How To Build Your Own Computer! Part 1 - Components.

Atomic · Jun 3, 2007

Ok well I thought I'd contribute to this section with a guide of my own. This is a rather lengthy guide on...

HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN COMPUTER!

Part 1 - Components

Section A - Uses, price and all things thought related.

Ok, well, when you see this guide, the first thing that might pop into your head is, "Why would I chose to build my own computer, when I can buy one that's all put together for me?" Well there are many advantages to building your own computer, including the gaining of great knowledge of how your computer actually runs and works and the fact that there is no greater amount of customization than building the system yourself, but I think that the main reason that you would want to build your own computer is the fact that you can save literally hundreds of dollars doing so! Large companies like Dell VASTLY overcharge for their computers, no matter how cheap they seem, because most of the time it's very cheap to simply buy the parts, and Dell will just put them together, slap on a higher price tag and send 'em off to you. So to buy the parts seperately will save you a ton.

Now before you go out and start buying a quad core with four gigs of RAM to build your beast, there are some factors that you must take into account.

Uses

Ask yourself what you are going to be doing on your computer and what you will be using it for, as this information will play a great part in how you build your computer and what parts you use. Are you going to be playing lots of top end games with super high graphics? If so then you're going to need a pretty high end system with lots of memory and a nice graphics card (If you don't know what these are, don't worry, they will be covered later). Or is your computer going to be used for simply word processing, maybe a little chatting and internet surfing? Because then your system may not need to have such high end components. Think about what you want, and relate it to what you need.

Price Range

This one is pretty self explanatory, what is your price range and how much are you willing to spend on your rig? Obviously the more you spend, the better computer you are going to get, but when your buying parts, it's best to at least try to set some sort of limit so you don't end up buying some $4500 system that you didn't need in the first place. Know how much you have to spend and stick to it.

Section B - The components needed and how they work.

So you have thought out what you want and how much you have to spend, then it comes to actually knowing what you need, what it does, and how it works.

Here is a list of what you're going to need to build your computer, and a small overview of what each does.

Motherboard

A motherboard, or mobo, is your computer's bones and nervous system. It holds all your computers inside components and links them together so that they work together and pretty much create a running computer. Motherboards vary pretty greatly in price range, some have graphics and sound cards inbuilt into them, along with other things like wireless LAN adapters and mine even has a remote control. A motherboard will also always contain some USB ports, and some other serial ports for different devices like older printers which don't use USB, motherboards also have things called PCI slots, to house PCI cards, which are circuit boards which slot into the mobo for things like TV tuners and such.

As for pricing, usually different motherboards with different things, like better or worse integrated graphics, more PCI cards and amount of RAM channels, will make the price vary when it comes to buying a motherboards. Though there are a few things you must take into account. Firstly, if you want to have an Intel or AMD processor and DDR or DDR2 RAM (you will learn about these later). Be sure to check whether the mobo you want is compatible with the processor and RAM you buy.

Processor

If the motherboard is the bones and nervous system of the computer, the processor is the brain. The name here is quite self explanitory, the processor is a chip which pretty much "processes" everything the computer does. This chip is inserted into a designated place on the motherboard and will greatly effect the speed and power of your computer. These days though, companies have gone further to create two processors in the one chip (and even four or more, but we wont go into that) so that your computer may have twice the processing power and speed.

Processor speed or clock speed, is measured in hertz, though due to the vast power and speed of processors used in our society, they are really measured in Ghz or gigahertz, which is 10x10x10x10x10x10x10x10x10 or 10 000 00 000 hertz. Though all you really need to know is that the speed will nearly always be measured in Ghz. For high end things like gaming and high-resolution programs, you may need a good processor speed, something around 3-4ghz, or a dual core 2.5 ghz, which is pretty much adequate for most games, though if you are simply using the computer to do work or surf the net and chat a bit, then 2-3ghz should do you fine.

When it comes to pricing processors are generally expensive the higher the speed, so a 3ghz processor will cost considerably more than a 2ghz processor. Though this is not always true. At the moment there are two main companies running the processor market, these are AMD and Intel. Now Intel are probably the much more well known of the two, but many computer enthusiasts will tell you that an AMD processor is better. Now without wanting to get into an argument about the two, as everyone has different opinions, generally AMD will have a slower clockspeed than Intel, but have higher performance. While Intel will use their clockspeed as an indication of their price, AMD use chip numbers, like 3800. An Intel Pentium 4 processor with a speed of 3ghz would perhaps be about equal to an AMD Athlon 4000+ or so. So it is up to you to choose which processor you wish to have in your computer.

RAM

RAM or Random Access Memory, is pretty much a type of data storage system for your computer. Your RAM pretty much stores the data of the programs or processes you currently have running, and keeps that data inside them to be able to be accessed at any time, in any order, thus being "random." The more RAM you have, the more programs you will be able to have running at once, and the smoother those programs will run. RAM and your Processor are the two main elements in defining the speed and power of your computer, the RAM will allow you to open and run programs smoothly, while the processor will process information and data that the program uses. RAM is measured in bytes, which is actually a measurement of binary, which we will talk a little more about later in the hard drive section, but generally these days RAM will be measured in gigabytes or megabytes, or gigs and megs. These days most computers will have between 512megs and 2gigs of RAM, 4gigs at most. If you want a fairly efficient PC, then 1gig of RAM will usually do pretty fine.

