A beginner’s guide to building a PC from scratch

Digital Trends’ PC Build Guide

• Choosing the right components
• Putting the hardware together
• What to do if your new rig won’t boot

Building a computer used to be a complicated process, where careful selection of delicate parts was a necessity, and when it finally booted, it was a triumphant experience.

More: What matters (and what doesn’t) when buying a gaming desktop

Nowadays, it’s easier than ever, with clear standards of compatibility, obvious choices for performance and value, and an actual building process that’s straightforward and well documented. That being said, there are a lot of pitfalls and assumptions that experienced builders make that newcomers won’t know. We’ve compiled this handy step-by-step guide that will take you from a pile of parts to a working computer in just a couple of hours.

Getting started

This guide is all about putting your components together. If you haven’t selected and purchased all the hardware you need, then stop reading and go check out our PC build guide, which outlines recommended components for a variety of builds.

Have your parts? Good. Let’s get started.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Before you dig in, ensure there’s a clean workspace with plenty of room to open boxes and put parts together. Hopefully there’s already a pile of them in front of you, but if not, our PC build guide can walk you through that process.

There are a couple of safety issues to discuss before we actually start ripping open those boxes.

You can feel it

There’s an invisible risk when building a computer that can crush the most powerful system: Static electricity. The same force that lets you shock your friends when you wear wool socks can also fry components in a heartbeat. Fortunately, it’s easy to all but eliminate with a few simple steps.

One easy way is to purchase an anti-static wristband. One end wraps around your wrist, and the other clips somewhere on the computer case, keeping the wearer constantly grounded. Touching the case frequently with the PSU plugged in, but turned off, achieves the same effect.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Apart from that, it helps to build in a room with a bare floor — carpet generates a lot of static — and wear rubber-sole shoes, rather than socks. Many of the components will be packaged in anti-static bags, and it’s a good idea to leave them there until just before installation.

Need help? Just ask

Building a PC for the first time can be a little tricky, but the good news is there are many resources to help. People who like building computers don’t often get the opportunity. If you have an enthusiast friend, they may jump at the chance to help put it together.

This guide is meant as a general overview of the process, and the instructions your parts came with may vary from our suggestions. When they do, default to the included instructions, and use our guide as a road map for the whole project.

Opening the case

Preparing the case is the easy part. The instructions should introduce you to the basic layout of your case, as well as offer up special instructions regarding component installation.

More: Building a new PC? Check out these 5 awesome cases before you start

Lay the case in your work area and remove the side panel which provides access to the interior. For most cases, this mean removing the left-side panel (as viewed from the front). Also remove anything that’s dangling inside the case, or if it’s attached, push it aside. Many cases have permanent internal wiring that can become a hassle later.

Before we start putting other parts together, we’re going to install the power supply, and then set the case aside for a few minutes.

The power supply

The first component to make its way into the case should be the power supply, or PSU. Typically located on the rear of the case, usually in the bottom or top corner, the slot is easily located by searching for a square opening. This opening will have screwholes on at least two corners, and the PSU sits in it with a switch and female socket facing outward. Consult your case’s manual if you have trouble finding the proper location.

There are two main varieties of power supply, standard and modular (there’s a hybrid semi-modular type too, but we don’t need to worry about that for now.) Modular PSUs have cables that detach from the main unit to avoid clutter. They’re ideal for smaller cases and neat freaks.

If you have a modular supply, it’s best to leave the cables out for now and run them as you install each additional component. If all the cables are permanently attached, carefully bundle them up so they’re hanging out the open side panel of the case, for now. This will keep them out of the way while we install the rest of the components.

Archos’ 101 Saphir may be a low-cost tablet, but it’s anything but brittle

Why it matters to you

Archos’ 101 Saphir will appeal more to those who are hard on their devices and don’t want to break the bank.

Rugged tablets might not be new, but Archos’ 101 Saphir shows you do not have to break the bank to get a durable model — so long as you are okay with modest hardware.

More: Huawei could be prepping new flagship tablet for Mobile World Congress 2017

The 101 Saphir’s biggest selling point is how rugged it is, which is thanks mainly to the rubber case that protects the tablet from drops as high as a little over three feet. The 101 Saphir also features an IP54 rating, so while it is mostly protected from dust, the tablet can only handle splashes of water.

Elsewhere, the 101 Saphir features a 10.1-inch, 1,280 x 800 resolution IPS display, with a 2-megapixel selfie camera above it and a 5MP sensor around back. The display is large enough to put the included keyboard with a built-in trackpad to good use, though the size of your hands will likely determine if it is suitable for you.

