1 00:00:20,080 --> 00:00:26,000 Welcome to the first full build guide that we've ever done on Linus Tech Tips 2 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:30,480 powered by Intel. Today we're going to be showing you guys step by step how to 3 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:34,719 build your very own gaming system in the better class. So that means we're 4 00:00:32,399 --> 00:00:38,480 spending around $1,500 on the tower. Sort of if you subscribe to that good, 5 00:00:36,399 --> 00:00:42,640 better, best way of thinking, which means we're not really compromising any 6 00:00:40,399 --> 00:00:46,719 features and any performance and we're not spending so much that it's sort of 7 00:00:44,879 --> 00:00:49,360 just for bling and bragging rights either. We're going to be installing 8 00:00:48,079 --> 00:00:54,800 Windows 8. We're going to talk about some of the benefits you get from Windows 8, including in some games 9 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:57,840 better performance. and we're going to be pairing it with a touchcreen and 10 00:00:56,399 --> 00:01:02,440 talking about some of the ways that touch really makes Windows 8 come to 11 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:06,320 life, whereas the mouse and keyboard do not. Part of getting the best bang for 12 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:10,240 your buck is overclocking. So, everything we've got in front of us here 13 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:13,600 is overclocking optimized in some way or another. Now, I want you to think about 14 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:18,159 your gaming experience kind of like Pi because the two most important things 15 00:01:15,119 --> 00:01:20,159 for Pi are crust and filling. So, I'm 16 00:01:18,159 --> 00:01:23,920 going to go ahead and say the CPU is kind of like the crust. It supports the 17 00:01:22,320 --> 00:01:27,840 rest of the system. And if it's not fast enough, you're going to end up with 18 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:32,560 bottlenecks. So if you spent like $1,000 on a graphics card and a hundred bucks 19 00:01:30,320 --> 00:01:36,000 on a CPU, that graphics card would never reach its full potential anyway. So in 20 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:43,200 this case, for our crust, we've gone with a 3570K. It performs just slightly 21 00:01:40,079 --> 00:01:44,560 less than the 3770K in gaming 22 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:49,119 applications because it doesn't have hyperthreading. It's a Core i5, but 23 00:01:47,119 --> 00:01:53,280 because it's a K series skew, you can overclock it to really squeeze the most 24 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:58,079 performance possible out of the architecture. We're going to be aiming 25 00:01:54,720 --> 00:02:00,799 for anywhere from around 4.4 to 4.5 GHz 26 00:01:58,079 --> 00:02:04,719 on our CPU. The graphics card is kind of like the fruity filling. It doesn't work 27 00:02:02,479 --> 00:02:08,560 at all without the crust, but it really makes the experience, particularly from 28 00:02:06,399 --> 00:02:12,400 a gaming standpoint, enjoyable. This is what enables all those visual effects. 29 00:02:10,640 --> 00:02:17,040 And we've gone with the GeForce GTX 660Ti Power Edition from MSI. It's an 30 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:20,480 overclocking optimized card with a dual fan cooler. And I mean, it performs 31 00:02:18,959 --> 00:02:25,280 great at stock, too. So, if you're not comfortable overclocking, you can always 32 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:28,160 run it that way. If the CPU and graphics card are kind of like Pi, then I guess 33 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:33,280 the rest of this stuff is sort of like ice cream because it definitely makes the experience better. And you can't 34 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:36,160 really have Pi without ice cream, and you can't have a computer without all 35 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:39,040 this other stuff. So, I think that's where the analogy sort of breaks down. 36 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:43,640 But for our motherboard, we went with the Z77A G45 from MSI. This is for a 37 00:02:42,239 --> 00:02:48,800 couple of reasons. is extremely inexpensive. It's Z77, so it's 38 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:52,800 overclocking ready, and it is Crossfire and SLI ready, meaning we are able to 39 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:56,480 have a ton of flexibility in terms of graphics upgrade options. Speaking of 40 00:02:54,800 --> 00:03:01,440 flexible graphics upgrade options, the GS700 from Corsair has a three-year 41 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:04,560 warranty, a single strong 12volt rail, meaning you can hook up whatever you 42 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:08,000 want to it without worrying about it having an overcurren protection shut 43 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:11,840 down because you connected everything to the wrong connectors. Don't worry about 44 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:15,760 any of that. It looks great and you can change the colors from red to blue to 45 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:20,159 white to completely off to match your build depending on what route you want 46 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:23,840 to go. The memory choice might seem a little bit weird because you probably 47 00:03:21,599 --> 00:03:28,360 know that more than 8 gigs isn't really necessary for memory and we've gone with 48 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:32,799 16 gigs of Corsair Vengeance DDR3600 memory. So, the reason for that 49 00:03:30,959 --> 00:03:35,680 is pretty simple. If you buy a dual channel kit, you're going to buy two 50 00:03:34,159 --> 00:03:40,400 sticks to get the most out of the bandwidth available to your CPU. Okay? 51 00:03:38,319 --> 00:03:44,319 If you buy two 4 gig sticks, then you're going to be limited to a total of 16 52 00:03:42,319 --> 00:03:48,720 gigs for upgrading, unless you want to remove those sticks and add in a 53 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:53,120 completely new set. So, the reason we've done this is because it gives you the 54 00:03:50,319 --> 00:03:57,120 potential to upgrade to 32 gigs without running into compatibility issues by 55 00:03:54,959 --> 00:04:03,120 mixing and matching dims down the road or being stuck at a maximum of 16 gigs. 56 00:04:01,519 --> 00:04:07,760 Now, you might think that the computer case is all about aesthetics, but the CM 57 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:11,760 Storm Scout 2 from Cooler Master does more than that. It's got great cooling. 58 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:14,959 It's very rugged. The durability of it that the build quality of it is 59 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:18,560 outstanding considering the price, and it's very portable. It has a handle in 60 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:22,079 the top that's so strong that when I did my unboxing of this case, I was able to 61 00:04:20,479 --> 00:04:25,680 hold the entire case up by the handle and shake it around without any flex and 62 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:31,199 without it breaking. It means you can haul your rig around to land parties without worrying too much about it. And 63 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:34,759 it looks really good. So yes, there there's aesthetics as well. It is a 64 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:40,000 factor. For cooling, we've gone with SP120 quiet edition fans from Corsair. I 65 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:43,440 personally find that static pressure is more important than sheer air flow when 66 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:48,880 it comes to getting the most out of your system. So I do prefer SPS in almost all 67 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:53,520 scenarios. And for the CPU, we've gone with a Hydro Series H100i liquid cooler. 