WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:06.879 the original Last guide you'll ever need will stay up but there's some new stuff 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:12.639 that we need to talk about to keep it up to date welcome to the 2024 edition of 00:00:09.920 --> 00:00:16.400 our exhaustive PC build guide where we won't specifically be recommending 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:21.119 anyone's products but rather we'll be equipping you with the tools you need to 00:00:18.600 --> 00:00:25.279 configure buy and build the right machine for you the model numbers and 00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:30.000 the small details have changed hence the update but the process has not so 00:00:28.119 --> 00:00:35.239 without further Ado let's give a quick shout out to our sponsor seic seic makes 00:00:33.559 --> 00:00:39.840 solid power supplies they're built to last they're quiet and they have a great 00:00:37.040 --> 00:00:44.559 warranty what more could you want maybe the rest of the video to start you need 00:00:41.960 --> 00:00:48.559 to ask yourself some questions what am I going to do with this computer are you a 00:00:46.840 --> 00:00:52.079 hardcore gamer you're going to want to allocate more of your budget to your 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:56.079 graphics card and maybe CPU are you a content creator maybe you can ease up on 00:00:54.199 --> 00:00:59.680 the GPU a little bit and splurge on CPU and RAM are you just using as a 00:00:57.840 --> 00:01:03.399 glorified nass then you'll be looking for motherboard with lots of IO and a 00:01:01.480 --> 00:01:06.799 case with lots of Drive mounts and maybe you'll want to Splash out on a 00:01:04.799 --> 00:01:11.439 specialized redundant power supply no matter what your budget is this is the 00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:16.840 question you need to answer before going any further so I'm going to roll that 00:01:13.640 --> 00:01:16.840 intro while you figure it 00:01:23.079 --> 00:01:32.079 out now that you have your answer ask the question again but deeper what kinds 00:01:28.840 --> 00:01:34.600 of games do you play play Mr or M gamer 00:01:32.079 --> 00:01:38.079 RPGs and Visually complex games where exploration and sightseeing are 00:01:36.079 --> 00:01:42.240 priorities mean you'll probably want a high resolution display for the best 00:01:39.799 --> 00:01:46.000 experience preferably with HDR peripherals may not matter as much to 00:01:43.960 --> 00:01:49.640 you and in fact you may prefer to get a console controller for some of your 00:01:47.520 --> 00:01:53.040 games rather than a typical PC gaming keyboard and mouse do you prefer 00:01:51.240 --> 00:01:57.280 hardcore competitive Shooters though where every millisec counts well now 00:01:55.119 --> 00:02:01.600 you'll want a premium Mouse for sure and maybe even a high-end keyboard not to 00:01:59.119 --> 00:02:05.680 mention a high refresh rate display even if that costs you some resolution or 00:02:03.719 --> 00:02:09.920 some color accuracy the games you play will also affect the number of CPU cores 00:02:07.759 --> 00:02:13.720 you should get since different genres of games tend to utilize them differently A 00:02:12.200 --> 00:02:17.560 good rule of thumb for future proofing your build is to make sure that you have 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:21.840 at least as many cores as a current gen console if you want to stream or record 00:02:19.640 --> 00:02:26.040 your gameplay then maybe throw on two to four more and make sure that you've got 00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:30.280 a GPU with a highquality Hardware video encoder built in as for the content 00:02:28.319 --> 00:02:35.440 creators out there what should you focus on well it depends on what you create a 00:02:33.519 --> 00:02:40.159 digital artist might not need anything special for a GPU but would definitely 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:44.000 benefit from a drawing tablet a musician would want tons of RAM to load up on 00:02:42.200 --> 00:02:49.920 instrument patches and samples without slowing to a crawl a video editor needs 00:02:46.480 --> 00:02:52.319 at least a modest GPU a lot of RAM and a 00:02:49.920 --> 00:02:56.519 buttload of storage preferably fast so they can review their footage at full 00:02:54.000 --> 00:03:01.680 quality a 3D modeler needs a reasonably fast CPU and GPU for rendering a GPU cap 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:06.120 capable of real-time Ray tracing helps tremendously in prototyping and previews 00:03:04.120 --> 00:03:11.599 an engineer might sacrifice raw horsepower for validated Hardware like a 00:03:08.640 --> 00:03:15.959 Quadro GPU to ensure pain-free operation a programmer wants a hefty CPU with a 00:03:14.280 --> 00:03:20.480 lot of threads for handling frequent compilation and a lot of RAM to go with 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:25.799 it whereas a writer really only needs a keyboard a decent display or two and a 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:31.120 quality water bottle to stay hydrated LTG store.com is this a Nas or home 00:03:28.760 --> 00:03:35.720 storage of some other sort if so what is it for Cold Storage that won't often 00:03:33.080 --> 00:03:39.200 change like backups ripped Media or game installs won't need High speeded to be 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:42.959 usable instead you'll want higher capacity hard drives warm storage that 00:03:41.159 --> 00:03:46.120 changes frequently like a document or photo dump is where you'll want a 00:03:44.200 --> 00:03:49.920 balance of capacity and speed hot storage like a footage inest or for use 00:03:48.280 --> 00:03:54.319 as a network boot device will demand higher speed increasing cost you may 00:03:52.400 --> 00:03:57.920 also need a fast CPU depending on the scale of your storage space adding 00:03:56.040 --> 00:04:01.239 additional roles like Plex increases system requirements so while slower 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:04.280 computers can get by as a basic file server you're going to need to account 00:04:02.560 --> 00:04:08.040 for CPU overhead especially for transcoding now let's talk about form 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:12.799 factor computers are available in all shapes and sizes from complete PCS the 00:04:10.280 --> 00:04:17.079 size of a pack of gum to entire racks that contain only the storage for a bank 00:04:14.720 --> 00:04:22.840 of machines elsewhere in the data center the most common variants or form factors 00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:25.000 are as follows ATX is your classic it's 00:04:22.840 --> 00:04:29.080 the big beige box size it usually features at least five expansion slots 00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:32.520 and a taller chassis you can find these in Midtown Tower and full tower 00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:36.919 configurations which basically just indicate height full Towers tend to be 00:04:34.960 --> 00:04:40.160 easier to work with but are much more difficult to move around and find a home 00:04:38.600 --> 00:04:44.120 for so they've been falling out of fashion if you're not sure what to buy 00:04:41.960 --> 00:04:47.600 an ATX form factor case can accommodate any smaller size motherboard although 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:51.520 installing an ITX motherboard in one of these seems more than a little silly 00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:56.360 although maybe that is an aesthetic that you want to uh Embrace Micro ATX is 00:04:54.280 --> 00:05:00.199 smaller than ATX with at most four expansion slots and for most people 00:04:58.600 --> 00:05:03.720 that's totally sufficient but you should always check to make sure 00:05:02.320 --> 00:05:07.080 that you've got everything you need you'll find some of the more interesting 00:05:05.400 --> 00:05:11.800 case designs in this size like these cute Cube shaped ones like ATX you can 00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:16.880 fit smaller form factors like DTX and ITX in here and it won't look as silly 00:05:14.080 --> 00:05:20.840 if you do mini ITX and DTX are the smallest mainstream sizes with only one 00:05:18.960 --> 00:05:24.000 and two expansion slots respectively these are the boards you'll find in the 00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:28.360 tiniest builds and can often pack impressive variety of features into 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:32.919 their diminutive size however their I/O can be somewhat limited and and if your 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:36.720 goal is to go as Tiny as possible you'll either want to get a couple of larger 00:05:34.440 --> 00:05:41.800 builds under your belt first or pay extra careful attention to your case 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:45.160 manufacturer's documentation a DTX board 00:05:41.800 --> 00:05:47.720 may fit in the ITX case but also may not 00:05:45.160 --> 00:05:52.360 and if you have a larger GPU or cooler it may not fit in your case of choice at 00:05:49.960 --> 00:05:56.800 least not without some difficulty the next big question is arguably most 00:05:54.720 --> 00:06:02.800 important what's my budget if your answer is anywhere from less than I'd 00:05:59.440 --> 00:06:05.360 like two I'll take what I can get then 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:08.400 your best bet is often to buy used you can find off least Business Machines 00:06:07.039 --> 00:06:11.880 available for a fraction of their original price as we've shown a number 00:06:10.080 --> 00:06:15.919 of times in the past these can be a great starting point for a new build 00:06:13.599 --> 00:06:19.560 most of the work is already done for you and many can be improved for a 00:06:17.520 --> 00:06:24.000 relatively small budget another option is to look for previous gen Hardware you 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:27.880 can sometimes find killer deals as retailers clear out old stock to make 00:06:26.039 --> 00:06:32.160 way for the next big thing but this is mostly applicable to used gear the good 00:06:30.080 --> 00:06:37.240 news is that solid state components with no moving Parts like CPUs rarely fail 00:06:35.400 --> 00:06:41.720 and components with worn thermal compound or bad fans can have those 00:06:39.160 --> 00:06:46.880 repaired I nearly always start my builds around my CPU and GPU because apart from 00:06:44.919 --> 00:06:50.759 being the most expensive components and therefore taking up most of my budget 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:54.639 they also dramatically narrow down the other parts that I might select for 00:06:52.599 --> 00:07:00.080 example I won't be able to buy an Intel chipset motherboard if I use an AMD CPU 00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:05.000 and vice versa and I won't be able to use a small form factor case if I've got 00:07:02.319 --> 00:07:09.000 a gigantic triple slot graphics card when shopping for a CPU there are a few 00:07:07.039 --> 00:07:13.319 things to keep in mind first is that across brands or even different 00:07:11.240 --> 00:07:17.560 generations of the same brand specifications like clock frequency and 00:07:15.400 --> 00:07:21.759 cash are not likely to be useful indications of performance you can find 00:07:19.319 --> 00:07:25.080 out more detail about this in this video but that doesn't mean that you can 00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:30.080 ignore them outright let's say you've decided on a CPU series but there are 00:07:27.400 --> 00:07:35.120 literally dozens of options obviously choosing the best one is easy just sort 00:07:32.199 --> 00:07:39.680 by Price high to low but is it really that much faster is it worth it well 00:07:37.560 --> 00:07:44.280 this is where the specs can help you make direct comparisons between multiple 00:07:42.319 --> 00:07:49.599 products in a single lineup take for example Intel's Core i 91900 k this is 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:55.159 an 8 core CPU with 16 threads that runs it up to 5.3 GHz that's the turbo speed 00:07:52.520 --> 00:08:03.000 of course it's base frequency is just 3.5 meanwhile the core i711 700 K is 00:07:59.039 --> 00:08:05.520 also an 8 core 16 thread CPU that only 00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:11.800 runs at up to 5 GHz meaning that the real world performance between these two 00:08:07.479 --> 00:08:14.759 chips is 6% at most but with a price 00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:19.599 difference of over $100 there's more to picking a CPU than raw power however 00:08:17.319 --> 00:08:24.319 sometimes you want integrated Graphics sometimes you want more or faster PCI 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:29.080 Express Lanes and sometimes you just want less heat and noise on the subject 00:08:26.680 --> 00:08:33.519 of PCI Express or PCIe as it's commonly known historically each new generation 00:08:31.639 --> 00:08:37.320 has doubled the perlane bandwidth of the previous one making it a major selling 00:08:35.599 --> 00:08:42.839 point for shiny new platforms the world over however the importance of this for 00:08:40.080 --> 00:08:49.000 gamers and regular consumers alike can sometimes be overstated outside of raw 00:08:45.720 --> 00:08:51.399 file copy tests uh PCI Express Gen 4 SSD 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:56.440 will perform very similarly at gen 3 speeds however again recognizing this 00:08:55.000 --> 00:09:02.079 manufacturers are beginning to build their newest generation add-in cards 00:08:58.440 --> 00:09:04.920 like gpus and and ssds with fewer Lanes 00:09:02.079 --> 00:09:09.519 to save on Power and on cost that means that a CPU with fewer but faster Lanes 00:09:07.839 --> 00:09:15.839 can avoid bottlenecks that otherwise might harm performance for example as a 00:09:12.240 --> 00:09:18.560 writing AMD's apus can have as few as 10 00:09:15.839 --> 00:09:24.120 PCI Express Lanes available for use only four of which are actually usable for a 00:09:21.160 --> 00:09:28.760 GPU if a future Apu upgraded those few lanes to PCI Express Gen 5 and you 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:33.000 matched it with a Gen 5 GPU that limitation becomes literally half as 00:09:30.880 --> 00:09:38.200 impactful it's worth pointing out by the way that some motherboards and even some 00:09:35.839 --> 00:09:43.720 chipsets might differ in their PCI Express version support even from one 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:45.200 slot to the next so pay close attention 00:09:43.720 --> 00:09:48.760 if your first Choices put you over budget it's time to experiment in 00:09:46.800 --> 00:09:52.360 Bargain Hunt for Intel users an f-s series CPU might be a good option as 00:09:50.680 --> 00:09:58.399 those lack integrated graphics and cost a little less to buy while for AMD users 00:09:55.880 --> 00:10:02.680 paradoxically buying the G Series CPUs Nets you integrated graphics and a 00:10:00.640 --> 00:10:05.800 decent savings over the more expensive X Series without sacrificing much 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:09.560 performance if you end up going back a generation or two to make your budget 00:10:07.040 --> 00:10:13.000 work be mindful of which CPU socket and motherboard chipset you end up with 00:10:11.279 --> 00:10:17.120 locking into something older might save you a ton of money and still result in 00:10:14.880 --> 00:10:21.040 satisfactory performance but it could limit your ability to upgrade to a new 00:10:18.839 --> 00:10:25.440 processor later on other parts work in much the same way when the GeForce RTX 00:10:23.240 --> 00:10:30.399 2080 came out its price was higher than the cost of a GTX 1080ti while offering 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:34.079 effectively zero performance advantage and a new headline feature that hadn't 00:10:32.320 --> 00:10:38.560 even been used in games yet let alone proven Savvy Shoppers were scooping up 00:10:36.079 --> 00:10:42.040 1080 TI for great prices left and right and the only drawbacks ended up coming 00:10:40.240 --> 00:10:46.079 later with more limited support for software features like RTX voice ambient 00:10:44.120 --> 00:10:50.160 noise cancellation and in the longer term probably an earlier driver support 00:10:48.040 --> 00:10:54.360 end date and I wish I could say things are better now but the sad fact is that 00:10:51.880 --> 00:10:58.160 prices Remain extortionate the upper echelons of GPU performance today can 00:10:56.160 --> 00:11:04.000 cost more than twice what NVIDIA charged for their GTX 10 adti in 2017 and that's 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:08.639 adjusting for inflation we live in Dark Times indeed but there is a silver 00:11:06.079 --> 00:11:12.480 lining older gpus still provide a lot of bang for the buck especially now that 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:16.000 GPU mining has cooled down secondhand gpus are unlikely to come with any kind 00:11:14.360 --> 00:11:19.880 of warranty and might lack modern features like mesh shaders realtime rate 00:11:17.880 --> 00:11:24.279 tracing or av1 encoding but they're a great choice for traditional 1080P or 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:27.800 1440p gaming if you don't expect to run it Max settings make sure you don't pick 00:11:26.160 --> 00:11:33.399 up the first shiny thing you see with a lot of megahertz as with CPUs you must 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:38.519 read reviews to evaluate the performance of a graphics card do not be tempted to 00:11:36.360 --> 00:11:42.639 draw a conclusion based on clock speeds and memory do look out though for 00:11:40.600 --> 00:11:46.639 features like Hardware video encoding real-time rate tracing support and 00:11:44.639 --> 00:11:51.120 anything else that your game or your application might be able to use take 00:11:48.920 --> 00:11:55.120 for example dlss which increases performance at a small cost to visual 00:11:53.040 --> 00:11:58.839 Fidelity or the blender optics renderer for NVIDIA and on the AMD side there's 00:11:57.200 --> 00:12:02.519 the Fidelity FX Suite which has some pretty cool cool stuff in it as well now 00:12:00.760 --> 00:12:06.760 if you have a choice between two otherwise identical gpus but with 00:12:04.959 --> 00:12:11.200 different amounts of onboard memory or frame buffer I would recommend the one 00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:16.480 that has more but be careful that it's not slower memory both AMD and NVIDIA 00:12:14.639 --> 00:12:21.680 have been caught putting large amounts of crummy memory on entry-level gpus 00:12:19.360 --> 00:12:25.880 sometimes even mid-range gpus seemingly in an attempt to make them look more 00:12:23.279 --> 00:12:31.680 enticing even if it comes at the cost of extremely poor performance your PC isn't 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:35.399 the only your GPU plugs into and as a display owner myself I own a display I 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:39.680 know a thing or two about plugging in displays when buying a GPU or monitor 00:12:38.320 --> 00:12:44.519 pay close attention to the ports available on the I/O plate here most 00:12:42.240 --> 00:12:48.839 gpus today come with a bank of DisplayPort connectors and an HDMI port and 00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:53.160 while you might be forgiven for thinking they're the same they are very much not 00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:57.519 while they share some similarities they're both digital they both carry 00:12:54.720 --> 00:13:01.320 audio as well as video and as of writing the latest versions of both Port 00:12:59.399 --> 00:13:06.560 features like variable refresh rate and HDR HDMI connectors are shaped like a 00:13:04.040 --> 00:13:10.720 very tall D while DisplayPort looks like you folded the corner of a 00:13:07.959 --> 00:13:15.279 rectangle also while HDMI doesn't normally lock most DisplayPort cables 00:13:13.320 --> 00:13:19.720 will automatically click into place with these little teeth which hold it firm 00:13:17.560 --> 00:13:24.120 until you push the release some graphics cards will also support more bandwidth 00:13:21.720 --> 00:13:28.399 over DisplayPort than HDMI and some displays will only support certain 00:13:26.240 --> 00:13:32.639 features refresh rates or even resolutions on on one type of connection 00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:36.880 the bottom line is make sure you're using an interface and cable that are 00:13:34.680 --> 00:13:41.680 rated for sufficient bandwidth matching the version numbers isn't enough a quick 00:13:39.240 --> 00:13:46.760 note if you're short on HDMI ports but you see this logo or dual mode display 00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:52.079 port it means your Port can convert directly to HDMI with a cheap passive 00:13:49.399 --> 00:13:57.360 adapter one more thing some gpus have USB type-c ports but you can't connect 00:13:54.759 --> 00:14:00.800 it to just any display both the port and the monitor will need to support display 00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:05.160 playay Port alt mode which is an optional part of the specification the 00:14:03.399 --> 00:14:09.959 big draw to alt mode is that it can also be combined with normal USB data and 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:15.440 even power in a single cable Thunderbolt AKA USB 4.0 goes a step further and 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:19.120 guarantees alt mode and power delivery will be available and even allows for 00:14:17.160 --> 00:14:22.560 daisy chaining multiple displays or devices without needing a hub while 00:14:20.800 --> 00:14:25.720 there are pros and cons to all of these connections which one you ultimately use 