Hi, I have been viewing this forum/site for a while, more like 2 to 3 weeks..
The thing is, no matter how hard I try or look at the articles, I don't think I am learning.

About the CPU, I still confuse what the overclocking means, how it affects the actual computer processing speed, and other things like that.
Same goes with Graphics, RAMs, etc...

The thing is, could any of you please help me start?
I would really like to learn how to choose my computer and even better, build one. I would like to actually understand the computer mechanism, how hardwares work...

It's more embarassing because I major in software engineering.(starting university in this september)

I registered in this forum three days ago and did not know which category I should put this thread in.
If the moderators have a better place for this thread, please move.

So, here's my request: Please teach me from the beginning, or at least the helpful links would help. I am a super noob who the only thing he knows about hardware is Bigger number of HDD/RAM = better.

Thank you.

First, don't feel bad. It sounds like your starting your college this fall, in which case you might not know that much seeing as you haven't attended any classes. Feel bad if you are graduating this spring, and you still don't know jack...

There are no stupid questions. As such, try posting something you dont understand and ask if someone can help. If you read an article about the upcoming P35 chipset and didn't understand something, copy and paste the part(s) you didn't get and ask if anyone can reword it into something you get. The other thing that you should do ofcourse is keep reading. As much as you can. Everymorning I read this site, Extremetech, Anandtech, and HardOCP. I read the article, check the forums, etc. Only by reading as much as I can will I keep my knowledge up.

Hm... I remember reading an article titled "the Graphic Beginner's guide in 3 parts" I still didn't understand most of 'em, but it clearly helped.

So, is there any kind of 'noob article' to begin with like that?
Like, if I keep reading the new articles, and if I don't understand them, it doesn't do me any good...

Did you read all three parts? Or did you start with the 3rd one?

Lets say you read an article that talks about the FSB. What if you have no idea of what "FSB" means? I could point you to hundreds of articles that use that term, and you wouldn't understand any of them. But if you posted, "I dont' know what the FSB stands for or means", then we could explain that term for you.

Seeing as you mentioned video cards, extremetech just did a very good article about AA/AF. If you have ever wondered what those terms ment, and how they work, you should read this.

Again, if while reading an article you come across something you don't understand, ask a question about it, or do the research yourself. (thats actually better as you'll learn more.)

Well, since you posted a question about overclocking, I'll answer that one. Bear with me, this is a complicated question to answer fully AND simply. I'll try my best.

(I will try and simplify this as much as possible, so anal retentives, please don't knit pick. If I'm totally off feel free to correct)

When a company, say Intel, makes a processor, say the Core2Duo, there are only a few different versions of that CPU. For the C2D, it's the Allendale and Conroe cores. Allendale has 2MB of L2 cache, Conroe has 4MB. (don't worry about the "cache", it doesn't matter for this explanation) Other than that they are the same processor. So, they make a batch of Allendale cores. Those cores are tested. The fastest go into a bin for the fastest C2D that uses the Allendale core, the E4400. The slower ones are used for slower Allendale processor, the E4300. Now, this "binning" isn't only done because of the processor performance, but also because they can only sell so many of each processor. Not everyone wants to buy a $1000 processor. So, some of the ones that might have done just fine at higher speed are sold slower because they have enough of the faster ones. (this really isn't completely correct, but it's close enough) This is where overclocking comes in. Overclocking makes the CPU go faster than it was sold to go, not necessarily faster than it's supposed to go. It is supposed to go as fast as the fastest chip, but they aren't all sold that fast.

So, someone buys a cheap processor that uses the Allendale core, like the E4300. The processors "clock" speed (the megahertz (MHz) figure that you hear about is it's "clock" speed) is a multiplication of it's Front Side Bus ( which I will call "FSB" ) and it's internal multiplier. The FSB is the pathway into and out of the CPU, the connection between it and the motherboard (MB). It starts to get complicated here, as the FSB is reported as 2 different speeds. Intel uses a "quad pumped" FSB. This means that while the FSB is only moving at 200MHz, it sends data 4 times for each MHz instead of only once, resulting in an effective speed of 800MHz (I know that's not technically correct guys, but I'm trying to KISS). So, Intel will say the CPU uses an 800MHz FSB because it sounds faster than 200, and it is close enough to be true. Now, the MB will tell the truth and report the FSB actual speed, 200, so that's where it can get confusing.

The E4300 and E4400 both use an 800MHz FSB (200MHz quad pumped). The difference between the 2 CPUs isn't in the FSB speed, but in the internal multiplier. The E4300 is a 9x resulting in a speed of 1800MHz (200MHz FSB x9), the E4400 is a 10x resulting in a speed of 2000MHz (200MHz FSB x10) Now, for the overclocking.

