The Complete Build Your Own PC Manual
Fitting the Motherboard into the Case
If you have been following the steps of the build so far, you should now be in a position to fit the motherboard, along with the fitted CPU, cooler and RAM, into your prepared case. This not only involves screwing the board into place but also correctly connecting all the case controls like the power switch, HDD LED, front USB ports etc.. Your motherboard will also have been supplied with a back plate.
4 min |
July 2020
The Complete Build Your Own PC Manual
Cable Management
Although it may seem that taking time to tidy internal cables out of sight is simply down to personal preference, and how pretty you want your PC to look through that windowed side panel, but good cable management is increasingly seen as important for the welfare of your PC. Good airflow from the case fans is essential for keeping temperatures down and as thin as they may be, cables strewn all through the case will disrupt it.
3 min |
July 2020
The Complete Build Your Own PC Manual
Choosing a Graphics Card (GPU)
If you are building a PC to be able to play games, the graphics card or Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) will probably be one of the most expensive components after the CPU. GPUs seem to be improved and updated at a faster pace than almost any other item you will fit into your computer and keeping up with the latest cutting edge tech can be very expensive. For our build we have chosen a card which offers a good mix of features and at a reasonable price.
6 min |
July 2020
The Complete Build Your Own PC Manual
Adding the Power Supply Unit
When you think about the important components of a PC build, it is fairly easy to overlook the Power Supply unit or PSU. However, if you do not match the PSU correctly with your other components, especially the graphics card, you may see a whole range of problems occur when you finally get the PC up and running. From simply not having the power to turn on, to intermittent crashes when gaming and random hardware faults, a weak or poor quality PSU is trouble.
2 min |
July 2020
Computer Music
SYNTH SPECIAL
It’s a super synth special in this month’s Computer Music and we have a fantastic selection of hands-on features to help you make great synth music and create some great sounds…
10+ min |
Autumn 2020
Computer Music
Beatskillz RetroVolt £99
BeatSkills deliver a sample player with synth ambitions and a plugin simply drenched in nostalgia
4 min |
Autumn 2020
Computer Music
K Multimedia iRig Keys 2 Mini €122
IK Multimedia deliver one of their dinkiest computer music-making keyboards, and it might be just what your mobile production needs
3 min |
Autumn 2020
Computer Music
Future classic softsynths
We have six all-time classics on p36. Here are six young pretenders from the last two years vying to steal the crown
2 min |
Autumn 2020
Computer Music
Baby Audio Parallel Aggressor
Parallel processing is a great way to capture the flavour of heavy processing and this new plugin wants to make it easier than ever before
5 min |
Autumn 2020
Computer Music
Softsynths… of all time!
Time to put our heads on the block as we pick the six best software synths… ever (and still available to buy)
2 min |
Autumn 2020
Computer Music
Modulation
In this instalment of our synth series, we look at some common mod sources and how to use them to bring your patches to life
6 min |
Autumn 2020
Computer Music
15 Questions With… SHAW & GROSSFELDT
Simian Mobile Disco’s Jas Shaw and Bas Grossfeldt make an album completely inspired by a Yamaha Dysclavier. Why not?
7 min |
Autumn 2020
3D World UK
Top Laptops For Digital Creatives
Choose the best laptops for your creative endeavours, using our handy guide to the best options for graphics intensive tasks
6 min |
November 2020
Linux Format
LibreOffice 7
Neil Mohr discovers what’s new in this latest release of the office suite that is one of the crown jewels of the open source world.
10+ min |
October 2020
Linux Format
EndeavourOS 7.15.2020
Just as HMS Endeavour explored the unknown southern lands, so Jonni Bidwell uses EndeavourOS to explore Arch…
3 min |
October 2020
Linux Format
Mailserver
Write to us at Linux Format, Future Publishing, Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA or lxf.letters@futurenet.com.
5 min |
October 2020
Linux Format
Tropico 6
Management are terrified of the new Linux Format workers’ council, but it’s just Phil Savage playing at communism under a hot sun.
3 min |
October 2020
Linux Format
BunsenLabs Lithium
Forever grunge Jonni Bidwell is pleased to find a distribution that’s almost as good as the Nirvana song. Almost…
3 min |
October 2020
Linux Format
PRESSURE VESSEL
Jonni Bidwell gets on the video chat to talk video games and message buses with D-Bus guru Simon McVittie
10+ min |
October 2020
Linux Format
Crucial P2 500GB
What’s this? Low-cost SATA-breaking speed without the DRAM? Sean Webster is impressed, albeit with a few reservations.
3 min |
October 2020
Linux Format
AMD Ryzen 3 3300X
Is this the Goldilocks chip? Well, Zak Storey did catch it stealing porridge from Intel, so the moniker might stick…
3 min |
October 2020
Linux Format
BACK UP LIKE CLOCKWORK!
Jonni Bidwell has a plan – several plans, in fact – to keep his ever-growing repository of data ticking over nicely.
10+ min |
October 2020
Linux Format
4tronix Picon Plus
Les Pounder needs to build a robot to help during social isolation. But can he build a robot butler to deliver more Pis to his table?
3 min |
October 2020
MacFormat UK
Say hello, wave goodbye
What an amazing ride it’s been. As Mac OS X faces the final curtain, let’s remember 20 years of OS excellence
10+ min |
October 2020
MacFormat UK
RANDOM APPLE MEMORY: eMate 300
Adam Banks remembers how the businesslike Newton spawned Apple’s strangest computer
1 min |
October 2020
MacFormat UK
Mute background sounds
Get perfect audio on your video calls with Krisp
2 min |
October 2020
MacFormat UK
Import, organise and edit
How to import migrated Photos images into Lightroom Classic
2 min |
October 2020
MacFormat UK
HOW IT WORKS Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4.0
Faster data, cleverer cables and some confusion too
5 min |
October 2020
MacFormat UK
APPLE CORE: MATT BOLTON…
WONDERS WHETHER APPLE’S CULTURE IS TOO AMERICAN TO SEE EVERY AREA WHERE IT COULD MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE
2 min |
October 2020
MacFormat UK
Anthropics PortraitPro 19
Spruce up your portraits using a range of AI enhanced retouching tools
3 min |