Fixing computers is all good, but building is what we enjoy!
Custom PC building:
Maidstone Technology builds custom computers. Mostly for gaming purposes, but also, custom machines are needed for music and graphics professionals and designers using software like CAD (computer-aided design) software. Building custom computers is certainly something we enjoy at Maidstone Technology, and we were booked to build one today, so I thought I would document it, and perhaps it will answer some of the most common questions surrounding custom-built computers.
What’s involved?
First up, the parts needed for a custom gaming computer:
- The case is often larger than the typical case and very often has clear glass or perspex panels.
- A power supply powerful enough to run a high-end PC with a rather power-hungry graphics card. Likely between 700 and 1200 watts.
- Motherboard. The motherboard is the main board that everything else plugs or connects into.
- CPU, the brain of the computer.
- RAM (random access memory) is a data storage system that is fast enough to work alongside the CPU.
- SSD Drive the main data storage, otherwise known as a hard drive.
- CPU cooling and case cooling fans and liquid coolers.
- Graphics card easily the most expensive of all the components and essential if you want to play those high end games.
Custom gaming PC, cable management
Cable management is important in a custom computer build for several reasons:
- Loose or hanging cables can get dragged into cooling fans and cause damage or make the computer more noisy.
- Air needs to move through the computer tower as freely as possible to assist efficient cooling. Tieing cables into place reduces dead spots.
- There are a lot of cables inside a gaming machine and is very popular with modern custom gaming computers to have clear glass panels and sides. Especially as many of the internal components have LED coloured lights and untidy cable management doesn’t look good.
Water cooling:
Computer CPUs (central processing units) were traditionally shipped with a cooling fan, and the vast majority of off-the-shelf PC’s still have to use the heat sink and cooling fan system to prevent overheating. Nowadays, CPU’s sold and shipped individually don’t come with any cooling apparatus. Generally, this is because the expectation is that the customers will either use an up-rated cooling fan or, now that water-cooled systems have become so much cheaper, it is expected that most and pretty much all custom PC builds will use a water-cooling system.
What is the benefit of water-cooling custom gaming computers?
The main benefit is space. The CPU sits right near the middle of the motherboard, so there is only so much space on top of the CPU to add cooling. By using the liquid cooling pipes to transfer the heat from the surface of the CPU to a large radiator it allows for multiple and larger fans in order to cool the radiator, keeping the CPU cooler and allowing for overclocking the CPU without the risk of over-heating.
Liquid cooling pump and pipes leading to radiator.
Liquid cooling radiator.
Custom gaming PC, with LED lights, lots of them.
The aesthetic side of custom computers.
It used to be all about the performance but now custom builds have their very own place in the artistic theater. Just some of the components that can be lit up:
- Cooler pumps and fans.
- Power and data cables.
- RAM sticks and RAM coolers.
- Motherboard LED displays.
- Graphics card led displays.
The LED lighting revolution:
One really big development over the last several years has been the introduction of LED lights to internal computer components. CPU coolers, fans, power supplies and even RAM memory sticks can all now have LED lights.
What is the benefit of LED lights?
Well, they look cool, at least if installed and configured correctly. There are some functional uses as types of status indicators for things like temperature for example but generally, it’s simply because, done well, they can look great.
Liquid cooling pump and pipes leading to radiator.
Liquid cooling radiator.
Maidstone Technology
Maidstone Technology builds custom gaming computers. If you have a custom build in mind or need some advice or help building your custom rig, please contact us.
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