Intel and AMD have blocked raising the multiplier for most CPUs. The multiplier on the E4300 is locked at 9x. If we want to make it go faster we have to change the other thing that determines the CPU speed, the FSB. So, raising the FSB on an E4300 from 200 to 201 will make the CPU 9MHz faster (200x9=1800, 201x9=1809) That's technically an overclock, it's faster than the CPU was sold to go, but it's not enough of an overclock (from here on I will call overclock "OC" ) to matter. If we want to get some noticeable speed increases, we need to OC higher than 9MHz. So, if you up the FSB from 200 to 333, it raises the CPU from 1800 (200x9) to 2997 (333x9). An increase in speed by 1197MHz is noticeable.

Now, not every CPU will OC the same. Some were binned low for a reason. Intel is kind enough to sell the C2D at a lower speed than they probably should have because they all can OC to some degree, none are sold at the fastest they can go, there is always room to make them a little faster. It's how much faster that is a gamble. There is a general average that a certain CPU will OC to. The E4300 for example will OC to around 3400MHz on average before it starts to have problems with overheating. Some get much higher, some can't quite reach that speed (most can). The main enemy in OCing is HEAT! The better you cool the CPU, the faster you can make it go.

Now, for a word on heat. The increase in heat output when OCing over stock speed is largely because of the increased voltage required to make the CPU go that fast. Think of a CPU as an engine. The faster you rev the engine, the more gas it uses, the hotter the engine gets. The faster you rev a CPU, the more electricity (measured in volts) it uses, the hotter the CPU gets. The voltage on an E4300 is 1.325v. For the CPU to go a little faster it can stay at that voltage. The harder you push that CPU though, the more it starts to need some more juice. So, 1 little step at a time (.025v) you move the voltage up. As the voltage goes up, so does the heat the CPU creates.

To move the heat off the CPU when running at 1800MHz, the CPU comes with a little "heatsink" and a fan. A heatsink is a piece of metal that touches the top of the CPU and absorbs the heat from it. As the heatsink (from here on called an "HS" ) warms up, you need to move the heat off of that too. So, blow on it! A fan blows fresh, cool air over the HS, cooling it off. Now, that's fine for normal speed and a little faster, but those CPUs start to REALLY heat up once you start OCing really high. Larger HS and faster fans will cool the CPU better than the one it comes with, but the faster you try and push the CPU the harder it is for those to keep up too. That's where people have water cooling and other exotic cooling methods like that.

Water cooling uses water to move the heat off of the CPU instead of air. A tiny HS is put into a tiny box of metal (called a water block), with a hole on each end for water to go into and out of. Hoses are hooked to the holes and water pumped though that "water block", into a radiator (much like the way an engine is cooled) and then back into the water block. This cools the CPU even more than air does. Again, the cooler it is, the faster you can make it go.

I hope this isn't too chaotic and confusing, it took me over an hour to type.

What this all means for you is that the CPU can do more math. The computer was invented to do math, and in many ways, that's what it is still doing today. The CPU does a certain number of calculations for every MHz. Lets say a million per MHz. If you want to do the math faster, increase the MHz. If 1800 MHz is 1.8 billion calculations per second, 2997 MHz is 2.9 billion calculations per second.

I'm starting to run out of steam here, it's about time for me to go home. I hope this starts to explain what overclocking is and why it is done. If you have more questions please feel free to ask. We're all here to help and be helped.

Sounds good to me nvalhalla. Basically, you have a bunch of definitions and terms to learn NewZeta, google each as you read them I'd suggest.

If you are new to building, I wouldn't necessarily go to overclocking right away, just build something that works first, you can always overclock it later on. Best thing is to buy some items online and add a request to the seller to tell you if they will all work together to make a complete system that is compatible.

It's not hard, you need CPU (AMD or Intel, does the main calculations of the computer, comes with heatsink everytime (solid bit that has metal fins that disapate heat away from the CPU) and fan (blows onto or off heatsink to cool it a bit further) as standard although many buy aftermarket versions to keep things cooler which is more complicated and not really necessary unless you are overclocking, the cpu basically determines how fast the computer is overall, and don't get all caught up in buying a heatsink as it comes with the CPU anyway),

Motherboard or mainboard (everything plugs into this and therefore it's performance is important, it should match AMD or Intel and each's "Socket size" and ram type and it should have the connections you need, unless you wish to buy extra card for things later on like firewire connections (used with digital video and picture type cameras) or Gigabit ethernet (network connections) which is usually not a good financial decision, better to get what you need here straight up),

