Technology How To Tutorials
The hubbie is making tutorials how how to do things like add extra ram add graphics cards and such as its pretty simple to do and far cheaper than paying a shop to do it. With Performance of the PC's now being more Critical i hope these basic tutorials help you stay on cam.
This will be updated each time a new bit is added
--- 3rd March 2016 ---
1. Add a Graphics Card
2. Add RAM
3. Heat and Fans
4. Hard Drives and How to Add
Re: Technology How To Tutorials
Graphics Card
There are 2 types of Graphics which consist of Onboard ( this shares the memory you have in your computer so if you have 8gb of ram and 4gb of shared graphics your pc actually has 4gb of ram) and Dedicated Graphics ( This has its own processor and ram and mostly comes in 2 flavours DDR3 GDDR5 )
Typically for a tight budget a DDR3 graphics card will be fine it will display 1080p have sound through the HDMI so you can use a HDTV however it wont run games very well. These cards start at £15 so a cheap silent 1gb DDR3 card is fine for display is fine however do they go up to 4gb and its always worth shopping around as i am just using amazon for easy links. GDDR5 is where the ultra powerful cards are.
DDR3 Slower but can display1080p
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-Radeon-...words=ati+5450
GDDR5 Gamer Graphics
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-AMD-Rad...keywords=r7360
How to fit into your machine
First the example below is for onboard Graphics and how to identifiy if this is what you are using. If you really must use onboard graphics ensure you have the quickest memory you can afford and still have enough memory left to run your machine.
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...psqiufdwjy.jpg
The Example above shows the onboard slots DVI - VGA - HDMI the volume of Shared memory is controlled in your motherboards BIOS ( If you want an example of this just let me know)
First open your PC Case by undoing the screws at the back if you face your pc from the front then its the left hand panel else from behind its the right hand panel
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...psp6hyovyo.jpg
Find the PCI E port. The PCIE (PCI-Express) is a fast port to mount the graphics card to and is typically the top port on the motherboard. On the left you will just make out a tab | | | and a clip on the right hand side
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...pspjxu4ftc.jpg
Remove a PCI Tab in line with the PCI-E port this allows the graphics card HDMI/VGA/DVI outputs to be external to the pc. Make sure the tab that is removed is inline with the PCI-E port.
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7joxhbm9.jpg
The Graphics Card. what a typical PCI-£ graphics card looks like. This one is a ddr3 4gb of ram 800MHZ cpu and has a cooling fan. it requires no extra power other than the PCI-E Port
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3e975w8a.jpg
Flip the card upside down so the fan is at the bottom this aligns the pins to the port
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...psysxyj0tt.jpg
Carefully push the card into the PCI-E Port you will hear the clip click.
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...psybchrncp.jpg
And the graphics card is now fitted to the motherboard
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...psfqvnzfzu.jpg
However if you have gone the GDDR5 some cards require power direct from the powersupply the power supply leads look like below to attach extra power to the Card. This is only for high spec gamers cards.
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...psnbsprwgu.jpg
Re: Technology How To Tutorials
Secure your graphics card to the case from using the spare screw that you took out to remove the tab
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...psmqtoixmj.jpg
And Put the case panel back on and screw closed
Attach which connectors you require for your monitor or TV here i am using a HDTV and VGA Monitor
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...pssoqsahym.jpg
Typically windows has a default driver that will work with most cards, always update your drivers to the latest version for your cards if you fit your new card and get nothing but a blank screen you make have to install your drivers first. AMD/ATI i have never had this yet but i have with Nvidia Cards
For AMD Drivers
http://support.amd.com/en-us/download
For Nvidia Drivers
http://www.nvidia.co.uk/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-uk
For Intel Drivers
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/
Re: Technology How To Tutorials
RAM
In this tutorial we are going to add a RAM 8gb 1866mhz chip to the PC.
Ram comes in different speeds and Sizes Typically
4gb 8gb 16gb 32gb and they get more expensive the higher the volume of ram on a single chip
1600mhz (slowest) 1866mhz (Medium) 2400mhz (Fastest)
At present no speed gains from DDR4 so DDr3 is perfectly fine. if you using onboard Graphics the speed of your ram matters a great deal
Myself i prefer hyperfuryx chips they have a nice low profile and are reasonably priced.
4gb DDR3 1600mhz
http://www.amazon.co.uk/HyperX-FURY-...words=ddr3+4gb
2z4gb DDR3 1866mhz
http://www.amazon.co.uk/HyperX-FURY-...&keywords=ddr3
8gb DDR3 1866mhz
http://www.amazon.co.uk/HyperX-FURY-...&keywords=ddr3
2x8gb DDR3 1866mhz
http://www.amazon.co.uk/HyperX-FURY-...ords=ddr3+16gb
16gb and 32gb chips tend to be very expensive
How to fit
First open the case as above in Graphics card tutorial
Locate the RAM Ports as shown below ( Some Motherboards has 2 slots some 4 some 8 ) this motherboard is already holding 8gb of ram we are going to add another 8 to bring the ram up to 16gb.