Under the hood, MediaTek’s 1.3GHz quad-core MT8163 chipset and 1GB RAM power the tablet, with the 16GB of native storage augmented through the MicroSD card slot. Given the modest internals, the 6,000mAh battery should deliver in spades, though the mention of a meager five hours of battery life for video playback through the video player has us a bit concerned.

The 101 Saphir does feature some niceties not typically found on low-end tablet hardware, such as USB Type-C, two stereo speakers, and Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. Overall, however, the 101 Saphir will appeal more to those who are rough with their devices and do not want to break the bank to replace it.

Speaking of which, Archos did not say how much the tablet will go for when it becomes available in June, though it will be shown off during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week.

Is using VR while high a good idea?

Is getting high and playing in VR really a good life choice?

Virtual Reality is able to transport you to entirely new worlds, sometimes with little more than a headset and a good pair of headphones. This offers up plenty of questions, including of course whether using VR while you are high is a good idea or not. After smoking with friends you might be tempted to jump into a game of Eagle’s Nest or Thumper, keeping in mind that your perception of things gets warped after smoking and that will definitely affect your experiences.

Getting high and checking out VR is now entirely legal in plenty of places, but whether that is a good idea isn’t exactly clear. Here’s some advice from our own… research.

Editor’s Note: This article is not advocating the use of marijuana in places where it is not completely legal to do so.

Read more at VRHeads.com

Valve promises more realistic audio for VR

Most of the effort in improving virtual reality focuses on the visuals. But what about audio — isn’t it jarring to hear sound that clearly doesn’t mirror the world you’re in? Valve thinks it can fix that. It just released a Steam Audio kit that lets developers provide more immersive sound in games and apps, particularly for VR. On top of producing binaural audio (reflecting how your body affects listening), it has a particularly advanced, physics-based approach to generating sound effects.

For one, Steam Audio can handle situations where obstacles only block some of the sound. If you’re rounding a corner, you’ll hear a subtler transition from muffled to clear noises. It can also propagate sound around objects in real time, rather than relying on clunky custom effects. And reverb depends on not just the shape of the environment, but the acoustic properties of its materials. A metal hallway in a spaceship is much more likely to reverberate sounds than a carpeted room in a house, for instance.

The kit is freely available and currently works with Android, Linux, Mac and Windows devices using the Unity engine. Unreal Engine 4 support is coming soon. It’s up to creators to take Valve up on its offer and implement Steam Audio, but the technology could easily provide an important boost to VR, and games as a whole. Developers won’t have to bend over backwards to create realistic audio environments, particularly for room-sized VR where crawling under a desk or leaning around a corner can make a big difference in what you hear.

Via: UploadVR

Source: Steam

2018 Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid pumps out 680 horsepower

Porsche’s most powerful Panamera ever is set to debut at the Geneva Motor Show. And in a nod to the times, and Porsche’s own green car strategy, it’s a plug-in hybrid.

The 2018 Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid will pack a total of 680 horsepower and 626 pound-feet of torque from a powertrain that features a 4.0-liter 550-hp V8 and a 136-hp electric motor. A 14.1-kilowatt-lithium-ion battery pack provides the juice, and the car can travel about 31 miles on just electricity. All of the low-end torque allows this big hybrid to hit 60 miles per hour in 3.2 seconds en route to a top speed of a 192 mph.

An eight-speed PDK dual-clutch gearbox and standard all-wheel drive round out the propulsion system. The battery takes 12 hours to charge on a 120-volt 10-amp plug, but fewer than three hours using a 240-volt, 40-amp socket.

So as the numbers bear out, this hybrid will indeed be capable. It will also feature the company’s latest luxury features, like a 12.3-inch touchscreen with the Porsche Communication Management system. An air suspension, ceramic composite brakes, the Sport Chrono package, and Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus are among the included features. The hybrid comes in a standard wheelbase, starting at $185,450, and an executive wheelbase ($195,850). It hits dealers by the end of the year.

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Good news iPhone owners — third-party repairs no longer void your warranty

Why it matters to you

If you’ve gotten a third-party display on your iPhone, you no longer have to pay out-of-warranty prices for other fixes.

Good news, iPhone owners. Apple is no longer punishing you for having butterfingers … any more than it already does by having such a crack-able glass screen on its phone. In an about face on its longstanding policy, Apple has sent a memo around to its retail employees noting that a customer who has their device screen repaired by a third party does not void his or her warranty. The memo, obtained by 9to5Mac, notes that while Apple employees ought to still inspect the device for red flags like fraud or tampering, they no longer have to turn customers away if they’ve previously received a fix from someone other than an authorized Apple source.