RAM or Memory (must get the right DDR here to match motherboard, DDR1 or DDR2 or now DDR3, prob DDR2, this is the "working memory" of the computer and is not saved on power down and always affects the computer's speed), depending on your need and budget, it might be 1 gig or 2 or even 4, usually best to have 2 pieces of ram of equal size and brand/type, rather than one large one (this is a reference to a dual channel ram configuration),

Power Supply and Case (or 2 separate items here, must be large enough to fit motherboard and harddrives/dvd-drives you wish to install, as well as powerful enough to power your system, while there are several "power supply calculators", google that, it might get confusing, ask your merchant for more details),

Hard drive (capacity to save information such as video and audio files as well as the system's necessary files, go for SATA/serial ATA which describes whether the signal is sent in parallel or serial, with serial being faster by far),

DVD Burner (to play CDs and DVDs as well as create your own copies or compilations, both input and output data so it doesn't fill your hard drive),

Graphics Card (or a motherboard that has onboard graphics if you want lower end ability (for Word, Excel, internet surfing etc.), this is a late advent in computers that is required for new games and other 3D programs, it is essentially a support and help to the cpu's calculations of 3D images required by today's games, Autocad and other programs), if you need a graphics card, tomshardware has a special article about the price ranges you might be interested called The Best Gaming Video Cards for the Money: May 2007, with cards listed by price. The more you pay on this list the better it is and the longer it should last.

This is basically it. For all the specifications and latest problems with each product I search for reviews (from reputible websites, as opposed to someone who bought it and said it was great or terrible, so that I will know about the problems I might be up against), both the official and non-official forums and FAQ's about that one product to find out very recent problems with it, if any, there are usually some with all of them, and the manuals downloadable from the manufacturer's website that give you sizes and specifications to make sure things will fit together.

You could also buy a Static Electricity Wrist Strap from your local electric store (called Dick Smith's here in Australia) which prevents you from destroying the sensitive electrical parts as you install them if you have a power cord plugged into the case's power supply and wall socket (but with the switch off) and you connect the strap to the case. As well as specialised "thermal grease" which goes between the CPU and heatsink/fan assembly if you want better cooling as so on. Going further than the bare essentials is usually called "modding" as many as quite precious about their computers and want to max their capabilities. For example, you see here that we are all including the general specifications of our favourite, home built computers at the bottom of each post.


Overclocking voids the warranty of your stuff (although if it isn't overclocking that breaks your stuff you can often get a replacement, ie. they check if it was) as you are intentionally putting the components of your system under more stress than the manufacturer recommends (they all have set clocks and this makes them go past these set parameters), but as stated, very similar products are put in different categories (such as the Intel CPUs from E6300 to E6700) and so those with a bit of time and effort and with buying a "specialist" motherboard (these are becoming the norm) you can raise the clock (as in how many cycles the components do per second) past it's rated capacity to do more math.

I hope this provides yet more information to your growing knowledge about computers. There is a long history that helps us to understand the practical value of various claims and phrases used by manufacturers. While I also have no idea specifically what the graphics cards article is about, I don't need to as I know what is important and how it affects my computer's performance when I am using it, including what settings I can run my games at (because it is quite annoying to find out that you have set your settings wrong and wasted your computer's 3D game performance possibilities).

Intel E6600 Dual Core2@2.4ghz
MSI P965 Express Platinum
2x1gig PNY 5-6-6-15 DDR2
XFX 8800 GTS 320mb
WD 500gig Enterprize Edition
Sony DVR-212
Antec P150 Case and Power supply

I'll add a little here to this great explanation, concerning memory and your video card.
Next you must realize that everthing in your PC, including your video card and memory is timed to the FSB speed and works off of this speed with a multiplier as well. So when you raise your FSB speed, you also effectively raise the speed of everything else right along with it. The problem here lies that things like memory, and your video card slot are much, much more touchy about overclocking and will not withstand near the raise in speed that your CPU usually can. That being said, as you start raising the FSB, there are other timing considerations that must be taken into account to achieve your OC goal. Your BIOS will also have settings to control the multiplier to your memory, and your video card slot.
Most modern boards will allow you to lock your video card slot to it's rated speed, so no matter how far you raise your FSB, it will not affect your video slot. Your memory has a divider/mulitplier setting that will allow you to lower the speed your memory runs at in relation to the FSB. As you raise the FSB to increase the CPU speed, you must relatively lower memory speed settings in order to keep your memory speed constant, and not result in errors, or even failure to get your PC to post. This is usually the very first problem people have who are not experienced at overclocking. The get a "no post" situation, and it's usually because they forget to lower the speed of the memory as they raise the FSB speed. They may think they have a CPU which does not overclock well, when in fact the thing that is stopping them is they have pushed the memory beyond what it can run without errors.
Of course, if you are going to be OC'ing a system, you first must do the research a be sure to purchase a motherboard that is OC'ing friendly. That means the board will have a wide range of settings for system speeds and voltages allowing you to finely tune each area of the system each step of the way. Without the options to manage these area's of the system, inexpensive boards will not allow you much OC' potential.
Most prebuilt systems like HP, Dell, Gateway, will have all of these options locked out or not even available in the BIOS, rendering them pretty much over-clock proof.

