WEBVTT 00:00:20.080 --> 00:00:26.000 Welcome to the first full build guide that we've ever done on Linus Tech Tips 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 00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:34.719 build your very own gaming system in the better class. So that means we're 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:38.480 spending around $1,500 on the tower. Sort of if you subscribe to that good, 00:00:36.399 --> 00:00:42.640 better, best way of thinking, which means we're not really compromising any 00:00:40.399 --> 00:00:46.719 features and any performance and we're not spending so much that it's sort of 00:00:44.879 --> 00:00:49.360 just for bling and bragging rights either. We're going to be installing 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 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:57.840 better performance. and we're going to be pairing it with a touchcreen and 00:00:56.399 --> 00:01:02.440 talking about some of the ways that touch really makes Windows 8 come to 00:00:59.760 --> 00:01:06.320 life, whereas the mouse and keyboard do not. Part of getting the best bang for 00:01:04.720 --> 00:01:10.240 your buck is overclocking. So, everything we've got in front of us here 00:01:07.760 --> 00:01:13.600 is overclocking optimized in some way or another. Now, I want you to think about 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:18.159 your gaming experience kind of like Pi because the two most important things 00:01:15.119 --> 00:01:20.159 for Pi are crust and filling. So, I'm 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 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 00:01:25.360 --> 00:01:32.560 bottlenecks. So if you spent like $1,000 on a graphics card and a hundred bucks 00:01:30.320 --> 00:01:36.000 on a CPU, that graphics card would never reach its full potential anyway. So in 00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:43.200 this case, for our crust, we've gone with a 3570K. It performs just slightly 00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:44.560 less than the 3770K in gaming 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:49.119 applications because it doesn't have hyperthreading. It's a Core i5, but 00:01:47.119 --> 00:01:53.280 because it's a K series skew, you can overclock it to really squeeze the most 00:01:51.360 --> 00:01:58.079 performance possible out of the architecture. We're going to be aiming 00:01:54.720 --> 00:02:00.799 for anywhere from around 4.4 to 4.5 GHz 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 00:02:02.479 --> 00:02:08.560 at all without the crust, but it really makes the experience, particularly from 00:02:06.399 --> 00:02:12.400 a gaming standpoint, enjoyable. This is what enables all those visual effects. 00:02:10.640 --> 00:02:17.040 And we've gone with the GeForce GTX 660Ti Power Edition from MSI. It's an 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:20.480 overclocking optimized card with a dual fan cooler. And I mean, it performs 00:02:18.959 --> 00:02:25.280 great at stock, too. So, if you're not comfortable overclocking, you can always 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 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 00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:36.160 really have Pi without ice cream, and you can't have a computer without all 00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:39.040 this other stuff. So, I think that's where the analogy sort of breaks down. 00:02:37.760 --> 00:02:43.640 But for our motherboard, we went with the Z77A G45 from MSI. This is for a 00:02:42.239 --> 00:02:48.800 couple of reasons. is extremely inexpensive. It's Z77, so it's 00:02:46.160 --> 00:02:52.800 overclocking ready, and it is Crossfire and SLI ready, meaning we are able to 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:56.480 have a ton of flexibility in terms of graphics upgrade options. Speaking of 00:02:54.800 --> 00:03:01.440 flexible graphics upgrade options, the GS700 from Corsair has a three-year 00:02:59.040 --> 00:03:04.560 warranty, a single strong 12volt rail, meaning you can hook up whatever you 00:03:03.040 --> 00:03:08.000 want to it without worrying about it having an overcurren protection shut 00:03:06.480 --> 00:03:11.840 down because you connected everything to the wrong connectors. Don't worry about 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 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:20.159 white to completely off to match your build depending on what route you want 00:03:17.440 --> 00:03:23.840 to go. The memory choice might seem a little bit weird because you probably 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 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:32.799 16 gigs of Corsair Vengeance DDR3600 memory. So, the reason for that 00:03:30.959 --> 00:03:35.680 is pretty simple. If you buy a dual channel kit, you're going to buy two 00:03:34.159 --> 00:03:40.400 sticks to get the most out of the bandwidth available to your CPU. Okay? 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 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:48.720 gigs for upgrading, unless you want to remove those sticks and add in a 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:53.120 completely new set. So, the reason we've done this is because it gives you the 00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:57.120 potential to upgrade to 32 gigs without running into compatibility issues by 00:03:54.959 --> 00:04:03.120 mixing and matching dims down the road or being stuck at a maximum of 16 gigs. 00:04:01.519 --> 00:04:07.760 Now, you might think that the computer case is all about aesthetics, but the CM 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:11.760 Storm Scout 2 from Cooler Master does more than that. It's got great cooling. 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:14.959 It's very rugged. The durability of it that the build quality of it is 00:04:13.200 --> 00:04:18.560 outstanding considering the price, and it's very portable. It has a handle in 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 00:04:20.479 --> 00:04:25.680 hold the entire case up by the handle and shake it around without any flex and 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 00:04:29.440 --> 00:04:34.759 it looks really good. So yes, there there's aesthetics as well. It is a 00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:40.000 factor. For cooling, we've gone with SP120 quiet edition fans from Corsair. I 00:04:38.080 --> 00:04:43.440 personally find that static pressure is more important than sheer air flow when 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 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:53.520 scenarios. And for the CPU, we've gone with a Hydro Series H100i liquid cooler. 