How To Build Your Own Computer
Building your own computer is certainly easier than putting together a jig-saw puzzle. Though, I've been building and selling PCs for years, I was never given a formal lesson on how to do it. In fact, I was completely self taught. I learned by asking questions and doing it! I have only broken one expensive component in my entire life, and this was long after I became an expert at it. Really, they are not that complicated. It starts by knowing what you need to buy. Step 1, is choosing the motherboard, which will determine how you choose the rest of your components. Here is a brief run-down.Step 1: Motherboard
The Motherboard is the key to the entire system. The type of motherboard you choose will determine what the rest of the peripherals should be. The type of board you choose may be influenced by what CPU maker you decide to use. Your two choices are AMD or Intel. Really, most motherboards use the same hardware except for the Memory and CPU. Just know that the motherboard and CPU is where you should begin, but with one exception: If you have a chassis size preference - (read more on Chassis Below).Step 2: Processor / CPU
Today, Intel is making the very fastest Desktop CPU's. They also have technology which runs slightly cooler and quieter than AMD. This changes back and forth. At one time, AMD was ahead of Intel, so don't assume it will always be this way. You do pay a little more for Intel. Intel has a variety of price and performance levels of CPU's.Intel
- Celeron: The very cheapest Intel CPU. This is a single core CPU with smaller cache size designed to run basic computing tasks. Fine just for word processing and small office tasks.
- Dual Core: A value based, dual-core processor. Dual core means you have two processor cores on one CPU. Dual Core makes your computer faster and more efficient at running more than one task at a time.
Quad Core: The Quad gives you four cores on one processors, so it's like having four processors in one.
i5 and i7: These are Intel's latest technology which combine dual and quad core processing with another multi-tasking technology called, Hyper Threading. These processors are far more expensive because they represent the very latest in technology by Intel.
AMD
Sempron
This is like AMD's version of Intel's Celeron. Not slow, but it's made for the basics, and priced dirt cheap.
Athlon
AMD's older performance, single-core Processor. One of the best all-around Values in CPU's.
Phenom and Phenom II
AMD's latest and great chips which come in dual core, triple core and quad core. If you want something that competes with Intel's best, you will want to look at a Phenom or Phenom II with the highest clock speed.
Step 3: Chassis - Computer Case
The Chassis or computer case needs to be the right size for your motherboard. Most computers are built on two common form factors: ATX or MATX. MATX simply stands for Micro ATX which is a slightly smaller sized motherboard. Generally Micro ATX are for mini towers with 2ea 5.25" Drive Bays, while ATX are full or mid tower size cases with 3 or more 5.25" Drive Bays. The 5.25" Drive Bays are needed for DVD ROMS, Blue Ray Drives, etc. If you choose an ATX motherboard, make sure your chassis is at least ATX size. It won't fit in a smaller, micro ATX, but a micro ATX Motherboard will fit in a larger mid tower or full tower ATX size case. There are also other smaller form factor cases such as ITX and BTX, but you will understand from the board you choose if you need something special. Don't worry about it, the motherboard will always indicate what form factor size it is. Other considerations are cooling. Choose a case that has adequate cooling for your system. The beefier, faster and more components you have, the greater the need for adequate cooling. Also, the greater the need for adequate cooling.Step 4: Memory
There are a few different types of memory used by today's motherboards: DDR, DDR2 and DDR3. There are also various speeds of these same chips: 400, 667, 800, 1066 and 1333. Your motherboard manual or online specs will inform you what type of memory you need and how many single chips your board can hold. Four to Eight Gigabytes of RAM is the amount of memory I would recommend. Keep in mind that only 64 bit versions of Windows will support more than 4 GBs of RAM. Windows XP only supports 3. Memory is affordable, though, so buy more than you need if you can.
Step 4: Graphics Card / Video Card
The Graphics Card is what turns a mediocre system into a high performance system. Video games, CAD and 3D Modeling require graphics performance. Most system boards either have built-in graphics or a PCIE (PCI Express Slot) for adding a high performance Graphics Card. If you choose a high-end graphics card, make sure you read the power supply requirements.
Step 5: Power Supply
Some cases come with power supplies, but some of the more expensive ones are empty so you can choose your own. Power supplies vary tremendously in power and quality. For a very beefed up system, you will want to choose a power supply with the minimum wattage recommended by your graphics card. High End graphics or video cards require more watts from your power supply. Usually, a 600 Watt Power Supply is enough to handle even the best Graphics Cards.
Step 6: Hard Drives
Today's hard drives use an interface or cable connection called, SATA. They are all the same, whether you choose Intel or AMD. The most popular sizes are 160GB, 320GB, 500GB, 750GB, 1TB, 1.5GB and 2TB. Also, many motherboards will handle more than one hard drive in arrays known as RAID. There is another type of storage that is becoming quite popular: SSD or Solid State Drive. These are essentially like the Secure Digital Cards in your camera. There are no moving parts, and consequently they run much faster than SATA hard drives. They are also very expensive. A 120GB SSD Drive will cost four times as much as 1TB Sata Hard Drive.
Most people are not using SSD drives in their systems and when they do, it's only for the operating system to give it greater speed. For Data, they still use the standard SATA drives because they are much larger and cheaper and don't need to be as fast.
Step 7: Optical Drives
DVD-RW Drives or Blue Ray Drives also use the SATA Connection on your motherboard. They are all the same, whether you are using AMD or Intel motherboards. Buy the one you want!
Step 8: Operating System
Your choices today are Windows Vista Basic, Windows Vista Premium, Windows Vista Ultimate, and on October 22, 2009, you will be able to choose the new, Windows 7, which I highly recommend.