00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:29.600 should be whichever one gives you the features you need and is compatible with 00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:34.959 your Hardware motherboard s are a contentious issue because it's easy to 00:14:31.920 --> 00:14:36.839 go for the biggest baddest board around 00:14:34.959 --> 00:14:41.600 but the reality is that unless you're the kind of Master overclocker who gets 00:14:39.199 --> 00:14:45.079 all their boards sponsored anyway you're unlikely to see a big performance 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:49.440 difference between low-end chipsets and the higher end ones much less between 00:14:47.279 --> 00:14:53.120 two models that use the same chipset that's not to say you should just buy 00:14:50.800 --> 00:14:56.639 the cheapest thing a lower-end chipset will usually have some artificial 00:14:54.680 --> 00:15:01.560 limitations on things like RAM speed overclocking ability or PCIe bandwidth 00:14:59.320 --> 00:15:06.639 AMD's a series chipsets for example don't support overclocking as of a520 00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:11.240 and feature fewer expansion ports while their B series and X Series chipsets do 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:17.199 have much more expansion including the ability to bifur or split PCIe lanes for 00:15:14.360 --> 00:15:21.040 multi-GPU or high-speed storage support the bottom line is that while some 00:15:18.680 --> 00:15:26.040 people get bogged down on details like voltage regulators and cooling them the 00:15:23.600 --> 00:15:31.360 reality is that a mid-range board with good user reviews that has all the slots 00:15:28.560 --> 00:15:36.199 sockets and RGB ports you need for other Hardware is the path of leas resistance 00:15:34.120 --> 00:15:39.800 and there's no shame in that system memory or RAM can be both 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:42.800 straightforward and Incredibly deep depending on who you ask and what you 00:15:41.199 --> 00:15:47.720 plan to do with it it's usually labeled according to three main values capacity 00:15:45.639 --> 00:15:51.720 speed and timings the higher the capacity the more concurrent tasks your 00:15:49.480 --> 00:15:55.360 system can work on but the more memory you have the more strain on your CPU's 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:59.759 memory controller which usually means reduced frequency and increased timings 00:15:57.560 --> 00:16:03.199 both of which are bad frequency determines how often information can 00:16:01.319 --> 00:16:07.279 travel from the memory stick or module to the CPU and vice versa higher is 00:16:05.279 --> 00:16:12.040 better while timings determine how long the wait is for actual memory chips to 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:15.319 respond to a given request lower is better it's important to note that there 00:16:13.680 --> 00:16:20.079 are points of diminishing returns for all of these attributes and that some 00:16:17.319 --> 00:16:23.920 CPUs prefer certain memory frequencies because they can lock their memory 00:16:21.680 --> 00:16:28.920 controllers to match such as AMD's ryzen 3000 and 5000 series CPUs which tend to 00:16:26.600 --> 00:16:33.839 work best at memory speeds of 3600 or 30 800 megatrans per second ddr4 after 00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:38.000 which point it's better to drive down latencies than go for more speed and it 00:16:36.160 --> 00:16:42.199 should be noted most of the fast kits on the market are overclocked meaning both 00:16:40.199 --> 00:16:46.160 the memory modules and the CPU's memory controller will be pushed harder and 00:16:43.880 --> 00:16:51.079 with More Voltage than usual ddr4 capable platforms like ryzen 5000 and 00:16:48.319 --> 00:16:55.560 Intel's 14th gen core CPUs for example only officially support up to 3200 megat 00:16:53.319 --> 00:17:00.800 transfers per second ddr4 which means reaching the speeds of a topspec memory 00:16:57.880 --> 00:17:05.240 kit is any but guaranteed especially if you've got more than two sticks of RAM 00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:09.520 ryzen 5000 and Intel's 11th gen core and later CPUs support up to 3200 megat 00:17:07.319 --> 00:17:13.000 transfers per second ddr4 natively after which you're in overclock territory 00:17:11.120 --> 00:17:16.880 regardless of speed you'll want to buy your memory in matching pairs for dual 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:20.400 Channel motherboards triplets for triple Channel and so on and while you're at it 00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:24.520 for best performance you'll want to make sure your memory is also running dual 00:17:21.959 --> 00:17:27.640 rank now rank is essentially one or more memory modules that receive commands as 00:17:26.120 --> 00:17:31.320 a group if all of the memory sticks memory is in one group that's single 00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:34.760 rank while some larger memory modules come split into two which is dual rank 00:17:33.240 --> 00:17:38.080 the advantage is that while each rank has to be accessed separately no matter 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:42.120 what they can still split the low between themselves for better performance if you've got a matched pair 00:17:40.760 --> 00:17:45.919 of dual rank memory you'll get the benefits by default but you can also 00:17:43.960 --> 00:17:49.200 install four matched single rank modules for the same effect if your motherboard 00:17:47.280 --> 00:17:52.559 has four slots generally speaking larger modules tend to be dual rank but you can 00:17:50.960 --> 00:17:56.799 usually tell single Rank and dual rank apart by one r or two R in the model 00:17:55.159 --> 00:18:01.520 number one more thing to consider for memory is error correction code or ECC 00:17:59.400 --> 00:18:05.039 memory this has recently become a pretty hot topic due to the per chip error 00:18:03.480 --> 00:18:10.919 correction that's making its way into ddr5 but there's a difference full ECC 00:18:08.679 --> 00:18:15.760 memory has an extra chip that allows it to detect and correct errors even when 00:18:13.159 --> 00:18:20.559 the data is moving to and from the CPU DDR5's error correction is only making 00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:25.320 sure that the data inside each chip is safe this lets ddr5 vendors still offer 00:18:23.120 --> 00:18:29.840 overclocked memory kits while you'd be hardpressed to find anything like that 00:18:27.120 --> 00:18:33.720 for full ECC the more robust nature of full ECC memory meanwhile has made it a 00:18:31.880 --> 00:18:37.440 favorite for servers and high-end workstations where stability is key even 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:41.760 if it comes at the cost of some performance so if that's you then you've 00:18:39.480 --> 00:18:47.520 got some things to untangle first true ECC can come in three flavors 00:18:44.360 --> 00:18:49.919 unregistered registered and load reduced 00:18:47.520 --> 00:18:54.400 unregistered memory also called udm is the same kind that goes into your 00:18:51.280 --> 00:18:56.360 desktop and notebook PC so your CPU will 00:18:54.400 --> 00:19:01.720 access the memory chips directly with nothing in between registered memory 00:18:58.440 --> 00:19:04.080 also called R dim includes a goete chip 00:19:01.720 --> 00:19:08.880 that the CPU talks to that manages the data coming and going from each memory 00:19:06.200 --> 00:19:12.960 chip load reduced memory called LR dim takes this one step further by replacing 00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:16.799 that register chip with an ultra fast buffer this buffer reduces the amount of 00:19:15.120 --> 00:19:21.400 chatter required to communicate with the memory allowing the CPU to access as 00:19:18.760 --> 00:19:25.360 many as eight ranks per module that's how servers can have multiple terabytes 00:19:23.480 --> 00:19:28.919 of memory in them the trade-off of course is higher latency don't go 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:33.919 thinking you can just mix and match by the way consumer motherboards almost 00:19:31.080 --> 00:19:39.600 exclusively accept udims and not much else and while some motherboards can 00:19:36.320 --> 00:19:41.760 support both R dims and LR dims this is 00:19:39.600 --> 00:19:44.880 no guarantee so check the manual for your motherboard for information on what 00:19:43.360 --> 00:19:48.640 it can handle before you pull the trigger most motherboard manufacturers 00:19:46.799 --> 00:19:52.760 will have manuals available online in their support section storage drives can 00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:56.720 be divided broadly into two categories old school SATA and PCI Express based 00:19:55.120 --> 00:20:00.400 NVMe drives there are different connections for both of these with this 00:19:58.360 --> 00:20:03.720 being the most common for SATA and this being the most common for NVMe your 00:20:02.080 --> 00:20:07.120 motherboard manual will include a list of these ports that tells you exactly 00:20:05.280 --> 00:20:11.120 how many you can install mechanical hard drives are for bulk storage on the cheap 00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:15.200 and typically use a SATA interface we'll talk a bit more about these later solid 00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:18.400 state drives or ssds are more expensive but are recommended is a boot drive for 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:22.280 your operating system and for key applications at almost any price point 00:20:20.440 --> 00:20:25.720 due to their much higher performance they are available with SATA interfaces 00:20:23.960 --> 00:20:30.720 but have mostly gone NVMe at this point in the m.2 form factor remember that 00:20:27.880 --> 00:20:34.480 term it means size and shape even among NVMe ssds there is an obvious broad 00:20:33.240 --> 00:20:39.520 performance spectrum and with Microsoft's upcoming implementation of 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:41.280 direct storage a premium PCIe Gen 4 SSD 00:20:39.520 --> 00:20:44.919 or greater might offer a clear performance benefit but for most average 00:20:43.200 --> 00:20:49.559 users and Gamers the main things you want are a dram cache and some kind of 00:20:47.240 --> 00:20:52.640 manufacturer indication of endurance which is a measure of how many times the 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:55.960 drives can be written before the cells wear out drives with short warranties 00:20:54.280 --> 00:21:02.000 are probably best avoided and even quality drives should be backed up regularly now let's talk talk cooling 00:20:59.960 --> 00:21:07.200 enthusiasts tend to instinctively gravitate towards custom Loop liquid 00:21:04.159 --> 00:21:09.960 cooling and this is usually the absolute 00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:14.760 best you can get without going Subzero which isn't sustainable long term if 00:21:12.440 --> 00:21:19.240 you're a coward but from a cost to Performance standpoint it rarely makes 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:23.159 sense liquid cooling is a topic all in itself but the short version is that 00:21:21.400 --> 00:21:27.240 your primary concerns are going to be the water blocks and the total surface 00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:32.080 area of your radiator setup generally speaking surface area is King more fins 00:21:30.120 --> 00:21:37.720 on your coal plate means more heat transfer from your CPU and more radiator 00:21:35.080 --> 00:21:42.760 surface area means the more heat you can remove from your liquid or if you like 00:21:40.320 --> 00:21:48.720 more silence the slower you can run your many fans materials are less intuitive 00:21:46.080 --> 00:21:52.640 though copper is the superior conductor but it's more expensive than aluminum 00:21:50.919 --> 00:21:57.400 which might make you think you could get away with copper for your GPU and 00:21:55.279 --> 00:22:01.520 aluminum for everything else but if you try to mix and match the 00:21:59.240 --> 00:22:06.320 it's going to be terrible I give you my lonus tech tips guarantee that galvanic 00:22:04.279 --> 00:22:10.600 corrosion will ruin your day sometime down the line you can try out those like 00:22:08.760 --> 00:22:15.960 you know anti-corrosion mixtures don't do it it'll be really bad some metals 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:20.120 can be mixed relatively safely here's a chart of what's safe to mix and what's 00:22:18.120 --> 00:22:24.720 not most people don't want to deal with all that though all-in-one Solutions are 00:22:22.360 --> 00:22:30.880 both cheaper and easier to work with the general rule is that a 240 mm radiator 00:22:27.640 --> 00:22:33.679 is fine for most CPUs but topend CPUs 00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:42.000 with power ratings over 200 WS will want to beefier 360 mm or 2080 mm radiator 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:44.840 for full performance or even more oh God 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:50.279 it's so big the main drawbacks of aios is that they are more expensive less 00:22:46.679 --> 00:22:51.960 reliable and units smaller than 360 mm 00:22:50.279 --> 00:22:57.000 often have questionable performance benefits compared to larger Tower style 00:22:54.520 --> 00:23:01.960 heat sinks that's why for most people we recommend a large heat sink for 00:22:59.159 --> 00:23:06.679 hassle-free long-term operation the only drawback of these that due to their size 00:23:04.520 --> 00:23:10.440 some consider them unsightly they're wrong and they can be a hazard during 00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:15.240 Transportation due to their immense weight at the end of the day whatever 00:23:12.840 --> 00:23:20.520 comes of your CPU is fine for most people but it might run hotter or louder 00:23:17.840 --> 00:23:26.000 than you want thermal compound for most people doesn't matter as long it's a 00:23:23.400 --> 00:23:30.559 decent brand and it's not some just bulk stuff you got off of wish but there are 00:23:28.640 --> 00:23:34.760 couple things to consider if you're not going with the easy to use but not 00:23:32.720 --> 00:23:38.279 thermally amazing graphite pads that cover your CPU like a cozy little 00:23:36.840 --> 00:23:43.840 blanket you're going to want to make sure that whatever you get is electrically non-conductive and the best 00:23:42.080 --> 00:23:48.679 way to do that is to just look at the label most companies exclusively carry 00:23:46.880 --> 00:23:53.440 non-conductive compounds with the exception being liquid metal thermal 00:23:50.760 --> 00:23:58.039 Grizzlies conduct or not for example is an actual metal alloy called gallon 00:23:56.120 --> 00:24:03.320 standand that's fully liquid at temperature as low as 8° C it's both 00:24:01.200 --> 00:24:07.679 electrically conductive and potentially reactive with aluminum parts like heat 00:24:04.840 --> 00:24:13.000 sinks and this reaction is not a good thing while an aluminum oxide layer is 00:24:10.520 --> 00:24:16.799 usually present on aluminum a tiny scratch your scuff is all that's needed 00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:21.159 for the gallium to work its magic and turn your cooler into a crumbly mess 00:24:19.039 --> 00:24:24.960 that doesn't even look real if you decide to try liquid metal make sure 00:24:23.159 --> 00:24:29.240 you're using copper or nickel plated coolers if you're content with cheaper 00:24:27.240 --> 00:24:33.120 traditional compounds then you've got nothing to fear there are some things 00:24:31.120 --> 00:24:37.640 you just shouldn't cheap out on however power supplies are a major one while 00:24:35.559 --> 00:24:42.000 early on it was pretty easy to figure out whether a power supply was decent by 00:24:39.480 --> 00:24:47.960 just looking at its 80 plus rating and it is 80 plus gold that is the real draw 00:24:46.039 --> 00:24:51.760 for this power supply Series right there it is so easy to hit the 80 plus 00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:55.720 standards these days that it's not really a useful measure anymore the good 00:24:53.600 --> 00:24:59.760 news is cybernetics lab has stepped up to build a more meaningful certification 00:24:57.559 --> 00:25:04.159 system that addresses both efficiency and noise levels and hopefully more in 00:25:01.960 --> 00:25:08.799 the future beyond that the main feature you need to decide if you need is a 00:25:05.960 --> 00:25:13.960 modular interface those usually cost more but as connectivity standards 00:25:11.080 --> 00:25:18.799 evolve like the controversial ATX 12vt high power connector it means that you 00:25:15.960 --> 00:25:23.360 have a chance of Simply swapping a cable rather than being forced to use an 00:25:20.399 --> 00:25:28.000 adapter or even replace a perfectly functional power supply power supplies 00:25:25.880 --> 00:25:32.120 have kind of plateaued these days to the point where where no matter what I'm 00:25:29.399 --> 00:25:35.559 building I would expect five or even 10 years of trouble-free service which 00:25:33.960 --> 00:25:40.159 means that I'm expecting it to power more than one build cic's vertex series 00:25:38.200 --> 00:25:45.279 of power supplies have stepped up the game in terms of build quality their 00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:49.679 vertex gx750 is fully modular and they've added a new cable to help with 00:25:47.200 --> 00:25:54.039 GPU compatibility the fans on these bad boys stay quiet without any compromises 00:25:52.120 --> 00:25:58.039 to your system's temperature and they've upped their warranty to 12 years so go 00:25:56.120 --> 00:26:01.799 check them out there's a link yeah down there click it whatever connectors 00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:07.320 you're using though I would advise you to avoid unnecessary cosmetic adapters 00:26:04.919 --> 00:26:11.679 on your high power connectors they might improve at some point but I'm pretty 00:26:09.840 --> 00:26:15.679 tired of hearing stories about these things melting power supplies like 00:26:13.799 --> 00:26:19.360 motherboards and cases have different form factors that you need to look out 00:26:17.240 --> 00:26:23.240 for though this consideration is mostly important for small form factor builds 00:26:21.320 --> 00:26:27.120 where the sfx standard provides a smaller footprint in order to 00:26:24.840 --> 00:26:31.039 accommodate tinier builds while sfx defines a maximum depth for power supply 00:26:29.080 --> 00:26:36.960 that sort of makes it look like a flat rectangle sfx L relaxes this to a square 00:26:34.440 --> 00:26:41.320 shape and while it doesn't necessarily offer more connections you'll actually 00:26:39.159 --> 00:26:46.120 find that usually the more powerful small form factor units are sfx L and 00:26:44.600 --> 00:26:50.000 they have the added benefit of using larger fans so they tend to be a little 00:26:47.960 --> 00:26:55.240 bit quieter just double check your cases compatibility because not all cases that 00:26:52.399 --> 00:26:58.399 support one can also support the other another class of power supplies that has 00:26:56.679 --> 00:27:03.600 grown in popularity over the last 10 10 years is DC todc converter power 00:27:00.960 --> 00:27:09.039 supplies these use an external brick just like some monitors or your laptop 00:27:06.399 --> 00:27:13.039 and then have a super efficient DC todc conversion hence the name that takes 00:27:11.120 --> 00:27:17.120 whatever the input voltage is and splits it out to all the voltages that you need 00:27:14.520 --> 00:27:21.679 internally they tend to be fanless and extremely small though it does come at 00:27:19.760 --> 00:27:26.039 the cost of that external brick now there are other esoteric form factors 00:27:23.799 --> 00:27:30.200 like tfx that is often used in rack mount servers but for nearly everything 00:27:27.960 --> 00:27:34.200 else you'll be fine with an ATX form factor power supply it's big it's chunky 00:27:32.880 --> 00:27:38.640 and it's the standard that we've had since not long after the Windows 95 days 00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:43.399 these offer the highest wattages on the market with the largest assortment of 00:27:40.240 --> 00:27:45.840 peripheral and 12volt plugs for CPU and 00:27:43.399 --> 00:27:52.200 PCI Express devices and drives and all that good stuff but buyer beware the ATX 00:27:49.240 --> 00:27:57.039 form factor only specifies the width and height of the power supply at the back 00:27:54.120 --> 00:28:00.600 plate it says nothing about the depth so you will need to take into consideration 00:27:59.000 --> 00:28:05.159 whether your power supply will fit your chosen case if it's not in the typical 00:28:03.080 --> 00:28:08.360 Square footprint make sure you buffer a little extra if you have a modular 00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:12.880 interface because those plugs take up a little bit more space now cases this is 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:16.880 where builds can get very interesting there are options that can be found for 00:28:14.399 --> 00:28:21.840 as low as $20 on sale and there are options costing well over 10 times that 00:28:19.080 --> 00:28:25.760 much or 100 times who cares just keep going if you want something truly unique 00:28:24.360 --> 00:28:29.240 we've already gone over the different major form factors but even Within These 00:28:27.519 --> 00:28:32.440 constraints there is an incredible amount of variety out there because 00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:36.120 picking a case on its own is so personalized and situational we're just 00:28:34.399 --> 00:28:40.760 going to go over a few basic things to keep in mind while picking one out first 00:28:38.159 --> 00:28:44.480 and foremost is airf flow regardless of whether you're after a quiet rig or an 00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:48.559 extreme cooling rig you're going to need air