The Abridged How to Build a PC Guide

There are so many guides about how to build PC's out there that it can be hard to choose the right one. Finding a concise guide that can explain things so they make sense can be even harder.
I have been working with computers for the past 20 years and have been writing guides for the past eight. I wanted to share what I have learned with others in a very clear, and easy to follow guide that you can read in one sitting.

With that concept in mind let's jump right into what you need to know to build your first PC.

01. First, you need to determine what parts you need. The best way to determine the components is to decide what the main use of your PC will be. (Gaming, Multimedia, Office, Business, etc.)

Once you know what it will be used for read some reviews on the best parts for each type of system. Or you can save yourself time by working with a reliable company to set you up with the hardware you need.

02. The computer parts you'll need to build a PC:

Motherboard CPU Memory Power Supply Hard Drive PC Case CD or DVD Rom/RW Video Card (Optional but recommended) Operating System

(Use the list above as a checklist for buying your components.)

03. Once you have read reviews and purchased your parts, you need to start by prepping your motherboard combo. I recommend doing a POST test to make sure your motherboard, CPU, memory, and power supply are all working before installing them into your case.

To do a POST test do a Google search for "How to POST test a motherboard". A good guide should walk you through how to assemble the hardware for the POST test.

04. Once you have POST tested your combo, you can install the parts into your PC case.

Install your Power Supply into your case first. The screw holes on the back should line up with the four screw holes in your case. One is usually offset to ensure proper alignment. Look for the offset screw hole when installing the power supply.

05. Your case comes with brass mounts that screw into the inside of your case. Look at the motherboard, and count the number of silver holes in the board and make a note of their orientation. The brass screws should mirror this placement inside the case for when you mount the motherboard combo.

*** Make sure you remove the IO back-plate that comes with your case and install the back-plate provided with your motherboard. ***

06. Now that the power supply and motherboard combo are installed, look for 2 sets of wires coming off of your power supply. One is a block of 4 wires and the other is a block of 20/24 wires.

These are the main power leads. There are spots to connect these near your CPU and memory. They are "keyed" connections so they will only fit the proper way. (This keeps people from connecting them incorrectly.) Make sure to push the wires in until you feel a click.

07. Now you need to install your hard drive and CD/DVD ROM drives. Make sure to remove any plastic bezels on the front of the case for your ROM drives. Use the screws that came with your case to mount the CD/DVD ROM and hard drive. Make sure the ends of the drives with the cable connections (the pins) are facing the inside of the case.

08. Once the drives are mounted use the IDE (grey ribbon) or SATA (red usually, maybe orange or black) to connect the drives. (Check your hardware documentation or invoice to determine what types of drives you have if you are unsure.) If you are unsure of what these wires look like, check your motherboard manual for documentation.

Connect one end of the wire to the drives and the other end of the wire to the motherboard. These connections are usually located below the memory slots on the motherboard. (The lower right corner of the motherboard.)

Check your motherboard manual for where to connect them if you are unsure.

09. Now connect power leads from the power supply to the drives. SATA power leads look like an "L" shape. IDE leads are 4 wires/pins on a white connection. Once you locate the leads plug them into the drives. These leads are also keyed so they can only be plugged in the correct way.

10. You are almost done. Now check your motherboard manual for how to wire the front panel wiring from your case. These are the four colored wires coming from the front panel.

The proper orientation is usually the colored wire towards the rear of the case. (Of the colored/white or colored/black wires.) Your manual will provide you with the proper orientation for the wires.

Congratulations you have now built your first PC. Recheck your motherboard manual to make sure you have the USB, Firewire and Audio cables hooked up too. (These are usually located off the front panel also.)

Now you can install your operating system. When you boot the system hit the "delete" key to enter the BIOS. Look for an area that says "boot order", and make sure to set the CD/DVD ROM ahead of the hard drive. This will allow you to boot right into the operating system setup.

Once this is done insert your OS disk into your ROM drive and follow the on screen instructions to finish installing your new computer.

See, it's a lot easier than you thought. Most modern day hardware has become very user friendly and is practically plug and play allowing anyone to build own computer. When in doubt refer to manuals and documentation that come with the hardware.

You are now ready to get started. Don't just sit there. Get your hardware and start building your new PC today!



