Build your own custom PC!

First guide, go easy on me :love: C&C welcome

Have you ever wanted to build your own computer but are intimidated by it? It's actually nowhere near as complicated as it sounds. If you know how to read and can screw in a light bulb, you can build a PC.

First things first, here are some key components you're going to need when you're looking at a new build:

• Case
• Power supply
• Motherboard
• CPU (Central Processing Unit)
• GPU / Graphics card
• Memory / RAM
• Storage (HDD / SSD)
• Optical Drive

Confused already? That's okay, keep reading and (hopefully!) things will start to make more sense.

COMPATIBILITY:

By far the hardest part of the process is knowing what is compatible with what. In this section I will briefly address each of the key components and list some of the standards that you should look out for to make sure that what you're selecting is all compatible.

• Case - This is mostly personal preference, but look out for:
  
  1. What size motherboards does the case accept? (will go over this later)
  2. What are the dimensions? Will it fit in your desk area?
  3. Does it have an acceptable amount of drive bays and/or expansion slots?

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• CPU (Central Processing Unit) - This is the brain of your computer.
  
  1. There are two main manufacturers of CPUs, AMD and Intel.
  2. AMD is usually more cost effective, but Intel offers higher performance.
  3. All CPUs plug into a socket on the motherboard. The specific socket that your desired CPU is compatible with should be listed somewhere on the specifications sheet.
  4. Having more cores does not equate to more performance. Generally speaking, you get what you pay for in the computing world. Don't be fooled into thinking that because you have more cores you're better off! This has been in large part a marketing ploy hoping that the average user does not know any better. Do your research and find out which CPU is the best within your budget!

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• Motherboard - This is what all of your components will be plugged into. From here on out, you will be designing the rest of your build around your motherboard. Motherboards can be confusing, because there are a lot of things you want to look out for.
  
  1. What brand of processor will you be using? (Intel or AMD)
  2. What socket type will your desired processor be using? (AM3, AM3+, LGA 1366, LGA 1156, LGA 1155, etc) Make sure these match!
  3. Chipsets are usually down to preference, and there's so many that I can't possibly go over every single one. When in doubt, either Google your potential motherboard's chipset and find out the features, or post here and I'll tell you the pros/cons of that specific chipset.
  4. What type of RAM does it support? Make sure to buy a supported type. For example, if it supports DDR3 1866, DDR3 1600, DDR3 1333, you should expect to find RAM that is one of those speeds.
  5. What size is the motherboard? Will it fit in your case?
  6. Does it have enough expansion slots for your current & future needs?

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• GPU / Graphics card - This is essentially what renders images on your computer. Things to consider:
  
  1. What are your current and future needs? If all you want to do is play RS and WoW, obviously you won't need a super high end GPU.
  2. Look up benchmarks. Compare how well the game runs during the benchmarks to how well you would like it to run on your system. Generally speaking, anything above about 30 FPS is considered playable, but 60+ FPS is definitely preferred. Take note on what resolution and graphical settings they are using during the benchmarks.
  3. All modern graphics cards use PCIe 2.0 or PCIe 2.1 (PCIe is backwards compatible). Make sure your motherboard has enough of these slots (i.e. if you want to go for dual graphics cards, make sure you have at least 2 slots and that your motherboard supports it).

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• Memory / RAM - RAM essentially acts as a cache to store files that need to be accessed very quickly.
  
  1. RAM prices have dropped dramatically ($/GB wise)
  2. For general use, 4GB is plenty. If you do some heavy video encoding or a lot of botting, 8GB - 16GB would be preferable.
  3. Any modern motherboard will support at least dual channel memory. You can find this information on the motherboard spec sheet, but you should always make sure to buy whatever type is supported by your motherboard. Dual channel significantly increases performance. Your motherboard manual will tell you which slots to install the RAM into in order to access this feature.
  4. Despite popular belief, RAM is not what makes your computer fast. If you have a low amount, your performance will be bad, but there is a point where adding more RAM doesn't increase performance. Having too much RAM can actually negatively effect you in certain ways, such as hindering overclocking capability. You should only buy as much as you think you need, because there's no point in having 16GB of RAM if all you're going to be doing with it is browsing the internet and playing RuneScape.

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• Power supply - This powers all of your components.
  
  1. This is a very good way to calculate your PSU requirements. It is a little bit advanced, so if any help is needed I am more than willing to give an opinion on your particular needs.
  2. A power supply is one of the most crucial components in your system. If you go cheap on a PSU, the odds of it failing and potentially killing some of your other components are significantly higher. Good brands are Silverstone, Corsair, SeaSonic, OCZ, etc. There are good and bad PSUs from every brand, but those names do tend to stick out as higher quality.
  3. Always read reviews on PSUs. Jonnyguru is pretty much the man when it comes to PSU reviews.
  4. Always make sure your PSU has all the necessary connectors.

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• Storage (HDD / SSD) - All of your files will be stored here.
  
  1. This is another item you shouldn't go cheap on. To avoid losing all of your important files/information, I would suggest going with a trusted name like Seagate or Western Digital.
  2. The size is a matter of personal preference. Price per gigabyte has really come down in recent years though, so I personally would not go with anything less than 1TB.
  3. If your motherboard has SATA 6.0Gb/s (AKA SATA 3)support (again, refer to the motherboard spec sheet) you should try to get a drive that also supports that. There is also SATA 3.0Gb/s (SATA 2) but if possible you want to go with SATA 6.0Gb/s, because it offers higher speeds.
  4. A HDD (Hard disk drive) uses moving parts to read the data from platters within the hard disk. The higher the RPM on a HDD, the faster the performance. However, SSDs (Solid state drive) have no moving parts and therefore generate much less heat and draw much less power. They are also WAY faster than a HDD. This increase in read/write times will have many benefits such as faster boot time, programs will launch much faster, and in general anything that is installed to the SSD will be far more responsive and snappy. SSDs are by no means required, but they are one of the best upgrades you can do to your system in terms of physical/tangible speed increases.

