A great many of the folks who land on Tom's Hardware are already deeply passionate

about technology and PC hardware. But we know that others are looking tolearn more .
We're an inclusie bunch. !o if you'e neer built your own PC" fear not. #ur editorial
team does it all of the time" and we're happy to walk you through the steps" starting
with picking the right parts.
There's a good chance that" een if you haen't gotten your hands dirty inside of a
case" you still hae a basic knowledge of the components that go inside. $%perienced
builders often hae their ideal configuration in mind before they choose a case. But
een a seasoned pro needs to be sure that eerything's going to fit inside the right
chassis. And of course" enclosures ary depending on what you want to do with your PC
. Home theater systems" all&in&ones" flashy gaming bo%es" and business&oriented
workstations all hae their own re'uirements.
Traditional cases follow the si(e categories below. Howeer" more modern designs tend
to stray from those well&defined standards in the name of differentiation. )id&tower
designs" for e%ample" are now found in nearly full&tower scale. To make matters more
confusing" they can een be referred to as full towers" een if they lack the drie bays
inside that used to define the form factor .
Traditional Case !i(es
Type Full Tower Mid Tower Mini Tower
Mini
Cube
Desktop
Height *+&*, inches
+-&+.
inches
+*&+,
inches
-&. inches /&- inches
Width 0&1 inches 0&1 inches 0&1 inches 1&. inches +,&+- inches
2.*23 bays ,&. /&0 +&* +&* +&/
/.23 internal bays 0&+* *&0 +&* +&* *&,
)otherboard 4orm
4actor
AT5" $AT5 AT5 microAT5 mini&6T5
AT5"
microAT5
Card slots !een !een 4our Two *&-
Power supply
P!7* or
larger
P!7* P!7* or !45
!45 or
T45
8arious
Full towers were traditionally tall enough to hold two power supplies" though many
had a second hard drie rack where you might e%pect to find the top power supply. The
interior space of a full&tower chassis is useful in some configurations9 howeer" most
mainstream users :and een most enthusiasts; simply don't hae enough hardware to
fill it.
A better <ustification for picking a full tower is that the top bays are easier to reach
when the case is sitting on your floor. A modern e%ample of the traditional full
tower"=osewill>s Blackhawk ?ltra" is the right&most case in the image below.
ATX mid-towers are usually capable of holding full&si(ed motherboards" full&si(ed
power supplies" seeral full&si(ed optical dries :@8@ and Blu&ray burners;" and multiple
hard dries. Well&designed units like the Cooler )aster !torm $nforcer :aboe&left; are
well&suited for gaming and ideo enthusiasts" simply because they support a greater
number of e%pansion cards and hard dries than smaller units. A comparison of our
current case reiews to models from ten years ago show that good ideas stand the test
of time.
A ma<ority of cases gie you room for seen expansion slots around back. Typically"
that's enough for a couple of graphics cards" add&in sound" and een back&panel
brackets e%posing ?!B or e!ATA connectiity. But let's say you loe your games" and
you're dead&set on building a system with three or een four graphics cards. !pecifically
seeking out an AT5 case with eight or more e%pansion slots might be necessary" since
high&performance cards hae thick cooling solutions that use the case>s slot hole for
support and entilation.
MicroATX mini-towers are nearly as ersatile as mid&towers in applications ranging
from office workhorses to high&end li'uid&cooled !A6&powered gaming
monsters because of their less&imposing profile and easier trasportability. )ini&towers
typically support one or two optical dries and one or two hard dries" and the
microAT5 form factor supports a ma%imum of four e%pansion slots. All of those
limitations are acceptable for most users.
Mini-ITX cubes typically support a single e%pansion cards and only the smallest power
supplies" though the slightly&oersi(ed Aian Ai PC&BC1 aboe :center; supports larger
parts. =elying mostly on integrated features and capabilities" these space&saing
enclosures were once only good as office& and productiity&oriented platforms. Dow"
thanks to more efficient host and graphics processors" we also hae access to ultra&
compact gaming machines and home theater consoles. Though you'll commonly see
these referred to as Esmall form factorF" the term form factor is better applied to the
mini&6T5 motherboard found inside. 8ariations of the cube aesthetic alternatiely
support AT5 and microAT5 form factors.