flow and there's no substitute for a 00:28:46.480 --> 00:28:52.080 mesh front panel counterintuitively they tend to even offer better acoustic 00:28:50.519 --> 00:28:55.519 performance than closed front panel cases because the fans don't need to 00:28:53.799 --> 00:28:59.320 ramp up as high not everyone is into that aesthetic though so vendors like 00:28:57.120 --> 00:29:02.799 Corsair come up with options with glass front panels instead with spacing and 00:29:01.200 --> 00:29:06.640 even extra intakes on the motherboard side panel to keep things looking pretty 00:29:04.880 --> 00:29:10.919 while maintaining solid air flow secondary to air flow should be ease of 00:29:08.480 --> 00:29:14.799 maintenance if your case has great air flow but it's a pain to clean once it's 00:29:13.080 --> 00:29:19.279 sucked a bit of dust in you're going to have a bad time removable dust filters 00:29:17.120 --> 00:29:24.039 and easily accessible front panels help tremendously with maintenance and most 00:29:21.760 --> 00:29:28.760 good cases will come with these features finally expansion what you get will 00:29:26.360 --> 00:29:33.120 depend on how much of what kind of stuff you want to cram in plain and simple 00:29:30.799 --> 00:29:36.919 then beyond that it should ideally be well laid out for cable management and 00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:42.320 open enough that it's easy to work in of course you won't have any cooling 00:29:38.880 --> 00:29:44.159 without fans so what do you buy there 00:29:42.320 --> 00:29:48.200 are several considerations here including the Fan's diameter and bearing 00:29:46.200 --> 00:29:51.960 type whether the blade is optimized for air flow or static pressure and of 00:29:50.279 --> 00:29:57.440 course whether or not it has addressable RGB bearings are what let the fan blade 00:29:54.840 --> 00:30:01.559 spin freely so the better quality of the bearing the more efficient and less 00:29:59.240 --> 00:30:06.480 noisy a fan can be and there are three major types sleeve bearings are cost 00:30:04.200 --> 00:30:11.039 effective and quiet but tend to wear out quickly because they rely on a lubricant 00:30:08.559 --> 00:30:15.559 to keep them going higher quality sleeve bearing fans can last for years thanks 00:30:13.000 --> 00:30:21.000 to better seals but that lubricant will expire and once it does so does the fan 00:30:18.760 --> 00:30:25.640 sleeve bearing fans are also designed to run vertically to prevent the lubricant 00:30:23.200 --> 00:30:31.240 from pooling making them unsuitable for use in the top or bottom of cases ball 00:30:28.519 --> 00:30:35.279 bearing fans are far more reliable and much more expensive to match but they 00:30:33.200 --> 00:30:39.320 tend to be louder because they utilize actual physical ball bearings to 00:30:37.080 --> 00:30:42.799 overcome friction instead of a lubricant this also means they're much more likely 00:30:41.039 --> 00:30:48.080 to survive high temperatures than a sleeve fan so they're common in servers 00:30:45.320 --> 00:30:52.480 and other reliability first environments more advanced sleeve style bearings 00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:56.760 called fluid dynamic or hydrodynamic bearings are positioned as a bridging 00:30:54.600 --> 00:31:00.880 gap between traditional sleeve and ball bearing fans while their mechanisms are 00:30:59.320 --> 00:31:05.399 similar to sleeve bearings they're typically filled with pressurized oil 00:31:02.919 --> 00:31:10.279 and higher quality seals than a regular lubricating grease not all fans that use 00:31:07.960 --> 00:31:15.200 these bearings are good but Noctua for example exclusively uses their SSO 00:31:12.639 --> 00:31:19.399 series bearings which are hydrodynamic and very well regarded I think corers 00:31:17.480 --> 00:31:23.679 are also pretty good too there are other bearings like mag glove which use 00:31:21.320 --> 00:31:28.159 magnetic levitation for effectively zero friction and are thus extremely quiet 00:31:26.080 --> 00:31:32.880 long lasting and they also call cost significantly more than other types of 00:31:29.960 --> 00:31:37.200 bearings Corsair famously has a magb series of fans in their ml lineup but 00:31:35.080 --> 00:31:41.480 they tend to have fewer RGB options and cost significantly more than their other 00:31:38.840 --> 00:31:46.559 fans regardless of the bearings fans tend to get graded on two major criteria 00:31:44.159 --> 00:31:52.120 static pressure and air flow with some designs leaning further one way than the 00:31:48.919 --> 00:31:54.919 other Corsair's SP and no TOA P series 00:31:52.120 --> 00:31:58.519 fans are optimized for static pressure the higher the static pressure the more 00:31:57.000 --> 00:32:03.679 air that can be for course through a restrictive filter or fins of a radiator 00:32:01.360 --> 00:32:08.000 or heat sink on the other side of the spectrum Corsair's AF and noct as a 00:32:06.360 --> 00:32:12.880 series are examples of fans that are optimized for pure air flow so don't put 00:32:11.039 --> 00:32:15.960 it in front of your radiator but at like the back of your case with no 00:32:14.200 --> 00:32:19.760 obstructions they're really great for that you'll often run across different 00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:25.440 diameters of fans ranging all the way from diminutive 40 mm all the way to 00:32:22.440 --> 00:32:27.960 Behemoth 200 mm and Beyond as a rule of 00:32:25.440 --> 00:32:32.639 thumb the smaller the fan the faster needs to spin to push the same amount of 00:32:29.880 --> 00:32:38.840 air as a larger one and the faster a fan spins the louder it will be which is why 00:32:34.960 --> 00:32:40.080 120 to 140 mm fans have become the go-to 00:32:38.840 --> 00:32:44.960 thanks to the amount of air that they can push while being relatively quiet 80 00:32:42.399 --> 00:32:49.080 and 92 mm used to be common place in older computer cases and you can still 00:32:47.159 --> 00:32:54.240 find mounts for these in some small form factor Rigs and on smaller air coolers 00:32:51.399 --> 00:32:59.200 like nocuous 9s thickness is another thing that can vary and again the 00:32:56.240 --> 00:33:04.440 thinner the fan the less air it can push at a given noise level a full-sized 92mm 00:33:02.159 --> 00:33:09.840 fan for example will actually push more air with more pressure than a 120 mm 00:33:07.760 --> 00:33:13.960 slim fan you'll only really want to use thin fans for small form factor builds 00:33:11.880 --> 00:33:17.720 where you have absolutely no alternative then there's the connectors some fans 00:33:15.919 --> 00:33:21.600 have three pins on them and some of them have four what gives with that well 00:33:19.960 --> 00:33:26.159 practically speaking they both work the same but the three pin variant speed is 00:33:24.080 --> 00:33:29.600 controlled by changing the voltage being delivered to the motor the four pin on 00:33:28.120 --> 00:33:35.279 the other hand use a control scheme called pwm which means that the motor 00:33:32.360 --> 00:33:39.399 exclusively receives 12vt power but it gets it in bursts so it's rapidly turned 00:33:37.679 --> 00:33:44.399 on and off depending on the speed that is requested by the user in short pwm 00:33:42.039 --> 00:33:48.880 fans tend to be more efficient and offer finer control over their rotational 00:33:46.200 --> 00:33:53.240 speeds but it's more important to match your fan type with your controller than 00:33:50.919 --> 00:33:56.120 to choose one over the other most of your fans are going to be plugged 00:33:54.480 --> 00:34:00.159 directly into your motherboard but if you have a truly ridiculous number of 00:33:57.799 --> 00:34:03.679 fans or you just want to control and cable manage them all from one place you 00:34:02.080 --> 00:34:08.280 can get controller hubs from companies like Corsair or NZXT that provide 00:34:06.080 --> 00:34:11.399 significantly more connectors to suit your needs and depending on your needs 00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:16.040 you might want to add one or more hard drives to your system either for long-term storage or maybe to give 00:34:14.280 --> 00:34:18.919 storage tying a go for a blend of high performance and low cost whatever the 00:34:17.879 --> 00:34:23.520 reason there are some things you should be aware of like the RPM cache size 00:34:21.599 --> 00:34:27.720 noise level and cost per Gigabyte or terabyte it used to be common to just 00:34:25.119 --> 00:34:30.480 pick a 7200 RPM Drive no matter what for for extra speed and lower response time 00:34:29.280 --> 00:34:36.280 but it's actually becoming more of a liability for the drive's long-term Health now that high-capacity ssds exist 00:34:34.359 --> 00:34:39.639 higher RPMs mean more noise and critically more heat so before 00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:44.440 committing to a high-speed hard drive you should consider whether it's needed at all and when you do install one be 00:34:42.960 --> 00:34:50.079 aware of its operating temperature so that the platter stays spinning for as long as possible for everybody else a 00:34:47.560 --> 00:34:54.079 5600 or 5900 RPM hard drive should suffice and should be significantly 00:34:51.720 --> 00:34:57.760 quieter and kick out less heat finally if you want to really class up your 00:34:55.679 --> 00:35:02.000 build you're probably going to want RG GB and that means you're going to need 00:34:59.720 --> 00:35:06.320 to learn what to look for currently there are three major types of 00:35:03.520 --> 00:35:11.880 controllable RGB non-addressable addressable and USB non-addressable is 00:35:09.520 --> 00:35:16.440 inexpensive and is the original RGB header that uses 12vt power and four 00:35:14.119 --> 00:35:20.839 pins each device in the chain be it a light strip or a fan plugs into the 00:35:18.520 --> 00:35:25.680 header on a motherboard a splitter or into another RGB device in a daisy chain 00:35:23.440 --> 00:35:29.320 every LED in this chain will show the same color of your choosing which is 00:35:27.800 --> 00:35:33.119 fine for ambient lighting or for when you don't really care about patterns and 00:35:31.040 --> 00:35:37.280 animations but if you do care about those addressable is your new best 00:35:35.119 --> 00:35:41.400 friend because like its name suggests it allows each individual LED in the chain 00:35:39.280 --> 00:35:46.079 to be controlled independently it typically uses a 5volt three pin header 00:35:44.280 --> 00:35:50.200 that's the same physical size as the non-addressable type with a pin blocked 00:35:48.200 --> 00:35:54.200 off to differentiate it if you have a lot of LED strips you should be aware 00:35:52.119 --> 00:35:58.119 that only a limited number of strips can be run off a single connector without 00:35:56.440 --> 00:36:03.520 running into problems like dimming at the ends or the inability to control all 00:36:00.280 --> 00:36:06.480 the LEDs if this all sounds complicated 00:36:03.520 --> 00:36:11.599 well it kind of is that's why some companies like Corsair have devices that 00:36:08.640 --> 00:36:15.520 use their own method via USB this lets them know exactly what devices are 00:36:13.200 --> 00:36:20.880 connected and how many LEDs each of them has these will usually plug into a USB 00:36:18.400 --> 00:36:26.839 header on your motherboard and can be more complex to wire up but often are 00:36:24.040 --> 00:36:32.480 much simpler to set up usually using proprietary software now there are 00:36:29.319 --> 00:36:35.560 packages for Universal RGB control like 00:36:32.480 --> 00:36:38.440 signal RGB open RGB and even a function 00:36:35.560 --> 00:36:43.680 built into Windows 11 but compatibility can be spotty and the interface may not 00:36:40.880 --> 00:36:48.720 be as elegant as the official software or it could be significantly better so 00:36:46.240 --> 00:36:54.079 your mileage will definitely vary this vendor lockin means that unlike non-usb 00:36:52.240 --> 00:36:57.760 options they're usually not cross-compatible between Brands so 00:36:56.280 --> 00:37:02.280 you'll probably end up choosing your favorite and then using the same vendor 00:36:59.760 --> 00:37:07.079 for all your other RGB unless you want to deal with adapters this especially 00:37:04.920 --> 00:37:10.400 sucks because some companies offer LED strips with different styles that might 00:37:08.960 --> 00:37:15.280 be more in line with what you're going for visually like fantex digital RGB 00:37:12.880 --> 00:37:18.160 neon strips finally finally you'll probably want some cable ties and to 00:37:17.040 --> 00:37:23.079 make sure that you have the tools you need to set everything up if you go for zip ties for a lower profile cable 00:37:21.560 --> 00:37:27.800 management job you'll need to make sure that you have Flush Cutters for the cleanest look whereas if you go for hook 00:37:26.160 --> 00:37:31.839 and loop ties like the ones you can find on eltit store.com then you don't need 00:37:30.040 --> 00:37:35.240 anything special you should consider though whether optional stuff like 00:37:33.480 --> 00:37:39.079 custom cables will be in your build at this point they're pretty costly but 00:37:37.520 --> 00:37:42.520 they're a cool way to Jazz up your rig if you've got the cash to spare and 00:37:40.560 --> 00:37:46.440 you're after a specific look if not though don't sweat it not everybody is 00:37:44.599 --> 00:37:50.480 out to build an art piece and there is no performance benefit to them 00:37:48.319 --> 00:37:54.200 whatsoever and besides building a PC yourself is already a bigger step 00:37:52.200 --> 00:37:57.720 towards making it yours than most people will ever take once you've settled on a 00:37:56.079 --> 00:38:01.400 build you can go ahead and click through the checkout process and wait for the 00:37:59.319 --> 00:38:04.839 parts to arrive or if you live near a computer store with all the stuff that 00:38:02.680 --> 00:38:08.400 you need lucky you you get to haul it all home yourself assemble the boxes in 00:38:06.760 --> 00:38:12.720 a photogenic pile for a quick social media pick and finally you're ready to 00:38:10.400 --> 00:38:17.400 begin step two setting up your work area are we only on step two jeez all right 00:38:15.400 --> 00:38:19.960 don't worry guys the hard part's over things are going to go a little faster 00:38:18.480 --> 00:38:24.760 now clear your desk or table you're going to want a well lit area with enough space to be able to easily move 00:38:23.200 --> 00:38:28.839 around your case whether it's laid flat or upright and grab any tools you'll 00:38:26.800 --> 00:38:32.960 need a Phillips head screwdriver is a must and it's it's got a long neck a 00:38:30.920 --> 00:38:36.960 magnetic tip and a ratcheting mechanism that'll make things a lot easier one or 00:38:34.839 --> 00:38:41.359 two coffee filters and some 99% isopropyl alcohol is optional but useful 00:38:39.599 --> 00:38:46.319 for cleaning surfaces without leaving behind any residue paper towels can also 00:38:44.119 --> 00:38:50.280 work in a pinch but be careful not to leave behind any bits and for when 00:38:48.640 --> 00:38:53.760 you're finishing up another optional item is a microfiber cloth to get rid of 00:38:52.160 --> 00:38:57.280 all the greasy fingerprints that you might leave behind less optional is a 00:38:55.680 --> 00:39:00.520 flashlight of some sort even if it's just just the flash on your phone since 00:38:59.000 --> 00:39:05.160 it can otherwise be tough to see what you're doing when you're trying to get that one last wire installed after 00:39:03.440 --> 00:39:08.760 everything else is in place now completely set aside any food or drink 00:39:07.280 --> 00:39:12.720 while you're building up your machine this is build time not snack time and 00:39:11.480 --> 00:39:18.520 make sure there's nothing around that could fall if it's accidentally bumped 00:39:16.480 --> 00:39:22.200 an anti-static mat or a desk pad is ideal here to prevent scuffs and scrapes 00:39:20.319 --> 00:39:26.599 not only on your desk but also on your new machine now this next bit is a bit 00:39:24.560 --> 00:39:31.040 contentious but if the air in your area is dry then you will definitely want an 00:39:28.760 --> 00:39:35.040 anti-static wrist strap we did show that it takes a lot to outright destroy PC 00:39:33.440 --> 00:39:38.800 components in this collab with electr boom but what we don't know is what kind 00:39:37.160 --> 00:39:42.960 of minor damage might have been done internally with each of those zaps it is 00:39:41.440 --> 00:39:47.480 possible that each one of them took a year off of our victim's life and no by 00:39:45.240 --> 00:39:51.560 the way Wireless antistatic wrist straps do not work your strap needs to be 00:39:49.640 --> 00:39:55.200 connected to a proper ground and the same goes for an antistatic mat that's 00:39:53.520 --> 00:39:58.720 what that connector on the end is for to do that the most foolproof way that 00:39:56.839 --> 00:40:03.040 works in any country is to plug your power supply into Main's power and clip 00:40:00.960 --> 00:40:07.720 your antistatic lead to its chassis just make sure you're not using one of these 00:40:05.480 --> 00:40:11.920 never use one of these unless you know exactly how to use one because if you're 00:40:09.680 --> 00:40:15.800 not actually grounded you're doing all of this work for nothing to say nothing 00:40:14.040 --> 00:40:19.800 of the safety risk if you don't have a strap it's a lot better than nothing to 00:40:17.880 --> 00:40:23.839 plug in your power supply anyway and then periodically touch it especially if 00:40:22.119 --> 00:40:27.480 you move your feet around if you are using a strap though a pro tip is to 00:40:25.800 --> 00:40:30.800 wrap it around your ankle instead of of your wrist so you don't end up yanking 00:40:29.079 --> 00:40:36.520 things around while you're focused on building step three motherboard and CPU 00:40:33.520 --> 00:40:37.960 install aka the delicate part we'll 00:40:36.520 --> 00:40:41.920 start by unboxing our motherboard and placing it on top of its box a 00:40:39.760 --> 00:40:45.160 convenient and free static safe surface if you want to power on your system 00:40:43.160 --> 00:40:48.960 before you put it in the case which I highly recommend you'll want to use the 00:40:46.920 --> 00:40:52.599 box it pulls double duty by letting you slot in a GPU which wouldn't be possible 00:40:51.000 --> 00:40:57.319 if the motherboard was FL on a desk or an antistatic mat now your motherboard 00:40:54.839 --> 00:41:02.000 may have one of two socket types as of today the quickly Vanishing pin git 00:40:59.760 --> 00:41:07.160 array or PGA where the pins are all on the CPU or the near ubiquitous land grit 00:41:05.119 --> 00:41:11.680 array or LGA where the pins are on the motherboard why is this important 00:41:09.520 --> 00:41:15.560 because if your motherboard is LGA you need to inspect the pins before you do 00:41:13.560 --> 00:41:19.560 anything else if you bought the board at a brick and mortar store then they'll 00:41:17.680 --> 00:41:23.000 often get you to do this Step at the store to cover their butts in case you 00:41:21.040 --> 00:41:26.680 come back with bent pins because this is something that's typically not covered 00:41:25.000 --> 00:41:30.200 by the manufacturer's warranty to do this on an Intel socket push down on the 00:41:28.720 --> 00:41:34.839 retention latch and pull out away from the socket if you're dealing with a high-end desktop socket there could be a 00:41:33.599 --> 00:41:38.640 secondary latch for the retention mechanism that comes out the same way 00:41:37.160 --> 00:41:43.119 and they'll only open in the correct order when you ease up on the clip it 00:41:40.920 --> 00:41:46.560 should want to Spring upwards this is good pull it upwards all the way and the 00:41:45.000 --> 00:41:50.640 retention clip will come up revealing the socket beneath don't worry about the 00:41:48.760 --> 00:41:54.040 plastic cover plate for now for AMD Threadripper and epic SP sp3 dve 00:41:52.599 --> 00:41:57.480 sockets you'll need to undo these three screws in order with the included torque 00:41:55.720 --> 00:42:01.079 wrench and then let the retention C clip flip open the CPU's carrier will need to 00:41:59.359 --> 00:42:04.720 come up next which you can easily do by pulling up on these tabs finally remove 00:42:03.280 --> 00:42:08.280 the plastic cover plate to reveal the socket beneath for Intel's high-end 00:42:06.359 --> 00:42:13.880 server and workstation Zeon motherboards using higher pin counts like 3647 or 00:42:11.240 --> 00:42:17.920 4677 there is no retention mechanism simply a plastic cover plate the cooler 00:42:16.040 --> 00:42:21.559 then screws directly down into the metal around the socket with the CPU already 00:42:20.079 --> 00:42:24.680 clipped to the cooler with the pins visible it's easier to spot damage if 00:42:23.280 --> 00:42:28.040 you angle the motherboard so the pins are reflecting light directly back at 00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:31.040 you and rotated around to make sure that everything looks even any pins that are 00:42:29.559 --> 00:42:34.720 bent will need to be dealt with before you go any further you can refer to this 00:42:32.800 --> 00:42:38.200 video we did on LGA repair here but the short version is you may need to use a 00:42:36.400 --> 00:42:41.680 magnifying glass and a pair of fine point tweezers or similar instrument to 00:42:40.040 --> 00:42:44.640 try and straighten it back out fresh out of the factory a motherboard shouldn't 00:42:43.040 --> 00:42:48.520 have Bend pins at all but if you bought open boxed or used it's a possibility 00:42:46.800 --> 00:42:53.040 once you're satisfied your pins are okay it's time to unbox your CPU for most 00:42:50.839 --> 00:42:56.559 CPUs the outer box is Expendable unless you want to put it on display but make 00:42:54.920 --> 00:43:00.160 sure you take care of the inner plastic clam shell that actually contains the 00:42:58.559 --> 00:43:03.960 processor not only do you not want to drop it under any circumstances you'll 00:43:02.160 --> 00:43:08.440 also want to keep it for future in case you need to RMA or sell your CPU to 00:43:06.280 --> 00:43:12.280 someone else regardless of your CPU you want to avoid touching any of the 00:43:10.119 --> 00:43:18.119 exposed gold contacts be they on the flat underside of an LGA CPU or the 00:43:15.200 --> 00:43:22.040 fragile pins of a PGA CPU we'll get to those but first we're going to keep 00:43:19.599 --> 00:43:26.119 going with consumer style LGA line your CPU up with the socket usually there 00:43:23.920 --> 00:43:29.800 will be a triangular Arrow or dot or other indicator to help you you figure 00:43:27.440 --> 00:43:34.240 out which orientation is correct Intel for instance has notches on the side of 00:43:31.559 --> 00:43:38.559 its CPUs that only allow you to insert a compatible CPU and only in the correct 00:43:36.839 --> 00:43:42.160 orientation so you can line up with those I like to line up the bottom edge 00:43:40.680 --> 00:43:46.119 of the CPU with the bottom edge of the socket as a bit of an anchor point then 00:43:44.119 --> 00:43:49.520 gently lower it in give it a little wiggle once it's down to make sure it's 00:43:47.559 --> 00:43:53.200 seated completely before closing the retention mechanism and pushing the 00:43:51.200 --> 00:43:57.960 latch down if it feels a little stiff and creaky that's okay it's supposed to 00:43:56.599 --> 00:44:01.520 and then the plastic socket cover is going to kind of pop off that's normal 00:43:59.839 --> 00:44:05.440 too keep going until you can hook the latch back into place then store the 00:44:03.480 --> 00:44:09.240 socket cover somewhere safe like in the motherboard box you'll need this in case 00:44:07.319 --> 00:44:13.760 you need to RMA your board or sell it later on the process is the same for 00:44:11.240 --> 00:44:18.440 AMD's motherboards that use LGA sockets like am5 because LGA sockets have a 00:44:16.800 --> 00:44:23.000 retention bracket that can sometimes affect cooler mounting and thus cooling 00:44:20.839 --> 00:44:28.760 performance some Builders have taken to using CPU contact frames like this one 00:44:26.240 --> 00:44:33.440 B4 War though these May void your motherboard's warranty for what I hope 00:44:30.960 --> 00:44:39.640 are fairly obvious reasons so check that first and proceed with caution to use a 00:44:36.760 --> 00:44:43.520 contact frame on either Intel or AMD you first need to remove the existing 00:44:41.520 --> 00:44:49.000 retention mechanism which can be a little scary even for veteran Builders 00:44:45.760 --> 00:44:51.400 since it completely exposes the socket 00:44:49.000 --> 00:44:55.240 carefully unscrew the retaining screws a tool is often included in case you don't 00:44:53.240 --> 00:45:00.520 have the right driver then install your CPU as before next next the contact 00:44:57.839 --> 00:45:04.680 frame goes over the CPU and bolts down with the original retention mechanism 00:45:02.319 --> 00:45:08.520 screws the main disadvantage to this approach is that if you ever need to 00:45:06.280 --> 00:45:13.599 receip or replace your CPU for any reason it's a bit more of a chore to get 00:45:10.640 --> 00:45:17.520 it out if your CPU is PGA take this time to make sure that your pins are all 00:45:15.440 --> 00:45:20.559 straight it should be as easy as looking at it from two different angles to make 00:45:19.160 --> 00:45:24.680 sure that you can see through Straight rows of pins if any of them are bent 00:45:23.119 --> 00:45:29.160 your best bet is to use a mechanical pencil or a very thin piece of metal 00:45:26.800 --> 00:45:33.760 like a razor or an iFix it Jimmy opening tool to gently nudge them back into 00:45:31.200 --> 00:45:38.160 position too much force though or too much back and forth and these can easily 00:45:35.720 --> 00:45:41.960 snap off making for a very difficult repair job so make sure you have steady 00:45:40.040 --> 00:45:45.839 hands once you're satisfied lift the Locking ARM and line the CPU up just as 00:45:43.960 --> 00:45:50.760 we did with LGA using the indicator on the CPU and the socket to determine the 00:45:47.920 --> 00:45:54.280 correct orientation on PGA CPUs you can also just have a look at the pins and 00:45:52.480 --> 00:45:57.599 the holes in the socket typically the pins are arranged so that there's a 00:45:55.680 --> 00:46:02.680 corner with fewer pins so that it can only drop in one way and it will drop 00:46:00.400 --> 00:46:10.440 right in so if you encounter any resistance at all do not push check your 00:46:07.119 --> 00:46:12.720 pins then line it up and try again a few 00:46:10.440 --> 00:46:18.000 more seconds of your time now is worth it compared to hours for totally mashed 00:46:15.480 --> 00:46:21.200 pins once the CPU is in place I like to press down on it to prevent it from 00:46:19.280 --> 00:46:24.200 moving while I close the lever if you're a high roller and you've got a more 00:46:22.520 --> 00:46:27.440 exotic socket you'll be surprised to learn that it's actually pretty easy 00:46:25.559 --> 00:46:31.000 despite how complicated it looks before you begin some high-end motherboards 00:46:29.079 --> 00:46:34.040 have support for dual CPUs these are usually epic or Zeon if that's what 00:46:32.760 --> 00:46:39.079 you're building and you only have one CPU you'll need to consult your motherboard's manual for which socket to 00:46:37.040 --> 00:46:42.720 use and which RAM slots are connected to said socket if you have two then just 00:46:41.240 --> 00:46:47.280 double up on the CPU installation instructions trust me it's exactly as 00:46:44.960 --> 00:46:51.400 fun as it sounds for AMD sp3 based sockets remove the plastic dummy CPU 00:46:49.119 --> 00:46:54.720 from the carrier ARM then Gras the CPU's plastic tabs and gently guide it into 00:46:52.960 --> 00:46:58.040 the carrier rails it helps to pull back a little bit on the tab while you do so 00:46:56.200 --> 00:47:01.240 in order to make the CPU stays aligned with the top of the ARM you'll know what 00:46:59.599 --> 00:47:04.040 I'm talking about if you end up slipping once it's almost all the way in it'll 00:47:02.720 --> 00:47:08.800 stop moving freely and you'll need to push it down another notch before you're ready to start closing things up lower 00:47:07.200 --> 00:47:11.480 the carrier ARM to the socket until you can't move it freely any further if 00:47:10.359 --> 00:47:15.160 you've guessed we need to push it a little more you're right Each corner 00:47:13.440 --> 00:47:17.760 clicks into place and with that done all that's left is to close the retention 00:47:16.520 --> 00:47:21.680 mechanism if you're using the screwdriver that came with the CPU this 00:47:19.680 --> 00:47:24.839 is easy take note of the close order and screw in the screws in that order it 00:47:23.440 --> 00:47:28.559 makes things a little easier to get them all started a tiny bit before tightening 00:47:26.520 --> 00:47:31.680 them dead all the way it's important not to overtighten the screws however this 00:47:30.400 --> 00:47:35.160 is where the included screwdriver is great once it reaches the right tension 00:47:33.480 --> 00:47:39.280 the driver will snap to let you know you're done when the last screw is down 00:47:36.880 --> 00:47:43.000 Intel Zeon sockets are pretty simple too it's an intimidating looking mechanism 00:47:41.040 --> 00:47:47.920 at first but in fact it's so simple that you aren't even supposed to install the 00:47:44.319 --> 00:47:50.400 CPU into it wait what yeah you install 00:47:47.920 --> 00:47:54.440 the CPU onto the cooler itself first and then the cooler is the carrier that 00:47:51.880 --> 00:47:57.160 lines the CPU up onto the socket which thanks to this pattern of screw holes 00:47:55.800 --> 00:48:01.119 and posts means you you can't really misalign it unless something goes very 00:47:59.240 --> 00:48:05.200 very wrong the way this plays out is like so you have your CPU Cooler 00:48:03.160 --> 00:48:09.079 motherboard and plastic CPU carrier the CPU snaps into the carrier by lining up 00:48:07.160 --> 00:48:13.359 a Golden Triangle on one corner of the CPU with a triangle cutout on the 00:48:11.000 --> 00:48:16.559 carrier itself then angling it in like so you might need to bend the carrier a 00:48:15.079 --> 00:48:20.559 little to make it snap together but once you do it'll be a firm hold then after 00:48:18.720 --> 00:48:24.920 applying thermal compound more on that soon align the Triangular cutout of the 00:48:22.839 --> 00:48:27.920 CPU carrier with the heat sink and clip it into place it doesn't matter which 00:48:26.319 --> 00:48:30.800 orientation you use but if you're using a liquid cooler you'll want to pay 00:48:29.440 --> 00:48:33.960 attention to which side the tubes will be coming from to align with the socket 00:48:32.640 --> 00:48:37.640 once you're ready line up the triangle on the CPU carrier with the triangle on 00:48:35.680 --> 00:48:40.640 the motherboard socket and place it down the posts automatically align everything 00:48:39.240 --> 00:48:47.119 for you so all you have to do here is tighten the torque screws until they stop the LGA 4677 socket introduced with 00:48:45.000 --> 00:48:51.280 sapphire Rapids is slightly different because there will be two different 00:48:48.480 --> 00:48:55.599 carriers one for CPUs with 112 PCI Express Lanes marked with e1a and 00:48:53.400 --> 00:48:59.240 another for CPUs with 64 Lanes marked e1b you'll know which you need to use by 00:48:57.680 --> 00:49:03.079 checking for the corresponding marking on the CPU's heat spreader first clip 00:49:01.400 --> 00:49:06.599 the appropriate carrier to your cooler with the remover lever in the same 00:49:04.839 --> 00:49:10.839 direction the fan will blow or tubes will run then apply thermal paste 00:49:08.720 --> 00:49:14.520 compound again more on that later and align the Golden Triangle on the CPU 00:49:12.839 --> 00:49:18.480 with a corresponding white triangle on the carrier insert that side first then 00:49:17.040 --> 00:49:21.799 gently press down on the other side to clip it in place you'll then want to 00:49:20.480 --> 00:49:24.799 press it down on each of the four corners to make sure it's seated you can 00:49:23.559 --> 00:49:29.520 sometimes give it a little wiggle once you've gotten it the right way around align the completed assembly with the 00:49:27.839 --> 00:49:34.119 triangle on the socket and the mounting posts and lower it in place the process 00:49:31.480 --> 00:49:37.640 from here is the same as LGA 3647 so tighten down the cooler screws in an x 00:49:35.799 --> 00:49:41.400 pattern unless it says otherwise and now your CPU is installed we'll come back to 00:49:39.680 --> 00:49:45.079 the cooler in a minute first we want to deal with RAM because depending on your 00:49:43.160 --> 00:49:50.040 cooler it could be anywhere from a little bit to a lot easier to install it 00:49:47.720 --> 00:49:53.680 now rather than later unbox your RAM and lay it out in front of you depending on 00:49:51.760 --> 00:49:58.960 your motherboard and your priorities you might have anywhere from one stick to 12 00:49:55.799 --> 00:50:00.799 or 60 sticks of memory or even more the 00:49:58.960 --> 00:50:06.040 ultimate Authority for which slots to use will be your motherboard manufacturer so check your manual to be 00:50:04.000 --> 00:50:10.040 sure you never know when some engineer is going to get a fun new idea for how 00:50:07.720 --> 00:50:12.839 things are supposed to be colorcoded but we'll go over the most common 00:50:11.200 --> 00:50:16.200 configurations anyway if you look at your motherboard closely you'll usually 00:50:14.400 --> 00:50:23.200 see silk screen labels for the memory channels on ASUS for example dim A1 dim 00:50:19.680 --> 00:50:25.040 B1 dim A2 and so on the letter here 00:50:23.200 --> 00:50:29.640 indicates which channel the slot is connected to so for two sticks in dual 00:50:27.520 --> 00:50:34.720 Channel you'd install each module in the same numbered slot one in Channel a and 00:50:32.280 --> 00:50:38.960 the second in Channel B dual Channel now we mentioned before that dual Channel 00:50:36.520 --> 00:50:44.319 operation is usually best for Consumer PCS but if your motherboard has only two 00:50:42.000 --> 00:50:48.960 RAM slots you might have opted for a single large stick today in order to 00:50:46.480 --> 00:50:53.280 leave room for an upgrade later rather than going for two smaller sticks adding 00:50:51.000 --> 00:50:57.720 up to the same capacity that will both need to be replaced if you need to 00:50:55.079 --> 00:51:02.200 upgrade this is a a totally valid strategy though you should bear in mind 00:50:59.880 --> 00:51:06.000 that some newer CPUs in particular will give up a significant amount of 00:51:04.119 --> 00:51:10.079 performance running in single Channel mode if you're willing to make that 00:51:07.839 --> 00:51:14.319 trade-off just make sure to install your single module in the slot that is 00:51:11.880 --> 00:51:18.520 nearest to the CPU or in the one indicated by your motherboard manual if 00:51:16.280 --> 00:51:21.400 that sounds weird to veteran Builders that's because they're used to dual 00:51:19.680 --> 00:51:25.440 Channel configurations with two sticks of RAM usually unless you're filling out 00:51:23.799 --> 00:51:29.480 all the slots you should leave the slots closest to the CPU empty in order to 00:51:27.640 --> 00:51:33.040 improve the stability of the system at higher speeds this is because the 00:51:31.480 --> 00:51:36.720 farthest slots from each channel are where the channel itself ends when you 00:51:35.240 --> 00:51:41.000 have something in the near slot but the fire slot is empty signals can reflect 00:51:38.920 --> 00:51:45.040 off of the empty slot and mess things up in fun and unpredictable ways the same 00:51:43.480 --> 00:51:49.119 principle applies to triple and quad Channel setups they're just usually that 00:51:46.839 --> 00:51:53.319 many more RAM slots although the exact layout can change from board to board so 00:51:51.119 --> 00:51:59.319 for these setups it's almost always best to rtfm multiple CPUs get weirder still 00:51:56.960 --> 00:52:02.599 with two entire rows of memory slots with potentially opposite Channel 00:52:00.839 --> 00:52:09.559 Arrangements due to the orientation of the CPU again in this scenario rtfm do 00:52:06.760 --> 00:52:14.640 not skimp on rtfm do it are you still with me good here's how you actually 00:52:12.240 --> 00:52:17.640 install memory first push down the tabs at the ends of the slot that you're 00:52:15.680 --> 00:52:22.119 installing the memory into some boards will have two tabs one on each end While 00:52:20.079 --> 00:52:25.200 others will have just one which can make things a little bit easier if you have 00:52:23.599 --> 00:52:28.960 clearance issues with a large graphics card next look at at the pins on the 00:52:27.119 --> 00:52:33.799 memory module itself there will be at least one notch as shown here with ddr4 00:52:31.599 --> 00:52:37.440 memory this is offset from the middle of the module and there's a matching Post 00:52:35.599 --> 00:52:41.960 in the slot itself so that it can only go in one way hold up the module so the 00:52:39.680 --> 00:52:45.160 notch is aligned with the post then line up the module with the grooves on the 00:52:43.160 --> 00:52:49.720 slot getting one lined up at a time is often easiest and push down until you 00:52:47.240 --> 00:52:54.160 feel resistance at that point press a little harder until the tab or tabs lock 00:52:52.480 --> 00:52:58.079 back into place on their own you should hear a distinct click if it's done 00:52:56.040 --> 00:53:01.599 correctly then repeat these steps for any more memory modules that you have to 00:52:59.720 --> 00:53:05.319 install here's a pro tip by the way you can skip figuring out subsequent modules 00:53:03.559 --> 00:53:09.000 orientations by looking for the label side of the stick you already installed 00:53:06.960 --> 00:53:12.920 and matching against that instead keep in mind though for some motherboards 00:53:10.440 --> 00:53:17.920 with RAM on both sides of the CPU socket one side will often be flipped if your 00:53:15.480 --> 00:53:21.319 build has an m.2 SSD now is the time to install it it's pretty common for the 00:53:19.400 --> 00:53:24.640 slots to be hidden under heat sinks so if you don't see any you'll want to 00:53:23.200 --> 00:53:29.760 check your motherboard manual to figure out where these slots might be hiding 00:53:26.880 --> 00:53:33.960 some m.2 slots only support NVMe while some only support SATA and some support 00:53:31.920 --> 00:53:38.400 both your motherboard manual again will help you to identify them so if your SSD 00:53:36.040 --> 00:53:41.960 is seta you should purposely avoid an NVMe slot that's labeled as going to 00:53:40.000 --> 00:53:46.520 your CPU to leave it open for a faster NVMe SSD later on down the road but it 00:53:45.000 --> 00:53:50.880 really shouldn't matter as long as the slot supports SATA on the flip side if 00:53:48.640 --> 00:53:54.880 your SSD is NVMe you should avoid slots label is going through the chipset or 00:53:52.559 --> 00:53:58.799 PCH because these could bottleneck the drive's performance compared to a CP 00:53:56.599 --> 00:54:02.960 connected slot if you have multiple NVMe ssds and don't really have a choice 00:54:00.839 --> 00:54:07.160 you'll want to use the CPU m.2 slot for the faster SSD if applicable thankfully 00:54:05.559 --> 00:54:11.040 because m.2 slots have the same installation instructions regardless you 00:54:09.359 --> 00:54:14.119 don't need to take any of that into consideration when it's time to actually 00:54:12.599 --> 00:54:18.680 put it together remove the heat sink from your motherboard if applicable and 00:54:15.880 --> 00:54:23.760 For the Love of All that's good take off the protective film on the thermal pad 00:54:20.720 --> 00:54:25.480 now so you don't forget next make sure 00:54:23.760 --> 00:54:30.400 that the standoff is in the appropriate position most .2 ssds use the 80 mm long 00:54:28.400 --> 00:54:34.000 2280 position it may already be installed here and if so it may also 00:54:32.480 --> 00:54:37.240 have a very small Phillips screw inserted into it you'll need to remove 00:54:35.839 --> 00:54:42.079 that Phillips screw before going any further if so but if you don't have a 00:54:39.520 --> 00:54:45.240 standoff at all you'll had to find it in your motherboard box usually it's in a 00:54:44.079 --> 00:54:49.880 little baggie along with the tiny Phillip screw free it from its prison 00:54:47.720 --> 00:54:54.319 twist it into place on the 2280 position and you're up to speed visually line up 00:54:52.079 --> 00:54:57.720 the SSD's pin side with the slot taking note of the notch that's cut into it 00:54:56.000 --> 00:55:02.520 this should line up perfectly with a tab on the m.2 slot and typically results in 00:54:59.920 --> 00:55:06.720 the SSD's label facing out it's okay if your SSD has two notches but your slot 00:55:04.559 --> 00:55:11.400 only has one this keying means that the SSD is either SATA or supports two PCI 00:55:09.440 --> 00:55:14.760 Express Lanes rather than four a special note for if your SSD has its own heat 00:55:13.079 --> 00:55:19.119 sink the connector side will almost always be on the bottom of the heat sink 00:55:17.040 --> 00:55:22.039 with the fins facing outwards if your motherboard has a heat sink for this 00:55:20.640 --> 00:55:26.359 slot you might want to remove the heat sink from your SSD now in order to use 00:55:24.039 --> 00:55:29.799 that instead there's usually some clips on the Sid so you can just prize apart 00:55:28.039 --> 00:55:33.880 to release it there will be a gummy thermal pad on the inside that sticks to 00:55:31.760 --> 00:55:37.119 it but no one I'm aware of glues these together so it shouldn't be a big deal 00:55:35.240 --> 00:55:43.119 to peel it free all right enough foreplay already angle the SSD by about 00:55:40.119 --> 00:55:45.119 30° or so relative to the slot and line 00:55:43.119 --> 00:55:48.760 it up it should slip in easily with a little bit of pressure and once you can 00:55:46.680 --> 00:55:52.280 no longer see the pins it should stand up freely on its own from here it's 00:55:50.760 --> 00:55:57.920 easier if you get the tiny Phillips screw on the tip of a magnetic screwdriver before going any further 00:55:55.920 --> 00:56:01.640 because you'll need to push the SSD down flat against the standoff we installed 00:55:59.880 --> 00:56:05.559 earlier and hold it there while you screw it into place now you want to be 00:56:03.440 --> 00:56:11.160 careful with this screw it's very thin very fragile and very easy to misplace 00:56:08.680 --> 00:56:15.319 it also offends easily line it up and twist it counterclockwise until you feel 00:56:13.160 --> 00:56:19.599 a little click then start turning it clockwise to tighten it it only needs to 00:56:17.559 --> 00:56:23.720 be snug enough that the SSD no longer moves when you let go now you can put 00:56:21.960 --> 00:56:28.200 your motherboard heat sink back on if applicable now there are other ways to 00:56:25.559 --> 00:56:32.760 install an m 2 SSD including on a PCI Express card or ASUS dim. 2 interface 00:56:31.200 --> 00:56:36.640 and these are conceptually similar to connecting directly to the motherboard 00:56:34.520 --> 00:56:41.200 with the exception of how they slot in dim. two installation is identical to 00:56:38.799 --> 00:56:45.359 standard RAM modules open the tab line up the key notches with the slot then 00:56:43.319 --> 00:56:49.839 align yourself with the vertical posts push down and click into place the PCI 00:56:48.000 --> 00:56:54.039 Express card is the same as any other expansion card and we'll take care of 00:56:51.720 --> 00:56:57.319 that later for now it's time to move on to your cooler if you've got an 00:56:55.400 --> 00:57:01.200 all-in-one liquid cooler this step will be just installing the appropriate 00:56:59.039 --> 00:57:05.880 bracket but if you have an air cooler or a CPU block for a custom Loop both of 00:57:03.640 --> 00:57:09.880 these will be installed now most coolers use similar mounting mechanisms in 00:57:07.480 --> 00:57:14.880 theory but often the actual install will be pretty different for air coolers 00:57:12.400 --> 00:57:19.000 mounts like Noctua SECU firm system are among the easiest for Consumer 00:57:16.760 --> 00:57:22.640 processors no matter what socket it consists of two pieces of metal with 00:57:20.799 --> 00:57:25.599 screw down posts on the top side that screw into a back plate there