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:57.759 This is going to allow us to reach that overclock that we wanted. And because it 00:04:55.680 --> 00:05:01.280 comes with Corsair's link software, we can monitor things like fluid 00:04:59.280 --> 00:05:05.840 temperatures, system temperatures, and fan RPMs using software, keeping close 00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:10.080 close tabs on our system to make sure it's running at peak efficiency. The 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:13.840 storage subsystem really comes down to personal choice, but what I'll do is 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 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 00:05:21.360 --> 00:05:27.120 rather than going for a 520 series, we sacrificed a little bit of performance 00:05:25.039 --> 00:05:31.120 to get a bit more capacity because I personally find that 120 gigs is not 00:05:29.440 --> 00:05:36.479 quite enough these days if you're running a pure SSD boot drive for all of 00:05:33.600 --> 00:05:41.280 your OS, application, and gaming needs. We also added a Seagate Barracuda 3 TBTE 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:44.800 drive for mass storage because, let's face it, SSDs aren't at the point yet 00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:47.840 where they're inexpensive enough that you can store everything on them. This 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:53.280 gives us a couple of interesting options. We can go with a 180 gig drive 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 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 00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:07.360 Intel Smart Response technology, which is built into your Z77 board, and you 00:06:05.280 --> 00:06:14.160 can have a super speedy boot drive with a few key applications. Then a cache SSD 00:06:11.720 --> 00:06:17.840 accelerated mass storage drive where you can install things like games. So, your 00:06:15.919 --> 00:06:22.479 most frequently used applications will be much faster than if they were just 00:06:19.919 --> 00:06:26.000 stored purely on a mechanical drive. When it comes to peripherals, things get 00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:30.880 real personal real fast. For our monitor, we went with an Acer 00:06:28.039 --> 00:06:34.080 T232HL. This is a 10point multi-touch touchscreen monitor. Remember, we're 00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:38.639 talking about the Windows 8 experience and how touch really makes it come to 00:06:36.080 --> 00:06:42.960 life. It's also an IPS screen, which means better viewing angles and better 00:06:40.720 --> 00:06:48.720 color reproduction, which I personally will prefer to the faster response times 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, 00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:55.560 and that's fine. Uh, for our headset, we went with the Vengeance 1300 from 00:06:54.080 --> 00:06:59.520 Corsair because they're relatively inexpensive, they sound pretty good, and 00:06:58.080 --> 00:07:03.360 they're lightweight and comfortable. However, there are more premium options 00:07:01.440 --> 00:07:07.599 out there such as the Siberia V2 from Steeleries. This one in particular also 00:07:05.840 --> 00:07:11.360 matches our build pretty well with a white and blue color scheme. For the 00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:14.880 keyboard, again, this is personal choice. Not everyone believes that you 00:07:13.280 --> 00:07:18.400 even have to spend a lot of money on a keyboard for gaming, but I personally 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:22.000 find that a mechanical keyboard really enhances the typing experience, and I 00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:25.840 prefer it for gaming. And this is the Quickfire Pro from CM Storm. This 00:07:24.080 --> 00:07:29.360 particular one has Cherry MX Brown switches, but you can choose almost any 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 00:07:31.440 --> 00:07:37.120 great build quality and it comes in at a very very reasonable price point 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:40.080 considering the budget of the rest of the components we're looking at here. 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:44.560 For our mouse, we went with the Vengeance M65. You could go with the M95 00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:48.319 if you play more MMO games than FPS games. It has more buttons and stuff, 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 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:55.919 to 8200 DPI. It's from Corsair, so, you 00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:59.280 know, can't really go wrong. and it's white which matched the rest of our 00:07:57.280 --> 00:08:03.919 build without being overpriced. For our mouse pad, so last but not least, we 00:08:01.440 --> 00:08:06.960 went with a Steeler QCK. This is just the standard sized one. You don't have 00:08:05.440 --> 00:08:10.160 to get a huge mouse pad unless you're a low sensitivity gamer. And it's 00:08:08.639 --> 00:08:15.199 available not only in the plain black one you see here, but also any number of 00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:18.879 different configurations with cool game gaming artwork and all that kind of cool 00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:22.879 stuff like that. The actual tools you need to build a computer are pretty 00:08:20.479 --> 00:08:26.639 straightforward. I use a big Phillips screwdriver and a small Phillips 00:08:24.960 --> 00:08:30.960 screwdriver for when I can't get access to those hard-to-reach areas. The most 00:08:28.879 --> 00:08:39.159 important thing really is a static free workstation. That means no carpets, no 00:08:34.519 --> 00:08:41.200 cats. Hi. And most importantly, no 00:08:39.159 --> 00:08:47.560 clothes. Actually, wait, no, sorry. Clothes are okay, but no carpets and no 00:08:44.519 --> 00:08:49.920 cats. Now, techs who do a lot of 00:08:47.560 --> 00:08:53.920 workh might have a dedicated staticresistant test platform for making 00:08:52.240 --> 00:08:58.800 sure that components work before you install them in the case where some 00:08:55.600 --> 00:09:00.160 issues can occur. But let's face it, you 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 00:09:05.040 --> 00:09:11.760 place to test the components before you actually install them into the chassis. 