Helping Around The World

Welcome

Sunday, August 2nd, 2009 | Main | No Comments

We want to welcome everyone to our website. We used to host many game servers, websites and sell electronics. Web hosting is still available for anyone who wants to rent out space. Our business mainly deals with computers and electronics, custom building and fixing computers is our my main job. We are “those” guy’s everyone calls when they have a computer problem. We look forward to hearing from many of you as our blog and channel grow.

Before custom building a computer

Sunday, August 2nd, 2009 | computers | No Comments

Information before building a computer:

First you need to know how much you spend on your new computer. Depending your spending range will tell you what type of computer you are going to get. Just because the hardware has the same specs does not mean it is just as good.

The most important thing is to go for name brand hardware. It might cost a few extra dollars but it is well worth it.

The next thing you need to do is research. Most people do not go into depth with their pc’s that they want to build. Every piece of hardware has to be compatible with each other. An example would be; wanting to get the latest Nvida video card. You cannot just purchase it and think its compatible with your motherboard. Make sure the motherboard has the PCI Express x16 2.0 (or pci

Your video card and motherboard are compatible doesn’t mean you’re done with your video card. The power supply has to have enough watts to support the video card and have the correct 4 pin connection. Also you need to make sure that you have the proper Amperes in the power supply for the video card.

Now that you get an idea of what you have to look for we can now start looking for parts for your new computer.

It is best that you don’t purchase a computer such as Dell or any other company that produces expensive computers with little hardware. You save money and gain experience building your own computers. If you cannot build or do not want to build your own computer ask someone that does know. Do not bring it to a pc repair shop because they will charge their standard $90+ an hour and installation of software/ operating system $125+. If you do not know anyone and cannot do this, then purchase a regular out of the box pc.

The Motherboard

The motherboard is the heart of the computer. If you are using firefox or IE 7+ you always want a tab kept open for the specs of the motherboard. Because of the importance of the mobo (motherboard for short) you need to cross reference everything with it. Anything that you want in your computer has to have the correct components for the mobo. I preferably use Intel as my motherboards but ASUS is one of the top leading mobo manufacturing companies. Generally the new mobo’s have no or 1-2 IDE connectors. IDE is becoming obsolete since SATA is faster in speed. The form factor of the mobo is either ATX or uATX. BTX is not generally used much anymore. The mobo are either Intel or AMD types. You cannot use a AMD mobo for a intel processor.

The Case

The case to house the computer also plays a significant role in your custom built computer. If you are looking for a great case that supports your needs I recommend Thermaltake. They are one of the best companies to use. The easy installation for your hardware and excellent cooling design helps do quick fixes on your computer if ever needed. The designs of the cases will fit everyone’s needs. They have great resistance to physical damage and some cases even has lights. Depending on the amount of space you have in your computer area, a Mid Tower is the best candidate. Full towers are not generally required unless you expect to fill up all slots on your case. A Mid tower will support most of your needs for having a custom built computer. All cases have front usb/firewire and audio connections. The better cases have HD audio connections to plug into the mobo for crisper sound. The cheaper the case, the more metal turns into plastic and wires downgrade quality.

The Processor

The Processor is the brain of the computer as it processes the information that is being computed. There is only 2 companies for processors, Intel or AMD. The processor you choose determines on what you’re going to purchase for your other hardware. AMD and ATI are now one company. ATI is the competitor of Nvidia which is one of the main video card companies. I always had bad luck with AMD processors/ computers. There was always an issue with them. AMD processors are cheaper to purchase, they are also over clockable. AMD processors are not the GHz they say. A 2.5 GHz AMD processor is under clocked because it is cheaper to make one type of processor and lower the speeds then to make lower speed processors. Intel Processors to me are the sturdiest newest processors you can purchase. They released the i7 which is the fastest multi core processor. The best Intel processor to get at this time would be a Quad Core, not Quad core xeon. Xeon is for servers. As of now not many software’s uses the fully functions of the i7, which makes it a little pointless to get. It is also expensive to purchase at this time because it is new. Newer processors have 64 bit capability but only works if your computer is compatible for 64-bit. Windows xp x64, Windows vista x64 or Windows 7 x64 will not work on computers if they are not outfitted to be ran on 64-bit technology. It is recommended not to use an Intel fan unless they fixed their plastic screw flaw. The best heat sink fan to use is a big typhoon or orb from Thermaltake. Their fans work the best and keep your pc at the best temperature for not being liquid cooled.

