Build Your Own Custom PC

410 Pages·2005·11.9 MB·English

by  Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Kathie Kingsley-Hughes

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Build the Ultimate
Custom PC
Adrian W.Kingsley-Hughes
Kathie Kingsley-Hughes
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Build the Ultimate
Custom PC
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Build the Ultimate
Custom PC
Adrian W.Kingsley-Hughes
Kathie Kingsley-Hughes
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For Bruce and Joyce—thanks to for letting us spread computer parts all over your house while we took the
photos for this book.Oh,and thanks for all the cups oftea!
For our kids—you really are the best!
Build the Ultimate Custom PC
Published by
Wiley Publishing,Inc.
10475 Crosspoint Boulevard
Indianapolis,IN 46256
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2006 by Wiley Publishing,Inc.,Indianapolis,Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
ISBN-13:978-0-471-76099-3
ISBN-10:0-471-76099-4
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
1B/RW/RR/QV/IN
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kingsley-Hughes,Adrian.
Build the ultimate custom PC / Adrian W.Kingsley-Hughes,Kathie Kingsley-Hughes.
p.cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13:978-0-471-76099-3 (paper/website)
ISBN-10:0-471-76099-4 (paper/website)
1. Microcomputers—Design and construction—Amateurs’manuals. I.Kingsley-Hughes,Kathie.II.Title.
TK9969.K56 2006
621.39'16—dc22
2005026412
Trademarks:Wiley and related trade dress are registered trademarks of Wiley Publishing,Inc.,in the United States and other countries,
and may not be used without written permission.ExtremeTech and the ExtremeTech logo are trademarks of Ziff Davis Publishing
Holdings,Inc.Used under license.All rights reserved.All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.Wiley Publishing,
Inc.,is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
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About the Authors
Adrian Kingsley-Hughesand Kathie Kingsley-Hugheshave written several successful
technical/PC books on a variety of computer and IT-related topics.They have also developed
numerous successful training manuals and Internet-based courses over nearly a decade.
Along with their day-to-day work,Adrian and Kathie also currently teach online courses for
several training providers.Adrian also teaches several highly successful online courses for
Barnes & Noble University.Together,they have produced courses and materials that have been
used extensively by many Fortune 500 companies and leading universities.
PCs are something that Adrian and Kathie are surrounded by,and when they’re working
they’re either in front of their PCs or tinkering with them and taking them apart.
Put simply,they’re both geeks!
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Credits
Acquisitions Editor Project Coordinator
Katie Mohr Ryan Steffen
Development Editor Graphics and Production Specialists
Jennifer Eberhardt Denny Hager
Jennifer Heleine
Technical Editor Stephanie D.Jumper
Jason Cross Barbara Moore
Production Editor Quality Control Technicians
Felicia Robinson John Greenough
Brian H.Walls
Copy Editor
Foxxe Editorial Services Proofreading and Indexing
TECHBOOKS Production Services
Editorial Manager
Mary Beth Wakefield
Production Manager
Tim Tate
Vice President and Executive Group
Publisher
Richard Swadley
Vice President and Executive Publisher
Joseph B.Wikert
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Contents at a Glance
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvi
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Part I: Choosing Components for Your PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter 1:Staying Safe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Chapter 2:Choosing the Tools You Need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Chapter 3:Choosing a Suitable Case and Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Chapter 4:Choosing a CPU and Motherboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Chapter 5:Choosing the Right RAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Chapter 6:Choosing Hard Drives and Floppy Drives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Chapter 7:Choosing CD/DVD Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Chapter 8:Choosing Video Adaptors and Monitors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Chapter 9:Choosing Sound Capability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Chapter 10:A Tour of Cables and Fittings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Chapter 11:Checking and Testing Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Part II: Building Your PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Chapter 12:Top 10 Things You Don’t Want to Forget before You Begin the Build!. . . . 193
Chapter 13:Assembling the Case and Fitting the PSU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Chapter 14:Fitting the Basic Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Chapter 15:Adding Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Part III: Starting and Testing Your PC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Chapter 16:Fire Up and Burn In. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Chapter 17:Final Tweaks and Installing Windows XP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Chapter 18:Check and Test,Check and Test Again!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Chapter 19:Everything You Need to Know about Warranties and Beyond . . . . . . . . 335
Part IV: Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
Appendix A:Useful Websites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Appendix B:Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Appendix C:Hardware Manufacturers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Appendix D:Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
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