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A great many of the folks who land on Tom's Hardware are already deeply passionate

about technology and PC hardware. But we know that others are looking tolearn more .

We're an inclusie bunch. !o if you'e neer built your own PC" fear not. #ur editorial

team does it all of the time" and we're happy to walk you through the steps" starting

with picking the right parts.

There's a good chance that" een if you haen't gotten your hands dirty inside of a

case" you still hae a basic knowledge of the components that go inside. $%perienced

builders often hae their ideal configuration in mind before they choose a case. But

een a seasoned pro needs to be sure that eerything's going to fit inside the right

chassis. And of course" enclosures ary depending on what you want to do with your PC

. Home theater systems" all&in&ones" flashy gaming bo%es" and business&oriented

workstations all hae their own reuirements.

Traditional cases follow the si(e categories below. Howeer" more modern designs tend

to stray from those well&defined standards in the name of differentiation. )id&tower

designs" for e%ample" are now found in nearly full&tower scale. To make matters more

confusing" they can een be referred to as full towers" een if they lack the drie bays

inside that used to define the form factor .

Traditional Case !i(es

Type Full Tower Mid Tower Mini TowerMiniCube

Desktop

Height *+&*, inches+-&+inches

+*&+,inches

-& inches /&- inches

Width 0&1 inches 0&1 inches 0&1 inches 1& inches +,&+- inches

2.*23 bays ,& /&0 +&* +&* +&/

/.23 internal bays 0&+* *&0 +&* +&* *&,

)otherboard 4orm4actor

AT5" $AT5 AT5 microAT5 mini&6T5AT5"microAT5

Card slots !een !een 4our Two *&-

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Power supplyP!7* orlarger

P!7* P!7* or !45!45 orT45

8arious

Full towers were traditionally tall enough to hold two power supplies" though many

had a second hard drie rack where you might e%pect to find the top power supply. The

interior space of a full&tower chassis is useful in some configurations9 howeer" most

mainstream users :and een most enthusiasts; simply don't hae enough hardware  to

fill it.

A better <ustification for picking a full tower is that the top bays are easier to reach

when the case is sitting on your floor. A modern e%ample of the traditional full

tower"=osewill>s Blackhawk ?ltra" is the right&most case in the image below.

ATX mid-towers are usually capable of holding full&si(ed motherboards" full&si(ed

power supplies" seeral full&si(ed optical dries :@8@ and Blu&ray burners;" and multiple

hard dries. Well&designed units like the Cooler )aster !torm $nforcer :aboe&left; are

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well&suited for gaming and ideo enthusiasts" simply because they support a greater

number of e%pansion cards and hard dries than smaller units. A comparison of our

current case reiews to models from ten years ago show that good ideas stand the test

of time.

A ma<ority of cases gie you room for seen expansion slots  around back. Typically"

that's enough for a couple of graphics cards" add&in sound" and een back&panel

brackets e%posing ?!B or e!ATA connectiity. But let's say you loe your games" and

you're dead&set on building a system with three or een four graphics cards. !pecifically

seeking out an AT5 case with eight or more e%pansion slots might be necessary" since

high&performance cards hae thick cooling solutions that use the case>s slot hole for

support and entilation.

MicroATX mini-towers are nearly as ersatile as mid&towers in applications  ranging

from office workhorses to high&end liuid&cooled !6&powered gaming

monsters because of their less&imposing profile and easier trasportability. )ini&towers

typically support one or two optical dries and one or two hard dries" and the

microAT5 form factor supports a ma%imum of four e%pansion slots. All of those

limitations are acceptable for most users.

Mini-ITX cubes typically support a single e%pansion cards and only the smallest power

supplies" though the slightly&oersi(ed ian i PC&1 aboe :center; supports larger

parts. =elying mostly on integrated features and capabilities" these space&saing

enclosures were once only good as office& and productiity&oriented platforms. Dow"

thanks to more efficient host and graphics processors" we also hae access to ultra&

compact gaming machines and home theater consoles. Though you'll commonly see

these referred to as Esmall form factorF" the term form factor is better applied to the

mini&6T5 motherboard found inside. 8ariations of the cube aesthetic alternatiely

support AT5 and microAT5 form factors.

