Build Your Own Mean Machine

There is nothing more exciting than assembling your own performance monster from the choicest of components available in the market. We show you how

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Gamers dream of owning the best gaming machine, one that they can flaunt at LAN parties and get eye balls rolling. The good news is that now you can build such a machine yourself. If you know the components you require, then you just need an hour to configure one that suits your style. Through this visually-intensive story we show you how we've used AMD's latest gaming platform for this, which consists of the Phenom 9600 processor, 790GX chipset and an HD 3800 series graphics card. Incidentally, a similar gaming platform called Skull trail has also been introduced by Intel. This consists of two Quad-core CPUs running on a single motherboard. But, before we get started, here are the components we selected:

1. Motherboard: We used an MSI K9A2 Platinum motherboard based on AMD 790GX chipset that supports AMD's latest Quad Core Desktop Processor, AMD Phenom. We used this board specifically, as it has 4 PCIe slots, allowing us to implement Quad-Fire using one ATI Radeon HD 3870X2 and two ATI Radeon HD 3870 graphics cards.

RAM: It's advisable to use at least 1 GB these days. We've used 1 GB of Corsair RAM (2x 512MB of GDDR2 DIMM).

Processor: One of the key reasons for the development of Quad Core processors for desktops is gaming. Even CPU manufacturers have realized the importance of tapping the gaming market and so we not only see CPUs but also complete platforms being launched by both Intel and AMD. We have used Phenom 9600 processor, which is a Quad Core desktop offering from AMD.
Graphics card: One of the essential components for a gaming PC. We decided to go with the latest cards from ATI. We cashed on ATI Radeon HD3870X2, a dual GPU card, a high end offering from ATI along with 2 mid-range ATI Radeon HD3870 cards. We put the three cards in CrossFire mode to achieve Quad-Fire.

Other components: Some of the other essential components include a Sony DVD ROM, as most games these days ship on a DVD. It's also advisable to have a good sound system and LCD monitor for an enriching gaming experience. We used a 120 GB SATA HDD running at 7200 rpm. Last but not the least, a gaming cabinet that is big enough to fit all the cards with the motherboard.

Step 1
Place the processor on the motherboard before installing it in the cabinet. They are very delicate, so you need to be careful; in case a processor pin bends, the whole processor can get damaged. Always install a processor prior to installing the board inside the cabinet. Once you've placed the CPU, place the CPU fan on top of it for keeping the CPU cool and steady.

Step 2
We used a gaming cabinet from Zebronics, called Black Jet, to configure our Mean Machine. It has lots of space to boot, plus the transparent side windows allow you to flaunt the card from inside. It also comes with an LED fan which adds to the overall style. You can open the cabinet by pressing the notch on the side window.

Step 3
Place the motherboard inside the cabinet and tighten all screws to hold it firmly in place.

Step 4
After locking the motherboard inside the cabinet, place the RAM on the DIMM slot provided.

Step 5
Now you need to place the HDD in the space provided. Once you've placed the HDD, you need to connect the SATA cable. One end of the cable goes to the HDD and the other end gets connected to the motherboard.

Step 6
Place the DVD ROM in the topmost slot inside the cabinet. You need to slide in the DVD ROM from the front side and connect the IDE cable to the motherboard's IDE port.

Step 7
Probably the most complex part of building your mean machine is to place the power supply and connecting it to various components. To make things easy for you, we will divide this in two parts. In the first we shall explain all the different connectors a power supply has and in the second, we shall describe how to place them inside the cabinet.

Step 7a
Since we are building a high end machine, it's imperative to use a high watt power supply. We used an 850W one, but you can also opt for higher ones with a 1000 W capacity. Don't be baffled with so many wires; if you look closely there are only four major types of wires.

1. SATA connector, to power the SATA HDD.
2. PCIe power supply connector-It can either be 4 pin or 6 pin or 8 pin. Usually in a higher watt power supply you would find all the options available.
3. ATX power connector, to power the motherboard.
4. PATA connector, to power the DVD ROM or even a PATA drive.

Step 7b
At the upper edge of the motherboard, there would be space for the power supply. While placing the power supply, always place it in such a manner that the fan of the power supply faces the motherboard. This will help in keeping the system cool. Tighten up the screws from outside so that the power supply is fixed inside the cabinet.

Step 8
Fitting the graphics card in the PCIe slot is difficult for high end bulky cards. We chose ATI Radeon HD 3870X2, which is the latest high-end offering from ATI and is a dual GPU card, something we haven't seen for a long time. We used it in tandem with two ATI Radeon HD 3870 cards to achieve Quad-Fire. Refer to their reviews elsewhere in this issue.

Step 9
Place the cards in the PCI slots and connect them using the CrossFire cable to enable Quad-Fire. Connect the power supply to power the cards.

Step 10
As we have used three cards, you can easily connect six different LCD monitors for a wider display and also for multi-tasking. Just connect them to DVI ports. If your LCD monitor doesn't have DVI connectivity, don't panic, all these cards come with a VGA to DVI converter. Also they support HDMI and 5.1 audio channels so you can enjoy HD quality videos along with audios.

Step 11
Your system is now ready for action. Close the side panel and gear up for an exhilarating gaming experience.

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