4ormerly used to raise small C=T monitors up to eye leel on flat desks"
today>shorizontal desktop cases are mostly restyled for home theater systems. They
range from the gaming&themed mini&6T5 =aen =8GC+ :pictured bottom&center" aboe;
to the eight&inch&tall full&AT5 pedestals laying on their sides. )any of the slimmer
models use special half&height e%pansion cards" though the model pictured aboe uses
a right&angle adapter :called a riser card; to situate a full&si(ed graphics card sideways.
6f e%pansion is important to you" beware of models that use a custom&si(ed power
supply" as those may not be upgradeable.
Want something smallerH The yellow bo% aboe is the most compact unit we>e tested
to truly 'ualify as a performance&oriented machine. Called the Bri% Pro" it holds
twonotebook&si(ed memory modules" an on&board m!ATA !!@" and a *.2F notebook
drie. !horter single&drie units are aailable with similarly scaled&down performance"
and 6ntel een <umped on the tiny bandwagon with its similar&appearing D?C :De%t ?nit
IofJ Computing; form factor. )ost of these machines are aailable either as a
barebones system :no dries or memory; or a complete PC" and all of them use
e%ternal" notebook&style power adapters.
Processor selection can be summed up in three wordsK performance " power" and price.
#ur Best Gamin C!"s For The Mone# column includes general performance and
pricing data that applies to both gamers and non&gamers alike" and additional
performance data is found in our C!" !er$ormance Charts. 6t>s also important to
know that when our gaming gurus recommend an oerclockable EunlockedF processor"
the non&oerclockable ersion may offer the same standard&speed performance for less
money. #erclocking is a group of techni'ues designed to push a part>s fre'uency
beyond its designed operational parameters :oltage" heat" etc;.
Those same CP? charts show idle and peak power draw" and specific power draw under
arious types of applications can be garnered through thorough reading of our CP?
reiews.
Today" enough software relies on multi&core processing that A)@ and 6ntel hae all but
eliminated single&core products from their product portfolios. !ingle&threaded
workloads are still fairly common at the consumer leel" and technologies like Turbo
Boost :from 6ntel; and Turbo Core :from A)@; are designed to accelerate CP?s when
they encounter those lighter tasks. As you read through our processor reiews" the
Apple iTunes workload we run is a good e%ample of a single&threaded test.
6t>s certainly nice to know that modern operating systems can spread the load of
multiple tasks oer seeral cores" and that software deelopers can break certain tasks
into <obs that multi&core processors can handle concurrently. But you're still wondering
how many cores you need. 6f some are good" are more betterH
Dot necessarily. !oftware isn't optimi(ed to run across an infinite number of e%ecution
cores" and the more resources you duplicate on&die" the more comple% your processor
becomes" drawing more power. As with all things" there's a balance to strike" depending
on what you use your PC for. 6f you're browsing the Web" responding to email" and
writing in Word" most modern dual&core CP?s will feel plenty&liely. But once you start
transcoding ideos for your tablet or editing pictures taken on your @!A=" it gets a lot
easier to oerwhelm mainstream hardware .
Lame deelopers hae been trying to take adantage of multi&core processing for
seeral years" yet we>e rarely e%perienced a significant performance increase from
haing more than four cores. That>s probably why the largest manufacturer of desktop
CP?s" 6ntel" focuses its gaming&oriented message primarily on four&core processors
with the latest adancements in per&core and per&clock productiity.
?nable to match its chief rial in per&clock performance" A)@ first countered by
releasing processors with more cores for less money. The e%tra resources can come in
useful in heaily&threaded tasks" but a big bump in clock fre'uency was the only thing
that could keep A)@'s older technology competitie in gaming circles. That came in late
*C+/ withtwo factory&oerclocked models.
Power consumption is a ma<or concern in enironments where acoustics hae to be kept
in check. Typically" as you increase power" cooling re'uirements go up too. And that
often means faster&spinning fans" which make more noise. The latest generation of low&
energy 6ntel and A)@ processors makes great strides in performance per watt
used.Intel also offers een more miserly !&series ariations of its Core i- and Core i2
CP?s that can reduce heat inside high&performance machines.
#nce you hae a general concept of your own performance and power needs" the
aboe&referred CP? Performance Charts" reiews" and Buyers Luide should help you
narrow down a list of specific models you>d like to try. #f course" if you need a little
e%tra guidance" check out Tom's Hardware's CP? forums" where you can ask 'uestions
and get answers.