68 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:57,759 This is going to allow us to reach that overclock that we wanted. And because it 69 00:04:55,680 --> 00:05:01,280 comes with Corsair's link software, we can monitor things like fluid 70 00:04:59,280 --> 00:05:05,840 temperatures, system temperatures, and fan RPMs using software, keeping close 71 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:10,080 close tabs on our system to make sure it's running at peak efficiency. The 72 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:13,840 storage subsystem really comes down to personal choice, but what I'll do is 73 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:18,960 I'll explain why we went with what we did. So, we've gone with an Intel 300 74 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:23,600 series 180 gig SSD. We didn't have a big enough budget for a 240 gig SSD. And 75 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:27,120 rather than going for a 520 series, we sacrificed a little bit of performance 76 00:05:25,039 --> 00:05:31,120 to get a bit more capacity because I personally find that 120 gigs is not 77 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:36,479 quite enough these days if you're running a pure SSD boot drive for all of 78 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:41,280 your OS, application, and gaming needs. We also added a Seagate Barracuda 3 TBTE 79 00:05:39,199 --> 00:05:44,800 drive for mass storage because, let's face it, SSDs aren't at the point yet 80 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:47,840 where they're inexpensive enough that you can store everything on them. This 81 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:53,280 gives us a couple of interesting options. We can go with a 180 gig drive 82 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:58,800 and 3 TB for storage. Or if you find that 120 gigs is enough, you can go with 83 00:05:55,840 --> 00:06:02,479 a 120 gig boot drive, partition away 60 gigs of it, use it as a cache using 84 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:07,360 Intel Smart Response technology, which is built into your Z77 board, and you 85 00:06:05,280 --> 00:06:14,160 can have a super speedy boot drive with a few key applications. Then a cache SSD 86 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:17,840 accelerated mass storage drive where you can install things like games. So, your 87 00:06:15,919 --> 00:06:22,479 most frequently used applications will be much faster than if they were just 88 00:06:19,919 --> 00:06:26,000 stored purely on a mechanical drive. When it comes to peripherals, things get 89 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:30,880 real personal real fast. For our monitor, we went with an Acer 90 00:06:28,039 --> 00:06:34,080 T232HL. This is a 10point multi-touch touchscreen monitor. Remember, we're 91 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:38,639 talking about the Windows 8 experience and how touch really makes it come to 92 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:42,960 life. It's also an IPS screen, which means better viewing angles and better 93 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:48,720 color reproduction, which I personally will prefer to the faster response times 94 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:52,560 but lower color depth of a TN panel. Not everyone will agree with me on that one, 95 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:55,560 and that's fine. Uh, for our headset, we went with the Vengeance 1300 from 96 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:59,520 Corsair because they're relatively inexpensive, they sound pretty good, and 97 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:03,360 they're lightweight and comfortable. However, there are more premium options 98 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:07,599 out there such as the Siberia V2 from Steeleries. This one in particular also 99 00:07:05,840 --> 00:07:11,360 matches our build pretty well with a white and blue color scheme. For the 100 00:07:09,759 --> 00:07:14,880 keyboard, again, this is personal choice. Not everyone believes that you 101 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:18,400 even have to spend a lot of money on a keyboard for gaming, but I personally 102 00:07:16,639 --> 00:07:22,000 find that a mechanical keyboard really enhances the typing experience, and I 103 00:07:20,319 --> 00:07:25,840 prefer it for gaming. And this is the Quickfire Pro from CM Storm. This 104 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:29,360 particular one has Cherry MX Brown switches, but you can choose almost any 105 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:34,160 switch under the sun you want. And what I like about the Quickfire Pro is it has 106 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:37,120 great build quality and it comes in at a very very reasonable price point 107 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:40,080 considering the budget of the rest of the components we're looking at here. 108 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:44,560 For our mouse, we went with the Vengeance M65. You could go with the M95 109 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:48,319 if you play more MMO games than FPS games. It has more buttons and stuff, 110 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:54,000 but what we liked about the M65 is it's got the latest laser sensor offering up 111 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:55,919 to 8200 DPI. It's from Corsair, so, you 112 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:59,280 know, can't really go wrong. and it's white which matched the rest of our 113 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:03,919 build without being overpriced. For our mouse pad, so last but not least, we 114 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:06,960 went with a Steeler QCK. This is just the standard sized one. You don't have 115 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:10,160 to get a huge mouse pad unless you're a low sensitivity gamer. And it's 116 00:08:08,639 --> 00:08:15,199 available not only in the plain black one you see here, but also any number of 117 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:18,879 different configurations with cool game gaming artwork and all that kind of cool 118 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:22,879 stuff like that. The actual tools you need to build a computer are pretty 119 00:08:20,479 --> 00:08:26,639 straightforward. I use a big Phillips screwdriver and a small Phillips 120 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:30,960 screwdriver for when I can't get access to those hard-to-reach areas. The most 121 00:08:28,879 --> 00:08:39,159 important thing really is a static free workstation. That means no carpets, no 122 00:08:34,519 --> 00:08:41,200 cats. Hi. And most importantly, no 123 00:08:39,159 --> 00:08:47,560 clothes. Actually, wait, no, sorry. Clothes are okay, but no carpets and no 124 00:08:44,519 --> 00:08:49,920 cats. Now, techs who do a lot of 125 00:08:47,560 --> 00:08:53,920 workh might have a dedicated staticresistant test platform for making 126 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:58,800 sure that components work before you install them in the case where some 127 00:08:55,600 --> 00:09:00,160 issues can occur. But let's face it, you 128 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:07,279 guys are watching this video. You probably don't have one of those. So, in a pinch, a motherboard box is an optimal 129 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:11,760 place to test the components before you actually install them into the chassis. 130 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:16,560 Before we can assemble our ghetto test bench, we got to remove the motherboard 131 00:09:13,279 --> 00:09:16,560 from the box. 132 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:22,240 Now, the only pieces I need are the IO shield and the SATA cables. Other than 133 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:28,000 that, we're going to leave everything inside. If we were running SLI, for 134 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:28,000 example, we would also take out the SLI 135 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:36,839 bridge. Next is the motherboard itself. We remove that from the ESD bag. This 136 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:40,959 protects it during transport. Put that inside the box. And 137 00:09:39,519 --> 00:09:44,240 being careful not to touch any of the sensitive electronics. You can see I'm 138 00:09:42,560 --> 00:09:51,120 actually holding it by the heat sink and the back plate here. We put that onto 139 00:09:47,519 --> 00:09:53,360 our makeshift test bench. Installing 140 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:57,200 CPUs is so easy. Now, lift up the retention ARM. Lift up the hold down 141 00:09:55,279 --> 00:10:02,080 plate. No need to remove the protective plastic cover yet. Align the little gold 142 00:09:59,519 --> 00:10:06,959 triangle on the top of your CPU with the triangle on your motherboard itself. 