Power for system components will come from either a regular molex 4 pin, or SATA style plug for SATA devices. Case fans will often come with daisy chain connectors for regular molex power plugs, like t

Having recently heard the woes of some family who are getting by with a tiny netbook and some kind of obscure Linux, I decided to build them a real computer for Christmas using components I have left over after various upgrades. I thought it would make for an interesting article to document the build process with photos, so here it

Rattling fans produce loud noises because they have suffered a bearing failure , a fault common to both sleeve and ball-type fans. When a failure occurs, it means the lubrication greasing the sleeve or ball bearings has dried out, causing the bearing to grind on plastic. Fortunately, regreasing the fan’s bearings will often fix the prob

However, for those completely sick of constantly cleaning the dust out of their PC, you might want to check out water cooling , which is an entirely silent and efficient means of keeping your computer running c

Whatever electronic equipment you are cleaning, do not clean it while it is turned on! Do turn the device off and remove the power source. Do not use dripping wet sponges or cloths. Do use damp cloths and alcohol-based cleaners as they will dry faster. Do not attempt to dismantle a device if you are unsure whether or not you will be able to put it back together. Do consult a manual or instructions from the manufactu

For this particular exercise, I used a high-grade grease (non-conductive) rated for 2,000-3,000 RPMs. A thinner lubricant will suffer from separation at high speeds, which causes the grease to literally separate from the surface it coats. And, never, ever use WD

The hard disk is similar, but this time I chose ” Master with Slave Present “. Then I connect the cable up, bearing in mind that the hard drive as the master should be connected to the centre of the cable, with the slave CD-ROM drive being added at the

Another extremely wise tactic is to only upgrade what you need to upgrade. This means avoiding spending your hard earned funds on new keyboards, a mouse click the following website page/trackball, new monitor or even a new tower, unless it is absolutely requi

Whether you have a desktop computer or a laptop, your CPU (central processing unit) and GPU (graphics processing unit) need cooling. This is generally achieved through a fan that cools a heat sink, which disperses heat from the processor/s. When the air intake grills, the fan/s or the vents are blocked by dust, the cooling is less efficient. Consequently, the processor/s run/s hot faster and more frequently, which can cause the processor/s to become slower or even break prematurely. Hence, it is in your best interest to give the fan/s, intake grills, and vents a good cleaning to ensure optimal air flow and cool

You can use this list as a guide to switch to a faster ISP. While a new ISP might still throttle data, if the upper speed limit is faster, and the bandwidth is available, throttling shouldn’t impact gaming on St

After all, the cost of buying a brand new PC is restrictive for many, and if you understand the principles of matching equipment (it’s basically a case of appreciating the stats, like Top Trumps) and have no problem screwing, plugging, clicking, slotting and fixing a computer together then a self-build with the right hardware is a good cho

Fan screens don’t cost very much and can attach to your computer quite easily. My two favorite types are the SilverStone magnetic filters and the StarTech filters. Simply measure your case’s intake vents horizontally or vertically and buy a matching size. For example, you will want to match a 120mm opening with a 120mm dust fil

I suggest electrical tape or the amazing, adhering substance known as duct-tape, to fasten the material in place. Pretty much any adhesive will do. However, you will probably want to avoid using extremely powerful rare earth magnets as fasten

Perhaps the most obvious cheap pc upgrade is to look out for sales. Bundles are often reduced, while usually expensive components might be given a short-term discount of a single day for promotional purpo

I don’t suggest greasing a laptop’s fans as it requires a great deal of assembly in most models. However, lubrication has had tremendous impact on several of my laptops, you should consider some of these less invasive methods before popping your mobile computer o

The power cable you will plug in has four female plugs in it, and will only go in one way due to the shape of it, so that shouldn’t be too hard. Take a look at one of your other devices to work out which the power cables are in your case. The IDE connector is also easy, the same as the motherboard it has a notch in it which you can al

Once you’ve removed the sticker and rubber plug on your fan, apply lubricant onto the raised metal nub. Only a small amount is necessary as the rotational forces of the fan will pull the grease into its inner workings, which will then coat the dried-out beari