4ormerly used to raise small C=T monitors up to eye leel on flat desks"

today>shorizontal desktop cases are mostly restyled for home theater systems. They

range from the gaming&themed mini&6T5 =aen =8G+ :pictured bottom&center" aboe;

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to the eight&inch&tall full&AT5 pedestals laying on their sides. )any of the slimmer

models use special half&height e%pansion cards" though the model pictured aboe uses

a right&angle adapter :called a riser card; to situate a full&si(ed graphics card sideways.

6f e%pansion is important to you" beware of models that use a custom&si(ed powersupply" as those may not be upgradeable.

Want something smaller The yellow bo% aboe is the most compact unit we>e tested

to truly ualify as a performance&oriented machine. Called the Bri% Pro" it holds

twonotebook&si(ed memory modules" an on&board m!ATA !!@" and a *.2F notebook

drie. !horter single&drie units are aailable with similarly scaled&down performance"

and 6ntel een <umped on the tiny bandwagon with its similar&appearing D?C :De%t ?nit

IofJ Computing; form factor. )ost of these machines are aailable either as a

barebones system :no dries or memory; or a complete PC" and all of them use

e%ternal" notebook&style power adapters.

Processor selection can be summed up in three wordsK performance " power" and price.

#ur Best Gamin C!"s For The Mone# column includes general performance and

pricing data that applies to both gamers and non&gamers alike" and additional

performance data is found in our C!" !er$ormance Charts. 6t>s also important to

know that when our gaming gurus recommend an oerclockable EunlockedF processor"

the non&oerclockable ersion may offer the same standard&speed performance for less

money. #erclocking is a group of techniues designed to push a part>s freuency

beyond its designed operational parameters :oltage" heat" etc;.

Those same CP? charts show idle and peak power draw" and specific power draw under

arious types of applications can be garnered through thorough reading of our CP?

reiews.

Today" enough software relies on multi&core processing that A)@ and 6ntel hae all but

eliminated single&core products from their product portfolios. !ingle&threaded

workloads are still fairly common at the consumer leel" and technologies like Turbo

Boost :from 6ntel; and Turbo Core :from A)@; are designed to accelerate CP?s when

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they encounter those lighter tasks. As you read through our processor  reiews" the

Apple iTunes workload we run is a good e%ample of a single&threaded test.

6t>s certainly nice to know that modern operating systems  can spread the load of

multiple tasks oer seeral cores" and that software deelopers can break certain tasks

into <obs that multi&core processors can handle concurrently. But you're still wondering

how many cores you need. 6f some are good" are more better

Dot necessarily. !oftware isn't optimi(ed to run across an infinite number of e%ecution

cores" and the more resources you duplicate on&die" the more comple% your processor

becomes" drawing more power. As with all things" there's a balance to strike" depending

on what you use your PC for. 6f you're browsing the Web" responding to email" and

writing in Word" most modern dual&core CP?s will feel plenty&liely. But once you start

transcoding ideos for your tablet or editing pictures taken on your @!=" it gets a lot

easier to oerwhelm mainstream hardware .

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Lame deelopers hae been trying to take adantage of multi&core processing for

seeral years" yet we>e rarely e%perienced a significant performance increase from

haing more than four cores. That>s probably why the largest manufacturer of desktop

CP?s" 6ntel" focuses its gaming&oriented message primarily on four&core processorswith the latest adancements in per&core and per&clock productiity.

?nable to match its chief rial in per&clock performance" A)@ first countered by

releasing processors with more cores for less money. The e%tra resources can come in

useful in heaily&threaded tasks" but a big bump in clock freuency was the only thing

that could keep A)@'s older technology competitie in gaming circles. That came in late

*+/ withtwo factory&oerclocked models.

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Power consumption is a ma<or concern in enironments where acoustics hae to be kept

in check. Typically" as you increase power" cooling reuirements go up too. And that

often means faster&spinning fans" which make more noise. The latest generation of low&

energy 6ntel and A)@ processors makes great strides in performance per watt

used.Intel  also offers een more miserly !&series ariations of its Core i- and Core i2

CP?s that can reduce heat inside high&performance machines.