143 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:06,959 Like 144 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:15,680 so. Close down the hold down plate. Close down the retention ARM. Little bit 145 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:20,079 of strength required here. And check that out. The plastic cover will pop off 146 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:24,240 and your CPU socket pins were never exposed. In order to make use of dual 147 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:28,079 channel memory, take your two memory sticks. Remember, we're using two so 148 00:10:26,079 --> 00:10:32,000 that we have expandability for later and install them in the color-coded memory 149 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:36,720 slots by pushing down firmly on both sides after opening up the tabs on the 150 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:40,640 side. Now, I personally prefer to install them in the slots furthest away 151 00:10:38,560 --> 00:10:43,839 from the CPU socket. However, because we're using a liquid cooler, we don't 152 00:10:42,399 --> 00:10:47,760 have to worry about any clearance issues, but if you were using an air 153 00:10:45,519 --> 00:10:52,880 cooler, then this is definitely the recommended way to do 154 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:57,839 it. We're only going to need this for the out of the testing, but I do 155 00:10:56,079 --> 00:11:01,360 recommend installing that stock heat sink that came with your CPU. The pins 156 00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:06,399 are already in the correct position out of the box. The only thing to watch out for is make sure you've got enough 157 00:11:04,560 --> 00:11:11,320 length on the four pin connector to reach the CPU fan header on your 158 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:16,079 motherboard. Push them down in a cross pattern. 159 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:17,839 One. Two. Waiting for the click. Then 160 00:11:16,079 --> 00:11:22,320 plug it in. We're going to use this to make sure that the system posts before 161 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:26,000 we proceed. Now, don't worry guys. I'll show you all of these steps in detail 162 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:30,000 once we do the proper assembly of the computer. But basically all I've 163 00:11:27,680 --> 00:11:35,200 connected here is 24 pin power, eight pin power, two six pin power adapters to 164 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:39,440 the video card. I've connected a DVI cable so we can find out if the system 165 00:11:37,279 --> 00:11:43,600 boots. And I have plugged in a keyboard just in case we have to press anything 166 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:48,399 in order to confirm that yes indeed we do want to boot up. So let's go ahead. 167 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:52,480 And this board does not have onboard switches. So we can use a key, a 168 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:56,800 screwdriver or anything else metallic to short out the power switch. And now 169 00:11:54,720 --> 00:12:00,320 we'll find out if our components are working. So, press F1 to run 170 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:09,240 setup. And we have at least basic functionality. Time to proceed with the 171 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:11,600 full build. Preamble's over, 172 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:16,240 folks. Time to actually build this thing. So, you can follow along step by 173 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:19,920 step, and I guarantee you anyone will be able to build the exact computer that 174 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:24,320 we're building here today. And most of the principles can be applied to pretty 175 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:29,200 much any custom machine that you would build at any time. Step one, inspect 176 00:12:27,760 --> 00:12:35,200 your case for any damage because you're going to want to let the retailer or the manufacturer know if anything bad 177 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:38,880 happened to it during transit. Step two is to take off the side panels. Even 178 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:42,880 though many cases ship with thumb screws, often they're too tight from the 179 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:46,399 factory to remove by hand, so you have to loosen them with a screwdriver. Put 180 00:12:44,720 --> 00:12:50,720 all the screws you take out somewhere safe, such as in a little tray. And I 181 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:56,160 recommend putting the side panel somewhere safe because you guys wouldn't believe how many times I've put a side 182 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:59,920 paddle down somewhere and tripped over it as I go to do something else, 183 00:12:57,839 --> 00:13:05,120 scratching it. So, the place I recommend keeping it is in the box that your case 184 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:09,920 came in with the styrofoam pieces in between the two side panels so that they 185 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:14,240 don't get damaged. A lot of people ask me, uh, what screws and adapters do I 186 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:18,480 need in order to build my computer? The simple answer is your case comes with 187 00:13:16,399 --> 00:13:22,200 all of that stuff. Most cases come with either a box or a baggie inside that 188 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:26,959 contains the screws you need to completely outfit that case with 189 00:13:24,639 --> 00:13:31,760 whatever hardware it happens to support. So, in this 190 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:36,200 case, in this case, we've got a cardboard box that was mounted in one of 191 00:13:33,519 --> 00:13:42,480 the 3 and 1/2 in hard drive cages that has, here we go, all the drive rails and 192 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:47,040 speakers and zip ties even that you'll need to assemble your computer. In most 193 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:50,480 highquality cases, the cables inside that are pre-wired are going to be tied 194 00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:56,800 up in some way to keep them from scratching up the inside of the computer. So, you can free all of them. 195 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:59,760 Free them all. Don't worry, we'll do cable management later so that you can 196 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:05,360 make sure that they're all going to reach the places where they need to plug into. Now, I don't like to have my 197 00:14:03,680 --> 00:14:10,399 motherboard lying around, so it's the first thing that I'm going to put in my case when I'm building the new computer. 198 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:13,920 You need nine motherboard standoffs. These are the little golden guys with 199 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:16,720 the hex shape. And Cooler Master includes a convenient little tool that 200 00:14:15,279 --> 00:14:20,399 allows you to drive them into the motherboard tray with a Phillips head 201 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:24,320 screwdriver. So, you're going to install them, assuming you're using an ATX 202 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:30,240 board, that is a fulllength board. You're going to be installing them in 203 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:32,079 holes A, B, C, D, E, F, J, KL. The other 204 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:36,160 holes on the motherboard tray are for different sizes of motherboards. You can 205 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:40,240 consult the manual if you're not sure which one is right for yours. Putting in 206 00:14:38,399 --> 00:14:45,360 IO shields can be a little bit tricky. Just make sure that you press on all 207 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:47,680 four corners firmly to ensure that it's 208 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:51,120 actually in place before you try to install the motherboard. Before putting 209 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:55,600 the motherboard in, make sure you've got the right screws by doing a quick test 210 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:59,519 fit to ensure that the threads match up with the threads of the standoffs that 211 