are 00:57:24.079 --> 00:57:29.480 spacers fitted to make sure the vertical alignment with the the socket is just 00:57:27.440 --> 00:57:33.039 right for optimal mounting pressure and the cooler itself screws down into these 00:57:31.440 --> 00:57:36.960 screw posts right here for a secure connection let's see what that looks 00:57:34.680 --> 00:57:40.760 like in practice on Intel consumer systems nocta provides a back plate 00:57:38.839 --> 00:57:45.480 since that socket actually lacks one out of the box so instead of screws going 00:57:43.319 --> 00:57:48.720 down into it the back plate has posts that stick up through four holes in the 00:57:46.880 --> 00:57:52.000 motherboard along with a little Notch that allows it to clear the retention 00:57:50.000 --> 00:57:55.760 bolt on the lower side of the socket spacers are added per the instruction 00:57:53.559 --> 00:57:59.200 manual double check the color and then the approach apprpriate bars are put on 00:57:57.280 --> 00:58:02.640 top now because Intel's cooler dimensions are symmetrical that means 00:58:01.000 --> 00:58:06.559 they can go in either orientation depending on how you want your air to 00:58:04.160 --> 00:58:10.039 flow in your case in most situations you want your cooler to blow air towards the 00:58:08.200 --> 00:58:14.119 rear of the chassis so you would install These Bars laterally then screw them 00:58:12.160 --> 00:58:18.559 down with these reverse thumb screws on AMD because a back plate is included the 00:58:16.760 --> 00:58:23.599 spacers simply fit over the parts of the back plate that stick up through the motherboard which means that your first 00:58:21.559 --> 00:58:27.960 order of business is to remove these plastic clip adapters that come standard 00:58:25.440 --> 00:58:32.359 on AMD board boards make sure you keep those by the way because some coolers do 00:58:30.280 --> 00:58:37.200 require them and losing them is pretty bad for resale value then your mounting 00:58:34.920 --> 00:58:42.319 bars go on and get screwed down in the same way now because AMD's cooler holes 00:58:39.799 --> 00:58:47.319 are asymmetrical there are two sets of mounting bars one long and one short the 00:58:45.319 --> 00:58:50.359 short bars are what most people will use as these are installed laterally so the 00:58:48.799 --> 00:58:54.200 cooler can exhaust air towards the rear of the case once it's screwed into place 00:58:52.720 --> 00:59:00.000 you're ready to go we interrupt your regularly scheduled broadcast with a quick word for from seic reliable that's 00:58:58.280 --> 00:59:03.920 the word whether it's how seic stands behind their warranty or the fact that 00:59:01.559 --> 00:59:07.119 their power supplies just work seic has your back so grab one of their power 00:59:05.559 --> 00:59:11.599 supplies today by clicking the link below Intel's LGA 2000 series of sockets 00:59:10.000 --> 00:59:15.240 are a little more straightforward simply screw in the four studs slot the 00:59:13.480 --> 00:59:19.480 mounting bars over in the orientation you prefer or that will fit and tighten 00:59:17.720 --> 00:59:23.119 them down with reverse thumb screws similar to Intel's consumer desktop 00:59:21.160 --> 00:59:26.440 sockets finally Threadripper and epic sockets are simpler still the cooler 00:59:25.160 --> 00:59:29.640 just bolts down straight onto the socket's own retention mechanism because 00:59:28.160 --> 00:59:33.400 of the socket design the cooler can only go on one way so make sure to align it 00:59:31.440 --> 00:59:36.400 properly one side is space narrow and the other side space wide but that 00:59:35.079 --> 00:59:40.200 mechanism is so simple that we're getting ahead of ourselves we need 00:59:38.079 --> 00:59:43.200 thermal compound first many coolers come with some compound pre-applied and feel 00:59:41.799 --> 00:59:46.920 free to use that if you like it's usually fine and it's easier than cleaning it off to apply something 00:59:45.799 --> 00:59:50.480 different but if you want something fresh or you're remounting an old cooler 00:59:48.839 --> 00:59:54.079 that's where isopropyl alcohol and coffee filters or paper towels come in 00:59:52.559 --> 00:59:58.000 if it is an old cooler I'd recommend doing a dry wipe first but if not not 00:59:56.400 --> 01:00:01.359 wet the bottom of the filter or paper towel with isopropyl alcohol then rub 01:00:00.079 --> 01:00:05.799 away the thermal compound from the cooler in a circular pattern until most 01:00:03.280 --> 01:00:09.319 of it is wiped away then go over it one or two or three more times with some 01:00:07.680 --> 01:00:12.880 fresh isopropyl and a clean part of the towel until the towel starts to come off 01:00:11.400 --> 01:00:17.599 clean to make sure the finger grease and dust is removed you should repeat that last step with the CPU itself as well 01:00:16.280 --> 01:00:22.760 with the surface is clean you can grab your thermal compound most of the time it'll be in a syringe like this so Twist 01:00:21.240 --> 01:00:27.400 Off the cap then hold it at an angle against the CPU like so making sure it's 01:00:24.680 --> 01:00:31.119 flat and perpendicular to your surface perpendicular I think we should just 01:00:28.960 --> 01:00:34.520 leave that I actually prefer that slowly squeeze the plunger until the thermal 01:00:32.559 --> 01:00:38.960 compound flows the amount you want and where to put it varies by CPU Intel 01:00:37.119 --> 01:00:44.160 consumer CPUs need about as much as a cooked grain of brown rice from there 01:00:40.839 --> 01:00:46.480 LGA 2011 and 2066 and AMD's am4 01:00:44.160 --> 01:00:49.520 processors get about a psize blob and it's up to you if you want to just plop 01:00:47.680 --> 01:00:52.920 it down in the middle or go for the line or the X method it doesn't really matter 01:00:51.440 --> 01:00:57.359 as long as there's enough compound at the end of the day for large CPUs like 01:00:55.119 --> 01:01:01.000 Threadripper and zon Platinum however you're going to need a lot more you can 01:00:59.000 --> 01:01:04.599 go with two psize blobs and hope for the best but in our experience a series of 01:01:02.799 --> 01:01:07.680 dots or a line setup like this works best and we've seen in the community 01:01:06.000 --> 01:01:11.119 that a large x pattern can work great too if you're nervous about it just 01:01:09.599 --> 01:01:15.240 spread it out to make sure you have full coverage and if you're really nervous 01:01:12.599 --> 01:01:19.280 about it the Honeywell PTM 7950 thermal pads that we sell on LTT Store.com are 01:01:17.240 --> 01:01:23.280 really easy you just cut it to the size of the CPU peel it off stick it on if 01:01:22.000 --> 01:01:26.839 you're having trouble put it in the fridge easy can't screw it up the main 01:01:25.680 --> 01:01:32.960 take takeway is just to make sure you use enough to completely cover the Cooler's integrated heat spreader or IHS 01:01:31.160 --> 01:01:35.760 that's the metal part on top of the CPU with its name lasered onto it once 01:01:34.680 --> 01:01:40.599 you're satisfied with the amount of thermal paste you've used you can press the tip flat against the CPU to break 01:01:39.079 --> 01:01:46.000 the surface tension of the paste so it doesn't come up off the CPU when you lift the syringe away don't forget to 01:01:43.559 --> 01:01:50.559 recap it of course if you're using a thermal pad don't just plop it down on 01:01:48.480 --> 01:01:55.240 there make sure you buy one that's sized for the CPU you want to use it with you 01:01:53.000 --> 01:01:59.720 might need to use multiples for a big rectangular Beast like Threadripper now 01:01:57.880 --> 01:02:04.559 the thermal compound sorted just bolt down your cooler for Tower style coolers 01:02:02.400 --> 01:02:08.720 you'll first want to uncp the fan from the cooler like so in order to access 01:02:06.839 --> 01:02:12.760 the screws then it's as simple as aligning the heat sink with the screw 01:02:10.359 --> 01:02:17.079 posts and tightening it down for coolers with just two screws it's best to 01:02:14.880 --> 01:02:21.880 tighten one side a little then go to the other side and just keep on going back 01:02:19.079 --> 01:02:26.359 and forth until you can't go any further for coolers that have four screws like 01:02:24.039 --> 01:02:30.599 the custom Loop CPU blocks and air coolers like the hyper 212 you'll first 01:02:28.960 --> 01:02:34.920 want to make sure there's no sticker on the coal plate and then you'll want to 01:02:32.200 --> 01:02:39.720 screw them in in an x pattern it helps to get all of them started partway first 01:02:37.400 --> 01:02:43.559 then start teing them down a bit at a time by alternating to the opposite 01:02:41.880 --> 01:02:48.079 corner until it's tightened down all the way you're using an air cooler now is as 01:02:46.240 --> 01:02:53.400 good of a time as any to attach the air part depending on the configuration you 01:02:50.400 --> 01:02:55.520 might have one fan two fans or zero fans 01:02:53.400 --> 01:03:00.200 if you're one of those passive types you lock can just ignore this bin you can 01:02:57.839 --> 01:03:05.039 also ignore it if your fan is integrated into the cooler like with a stock one 01:03:02.720 --> 01:03:08.839 fans are directional and we'll talk more about this later in the case fan section 01:03:07.400 --> 01:03:12.400 but here is all that you need to know for now some fans have markers that show 01:03:11.039 --> 01:03:16.839 the direction the air will flow from them but if you're unsure the side with 01:03:14.799 --> 01:03:20.440 the stickered part that doesn't move usually indicates that's the side the 01:03:18.520 --> 01:03:24.920 air will come out of when installing a fan into a cooler it's tidiest to have 01:03:22.839 --> 01:03:29.119 the Fan's power cable coming out towards the motherboard so just take that into 01:03:26.839 --> 01:03:33.920 account when you're finanger coolers these days have wire 01:03:32.039 --> 01:03:39.160 clips that hook into the Fan's mounting holes in order to then clip into the 01:03:36.200 --> 01:03:43.720 grooves on the cooler itself it can be a little tricky but it's basically just a 01:03:41.839 --> 01:03:48.000 matter of placing the fan in the desired orientation and stretching those wires 01:03:45.880 --> 01:03:52.119 over the grooves in the heat sink it'll clip into place and you're good to go 01:03:50.039 --> 01:03:57.279 repeat as desired if your cooler takes more than one fan but be careful about 01:03:54.880 --> 01:04:01.480 the orientation and especially note any clearance issues with nearby motherboard 01:03:59.200 --> 01:04:06.240 heat sinks or memory you may need to either Mount the fan a bit higher than 01:04:03.680 --> 01:04:11.240 you otherwise would or just scrap it entirely it's still fine one fan will do 01:04:09.000 --> 01:04:15.480 it once the fans are in look for the four pin header labeled CPU fan on your 01:04:13.279 --> 01:04:19.440 motherboard or similar this is almost always right next to the CPU socket and 01:04:17.640 --> 01:04:22.760 for ASUS motherboards it tends to be on the top Edge as seen here line up the 01:04:21.520 --> 01:04:27.279 tabs on the cable with the one on the motherboard and press it into position 01:04:24.960 --> 01:04:30.880 either a three pin or four pin fan can function perfectly plugged into a 01:04:28.839 --> 01:04:35.559 connector like this and as we said previously all the fourth pin does is 01:04:33.319 --> 01:04:40.960 add a separate pin for a finer fan speed control via pwm so four pins are ideal 01:04:38.839 --> 01:04:45.240 but not necessary and in the case of liquid coolers there might actually only 01:04:42.720 --> 01:04:49.359 be one wire to sense the RPM of the pump because it will draw power from a 01:04:46.599 --> 01:04:53.079 separate Molex or SATA connector so that RPM sense wire is just to ensure that in 01:04:51.640 --> 01:04:57.240 the event your pump fails your motherboard can either set off an alarm 01:04:54.760 --> 01:05:03.039 or initiate a safe shut down now if your cooler has two fans you're going to want 01:04:59.039 --> 01:05:04.680 to check for a CPU opt or two header if 01:05:03.039 --> 01:05:08.319 there isn't one the cooler will often include a y splitter that lets you 01:05:06.200 --> 01:05:12.520 connect both fans to a single header usually it is no problem to have two 01:05:10.240 --> 01:05:16.799 fans on one header but don't go overboard because there are current 01:05:14.319 --> 01:05:20.880 limits through those connectors with that done we're finished with our 01:05:18.160 --> 01:05:24.279 motherboard for now but now is also an excellent time to power on our system 01:05:22.680 --> 01:05:28.279 and make sure that everything's working while it's easy to access for you air 01:05:26.319 --> 01:05:32.480 jockeys you get to relax while the all-in-one liquid cooler users awkwardly 01:05:30.559 --> 01:05:36.440 hook their coolers up now outside the case only to uninstall them again once 01:05:34.480 --> 01:05:41.240 they're done and reinstall them yet again when everything is inside the case 01:05:38.880 --> 01:05:44.920 yes it is a pain but it's a small price to pay for not having to tear everything 01:05:42.880 --> 01:05:48.000 down if it doesn't work now most liquid coolers simply have a bracket that 01:05:46.400 --> 01:05:51.880 twists on and off depending on the socket that you're using and then screw 01:05:50.119 --> 01:05:56.039 straight down onto the mounting bracket that you installed earlier if that's you 01:05:54.039 --> 01:06:01.359 make sure you tighten them down in an x pattern going a little on each Corner 01:05:58.240 --> 01:06:03.599 one by one until none can go any further 01:06:01.359 --> 01:06:08.720 there are unfortunately some vendors like Cooler Master and newer Corsair 01:06:06.079 --> 01:06:13.200 units that use Clips on AMD systems instead of screwing into the back plate 01:06:10.799 --> 01:06:17.520 and this is where those standard AMD plastic clip things come in it's 01:06:15.400 --> 01:06:21.440 inelegant in the modern age but it ensures that coolers remain compatible 01:06:19.200 --> 01:06:25.880 backwards and forwards to an absolutely ludicrous degree so you can't really 01:06:23.680 --> 01:06:28.720 blame AMD for this Slide the Clips through the holes on the Block start the 01:06:27.319 --> 01:06:32.039 retaining thumb screws enough to keep them from falling out and then put the 01:06:30.440 --> 01:06:36.160 whole thing in place and make sure the tabs were captured by the clip then 01:06:34.559 --> 01:06:39.960 while holding the Clips in position tighten it all down it's going to feel 01:06:38.119 --> 01:06:43.440 really delicate but stick with it and eventually it'll all be okay consider 01:06:42.079 --> 01:06:47.000 this a practice run for when you don't have so much room to maneuver as for 01:06:45.359 --> 01:06:52.520 those of you who just have a water block and nothing else right now well you 01:06:50.119 --> 01:06:57.920 could fill up your loop on the bench and that is what I would recommend but if 01:06:55.720 --> 01:07:02.079 all you want to do is verify that it's working you can slap the block on 01:07:00.160 --> 01:07:07.839 without water in it and Power on for just long enough to see the post screen 01:07:04.039 --> 01:07:10.079 about 10 to 20 seconds it should be fine 01:07:07.839 --> 01:07:15.000 let's get into what that looks like step seven pre-built test aka the part where 01:07:12.839 --> 01:07:18.799 it going horribly wrong is a good thing because if you don't find out now you'll 01:07:16.760 --> 01:07:23.160 definitely find out later in order to do a quick test you'll need three things 01:07:20.920 --> 01:07:26.760 your power supply with accessories your graphics card if applicable and a 01:07:24.960 --> 01:07:29.960 screwdriver first if you have one install your graphics card this is 01:07:28.400 --> 01:07:33.960 significantly easier to do while the system is outside the case make sure 01:07:31.720 --> 01:07:37.960 that the tab on the long PCI Express x16 slot is pushed down then grab your 01:07:36.200 --> 01:07:41.480 graphics card pull off any protective covers on the card Edge connector then 01:07:39.599 --> 01:07:44.680 light it up with the slot giving it a gentle push until the retention clip is 01:07:43.000 --> 01:07:47.960 pushed into the Locking position make sure it's in straight and you can't see 01:07:46.319 --> 01:07:51.880 any pins because outside of the case there isn't anything to hold it down 01:07:50.160 --> 01:07:55.039 once it's in one trick to make it a little bit more stable is to use the 01:07:53.240 --> 01:07:59.079 motherboard Box's flap to Anchor the card in place if it does have a flap 01:07:56.880 --> 01:08:02.760 that you can kind of slide it into next grab your power supply cables at a 01:08:00.920 --> 01:08:06.880 minimum you'll need the 12vt CPU connector which is usually eight pins 01:08:04.400 --> 01:08:11.000 but sometimes four a 24 pin connector and if you're running a GPU you'll need 01:08:08.520 --> 01:08:15.760 as many connections as your GPU requires most won't work without them expect to 01:08:12.960 --> 01:08:19.799 see a combination of 6 and8 pin or 12 and 16 pin connectors on our machines 01:08:17.880 --> 01:08:24.080 take special note by the way that GPU power connectors even the ones that look 01:08:21.679 --> 01:08:28.839 similar are not the same as the eight pin for the motherboard do do not force 01:08:27.199 --> 01:08:33.000 anything lining these up outside the case is easy make sure the tabs line up 01:08:31.480 --> 01:08:36.640 then push them down until they clip into place you also want to make sure that 01:08:34.759 --> 01:08:39.960 you press down a little bit more on them after you've clipped them in just to 01:08:38.000 --> 01:08:44.319 make sure that they're seated properly this is especially important for the ATX 01:08:41.960 --> 01:08:48.000 12volt high power connector which can get a little spicy when it's not plugged 01:08:46.359 --> 01:08:51.920 in all the way and this will be especially important later when it's 01:08:49.679 --> 01:08:56.560 inside the case if your motherboard has more than one 12v CPU connector usually 01:08:54.440 --> 01:09:00.000 the one marked as one is the primary one that's actually required but it's good 01:08:58.520 --> 01:09:04.120 practice to install all of them if you can these cables can often be split into 01:09:02.080 --> 01:09:07.799 two groups of four if for example your motherboard has an eight and a four pin 01:09:05.679 --> 01:09:11.000 connector rather than two eight pins with all that done connect up your 01:09:09.120 --> 01:09:14.159 keyboard and display making sure of course to plug into your graphics card 01:09:12.759 --> 01:09:22.080 and not your motherboard if you have a graphics card installed then you can flip on the power switch on your power 01:09:16.960 --> 01:09:26.000 supply and wait um where's the power 01:09:22.080 --> 01:09:27.279 button about that there isn't one not 01:09:26.000 --> 01:09:30.719 always anyway this is where the screwdriver comes in find the front 01:09:29.040 --> 01:09:35.239 panel header for your motherboard often in the lower right corner and then find 01:09:32.880 --> 01:09:41.359 the pins labeled for power switch what now stick the screwdriver in yes 01:09:39.199 --> 01:09:45.359 seriously your screwdriver doubles as a button who 01:09:42.560 --> 01:09:50.199 knew wow what else can screwdrivers do LTD store.com maybe someday anyway if 01:09:48.520 --> 01:09:53.679 you have a boot screen mash the setup key which is usually delete until you 01:09:51.839 --> 01:09:57.480 get into the BIOS check to be sure that everything's been detected all your 01:09:54.960 --> 01:10:01.400 memory your CPU your fans and your m.2 ssds should all be visible either on the 01:09:59.400 --> 01:10:05.760 main info page in the system health section or in a storage related menu 01:10:03.760 --> 01:10:09.159 like NVMe configuration or SATA configuration if you're using an empty 01:10:07.440 --> 01:10:13.120 water block this is as far as you want to go your CPU is probably already 01:10:11.120 --> 01:10:16.199 getting toasty however for anyone else it's worth making sure that your 01:10:14.320 --> 01:10:19.120 temperatures are okay here let it sit powered on for a few minutes and see 01:10:17.640 --> 01:10:23.000 where the temperatures get to when it's warmed up a bit some CPUs will idle 01:10:21.440 --> 01:10:26.480 pretty hot in the BIOS regardless of the cooler and that's normal what you're 01:10:24.880 --> 01:10:30.080 looking for for is temperatures to stabilize and for them to not get any 01:10:28.480 --> 01:10:33.440 better or worse by pushing down on the cooler if they do change that's an 01:10:31.920 --> 01:10:38.199 indication that your cooler may not be making proper contact with the CPU so 01:10:35.679 --> 01:10:41.560 what you should do now is shut it down pull off the cooler check the pattern of 01:10:40.159 --> 01:10:46.000 your thermal compound to be sure that it's spread evenly then repaste and try 01:10:44.360 --> 01:10:49.000 again but what if every novice Builder's worst nightmare happens and nothing 01:10:47.480 --> 01:10:52.239 shows up on the screen after powering it up thankly there are often ways to 01:10:51.040 --> 01:10:56.040 understand what's gone wrong some motherboards have led displays that show 01:10:54.040 --> 01:10:59.400 a two character hexid decimal code that should help identify which part of the 01:10:57.520 --> 01:11:03.480 boot process failed and you can look up what those mean in your manual or online 01:11:01.400 --> 01:11:06.640 often another LED indicator somewhere on the motherboard is present either 01:11:04.920 --> 01:11:10.600 instead of or alongside that help make it even more clear ASUS for example 01:11:08.560 --> 01:11:14.960 tends to put a kind of stoplight type of array of LEDs that show red to indicate 01:11:12.840 --> 01:11:18.880 CPU tests orange to indicate memory tests white to indicate storage and 01:11:16.880 --> 01:11:22.040 green to indicate graphics with these you can tell at a glance exactly where 01:11:20.360 --> 01:11:25.360 the issue is even if there's nothing on the screen other vendors have LEDs that 01:11:23.960 --> 01:11:29.400 light up each section of the mother board as they tested that startup so 01:11:27.040 --> 01:11:32.239 check around