#nce you hae a general concept of your own performance and power needs" the

aboe&referred CP? Performance Charts" reiews" and Buyers Luide should help you

narrow down a list of specific models you>d like to try. #f course" if you need a little

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e%tra guidance" check out Tom's Hardware's CP? forums" where you can ask uestions

and get answers.

Leneral purpose applications " gaming" high&definition :H@; content" and professional

/@ modeling all pose uniue reuirements for the graphics subsystem. Typically" power

users spring for discrete cards" which you drop into an open e%pansion slot on your

motherboard. Both 6ntel and A)@ are adding increasingly capable graphics engines to

their host processors though" so you might not een need to buy a card if your needs

are basic enough.

6f that's the case" the information and resources linked on the preious page are good

enough to get you armed with a capable CP?. But if you're interested in playing the

latest games using high&uality detail settings" mining cryptocurrencies" accelerating

ideo rendering workloads " or building a workstation designed for heay lifting" add&in

graphics plays a big role in your system's performance.

$%treme gaming hardware  is specifically designed to drie the most realistic detail

settings at ery high resolutions. We>e een seen game demonstrations using three ,M

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displays configured in panoramic iew" a technology that A)@ calls $yefinity and Didia

dubs !urround.

#ur benchmarking e%perience suggests that you>ll probably want two high&end

graphicsprocessors  to en<oy smooth frame rates at the highest detail settings in the

latest games using <ust one monitor at /1,%*+0. A 4ull H@ display with a natie

resolution of +*%+1 only has one&fourth as many pi%els to drie" so you'd get

similar performance from a more mainstream graphics card.

4rankly" @on does a stellar <ob keeping our Best Graphics Cards $or the

Mone#column up to date each month. 6f you want specific guidance on the right card

to buy at any gien budget point" that's the resource to bookmark. #f course" you can

always check out our %&'( Graphics Card Charts for more specific performance  

data on the LP?s you're trying to choose between. !pecific performance differences

between speciali(ed card models" along with analysis of new technologies and

alternatie cooling methods" can be found in our graphics reiews.

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As you moe away from traditional desktop use cases and toward professional

workstations cranking on business&class software" A)@'s 4irePro and Didia's uadro

graphics cards become more apropos" mostly because their driers are optimi(ed for

#penL performance and alidated e%tensiely with the most notable 6!8s. #penL is

a multi&platform application programming  interface that software deelopers use to

render graphics" and it's particularly prealent in the workstation space. $%pect to pay a

lot more for correspondingly&tuned cards" een though the LP?s under their heat sinks

are e%actly the same as what you get from the consumer euialents.

6t's tempting" then" to sae a few grand and tap a =adeon or Le4orce card for those

heay lifting tasks. But een if you disregard potential accuracy7image uality

differences" remember that the desktop boards lack those drier optimi(ations" and

conseuently aren't always as fast. 6f you're using your PC to make money" the smart

moe is to go with hardware designed for the <ob. We recently published )orkstation

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Graphics* '+ Cards Tested In ,!C.iewper$ '%" which should help put the

potential of professional and gaming graphics products into perspectie.

The motherboard is one of the most critical selections affecting the functionality of any

build. !o" why didn't we mention it first Well" choosing your case" processor" and

graphics solution first may narrow hundreds of possible models down to <ust a few best

matches. 4ortunately" our Beinner/s Guide to Motherboard ,election contains

most of the information needed to initiate first&time builders. 6n fact" the plethora of

preiously&published information aailable allows us to narrow motherboard selection

down to a list of criteriaK

• What form factor  best matches the case you want to use As seen aboe"

smaller boards can be fit into larger cases" but not ice&ersa.

• What interface does your CP? of choice use Cross&compatibility is seerely

limited on A)@'s sockets :such as A)/ processors in A)/N motherboards;" and

6ntel's LA interfaces are e%clusie :meaning no cross&compatibility;.

• Has the board been approed to work with the processor you picked 6n some

cases" een if a CP? fits into a particular socket" it may not be supported by a gien

motherboard's most up&to&date firmware. CP? compatibility lists on each

motherboard's website usually refer to specific B6#! ersions" and you wouldn't

want to end up with a board manufactured three months ago if the B6#! your CP?

needs is only two months old.