00:09:10.160 --> 00:09:16.560 Before we can assemble our ghetto test bench, we got to remove the motherboard 00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:16.560 from the box. 00:09:16.800 --> 00:09:22.240 Now, the only pieces I need are the IO shield and the SATA cables. Other than 00:09:21.120 --> 00:09:28.000 that, we're going to leave everything inside. If we were running SLI, for 00:09:24.160 --> 00:09:28.000 example, we would also take out the SLI 00:09:30.200 --> 00:09:36.839 bridge. Next is the motherboard itself. We remove that from the ESD bag. This 00:09:35.040 --> 00:09:40.959 protects it during transport. Put that inside the box. And 00:09:39.519 --> 00:09:44.240 being careful not to touch any of the sensitive electronics. You can see I'm 00:09:42.560 --> 00:09:51.120 actually holding it by the heat sink and the back plate here. We put that onto 00:09:47.519 --> 00:09:53.360 our makeshift test bench. Installing 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:57.200 CPUs is so easy. Now, lift up the retention ARM. Lift up the hold down 00:09:55.279 --> 00:10:02.080 plate. No need to remove the protective plastic cover yet. Align the little gold 00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:06.959 triangle on the top of your CPU with the triangle on your motherboard itself. 00:10:04.720 --> 00:10:06.959 Like 00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:15.680 so. Close down the hold down plate. Close down the retention ARM. Little bit 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:20.079 of strength required here. And check that out. The plastic cover will pop off 00:10:17.760 --> 00:10:24.240 and your CPU socket pins were never exposed. In order to make use of dual 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:28.079 channel memory, take your two memory sticks. Remember, we're using two so 00:10:26.079 --> 00:10:32.000 that we have expandability for later and install them in the color-coded memory 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:36.720 slots by pushing down firmly on both sides after opening up the tabs on the 00:10:34.320 --> 00:10:40.640 side. Now, I personally prefer to install them in the slots furthest away 00:10:38.560 --> 00:10:43.839 from the CPU socket. However, because we're using a liquid cooler, we don't 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:47.760 have to worry about any clearance issues, but if you were using an air 00:10:45.519 --> 00:10:52.880 cooler, then this is definitely the recommended way to do 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 00:10:56.079 --> 00:11:01.360 recommend installing that stock heat sink that came with your CPU. The pins 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 00:11:04.560 --> 00:11:11.320 length on the four pin connector to reach the CPU fan header on your 00:11:08.760 --> 00:11:16.079 motherboard. Push them down in a cross pattern. 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:17.839 One. Two. Waiting for the click. Then 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 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 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:30.000 once we do the proper assembly of the computer. But basically all I've 00:11:27.680 --> 00:11:35.200 connected here is 24 pin power, eight pin power, two six pin power adapters to 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 00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:43.600 boots. And I have plugged in a keyboard just in case we have to press anything 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. 00:11:45.760 --> 00:11:52.480 And this board does not have onboard switches. So we can use a key, a 00:11:50.160 --> 00:11:56.800 screwdriver or anything else metallic to short out the power switch. And now 00:11:54.720 --> 00:12:00.320 we'll find out if our components are working. So, press F1 to run 00:12:01.160 --> 00:12:09.240 setup. And we have at least basic functionality. Time to proceed with the 00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:11.600 full build. Preamble's over, 00:12:09.240 --> 00:12:16.240 folks. Time to actually build this thing. So, you can follow along step by 00:12:13.600 --> 00:12:19.920 step, and I guarantee you anyone will be able to build the exact computer that 00:12:18.240 --> 00:12:24.320 we're building here today. And most of the principles can be applied to pretty 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:29.200 much any custom machine that you would build at any time. Step one, inspect 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 00:12:32.880 --> 00:12:38.880 happened to it during transit. Step two is to take off the side panels. Even 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:42.880 though many cases ship with thumb screws, often they're too tight from the 00:12:41.040 --> 00:12:46.399 factory to remove by hand, so you have to loosen them with a screwdriver. Put 00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:50.720 all the screws you take out somewhere safe, such as in a little tray. And I 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 00:12:54.240 --> 00:12:59.920 paddle down somewhere and tripped over it as I go to do something else, 00:12:57.839 --> 00:13:05.120 scratching it. So, the place I recommend keeping it is in the box that your case 00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:09.920 came in with the styrofoam pieces in between the two side panels so that they 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 00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:18.480 need in order to build my computer? The simple answer is your case comes with 00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:22.200 all of that stuff. Most cases come with either a box or a baggie inside that 00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:26.959 contains the screws you need to completely outfit that case with 00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:31.760 whatever hardware it happens to support. So, in this 00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:36.200 case, in this case, we've got a cardboard box that was mounted in one of 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 00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:47.040 speakers and zip ties even that you'll need to assemble your computer. In most 00:13:44.800 --> 00:13:50.480 highquality cases, the cables inside that are pre-wired are going to be tied 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. 00:13:55.200 --> 00:13:59.760 Free them all. Don't worry, we'll do cable management later so that you can 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 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. 