About the Author
CPU Solutions has a ten year history in the computer industry and is ranked as one of the top 30 largest custom system builders by CRN Magazine 2007. We specialize in building custom computer systems for business, home office, gamers, and the PC enthusiast.

Visit our website at: http://www.cpusolutions.com/

My Hydross Wipe

The day my warlock wiped the raid on hydross
First off, when you see the title, you think to yourself, "My Hydross wipe?, how could one person wipe a whole raid?" Well, let me tell you a little back story. First off, i was playing on my alliance warlock, with tier 5ish equivalent gear. Well, you can see for yourself.

Here is a link to My Armory.

Anyhoo, i was cookie cutter raiding warlock spec at the time, (which anyone who is remotely familiar with Warlocks know which spec I'm talking about) 0/21/40 Sac / shadow-destruction, so basically my damage is really high, but my aggro sucks balls.

Alrighty now that you know that, ill do a play by play of My Hydross Wipe.

* Tank Pulls

* I wait

* I wait some more, while other people are dpsing already

* I start off with an immolate

* Here comes the first shadow bolt

* CRIT

* 2nd Shadow Bolt

* big crit

* 3rd Shadow Bolt

* BIG CRIT

* 4th Shadow bolt

* BIG CRIT...pulls boss, everyone dies

Here is the video i just so happened to have taken.

Now, watching this video, you may think that i was ashamed, but for some reason i am really proud of myself that i wiped the entire raid with 4 shadow bolts. Well folks,(lol, know ones knows of this blog yet) that was my hydross wipe.

Taken from this blog My World of Warcraft Life: My Hydross Wipe



About the Author
An avid gamer, interested in all things tech

Spore Creature Creator

Spore Creature Creator
Well, i know this isn't anything to do with World of Warcraft, but it is something that I'm interested in; It's the Spore Creature Creator. The Spore Creature Creator is sort of like the little mini game that is suppose to get people pumped up to buy Spore when it comes out, which it does quite well.

The first thing you do after installing and booting up the game is register with Spore.com and Sporepedia. (which is awesome, more on that later) After you register you are let loose onto the creature creator with nothing but your imagination to guide you, which is pretty much enough, because the Spore Creature Creator's controls are so easy to learn and pick up. The fist thing you see on your screen is a big mass of what looks like colored clay to your right and a big long list of what looks like parts to your left. When you click the blob it turns out not to be a blog at all, but the body of your soon to be creature, which you can elongate, fatten, or basically do anything you want to do with it.

Now off i go just grabbing parts and sticking them on, and off, on and off, and on and off again until i got a creature that look decent enough, but it's still the same plain color of green, so I'm wondering how I'm going to color it. Well, that question lasted all the three seconds it took me to look up at the big paint brush. I click the paint brush and paint my Creature, which was super easy, but could be more complicated if you ask me. All in all, i encourage anyone to pick up Spore Creature Creator and try it out for themselves, the combinations are endless.


Here is a link to the blog about Spore Creature Creator




About the Author
an avid gamer, interested in all things tech

Ninja Pandas With Bamboo Guns

Ninja Pandas With Bamboo Guns
So i was thinking to myself today, "Ninja Pandas With Bamboo Guns" would be really awesome. I mean think about it, these big quit unassuming creatures, just hanging around eating leaves and then suddenly they turn into "Ninja Pandas With Bamboo Guns" that just slaughter everything around before you know what's happening. Just imagine the sounds of those Bamboo Guns, like the slight sound of a paint ball gun right before your horribly agonizing demise at the hands of the Pandas.

I think they would be like the ninja turtles, except you know, they are pandas, they would kill mercilessly, and have a smile on there face while doing it. I mean if i had to die, that's probably how i would want to go out, with a ninja panda shuriken in my heart or something.

Well, anways that's my randomness for the day, just remember, whenever you think you're safe, you're not, because the Ninja Pandas with Bamboo Guns are watching.....and waiting.

here is a link to Full Article



About the Author
an avid gamer, interested in all things tech

In Technology, Size Does Matter

What do the newest mobile phones and cameras all have in common? It's something very small which is making a big difference to amateur and professional photographers, film makers, and music fans everywhere - it is the microSD memory card.
The small phone, camera and mp3 player memory cards which we are offering at microSD-cards.com weigh almost nothing and are no bigger than the size of your fingernail. But don't let that fool you.