As for pricing, RAM is usually not too varied, though like anything, there is better and worse value of RAM (as well as speeds and such, but that is usually complicated and doens't need to be taken into account unless you are a real enthusiast and if you were you wouldn't be reading this...). So shop around, and if you want some long lasting RAM that should be reliable, you may have to spend a little more, though brands like Kingston and Corsair are usually the way to go and offer RAM at fair prices.

Graphics Card

A graphics card or video card, is a card which slots into the motherboard, or are built in, to handle the rendering of graphics on your computer. Really, your graphics card is going to increase the quality of most of the images in games, and sometimes other things like videos, pictures and more recently, operating system themes, like Windows Vista's Aero theme. Graphics cards can sometimes be inbuilt into your motherboard (though they are really GPUs, not cards) or can actually come in the form of cards which fit into the motherboard above the PCI cards, and provide ports to plus your monitor, or multiple monitors, into.

When it comes to graphics cards, there are really two main brands to chose from, nVidia GeForce and ATI Radeon. Like the two processor brands, both these have their weaknesses and faults, but both offer a range of cards, of different quality and power for your PC. Generally these cards will be sorted by product number and series, for example a GeForce 6100 is in the GeForce 6 series and so on. The higher the series and product number, the better the card. Really, if you do not wish to play games on your computer, and don't need super high resolution graphics, you don't need a real high end graphics card, and might be able to do with integrated graphics on your motherboard.

Hard Drive

The hard drive, hard disk, HD or HDD, is where all the data on your computer is stored. Without going into too much detail, the data on computers is measured in Bytes, which is eight bits and a bit is a "1" or a "0" which is binary and quite complicated, but totally un-needed here. Anyway, as time has gone on, we then started having thousands of bytes, which are kilobytes, and then thousands of them, which are megabytes, and these days we usually measure our hard drives in gigabytes, which is a thousand megabytes, though if we want bulging hard drives (and have bulging wallets) we may have terabytes, which is a thousand gigabytes. Though usually when shopping for a hard drive you will be looking at gigabytes. To put things into comparison, a single song is around 3-4megs (megabytes) so a thousand songs would be 3-4gigs. A good program like Adobe Photoshop is around 500 megs. The best games out there can be up to 10gigs or more even.

When it comes to price for HDDs, generally the more you buy, the cheaper, per gig, it will be. So while an 80gig hard drive might cost $65, a 250gig one may be only $100 or less. As for brands, many are good and there are many to choose from, such as SeaGate, Western Digital, Raptor and Samsung. Most of these brands will provide you with a relatively good HDD.

CD/DVD Drives

These are one of the simplest things to explain to people building a PC. CD and DVD drives simply read and burn (create) CDs and DVDs, which, as you probably know, are round discs that store data like movies, songs and other things. When it comes to buying one, these days you probably wont find a CD player to buy, and really there is no point. DVDs are like CDs but hold much more, and are used a lot in todays society. DVD burners will simply not only read DVDs, but let your create them, allowing you to back up files, or create your own movies, amongst other things.

When it comes to buying a DVD Drive, really it is just best to buy a DVD Burner straight out. These days a DVD Burner will set you back no more than perhaps $40-50 or less, and they are pretty much a must-have for all computers. Also available are dual-layer DVD burners, which may cost a little more, that allow you to burn more data onto one disc, assuming the disc is a dual layer DVD.

Monitor

Most people can distinguish what a monitor is and what it does. Really, without getting technical, a monitor is the screen which all the data and information from your computer is projected on. You're looking at one right now. Monitors, these days, really only come as flat screen, usually LCDs. At this time there are a range of different sizes of monitors, usually from about 15 inch to 32 inch, and some are also available in widescreen.

It's really up to you what size monitor you wish to have. Needless to say, the size of the monitor is the largest factor in its price, though other things like brand name, and quality of the screen will also play a part. I'm currently using a widescreen 19" (well I actually have two monitors, but that's my main one) and it is working just fine.

Case

Now this is where the real fun begins in building your own computer. A good case will make even the worst computer look sleek and powerful. Now apart from looks, cases also offer different cooling solutions, and will usually come with a few fans in them, assuming it's a good case. Some cases may have other things, like temperature gauges, depending on their price and quality. Though when it comes to choosing a case, you can either go for the flashy, gaming cases, the more sleek and smooth cases which show class, or the cheap and normal cases, which perhaps are good for a low budget or for a computer that isn't going to be anywhere it can be displayed so people can see it.

When it comes to case pricing, usually the first thing to consider is whether you are going to buy a case with a power supply in it or not. Other than this, have a look around, different cases with pros and cons have different prices, and it's really up to you to choose one in your price range that you like the look of.

Power Supply

The power supply is really, like many other components, quite self explanitory, it is simply a box with a bunch of wires hanging out that connects to your power socket and provides your computer with power. These really don't vary much, and will cost you about $40-50 or less perhaps. My advice is to get a 400watt one and you will be fine.

Other Devices

Well other devices are often also needed here, but the first is your keyboard and mouse. These are really up to the you to buy, you can get wireless keyboards and mouses if you wish, though they might cost a little more. But I do offer this important advice, do not get a wireless mouse. They are annoying and run out of batteries all the time. Believe me, get a nice laser mouse with a cord.

Also you may need a wireless LAN PCI card or USB stick if your motherboard doesn't have one on it and you need to connect to some wireless internet signals from a router. Just buy a nice Netgear or D-Link USB reciever and you will be fine.

If you didn't buy a monitor with inbuilt speakers, which isn't common, but if you didn't, then you're going to need some if you want sounds. Buy a nice 5.1 surround sound set for $50-$100.

Part two - Putting it all together - Coming soon!