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• Optical Drive - Reads your media.
  
  1. You should get one that suits your specific needs. All I have ever found use for one is to install Windows with. Your standard CD/DVD combo drive will work fine for 95% of users. They make bluray burners/readers if you are so inclined towards one.
  2. Like with hard drives, these also use SATA connections.

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BUILDING:

The building process is another thing that scares off potential builders. It really isn't hard at all. Pretty much everything is made so that you can only plug it in one way, so there is no confusion. Since building is a highly hands on / visual process, I will link you to a couple videos that are very good in explaining the entire building process.

• Newegg TV: How To Build a Computer - Part 1 - Choosing Your Components
• Newegg TV: How To Build a Computer - Part 2 - The Build
• Newegg TV: How To Build a Computer - Part 3 - Installing Windows & Finishing Touches

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RESOURCES:

• Newegg - Basically the best place to buy components from.
• TigerDirect - Another great place to buy components. They have a lot of rebates, I personally prefer Newegg.
• PC Case Gear - Australian PC Store (Thanks Noodles)
• MSY - Australian PC Store (Thanks Noodles)
• NCIX - Canadian PC store
• Overclock.net - A community based solely around technology and all things related to computers. The users on this forum are usually pretty knowledgeable. It's a great place to go if you've got a question that you can't seem to find the answer for on Google.
• 3DGAMEMAN - Reviews, video Q&A, a nice community, etc.
• Trubritar - This is a YouTube channel that has countless reviews
• Jonnyguru - He reviews PSUs mostly, this is a great place to find out if your potential PSU is any good.

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This guide is not done just yet, I'm still working out whether or not I want to go into full depth about the actual building process or just let the videos explain it. The resources section is not finished yet either, in the end I intend to have a very large list of retailers for various nationalities (If you live outside of the US, please let me know what your retailer of choice is) and more places centered around reviews and such. Please let me know if I missed any important details or if there's anything I could improve on. Thanks!

 

Skimmed across it, looks good so far.

Maybe like add a few example builds at the end?
Like a budget build, med end build, and high end build.

Australian computer shops(best IMO) would be PCcasegear.com, msy.com.au.

Looking forward to you finish it though.

 

great guide! it helped me alot

 

You actually built a computer? I'm gonna save this guide for oneday thanks

 

No I believe he was just posting that for post count.


Hurry up and finish it Ivy.

 

Sorry, been so busy with school and helping my girlfriend move lately I've barely had time to Sythe (yes that's a verb now)

I'll probably do what you said with giving example builds, and I'll add some more resource sites as they come to mind, but what else would you recommend? Should I go over the building process in depth in text or just let the videos do the explaining?

 

In all honesty, this should be stickied.

You helped me a lot on my own thread.
I will deffinently consult you before actually buying a computer, if you don't mind ^^

 

Tyvm and anytime man! I love talking tech, it's fun to me.

 

Try to explain it as best you can intext and maybe link to some videos at the end to show it if people can't understand? Not sure, I'll try to think of some stuff during/after school.

Also, if Ivy's not on you can always PM me, I know a decent amount aswell.

 

I might tear down my PC and do a complete rebuild one day (for the sake of cleaning, but I figure this would be as good of a time as any) and take pictures of it step by step, along with some textual commentary. How does that sound?

 

That sounds very good.
Overall a good guide. If I ever get enough money from sything I will consult this guide to build a computer

 

Go for it, I would like to see that.

 

Very good idea Ivy.

 

Very nice guide, could use a little touching up but over all it's quite good. If you could add some pictures, that would help the reading users as well.

 

^
This exactly.
Add some pictures to reduce the amount of research someone would need to do in the process?
Still, it's a great guide, good work!

 

Thanks for the feedback guys, I'll probably do the rebuild on my PC this coming weekend. Expect to see pictures/diagrams at this point (might take a few days obviously, going to be quite extensive)

 

^Looking forward to it!
If you have huge pictures, thumbnails might also be a great idea!

 

thanks for the guide mate, ive been looking to make my own computer, ive changed ram and drives but never new how easy it is to make you own beast. just get matching parts.

on a another question i have a broken computer, it stopped turning on. like it turns and fans come on but it doesnt make the beeping sound. few months ago it started to do that but id just turn it off and on a few times and would get it on. now nothing just lights and fan.
i read on a site that if i unplug everything but the mother board and cpu, that if there both working that when i turn it on it should make the beep but it didnt. so i think its either the cpu or the mother board. ideas?

 

also maybe put up some sample computers, gamer, rs player, bot farm.
if i cant get my computer going i want to build something to only bot on. so no need for a good graffics card just need raw power. what would you build? nothing thats going to brake the bank but still planty of power, find a good middle.

i also watched all the newegg youtube clips very helpful

 

To your above problem, try resetting the CMOS(take the battery out and put it back in) and switch out your ram sticks and try turning on 1by1, if neither fix that, make sure all plugs are in properly/try a different PSU if possible.

I've already suggested the sample builds, and he'll hopefully end up doing it.