your CPU socket RAM slots or graphics card to see if there's 01:11:30.640 --> 01:11:36.719 anything lit up the most common cause of no video is an issue with the cable 01:11:34.199 --> 01:11:39.800 either broken or lowquality cables or plugging it into the wrong Port it 01:11:38.600 --> 01:11:45.440 doesn't really matter where on the graphics card you plug it in but if you plug it into the motherboard especially 01:11:43.080 --> 01:11:49.120 for older AMD or Intel f-s series systems without integrated Graphics 01:11:47.360 --> 01:11:53.000 you're not going to get anything failing that make sure your graphics card is 01:11:50.600 --> 01:11:56.760 fully inserted receip if you aren't sure and do the same for memory if you have 01:11:54.520 --> 01:12:01.000 more than one memory module try removing all but one and then if everything works 01:11:58.679 --> 01:12:05.000 try adding them back one by one if none of that helps but the PC turns on you 01:12:02.800 --> 01:12:08.000 may need to try reating your CPU and especially check to be sure that there 01:12:06.199 --> 01:12:11.239 are no bent pins and that there's no lint or anything in the socket that 01:12:09.639 --> 01:12:14.600 might prevent a good connection it's rare these days but some computers won't 01:12:12.800 --> 01:12:18.080 boot or stay on without the CPU fan header connected so that's one more 01:12:16.120 --> 01:12:22.760 thing to try if the rest doesn't help if nothing happened at all when you press 01:12:19.760 --> 01:12:23.960 the power button I'm sorry uh the first 01:12:22.760 --> 01:12:28.400 thing you should check is that the motherboard is getting p power usually 01:12:26.480 --> 01:12:32.400 there will be an LED or two that turns on when you flip the power supply into 01:12:30.280 --> 01:12:38.560 the on position assuming of course you've plugged it into the wall you 01:12:34.480 --> 01:12:40.560 check that right oh wait okay good if 01:12:38.560 --> 01:12:44.800 there's still nothing then turn off the power supply and make sure your cables 01:12:42.280 --> 01:12:49.400 are properly connected the 24 pin connector can often split into a 20 and 01:12:47.440 --> 01:12:54.639 four pin connector for compatibility reasons so it's possible that summer all 01:12:52.159 --> 01:12:58.880 of one part hasn't been fully inserted push the click holding it into place and 01:12:56.719 --> 01:13:03.560 pull it out then make sure it's all lined up and try again same thing can 01:13:01.239 --> 01:13:07.440 happen with the 12vt EPS connectors so triple check those two and of course 01:13:05.880 --> 01:13:11.560 make sure they're all plugged into the proper power connection points on the 01:13:09.320 --> 01:13:14.840 power supply itself most modern power supplies should make it impossible to 01:13:13.639 --> 01:13:19.440 plug these things into the wrong connectors but you never know failing 01:13:17.440 --> 01:13:23.920 all of that there could be some compatibility reasons your system isn't 01:13:21.639 --> 01:13:27.800 firing up some AMD motherboards in particular might require a BIOS update 01:13:26.159 --> 01:13:34.280 to enable support for certain generations of CPUs or it might be too 01:13:31.679 --> 01:13:38.600 far forward and you need to roll it back for your generation of CPU just look it 01:13:36.360 --> 01:13:42.800 up in the motherb manual you may need to contact the store you bought it from or 01:13:40.600 --> 01:13:47.239 AMD directly to arrange to have that done if none of that helps then you'll 01:13:45.480 --> 01:13:51.960 need to do some more advanced troubleshooting preferably with a 01:13:49.080 --> 01:13:56.440 different computer or sets of components check the LT forums for more info there 01:13:55.080 --> 01:14:00.719 once you're satisfied that everything's powered on and working flick off the 01:13:58.840 --> 01:14:05.120 power disconnect everything and then put it to the side it's time to make your 01:14:03.080 --> 01:14:08.560 case it might help to lay down a blanket or a towel or something so you don't 01:14:06.639 --> 01:14:12.080 scratch up your case or your desk while you work with it as a bonus it'll reduce 01:14:10.639 --> 01:14:17.239 the friction of the feet so you can rotate it around more easily while working every case is going to be 01:14:15.239 --> 01:14:21.040 different in terms of layout build quality and cable management but there 01:14:19.040 --> 01:14:25.120 are some general notes to keep in mind when prepping first take off your side 01:14:23.560 --> 01:14:29.239 panels and store them in a safe place place the Box the case came in is a good 01:14:27.400 --> 01:14:32.760 candidate depending on your case the side panels might need a screwdriver or 01:14:31.199 --> 01:14:36.920 have thumb screws if they're plastic or metal or they might have side screws or 01:14:35.199 --> 01:14:41.320 even be held in magnetically on a hinge of their tempered glass if they're fancy 01:14:39.440 --> 01:14:44.880 with your case open remove the hardware box if it's stored inside the chassis 01:14:43.159 --> 01:14:48.760 and put it aside for now if your motherboard comes with an IO Shield you 01:14:46.600 --> 01:14:52.159 should install that now line up the io shield with the back of your motherboard 01:14:50.199 --> 01:14:57.159 to determine which orientation it should go in the flat end phes towards the 01:14:54.760 --> 01:15:01.239 mother motherboard then align the io shield with a cutout in the rear of the 01:14:58.840 --> 01:15:05.760 case and snap it into place using one corner as an anchor it may take a bit of 01:15:03.880 --> 01:15:10.040 force to get it in just right and cheaper cases May Flex when you do this 01:15:07.719 --> 01:15:13.760 and cause it to pop back out but don't get discouraged keep at it until you're 01:15:12.080 --> 01:15:17.320 satisfied it's not going to pop out when you look at it the wrong way another 01:15:15.760 --> 01:15:21.480 thing you should do now is move any cables out of the way sometimes they'll 01:15:19.280 --> 01:15:24.520 be tied up with a twist tie or zip tie but generally you want to get them on 01:15:22.840 --> 01:15:27.159 the other side of the case so you don't have to worry about pinching them or 01:15:26.040 --> 01:15:30.800 getting them trapped under the motherboard when it's installed it also 01:15:29.239 --> 01:15:36.080 makes it much easier to Cable manage later now let's talk standoffs some 01:15:33.920 --> 01:15:39.480 cases will come with some or all of these pre-installed and if not 01:15:37.960 --> 01:15:42.719 everything you need will be in the hardware box that you removed earlier 01:15:41.280 --> 01:15:46.199 they're essentially just extensions for the screw holes on the motherboard tray 01:15:44.480 --> 01:15:50.360 to prevent the motherboard from shorting out on the tray and they screw in the 01:15:48.199 --> 01:15:53.000 same way that a normal screw would just you know without a screw head you can 01:15:51.960 --> 01:15:59.199 check the hole pattern on your motherboard to determine where the standof should go and which extra ones 01:15:56.960 --> 01:16:02.719 might need to be removed hand tightening these is enough to build but I've run 01:16:01.080 --> 01:16:06.440 into issues disassembling systems that were only hand tight where the standoff 01:16:05.000 --> 01:16:10.400 will come out instead of the motherboard screw just be careful if you do decide 01:16:08.560 --> 01:16:15.159 to tighten them with a 5mm hex socket driver because cheaper cases will often 01:16:12.760 --> 01:16:18.040 just strip the threads or skip back out instead of just tightening down if 01:16:16.639 --> 01:16:22.239 you're trying to remove one and you don't have an adapter or driver or your 01:16:20.400 --> 01:16:25.880 fingers just aren't cutting it then pliers can give you quite a bit more 01:16:23.960 --> 01:16:29.679 leverage but this this will damage its finish if that matters to you a 01:16:27.760 --> 01:16:33.120 sacrificial paper towel or microfiber cloth can help mitigate this you'll 01:16:31.800 --> 01:16:37.199 notice that there are more holes and there are standoffs what's up with that 01:16:35.840 --> 01:16:41.040 while there are standard layouts for these for each form factor not every 01:16:39.199 --> 01:16:46.120 motherboard will use every mounting point or some may use non-standard ones 01:16:44.199 --> 01:16:50.159 while you don't strictly speaking need a standoff for every Mount point on your 01:16:47.800 --> 01:16:56.360 motherboard let's just say it's highly recommended and it's absolutely critical 01:16:53.440 --> 01:17:00.000 that there are no EX exas a standoff placed where there isn't a mount Point 01:16:58.480 --> 01:17:03.280 could short something out if you aren't careful or worse it could cause your 01:17:01.719 --> 01:17:06.560 motherboard to flex and potentially break something if you screw the others 01:17:04.760 --> 01:17:10.360 in and the motherboard ends up flexing once you're satisfied you can do a test 01:17:08.239 --> 01:17:14.040 fit first count the numbers of standoffs in the case and the holes in your 01:17:11.840 --> 01:17:18.480 motherboard watch out some motherboards actually have holes that are hidden by 01:17:16.000 --> 01:17:21.760 cosmetic covers and SSD heat sinks these days if they match gently lay your 01:17:20.440 --> 01:17:25.480 motherboard into the case and align it with the standoffs you should see screw 01:17:23.840 --> 01:17:28.840 threads for each hole if you don't then make a note of which 01:17:27.199 --> 01:17:31.960 is missing remove your motherboard and rearrange the missing standoffs until 01:17:30.480 --> 01:17:35.800 you've got everything lined up if everything looks good then now is a 01:17:33.560 --> 01:17:40.760 great time to hook up your 8 Pin 12volt cables for the CPU these are also called 01:17:38.080 --> 01:17:44.800 EPS connectors these things are notoriously difficult to get plugged in 01:17:42.719 --> 01:17:49.480 when the motherboard and especially the cooler are installed so if your power 01:17:47.159 --> 01:17:53.280 supply is modular go ahead and attach the motherboard side then feed the other 01:17:51.760 --> 01:17:57.000 end through the cable management hole that is probably up here otherwise 01:17:55.560 --> 01:18:01.600 you'll just have to drape it across the motherboard with that done it's time to 01:17:59.159 --> 01:18:05.000 screw your board down now each case is a little different so check the manual 01:18:03.280 --> 01:18:10.120 before proceeding but if you don't have one then usually the larger 632 screws 01:18:08.360 --> 01:18:14.639 are used for this rather than the smaller finer M3 screws you can safely 01:18:13.120 --> 01:18:19.120 test this by threading one into a standoff with your fingers if a 632 01:18:17.000 --> 01:18:24.000 screw doesn't tighten easily then you need to use an M3 and if it's loose with 01:18:21.159 --> 01:18:28.159 an M3 then you need to use a 632 it's easiest to start with the central Mount 01:18:25.840 --> 01:18:31.320 point if present this will anchor the board into place and help keep things 01:18:29.960 --> 01:18:36.199 aligned while you're screwing everything in hence the peg version that some cases 01:18:33.840 --> 01:18:40.000 come with align the screw in the hole twist counterclockwise until you feel a 01:18:37.840 --> 01:18:44.120 click then go clockwise to screw it into place Pro tip by the way don't fully 01:18:42.440 --> 01:18:47.000 tighten this screw yet leaving a little bit of slack helps you reposition the 01:18:45.800 --> 01:18:51.320 motherboard as you're putting in the rest of the screws next get the corners 01:18:50.159 --> 01:18:56.920 and if you did everything right the motherboard should now be perfectly aligned and you can tighten everything 01:18:54.320 --> 01:19:00.159 down completely if you've got more Mount points to screw down keep going until 01:18:58.520 --> 01:19:03.960 they're all done ideally you would populate every Mount point with a screw 01:19:02.199 --> 01:19:07.400 but in the event that you can't due to a clearance issue a missing one isn't 01:19:05.520 --> 01:19:10.560 going to hurt anything it's easiest to wire the front panel header now while 01:19:09.120 --> 01:19:15.239 there are a few obstructions and cables in the way because you're dealing with 01:19:12.600 --> 01:19:18.600 small one or two wire connections before doing anything grab the whole bundle of 01:19:17.280 --> 01:19:21.960 them and make sure they're not Tangled Up in anything else they should hang 01:19:20.560 --> 01:19:25.639 freely from where they enter the case from the front panel from here you'll 01:19:24.000 --> 01:19:29.360 want to find a hole that's close to where they need to go as mentioned 01:19:27.679 --> 01:19:32.719 before the front panel header is often located in the lower right corner of the 01:19:30.920 --> 01:19:36.040 motherboard and there are often silk screened markings on the motherboard to 01:19:34.199 --> 01:19:39.159 indicate which pins are for what if you don't see any markings for it consult 01:19:37.520 --> 01:19:41.960 your motherboard's manual if your case has Cable Management guides it's best to 01:19:40.800 --> 01:19:47.360 use these now so you don't have to rewire anything when cable managing later just because of how fiddly these 01:19:45.520 --> 01:19:51.440 can be be conscious of how long the wires are and how far they had to go and 01:19:49.719 --> 01:19:55.080 try to make sure that they don't cross anything that needs access you don't 01:19:53.520 --> 01:19:59.040 want to knock them loose by accident later at a minimum all computers should 01:19:57.560 --> 01:20:06.760 come with a power switch lead that needs to be plugged into the front panel header but they may also come with a 01:20:03.199 --> 01:20:08.239 power LED HDD LED and reset switch very 01:20:06.760 --> 01:20:12.520 occasionally these days you may also have a speaker or buzzer in the hardware 01:20:09.880 --> 01:20:16.920 box and this is also where that goes the usual layout is to have the power LED 01:20:14.440 --> 01:20:20.719 plus and minus on the top left power switch immediately right of that and PC 01:20:19.040 --> 01:20:25.840 speaker plus and minus to the right of that on the top row the bottom row 01:20:22.920 --> 01:20:31.199 usually goes HDD LED plus and minus then reset switch sometimes there will be a 01:20:28.360 --> 01:20:34.480 second three pin wide power LED plus and minus to the right of that for 01:20:32.719 --> 01:20:38.320 compatibility with older cases using a wider power LED connector of these 01:20:36.639 --> 01:20:43.440 connections you might note that three have plus and minus or polarity that is 01:20:41.360 --> 01:20:46.960 it matters in which orientation you have them the connector will usually have a 01:20:45.280 --> 01:20:52.080 positive and negative indicator silk screened onto it or even be separated 01:20:49.560 --> 01:20:56.080 into individual wires but if not they should be colorcoded and the white or 01:20:53.840 --> 01:21:00.440 black wies us usually the negative for LEDs the polarity needs to be correct or 01:20:58.400 --> 01:21:03.679 your lights won't function properly the good news is that if you put them in 01:21:01.679 --> 01:21:07.639 wrong it won't hurt anything just flip them around the PC speaker header 01:21:05.480 --> 01:21:11.639 follows the same black equals negative wire convention but these are becoming 01:21:09.679 --> 01:21:15.400 so rare that you may never see one while building a computer for yourself its 01:21:13.440 --> 01:21:19.000 primary role these days is to provide feedback during boot beep codes can be 01:21:17.639 --> 01:21:23.639 useful for troubleshooting but have largely been replaced by diagnostic LEDs 01:21:21.639 --> 01:21:27.280 it has other uses but it's mostly just a relic of a byon era two of the front 01:21:25.600 --> 01:21:30.800 panel connections absolutely do not matter which orientation they go in and 01:21:29.040 --> 01:21:34.760 that's the power switch and reset switch because unlike devices like LEDs or 01:21:32.719 --> 01:21:38.239 speakers that need the draw Power these are simple switches that close a circuit 01:21:36.840 --> 01:21:44.760 still it's neatest to make sure that they line up with the other cables if present once you've wired up the front 01:21:42.040 --> 01:21:50.040 panel gently pull the slack back through the rear panel it's a good idea to also 01:21:47.440 --> 01:21:57.639 wire up USB and front panel audio now if present front panel audio may have two 01:21:52.600 --> 01:21:59.880 connectors AC 9 7 and HD audio or aelia 01:21:57.639 --> 01:22:04.600 both are keyed the same way that is they have a blank do pin on the connector 01:22:01.600 --> 01:22:07.400 that allows them to go in only one way 01:22:04.600 --> 01:22:12.960 but how they work is different the tldr is that ac97 is a mostly dumb connection 01:22:10.679 --> 01:22:18.600 that doesn't provide any feedback as to what's plugged in an HD audio or aelia 01:22:16.199 --> 01:22:23.440 allows for things like Jack sensing and reassignment most computers since the 01:22:20.719 --> 01:22:27.840 mid 2000s will have support for HD audio so use that unless your computer is 01:22:25.280 --> 01:22:31.280 really old the header for this is usually on the lower left corner of the 01:22:29.520 --> 01:22:35.480 motherboard but if you don't see it there check your manual to locate it 01:22:33.239 --> 01:22:38.520 like your front panel wires from before make sure they're completely free of 01:22:36.840 --> 01:22:43.320 obstructions then use the cable management guides now if you have them 01:22:40.600 --> 01:22:48.000 to reduce the need for rewiring later find a hole close to the header then go 01:22:45.840 --> 01:22:51.880 through it for an ATX motherboard you can usually get away with pulling it 01:22:49.560 --> 01:22:56.120 through this little channel here even if your power supply will go right up 01:22:53.760 --> 01:23:00.600 against it and that will give you a very clean look a common mistake when 01:22:58.239 --> 01:23:05.120 plugging these in is to only plug in one row make sure there are no pins hanging 01:23:02.960 --> 01:23:10.600 out directly above or below your connector when you plug it in it can 01:23:07.520 --> 01:23:13.360 only go in one way yes but only if all 01:23:10.600 --> 01:23:18.840 the rows are aligned first when it's on there pull the slack through and move on 01:23:15.719 --> 01:23:22.719 to the next one front panel USB is 01:23:18.840 --> 01:23:26.239 broken up into three types USB 2.0 USB 01:23:22.719 --> 01:23:29.480 3.0 and USB 3 .2 often used for the 01:23:26.239 --> 01:23:32.040 type-c ports USB 2 connectors consist of 01:23:29.480 --> 01:23:36.880 two rows of four pins with a fifth pin on only one row to make sure you don't 01:23:33.960 --> 01:23:40.880 plug it in the wrong way around usually but not always there's a plastic shield 01:23:39.440 --> 01:23:45.639 around these on the motherboard to make sure it lines up exactly when it's 01:23:42.560 --> 01:23:47.520 plugged in but it's usually pretty easy 01:23:45.639 --> 01:23:53.239 and they can share this design with both seral and fire wire make absolutely 01:23:50.800 --> 01:23:59.440 certain that you do not plug a USB into anything that's called fire wire FW or 01:23:56.480 --> 01:24:04.280 1394 because uses a much higher voltage and will destroy USB devices plugged 01:24:01.920 --> 01:24:08.800 into it usually the right headers will be labeled with USB sometimes followed 01:24:06.719 --> 01:24:13.040 by a port number and the headers that correspond to it but if it doesn't say 01:24:11.199 --> 01:24:17.040 or you aren't sure consult your motherboard's manual follow the same 01:24:15.239 --> 01:24:21.239 procedure as front panel audio for these cables make sure they're free from 01:24:19.159 --> 01:24:25.120 obstruction use the cable management guides and find a hole close to the 01:24:23.400 --> 01:24:30.840 header for it to go through through remember it can only go on one way so 01:24:27.639 --> 01:24:32.080 don't force it and mash up the pins pull 01:24:30.840 --> 01:24:38.159 the slck through for the cable management later and repeat as necessary 01:24:35.040 --> 01:24:40.719 but what about USB 3 and 3.2 these are 01:24:38.159 --> 01:24:44.040 much larger stiffer cables and usually you'll find their headers on the right 01:24:42.119 --> 01:24:47.679 edge of the motherboard or at the bottom Edge they're quite wide and sometimes 01:24:46.840 --> 01:24:52.520 difficult to get through Cable Management channels so if you haven't been paying attention to Cable 01:24:50.360 --> 01:24:57.199 Management pay attention now because these are the worst as before find a 01:24:55.639 --> 01:25:02.800 hole near the USB 3 hutter on the motherboard and line it up but don't 01:24:59.360 --> 01:25:05.600 connect it just yet listen first usb3 01:25:02.800 --> 01:25:08.960 connectors are very fussy and it's easy even for a professional builder to mash 01:25:07.560 --> 01:25:13.679 the pins due to the way that it's installed the connector easily contacts 01:25:11.520 --> 01:25:17.320 the pins before it is fully aligned and the force required to plug it in is much 01:25:16.000 --> 01:25:21.719 higher than the other connectors we've seen so far that basically means that 01:25:19.760 --> 01:25:25.520 you won't know if it's aligned and you won't know if you've mashed anything by 01:25:23.400 --> 01:25:31.400 feel alone if you do manage to bend a pin chances are it won't unbend without 01:25:28.000 --> 01:25:33.040 snapping so very carefully line it up 01:25:31.400 --> 01:25:37.280 and don't apply pressure until you are reasonably sure that the pins are 01:25:34.480 --> 01:25:42.320 aligned if all goes well it should snap or click into place and you can breathe 01:25:39.360 --> 01:25:45.880 a sigh of relief unlike the other cables this one is very stiff so Cable 01:25:43.960 --> 01:25:50.040 Management should be done with a very gentle touch if you accidentally pull it 01:25:48.159 --> 01:25:53.480 out you'll probably end up bending all the pins in the header at the same time 01:25:51.719 --> 01:25:59.159 and at that point you can just say goodbye friend you USB 3 USB 3.2 is a 01:25:56.920 --> 01:26:02.880 lot easier but has the annoying quality of being both very stiff and standing 01:26:01.440 --> 01:26:07.080 straight