Leneral purpose applications " gaming" high&definition :H@; content" and professional
/@ modeling all pose uni'ue re'uirements for the graphics subsystem. Typically" power
users spring for discrete cards" which you drop into an open e%pansion slot on your
motherboard. Both 6ntel and A)@ are adding increasingly capable graphics engines to
their host processors though" so you might not een need to buy a card if your needs
are basic enough.
6f that's the case" the information and resources linked on the preious page are good
enough to get you armed with a capable CP?. But if you're interested in playing the
latest games using high&'uality detail settings" mining cryptocurrencies" accelerating
ideo rendering workloads " or building a workstation designed for heay lifting" add&in
graphics plays a big role in your system's performance.
$%treme gaming hardware is specifically designed to drie the most realistic detail
settings at ery high resolutions. We>e een seen game demonstrations using three ,M
displays configured in panoramic iew" a technology that A)@ calls $yefinity and Didia
dubs !urround.
#ur benchmarking e%perience suggests that you>ll probably want two high&end
graphicsprocessors to en<oy smooth frame rates at the highest detail settings in the
latest games using <ust one monitor at /1,C%*+0C. A 4ull H@ display with a natie
resolution of +.*C%+C1C only has one&fourth as many pi%els to drie" so you'd get
similar performance from a more mainstream graphics card.
4rankly" @on does a stellar <ob keeping our Best Graphics Cards $or the
Mone#column up to date each month. 6f you want specific guidance on the right card
to buy at any gien budget point" that's the resource to bookmark. #f course" you can
always check out our %&'( Graphics Card Charts for more specific performance
data on the LP?s you're trying to choose between. !pecific performance differences
between speciali(ed card models" along with analysis of new technologies and
alternatie cooling methods" can be found in our graphics reiews.
As you moe away from traditional desktop use cases and toward professional
workstations cranking on business&class software" A)@'s 4irePro and Didia's Buadro
graphics cards become more apropos" mostly because their driers are optimi(ed for
#penLA performance and alidated e%tensiely with the most notable 6!8s. #penLA is
a multi&platform application programming interface that software deelopers use to
render graphics" and it's particularly prealent in the workstation space. $%pect to pay a
lot more for correspondingly&tuned cards" een though the LP?s under their heat sinks
are e%actly the same as what you get from the consumer e'uialents.
6t's tempting" then" to sae a few grand and tap a =adeon or Le4orce card for those
heay lifting tasks. But een if you disregard potential accuracy7image 'uality
differences" remember that the desktop boards lack those drier optimi(ations" and
conse'uently aren't always as fast. 6f you're using your PC to make money" the smart
moe is to go with hardware designed for the <ob. We recently published )orkstation
Graphics* '+ Cards Tested In ,!-C.iewper$ '%" which should help put the
potential of professional and gaming graphics products into perspectie.
The motherboard is one of the most critical selections affecting the functionality of any
build. !o" why didn't we mention it firstH Well" choosing your case" processor" and
graphics solution first may narrow hundreds of possible models down to <ust a few best
matches. 4ortunately" our Beinner/s Guide to Motherboard ,election contains
most of the information needed to initiate first&time builders. 6n fact" the plethora of
preiously&published information aailable allows us to narrow motherboard selection
down to a list of criteriaK
What form factor best matches the case you want to useH As seen aboe"
smaller boards can be fit into larger cases" but not ice&ersa.
What interface does your CP? of choice useH Cross&compatibility is seerely
limited on A)@'s sockets :such as A)/ processors in A)/N motherboards;" and
6ntel's ALA interfaces are e%clusie :meaning no cross&compatibility;.
Has the board been approed to work with the processor you pickedH 6n some
cases" een if a CP? fits into a particular socket" it may not be supported by a gien
motherboard's most up&to&date firmware. CP? compatibility lists on each
motherboard's website usually refer to specific B6#! ersions" and you wouldn't
want to end up with a board manufactured three months ago if the B6#! your CP?
needs is only two months old.
How many graphics cards will be installedH )ost graphics cards use PC6e %+0
slots" and many motherboards appear to hae three of them" but the third slot is
often impeded in some technical manner. 6t's important to read motherboard
reiews to find out how this might affect your build.
3=iser cards3 allow case manufacturers to produce thinner cases by turning
e%pansion cards sideways. 6f the case uses a riser card" does it match the
motherboard>s slotH
Don&graphics e%pansion cards usually fit into PC6e %1" %," %+ or legacy PC6 slots.