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:13.920 You need nine motherboard standoffs. These are the little golden guys with 00:14:11.760 --> 00:14:16.720 the hex shape. And Cooler Master includes a convenient little tool that 00:14:15.279 --> 00:14:20.399 allows you to drive them into the motherboard tray with a Phillips head 00:14:18.880 --> 00:14:24.320 screwdriver. So, you're going to install them, assuming you're using an ATX 00:14:22.160 --> 00:14:30.240 board, that is a fulllength board. You're going to be installing them in 00:14:25.760 --> 00:14:32.079 holes A, B, C, D, E, F, J, KL. The other 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:36.160 holes on the motherboard tray are for different sizes of motherboards. You can 00:14:34.560 --> 00:14:40.240 consult the manual if you're not sure which one is right for yours. Putting in 00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:45.360 IO shields can be a little bit tricky. Just make sure that you press on all 00:14:42.240 --> 00:14:47.680 four corners firmly to ensure that it's 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:51.120 actually in place before you try to install the motherboard. Before putting 00:14:49.440 --> 00:14:55.600 the motherboard in, make sure you've got the right screws by doing a quick test 00:14:53.120 --> 00:14:59.519 fit to ensure that the threads match up with the threads of the standoffs that 00:14:57.440 --> 00:15:03.360 you just installed. Hold the motherboard by something that's not going to damage 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 00:15:04.800 --> 00:15:13.920 remove it later to install our liquid cooler. and approaching at an angle, 00:15:10.160 --> 00:15:13.920 line up the IO ports at the 00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:23.279 back. Then hold the motherboard in 00:15:26.440 --> 00:15:32.720 place while installing at least one screw so that it doesn't move around 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 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:40.560 tight. It just has to not move. 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 00:15:42.240 --> 00:15:47.519 have a power supply in your computer yet. When you install your power supply, 00:15:45.760 --> 00:15:51.600 you have two main options for a bottom- mounted power supply. You can either 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:55.519 mount it with the fan on top, which will draw air from inside the case and 00:15:53.199 --> 00:15:58.880 exhaust it out the back. The advantage is that you're drawing more air through 00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:03.040 the case and out the back. The disadvantage is that you can be more 00:16:00.880 --> 00:16:05.920 likely to accumulate dust because you don't have any dust filter right next to 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 00:16:09.519 --> 00:16:16.399 air to cool the power supply. The other option is flipping it fanside down. So 00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:20.000 in this case, our Storm Scout 2 has a filter on the bottom, which should keep 00:16:17.680 --> 00:16:24.399 the insides clean. But the disadvantage is if you put your case down on a plush 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:28.160 carpet, it might suffocate the power supply and it might not get enough fresh 00:16:26.160 --> 00:16:32.399 air. So, think carefully about how you're planning to deploy your computer 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:36.639 before installing the power supply. I generally go fan up because particularly 00:16:34.959 --> 00:16:39.839 with our graphics card, we're going to draw some of that heat away from the 00:16:38.160 --> 00:16:44.000 graphics card and out the back of the case using this additional fan for 00:16:44.680 --> 00:16:51.959 cooling. Line it up with the back of the case. Install the four screws. 00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:59.720 And it actually takes less time to install a power supply than it takes to 00:16:57.600 --> 00:17:04.720 think about how to install a power supply. At this stage of the game, 00:17:02.079 --> 00:17:08.640 although building a computer is no game, I recommend plugging in whatever 00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:12.319 connectors you can because as you fill the computer up with more components, 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 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:19.520 start with the main connectors that go into the motherboard. The Scout 2 has 00:17:17.679 --> 00:17:24.400 built-in cable management. So, we can run our 24 pin through this gap right 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:28.480 here and then bring it up right next to the connector on the motherboard, making 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:31.480 it so that you don't even see the wires really. 00:17:32.080 --> 00:17:38.960 The eight pin connector can be routed in much the same way, going through that 00:17:35.679 --> 00:17:38.960 cable management hole in the 00:17:39.480 --> 00:17:45.840 bottom, up behind the motherboard 00:17:43.160 --> 00:17:52.280 tray, through the little hole, and then into the eight pin connector up at the 00:17:48.080 --> 00:17:52.280 very top left corner of the motherboard. 00:17:59.360 --> 00:18:05.679 Guys, if at this point you break open the user manual or the quick start guide 00:18:03.520 --> 00:18:08.880 for your motherboard, there is no shame because installing these front panel 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:12.480 connectors can be a little tricky. And while many motherboards have labels 00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:16.240 directly on the board for what's what, often they're actually not very clear. 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 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, 00:18:23.600 --> 00:18:30.240 so it only goes in one way. On our motherboard, we have a right angle USB3 00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:34.320 connector, so there won't really be any strain on the cable or on the fragile 00:18:32.320 --> 00:18:38.840 pins inside, but not all motherboards have that. So, make sure that you don't 00:18:35.760 --> 00:18:41.760 have it wrenching on the connector 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 00:18:43.679 --> 00:18:50.160 blocked off pin on the bottom of the lead coming from your case, and there's 00:18:47.120 --> 00:18:51.679 a missing pin on the motherboard itself. 