up off the motherboard most of the time usually these connectors will 01:26:05.000 --> 01:26:10.639 be found near the 24 pin power connector and are keyed to only go in one way you 01:26:09.280 --> 01:26:14.159 don't have to worry about mashing pins on this one thankfully so you can just 01:26:12.360 --> 01:26:18.320 plug it right in but it does have the annoying tendency to kind of rock out of 01:26:16.119 --> 01:26:21.880 place so again a light touch is needed for cable management now there are other 01:26:20.159 --> 01:26:27.080 older headers that you might come across even today like cereal fire wire 01:26:24.400 --> 01:26:31.119 parallel and more and you can think of these the same way that you think of the 01:26:28.520 --> 01:26:34.800 USB 2 or front panel audio connectors just make absolutely certain that you 01:26:32.639 --> 01:26:39.520 are connecting to what you think you are serial for example is often labeled Comm 01:26:37.199 --> 01:26:43.560 parallel will often be labeled lpt and firewire may be labeled 1394 just keep 01:26:42.239 --> 01:26:47.440 this in mind if you're hunting around for more USB headers to plug into oh a 01:26:45.760 --> 01:26:52.080 fun little aside is if you run out of internal usb2 headers you can actually 01:26:49.679 --> 01:26:56.080 get hubs that will expand them since that's a thing that USB can do if you 01:26:54.040 --> 01:26:59.960 have any 2 and 1/2 in or 3 and 1/2 in drives now's a good time to get them 01:26:57.800 --> 01:27:03.440 installed most modern cases have dedicated trays behind the motherboard 01:27:01.679 --> 01:27:07.400 or elsewhere for the smaller 2 and 1/2 in type usually with the expectation 01:27:05.480 --> 01:27:11.600 that you'll be using them with an SSD and let's face it you probably are these 01:27:09.760 --> 01:27:15.199 are almost always removable with a thumb screw or something like that just remove 01:27:13.639 --> 01:27:19.040 the screw and slide it free to get access your SSD will also have fine 01:27:17.440 --> 01:27:22.560 threaded and three holes that screw onto the bottom of the tray as well as the 01:27:20.440 --> 01:27:25.920 sides some trays use one set or the other and there will be counter sunk or 01:27:24.280 --> 01:27:30.920 flat screws for this purpose included with the case Hardware box align the SSD 01:27:28.560 --> 01:27:33.880 with the holes then screw it in place when it's solid go ahead and slip it 01:27:32.400 --> 01:27:37.719 back into the position by aligning the tabs and using the thumb screws to 01:27:35.440 --> 01:27:41.760 secure it if you got more go ahead and repeat the process most cases come with 01:27:39.880 --> 01:27:45.520 removable trays for 3 and 1/2 in hard drives these days usually clipped in 01:27:43.440 --> 01:27:49.199 with two tabs like this pinch them and Slide the tray out to remove it and like 01:27:47.159 --> 01:27:52.360 the 2 and 1/2 in sled it may have holes either on the sides or the bottom 01:27:50.440 --> 01:27:55.560 depending on the manufacturer the drive should face label up with the PCB on the 01:27:54.239 --> 01:27:58.840 bottom and its connector should be on the side without tabs so that when it 01:27:57.440 --> 01:28:02.080 slides back in they're facing the motherboard tray side of the case many 01:28:00.800 --> 01:28:07.679 of these will have shock absorbing rubber grommets through which long course threaded 632 screws from the 01:28:05.600 --> 01:28:11.360 hardware box are inserted these are the good ones some however are completely 01:28:09.960 --> 01:28:16.080 tooless and these can be kind of annoying because you need to kind of stretch it around the hard drive to get 01:28:14.080 --> 01:28:20.040 it to clip into place it never feels quite right regardless of the type most 01:28:17.960 --> 01:28:24.119 modern 3 and 1/2 in trays also have 2 and 1/2 in mounting holes for ssds too 01:28:22.360 --> 01:28:26.480 which follow the same installation steps unless they don't have grommets in which 01:28:25.600 --> 01:28:31.520 case you're just going to screw it directly in like the other 2 and 1/2 in Drive sleds we mentioned earlier 01:28:30.199 --> 01:28:34.679 assuming that's the case screw in the fine threaded M3 screws from the bottom 01:28:33.440 --> 01:28:39.840 with the label up and the connectors facing the rear repeat these steps until all of your drives are installed if your 01:28:38.040 --> 01:28:43.520 case is an older design with fixed Mount says is common with extreme budget 01:28:41.440 --> 01:28:46.520 builds then you'll need to angle the drive into place and then line it up on 01:28:45.080 --> 01:28:52.520 the rail with the connectors facing inside of the case yes it is as messy as 01:28:50.480 --> 01:28:56.040 that sounds when you line it up two mounting holes for course threaded 6 32 01:28:54.480 --> 01:28:59.800 screws on each side should be visible through the cutouts and while some cases 01:28:58.199 --> 01:29:03.960 give you some leeway from mounting it further forward or rearward you're 01:29:01.679 --> 01:29:09.239 limited to these holes a lot of people neglect the screws on the other side but 01:29:06.639 --> 01:29:16.280 you're not like them are you you're not one of those no of course not I mean if 01:29:13.320 --> 01:29:19.480 you need to mount a 2.5 in SSD this way that's fine they don't have any moving 01:29:18.080 --> 01:29:22.960 parts and they're not all that heavy so you can even just like double-sided tape 01:29:21.159 --> 01:29:28.600 them to wherever you want if it comes to that but heavy 3.5 in hard drives need 01:29:26.520 --> 01:29:32.119 to be screwed in properly at least if you want them to last for any period of 01:29:30.040 --> 01:29:35.600 time you're probably wondering how the computer talks to these drives at this 01:29:33.560 --> 01:29:40.239 point and that's where the data cable comes in Serial ATA has made things dead 01:29:38.360 --> 01:29:43.880 simple and most motherboards will come with cables for it in the Box sometimes 01:29:42.480 --> 01:29:47.719 they'll have locking tabs on them to keep them in place while installing them 01:29:46.119 --> 01:29:52.000 they'll kind of clip in automatically but to remove them you need to press down on the clip to pull it out 01:29:50.800 --> 01:29:55.880 regardless as to whether or not they clip though they're key in an L shape 01:29:54.239 --> 01:30:00.000 that makes it very obvious which way is the right way to insert them line the L 01:29:58.199 --> 01:30:03.760 on the cable up with the L on the drive and just plug it in making sure it's 01:30:01.679 --> 01:30:10.199 flush with the drive then route the cable through to your motherboard sounds 01:30:05.600 --> 01:30:12.480 simple but these are stiff cables that 01:30:10.199 --> 01:30:15.880 are tough to Cable manage so you may need to get a little bit creative when 01:30:14.199 --> 01:30:21.600 hiding them especially if the corresponding connector on your motherboard isn't facing the edge like 01:30:19.199 --> 01:30:25.080 this and instead sticks up like this like the USB 3 connector you'll want to 01:30:23.639 --> 01:30:29.600 be care careful while cable managing these if you accidentally overdo it you 01:30:27.239 --> 01:30:33.719 can break off the L block on the drive rendering it useless unless you've got 01:30:31.520 --> 01:30:37.920 some pretty mad soldering skills I mean I guess it's not that difficult but oh 01:30:35.960 --> 01:30:40.880 you don't want to do it anyway go ahead and connect the other end of the cable 01:30:39.159 --> 01:30:46.000 to the drive now you should check with your motherboard manual which Port you're plugging into because some may 01:30:44.280 --> 01:30:50.800 actually share bandwidth with PCI Express devices especially m.2 drives so 01:30:49.000 --> 01:30:54.600 you may either get worse performance or completely lose the ability to use these 01:30:52.600 --> 01:30:57.360 ports in those circumstances it's worth mentioning that you'll 01:30:55.800 --> 01:31:01.560 sometimes get Serial ATA cables with right angle ends and some with straight 01:30:59.040 --> 01:31:05.280 ends uh what gives with that well right angle is usually cleaner for hanging off 01:31:03.800 --> 01:31:09.080 the back of a hard drive that's installed in a removable tray like this 01:31:07.480 --> 01:31:13.480 while straight cables are almost a necessity for 2.5 in ssds mounted on a 01:31:11.600 --> 01:31:17.199 dedicated tray behind the motherboard or anywhere else they mount flush with the 01:31:14.920 --> 01:31:20.719 case they're way cleaner this way and depending on the orientation it may not 01:31:19.440 --> 01:31:25.639 even be possible to connect a right angle connector on one of these drives so saving the straight ones for flush 01:31:24.119 --> 01:31:31.000 fitting drives is a good idea what's that other connector for though power 01:31:28.199 --> 01:31:35.440 we'll get to that soon but first this is an excellent time to wire up any case 01:31:33.320 --> 01:31:39.679 fans you might have and for builds with liquid coolers this is where those come 01:31:37.840 --> 01:31:43.719 in if you're going to use a fan controller then you should find a 01:31:41.480 --> 01:31:47.600 centrally accessible place for it to go usually they'll come with an adhesive 01:31:45.480 --> 01:31:52.480 backing so you can just find your own spot for it and hook it there just don't 01:31:50.159 --> 01:31:56.760 cover up any holes or cable management holes if you can help it we'll deal with 01:31:54.560 --> 01:32:00.239 the power for that later for now let's get to the fans themselves whether 01:31:58.360 --> 01:32:04.040 you're replacing existing fans or installing new ones you'll need to pay 01:32:02.199 --> 01:32:08.440 close attention to the direction the fan will blow some people prefer a balanced 01:32:06.560 --> 01:32:12.719 approach to air flow with equal number of fans pulling air in than pushing it 01:32:10.679 --> 01:32:17.040 out while others prefer to have more fans facing in resulting in a slightly 01:32:15.320 --> 01:32:22.280 positive pressure environment inside of the case combined with filtered intakes 01:32:19.679 --> 01:32:26.679 this can help control dust and debris the opposite negative pressure is not 01:32:24.520 --> 01:32:30.920 recommended regardless you want to have a direct path for air to travel with 01:32:29.000 --> 01:32:35.719 fresh air being pulled over your hottest components so ideally drawing Air at the 01:32:33.520 --> 01:32:40.280 front and bottom and exhausting it from the top and rear also make sure you 01:32:37.880 --> 01:32:44.400 don't have any intake and exhausts on the same side how you install the fan 01:32:42.480 --> 01:32:48.520 will be determined by what the fan is going to do if the fan is strictly for 01:32:46.639 --> 01:32:51.600 case air flow then it's as simple as lining it up with the correct set of 01:32:49.760 --> 01:32:55.199 holes in the location you want it and screwing it in with these chungus fan 01:32:53.199 --> 01:32:58.960 screws or or little rubber doodads like these ones be sure to keep the fan 01:32:57.239 --> 01:33:02.239 cabling clear of the blades and Chassis while you do this and it's optimal to 01:33:00.920 --> 01:33:05.679 have the fan cable sticking out of the corner closest to the fan header that 01:33:03.920 --> 01:33:09.159 you expect to use it with usually towards the back panel it helps to not 01:33:07.600 --> 01:33:13.440 tighten down all the screws until they're all at least a little bit in and 01:33:11.719 --> 01:33:16.520 you'll want to do opposing Corners first to stabilize it so that it doesn't slip 01:33:15.360 --> 01:33:20.480 around on you while you torque in the screws some cheaper cases by the way 01:33:18.760 --> 01:33:24.159 might warp while you do this leading to the unfortunate situation where your fan 01:33:22.199 --> 01:33:28.080 blades will brush against the chassis which is both irritating and not great 01:33:26.239 --> 01:33:32.000 for air flow you can try to bend out the metal but the best solution in this case 01:33:30.119 --> 01:33:35.920 is to undo the screws a little bit or better yet find something to use as a 01:33:33.719 --> 01:33:39.520 spacer rinse and repeat for every fan you need to install if these fans are 01:33:37.800 --> 01:33:43.159 part of a liquid cooling setup then your radiator is going to go in now and you 01:33:41.360 --> 01:33:48.199 can put away those chungus fan screws in favor of Slimmer but potentially even 01:33:45.440 --> 01:33:51.800 more chungus screws where the radiator goes is up to you some people like to 01:33:50.159 --> 01:33:55.440 have it exhaust air out the top of their chassis While others like to have it 01:33:53.800 --> 01:33:59.199 pull cool air through the front but at the end of the day you're probably going 01:33:57.199 --> 01:34:03.119 to put it wherever it fits best which is usually in the top of the case now from 01:34:01.040 --> 01:34:07.239 a performance standpoint it doesn't really matter whether your fans pull air 01:34:05.119 --> 01:34:12.560 through the fins or push air through the fins but what it does affect is 01:34:09.920 --> 01:34:17.159 maintenance I always recommend installing fans in a pole configuration 01:34:14.960 --> 01:34:21.520 that allows easy access to the radiator to clear off dust for Aesthetics you may 01:34:19.639 --> 01:34:24.639 decide to take a different path but just remember that in 2 years when you're 01:34:23.000 --> 01:34:29.360 taking your whole cooler apart so you can get the cat hair out of it I 01:34:26.800 --> 01:34:34.119 freaking told you another important consideration is that AI coolers are 01:34:31.400 --> 01:34:38.639 quieter and last longer the combination pump and coal plate is below the area 01:34:36.560 --> 01:34:42.800 where the tubes connect to the radiator you want to make sure that any air that 01:34:40.520 --> 01:34:47.679 might be trapped in there Rises to the top and that top is not your pump this 01:34:45.880 --> 01:34:50.920 isn't as much of an issue for custom Loops because the pump is usually going 01:34:49.400 --> 01:34:54.159 to end up at the bottom of the case anyway but if you didn't know this now 01:34:53.360 --> 01:34:58.800 you do put your pump down low lining up the 01:34:56.360 --> 01:35:04.000 radiator with fans on the outside is a major pain in the butt which is why some 01:35:00.960 --> 01:35:05.760 fans like artics bionics can daisy chain 01:35:04.000 --> 01:35:10.199 together with a bridge connector which helps hold them in place regardless you 01:35:08.119 --> 01:35:15.920 want all of your cables to be clear the fans and the radiator pinching them here 01:35:12.960 --> 01:35:20.920 and having to redo the whole thing sucks line everything up like so and then use 01:35:18.360 --> 01:35:25.920 these long screws to secure Each corner then the other and then Each corner of 01:35:23.320 --> 01:35:31.119 the fan until you've got them all secure if you're lucky your case will let you 01:35:28.239 --> 01:35:34.719 detach the radiator Mount and make it so much easier by just doing the whole 01:35:32.679 --> 01:35:40.719 thing on a bench and dealing with the completed assembly after it gets much 01:35:38.360 --> 01:35:45.239 more Awkward with a front panel Mount where you need to basically hold the 01:35:42.360 --> 01:35:49.440 radiator and fan together like this and screw them in one at a time so they 01:35:47.159 --> 01:35:53.280 don't just fall around everywhere again if your case lets you remove this 01:35:50.600 --> 01:35:56.880 bracket your life will be so much easier another key benefit to a pull 01:35:54.760 --> 01:36:00.520 configuration is that it usually allows you to screw all the fans into the 01:35:58.360 --> 01:36:04.600 radiator ahead of time then Mount the radiator to the case using these little 01:36:02.480 --> 01:36:08.000 screws now we're not going to revisit cooler and thermal compound application 01:36:06.280 --> 01:36:11.920 at this time please go back and refer to that section from earlier if you need to 01:36:10.040 --> 01:36:16.000 and don't forget to check your manual as many all-in-one coolers have their own 01:36:13.679 --> 01:36:20.080 little installation quirks like for example the inclusion of a dedicated 01:36:17.679 --> 01:36:23.920 pump power plug or an extra USB connection for controlling RGB lighting 01:36:22.080 --> 01:36:27.320 or even a little built-in screen or an integrated fan splitter that's 01:36:25.280 --> 01:36:30.080 controlled by the AI through software I'd recommend using that by the way if 01:36:28.800 --> 01:36:34.960 you've got it because it'll let your pump and your fans work together when they need to cool your CPU during a 01:36:33.199 --> 01:36:38.280 heavy gaming session now let's power up the rest of our fans if you want them to 01:36:36.760 --> 01:36:41.360 be controlled by the motherboard you'll either need to plug them into a fanhub 01:36:39.880 --> 01:36:45.480 that is plugged into your motherboard some cases include these by the way or 01:36:43.639 --> 01:36:49.639 directly into the motherboard itself either individually into their own 01:36:47.119 --> 01:36:53.040 headers or using Splitters now depending on how many fans you have you may run 01:36:51.480 --> 01:36:56.840 out of fan headers on the motherboard and you might need to use wi spitters 01:36:55.000 --> 01:37:00.679 they won't harm anything but they do tend to look a little Messier most of 01:36:58.760 --> 01:37:04.440 the time there's at least one case fan header to the lower left of the CPU 01:37:02.199 --> 01:37:07.840 socket and there are usually at least another two on the lower right edge of 01:37:06.280 --> 01:37:11.440 the motherboard but motherboard manufacturers do strange things 01:37:09.760 --> 01:37:15.280 sometimes so if you can't find your fan headers of course check your manual 01:37:13.639 --> 01:37:19.119 plugging them in is the same as any other fan like we already did for the 01:37:16.920 --> 01:37:23.119 CPU just align the tabs on the cable with the tab on the board cable managing 01:37:21.159 --> 01:37:27.199 them though can be a bit of a challenge for the exhaust fan next to the io panel 01:37:25.199 --> 01:37:31.040 you can usually run it through and bundle it up against the motherboard's 01:37:28.600 --> 01:37:36.239 io section for a clean look but intake fans can be trickier still do your best 01:37:33.760 --> 01:37:41.080 with it RGB wiring can also end up really messy look at all the cabling 01:37:37.960 --> 01:37:43.920 that requires thankfully companies have 01:37:41.080 --> 01:37:49.040 begun shipping fans both with RGB and without that can daisy chain together so 01:37:46.760 --> 01:37:53.599 only a single fan needs to be wired up the traditional way but if you're not 01:37:50.920 --> 01:37:57.960 lucky enough or wealthy enough to have those well I hope you like cable 01:37:58.080 --> 01:38:04.719 management most of this can be hidden behind the motherboard tray temporarily 01:38:02.199 --> 01:38:11.320 we'll come back to this later for now step 12 power supply if you're counting 01:38:08.679 --> 01:38:16.360 this has been many many more steps than 12 and you're probably sick of wearing 01:38:13.280 --> 01:38:18.199 that anti-static strap well good news 01:38:16.360 --> 01:38:22.320 it's time to get the power supply in to ground the whole dang computer if you've 01:38:20.679 --> 01:38:25.920 been following along your power supply is already out of its box and connect it 01:38:24.080 --> 01:38:29.679 to the wall go ahead and disconnect it now turn your case around and look at 01:38:27.880 --> 01:38:34.880 the power supply cutout are there thumb screws if so remove those to free the 01:38:32.239 --> 01:38:38.040 back plate this plate and plates like it sometimes make it a little bit easier to 01:38:36.239 --> 01:38:41.840 install later the orientation of the power supply determines which screw 01:38:39.520 --> 01:38:46.040 holes you'll end up using and the ideal is to have the fan facing downward 01:38:44.040 --> 01:38:50.719 pulling air up through a filtered intake at the bottom of your case if there is 01:38:48.119 --> 01:38:54.159 not an intake there you'll want to mount it fan up unless you want to starve it 01:38:52.639 --> 01:38:58.800 for air flow and spoiler alert you do not want to start 01:38:56.639 --> 01:39:02.400 it for air flow begin plugging in your power supply cables if you've got a 01:39:00.080 --> 01:39:07.360 modular unit now the end for the power supply will usually have a PSU marking 01:39:04.719 --> 01:39:10.480 to tell you where it goes first grab the power connectors for your GPU if you 01:39:08.920 --> 01:39:14.679 haven't already it'll be some combination of one to three six pin or8 01:39:13.080 --> 01:39:19.360 pin connectors or it might be one of those new fangled NVIDIA 12 pin or ATX 01:39:16.880 --> 01:39:22.599 12vt high power connectors in which case you'll need to grab the adapter bundled 01:39:21.040 --> 01:39:26.400 with your GPU if your power supply doesn't have one in the box just be 01:39:24.840 --> 01:39:30.800 careful when you're identifying those 12volt high power connectors some can 01:39:29.040 --> 01:39:35.760 handle more wattage than others and the labels can be small and hard to read if 01:39:33.360 --> 01:39:40.159 you're still not sure well there's still that adapter to convert your older style 01:39:37.400 --> 01:39:42.920 cables in your gpus box speaking of it's worth noting that these daisy chain 01:39:41.480 --> 01:39:48.520 connectors and six plus two pin connectors aren't inherently evil but 01:39:46.520 --> 01:39:52.400 it's preferred to use individual cables with actual dedicated conductors for 01:39:50.280 --> 01:39:55.480 each pin if possible once you're satisfied with your choice 01:39:53.880 --> 01:39:59.560 clip them into place making sure they're fully seated and Route the cable 01:39:57.360 --> 01:40:03.239 somewhere accessible for now it's time to install the PSU itself if you've got 01:40:01.679 --> 01:40:07.760 a back plate go ahead and attach it to your power supply Now using coar 01:40:04.760 --> 01:40:09.119 threaded 632 screws most of these back 01:40:07.760 --> 01:40:12.840 plates are going to have enough clearance to put in all four screws but 01:40:11.360 --> 01:40:17.360 if your switch gets in the way for example don't stress you can put in 01:40:14.840 --> 01:40:21.000 three