The memo reads, “For Apple products under warranty, with a third-party display: When the customer reports a functional failure (unrelated to a display repair), quote warranty service to replace that component.” Keep in mind, however, that if your display is the issue, then you’ll still have to pay the out-of-warranty price.

More: MacBook display peeling away? Apple might fix it for you for free

And if the problem is related to the third-party display, you’re even more out of luck — you’ll have to pay the out-of-warranty price for the repair or forfeit your Apple repair rights altogether. The same thing applies if you decide that you don’t like your third-party display and want an official Apple part instead — you’ll have to pay the out-of-warranty price.

Still, this is a significant improvement over Apple’s previous stance. Before this policy change, if you had a third-party display, your iPhone warranty would be considered null and void, and you wouldn’t be able to get any sort of warranty-covered repairs on your device. So even with these various restrictions and considerable fine print, you’re still getting a lot more than you might’ve in years past. The changes seem to apply to customers in the U.S. and Canada, as well as some other countries around the world.

The NBA is betting big on virtual reality, and fans should be thrilled

Why it matters to you

If you’ve never been able to score court-side tickets, this might be the next best thing — the NBA in virtual reality.

Getting court-side seats may have always seemed like something of a pipe dream, but now, technology is turning that dream into a reality. Virtual reality, that is. The NBA is betting big on VR technology, and last week, the league made its very first original content for VR headsets via a partnership with Digital Domain.

The NBA VR app now features on-demand episodes of House of Legends, a new talk show that gives viewers insights into their favorite NBA players’ careers and their views on pop culture topics. But House of Legends is really just the beginning for the NBA when it comes to VR. Really, the league is looking to do a whole lot more in this realm.

Last year, the NBA debuted a VR documentary called Follow my Lead: The Story of the 2016 NBA Finals, but the film was actually spearheaded by Oculus. This year, however, the NBA itself is taking a front seat when it comes to creating content for its viewers.

More: Underwater virtual reality will give you anything but a sinking feeling

Back in 2015, the NBA first streamed a game in 360-degree video, and now the league is live-streaming a game every week to Gear VR and Google Daydream by way of NextVR’s application. It’s pretty inexpensive to access this experience — just $7 a game to watch immersively rather than on your television screen.

Jeff Marsilio, the NBA’s VP of global media distribution, told Engadget that this VR experience has proven hugely popular and extremely valuable to fans who are either outside the U.S. or can’t exactly afford to be at the game every single week. “With virtual reality, you can actually deliver something like that experience,” Marsilio said, “You can make people feel closer to the action.” Currently, the VP noted, there’s no other medium that allows for this kind of experience, but it’s still unclear as to whether it’ll be a successful strategy for the league in the long term.

All the same, if you’re an NBA fan, it looks like you now have a way to enjoy all the action in a way that’s more up close and personal than ever before, and it’s all thanks to virtual reality.

Steve Jobs fan? Now, you can own a limited-edition version of his watch

Why it matters to you

Owning a piece of history can be expensive, but owning a limited edition of it isn’t as bad. For $180, you can own a limited edition Seiko watch — the same Steve Jobs wore on a Time Magazine cover.

Here’s your chance to own a piece of history. Or at least, a really good imitation of it. Thanks to a new partnership between Japanese watch maker Seiko and Tokyo-based retailer Nano Universe, you’ll be able to get your hands on a limited edition of Chariot series watches. Why should you care? Well, if you’re an Apple enthusiast or, perhaps more specifically, a Steve Jobs fan, you’ll recognize the watch as the same timepiece the entrepreneur wore in a 1984 Norman Seeff portrait that became the cover of Time Magazine following Jobs’ death. The striking photo shows Jobs sitting cross-legged in his Woodside, California house, holding a Macintosh computer, and sporting that now famous watch.

While these limited edition pieces won’t be the original (that one sold for more than $42,000 last February), Seiko is paying homage to Jobs by bringing back his favorite watch. The accessory is being released in both its initial 33mm size and a slightly bigger 37.5mm version as well. In total, there will be just under 2,300 units available — 1,982 units with a white face, and 300 in black. And surprisingly, they won’t be all that expensive, either. At 20,000 Japanese Yen, that’s just a bit less than $180. But before you get too excited, here’s the bad news. The Seiko watches will be exclusive to the Japanese market.