How many do you plan to use" and what slot type is re'uired for eachH !horter PC6e
cards can be placed in longer PC6e slots" but the reerse isn't usually true. And
some motherboards share resources between slots" making it necessary to read the
board's specifications table or our motherboard reiews.
6f on&board graphics are used" which display outputs are re'uiredH !ome
motherboards gie you 8LA" H@)6" @isplayPort" and @86 connectors. #thers don't
gie you any. )ost on&board graphics processors support a ma%imum number of
two or three displays" as discussed on the manufacturer's specifications table and in
our chipset coerage.
6f on&board sound is used" what type of audio system connection is re'uiredH
Audio oer H@)6 is nearly uniersal" but standalone digital audio systems typically
use optical or coa%ial cables. And lie compression of 2.+&and&aboe sound streams
to a digital output typically re'uires either @T! Connect or @olby @igital Aie :@@A;"
which is outlined both by the manufacturer and at the bottom of the features table
in ourmotherboard reiews.
How many network connections will be usedH
Will e!ATA" Thunderbolt" or other speciali(ed interfaces be usefulH
What other e%ternal connections might be re'uiredH
How many !erial ATA" m!ATA" ).*" or !ATA $%press dries will be installedH
Will =A6@ be re'uiredH 6f so" what modes are neededH
How many memory modules will be installedH
Will the board be oerclockedH
There are a ton of options when it comes to system memory. 4rom data rates to
latencies to oltages" the number of combinations can become oerwhelming.
The easiest answer in the debate of what kit to buy sounds deceptiely simpleK
<ust buy +.2&olt @@=/&+0CC :PC&+*1CC; modules with CA! . timings. All !ocket
A)/N" 4)*N" ALA ++2C" and ALA *C++ processors are designed to support at
least this memory speed. 6t's ine%pensie as both , and 1 LB sticks" and it>s
aailable in both dual& and 'uad&channel kits.
Oet there are noticeable performance benefits for similarly&priced @@=/&+100
:PC/&+,.CC;" particularly if you're using a CP?'s on&die graphics engine for
gaming. And this speed functions normally" een with processors that are not
officially designated to use it :primarily older models or low&energy platforms;.
And the same easy benefits of @@=/&+100 are een aailable with most @@=/&
*+// kits and modern performance&oriented processors.

The problem with recommending faster memory kits is that they often re'uire at
leastsome manual configuration. 6f you're not comfortable tooling around in your
motherboard's firmware" they might actually drop you to lower performance
leels.
Oou see" 6ntel>s 5)P :e5treme )emory Profiles; technology facilitates e%tended
memory settings beyond the basic automatic&configuration technology called
!P@. Though 5)P originally allowed motherboards to set oerclocked options like
nonstandard oltages and data rates " most of today's 5)P&capable modules
operate at standard oltage leels and fre'uencies. !till" when you first boot up"
they typically default to either @@=/&+/// or &+C00. Loing higher re'uires that
you manually enable an 5)P profile. $en some @@=/&+0CC modules employ
5)P :rather than !P@ alues; to achiee their rated performance leels" and this
is particularly true of reduced&latency :CA! -" CA! 1; modules.
)emory faster than @@=/&*+// is usually e%pensie and not really re'uired. #ur
tests hae shown that @@=/&*,CC is barely beneficial" and only in situations
where you're leaning on integrated graphics. We'e een seen data rates aboe
*,CC )T7s hurt performance as the motherboard attempts to increase stability.
6n terms of memory 'uantity" Tom's Hardware recommends at least , LB for
the cheapest Web surfing Windows&based systems. Lamers could probably get
by with , LB" but we>re more comfortable with the 1 LB that has become the
norm in high&performance machines. 4ew applications push memory needs past
that point" though users of memory&intensie programs who also multi&task
:such as Tom>s Hardware editors; can occasionally find an e%cuse to install een
more. ?sers who need more than 1 LB usually know their needs in adance"
based on e%perience with a preious machine.
$en those e%ceptional circumstances only push us to +* LB" though +0 LB is
easier to install in dual&channel mode :ia two 1 LB modules;. 6f you>re
desperate for an e%cuse to add een more" installing =A) disk software :which
uses some of your system memory as a irtual hard drie; could be your
impetus.

#ur memory reiews show a wide range of options" and buying name&brand
modules with lifetime warranties from reputable enders is good insurance
against une%plained system instability.