• How many graphics cards will be installed )ost graphics cards use PC6e %+0

slots" and many motherboards appear to hae three of them" but the third slot is

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often impeded in some technical manner. 6t's important to read motherboard

reiews to find out how this might affect your build.

• 3=iser cards3 allow case manufacturers to produce thinner cases by turning

e%pansion cards sideways. 6f the case uses a riser card" does it match the

motherboard>s slot

• Don&graphics e%pansion cards usually fit into PC6e %1" %," %+ or legacy PC6 slots.

How many do you plan to use" and what slot type is reuired for each !horter PC6e

cards can be placed in longer PC6e slots" but the reerse isn't usually true. And

some motherboards share resources between slots" making it necessary to read the

board's specifications table or our motherboard reiews.

• 6f on&board graphics are used" which display outputs are reuired !ome

motherboards gie you 8LA" H@)6" @isplayPort" and @86 connectors. #thers don't

gie you any. )ost on&board graphics processors support a ma%imum number of

two or three displays" as discussed on the manufacturer's specifications table and in

our chipset coerage.

• 6f on&board sound is used" what type of audio system connection is reuired

Audio oer H@)6 is nearly uniersal" but standalone digital audio systems typically

use optical or coa%ial cables. And lie compression of 2.+&and&aboe sound streams

to a digital output typically reuires either @T! Connect or @olby @igital ie :@@;"

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which is outlined both by the manufacturer and at the bottom of the features table

in ourmotherboard reiews.

• How many network connections will be used

• Will e!ATA" Thunderbolt" or other speciali(ed interfaces be useful

• What other e%ternal connections might be reuired

• How many !erial ATA" m!ATA" ).*" or !ATA $%press dries will be installed

• Will =A6@ be reuired 6f so" what modes are needed

• How many memory modules will be installed

• Will the board be oerclocked

• There are a ton of options when it comes to system memory. 4rom data rates to

latencies to oltages" the number of combinations can become oerwhelming.

The easiest answer in the debate of what kit to buy sounds deceptiely simpleK

 <ust buy +.2&olt @@=/&+0 :PC&+*1; modules with CA! timings. All !ocket

A)/N" 4)*N" LA ++2" and LA *++ processors  are designed to support at

least this memory speed. 6t's ine%pensie as both , and 1 LB sticks" and it>s

aailable in both dual& and uad&channel kits.

• Oet there are noticeable performance benefits for similarly&priced @@=/&+100

:PC/&+,;" particularly if you're using a CP?'s on&die graphics engine for

gaming. And this speed functions normally" een with processors that are not

officially designated to use it :primarily older models or low&energy platforms;.

And the same easy benefits of @@=/&+100 are een aailable with most @@=/&

*+// kits and modern performance&oriented processors.

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•

• The problem with recommending faster memory kits is that they often reuire at

leastsome manual configuration. 6f you're not comfortable tooling around in your

motherboard's firmware" they might actually drop you to lower performance

leels.

• Oou see" 6ntel>s 5)P :e5treme )emory Profiles; technology facilitates e%tended

memory settings beyond the basic automatic&configuration technology called

!P@. Though 5)P originally allowed motherboards to set oerclocked options like

nonstandard oltages and data rates " most of today's 5)P&capable modules

operate at standard oltage leels and freuencies. !till" when you first boot up"

they typically default to either @@=/&+/// or &+00. Loing higher reuires that

you manually enable an 5)P profile. $en some @@=/&+0 modules employ

5)P :rather than !P@ alues; to achiee their rated performance leels" and this

is particularly true of reduced&latency :CA! -" CA! 1; modules.

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• )emory faster than @@=/&*+// is usually e%pensie and not really reuired. #ur

tests hae shown that @@=/&*, is barely beneficial" and only in situations

where you're leaning on integrated graphics. We'e een seen data rates aboe

*, )T7s hurt performance as the motherboard attempts to increase stability.

• 6n terms of memory uantity" Tom's Hardware  recommends at least , LB for

the cheapest Web surfing Windows&based systems. Lamers could probably get

by with , LB" but we>re more comfortable with the 1 LB that has become the

norm in high&performance machines. 4ew applications push memory needs past

that point" though users of memory&intensie programs who also multi&task

:such as Tom>s Hardware editors; can occasionally find an e%cuse to install een

more. ?sers who need more than 1 LB usually know their needs in adance"

based on e%perience with a preious machine.