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...pslor4ekru.jpg
The Memory chip this is a hyperx fury 8gb chip at 1866mhz just one of these can power almost any game but please note the | | | slots again as with the graphics card they are designed to only be installed one way.
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...psi7vg64mj.jpg
Open the Ram Clips either end of the Port you will see clips open these up like so
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2tmnlvig.jpg
Flip the chip so the slot gap fits the mound in the port and carefully push the chip in it will click the clips once installed ensure top and bottom clips are securely holding the chip
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...psyfys7btm.jpg
One installed the chips sound sit securly in the ports. you now have 16gb of ram
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...pskaw0ekes.jpg
Close the case and boot your pc up to check everything is working
Re: Technology How To Tutorials
Heat and Case fans
Heat plays an important factor in maintaining a healthy fast pc, all those electronics get very hot. You can opt to add a few case fans change the stock CPU cooler or you can go full watercooling. (I dont owner a watercooler)
Air Flow
I have a 120mm fan at the front to suck cold air in to feed it to the Graphics Card and CPU. The CPU cooler has been upgrated to handle the heat better and a 92mm fan is pulling out the hot air along with the power supply.
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...pscshomzts.jpg
The Arctic Freeze Cooler v the stock Cooler as you can see a large fan on the upgrade with copper cooling pipes and large fins v the small stubbir stock cooler.
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...ps46hmkulg.jpg
example of fitted stock cooler on an old core 2 duo 3gig
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...psoq2bxa8o.jpg
Its always worth having a few fans in the case to efficiently cool the pc parts.
The Parts Above links
CPU Cooler
http://www.amazon.co.uk/ARCTIC-Freez...ic+freezer+i11
120mm case fan
http://www.amazon.co.uk/ARCTIC-F12-P...rctic+case+fan
92mm case fan
http://www.amazon.co.uk/ARCTIC-F9-St...rctic+case+fan
Which way around do the fans go.
Well if you look at the top picture the large fan has black lines running over it and all fans turn clockwise so this fan in sucking air in the smaller fan is fully exposed and is sucking air out. YOU NEED TO ENSURE YOU GET THE RIGHT CPU COOLER FOR THE SOCKET TYPE OF YOUR PROCESSOR
Re: Technology How To Tutorials
HDD
on to Hard drives this is more for adding a drive to your PC - i will cover cloning a drive later
Below is an example of HDD tech the left 2 drives are SSD 120gig the small laptop drive to the right is a Hybrid drive, and the Large 3.5 inch paper weight is a normal desktop drive.
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...psctsdoljo.jpg
SSD are very very quick drives and prices have come down. However i prefer to just use these drives for Windows 10 and Programs that i use.
SSD Samsung plus this has write speeds of up to 500mb/s
http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-PLUS...4&keywords=SSD
Hybrid drive I use this for storage and contains a 8gb ssd chip that tries to learn my most common types of programs other than that it works like a normal mechanical HDD
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-H200...s=hybrid+drive
Standard Desktop 3.5 inch drive these tend the be the cheapest and have the largest storgage the one in the picture is actually 10yrs old 350gig. (Still works)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-ST10...ywords=3.5+hdd
How to fit a drive with SATA ( always check your motherboard for the SATA Ports and a SATA Power cable on your Powersupply
SATA Drive Connections They all have an L Shape
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...psph2q3m2y.jpg
the smaller tab is for the DATA and the larger tab is for the Power
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...pscxjwuoi5.jpg
The Data cable will only fit one way
Connect the cable to the drive
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...pstjiuffku.jpg
Find a SATA POWER line on your Powersupply
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3bsul7yj.jpg
Connect it to your HDD
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...psfe5bwjlr.jpg
Now find the SATA PORTS on your motherboard ( I used to Core 2 duo as its orange and not black )
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...psjbtsgyvi.jpg
Connect the data Cable taking note of the L Shape
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...psznlolljz.jpg
And Remount back into a drive bay this case has a plate but hopefully you get the jist of this. Just to show how it looks on my Camming pc
http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/...ps7yknllt1.jpg
I will post a tutorial on if your Hard Drive wont show up in Windows and how to clone a drive so you get your copy of windows onto the new drive in a later tutorial
Re: Technology How To Tutorials
If he's not shy you should get your Hubby to set up a youtube channel and make video tutorials.
Re: Technology How To Tutorials
^^ Highly recommended, I make $100 or so a month from YouTube vids just doing random vids! It's a viable source of income.
Re: Technology How To Tutorials
Yeah he said if I earn more he will do fully pc builds for you. His celtic accent can make him hard to understand.
He had a heart attack a while back and has to take it easier. (36yr old) but this kinda of helps him do something he enjoys and help some of the girls at the same time. just wants to make upgrades easier for the lower earning girls.