This is the General Hardware FAQ, which was inspired by flipflopsnowman's guide to piecing together a PC. Here, we'll attempt to offer suggestions and answer questions that often get brought up several times per day around here. As a disclaimer, we can't answer every possible question, nor can we solve every particular problem here... but this is still a good place to start from.
A big thank you to Danny Bui, enginurd, Markyip1, and silent-circuit for their help with assembling the FAQ... and to flipflopsnowman for making the original sticky this FAQ is based off of.
Before we see a million posts here saying "thanks" or "good job," the best way to show your appreciation for this FAQ thread is to REFER OTHERS TO IT. If you really want to be nice, you could send them a copy of the hyperlink.
I would like to minimize the amount of posts that we receive here, so we could provide more questions/answers and WLWC during future updates.
_____
NOTE: Some of these links are old, and haven't been updated in a while, but they still offer relevant information
Gen[H]ard Help
Asking for Build Help? ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST
Basic Troubleshooting Guide
Building or Upgrading a Computer -- WARNING: LONG READ
[H]ard|Links
Video Card FAQ & general references
Overclocking Intel Core 2 Duo/Quad processors guide
Air-cooling guide for CPUs, GPUs, and chipsets
Benchmark/Overclocking software list
Case-Mod FAQ
ESD: Truths, myths, and flat out lies
Electronics FAQ
Memory FAQ
Motherboard Manufacturer Links
Eclipse's memory purchasing guide
Small Form Factor (SFF) FAQ
Home Theater PC (HTPC) guides and links
Power FAQS & tutorials
PSU buying guide
Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS)/surge protector FAQ
Hard drive FAQ/guides
[H]ard|Forum [H]ard|Drive buying guide
DVD burner guide, optical drive flashing + media FAQ
Optical Drive flashing FAQ + recommended pptical drives
LCD/TFT Technology Breakdown and Model/Panel Index
PSUs to avoid -- DO NOT consider any of the brands listed here in a high-end or performance build
HD Tune scores to various HDD configurations
"Ideal Build" parts list -- a bit outdated, but it gives some examples of parts to consider
Other WLWC
AnandTech - The LCD Thread
EXTREME Overclocking Forums - Ultimate RAM Guide
HardwareLogic - Thermal Compound Round-Up
Power Supply Guides & Recommendations
BFG Power - Basic Power Supply Troubleshooting
Hardware Secrets - Why 99% of All Power Supply Reviews Are Wrong
JonnyGURU's Power Supply FAQ
JonnyGURU - PSU Recommendations for High-End Gaming PCs
JonnyGURU - Recommended Sub-$150, High Efficiency PSUs
PC Building Guides
Coding Horror (Blog) - Building a PC -- Part I, Part II, Part III (Overclocking)
Corsair Labs -- February 2007 System Build, December 2005 System Build
Driver Heaven - Building a PC
Expert Village - How to Build a Custom PC Computer -- A series of videos
MaximumPC - PC Building Guide FAQ -- Part 1, Part 2
mechBgon's guide for first-time system builders
Tech Report - How to build a PC
Tiger Direct - PC Building Guide -- Somewhat old, but still good
Troubleshooting
AumHa - Troubleshooting Windows STOP Messages -- Good for interpreting the meaning of BSODs
ComputerHope.com - Basic Troubleshooting Steps
Computer Repair with Diagnostic Flowcharts
Directron - Troubleshooting Tips
Microsoft Help and Support page -- For Windows- and Microsoft-related issues
PC Hell
Part Reviews
[H]ard|OCP
3dGameMan
AnandTech
Bit-Tech
Bjorn3D
Club Overclocker (Club OC)
DailyTech -- Look for their "Daily Hardware Reviews"
DriverHeaven
ExtremeTech
FiringSquad
FrostyTech -- Focuses primarily on heatsinks, fans, and other forms of coolilng
GPU Review -- Compare video card specs with links to reviews
The Guru of 3D
Hardware Canucks
Hardware Logic
Hardware Secrets
Hexus
HotHardware
JonnyGURU -- The man to go to in regards to power supplies
Legion Hardware
Legit Reviews
Mad Shrimps
Motherboards.org
Overclockers Club (OCC)
SFF Tech -- Focuses on SFF rigs & Shuttle systems
Silent PC Review -- Articles & reviews on making your PC quieter
Storage Review -- Reviews & articles on hard drives
Tech ARP
Techgage
techPowerUp!