Choosing internal mass storage once meant deciding between the performance
of a solid&state drie :!!@;" the capacity of a mechanical hard drie :H@@;" or
the greater e%pense of both. But as with system memory" adancements in
manufacturing and maturing technology put medium&capacity !!@s within reach
for most enthusiasts. We're een seeing *20 LB dries under P+CC. That !!@
might not make processing&bound workloads run faster" but they'll certainly
launch 'uicker" access the data they need more e%pediently" and respond in a
way you simply won't e%perience with a hard drie.

#f course" you'd still need a handful of high&capacity !!@s if you were planning
on storing your photo" moie" and game collections on solid&state storage .
4ortunately" adding the e%pense of a + TB disk for under P0C makes the
combination of <ust&right !!@ and big hard drie more palatable.
The flash&based capacity you'll want depends on what you do with your PC . A
Windows installation rarely e%ceeds /* LB without additional programs installed"
een after many months of collecting temp files" cookies" and other 3temporary3
trash. Popularly&used apps like the #ffice suite and Adobe's Creatie Cloud
software can easily consume many times that much space" and games regularly
eat up more than +C LB each all on their own. )ost of us could s'uee(e
Windows and essential programs into a +*1 LB !!@ without much effort" but
*20 LB dries are the sweet spot if you're adding a few games" too.
)echanical storage becomes critical once you start piling on years of pictures"
music" and moies. @8@ and Blu&ray disc images consume up to 1., and 2C LB"
respectiely. 6f you loe to archie ideo" your capacity needs will e%pand ery
fast this way. Lame install packages can be een larger than the games
themseles" and those of us with less&than&perfect 6nternet access are reluctant
to delete source data " een when installation finishes.
Although !ATA is the most popular desktop storage interface" other drie form factors
are becoming more popular. Among them" m,ATA is both widely aailable and mature.
@esigned to install onto a motherboard" these hae become so common that some
companies produce adapters to install m!ATA dries into *.2F bays using standard !ATA
data and power cables.
Beyond m!ATA" we're also starting to see ).*& and !ATA $%press&capable platforms.
They're still not ery common" but because they both enable PC6 $%press&based
transfers" the performance of future storage products will outstrip today's !ATA 0Lb7s
dries. As a reminder" <ust one PC6 $%press *.C lane gies you up to 2CC )B7s of
bidirectional throughput. A two&lane link should be theoretically capable of + LB7s.
)eanwhile" !ATA 0Lb7s is rated for up to 0CC )B7s" though a more practical ceiling is in
the 22C )B7s range.
Though most systems use either one large drie or a combination :a smaller !!@ and
larger hard drie" for e%ample;" other configuration options let you choose between
additional performance" more capacity" increased data security" or a combination of
these.
=A6@ stands for =edundant Array of 6ne%pensie @isks" a group of methods that allows
data to be spread across seeral dries concurrently. )ost enthusiast&class
motherboards support at least =A6@ modes C" +" CN+" and 2. $ach array of disks
appears to be a single disk to programs other than the =A6@ utility.
The possible use of =A6@ affects the number and capacity of dries selected" so a ery
brief description of these modes is in orderK
Aeel C diides data into chunks that are spread across two or more dries at the
same time" proiding up to double the transfer rate :in the case of a two&drie
config; and the combined capacity. Because of the way the data is diided" this
mode is also referred to as 3striping3 by in&the&know storage gurus. The ma<or
drawback is that if a member drie fails" the array's data is lost.
Aeel + mirrors two or more dries so that if one fails" data can be recoered
from the other. The ma<or drawback is that because both dries :again" in a two&
drie array; store the same data" aailable capacity doesn't increase.
=A6@ CN+ allows four :or more; dries to be set up as a 3mirrored3 set of
3striped3 dries. 6n other words" it's a =A6@ + array composed of two =A6@ C arrays.
6f one striped set :=A6@ C array; fails" data can be retrieed from the other. Total
capacity is still limited to that of one striped set.
=A6@ 2 creates parity bits for data recovery . @ata and parity bits are
distributed across all dries" increasing transfer rate" while sacrificing only the
amount of space re'uired to store the added parity bits :the capacity of one drie in
the set;.
Lenerating parity bits for =A6@ 2 re'uires processing" which means that =A6@ 2
enabled in software can hog resources. Conersely" =A6@ Aeels C and + generate little
CP? oerhead. Lamers with little regard for long&term data storage may choose Aeel C
for performance" and anyone with a significant amount of aluable data may choose
Aeel +.