Great thread! Thanks guys

It might sound demeaning, but just have wiki as an accompanyment to the article you read, then anything you dont understand, copy into wiki, thats how beginners can get the knoledge that many others have. I read all the main sites, use fud as light rumour reading tbh. Engadget is very good too for general electronics news.

Overclocking is the art of changing front sidebus settings (the basic speed at which your computer's mainboard directs everything attached to it), the voltage (higher voltages lower signal degradation, but cause greater heat and power requirements), and multiplier (the number of times your CPU acts for every tick of the front-side bus). Overclocking increases the CPU's clock rate, and thus can result in a proportional performance boost, but will only do so if the processor itself is the bottleneck on your system.

Overclocking is a complex art, dependent on not only the processor itself, but the motherboard, RAM, and cooling methodology. It is not without risks and costs: in addition to the dollar cost of getting the right pieces, overclocking can create extra heat. For every ten degree increase, the processor's lifespan is cut nearly in half. For many of us, this isn't a problem -- the processor will usually last around 10 years at normal clockrate in even the stuffiest system -- but it is worth being aware of.

You can also overclock your system's RAM and even the RAM and processor on a graphics card. For RAM, the process is similar and intertwined, since increasing the FSB increases the speed the RAM operates at unless you manually set it slower, while graphics card overclocks tend to rely on software inside your operating system.

<b>Purchasing a Computer</b> :

If you are using your computer for workstation use, the single most important part is price : most modern computers will be able to deal with

If you are planning a computer for gaming use, the most important part is not, surprisingly, the CPU, but is the graphics card.

Right now, graphics adapters come in three choices : integrated chips, nVidia, and ATi. Integrated chips are not really valid gaming choices, despite the low cost. With ATI cards, you probably want at least an x800, and preferably an x1600 or higher. With NVidia, you can get away with an 6800, but a 7600 or above, or 8600 or above would be preferable.
Greater amounts of RAM on the card help with higher texture levels, but this should not be the primary focus.

After that, then the CPU becomes important. For today's games, most of the emphasis is on a single core's performance, and thus you want a processor rated at at least 4200+. That said, future games will focus on multiple threading to solve a lot of physical design problems, and thus a more powerful processor, one with multiple cores, is highly recommended. Most of the Intel Core 2 Duo series has well-saturated the market and would make a good purchase choice, as would most of the higher-rated Athlon X-2s (such as the 4200+, or preferably mid-5x00s).

Finally, RAM is important. For Windows XP, you want to have the option of installing at least 2 gigabytes of RAM, even if the current set-up has significantly less. For Windows Vista, you want the option of installing at least 3 gigabytes and preferably more. Today's games can operate well at 1 or 1.5 gigabytes, but as this is an easily upgraded attribute, it's important to know you have the upgrade path available.

Drives, design, and monitor are largely to taste.

<b>Basics for Computer Construction</b> :

Start with a processor. Modern consumer-available processors have, and will continue, to range between $50 US and $1000 US or even higher, depending on what level of performance you are willing to pay for. For most modern gaming, though, the $200-$260 US price range is currently the high end, and you can get decent workstation performance as low as $100.
Don't try to predict performance from the numbers. Like trying to bend a spoon with your mind, it's impossible. Use The CPU Chart, and use it to see what sort of performance you'll get, and then choose from there. There are some parts of the CPU that are worth noticing, though. The name, the FSB setting, and the socket, all of which are important in figuring out compatibility.

Next, choose a graphics adapter. For anything more than desktop use, you will need a dedicated video card. Like CPUs, it's worth using The Chart to compare models to find one that matches the performance you need, then check prices. Prepare to spend a lot on the card: it is probably the bottleneck on any reasonably balanced system.
For graphics cards, you need to know the interface -- usually PCI-E 16x although there are still some AGP and PCI cards -- and power requirements. Most modern cards are PCI-E, and I suggest sticking with this interface.

