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How to build your own computer

A free tutorial for a low cost solution for a new computer

So you want another computer, or maybe you've just thought about getting a new one? The kids are fighting over who's turn it is to use the PC, maybe your current computer is getting a tad bit too slow, or perhaps you'd just like to start your own home network, or expand it for that matter.Well here you'll learn how you can build your own computer in easy to follow step-by-step instructions. I'd personally suggest that you review all of the information here thoroughly. Let it sink into you, and then, once you feel ready, take out your checkbook, get yourself a screwdriver and have some fun!

1. Deciding what type of system you really want or need

Before you go ahead and start building your computer, you should have a good idea what you will use this new PC for. Will it be:

You might also want to go ahead and look around at the parts at Tiger Direct now or grab a flyer from your local CompUSA, BestBuy, or Fry's Electronics (probably the best retail store for computer parts, but restricted mainly in the south west of the country). Take a look at the deals. You may want to wait until you spot a really good deal on parts before starting to build your system, or you can also get the parts as they come out on special. Of course, there is nothing wrong about shopping online for your parts either. You can often find some good deals, when you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for shipping.

In the end, what's the most important is that you shop around. Don't let the fancy ads make you dish out your credit card or checkbook right away. Find out if other stores have something similar, or even the same product for cheaper. Another thing, if you want to save money, don't always go for the best brand name, yet don't go for the cheapest item on the shelf either. Low priced items might look nice in the box, but once there in your computer, you can really start regretting it.

2. What exactly you need to buy

Out of all the steps outlined in this How to build your own computer guide, this is the one I dislike the most. Why? Well, just about every time I go out and get the parts I need to build a new PC, I tend to come back empty pocketed. At least there's something to show for it after it's all done though.

Anyhow, here is the grand list of stuff you will need, not need, avoid, and watch out for:

The basics There is a total 10 essential parts you will need to build a computer. These are: the Computer Case (make sure you get one that has a power supply), the Motherboard, the CPU, some Ram, a Hard drive, a Floppy disk drive , a Monitor, a Video card , a Keyboard and a Mouse.

View Computer cases A computer case will usually cost you (when not on sale) between 30 to 100 (and up) dollars, the 100 dollar one being those big fancy black cases. Note that these prices are with the power supply already included. Strip out the power supply, and a case will cost you between 5 to 20 dollars. Computer cases come in two flavors: AT and ATX. The difference for these two is simply the power supply. You will see that when you buy your motherboard, you have the option of getting an AT or ATX motherboard. Just make sure you get the right one that fits with the power supply of your computer case.

The AT cases are really fine, and they are much cheaper (so are the AT motherboards), and you can still build a very reliable system.

The next thing you will be faced with when buying your case, is the size. Keep in mind that bigger is not really better. You can get a full size tower, and pay a fortune, and never end up filling up all of the available space. Basically you will want a full size tower for a server of some sort. For basic home computing needs, you should simply go with a mini tower, or a mid sized tower case if you plan to add allot of extras into your system. Also, you may be tempted to get once of the fancy non-gray cases, but consider the price difference and try to judge for yourself if a fancy computer case (which might or not might be ever seen by anyone) is really worth it.

View Motherboards The motherboard is by far the most important ingredient for building your own computer system, which is why it's very important that you get the right one. In general, a normal motherboard for regular home based usage shouldn't cost you more than $150, and that's a high price. Sure there are some board out there that will retail for 500 to 1000 dollars, but do you really need these? More than likely, the answer is no.

So what exactly do you have to look for in a motherboard? For starters you have to get either an AT board or ATX board, depending on the power supply you have (see computer case above).

Next you will have to decide what kind of "horse power" you want your board to have. They're a bunch of options in motherboards, which I'll try to cover:

1. Supported bus speed. Your board's bus speeds is sort of how fast data is moved around throughout your board. The minimum bus speeds you want for your motherboard will be 66mhz, anything less would be insanely slow. You may consider to get a 100mhz one, but these tend to be slightly more expensive, yet it is worth the extra money.
   
   
2. Supported CPU. Now this is really important. What type of CPU do you want? A very expensive CPU, like the PIII, or the new AMD? Maybe something less expensive but with power, like the PII? Although the above 3 CPU's are really great, unless you have allot of extra money, go with the PII, or better yet, go with the bargain CPU's, AMD K6-3 and the Intel Celeron. Both of are really great CPU's and aren't really expensive (around 100 to 200 dollars). Whatever you do plan on getting, I advise you to stick to the above list. At the worst, you can always get a regular Pentium MMX, or AMD K6 (usually less than $100), but don't expect these to hold out to long with all the new software available today.
   
   
3. RAM Sockets. RAM (random access memory) is another important thing for your computer. Without it, you won't really get far. Nowadays you should only consider a motherboard that can support DIMM RAM. This type of RAM is a little more expensive, but much faster than it's antiquated ancestor, SIMM RAM.
   
   
4. ISA, PCI, AGP. These are the slots available for the various cards you will be putting into your computer, such as video cards, sound cards, modems, etc. If you're looking to be using allot of video and 3d games, then make sure the board you will get has an AGP slot. AGP video cards are really great for video, since they deliver the best speeds. Now about ISA and PCI ... since most cards being built today are PCI (modems, network cards, video, sound, etc.) you may want to get a board that has more PCI slots than ISA. Although if you're not really concerned about very high quality 3d audio, fast network cards, or high tech 3d cards (in case you don't get a board with an AGP slot), then stick with a board with more ISA slots. These types of boards will be cheaper (and so are the ISA cards).
   