Tom's Hardware continuously reiews dries and storage controllers" with seeral of
these articles going into additional detail concerning =A6@ modes" benefits and
conse'uences.
Although it doesn't get its fair share of recognition" the power supply is the single most
critical component for system stability and longeity. We'e seen cheap models literally
go up in flames" taking out seeral key pieces of hardware in the process. Picking an
underpowered model might get you crashes or een boot failures. !ince low&'uality
parts often fall short of their specifications" we'll start off with a link to our power
supply reiews and a list of reputable units that hae surpassed the e%pectations of our
forum e%perts. Oou>ll notice that power supplies don>t get updated as often as other
parts" because that technology doesn>t progress as 'uickly. Buality units hae Estaying
powerF.
How much capacity your system needs depends on its hardware configuration. Lraphics
cards are the most power&hungry components in gaming systems" while CP?s take
priority if you're using integrated graphics. !eeral power supply calculators are
aailable on the Web" though some are more up&to&date than others. The good news is
that oersi(ed power units can easily sustain undersi(ed systems without damage"
though efficiency sometimes drops when the unit is loaded by less than *CQ of its
rating.
Power supplies are diided into multiple primary :+* 8" 2 8" /./ 8; and secondary :&+*
8" &2 8" 2 8 standby; oltage outputs. Better&'uality power supplies proide separate
oer&current protection on each of these output leels" called 3rails3. Additionally" 6ntel
specified that each rail could proide no more than +1 amps" to reduce the risk of
connector meltdown7cable fire.
As the need for more than +1 A of +* 8 power became obious" most manufacturers
started diiding their +* 8 output into multiple +1 A rails. That created load&balancing
trouble as" for e%ample" a two&rail unit could hae two highly&loaded cables on one rail
and two relatiely unloaded cables on the other. This would trip the amperage
protection circuitry" een though the internal transformer had power to spare. !o&called
single&rail power supplies were then deised that iolated 6ntel's mandate" but allowed
these systems to at least function. And 3smart3 power protection circuits hae since
been employed to reduce the risk of a fire from a single connector :which was the
reason for the mandate in the first place;.
!imple calculators might do the <ob for basic configurations" but the highest&end
graphics cards place higher load bias on N+* 8 rails :so much so" in fact" that A)@'s
=adeon =. *.25* een has a ery specific N+* 8 rail re'uirement;. )ost of today's
highest&performance power supplies are correspondingly designed to sere up lots of
current on the N+* 8 rail" though cheaper parts occasionally skimp in that specification.
Be on the lookout for this as you shop. A)@ and Didia originally guided customers to
the P!?s with enough +* 8 amperage through their lists of Cross4ire& and !A6&
certifiedsupplies. Howeer" 1C PA?! and its efficiency ratings are also popular sources
for determining higher&'uality products.
Power supplies are rated in output" and one benefit from 1C PA?! reports in that they
contain efficiency data from *CQ to +CCQ load. This enables Tom>s Hardware readers
to find a similar configuration in one of our builds" read the input power that we report"
and calculate the re'uired output power using 1C PA?! efficiency ratings. 4or e%ample"
a complete machine that draws 0,- W through our meter at 12Q efficiency needs a
22C W&rated unit :0,- % C.12;. $en if you add a little oer&capacity for ?!B&powered
peripherals and future drie upgrades" that same machine can run comfortably on
ahigh&'uality 0CC W unit.
Power supply form factors are not named after motherboard standards" in spite of the
way they>re often sold. The AT5 motherboard form factor does specify how they>re
wired howeer" and an AT5&compliant power unit could follow one of seeral si(ing
standards. These include P!7*" P!/" !45" or T45" plus propriety parts.
Power !upply 4orm 4actors
Type !,0% !,1 ,FX2 TFX
Height 2.1-23 2.1-23 *.2C3 -C mm
Width /./-23 /./-23 2.CC3 12 mm
@epth 2.0*23 ,.CC3 ,.CC3 +-2 mm
#ften called EAT5F" the P!7* power supply form factor is a carry&oer from the +.1Cs"
long before AT5 een e%isted. 6ts mounting pattern continues to be used in most mid&
and full&tower AT5 systems" but large&capacity units are often far longer :deeper into
the case; than re'uired by the original specifications. The odd&appearing metric
dimensions are artifacts from an original design based on fractional inches. But the
inch&based screw threads aren>t as friendly to metric conersion.