• $en those e%ceptional circumstances only push us to +* LB" though +0 LB is

easier to install in dual&channel mode :ia two 1 LB modules;. 6f you>re

desperate for an e%cuse to add een more" installing =A) disk software :which

uses some of your system memory as a irtual hard drie; could be your

impetus.

•

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• #ur memory reiews show a wide range of options" and buying name&brand

modules with lifetime warranties from reputable enders is good insurance

against une%plained system instability.

• Choosing internal mass storage once meant deciding between the performance

of a solid&state drie :!!@;" the capacity of a mechanical hard drie :H@@;" or

the greater e%pense of both. But as with system memory" adancements in

manufacturing and maturing technology put medium&capacity !!@s within reach

for most enthusiasts. We're een seeing *20 LB dries under +. That !!@

might not make processing&bound workloads  run faster" but they'll certainly

launch uicker" access the data they need more e%pediently" and respond in a

way you simply won't e%perience with a hard drie.

•

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• #f course" you'd still need a handful of high&capacity !!@s if you were planning

on storing your photo" moie" and game collections on solid&state storage .

4ortunately" adding the e%pense of a + TB disk for under 0 makes the

combination of <ust&right !!@ and big hard drie more palatable.

• The flash&based capacity you'll want depends on what you do with your PC . A

Windows installation rarely e%ceeds /* LB without additional programs installed"

een after many months of collecting temp files" cookies" and other 3temporary3

trash. Popularly&used apps like the #ffice suite and Adobe's Creatie Cloud

software can easily consume many times that much space" and games regularly

eat up more than + LB each all on their own. )ost of us could suee(e

Windows and essential programs into a +*1 LB !!@ without much effort" but

*20 LB dries are the sweet spot if you're adding a few games" too.

• )echanical storage becomes critical once you start piling on years of pictures"

music" and moies. @8@ and Blu&ray disc images consume up to 1., and 2 LB"

respectiely. 6f you loe to archie ideo" your capacity needs will e%pand ery

fast this way. Lame install packages can be een larger than the games

themseles" and those of us with less&than&perfect 6nternet access are reluctant

to delete source data " een when installation finishes.

Although !ATA is the most popular desktop storage interface" other drie form factors

are becoming more popular. Among them" m,ATA is both widely aailable and mature.

@esigned to install onto a motherboard" these hae become so common that some

companies produce adapters to install m!ATA dries into *.2F bays using standard !ATA

data and power cables.

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Beyond m!ATA" we're also starting to see ).*& and !ATA $%press&capable platforms.

They're still not ery common" but because they both enable PC6 $%press&based

transfers" the performance  of future storage products will outstrip today's !ATA 0Lb7s

dries. As a reminder" <ust one PC6 $%press *. lane gies you up to 2 )B7s of

bidirectional throughput. A two&lane link should be theoretically capable of + LB7s.

)eanwhile" !ATA 0Lb7s is rated for up to 0 )B7s" though a more practical ceiling is in

the 22 )B7s range.

Though most systems use either one large drie or a combination :a smaller !!@ and

larger hard drie" for e%ample;" other configuration options let you choose between

additional performance" more capacity" increased data security" or a combination of

these.

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=A6@ stands for =edundant Array of 6ne%pensie @isks" a group of methods that allows

data to be spread across seeral dries concurrently. )ost enthusiast&class

motherboards support at least =A6@ modes " +" N+" and 2. $ach array of disks

appears to be a single disk to programs other than the =A6@ utility.

The possible use of =A6@ affects the number and capacity of dries selected" so a ery

brief description of these modes is in orderK

• eel diides data into chunks that are spread across two or more dries at the

same time" proiding up to double the transfer rate :in the case of a two&drie

config; and the combined capacity. Because of the way the data is diided" this

mode is also referred to as 3striping3 by in&the&know storage gurus. The ma<or

drawback is that if a member drie fails" the array's data is lost.

• eel + mirrors two or more dries so that if one fails" data can be recoered

from the other. The ma<or drawback is that because both dries :again" in a two&

drie array; store the same data" aailable capacity doesn't increase.