The Ram

The ram is the short term memory of the computer. If you don’t have enough ram in your computer, it will have delayed response or lock up your computer to try and run higher priority softwares while running lower priority ones. The more ram you have the easier it is for your computer to function. They come in different shapes, pins, MHz, speeds. Your mobo would have different clock speeds it is compatible with such as 333 MHz, 533 MHz, 800 Mhz. The higher the MHz the faster the data is sent to and from the processor and hard drive. The most used type of ram is DDR2, but now there is DDR3 which is very fast, expensive ram to get. It is generally used in the Extreme/ High performance edition mobo’s, processors. Very important to note about getting ram for your computer. If you are building a computer that is not 64-bit, you can only use up to 3.25 GB’s or ram. The best thing to do is have 4GB’s of ram max for your computer. If you upgraded your pc to 64-bit, you can use up to 128 GB’s *to the best of my knowledge*. If you do plan to have 64-bit running pc, have at least a minimum of 4GB’s of ram. The company I would recommend for ram would be OCZ Technology. Their quality and warranty is the best around. Some people like crucial because it’s cheaper and almost as good.

The Power Supply

The power supply is what gives the computer power. Depending on what you want in the computer, varies the wattage needed for the computer. The higher performance of the video card and the hardware in the computer will increase wattage required for the computer to work. If you purchase a 800 watt power supply it would be overkill for the basic computing or mid-high gaming needs. A high profile video card would need roughly 500+ watts. The power supply I recommend is Thermaltake. They have a longer life span and also have modular cables. This means that you plug in what you need only. It helps make your computer case cleaner and doesn’t have clumps of wires hanging around.

The Video Card

The video card is important for visually using your computer. The better the video card you have the greater detail and graphics you would see in video games and movies. If you are going to get a AMD processor use ATI graphics as it is the most compatible you will get. For people using Intel, use Nvidia. Because I don’t like ATI as much I will go into detail of Nvida cards. The minimum card I believe for someone to get is a Geforce 8800 GT series. This card will allow you to view movies in HD, and have medium-high graphics on some games. You cannot purchase video cards directly from Nvidia because they do not manufactor their own cards. They create the technology and have other companies such as EVGA, BFG technology and PNY. PNY is the most inexpensive video card you can purchase. BFG is one of the best companies to get video cards from. They have 24/7 US support *not outsourced like every country*. The hold time does vary up to 20 min for support, but it is also lifetime warranty on your video card. When purchasing a video card find the type of slot it uses. If it is new it would be PCI Express x16 / PCI Express x16 2.0. Just because the PCI slots match up doesn’t mean it will work. The more demanding the video card is, the more Amperes it requires from the power supply. Research the video card and power supply thoroughly to make sure it is fully compatible.

The Hard Drive

There is only 2 main hard drive companies, Seagate or Western Digital. Any other company is cheap Chinese hard drives or manufactures that have their names branded on the Seagate or western digital drives. If like your data do not buy anything that is not western digital or Seagate. Western Digital makes most of the external drives and faster sata drives. I do recommend Western Digital over Seagate. The 7200 RPM hard drives do read and write the fastest. This also means it does mean that the life span can get shortened if is left on 24/7. 5400 RPM is a good standard hard drive to use. SATA should be the only thing you use for your hard drive. If you use IDE it makes the data speed slower for transferring information over.

The Optical Drives

This is the easiest of the hardware components. If you’re not going to watch or burn BLU-ray on your pc then stick with a double layer/ light scribe burner. They cost roughly $75-$100 depending on the company you use. The main companies that are used is , HP, Sony, LG, Memorex, and Lite on. Lite on is a good company used and it is not branded on your disk drive face. They also use SATA which is easy to run cables and is less clutter. I recommend that two drives are put into the computer, it helps with burning and copying disks.

I am an authorized reseller for these companies and the recommendations I added in each category are from personal experience and performance. The manufactures that I mentioned in the guide are listed.

EVGA http://www.evga.com/

BFG http://www.bfgtech.com/

PNY http://www.pny.com/

ATI http://ati.amd.com/products/index.html

Seagate http://www.seagate.com/

Western Digital http://www.wdc.com/

Intel http://www.intel.com/

AMD http://www.amd.com/

HP http://www.hp.com/

SONY http://www.sony.com/

LG http://www.lge.com/

Liteon http://us.liteonit.com/us/