They can provide up to 8gb of storage space and at a reasonable price, even at the top end of the market. Amateurs will find their needs taken care of as well, with sizes of under 1gb also available if you aren't planning on using as much space as a professional photographer.

The microSD card is a big thing in a small space. The card is revolutionising the world of media storage and is now the standard memory technology in new phones such as the Samsung E900, and new cameras like the Canon EOS 1000D due for release in July. The cards are built for fast access and are designed to store media files including professional photography, video and music.

Cards bought from us at microSD-cards.com are seen in modern mobile phones, but they have also broken in to the video game console market, and are now often seen integrated in to mp3 players, and even global positioning systems.

Our cards are the industry leaders - their tiny size combined with support for a host of different media types ensure this, and research suggests microSD cards are going to become increasingly more popular and present in most new technology over the next few years.

By 2011, over 85% of mobile handsets shipped will be using the microSD system, according to iSuppli Corporation, leading electronic consultants. The cards, as well as providing a huge capacity and breathtakingly fast access speeds, can also provide copyright protection for your work. The Content Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM) system, developed by leading electronics companies such as Intel and IBM has proved hugely successful in DVD copy prevention. The card can only be read and written to in its protection area when connected to the right device, giving you, the artist, the security you deserve.

The question is, can you afford to take the risk of running out of memory on that important photo shoot, or when you want to record that special moment in your life that may just be around the corner. Avoid messages like 'internal memory full' or 'cannot save' by investing in a microSD chip used by the professionals, at extremely competitive prices from microSD-cards.com.

Whether you are a photographer looking to go professional, or an amateur who is finding you never have enough space on your mobile phone or digital SLR camera, you can be sure that the microSD card will provide you with the raw space, data access speed, and security that you need to ensure that your artistic side can flourish without worrying about your capacity to save.



About the Author
Anita Johansen is a writer for microsd-cards.com

Microsoft Dynamics GP Reseller in LA and San Diego metropolitan area, California

Microsoft Dynamics GP fits to mid-size and larger businesses in Southern California: Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego. Our company serves you locally from the office in Carlsbad, north of San Diego and just South of Orange County. Great Plains implementation methodology review:
1. GP software licenses sale. You can only purchase Dynamics GP licenses through GP VAR or certified partner. Each GP partner or ISV has unique set of skills and specializations, so you should do your MBS partner selection appropriately. If your company is local business in Southern CA, then the first criteria might be finding local Microsoft Great Plains Reseller. However if your ERP implementation requires custom logic and complex integration, you can make technical expertise more important in selection

2. Implementation phases. Typical implementation is divided into several phases: GP installation, initial data conversion or entering beginning balances, user training (often precise, as your business processes dictate), switching to production mode (sometimes customers prefer running legacy accounting and newly implemented GP in parallel for one month to compare results)

3. Integrations and EDI. As new ERP should coexist with your remaining legacy applications, integrating often is a plan. In GP you have following integration tools: GP Integration Manager, eConnect, SQL Stored Procedures, Great Plains Dexterity (which is also one of the major tolls for customizations). Simple Electronic Document Interchange could be realized via SQL Stored Procedures with precise field formatting

4. Alba Spectrum specialization. Our company is strong in technology challenging projects, where you need advanced custom programming, cross- platform integrations and reporting. We also carry strong industry expertise and advise on ERP platform selection: GP, SAP Business One, MS CRM, etc. For Southern CA area, our local consultants are bilingual and speak English and Spanish, meaning that we are good fit if you are doing business across the border in Maquiladora manufacturing belt or downstate Mexico



About the Author
Andrew Karasev, Alba Spectrum http://www.albaspectrum.com help@albaspectrum.com 1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918, serving Great Plains USA and Canada nationwide. Local service in Chicago, Houston, Dallas, San Diego. Please visit our information portal Pegas Planet: http://www.pegasplanet.com

The Amazing Quad Core Computer

Let us discuss the two main quad core computers launched by Intel and AMD. Intel was the first one to launch this computer under the name of Kentsfield, which is also called Core 2 Extreme quad-core QX6700, and it is no less than 80% faster than Conroe or Core 2 Extreme X6800.
The chips of these quad core computers are based on the latest `Core` micro architecture technology. It is not just low powered but also gives high performance. But don`t be fooled into thinking that Kentsfield is a power-saving computer by any means.