00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:55.520 As long as the blocked off pin corresponds to the missing pin, you 00:18:53.520 --> 00:18:59.760 won't have any issues. Just make sure you're actually plugging it into a USB 00:18:57.520 --> 00:19:03.919 header because it looks quite similar to some other 00:19:01.160 --> 00:19:08.520 headers. Next is front panel audio. Usually this is located on sort of the 00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:13.280 left hand side of the board near the bottom left corner. This 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 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 00:19:20.400 --> 00:19:29.960 with that one in either. Plug in HD audio if you have the option. Only very 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:32.240 old motherboards rely on the AC97 00:19:29.960 --> 00:19:37.919 standard. Which brings us to the trickiest part. Power switch, reset 00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:39.520 switch, power LED, and hard drive LED. 00:19:37.919 --> 00:19:44.160 For the power switch and the reset switch, the orientation is not 00:19:42.240 --> 00:19:46.919 important. It doesn't matter. Don't worry about positive and negative. Just 00:19:45.919 --> 00:19:51.039 plug them in. And this is what I mean about some 00:19:49.280 --> 00:19:56.000 motherboards not being clearly labeled. The power and hard drive LEDs do rely on 00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:59.760 being plugged in a certain way. And on this particular board, the positive and 00:19:57.760 --> 00:20:03.039 negative terminals aren't labeled, so I'll have to consult the manual to make 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 00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:10.400 not going to damage anything. Your LEDs just won't light up. So, you can crack 00:20:08.240 --> 00:20:14.000 it back open, reverse them, and they'll work just 00:20:11.320 --> 00:20:18.240 fine. Okay, we could have used the fans included with the H100i, but they 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 00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:26.400 course, there includes white, blue, and red rings in the box, so you can pick 00:20:24.480 --> 00:20:30.080 whatever you want for your color scheme. We went with white to go with our white 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 00:20:32.960 --> 00:20:38.960 bit of a weird mounting situation where what you do is you remove the top 00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:43.200 plastic plate here and you mount the radiator a little bit externally. Now, 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 00:20:45.200 --> 00:20:50.880 you're not into that, go with an H8I instead. It doesn't perform quite as 00:20:49.120 --> 00:20:54.799 well because it's a single 120 mm radiator, but it still supports Corsair 00:20:52.960 --> 00:20:58.880 Link. It's a thick radiator, so it performs about as well as a single rad, 00:20:57.280 --> 00:21:02.679 and it's going to keep all the components inside. So, what we're going 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:07.360 to do is we're going to start by removing the stock Intel cooler. Now, 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 00:21:08.799 --> 00:21:14.880 plastic on the case using the tabs inside. We're going to get the radiator 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 00:21:17.440 --> 00:21:23.440 block and pump combo unit to the processor itself. The trick with 00:21:21.919 --> 00:21:27.360 mounting the fans to the rad with the H100i is making sure that you get the 00:21:25.679 --> 00:21:30.320 right screws. So, there's a lot of screws in the box. You can consult the 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 00:21:33.039 --> 00:21:38.960 through the fan, through the top of the case, and into the rad. Make sure as 00:21:37.280 --> 00:21:42.240 you're positioning it, you leave the leads, the three pin fan connectors, 00:21:40.799 --> 00:21:46.080 somewhere near the back of the case so you can hide them and not have unsightly 00:21:44.480 --> 00:21:49.600 wires cluttering up your build. The other thing is this is where you decide 00:21:47.760 --> 00:21:53.440 whether you want to push air through the radiator or pull air through the 00:21:51.280 --> 00:21:58.080 radiator. I prefer pull because it allows you to clean it more easily 00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:59.840 without removing the fans first. Lining 00:21:58.080 --> 00:22:03.919 up the screws and the fans and the radiator can be a little bit tricky. And 00:22:01.600 --> 00:22:07.039 to avoid the risk of cross threading, I recommend starting them with your hands 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 00:22:09.200 --> 00:22:15.280 the screwdriver. The last benefit of the SP 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 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:26.159 have rubber noise isolating mounts, meaning they'll pass fewer vibrations to 00:22:22.880 --> 00:22:28.320 your computer, meaning less noise. 00:22:26.159 --> 00:22:32.080 Because we mounted a stock cooler, we will need to remove the thermal compound 00:22:30.080 --> 00:22:36.320 that's left on the CPU. However, we don't need to replace it. The thermal 00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:40.320 compound that comes on our H100i is extremely high quality. So, if you ever 00:22:38.159 --> 00:22:44.159 do need to remove thermal compound, use a lint-free cloth for the final stage, 00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:49.440 but you can clean the bulk of it off with toilet paper and 99% isopropyl 00:22:47.440 --> 00:22:53.520 alcohol. The higher percentage for the alcohol, the better and the more clean 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 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 00:23:00.640 --> 00:23:06.559 Intel magnetic hold down. See, this is why I love it. It's 00:23:05.280 --> 00:23:11.520 brilliant. You just click it on like that. We need the Intel back plate for 00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:14.799 everything but LGA 2011. We need the four mounting posts that are going to 00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:19.840 hold the back plate onto the motherboard. And then we need the four 00:23:17.679 --> 00:23:24.720 thumb nuts which are going to hold the magnetic mounting plate down to the 00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:28.080 mounting posts which are attached to the back plate. That's what makes it secure. 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 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 00:23:33.600 --> 00:23:41.039 close to the end of the little tricky parts, but we're not quite there. In 00:23:39.280 --> 00:23:45.840 order to control the fans in the system using Corsair Link, we use the included 00:23:43.360 --> 00:23:51.760 adapters that come with the H100i to plug into the CPU block and pump unit. 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, 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 00:23:59.240 --> 00:24:06.080 case. There we go. Then we can use software for our controls. Next up, 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 00:24:08.400 --> 00:24:15.120 into a header on the motherboard, just like we did before with the front USB 2 00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:19.039 connectors. And last but not least, we're going to plug in the leads that 00:24:16.720 --> 00:24:25.760 are built directly into the CPU block, which is the fan RPM monitor or or pump 00:24:22.400 --> 00:24:28.080 RPM monitor and a SATA power connector 00:24:25.760 --> 00:24:32.640 that we can run through the back so that it actually powers the pump itself. 