More: Steve Jobs’ spaceship-like ‘Apple Park’ is finally finished, and it opens in April

So what’s a watch and/or Steve Jobs lover to do? Of course, you can always go to Tokyo yourself to get yourself one of these timepieces, or dig up that old phonebook and see which of your contacts still lives overseas. Either way, however, you’ll need to act fast. The Seiko Chariot will first become available on March 10, and while you can probably expect a few units to appear on eBay shortly thereafter, a true fan will want an original … of this recreation.

Steve Jobs fan? Now, you can own a limited-edition version of his watch

Why it matters to you

Owning a piece of history can be expensive, but owning a limited edition of it isn’t as bad. For $180, you can own a limited edition Seiko watch — the same Steve Jobs wore on a Time Magazine cover.

Here’s your chance to own a piece of history. Or at least, a really good imitation of it. Thanks to a new partnership between Japanese watch maker Seiko and Tokyo-based retailer Nano Universe, you’ll be able to get your hands on a limited edition of Chariot series watches. Why should you care? Well, if you’re an Apple enthusiast or, perhaps more specifically, a Steve Jobs fan, you’ll recognize the watch as the same timepiece the entrepreneur wore in a 1984 Norman Seeff portrait that became the cover of Time Magazine following Jobs’ death. The striking photo shows Jobs sitting cross-legged in his Woodside, California house, holding a Macintosh computer, and sporting that now famous watch.

While these limited edition pieces won’t be the original (that one sold for more than $42,000 last February), Seiko is paying homage to Jobs by bringing back his favorite watch. The accessory is being released in both its initial 33mm size and a slightly bigger 37.5mm version as well. In total, there will be just under 2,300 units available — 1,982 units with a white face, and 300 in black. And surprisingly, they won’t be all that expensive, either. At 20,000 Japanese Yen, that’s just a bit less than $180. But before you get too excited, here’s the bad news. The Seiko watches will be exclusive to the Japanese market.

More: Steve Jobs’ spaceship-like ‘Apple Park’ is finally finished, and it opens in April

So what’s a watch and/or Steve Jobs lover to do? Of course, you can always go to Tokyo yourself to get yourself one of these timepieces, or dig up that old phonebook and see which of your contacts still lives overseas. Either way, however, you’ll need to act fast. The Seiko Chariot will first become available on March 10, and while you can probably expect a few units to appear on eBay shortly thereafter, a true fan will want an original … of this recreation.

Shopping for phones is still a mess of hidden details

They get you with the fine print, then make the fine print hard to find.

I spent the better part of last week digging through websites, calling representatives and generally pulling my hair out trying to sort out all the details about cellular phone service from the Big Four. I came to a couple of conclusions, the clearest of which is that all four of them do whatever they can to hide the tiny details that can make a big difference for some of us.

I know that most companies do this. But most companies aren’t all over your TV, paying for ads on YouTube and everywhere else, and have huge colorful graphics plastered all over their website with tiny disclaimers and superscript references way down at the bottom in a different color font. I’ll go out on a limb and say it’s damn near deceitful.

You don’t have to trick people into buying something that’s worth the money. Phone service included.

The things they feel the need to hide behind three links aren’t even that terrible. I doubt many people would fault a company for cutting off your service if you make too many calls from outside the U.S. on the “wrong” plan or using your phone to do something against the law. And we all know there are fees for everything, so why bury them? It only makes a carrier and their service look better to people who aren’t aware of all the baggage that comes with any phone plan, so I’ll assume they are doing it to purposefully deceive new customers. If you know someone shopping for their first phone plan, help them out.

I also saw two things that I really liked this week. Verizon and Sprint get a shout out here for doing something better than anyone else.

Starting with Sprint, I want to talk about their new changes to their unlimited plans. They are super basic — calls, texts. data and some tethering. They are also super cheap, especially if you need more than one phone line. This is just what a lot of people are looking for. There are options for calling to Canada and Mexico (for example) but they are options, as is not added to a base plan making it more expensive. I’d like to see the rest follow and show us something a good bit cheaper with zero frills.

Verizon and Sprint each buck a trend and get a good-guy award.

Verizon does something important about those hidden details I talked about earlier. If you go through the motions to set up new phone service through Verizon on their new unlimited plan, part of the checkout process has a big blue link saying “see all the details of this plan” right where you can see it. When you click on it, you’ll find the full terms and conditions for everything you picked and have in your cart. They are written in garbled legal language, of course, but they are there. Where you can find them. The only thing they could do better would be to force you to click to agree and put them in those bullet points telling us how great the plan is on the front page of Verizon.com.

So thanks, Sprint and Verizon. I’m not a fan of any service company, but I do appreciate the little things.

Short and sweet this week so we all can prep for an onslaught of phonery stuff in the next 48 hours.