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:03,360 you just installed. Hold the motherboard by something that's not going to damage 212 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:06,399 it. This is why I recommend having the stock heat sink on there. We're going to 213 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:13,920 remove it later to install our liquid cooler. and approaching at an angle, 214 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:13,920 line up the IO ports at the 215 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:23,279 back. Then hold the motherboard in 216 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:32,720 place while installing at least one screw so that it doesn't move around 217 00:15:31,279 --> 00:15:38,079 because that can scratch up the back of it. You don't have to wrench it super 218 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:40,560 tight. It just has to not move. 219 00:15:38,079 --> 00:15:43,760 Are you powered up? Actually, you're not powered up at all yet because you don't 220 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:47,519 have a power supply in your computer yet. When you install your power supply, 221 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:51,600 you have two main options for a bottom- mounted power supply. You can either 222 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:55,519 mount it with the fan on top, which will draw air from inside the case and 223 00:15:53,199 --> 00:15:58,880 exhaust it out the back. The advantage is that you're drawing more air through 224 00:15:57,279 --> 00:16:03,040 the case and out the back. The disadvantage is that you can be more 225 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:05,920 likely to accumulate dust because you don't have any dust filter right next to 226 00:16:04,639 --> 00:16:11,759 it, which you would if you mounted it the other way. And the other disadvantage is that you're using warmer 227 00:16:09,519 --> 00:16:16,399 air to cool the power supply. The other option is flipping it fanside down. So 228 00:16:14,399 --> 00:16:20,000 in this case, our Storm Scout 2 has a filter on the bottom, which should keep 229 00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:24,399 the insides clean. But the disadvantage is if you put your case down on a plush 230 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:28,160 carpet, it might suffocate the power supply and it might not get enough fresh 231 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:32,399 air. So, think carefully about how you're planning to deploy your computer 232 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:36,639 before installing the power supply. I generally go fan up because particularly 233 00:16:34,959 --> 00:16:39,839 with our graphics card, we're going to draw some of that heat away from the 234 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:44,000 graphics card and out the back of the case using this additional fan for 235 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:51,959 cooling. Line it up with the back of the case. Install the four screws. 236 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:59,720 And it actually takes less time to install a power supply than it takes to 237 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:04,720 think about how to install a power supply. At this stage of the game, 238 00:17:02,079 --> 00:17:08,640 although building a computer is no game, I recommend plugging in whatever 239 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:12,319 connectors you can because as you fill the computer up with more components, 240 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:15,600 it'll get hard to get at some of those little finicky ones. So, we're going to 241 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:19,520 start with the main connectors that go into the motherboard. The Scout 2 has 242 00:17:17,679 --> 00:17:24,400 built-in cable management. So, we can run our 24 pin through this gap right 243 00:17:22,079 --> 00:17:28,480 here and then bring it up right next to the connector on the motherboard, making 244 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:31,480 it so that you don't even see the wires really. 245 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:38,960 The eight pin connector can be routed in much the same way, going through that 246 00:17:35,679 --> 00:17:38,960 cable management hole in the 247 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:45,840 bottom, up behind the motherboard 248 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:52,280 tray, through the little hole, and then into the eight pin connector up at the 249 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:52,280 very top left corner of the motherboard. 250 00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:05,679 Guys, if at this point you break open the user manual or the quick start guide 251 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:08,880 for your motherboard, there is no shame because installing these front panel 252 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:12,480 connectors can be a little tricky. And while many motherboards have labels 253 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:16,240 directly on the board for what's what, often they're actually not very clear. 254 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:20,320 So, feel free to check it out in there. We're going to start with USB. USB 3 is 255 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:25,760 an easy connector to plug in, and it's easy to find because it's very distinctive looking. Also, it's keyed, 256 00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:30,240 so it only goes in one way. On our motherboard, we have a right angle USB3 257 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:34,320 connector, so there won't really be any strain on the cable or on the fragile 258 00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:38,840 pins inside, but not all motherboards have that. So, make sure that you don't 259 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:41,760 have it wrenching on the connector 260 00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:45,360 itself. USB 2 is a smaller connector, and the way this one works is there's a 261 00:18:43,679 --> 00:18:50,160 blocked off pin on the bottom of the lead coming from your case, and there's 262 00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:51,679 a missing pin on the motherboard itself. 263 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:55,520 As long as the blocked off pin corresponds to the missing pin, you 264 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:59,760 won't have any issues. Just make sure you're actually plugging it into a USB 265 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:03,919 header because it looks quite similar to some other 266 00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:08,520 headers. Next is front panel audio. Usually this is located on sort of the 267 00:19:06,559 --> 00:19:13,280 left hand side of the board near the bottom left corner. This 268 00:19:11,360 --> 00:19:17,120 one has a blocked off pin, but it's in a different position than USB 2. So, as 269 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:22,799 long as you make sure that that corresponds to the missing pin on the connector, you won't have any difficulty 270 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:29,960 with that one in either. Plug in HD audio if you have the option. Only very 271 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:32,240 old motherboards rely on the AC97 272 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:37,919 standard. Which brings us to the trickiest part. Power switch, reset 273 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:39,520 switch, power LED, and hard drive LED. 274 00:19:37,919 --> 00:19:44,160 For the power switch and the reset switch, the orientation is not 275 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:46,919 important. It doesn't matter. Don't worry about positive and negative. Just 276 00:19:45,919 --> 00:19:51,039 plug them in. And this is what I mean about some 277 00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:56,000 motherboards not being clearly labeled. The power and hard drive LEDs do rely on 278 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:59,760 being plugged in a certain way. And on this particular board, the positive and 279 00:19:57,760 --> 00:20:03,039 negative terminals aren't labeled, so I'll have to consult the manual to make 280 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:06,720 sure I get them right. Don't worry though, if you plug them in wrong, it's 281 