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:35.840 Throughout any kind of system build, it's important to think about cable 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 00:24:37.919 --> 00:24:43.360 the end. So, this is the first time we're plugging in a power connector 00:24:41.440 --> 00:24:46.960 other than to the motherboard from the power supply. So, it's important to make 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 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:55.600 tidily later on after the fact. It's great that we're using Corsair Link and 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 00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:04.480 that SATA connector that I showed you before. So, we're going to route this 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 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 00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:18.480 finished. So, now by plugging this in, we have provided power for all five of 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 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 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 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 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 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 00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:46.880 bad. Keep those four screws because they're the same kinds for pretty much 00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:51.279 all fans. We're going to take our SP fan. Again, making sure to orient the 00:25:49.279 --> 00:25:56.320 connector so that we can easily route it behind the motherboard tray for maximum 00:25:53.679 --> 00:26:00.080 tidiness and software control. Then we're going to put those four screws 00:25:57.760 --> 00:26:03.679 back in. And now we have a nice consistent look to the inside of the 00:26:01.679 --> 00:26:07.919 system. Look at this. We're getting there. It's time to put in our storage 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 00:26:10.400 --> 00:26:15.520 because uh I'm lazy and it's an SSD. 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 00:26:17.120 --> 00:26:24.320 whatever else. And because the CM Storm Scout 2 supports SSDs natively, all we 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 00:26:27.200 --> 00:26:31.840 bottom with two of the included screws that come with the 00:26:32.120 --> 00:26:38.440 case. There we go. There we go. Just 00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:41.440 like that. Looks good. Pop that back 00:26:38.440 --> 00:26:43.039 in. and our SSD is installed except for 00:26:41.440 --> 00:26:46.240 the power and SATA connectors at the back. For the hard drive, things are a 00:26:45.120 --> 00:26:50.640 little bit different. We're going to use the sleds, so the rails that were 00:26:48.559 --> 00:26:54.400 included in that cardboard box. We're going to plug these in with the tabs 00:26:52.240 --> 00:26:58.640 towards the front. That is where the connectors are not on the drive. And 00:26:56.960 --> 00:27:03.039 then the short ends where the connectors are at the back. We take that whole 00:27:00.559 --> 00:27:10.200 assembly with the two sled rails and the drive itself and we slide that 00:27:06.120 --> 00:27:13.039 in until we hear a nice satisfying 00:27:10.200 --> 00:27:17.760 click. So, let's get all those fans connected. Now, we used one splitter on 00:27:15.760 --> 00:27:21.679 one of our four fans that we can plug directly into the Corsair Link module. 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 00:27:23.520 --> 00:27:29.279 directly into that splitter. We're going to control them at the same time and 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 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. 00:27:36.159 --> 00:27:43.200 Whereas, we're going to dedicate a full connector to each of the fans on the 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 00:27:44.720 --> 00:27:51.520 CPU overheating, especially if we've overclocked it really far. for our rear 00:27:49.360 --> 00:27:56.240 120 millimeter fan. That one gets its own fan header as well, so that we can 00:27:53.679 --> 00:28:00.640 control each of the zones of the case separately using the software. We're 00:27:58.240 --> 00:28:05.279 also going to plug in our front drives. So, power is routed with another one of 00:28:03.200 --> 00:28:11.120 our two SATA harnesses that we have on this power supply, giving us four SATA 00:28:07.919 --> 00:28:15.799 connectors. So, we can easily plug in 00:28:11.120 --> 00:28:15.799 our hard drive right here. 00:28:20.559 --> 00:28:27.840 Then we can use the next connector for our SSD, which is right 00:28:25.320 --> 00:28:32.320 here. This gives us two more connectors that we could use for additional drives 00:28:29.679 --> 00:28:36.559 without using any adapters. Now, we need those two SATA cables that came with our 00:28:34.360 --> 00:28:41.159 motherboard, both of which are right angle cables, which is fine because we 00:28:38.880 --> 00:28:46.640 can use the angled side on the back of the drives. Then we 00:28:44.080 --> 00:28:50.799 can use the straight side to go directly into the already angled connectors on 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 00:28:52.720 --> 00:28:58.799 board, it clearly states, "Use SSDs in 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 00:29:00.559 --> 00:29:05.840 to break anything if you use a different drive, but you'll get the best 00:29:03.600 --> 00:29:12.480 performance if you plug your SSDs into the native Intel serial ATA 3 or 6 GB 00:29:10.320 --> 00:29:16.399 per second ports. Now, it's really no secret. I'm not the 00:29:14.720 --> 00:29:20.159 master of cable management by any stretch of the imagination, but I want 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 00:29:22.480 --> 00:29:28.720 harnesses, which we didn't end up using a single four pin Molex connector. We're 00:29:26.399 --> 00:29:32.399 going to hide those on the other side of the motherboard tray. What's great about 00:29:30.320 --> 00:29:35.840 this case is there's lots of room for hiding unneeded cables. So, we're going 00:29:34.399 --> 00:29:40.399 to turn this around so you guys can actually see what I'm doing. There we 00:29:38.320 --> 00:29:43.120 go. We're going to hide this in the front. Just like that. Just find 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 00:29:46.159 --> 00:29:54.159 ties that came with both our power supply and our case and we're just going 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 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 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 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 00:30:08.399 --> 00:30:14.240 kind of tie it up like this with the objective being to keep things flat so 00:30:12.320 --> 00:30:18.000 that the side panel closes without any difficulty. You don't want to tie things 00:30:16.240 --> 00:30:24.039 too tight because then you're going to end up with undo strain on the 00:30:20.399 --> 00:30:26.480 connectors which can damage them over 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 00:30:28.000 --> 00:30:33.840 left now is to install the graphics card. So, the first thing we're going to 00:30:31.520 --> 00:30:40.559 do is remove the two thumb screws that correspond to the PCI Express 16X slot. 00:30:37.279 --> 00:30:43.600 Now, PCI Express 16X slots are not all 00:30:40.559 --> 00:30:45.679 made equally. There's physical and 00:30:43.600 --> 00:30:48.960 electrical specifications. So, if you're not sure which one's the right one to 00:30:47.440 --> 00:30:53.360 get the most performance out of your graphics card, it's usually the top one. 