Building a Super Computer

I have gone through a lot of grief trying to find resources for building your own gaming PC and troubleshooting when (not if) things do not work. I will give you a list of excellent links to help you work things out without having to go talk to the pros and spend more money!

Hardware to build your PC

• This link about building your PC is a great PDF document about the hardware associated with your new PC. Excellent for a basis of knowledge around the internal computer systems.

Troubleshooting

• If you are running an x64 bit system I would recommend this windows 7 forum (applies to most windows operating systems as well) for troubleshooting because 20 other people have probably run into the same problem.
• For general info about super computers and/or regular computer problems I would recommend tech-forums and techsupportforum
• If your computer is running slow:
• read this blog post at tips and tricks
• defragment your hard drive (tutorial)
• make sure you are not running at 95% of used disk space (2 terabyte hard drives are now found for under $200)
• look to update RAM if your computer is using more than 50% idling (excellent tutorial for how to find your RAM type and how to upgrade) (see below to download hardware monitoring software to determine possible needed upgrades)

Monitoring

• It is crucial to monitor your super computers components to maintain health and detect problems early. It also helps to know how your computer is running in terms of CPU clock speed, RAM usage/type, type of graphics card, and CPU/GPU temperatures.
• I would recommend CPU-Z for monitoring hardware such as CPU and memory
• I would recommend GPU-Z for monitoring your graphics card clock and temperatures

**NOTE if your computer lags after a graphics card or CPU upgrade, this may be due TO HIGH OF TEMPERATURES! Look into getting an internal fan or upgraded cooling system!

Overclocking

• This is a hot topic for those with super computers and not for the beginner computer user. There are tutorials like this one about what it means to overclock and how to go about doing it. Make sure you do your research about how to do this safely.
• Make sure that you have adequate cooling and hardware monitoring tools otherwise you may destroy sections of your computer!

Feel free to contact me with any questions!