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:10,400 not going to damage anything. Your LEDs just won't light up. So, you can crack 282 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:14,000 it back open, reverse them, and they'll work just 283 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:18,240 fine. Okay, we could have used the fans included with the H100i, but they 284 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:22,640 wouldn't be so sexy like these ones with the little white mod rings on them. Of 285 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:26,400 course, there includes white, blue, and red rings in the box, so you can pick 286 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:30,080 whatever you want for your color scheme. We went with white to go with our white 287 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:34,880 case. Now, not everyone would want to use an H100i in this case because it's a 288 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:38,960 bit of a weird mounting situation where what you do is you remove the top 289 00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:43,200 plastic plate here and you mount the radiator a little bit externally. Now, 290 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:47,440 if you're into the sort of modded hot rod look, then you might like that. If 291 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:50,880 you're not into that, go with an H8I instead. It doesn't perform quite as 292 00:20:49,120 --> 00:20:54,799 well because it's a single 120 mm radiator, but it still supports Corsair 293 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:58,880 Link. It's a thick radiator, so it performs about as well as a single rad, 294 00:20:57,280 --> 00:21:02,679 and it's going to keep all the components inside. So, what we're going 295 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:07,360 to do is we're going to start by removing the stock Intel cooler. Now, 296 00:21:05,120 --> 00:21:10,640 that we don't need that anymore. We're going to pop out that top piece of 297 00:21:08,799 --> 00:21:14,880 plastic on the case using the tabs inside. We're going to get the radiator 298 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:19,600 in position, screw the fans in from the inside. Then it's time to mount the CPU 299 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:23,440 block and pump combo unit to the processor itself. The trick with 300 00:21:21,919 --> 00:21:27,360 mounting the fans to the rad with the H100i is making sure that you get the 301 00:21:25,679 --> 00:21:30,320 right screws. So, there's a lot of screws in the box. You can consult the 302 00:21:28,799 --> 00:21:35,200 manual if you're not sure. Otherwise, find the one that looks like what I'm holding up because we're going to go 303 00:21:33,039 --> 00:21:38,960 through the fan, through the top of the case, and into the rad. Make sure as 304 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:42,240 you're positioning it, you leave the leads, the three pin fan connectors, 305 00:21:40,799 --> 00:21:46,080 somewhere near the back of the case so you can hide them and not have unsightly 306 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:49,600 wires cluttering up your build. The other thing is this is where you decide 307 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:53,440 whether you want to push air through the radiator or pull air through the 308 00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:58,080 radiator. I prefer pull because it allows you to clean it more easily 309 00:21:55,039 --> 00:21:59,840 without removing the fans first. Lining 310 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:03,919 up the screws and the fans and the radiator can be a little bit tricky. And 311 00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:07,039 to avoid the risk of cross threading, I recommend starting them with your hands 312 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:11,159 to make sure that you're not putting it in wrong before you tighten them up with 313 00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:15,280 the screwdriver. The last benefit of the SP 314 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:21,039 fans that I didn't mention before compared to the stock ones that come with the H100i is the fact that they 315 00:22:19,039 --> 00:22:26,159 have rubber noise isolating mounts, meaning they'll pass fewer vibrations to 316 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:28,320 your computer, meaning less noise. 317 00:22:26,159 --> 00:22:32,080 Because we mounted a stock cooler, we will need to remove the thermal compound 318 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:36,320 that's left on the CPU. However, we don't need to replace it. The thermal 319 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:40,320 compound that comes on our H100i is extremely high quality. So, if you ever 320 00:22:38,159 --> 00:22:44,159 do need to remove thermal compound, use a lint-free cloth for the final stage, 321 00:22:42,559 --> 00:22:49,440 but you can clean the bulk of it off with toilet paper and 99% isopropyl 322 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:53,520 alcohol. The higher percentage for the alcohol, the better and the more clean 323 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:58,159 it's going to be. Now, the hardware you need is extremely sturdy. This is why I 324 00:22:55,679 --> 00:23:03,000 like the H80i and the H100i, but there are a lot of pieces. So, we need the 325 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:06,559 Intel magnetic hold down. See, this is why I love it. It's 326 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:11,520 brilliant. You just click it on like that. We need the Intel back plate for 327 00:23:08,559 --> 00:23:14,799 everything but LGA 2011. We need the four mounting posts that are going to 328 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:19,840 hold the back plate onto the motherboard. And then we need the four 329 00:23:17,679 --> 00:23:24,720 thumb nuts which are going to hold the magnetic mounting plate down to the 330 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:28,080 mounting posts which are attached to the back plate. That's what makes it secure. 331 00:23:26,799 --> 00:23:32,080 And that's what makes it once you've done it a couple times pretty darn easy 332 00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:36,559 to do. Now, believe me when I say guys, I'm as happy as you that we're getting 333 00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:41,039 close to the end of the little tricky parts, but we're not quite there. In 334 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:45,840 order to control the fans in the system using Corsair Link, we use the included 335 00:23:43,360 --> 00:23:51,760 adapters that come with the H100i to plug into the CPU block and pump unit. 336 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:57,039 Then what we'll do is we'll connect all of our fans to these. And in this case, 337 00:23:54,080 --> 00:24:01,440 we had to get one additional splitter in order to hook up the front fans on the 338 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:06,080 case. There we go. Then we can use software for our controls. Next up, 339 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:10,400 we'll have to plug the USB connector into the side of the CPU block and then 340 00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:15,120 into a header on the motherboard, just like we did before with the front USB 2 341 00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:19,039 connectors. And last but not least, we're going to plug in the leads that 342 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:25,760 are built directly into the CPU block, which is the fan RPM monitor or or pump 343 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:28,080 RPM monitor and a SATA power connector 344 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:32,640 that we can run through the back so that it actually powers the pump itself. 