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 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 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 00:31:05.039 --> 00:31:11.320 Express 16X interface at the bottom of the card with the PCI Express 16X slot 00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:16.960 on the motherboard. Push down firmly until the 00:31:14.080 --> 00:31:21.200 connector locks into place. Then put the thumb screws back in. And then it's time 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 00:31:22.960 --> 00:31:29.200 done before along the back of the motherboard tray, which now looks a 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 00:31:32.640 --> 00:31:38.399 near the graphics card itself, which is what's so great about these modern cases 00:31:36.799 --> 00:31:42.799 with cable management. I remember back in the old days, we didn't have that and 00:31:40.559 --> 00:31:47.039 we walked to school both ways uphill and it was snowing and there was fire and 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 00:31:49.039 --> 00:31:55.120 tangent here. So, this particular graphics card requires two PCI Express 00:31:53.360 --> 00:31:59.360 six pin connectors which we will plug in. And our build is 00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:06.200 now almost complete. Still got to power it on, make sure she works, and close up 00:32:05.039 --> 00:32:10.799 the side panels. Now, I'm about to do something 00:32:08.480 --> 00:32:17.279 that's incredibly bad luck. I haven't booted up the machine yet, and I am 00:32:12.720 --> 00:32:19.039 going to close one of the side panels. 00:32:17.279 --> 00:32:23.360 Usually when I close the side panel before I make sure it works, it doesn't 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 00:32:25.360 --> 00:32:30.080 hoping that since we've, you know, gone to great lengths to make sure that this 00:32:28.480 --> 00:32:34.720 is an awesome build that you guys can follow along with that we haven't 00:32:32.080 --> 00:32:39.279 actually made any mistakes. So, our right side panel is 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 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 00:32:45.120 --> 00:32:52.720 little plastic cover on the Windows inside here. At least we're going to 00:32:49.279 --> 00:32:55.200 try. It's on there pretty good. Hey, 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 00:32:56.559 --> 00:33:06.559 putting it on. Helps to have it oriented the right way there, folks. Do recommend 00:33:01.200 --> 00:33:09.840 doing that. And she is closed. This is 00:33:06.559 --> 00:33:14.000 what our $1,500 gaming machine looks 00:33:09.840 --> 00:33:16.120 like. And it's time to fire her up. 00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:22.000 Don't forget your thumb screws. And everything's working. Or is 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 00:33:23.760 --> 00:33:30.720 couple basic utilities to ensure that it's firing on all cylinders before you 00:33:28.399 --> 00:33:34.080 call your system done. because the last thing you want is to find out that 00:33:32.399 --> 00:33:38.640 there's a slight instability somewhere down the line in the middle of doing 00:33:35.760 --> 00:33:43.600 something critical only to have it go and turn off, power down, reset, have 00:33:41.120 --> 00:33:46.559 corrupted data, anything like that. So, we're going to walk you through the 00:33:44.640 --> 00:33:50.640 basic stuff that we run to ensure the system is working at peak efficiency. 00:33:49.039 --> 00:33:55.519 Now, the first three utilities are mostly for your CPU and they kind of go 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 00:33:56.960 --> 00:34:03.120 they would do. And they're mostly important if you're overclocking. In our 00:34:00.480 --> 00:34:07.519 case, we overvolted our CPU to 1.32 volts and turned the multiplier up to 44 00:34:05.519 --> 00:34:11.760 MHz because it's unlocked. So overclocking is that simple these days. 00:34:09.440 --> 00:34:15.359 More voltage, more megahertz until it stops working. So in our case, we got to 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 00:34:17.839 --> 00:34:25.679 overclock actually took. So you can see right here we're running at 4,400 MHz, 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 00:34:28.480 --> 00:34:34.720 you go into options, torture test, small 00:34:31.639 --> 00:34:36.480 FFT, and then press okay. And it'll run 00:34:34.720 --> 00:34:41.599 this test for at least, I would recommend, 24 hours to ensure that your 00:34:39.200 --> 00:34:45.200 CPU is not making any calculation errors. That tells you that it's 00:34:43.520 --> 00:34:49.280 actually working correctly, even though you've amped the frequency way up. The 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 00:34:51.760 --> 00:34:59.200 CPU is staying at around, I'd say 85 degrees tops. And this is under load. 00:34:57.359 --> 00:35:02.640 This is under an intensive artificial load. You'll never see a load like this 00:35:00.800 --> 00:35:06.880 in the real world unless you're doing some pretty intensive stuff like folding 00:35:04.400 --> 00:35:11.040 at home, for example. So, you want that to stay under around 85° to make sure 00:35:09.040 --> 00:35:15.359 your CPU doesn't throttle. Thermal throttling is when the CPU slows itself 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 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 00:35:22.079 --> 00:35:27.760 reaching that point, which means our overclock is good to go and our Prime 95 00:35:25.760 --> 00:35:30.960 is stable. There are other applications you can use instead of Prime 95, but 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, 00:35:33.119 --> 00:35:38.960 there you go. There's my tech tip. Now, speaking of the importance of 00:35:36.960 --> 00:35:43.040 temperatures, graphics card temperatures are huge. What