The motherboard is the connection for the above parts, and thus can be the hardest choice for a new system. First, you need to be sure to pick a motherboard compatible with your processor, and thus it has to match your processor's socket, support the FSB rate, and support the processor itself. The first two aspects will usually be in the name on NewEgg.com, but you'll have to check the motherboard's manufacturer to be sure of the last attribute.
Next, it also has to match the video card. If you plan to game, you'll have wanted a PCI-E 16x card, and thus you'll need at least one PCI-E 16x slot. If your box is mostly for workstation use, you can get away with integrated video, in which case you'll want to find a motherboard with a decent integrated video solution.
Finally, make sure the other sockets and slots fit what you want. For each modern hard drive or optical drive, you'll need a SATA connection on the motherboard. If you have older drives, these may be IDE-based, and you'll want to make sure that the motherboard has IDE support. SATA is based on a thin, red cable and can move data at up to 3 gigabits per second, while IDE is based on a flat, wide cable and is much slower. Make sure you've also got enough USB, FireWire (if you have FireWire items), and other connections for your sort of solution.
There are a few attributes you need to know about a given motherboard for compatibility purposes : the form factor (usually ATX, but other standards such as BTX, miniATX, and others exist) and the type of memory supported.

Next, you need to select memory. Most modern desktops use DDR2 RAM, but there is also a DDR3 standard that is coming around (but a little expensive right now). Some motherboards can actually use both standards, although not at the same time. In either case, you'll want to get at least 512 MBs of RAM for a workstation, and preferably 1-2 gigabytes for a gaming system using Windows XP. Windows Vista can use as much RAM as you're willing to feed it, but most games won't really need more than 2-3 GBs of RAM.
RAM has a few standards, most of which you don't need to worry about. Timing and CAS are really important to enthusiasts, but the difference isn't significant to new builders. You do, however, need to be aware of the speed. Higher speed RAM generally helps performance, and mismatched RAM can end up causing performance loss (more so in AMD systems than recent Intel ones), and also severely limits overclocking potential. Currently, DDR2 800 speed RAM is the best-priced speed available, but this will change as FSB speeds go up.
You may wish to visit the motherboard manufactor's website to see what RAM they have tested with their system. In my experience, memory incompatibility is very rare, but it can never hurt.

Power supply is next -- you want something with enough power for your system, and with the interfaces you need. For most systems not planning to go nuts with a 500+ USD graphics card, right now a 500 watt to 600 watt power supply seems to work fine. Do go by a reputable designer -- I like Fortron -- as power supplies by less makers may be cheaper but will be more likely to fail, louder, and less efficient.

You will also want to pick drives that are compatible with your motherboard, according to what you are willing to pay for.

Finally, select a case. I suggest not getting a case plus power supply combo, for starters, but you also need your case to match your motherboard -- an ATX motherboard will not fit in a microATX case (do note that some ATX cases will also be compatible with a microATX motherboard, however; larger cases generally can take smaller motherboards). I suggest against cutting corners here, as a cheap case can . You don't need to splurge and grab an Antec p182, but at least spending 50 USD on a CoolerMaster Centurion 5 or another decent system will save you a lot of work and make sure UPS doesn't leave you dented.

Make sure to purchase thermal paste. A tube can cost less than 6 USD, and makes a big difference in terms of cooling. It's applied to the top of the CPU before putting the heatsink on.

Don't feel bad about not knowing anything about hardware, I know nothing about software ha.

This is my piece of info for you. A computer is an average of around 8 or so main parts your cpu, motherboard, ram, power supply, case, dvd rom, hard drive, and a graphics card. Thats all you need to get a pc to turn on.. well knowing that all the parts fit in together.

Then all you really need to know about what parts go with each other is pretty simple itself. take a intel e6600 processor for example. It is socket 775.. So pretty much you look for a motherboard with socket 775 capabilities. Now id say 80% of them will support the new e6600 chip but not all do, but the website will always tell you what socket a motherboard is and what cpu "code name" it supports. I won't get into front side bus right now. then comes the ram which right now there is 2 types DDR and DDR2. DDR is old school shit and none of the new processors use it so basically any DDR2 ram now days will work with any of the cpu's no matter what speed.. usually. Hard drives are universal, so are dvd roms they plug right in to anything. Graphics cards are pretty simple as well. there is 2 major interfaces AGP and PCI express. AGP is old and basically dead so you will mainly see PCI express and 90% of the motherboards you can buy are PCI express.

Well I don't know if that makes a whole lot of sense to you yet but that is my view on a computer ha. Like I said there is a few exceptions and flaws but for the most part without trying to confuse you with front side buses and all that jack that is pretty much the basics.