345 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:35,840 Throughout any kind of system build, it's important to think about cable 346 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:39,679 management if you want to have a chance of having it look tidy when you get to 347 00:24:37,919 --> 00:24:43,360 the end. So, this is the first time we're plugging in a power connector 348 00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:46,960 other than to the motherboard from the power supply. So, it's important to make 349 00:24:45,279 --> 00:24:51,600 sure that we route it somewhere that we're going to be able to tie it up 350 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:55,600 tidily later on after the fact. It's great that we're using Corsair Link and 351 00:24:53,279 --> 00:25:00,000 the H100i in order to plug in all of our fans, but we have to actually plug in 352 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:04,480 that SATA connector that I showed you before. So, we're going to route this 353 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:08,080 sort of on this side of the 24, but on this side of the A pin in order to make 354 00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:13,440 it so that we're going to be able to close our case easily once we're 355 00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:18,480 finished. So, now by plugging this in, we have provided power for all five of 356 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:21,840 the fans in our case. We're going to leave the front fans. They're white LED 357 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:24,799 fans. They're wired into the case in such a way that you can turn them on and 358 00:25:23,279 --> 00:25:29,039 off with the push of a button, which is very cool. But we're going to replace 359 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:33,279 this last rear fan with one of our SP fans so we have a more consistent look 360 00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:36,360 to the inside of our build. All you got to do is remove the four fan screws from 361 00:25:35,679 --> 00:25:42,960 the back. It's probably going to like fall out here. There we go. That wasn't so 362 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:46,880 bad. Keep those four screws because they're the same kinds for pretty much 363 00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:51,279 all fans. We're going to take our SP fan. Again, making sure to orient the 364 00:25:49,279 --> 00:25:56,320 connector so that we can easily route it behind the motherboard tray for maximum 365 00:25:53,679 --> 00:26:00,080 tidiness and software control. Then we're going to put those four screws 366 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:03,679 back in. And now we have a nice consistent look to the inside of the 367 00:26:01,679 --> 00:26:07,919 system. Look at this. We're getting there. It's time to put in our storage 368 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:13,919 devices. So, we've got our SSD for which we will need I just use two screws 369 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:15,520 because uh I'm lazy and it's an SSD. 370 00:26:13,919 --> 00:26:19,840 It's not like it's going to get damaged if it, you know, falls around or 371 00:26:17,120 --> 00:26:24,320 whatever else. And because the CM Storm Scout 2 supports SSDs natively, all we 372 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:29,200 have to do is grab one of these 2 and 1/2 in drive sleds, screw it in on the 373 00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:31,840 bottom with two of the included screws that come with the 374 00:26:32,120 --> 00:26:38,440 case. There we go. There we go. Just 375 00:26:35,279 --> 00:26:41,440 like that. Looks good. Pop that back 376 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:43,039 in. and our SSD is installed except for 377 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:46,240 the power and SATA connectors at the back. For the hard drive, things are a 378 00:26:45,120 --> 00:26:50,640 little bit different. We're going to use the sleds, so the rails that were 379 00:26:48,559 --> 00:26:54,400 included in that cardboard box. We're going to plug these in with the tabs 380 00:26:52,240 --> 00:26:58,640 towards the front. That is where the connectors are not on the drive. And 381 00:26:56,960 --> 00:27:03,039 then the short ends where the connectors are at the back. We take that whole 382 00:27:00,559 --> 00:27:10,200 assembly with the two sled rails and the drive itself and we slide that 383 00:27:06,120 --> 00:27:13,039 in until we hear a nice satisfying 384 00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:17,760 click. So, let's get all those fans connected. Now, we used one splitter on 385 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:21,679 one of our four fans that we can plug directly into the Corsair Link module. 386 00:27:20,159 --> 00:27:25,360 So, those ones are going to be our two front fans. We're going to plug those 387 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:29,279 directly into that splitter. We're going to control them at the same time and 388 00:27:27,679 --> 00:27:34,559 we're not going to be able to monitor the RPMs of both of them. So, that's 389 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:38,000 okay because if one of those fans fails, it's really not the end of the world. 390 00:27:36,159 --> 00:27:43,200 Whereas, we're going to dedicate a full connector to each of the fans on the 391 00:27:40,279 --> 00:27:46,720 H100i because if one of those fails, it could be a problem for us in terms of 392 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:51,520 CPU overheating, especially if we've overclocked it really far. for our rear 393 00:27:49,360 --> 00:27:56,240 120 millimeter fan. That one gets its own fan header as well, so that we can 394 00:27:53,679 --> 00:28:00,640 control each of the zones of the case separately using the software. We're 395 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:05,279 also going to plug in our front drives. So, power is routed with another one of 396 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:11,120 our two SATA harnesses that we have on this power supply, giving us four SATA 397 00:28:07,919 --> 00:28:15,799 connectors. So, we can easily plug in 398 00:28:11,120 --> 00:28:15,799 our hard drive right here. 399 00:28:20,559 --> 00:28:27,840 Then we can use the next connector for our SSD, which is right 400 00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:32,320 here. This gives us two more connectors that we could use for additional drives 401 00:28:29,679 --> 00:28:36,559 without using any adapters. Now, we need those two SATA cables that came with our 402 00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:41,159 motherboard, both of which are right angle cables, which is fine because we 403 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:46,640 can use the angled side on the back of the drives. Then we 404 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:50,799 can use the straight side to go directly into the already angled connectors on 405 00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:56,240 the motherboard. The only real thing to watch out for is, as you can see on this 406 00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:58,799 board, it clearly states, "Use SSDs in 407 00:28:56,240 --> 00:29:02,000 the top two ports as opposed to the other ones." Don't worry, it's not going 408 00:29:00,559 --> 00:29:05,840 to break anything if you use a different drive, but you'll get the best 409 00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:12,480 performance if you plug your SSDs into the native Intel serial ATA 3 or 6 GB 410 00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:16,399 per second ports. Now, it's really no secret. I'm not the 411 00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:20,159 master of cable management by any stretch of the imagination, but I want 412 00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:24,080 it to at least look decent from the front. So, we're going to take our Molex 413 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:28,720 harnesses, which we didn't end up using a single four pin Molex connector. We're 414 00:29:26,399 --> 00:29:32,399 going to hide those on the other side of the motherboard tray. What's great about 415 00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:35,840 this case is there's lots of room for hiding unneeded cables. So, we're going 416 00:29:34,399 --> 00:29:40,399 to turn this around so you guys can actually see what I'm doing. There we 417 00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:43,120 go. We're going to hide this in the front. Just like that. Just find 418 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:48,559 somewhere to tuck it. It doesn't really matter. Then what we're going to do is we're going to take some of those zip 419 00:29:46,159 --> 00:29:54,159 ties that came with both our power supply and our case and we're just going 420 00:29:51,679 --> 00:29:58,640 to organize these cables on the back so that they're not in the way of anything 421 00:29:56,080 --> 00:30:01,840 when we try to close the side panel. I'm not worried too much again about them 422 00:30:00,399 --> 00:30:07,039 being super gorgeous. So, I'm going to take this bundle and I'm going to