• =A6@ N+ allows four :or more; dries to be set up as a 3mirrored3 set of

3striped3 dries. 6n other words" it's a =A6@ + array composed of two =A6@ arrays.

6f one striped set :=A6@ array; fails" data can be retrieed from the other. Total

capacity is still limited to that of one striped set.

• =A6@ 2 creates parity bits for data recovery . @ata and parity bits are

distributed across all dries" increasing transfer rate" while sacrificing only the

amount of space reuired to store the added parity bits :the capacity of one drie in

the set;.

Lenerating parity bits for =A6@ 2 reuires processing" which means that =A6@ 2enabled in software can hog resources. Conersely" =A6@ eels and + generate little

CP? oerhead. Lamers with little regard for long&term data storage may choose eel

for performance" and anyone with a significant amount of aluable data may choose

eel +.

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Tom's Hardware continuously reiews dries and storage controllers" with seeral of

these articles going into additional detail concerning =A6@ modes" benefits and

conseuences.

Although it doesn't get its fair share of recognition" the power supply is the single most

critical component for system stability and longeity. We'e seen cheap models literally

go up in flames" taking out seeral key pieces of hardware  in the process. Picking an

underpowered model might get you crashes or een boot failures. !ince low&uality

parts often fall short of their specifications" we'll start off with a link to our power

supply reiews and a list of reputable units that hae surpassed the e%pectations of our

forum e%perts. Oou>ll notice that power supplies don>t get updated as often as other

parts" because that technology doesn>t progress as uickly. uality units hae Estaying

powerF.

How much capacity your system needs depends on its hardware configuration. Lraphics

cards are the most power&hungry components in gaming systems" while CP?s take

priority if you're using integrated graphics. !eeral power supply calculators are

aailable on the Web" though some are more up&to&date than others. The good news is

that oersi(ed power units can easily sustain undersi(ed systems without damage"

though efficiency sometimes drops when the unit is loaded by less than *Q of its

rating.

Power supplies are diided into multiple primary :+* 8" 2 8" /./ 8; and secondary :&+*

8" &2 8" 2 8 standby; oltage outputs. Better&uality power supplies proide separate

oer&current protection  on each of these output leels" called 3rails3. Additionally" 6ntel

specified that each rail could proide no more than +1 amps" to reduce the risk of

connector meltdown7cable fire.

As the need for more than +1 A of +* 8 power became obious" most manufacturers

started diiding their +* 8 output into multiple +1 A rails. That created load&balancing

trouble as" for e%ample" a two&rail unit could hae two highly&loaded cables on one rail

and two relatiely unloaded cables on the other. This would trip the amperage

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protection circuitry" een though the internal transformer had power to spare. !o&called

single&rail power supplies were then deised that iolated 6ntel's mandate" but allowed

these systems to at least function. And 3smart3 power protection  circuits hae since

been employed to reduce the risk of a fire from a single connector :which was thereason for the mandate in the first place;.

!imple calculators might do the <ob for basic configurations" but the highest&end

graphics cards place higher load bias on N+* 8 rails :so much so" in fact" that A)@'s

=adeon = *25* een has a ery specific N+* 8 rail reuirement;. )ost of today's

highest&performance power supplies are correspondingly designed to sere up lots of

current on the N+* 8 rail" though cheaper parts occasionally skimp in that specification.

Be on the lookout for this as you shop. A)@ and Didia originally guided customers to

the P!?s with enough +* 8 amperage through their lists of Cross4ire& and !6&

certifiedsupplies. Howeer" 1 P?! and its efficiency ratings are also popular sources

for determining higher&uality products.

Power supplies are rated in output" and one benefit from 1 P?! reports in that they

contain efficiency data  from *Q to +Q load. This enables Tom>s Hardware readers

to find a similar configuration in one of our builds" read the input power that we report"

and calculate the reuired output power using 1 P?! efficiency ratings. 4or e%ample"

a complete machine that draws 0,- W through our meter at 12Q efficiency needs a

22 W&rated unit :0,- % .12;. $en if you add a little oer&capacity for ?!B&powered

peripherals and future drie upgrades" that same machine can run comfortably on

ahigh&uality 0 W unit.