screws it's going to be okay once it's secure feed the wires through the 01:40:19.080 --> 01:40:24.400 power supply mount on your case and Slide the power supply into position 01:40:23.000 --> 01:40:28.119 it's a at this point that you'll want to connect your 12volt CPU cables to your 01:40:26.320 --> 01:40:32.800 power supply if you've got a modular unit next if you've got a back plate all 01:40:31.159 --> 01:40:36.639 you need to do now is tighten the thumb screws but if you're raw dogging it this 01:40:35.159 --> 01:40:40.719 is where you'll screw the power supply into the back of your case pay attention 01:40:39.280 --> 01:40:45.320 to which of the mounting holes on the case have screw threading from the power 01:40:42.880 --> 01:40:48.719 supply behind them though it is very easy to make the mistake of accidentally 01:40:47.320 --> 01:40:52.920 screwing into one of the honeycomb shaped holes that are for ventilation on 01:40:50.520 --> 01:40:56.400 the back of the power supply that is not actually 01:40:54.000 --> 01:41:00.800 secure if you don't have a modular power supply handling the 12vt CPU cables will 01:40:59.040 --> 01:41:05.119 be a little trickier at this stage but if you got small hands or a high pain 01:41:02.840 --> 01:41:08.520 threshold you can make it work line up the tabs and click them into place make 01:41:07.199 --> 01:41:13.639 sure that they're in there before moving on by the way because if you really can't get in there there is no shame in 01:41:11.800 --> 01:41:16.960 pulling off your CPU heat SN temporarily now and putting it back on when you're 01:41:15.080 --> 01:41:21.360 done at this point the instructions are the same between modular and non-modular 01:41:19.040 --> 01:41:25.480 power supplies it's time for your 24 pin ATX connector separate that cable from 01:41:23.800 --> 01:41:30.760 the others and fish the cable out through the nearest Cable Management hole to your motherboard's 24 pin 01:41:28.480 --> 01:41:34.760 connector from here it's just like before line up the tabs and press it in 01:41:32.880 --> 01:41:38.360 until it clicks with that done you can use the peripheral cables to wire up 01:41:36.400 --> 01:41:42.000 power to any drives or fan controllers you have installed in your system 01:41:40.159 --> 01:41:45.280 usually these have just enough spacing between the connectors to line up neatly 01:41:43.719 --> 01:41:49.000 with hard drive stacked in a bay like this plugging these power cables in is 01:41:47.440 --> 01:41:52.840 the same as plugging in the SATA data cable just line up the little l-shape 01:41:51.119 --> 01:41:56.119 and press it into place these ones usually don't have locking connectors 01:41:54.639 --> 01:41:59.480 though so make sure it's on straight before moving on this will also tell you 01:41:58.000 --> 01:42:03.159 if you've accidentally half connected it upside down which is a thing that you 01:42:01.360 --> 01:42:06.360 can do even today you'll need to occasionally install these Molex 01:42:04.760 --> 01:42:10.440 connectors instead of SATA power connectors and they're a bit of a pain 01:42:08.599 --> 01:42:14.159 because of how big they are but on the bright side they're really difficult to 01:42:12.280 --> 01:42:18.360 install wrong you can also use them for just 12 Vols and 5 volts to connect up 01:42:16.679 --> 01:42:23.040 to your project if you really want to they have a beveled Edge on one side and 01:42:20.760 --> 01:42:27.880 they fit quite snugly so much so that the sometimes push the pins out of 01:42:25.199 --> 01:42:32.480 things like fan adapters this happens slip the pin back into place it should 01:42:29.840 --> 01:42:37.040 just clip in there then try again just be patient and line it up correctly 01:42:34.800 --> 01:42:42.320 finally your power supply might have come with a button like this one this is 01:42:39.440 --> 01:42:46.159 usually for hybrid fan control in the O position the fan will only power up 01:42:44.360 --> 01:42:51.040 while load or heat levels are high enough while in the in position the fan 01:42:49.000 --> 01:42:55.119 will just always be on there's little reason to have it in the in position 01:42:53.400 --> 01:43:00.159 unless you're counting on your PSU contributing as a case fan so just leave 01:42:57.960 --> 01:43:03.639 it out for lower nose levels but wait did I say finally there's still 01:43:01.880 --> 01:43:08.880 something we haven't plugged in yet the GPU if you're lucky enough to have one 01:43:06.320 --> 01:43:13.760 that is prices are still on the moon as of early 2024 but if you follow our 01:43:11.639 --> 01:43:18.199 guide for buying one used even if you have a skinny wallet you should be able 01:43:15.520 --> 01:43:22.480 to get something decent first you need to figure out which slot you should use 01:43:20.520 --> 01:43:27.360 for ITX motherboards this going to be obvious 01:43:23.679 --> 01:43:29.880 the slot the one you get but things get 01:43:27.360 --> 01:43:33.480 a little murkier the larger you go as a rule of thumb the top most slot is 01:43:31.760 --> 01:43:37.159 usually the best it's almost always connected directly to the CPU for 01:43:35.119 --> 01:43:40.480 maximum bandwidth and you'll often see this pointed out in your motherboard's 01:43:38.320 --> 01:43:43.880 manual as well once you've determined the right slot you'll need to remove the 01:43:42.000 --> 01:43:47.800 corresponding slot covers usually by simply removing the screws that hold 01:43:45.360 --> 01:43:54.520 them in place but on some cheaper cases you'll need to break them off instead 01:43:49.599 --> 01:43:56.480 and if if so be care full it's simple 01:43:54.520 --> 01:43:59.560 enough to do you can push it down with a screwdriver and then finish the job with 01:43:58.280 --> 01:44:07.480 your fingers but if you're too aggressive you could slip and when it finally snaps off that's a bad 01:44:03.719 --> 01:44:09.679 time um I've gotten bit by cheap cases 01:44:07.480 --> 01:44:15.080 before and uh it it it there was there was a mess 01:44:12.199 --> 01:44:20.320 for a while be patient and just use a gentle up and down motion don't twists 01:44:17.719 --> 01:44:23.520 push or pull it'll come free before long just just fatigue the metal and it'll 01:44:21.679 --> 01:44:27.520 just come right off now the the covers are gone make sure the tab at the end of 01:44:25.440 --> 01:44:30.639 the slot is pushed back if there is one then line up the card with the slot and 01:44:28.960 --> 01:44:34.000 press it in it should slide in relatively easily and the clip at the 01:44:32.400 --> 01:44:37.440 back will snap shut once it's all the way in next line up the GPU's bracket 01:44:36.119 --> 01:44:40.920 with the holes on the case that used to hold in those slot covers and use the 01:44:39.159 --> 01:44:44.440 screws you either removed previously or retrieved from your accessories bundle 01:44:42.480 --> 01:44:48.719 to secure it into place a coar threaded 632 screw is usually the right one for 01:44:46.360 --> 01:44:52.679 the job here if you're not too sure but some cases are a little bit different if 01:44:50.960 --> 01:44:56.520 you have a multi-lot GPU and you find yourself with only one screw for some 01:44:54.679 --> 01:45:01.840 reason put it on any other slot than the top one for best results you still have 01:44:59.119 --> 01:45:05.040 all your screws though right by the way this is the GPU section but what you 01:45:03.400 --> 01:45:10.159 just did should work with any PCI Express expansion card unlike most cards 01:45:07.760 --> 01:45:14.199 some big gpus might sag a bit even after you've secured them into place and some 01:45:11.960 --> 01:45:18.280 cards even come with adjustable anti-ag brackets or spacers that you can sit on 01:45:16.199 --> 01:45:21.560 the bottom of your chassi this isn't strictly necessary but it just keeps 01:45:19.920 --> 01:45:26.400 everything looking nice and reduces the risk that something will break if you move your PC just slip it into place and 01:45:24.960 --> 01:45:31.119 Slide the bracket up until it's holding your GPU at the right height then tighten it so it stays there other 01:45:29.560 --> 01:45:34.840 Solutions may involve drilling into your case or some cases even include a sag 01:45:33.280 --> 01:45:38.080 bracket on their own now it's time to run power to your GPU we already 01:45:36.560 --> 01:45:41.239 determined which cables we need and how many when we install their power supply 01:45:39.800 --> 01:45:46.199 so grab those and Route them through the appropriate Cable Management hole according to your preference some people 01:45:44.320 --> 01:45:49.000 like to come in from behind the GPU and others like the cables coming straight 01:45:47.360 --> 01:45:51.960 up from the basement like me whichever you choose you should make sure you have 01:45:50.360 --> 01:45:55.400 enough slack to get them into position and that it's clear of all other cables 01:45:53.599 --> 01:45:59.560 to simplify your cable management just like with the 12volt CPU connectors PCI 01:45:57.599 --> 01:46:03.440 Express connectors are keyed to only go one way although a six pin cable can be 01:46:01.920 --> 01:46:07.159 inserted to an 8 pin connector if you're not careful this won't harm anything but 01:46:05.560 --> 01:46:09.800 the GPU will probably complain and prevent you from booting if you try 01:46:08.599 --> 01:46:15.320 regardless of how many pins you're looking at select the matching cable line up the tabs and click them into 01:46:13.119 --> 01:46:19.679 place again make sure they're fully seated once you're done especially if 01:46:17.440 --> 01:46:23.639 you're using the ATX 12volt high power connector it's often quite stiff so you 01:46:22.080 --> 01:46:28.599 might be tempted to to bend it so it's not sticking out so far but please do 01:46:26.159 --> 01:46:32.000 not let it curve if your power supply cables are 6 plus2 like this and you 01:46:30.480 --> 01:46:35.880 need to make it go into an 8 Pin receptacle just make sure the two pieces 01:46:34.320 --> 01:46:40.360 are coupled together so the pins are flush and the separate two pin connector 01:46:38.440 --> 01:46:43.800 can't move once it's plugged in it's no good if they're only partway installed 01:46:42.400 --> 01:46:48.400 congratulations you've just finished building your PC except you haven't 01:46:45.960 --> 01:46:51.320 really finished not quite yet if you've been following the guide up till now you 01:46:49.920 --> 01:46:56.080 should have reasonably well-managed cables but they're all going be kind of 01:46:53.599 --> 01:47:00.480 loose and not very tidy on most modern cases you should have at the very least 01:46:58.360 --> 01:47:04.080 little Hoops to slip cable ties through to provide a solid anchor for the cables 01:47:02.239 --> 01:47:07.880 that are running around your case you can use single-use zip ties to bundle 01:47:06.000 --> 01:47:12.440 cables together more tightly and for cables that route together like the 01:47:09.440 --> 01:47:15.360 12volt CPU and PCIe cables you might 01:47:12.440 --> 01:47:20.000 want to do so to keep them neat but you also might want to use reusable hook and 01:47:17.760 --> 01:47:24.880 loop ties for the main runs which can both add a modern look and be a godsend 01:47:22.679 --> 01:47:29.440 if you ever need to add or move any cables in the future take it from me if 01:47:27.320 --> 01:47:33.239 you have to snip a zip tie you're probably not going to replace it and 01:47:31.199 --> 01:47:37.239 you'll end up just undoing all the hard work you've done today the platonic 01:47:35.320 --> 01:47:42.159 ideal of cable management is a single trunk of cables where little branches 01:47:40.159 --> 01:47:46.880 come off and go wherever they need to go with no overlap unfortunately cables are 01:47:45.040 --> 01:47:50.280 finite in length so unless you pre-measured and picked up some custom 01:47:48.480 --> 01:47:54.040 length cable mod cables or something you'll almost always have to improvise 01:47:52.400 --> 01:47:59.000 we've actually got a full video on cable management that you can go check out here but for now let's get to 01:48:01.199 --> 01:48:07.679 tidying troubleshooting is a whole other kettle of fish but here are some quick 01:48:06.159 --> 01:48:11.440 things that you can do if you don't get any output and you're sure that the 01:48:09.440 --> 01:48:16.679 power supply and the outlet it's plugged into are both switched on check all your 01:48:14.440 --> 01:48:20.760 cables first these are the most likely culprits then check your RAM and your 01:48:19.280 --> 01:48:23.960 expansion slots to make sure that they are properly seated if your PC is 01:48:22.480 --> 01:48:27.760 powering on but you're not getting any display make sure you've plugged your 01:48:25.480 --> 01:48:31.560 monitor into your graphics card rather than into your motherboard directly you 01:48:29.760 --> 01:48:35.320 can also check the diagnostic LEDs on your motherboard ASUS has a little stop 01:48:33.760 --> 01:48:40.400 light that goes along with this where red means CPU orange means memory white 01:48:37.920 --> 01:48:43.159 means GPU and green means good others might have LEDs that light up for each 01:48:42.000 --> 01:48:48.679 section of the motherboard that's been initialized as well you just might have to look them up in your motherboard's 01:48:46.119 --> 01:48:54.639 manual to figure out exactly which codes and which numbers and letters correspond 01:48:50.800 --> 01:48:56.760 to what one of the codes is 0 if you get 01:48:54.639 --> 01:49:01.080 this one you should try reting your CPU and firing it up again if your system 01:48:58.800 --> 01:49:04.920 simply isn't powering on but is getting power you might have a short this is an 01:49:03.239 --> 01:49:09.080 annoying problem to diagnose but the most common culprit is an extra standoff 01:49:07.320 --> 01:49:13.760 between the motherboard tray and the back of the motherboard or some errant 01:49:11.800 --> 01:49:17.280 piece of metallic something sitting bridging two pins if you're still having 01:49:15.520 --> 01:49:21.599 trouble you can always hit up the Linus tips.com Forum to get more help now that 01:49:19.599 --> 01:49:25.800 you've got the ufi bio setup screen the very first things you should do do in 01:49:23.199 --> 01:49:29.239 order are check your CPU temperatures check that all your RAM is showing up 01:49:27.639 --> 01:49:33.320 and check that your storage is showing up if all of that looks good then you 01:49:31.119 --> 01:49:38.119 can continue on otherwise you'll need to power down and resat your cooler memory 01:49:36.159 --> 01:49:42.040 or storage devices until they all show up one unintuitive thing is sometimes 01:49:40.599 --> 01:49:46.080 you might have some memory that's not showing up and it's actually caused by 01:49:43.960 --> 01:49:51.880 your CPU not being seated in the socket correctly so you might have to resat 01:49:48.119 --> 01:49:54.639 that and with that your PC is now built 01:49:51.880 --> 01:50:00.040 whoa hang on your RAM's not running at the right speed what's up with that time 01:49:57.360 --> 01:50:04.000 to adjust some common settings first to fix your RAM speed you'll want to enable 01:50:01.960 --> 01:50:08.360 XMP or Expo which are memory overclocking features for Intel and AMD 01:50:06.480 --> 01:50:12.199 respectively this will automatically adjust the frequency the timings and the 01:50:10.360 --> 01:50:15.599 voltage to what's on the package rather than you know the defaults and it's 01:50:13.880 --> 01:50:19.480 almost certainly what you want unless you're running ECC memory or even if you 01:50:17.880 --> 01:50:23.679 are on an overclockable workstation platform like Threadripper 7000 it 01:50:21.639 --> 01:50:29.040 should be noted though that because this is technically overclocking it can be 01:50:26.920 --> 01:50:31.760 unstable that's why some prefer to keep it disabled until they have the 01:50:30.400 --> 01:50:37.920 operating system installed and they're sure the rest of their PC is working correctly that's a pretty good idea just 01:50:36.239 --> 01:50:41.920 remember to come back and do it later or you could be leaving some performance on 01:50:39.480 --> 01:50:45.560 the table speaking of you'll also want to check the status of the multi-core 01:50:43.400 --> 01:50:49.079 enhancement setting usually this is an advanced option if it's even present on 01:50:47.320 --> 01:50:52.159 your motherboard at all there are a bunch of different names for it so here 01:50:50.800 --> 01:50:55.920 are some of the common ones found in boards from from major vendors 01:50:54.079 --> 01:50:59.520 regardless of the name it tweaks or removes your CPU's limits so it can 01:50:57.599 --> 01:51:04.119 turbo more aggressively and for far longer than it normally would improving 01:51:01.440 --> 01:51:08.840 performance at the cost of extra heat and vice versa stock operation is with 01:51:06.880 --> 01:51:12.639 this setting disabled of course but if you have a beefy cooler you might want 01:51:10.960 --> 01:51:16.040 to use it to get a little more oomph out of your Hardware most other settings can 01:51:14.360 --> 01:51:20.199 be left at their defaults although if you're installing Windows 11 you should 01:51:17.960 --> 01:51:25.520 make sure to enable the TPM and secure boot modules and disable the 01:51:22.639 --> 01:51:29.000 compatibility support module or CSM exactly how to do that varies by vendors 01:51:27.520 --> 01:51:33.400 so check your motherboard's manual to be sure another option that began with the 01:51:30.639 --> 01:51:39.440 Radeon 6000 series from AMD and the RTX 3000 Series from NVIDIA is resizable bar 01:51:37.320 --> 01:51:44.199 also known as smart access memory or rebar the simple explanation is that 01:51:41.840 --> 01:51:48.920 normally your CPU can only access a small portion of your GPU's memory at 01:51:46.079 --> 01:51:54.480 once traditionally just like 256 Megs at a time to access multiple gigabytes of 01:51:51.119 --> 01:51:56.440 vram that 250 6eg window is simply moved 01:51:54.480 --> 01:52:00.840 around as needed if different parts of memory need to be accessed at the same 01:51:58.440 --> 01:52:04.360 time however the system has to wait for one access to finish before the window 01:52:02.560 --> 01:52:08.719 can move to the next one this delay can slow down your GPU and in extreme cases 01:52:07.159 --> 01:52:13.960 can cause significant performance degradation resizable bar lets the CPU 01:52:10.880 --> 01:52:16.480 access all the vram without that moving 01:52:13.960 --> 01:52:23.199 window so there's no extra downtime as games have grown in scale and complexity 01:52:18.599 --> 01:52:24.800 is gone from heat to necessary to enable 01:52:23.199 --> 01:52:30.000 it you'll first need to make sure that the compatibility support module from 01:52:26.560 --> 01:52:33.719 before is disabled then enable above 4G 01:52:30.000 --> 01:52:35.320 decoding and resizable bar as usual the 01:52:33.719 --> 01:52:39.159 exact location of these settings depends on your motherboard's BIOS so check the 01:52:37.360 --> 01:52:43.880 manual if you can't find it some older boards might need a BIOS update for it 01:52:41.199 --> 01:52:47.960 to work but most released since 2021 can do it and some newer boards might even 01:52:45.560 --> 01:52:52.840 ship with it on by default it's worth noting that there are occasions where 01:52:50.360 --> 01:52:57.599 turning on resizable bar can reduce use performance but thankfully this is a 01:52:55.159 --> 01:53:02.079 relatively rare experience and graphic drivers are beginning to handle them on 01:52:59.400 --> 01:53:06.040 a caseby Case basis our recommendation therefore is to keep it enabled unless 01:53:03.719 --> 01:53:09.239 you encounter any problems and just make sure that you keep your graphics driver 01:53:07.920 --> 01:53:13.040 up to date after you install your operating system finally your operating 01:53:11.320 --> 01:53:17.520 systems installer should automatically boot after inserting the flash drive but 01:53:15.440 --> 01:53:21.960 if it doesn't you can usually hit f8 or F12 on the first boot screen to bring up 01:53:19.840 --> 01:53:25.599 a boot menu and select it that way if it's still doesn't show up there go back 01:53:23.880 --> 01:53:29.719 into the UEFI settings and make sure that the Legacy USB devices setting is 01:53:27.520 --> 01:53:33.320 enabled you shouldn't have to enable this under normal circumstances but 01:53:31.679 --> 01:53:37.360 sometimes having it disabled is enough to disable USB storage altogether most 01:53:35.760 --> 01:53:43.040 operating systems should just boot at this point now your PC is built and it's 01:53:40.400 --> 01:53:45.920 all thanks to our sponsor seic if you need a power supply just head down to 01:53:44.719 --> 01:53:52.119 the description and click the link it's that simple at this point we've made it pretty clear why we've worked for cic 01:53:49.800 --> 01:53:54.960 for as long as we have we've used many of their different power supplies in our 01:53:53.360 --> 01:53:58.679 builds over the years both for personal use as well as computers you've seen on 01:53:56.960 --> 01:54:02.159 the channel they've been a great partner to work with and we're happy to have 01:54:00.199 --> 01:54:05.679 them back as a sponsor for our updated build guide seriously go show them some 01:54:04.119 --> 01:54:09.159 love if you care about reliability and build quality click the link below 01:54:07.480 --> 01:54:14.320 they've been running sales and promos more regularly so you may even save some 01:54:11.639 --> 01:54:19.040 money on your shiny new PSU if the time is right huge thanks to them for 01:54:16.599 --> 01:54:23.119 sponsoring this update we literally took the longest video we've ever made and 01:54:21.040 --> 01:54:26.840 made it 20 minutes long woohoo thanks to you for watching if 01:54:25.320 --> 01:54:31.679 you're looking for something else like this to watch you absolute mad lad then 01:54:29.599 --> 01:54:36.079 maybe check out our companion video on how to set up your PC now that you're 01:54:33.800 --> 01:54:39.679 done the build again let us know if there's anything we missed down below 01:54:37.599 --> 01:54:42.480 and maybe we'll get to it in the next one 01:54:45.840 --> 01:54:50.639 2026 you're rolling right y sick