The Tech Report
Virtual-Hideout
X-bit Labs
A big thank you to Danny Bui, enginurd, Markyip1, and silent-circuit for their help with assembling the FAQ... and to flipflopsnowman for making the original sticky this FAQ is based off of.
Before we see a million posts here saying "thanks" or "good job," the best way to show your appreciation for this FAQ thread is to REFER OTHERS TO IT. If you really want to be nice, you could send them a copy of the hyperlink.
I would like to minimize the amount of posts that we receive here, so we could provide more questions/answers and WLWC during future updates.
_____
NOTE: Some of these links are old, and haven't been updated in a while, but they still offer relevant information
Gen[H]ard Help
Asking for Build Help? ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST
Basic Troubleshooting Guide
Building or Upgrading a Computer -- WARNING: LONG READ
[H]ard|Links
Video Card FAQ & general references
Overclocking Intel Core 2 Duo/Quad processors guide
Air-cooling guide for CPUs, GPUs, and chipsets
Benchmark/Overclocking software list
Case-Mod FAQ
ESD: Truths, myths, and flat out lies
Electronics FAQ
Memory FAQ
Motherboard Manufacturer Links
Eclipse's memory purchasing guide
Small Form Factor (SFF) FAQ
Home Theater PC (HTPC) guides and links
Power FAQS & tutorials
PSU buying guide
Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS)/surge protector FAQ
Hard drive FAQ/guides
[H]ard|Forum [H]ard|Drive buying guide
DVD burner guide, optical drive flashing + media FAQ
Optical Drive flashing FAQ + recommended pptical drives
LCD/TFT Technology Breakdown and Model/Panel Index
PSUs to avoid -- DO NOT consider any of the brands listed here in a high-end or performance build
HD Tune scores to various HDD configurations
"Ideal Build" parts list -- a bit outdated, but it gives some examples of parts to consider
Other WLWC
AnandTech - The LCD Thread
EXTREME Overclocking Forums - Ultimate RAM Guide
HardwareLogic - Thermal Compound Round-Up
Power Supply Guides & Recommendations
BFG Power - Basic Power Supply Troubleshooting
Hardware Secrets - Why 99% of All Power Supply Reviews Are Wrong
JonnyGURU's Power Supply FAQ
JonnyGURU - PSU Recommendations for High-End Gaming PCs
JonnyGURU - Recommended Sub-$150, High Efficiency PSUs
PC Building Guides
Coding Horror (Blog) - Building a PC -- Part I, Part II, Part III (Overclocking)
Corsair Labs -- February 2007 System Build, December 2005 System Build
Driver Heaven - Building a PC
Expert Village - How to Build a Custom PC Computer -- A series of videos
MaximumPC - PC Building Guide FAQ -- Part 1, Part 2
mechBgon's guide for first-time system builders
Tech Report - How to build a PC
Tiger Direct - PC Building Guide -- Somewhat old, but still good
Troubleshooting
AumHa - Troubleshooting Windows STOP Messages -- Good for interpreting the meaning of BSODs
ComputerHope.com - Basic Troubleshooting Steps
Computer Repair with Diagnostic Flowcharts
Directron - Troubleshooting Tips
Microsoft Help and Support page -- For Windows- and Microsoft-related issues
PC Hell
Part Reviews
[H]ard|OCP
3dGameMan
AnandTech
Bit-Tech
Bjorn3D
Club Overclocker (Club OC)
DailyTech -- Look for their "Daily Hardware Reviews"
DriverHeaven
ExtremeTech
FiringSquad
FrostyTech -- Focuses primarily on heatsinks, fans, and other forms of coolilng
GPU Review -- Compare video card specs with links to reviews
The Guru of 3D
Hardware Canucks
Hardware Logic
Hardware Secrets
Hexus
HotHardware
JonnyGURU -- The man to go to in regards to power supplies
Legion Hardware
Legit Reviews
Mad Shrimps
Motherboards.org
Overclockers Club (OCC)
SFF Tech -- Focuses on SFF rigs & Shuttle systems
Silent PC Review -- Articles & reviews on making your PC quieter
Storage Review -- Reviews & articles on hard drives
Tech ARP
Techgage
techPowerUp!
The Tech Report
Virtual-Hideout
X-bit Labs