?sing the same mounting holes as standard P!7* units" P!/ allowed Hewlett Packard to
shorten the oerall depth of its +..Cs full AT5 mini&tower cases. Confusion oer P!/>s
age can be attributed to the e%tensie time it took for Intel to add the e%isting
standard to its power supply guidelines. Conflation with !45 can also be blamed on
6ntel>s placement of its physical dimensions within !45 design guidelines.
#ne might say that !45 is two form factors" one that>s 2F by ,F and the other ,F by 2F.
As a potential third candidate for !45 naming" 6ntel also specifies a 2C mm&tall ersion
as E!45" ,C mm ProfileF in reference to its fan si(e. The three :sub&standards; can be
differentiated by isual inspection as being wider" deeper" or thinner than the other two.
The wider one is more common in consumer&leel cases" and the one that>s
coincidentally :and mistakenly; most often referred to as microAT5. This form factor
also allows up to +- mm of fan housing to e%tend from one side of the lid" into the
computer case.
The narrow T45 form factor allows some companies to make their slim cases een
slimmer" though it also intrudes farther into the case. Because P!/" !45" and T45 are
often sold side&by&side under the microAT5 banner" buyers must often look at the
pictures to determine what the seller is actually selling.
$P! supersedes AT5 as the electrical standard for high&amperage power supplies" with
a *,&pin E$P!F main connector powering most on&board deices and an 1&pin $P! +* 8
connector deliering power to the CP?. )ost manufacturers make these connectors
diisible" with ,&pin sections breaking away to allow fitment in *C&pin AT5 and ,&pin
CP? power headers.
Also shown is an 1&pin PC6e supplemental power cable for high&end graphics cards"
from which two pins can be split away to make it work with 0&pin headers. The plastic
insulator surrounding these pins is shaped differently from the 1&pin CP? power
connector" preenting accidental misuse.
There>s also some cross&compatibility between wider and narrower cables. )any
systems with 1&pin CP? power connectors will operate sufficiently from a ,&pin cable"
lacking the e%tra current needed to support a high oerclock. And it>s often possible to
hang the end of a non&diisible cable oer the end of a narrower connector.
@rie power cables include the old&fashioned ,&pin EATAF style" a smaller EfloppyF style"
and the more modern E!ATAF. 6ncreasingly" power supplies lack the floppy power cable"
but" because some accessories use it to power other things" you often get an adapter
for one of the ATA&style connectors. 6n this day of !ATA&based storage" the four&pin ATA
leads rarely hook up to dries" but rather power cheap fans" fan controllers" and multi&
drie backplanes.
6n total" builders must find a power supply that>s 'uality&made" fits their case" has
enough capacity" and has all the re'uired cable ends. 6f that last measure isn>t met"
adapters are usually aailable.
6t's possible to complete your build and get to gaming with nothing more than the
preious&mentioned components :along with a thumb drie for youroperating system ;.
The number of downloadable programs has increased to the point that many of our
readers neer need an optical drie :C@" @8@" B@&=#);. Cases come with mounting
screws and usually include cooling fans. )ost retail&bo%ed CP?s hae a heat sink and
fan. And a ma<ority of motherboards are bundled with cables.
4or other enthusiasts" the ability to run old programs or play media is critical.
#erclockers" especially" will immediately toss aside whateer thermal solution their
multiplier&unlocked CP? came with in faor of something more effectie.
$en the most tight&fisted builder should be able to afford a @8@ writer" with typical
online prices ranging from P*C to ,C on the latest models of many popular brands. Blu&
ray writers are more e%pensie" though not nearly as bad as they once were. Combo
dries with Blu&ray read and @8@ write capabilities used to fill the pricing gap" but that
market shrank as the gap decreased.
#ther power users prefer additions like a premium sound cards or T8 tuners" though
integrated sound is 'uite good nowadays and 6nternet&based streaming serices make
T8 cards largely superfluous. Then again" that's what makes the PC so great. Oou hae
the freedom to swap parts in and out as your needs change.
The debate oer optional or mandatory upgrades heats up when we get to the world of
oerclocking.
CP? coolers range from tiny deices as small as a *F cube to enormous li'uid&cooled
radiator systems. We reiew the entire range" and think that first&time builders who
would eentually like to oerclock will hae the most success with something that>s
easy to install. @epending on your case" that could still gie you dual&fan sealed li'uid
system or big air options.
Any of these items are optional for most builds" so let>s get back to the mandatory
steps.