeBox202, which has been tested as whisper-quiet.
Those guys use an anechoic chamber, so they really know what they're doing.
Those guys use an anechoic chamber, so they really know what they're doing.
The build spec and therefore required budget of your Pc is going to vary wildly depending on its intended use.
The only individual applications that will ever really stretch a Pc are video editing and competitive internet gaming, so any other use will allow a cheaper build, as you won't be needing the very fastest VGA cards or CPUs, etc.
There is no need to fear a Pc build, as all the components are modular and the provided instructions are fool proof.
The only individual applications that will ever really stretch a Pc are video editing and competitive internet gaming, so any other use will allow a cheaper build, as you won't be needing the very fastest VGA cards or CPUs, etc.
There is no need to fear a Pc build, as all the components are modular and the provided instructions are fool proof.
Asus eeeBox202
I like the look of this, but theres loads on e bay at the moment, can anyone have a look and suggest one! . In your own time mind...
cheers dave
I like the look of this, but theres loads on e bay at the moment, can anyone have a look and suggest one! . In your own time mind...
cheers dave
If you are considering a nettop please be aware they really don't directly compare to a standard PC in performance terms. On of the best reviews I've read of such a device, including a little nettop history, can be found here: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2009/11/11/viewsonic-vot-132-review/1.
A nettop to me needs to stream all my media files and not all single core atom-cpu based nettops were particularily successful.
I'm not saying don't buy one, they're certainly very neat machines, just make sure you do so with your eyes open.
A nettop to me needs to stream all my media files and not all single core atom-cpu based nettops were particularily successful.
I'm not saying don't buy one, they're certainly very neat machines, just make sure you do so with your eyes open.
Asus eeeBox202
Ive just bought one of these. With 2gb of ram upgrade. Ill have a play with this while i look into building a tower pc (it will take a bit of research). This will end up upstairs and tower pc down eventually. Vimeous what do you mean by streaming your media? how does it do that...
learning slowly..
cheers dave
Ive just bought one of these. With 2gb of ram upgrade. Ill have a play with this while i look into building a tower pc (it will take a bit of research). This will end up upstairs and tower pc down eventually. Vimeous what do you mean by streaming your media? how does it do that...
learning slowly..
cheers dave
reggaedave:
Asus eeeBox202
Ive just bought one of these. With 2gb of ram upgrade. Ill have a play with this while i look into building a tower pc (it will take a bit of research). This will end up upstairs and tower pc down eventually. Vimeous what do you mean by streaming your media? how does it do that...
learning slowly..
cheers dave
Not sure what he meant with streaming media, but the Atom processors lack the computing power to decode full-HD material without stutter. This is also dependent on the codec used for video-compression and since you only want to use it as a music source, this shouldn't be of much concern.
Asus eeeBox202
Ive just bought one of these. With 2gb of ram upgrade. Ill have a play with this while i look into building a tower pc (it will take a bit of research). This will end up upstairs and tower pc down eventually. Vimeous what do you mean by streaming your media? how does it do that...
learning slowly..
cheers dave
Not sure what he meant with streaming media, but the Atom processors lack the computing power to decode full-HD material without stutter. This is also dependent on the codec used for video-compression and since you only want to use it as a music source, this shouldn't be of much concern.
Appologies for the confusion. I was using streaming with regard to using a nettop or similar device in the front room to play media stored on a PC or network storage device elsewhere in the house.
I my case I have a PC in my study with all my media files. Audio (FLAC/MP3 etc) then gets played from the PC via my Squeezebox in the lounge to the amp while movies/videos are played by the XBox to the same.
A nettop should be able to play both audio and video. As Cistron says though single-core Atom CPU's aren't really up to playing HD. Also for HD content you may need to ensure you have a fully cabled network or 802.11n wireless to give the transfer speed required. I've not tried HD content wirelessly yet.
The Asus is a great little device that will hopefully be perfect for you needs right now 🙂
I my case I have a PC in my study with all my media files. Audio (FLAC/MP3 etc) then gets played from the PC via my Squeezebox in the lounge to the amp while movies/videos are played by the XBox to the same.
A nettop should be able to play both audio and video. As Cistron says though single-core Atom CPU's aren't really up to playing HD. Also for HD content you may need to ensure you have a fully cabled network or 802.11n wireless to give the transfer speed required. I've not tried HD content wirelessly yet.
The Asus is a great little device that will hopefully be perfect for you needs right now 🙂
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