Computers are complex, however, and this can lead to headaches when trying to upgrade. Nothing is more frustrating than finding out that you have a compatibility issue while you’re in the process of installing new hardware. Let’s review 4 potential trouble spots you should check before digging into your desktop’s intern
There are a lot of good options in the $100 to $150 range for any given processor and, if budget is your concern, it’s wise not to stray too far from them. Top brands like ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI offer plenty of choice for budget shopp
Once I did all that, I installed Team Fortress 2 and Dota 2 via Steam. I also separately installed Urban Terror, another popular game on Linux. The custom budget gaming rig performed very well with these games. The settings for Dota 2 and Urban Terror were set to their maximums and gameplay remained very smooth. Team Fortress 2 also ran without a hitch following the settings recommended by the game — all of which were set to “High” if not the maximums. These results are all very impressive for a computer that costed less than $
Another very cool feature of Subsonic is that as an admin you can track the overall usage of the server. What are the most popular files? Which files are currently being accessed? You can even see a trend of the bandwidth users have used over t
Most DVD drives need to be installed from the front, so that means taking the front panel off carefully and avoid pulling the wires for the power switch. It’s also better to connect any cables now before it’s slotted in, as things can get quite tight back th
Western Digital Green 500 GB 3.5-inch SATA III 64 MB hard drive : I wanted to find a cheap hard drive that would still offer a decent amount of storage. I absolutely love Western Digital hard drives (and absolutely despise Seagate hard drives), so I went with a Green 500 GB. Since loading times are going to be reduced anyways, might as well save some power while we’re at
Making the move to upgrade your PC is exciting for any geek. There’s almost always something bigger or faster available – if only you spend another fifty bucks. This can lead to a slow budget creep that sneaks up to you and then, BAM! You’re spending a lot more than wan
Set up your own WiFi radio PC with Subsonic and see if it makes organizing and accessing your media collection easier. Let us know how you set up your server, and what people thought about your streaming music collection. Share your thoughts in the comments section be
Screw the metal standoffs into the case in the corresponding holes (the same ones the motherboard ends up using) so that the motherboard won’t be directly touching the side of the case. Place the motherboard on top of the standoffs and screw it in. Make sure that you also have the I/O panel (the back panel where you connect everything) pressed into the back of the panel before screwing in the motherboard. You want the female connectors to be visible and accessible through the holes in the I/O pa
Your friends and family will love the fact that whenever they visit you, they can have access to a wide array of great music to listen to – and you protect your music investment, because the server does not allow the downloading of music files, only stream
You also can work this checklist in reverse when shopping. Instead of asking if your old parts work with the new motherboard, find a new motherboard that works with the old parts. It won’t always be possible but it’s worth a l
The way this setup works includes a web server with Subsonic installed. Technically, you don’t need to set up a web server – when you install Subsonic , it will use port 80 and serve up its own webpage. If you already have a web server, you can configure Subsonic to use its own subfolder within the public html fol
Rosewill Dual Fans MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case FBM-01 : This case was chosen as more of an afterthought, as the case really doesn’t matter as long as it can house the components you picked out. It’s cheap, it’s sturdy, and it’s not terrible looking. It certainly doesn’t scream “gaming”, but if you’re on such a tight budget, that doesn’t quite matter. Cover it with cool stickers if you feel like
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
This isn’t a how-to article though – I couldn’t possibly write about how to build a PC Hardware Reviews|Https://Pcbuildinsight.Com/ from scratch in one article. Instead, I will give tips and describe the process in a whirlwind manner, but you should maybe think of it more as motivation for you to try the same. The whole process took about 2 ho
AMD FD6300WMHKBOX FX-6300 6-Core Processor Black Edition : If you’re a computer shopper on a budget, it’s definitely advisable to go with an AMD processor. Although Intel processors generally offer more performance in a CPU , AMD processors have more bang for the buck . With a budget of just $500, we really need to thread carefully so that there’s still enough money to spend on the other vital component — the graphics c