kind 423 00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:10,080 of tie it up like this. Then I'm going to take this bundle and I'm going to 424 00:30:08,399 --> 00:30:14,240 kind of tie it up like this with the objective being to keep things flat so 425 00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:18,000 that the side panel closes without any difficulty. You don't want to tie things 426 00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:24,039 too tight because then you're going to end up with undo strain on the 427 00:30:20,399 --> 00:30:26,480 connectors which can damage them over 428 00:30:24,039 --> 00:30:29,679 time. If you've hung with us this long, you're almost at the end. All that's 429 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:33,840 left now is to install the graphics card. So, the first thing we're going to 430 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:40,559 do is remove the two thumb screws that correspond to the PCI Express 16X slot. 431 00:30:37,279 --> 00:30:43,600 Now, PCI Express 16X slots are not all 432 00:30:40,559 --> 00:30:45,679 made equally. There's physical and 433 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:48,960 electrical specifications. So, if you're not sure which one's the right one to 434 00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:53,360 get the most performance out of your graphics card, it's usually the top one. 435 00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:57,440 If you're still not sure, consult the user's manual and it'll tell you what 436 00:30:55,440 --> 00:31:02,480 each of them is wired up for. So once we've removed those two screws and the 437 00:30:59,840 --> 00:31:07,200 two PCI slot covers that are in there, all we have to do is align the PCI 438 00:31:05,039 --> 00:31:11,320 Express 16X interface at the bottom of the card with the PCI Express 16X slot 439 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:16,960 on the motherboard. Push down firmly until the 440 00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:21,200 connector locks into place. Then put the thumb screws back in. And then it's time 441 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:24,720 to connect the power cables. We're going to route these much the same way we've 442 00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:29,200 done before along the back of the motherboard tray, which now looks a 443 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:34,720 little better than it did before with some of the zip ties that we've put in place. These are going to come out right 444 00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:38,399 near the graphics card itself, which is what's so great about these modern cases 445 00:31:36,799 --> 00:31:42,799 with cable management. I remember back in the old days, we didn't have that and 446 00:31:40,559 --> 00:31:47,039 we walked to school both ways uphill and it was snowing and there was fire and 447 00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:50,720 brimstone all over the place. And anyway, I think I'm off on a bit of a 448 00:31:49,039 --> 00:31:55,120 tangent here. So, this particular graphics card requires two PCI Express 449 00:31:53,360 --> 00:31:59,360 six pin connectors which we will plug in. And our build is 450 00:31:59,799 --> 00:32:06,200 now almost complete. Still got to power it on, make sure she works, and close up 451 00:32:05,039 --> 00:32:10,799 the side panels. Now, I'm about to do something 452 00:32:08,480 --> 00:32:17,279 that's incredibly bad luck. I haven't booted up the machine yet, and I am 453 00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:19,039 going to close one of the side panels. 454 00:32:17,279 --> 00:32:23,360 Usually when I close the side panel before I make sure it works, it doesn't 455 00:32:21,519 --> 00:32:26,960 work on the first crack. And there's one small thing I have to fix. But I'm 456 00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:30,080 hoping that since we've, you know, gone to great lengths to make sure that this 457 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:34,720 is an awesome build that you guys can follow along with that we haven't 458 00:32:32,080 --> 00:32:39,279 actually made any mistakes. So, our right side panel is 459 00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:43,840 on our left side panel. Check out what that looks like. Isn't that a gaming rig 460 00:32:41,279 --> 00:32:46,960 that you'd be proud to call your own? All right, we're going to remove the 461 00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:52,720 little plastic cover on the Windows inside here. At least we're going to 462 00:32:49,279 --> 00:32:55,200 try. It's on there pretty good. Hey, 463 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:58,960 there we go. There's the one. We'll take off the outside one once we're done 464 00:32:56,559 --> 00:33:06,559 putting it on. Helps to have it oriented the right way there, folks. Do recommend 465 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:09,840 doing that. And she is closed. This is 466 00:33:06,559 --> 00:33:14,000 what our $1,500 gaming machine looks 467 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:16,120 like. And it's time to fire her up. 468 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:22,000 Don't forget your thumb screws. And everything's working. Or is 469 00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:25,919 it? Now that we've got the system booted up, it's really important to run a 470 00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:30,720 couple basic utilities to ensure that it's firing on all cylinders before you 471 00:33:28,399 --> 00:33:34,080 call your system done. because the last thing you want is to find out that 472 00:33:32,399 --> 00:33:38,640 there's a slight instability somewhere down the line in the middle of doing 473 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:43,600 something critical only to have it go and turn off, power down, reset, have 474 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:46,559 corrupted data, anything like that. So, we're going to walk you through the 475 00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:50,640 basic stuff that we run to ensure the system is working at peak efficiency. 476 00:33:49,039 --> 00:33:55,519 Now, the first three utilities are mostly for your CPU and they kind of go 477 00:33:52,559 --> 00:33:58,720 hand in hand in face or other hand. If you had three hands, then that's what 478 00:33:56,960 --> 00:34:03,120 they would do. And they're mostly important if you're overclocking. In our 479 00:34:00,480 --> 00:34:07,519 case, we overvolted our CPU to 1.32 volts and turned the multiplier up to 44 480 00:34:05,519 --> 00:34:11,760 MHz because it's unlocked. So overclocking is that simple these days. 481 00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:15,359 More voltage, more megahertz until it stops working. So in our case, we got to 482 00:34:13,919 --> 00:34:19,599 make sure that it's working. And how do you know? Well, CPUZ tells you if the 483 00:34:17,839 --> 00:34:25,679 overclock actually took. So you can see right here we're running at 4,400 MHz, 484 00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:31,639 which is 4.4 GHz. So that's awesome. That's working. Next up is Prime 95. So 485 00:34:28,480 --> 00:34:34,720 you go into options, torture test, small 486 00:34:31,639 --> 00:34:36,480 FFT, and then press okay. And it'll run 487 00:34:34,720 --> 00:34:41,599 this test for at least, I would recommend, 24 hours to ensure that your 488 00:34:39,200 --> 00:34:45,200 CPU is not making any calculation errors. That tells you that it's 489 00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:49,280 actually working correctly, even though you've amped the frequency way up. The 490 00:34:47,839 --> 00:34:54,720 last one that you want to use is right here, Realtemp GT. And as long as your 491 00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:59,200 CPU is staying at around, I'd say 85 degrees tops. And this is under load. 492 00:34:57,359 --> 00:35:02,640 This is under an intensive artificial load. You'll never see a load like this 493 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:06,880 in the real world unless you're doing some pretty intensive stuff like folding 494 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:11,040 at home, for example. So, you want that to stay under around 85° to make sure 495 00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:15,359 your CPU doesn't throttle. Thermal throttling is when the CPU slows itself 496 00:35:13,440 --> 00:35:19,520 down. It's like, whoa, I can't handle this. I got to slow myself down to keep 497 00:35:17,119 --> 00:35:23,359 myself cool enough that I