THE CONCEPT
IF YOU’RE A SEASONED PC BUILDER, this might not be the build for you. We’re just being honest; this is a straightforward build, the perfect PC for a novice tech head looking to build their first rig. We’ve made the instructions simpler than usual, and this system has as few cables and components as we could manage. Within reason, of course: We want this to remain a capable home PC, with a bit of gaming and workstation potential, at a sensible price point, so we’re still including a GPU and a case with some RGB lighting.
The goal is to help you—or your PC-assembly challenged pal—put together a functioning computer while also learning the basic building blocks of what makes a PC. Obviously, we have limited space to do this, but if you’re ever uncertain of what goes where, don’t be afraid to leaf through the manuals of each component. If you don’t know your GPU from your PSU, you might want to take to Google for each step, to make sure you’ve got the right hardware.
While we have a list of specific ingredients for this build, don’t feel compelled to stick to it. Some of the components here (notably the GPU and SSD) were chosen to keep the price down, so higher-spec components there wouldn’t go amiss. We do advise against swapping out the CPU and motherboard for this build, though, to keep compatibility problems at bay.
This build should teach any rookie the fundamentals of PC building. If you’re new to the ancient art of custom system building, or have a friend who’s eager to build their first PC but doesn’t know where to start, look no further.
KEEPING IT CLEAN
Denne historien er fra February 2020-utgaven av Maximum PC.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra February 2020-utgaven av Maximum PC.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
NZXT C1500 Platinum
Top-tier performance and efficiency
Nvidia DLSS vs AMD FSR
Which AI upscaling technique has the edge?
World of Goo 2
Goo-d enough for two
BenQ X300G 4K Short Throw Projector
Priced high, yet punchy
Hyte Thicc Q60
Almost more mobile phone than CPU cooler
Remove stalkerware from your PC
ACCORDING TO KASPERSKY’S LATEST ‘State of Stalkerware’ report, over 40 percent of those surveyed worldwide said they’d experienced stalking or suspected that they were being stalked.
BUILD AN IT SUPPORT HUB
Discover how to use RustDesk to provide remote assistance and control your own devices remotely with Nick Peers
AMD's turn to drop the ball?
WITH INTEL'S RAPTOR LAKE CPUs falling over, the company firing around 15,000 employees, and cancelling its 2024 innovation event, AMD must have been enjoying the view - until its new Ryzen 9000 desktop CPUs rolled out. So, is AMD's CPU a minor stumble or game-changing fumble?
Intel issues fix for Raptor Lake degradation
EARLIER THIS YEAR, I wrote about difficulties I was having with a Core 19-13900K processor (see MPC230 Tech Talk). Little did we realize that we were only seeing the tip of the iceberg. While most complaints have involved the unlocked Core i9 Raptor Lake CPUs, it appears the instability problems build up and potentially impact many Raptor Lake-13th and 14th Gen Core CPUs, with Intel identifying 22 different desktop parts.
AMD Ryzen 7 9700X
The new Zen 5 CPUs are here—time to benchmark!