if something went wrong 00:35:40.720 --> 00:35:47.119 with your graphics card? a fan failed, for example, or it wasn't mounted 00:35:45.440 --> 00:35:50.400 correctly, it got jiggled loose in shipping or something like that when you 00:35:48.720 --> 00:35:53.680 got your graphics card. So, you want to make sure your graphics card's running 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 00:35:55.680 --> 00:36:03.280 programs called MSI's Afterburner and Combuster. And Combuster is spelled very 00:36:00.800 --> 00:36:07.200 uniquely, so don't mind that. But, we use these to make sure that the graphics 00:36:04.880 --> 00:36:10.880 card is running correctly. So, we can load it up with Combuster. Then, we can 00:36:09.280 --> 00:36:15.359 monitor temperatures. We can see that it's running at about 76°, which is more 00:36:13.680 --> 00:36:20.400 than okay for these graphics cards. Anything up to about 90 to 95° is 00:36:18.079 --> 00:36:25.440 actually okay for a modern graphics card. And that tells us again, so 00:36:22.400 --> 00:36:27.280 besides our CPU, our graphics subsystem 00:36:25.440 --> 00:36:30.720 is running correctly as well. The last thing that I'd really recommend running, 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 00:36:33.760 --> 00:36:40.480 drive, throw that in your system, and that'll test your memory to ensure that 00:36:38.160 --> 00:36:45.280 nowhere within your system are any errors being made. That way, you know 00:36:42.240 --> 00:36:46.880 you can trust it to be 100% stable. 00:36:45.280 --> 00:36:52.320 Here's another software tip for you guys. Head to nite 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 00:36:53.839 --> 00:36:59.280 working correctly. Select all the stuff you want to install. You want web 00:36:57.280 --> 00:37:04.400 browsers, Chrome, Opera, Firefox. You want iTunes, Skype, uh, Java.net, Air, 00:37:02.880 --> 00:37:07.440 Shockwave, Dropbox, Google Drive, all that good stuff. All you got to do is 00:37:06.000 --> 00:37:11.680 select all the things you want, get installer. It avoids all the bloatware 00:37:09.920 --> 00:37:15.599 that comes with the programs and it does an automated install of all of them with 00:37:13.920 --> 00:37:18.960 default options without you touching it at all. And there's one really important 00:37:17.280 --> 00:37:23.839 one you Windows 8 users might want to check out. Under utilities, get classic 00:37:21.760 --> 00:37:29.599 start because it is a fantastic start menu that adds Tada, the start menu to 00:37:27.839 --> 00:37:34.880 Windows 8. Not only that, but you can decide which kind of start menu you want 00:37:31.920 --> 00:37:39.440 and there are a ton of settings that you can change and reconfigure and make the 00:37:37.040 --> 00:37:45.040 start menu not only there in Windows 8, but better than it ever was before and 00:37:42.079 --> 00:37:49.680 more customizable. That way you get the benefits of all the touch features of 00:37:47.040 --> 00:37:55.440 Windows 8 like swiping in in order to do a search or multitasking between 00:37:52.640 --> 00:38:00.000 applications like this with all the benefits of previous editions of 00:37:57.720 --> 00:38:05.200 Windows. So you guys saw me fire up Angry Birds there. Yes, Windows 8 is 00:38:02.720 --> 00:38:09.440 great as a casual gaming experience. You can get games from the Windows Store. 00:38:07.440 --> 00:38:14.400 You can install regular games that run in touchscreen. But it's not just about 00:38:12.560 --> 00:38:17.760 the casual gaming experience that your kids are going to want to enjoy or 00:38:15.599 --> 00:38:22.079 whatever else. I mean, it's cool having a big touchcreen like this basically 00:38:19.440 --> 00:38:26.160 means you've got like a gigantic tablet that lives on your desk. Very neat. But 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 00:38:29.760 --> 00:38:36.640 store platforms, Steam, Play, and Origin all run just fine on Windows 8. And not 00:38:34.560 --> 00:38:41.599 only that, but we observed some tangible performance differences between Windows 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 00:38:43.680 --> 00:38:50.480 Windows 7 on your system and actually handles the way that core scheduling 00:38:48.560 --> 00:38:54.240 works on the CPU a little bit more efficiently in some cases as well. So 00:38:52.320 --> 00:38:58.240 Battlefield 3 was an example where it ran about the same in our lab, 3% 00:38:56.240 --> 00:39:03.040 improvement over Windows 7 for Windows 8, but we'll call that margin of error. 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 00:39:04.720 --> 00:39:12.720 performed 10% less than Windows 7. However, in Far Cry 3, Windows 8 00:39:09.440 --> 00:39:14.960 performed 32% better than Windows 7 and 00:39:12.720 --> 00:39:19.280 in The Elder Scrolls 5, it was about 3% better. So, in general, we saw more 00:39:17.119 --> 00:39:24.079 improvements than we saw performance decreases, or it's the same. So, while 00:39:21.680 --> 00:39:29.440 Windows 8 might be criticized by some gamers as not optimal for hardcore 00:39:26.560 --> 00:39:33.040 gaming necessarily, that is actually not the experience we had at all. Once you 00:39:31.440 --> 00:39:36.960 get around a couple of little finicky things, make sure Games for Windows Live 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 00:39:39.760 --> 00:39:46.800 latest drivers. I mean, it's pretty basic stuff beyond that games for 00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:50.079 Windows Live tip. So whether or not you feel that touch belongs on the desktop 00:39:48.480 --> 00:39:54.880 or whether it should stick to tablets and notebooks and phones and all those 00:39:52.079 --> 00:40:00.400 other devices, you got to admit the idea that you can go between playing Jetack 00:39:57.040 --> 00:40:03.599 Joyide on your 23in 1080p screen and 00:40:00.400 --> 00:40:06.320 then switching out and enjoying content 00:40:03.599 --> 00:40:11.520 on said screen or even going and playing a quote unquote real game is pretty darn 00:40:09.680 --> 00:40:16.880 cool. I hope you guys have really enjoyed this ultimate build guide for 00:40:14.000 --> 00:40:21.359 our $1,500 recommended system. And I'd love to hear your feedback. Post under 00:40:18.880 --> 00:40:26.240 the video and let us know what did you think you could have improved with a 00:40:23.200 --> 00:40:28.240 $1,500 budget? And do you really think 00:40:26.240 --> 00:40:32.560 that with a touchscreen, you still need to be investing in high-end gaming grade 00:40:30.560 --> 00:40:35.839 peripherals such as the ones that we've chosen here today. We're going to close 00:40:34.240 --> 00:40:40.800 out the video with some glamour footage of our finished system. And I hope to 00:40:37.839 --> 00:40:53.569 see you guys next time in our Yes, there will be more of these next build 00:40:56.200 --> 00:40:59.200 guide. 00:41:13.160 --> 00:41:17.160 Heat. Heat.