can, you know, handle it and not die. So, we're not 498 00:35:22,079 --> 00:35:27,760 reaching that point, which means our overclock is good to go and our Prime 95 499 00:35:25,760 --> 00:35:30,960 is stable. There are other applications you can use instead of Prime 95, but 500 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:35,839 it's the one that we've always been using and we just kind of like it. So, 501 00:35:33,119 --> 00:35:38,960 there you go. There's my tech tip. Now, speaking of the importance of 502 00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:43,040 temperatures, graphics card temperatures are huge. What if something went wrong 503 00:35:40,720 --> 00:35:47,119 with your graphics card? a fan failed, for example, or it wasn't mounted 504 00:35:45,440 --> 00:35:50,400 correctly, it got jiggled loose in shipping or something like that when you 505 00:35:48,720 --> 00:35:53,680 got your graphics card. So, you want to make sure your graphics card's running 506 00:35:51,839 --> 00:35:58,200 right before you start firing up games on it as well. So, we use a couple of 507 00:35:55,680 --> 00:36:03,280 programs called MSI's Afterburner and Combuster. And Combuster is spelled very 508 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:07,200 uniquely, so don't mind that. But, we use these to make sure that the graphics 509 00:36:04,880 --> 00:36:10,880 card is running correctly. So, we can load it up with Combuster. Then, we can 510 00:36:09,280 --> 00:36:15,359 monitor temperatures. We can see that it's running at about 76°, which is more 511 00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:20,400 than okay for these graphics cards. Anything up to about 90 to 95° is 512 00:36:18,079 --> 00:36:25,440 actually okay for a modern graphics card. And that tells us again, so 513 00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:27,280 besides our CPU, our graphics subsystem 514 00:36:25,440 --> 00:36:30,720 is running correctly as well. The last thing that I'd really recommend running, 515 00:36:28,720 --> 00:36:36,000 but I can't show you in Windows here, is Memest 86. You load that onto a USB 516 00:36:33,760 --> 00:36:40,480 drive, throw that in your system, and that'll test your memory to ensure that 517 00:36:38,160 --> 00:36:45,280 nowhere within your system are any errors being made. That way, you know 518 00:36:42,240 --> 00:36:46,880 you can trust it to be 100% stable. 519 00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:52,320 Here's another software tip for you guys. Head to nite 520 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:55,920 nit.com as the first thing you do with your system once you've made sure it's 521 00:36:53,839 --> 00:36:59,280 working correctly. Select all the stuff you want to install. You want web 522 00:36:57,280 --> 00:37:04,400 browsers, Chrome, Opera, Firefox. You want iTunes, Skype, uh, Java.net, Air, 523 00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:07,440 Shockwave, Dropbox, Google Drive, all that good stuff. All you got to do is 524 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:11,680 select all the things you want, get installer. It avoids all the bloatware 525 00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:15,599 that comes with the programs and it does an automated install of all of them with 526 00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:18,960 default options without you touching it at all. And there's one really important 527 00:37:17,280 --> 00:37:23,839 one you Windows 8 users might want to check out. Under utilities, get classic 528 00:37:21,760 --> 00:37:29,599 start because it is a fantastic start menu that adds Tada, the start menu to 529 00:37:27,839 --> 00:37:34,880 Windows 8. Not only that, but you can decide which kind of start menu you want 530 00:37:31,920 --> 00:37:39,440 and there are a ton of settings that you can change and reconfigure and make the 531 00:37:37,040 --> 00:37:45,040 start menu not only there in Windows 8, but better than it ever was before and 532 00:37:42,079 --> 00:37:49,680 more customizable. That way you get the benefits of all the touch features of 533 00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:55,440 Windows 8 like swiping in in order to do a search or multitasking between 534 00:37:52,640 --> 00:38:00,000 applications like this with all the benefits of previous editions of 535 00:37:57,720 --> 00:38:05,200 Windows. So you guys saw me fire up Angry Birds there. Yes, Windows 8 is 536 00:38:02,720 --> 00:38:09,440 great as a casual gaming experience. You can get games from the Windows Store. 537 00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:14,400 You can install regular games that run in touchscreen. But it's not just about 538 00:38:12,560 --> 00:38:17,760 the casual gaming experience that your kids are going to want to enjoy or 539 00:38:15,599 --> 00:38:22,079 whatever else. I mean, it's cool having a big touchcreen like this basically 540 00:38:19,440 --> 00:38:26,160 means you've got like a gigantic tablet that lives on your desk. Very neat. But 541 00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:32,480 you can use the other multitasking feature here. So, we're going to open up the desktop. All the major online gaming 542 00:38:29,760 --> 00:38:36,640 store platforms, Steam, Play, and Origin all run just fine on Windows 8. And not 543 00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:41,599 only that, but we observed some tangible performance differences between Windows 544 00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:46,560 7 and Windows 8 due in part to the fact that Windows 8 uses less resources than 545 00:38:43,680 --> 00:38:50,480 Windows 7 on your system and actually handles the way that core scheduling 546 00:38:48,560 --> 00:38:54,240 works on the CPU a little bit more efficiently in some cases as well. So 547 00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:58,240 Battlefield 3 was an example where it ran about the same in our lab, 3% 548 00:38:56,240 --> 00:39:03,040 improvement over Windows 7 for Windows 8, but we'll call that margin of error. 549 00:39:00,640 --> 00:39:07,040 We'll call that the same. Dirt 3 was one example where we found that Windows 8 550 00:39:04,720 --> 00:39:12,720 performed 10% less than Windows 7. However, in Far Cry 3, Windows 8 551 00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:14,960 performed 32% better than Windows 7 and 552 00:39:12,720 --> 00:39:19,280 in The Elder Scrolls 5, it was about 3% better. So, in general, we saw more 553 00:39:17,119 --> 00:39:24,079 improvements than we saw performance decreases, or it's the same. So, while 554 00:39:21,680 --> 00:39:29,440 Windows 8 might be criticized by some gamers as not optimal for hardcore 555 00:39:26,560 --> 00:39:33,040 gaming necessarily, that is actually not the experience we had at all. Once you 556 00:39:31,440 --> 00:39:36,960 get around a couple of little finicky things, make sure Games for Windows Live 557 00:39:35,040 --> 00:39:41,520 is installed before you try to run any of your games and make sure you got the 558 00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:46,800 latest drivers. I mean, it's pretty basic stuff beyond that games for 559 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:50,079 Windows Live tip. So whether or not you feel that touch belongs on the desktop 560 00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:54,880 or whether it should stick to tablets and notebooks and phones and all those 561 00:39:52,079 --> 00:40:00,400 other devices, you got to admit the idea that you can go between playing Jetack 562 00:39:57,040 --> 00:40:03,599 Joyide on your 23in 1080p screen and 563 00:40:00,400 --> 00:40:06,320 then switching out and enjoying content 564 00:40:03,599 --> 00:40:11,520 on said screen or even going and playing a quote unquote real game is pretty darn 565 00:40:09,680 --> 00:40:16,880 cool. I hope you guys have really enjoyed this ultimate build guide for 566 00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:21,359 our $1,500 recommended system. And I'd love to hear your feedback. Post under 567 00:40:18,880 --> 00:40:26,240 the video and let us know what did you think you could have improved with a 568 00:40:23,200 --> 00:40:28,240 $1,500 budget? And do you really think 569 00:40:26,240 --> 00:40:32,560 that with a touchscreen, you still need to be investing in high-end gaming grade 570 00:40:30,560 --> 00:40:35,839 peripherals such as the ones that we've chosen here today. We're going to close 571 00:40:34,240 --> 00:40:40,800 out the video with some glamour footage of our finished system. And I hope to 572 00:40:37,839 --> 00:40:53,569 see you guys next time in our Yes, there will be more of these next build 573 00:40:56,200 --> 00:40:59,200 guide. 574 00:41:13,160 --> 00:41:17,160 Heat. Heat.