This computer with a 2.66GHz chip having a 1066MHz front-side bus (FSB) is ideally suited for those users that require heavy or highly accurate scientific calculations. It is generally used in the fields of actuarial sciences, digital content creation, financial applications and engineering analysis, like CAD. The director of Intel`s operations for digital enterprise group, Mr. Steve Smith, has claimed that this quad core computer will be 58% faster for crating digital content system, and for video, digital audio and photo editing.

To talk in simple words, Kentsfield and other such computers are not meant for ordinary people`s desk. They are more suited for high-tech workstations and desktops. It will not be wise to think that the average customer who needs a computer for general applications like word, PowerPoint, games or internet and etc., will go for a complex, complicated and expensive computer like this. For these purposes, there are many other types of products made by Intel. Apart from this, as you must have guessed by now that this high-tech computer needs a lot of power and this feature makes it practically useless for people on the go. Perhaps it will take some more research and modifications before the quad core computer becomes popular as a laptop.

Intel has launched the mainstream and commercial version of these computers. This computer is known as Core 2 Quad Q6600. It runs at 2.4GHz and it is currently priced at around $210. This budget quad-core computer is estimated to have a somewhat smaller thermal envelope, and will be at 105 watts as compared to 130 watts of the Kentsfield Core 2 Extreme quad-core QX6700.

AMD`s Quad Core computer is built on a 65mn process. They are using a new technology called Silicon-on-Insulator process. It allows faster transistors that have lower power leakage to be easily used and this unique feature helps greatly in reducing wasted heat and power. For more energy saving, each core of this computer is allowed to run at entirely different speeds or can be turned off totally with the help of the new `Enhanced Power Now` feature. This computer is also packed with an enhanced `Crossbar Switch` that enables the users to access different parts of cores at the same time. Some other vital features include the integrated memory controller along with the latest `Direct Connect Architecture 2.0` that allows much faster `Hyper Transport` speeds.

Though these features can extract exclamations of wonder and happiness from any geek but the fact remains that for the average PC buyer, this still means Latin and Greek. Definitely many more core computers using this technology are on their way and will revolutionize the computer industry but it will be some time before people embrace this technology as a part and parcel of their life. Computer makers claim that within a few years the popularity of quad core computers will triple itself.



About the Author
This article can also be accessed in portuguese from the Article section of page http://www.polomercantil.com.br/computador-pc.php

Roberto Sedycias works as IT consultant for http://www.polomercantil.com.br

Installing Webalizer on Ubuntu (Gusty)

Installing Webalizer on Ubuntu (Gusty)
Webalizer is a nice application that can give you plenty of stats about your web server(s)

Read about more great tips at http://install-use-ubuntu.gotdns.com/category/how-to/

Now on to the process!

Run:

root@blaster:~# apt-get install webalizer

There was a problem with webalizer looking in the wrong place for my Apache logs.

root@blaster:~# webalizer

Webalizer V2.01-10 (Linux 2.6.22-14-386) locale: en_US.UTF-8

Error: Can't open log file /var/log/apache2/access.log.1

root@blaster:~# vi /etc/webalizer/webalizer.conf

My apache log file is in access.log, not access.log.1. Make that change and then fire off webalizer. (run /usr/bin/webalizer)

root@blaster:~# webalizer

Webalizer V2.01-10 (Linux 2.6.22-14-386) locale: en_US.UTF-8

Using logfile /var/log/apache2/access.log (clf)

Using default GeoIP database

Creating output in /var/www/webalizer

Hostname for reports is 'blaster'

History file not found...

Generating report for June 2008

Generating summary report

Saving history information...

673 records (11 ignored) in 3.00 seconds, 224/sec

Now open your browser to: http://install-use-ubuntu.gotdns.com/webalizer (or http://localhost/webalizer ...your hostname)

I would suggest adding /usr/bin/webalizer to cron daily to keep the information up to date and if you forget, your logs may roll and you may lose valuable information.

run: crontab -e and put in the last line for webalizer. I am running it at 1:05am each morning.

root@blaster:~# crontab -l

# m h dom mon dow command

30 2 * * * /usr/bin/do_rsync

5 1 * * * /usr/bin/webalizer



About the Author
Unix/Linux Specialist from way back. More helpful tips here!

http://install-use-ubuntu.gotdns.com