Power supply form factors are not named after motherboard standards" in spite of the

way they>re often sold. The AT5 motherboard form factor  does specify how they>re

wired howeer" and an AT5&compliant power unit could follow one of seeral si(ing

standards. These include P!7*" P!/" !45" or T45" plus propriety parts.

Power !upply 4orm 4actors

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#ne might say that !45 is two form factors" one that>s 2F by ,F and the other ,F by 2F.

As a potential third candidate for !45 naming" 6ntel also specifies a 2 mm&tall ersion

as E!45" , mm ProfileF in reference to its fan si(e. The three :sub&standards; can be

differentiated by isual inspection as being wider" deeper" or thinner than the other two.

The wider one is more common in consumer&leel cases" and the one that>s

coincidentally :and mistakenly; most often referred to as microAT5. This form factor

also allows up to +- mm of fan housing to e%tend from one side of the lid" into the

computer case.

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The narrow T45 form factor allows some companies to make their slim cases een

slimmer" though it also intrudes farther into the case. Because P!/" !45" and T45 are

often sold side&by&side under the microAT5 banner" buyers must often look at the

pictures to determine what the seller is actually selling.

$P! supersedes AT5 as the electrical standard for high&amperage power supplies" with

a *,&pin E$P!F main connector powering most on&board deices and an 1&pin $P! +* 8

connector deliering power to the CP?. )ost manufacturers make these connectors

diisible" with ,&pin sections breaking away to allow fitment in *&pin AT5 and ,&pin

CP? power headers.

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Also shown is an 1&pin PC6e supplemental power cable for high&end graphics cards"

from which two pins can be split away to make it work with 0&pin headers. The plastic

insulator surrounding these pins is shaped differently from the 1&pin CP? power

connector" preenting accidental misuse.

There>s also some cross&compatibility between wider and narrower cables. )any

systems with 1&pin CP? power connectors will operate sufficiently from a ,&pin cable"

lacking the e%tra current needed to support a high oerclock. And it>s often possible to

hang the end of a non&diisible cable oer the end of a narrower connector.

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@rie power cables include the old&fashioned ,&pin EATAF style" a smaller EfloppyF style"

and the more modern E!ATAF. 6ncreasingly" power supplies lack the floppy power cable"

but" because some accessories use it to power other things" you often get an adapter

for one of the ATA&style connectors. 6n this day of !ATA&based storage" the four&pin ATA

leads rarely hook up to dries" but rather power cheap fans" fan controllers" and multi&

drie backplanes.

6n total" builders must find a power supply that>s uality&made" fits their case" has

enough capacity" and has all the reuired cable ends. 6f that last measure isn>t met"

adapters are usually aailable.

6t's possible to complete your build and get to gaming with nothing more than the

preious&mentioned components :along with a thumb drie for youroperating system ;.

The number of downloadable programs has increased to the point that many of our

readers neer need an optical drie :C@" @8@" B@&=#);. Cases come with mounting

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screws and usually include cooling fans. )ost retail&bo%ed CP?s hae a heat sink and

fan. And a ma<ority of motherboards are bundled with cables.

4or other enthusiasts" the ability to run old programs or play media is critical.

#erclockers" especially" will immediately toss aside whateer thermal solution  their

multiplier&unlocked CP? came with in faor of something more effectie.

$en the most tight&fisted builder should be able to afford a @8@ writer" with typical

online prices ranging from * to , on the latest models of many popular brands. Blu&

ray writers are more e%pensie" though not nearly as bad as they once were. Combo

dries with Blu&ray read and @8@ write capabilities used to fill the pricing gap" but that

market shrank as the gap decreased.

#ther power users prefer additions like a premium sound cards or T8 tuners" though

integrated sound is uite good nowadays and 6nternet&based streaming serices make

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T8 cards largely superfluous. Then again" that's what makes the PC  so great. Oou hae

the freedom to swap parts in and out as your needs change.

The debate oer optional or mandatory upgrades heats up when we get to the world of

oerclocking.

CP? coolers range from tiny deices as small as a *F cube to enormous liuid&cooled

radiator systems. We reiew the entire range" and think that first&time builders who

would eentually like to oerclock will hae the most success  with something that>s

easy to install. @epending on your case" that could still gie you dual&fan sealed liuid

system or big air options.

Any of these items are optional for most builds" so let>s get back to the mandatory

steps.