   
5. In built sound and video. Motherboards with inbuilt sound and video may seem to be a great bargain, but once you hear, and see these add-ons, more than likely you will be disappointed. Unless you really don't care about great sound and video (such as for a computer for regular web use, or basic work) go ahead and get this type of board. If you do care about sound and video, stay clear away from these.
   
   
6. USB or no USB. USB is a really great feature you may want to have for your computer. It's basically "real" plug and play. In most cases it won't really cost you so much extra to have a board with USB. Unless you think you'll never get yourself a USB device (keep in mind that just about every type of peripheral coming out now works with USB), then you won't need this feature.
   
   
7. Onboard cache. Not really the most important feature, you may want to take note of the amount of cache memory the board you want to get has. As a rule of thumb, anything under 512K cache is not worth it. Anything above 512K cache is very good, and just plain 512K is average. While you may not really notice any big difference, it doe's improve your computer speed. The cache acts just like RAM, except it's much more faster.

Well that's about all the really important stuff for a motherboard. I didn't mention anything about SCSI, because SCSI costs much more money. Another thing is getting an extended warranty on your motherboard. Usually not all that expensive, it might be worth to get. If your motherboard ever dies on you, you'll be happy you got that extended warranty.

So, do you think it's allot of stuff to consider? Of course it is! Yet it's all worth to study. Remember, your motherboard is VERY important, so make sure you choose your board carefully. (look for those specials and clearances!).

View CPUs The mighty CPU. The brainpower behind your entire computer. What to get? There are so many choices! Well here are a few things that should help you choose the right CPU.

For one, stick only to AMD and Intel. Both produce fantastic CPU's, and both have a wide selection.

You should stick to Intel, if you want efficient, compatible and powerful processing power. You may be tempted to get the PIII, but these are really expensive. If you wait a few months you can get these for cheaper. Your best buy with Intel would be a PII (preferred for applications) or a Celeron (preferred for video games). As for the speed of these CPU's, 300mhz should be the minimum you'd want.

You can also opt for AMD. Actually, if you do a little research on the web, you'll find out that allot of people actually recommend AMD. My own past experiences with AMD has been really great (yes I'm recommending AMD to you right now). Not only do they make good CPU's, but their costs are considerably lower than Intel. You can easily get an AMD K6-2 300mhz (and above) for about $100. Although you may want to get the speedy AMD K6-3, which are just slightly more expensive.

Also, before buying the CPU, find out what Bus frequency the CPU can support (100mhz or 66mhz). Getting a CPU that supports a higher frequency will drastically affect the overall speed of your new computer.

View RAM Getting RAM is pretty simple. Like I mentioned above in the motherboard section, you'll only want to get DIMM RAM. I won't get into the really technical aspects of RAM (such as PC-100 or non PC-100) but I will explain the three main types of RAM you can buy.

The first type, are of course the best. While they are usually priced higher (10 to 20 dollars higher than the second type), you do get the performance for your money. You usually also get a lifetime warranty when you get this type of RAM.

The second type, are pretty much average. They perform very well, but you'll usually only get a 1 year warranty on these. If you don't want to pay that extra money for "the best brand", then get the second type of RAM. More than likely it won't ever fail on you.

The third type is the evil OEM brand, or better yet, the no name brand. Whatever you do, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT get fooled into buying this brand of RAM. It can be really attractive (price wise) but performance, compatibility, and warranty - just simply not worth the trouble of testing and returning it to the store.

Next, you have to decide how much RAM you'll need. To be quite honest, 32 megs of RAM should be the minimum to consider (not recommended). If you want something with some power then consider getting 64 megs (my own personal minimum recommendation), or even 128 megs (which is really great). Now if you want POWER, then just buy yourself one 256 meg DIMM.

About the DIMM's themselves, don't get anything slower than 10ns (nanoseconds). 8ns is pretty much an average. Another thing about DIMM's, unlike the older SIMMs, you don't need to buy these in pair. So if you just want 32 megs, get yourself one 32meg DIMM. If ever you want to upgrade to 64 megs, then simply get yourself an extra 32 meg DIMM. It's that simple.

View Hard drives View Floppy disk drives One thing for sure you will need is a floppy drive. So before I go into the hard drives, make it clear to yourself that you need a *good* floppy drive. These will cost around 25 to 30 dollars. Whatever you do, don't get the cheaper ones. It's really not worth it. Especially when your floppy drives dies on you, and then you need to install drivers, software, etc, or even fix your Windows operating system. Not having a floppy drive is real nightmare.

Now to the hard drives. What's really great about these, is that nowadays you can get large drives for really low prices. If you shop around, you can easily get a 6.4 gig hard drive for $100 or under (these prices keep on going down all the time).

As your shopping for a hard drive, you'll probably see a whole bunch of different brands. To keep it simple, stick only to: Maxtor, Western Digital and IBM. Other hard drives might seem cheaper, but these 3 manufacturers produce quality drives. After all, the data on your hard drive is very important, and loosing it is not an option. So spending an extra $10 for the good brand name is essential when it comes to hard drives.

View Monitors Out of all the items listed, the monitor will probably cost you the most (if you buy it brand new). There isn't much I can really recommend for monitors, except make sure you get something with a warranty. I've lost several monitors over the years (thanks to the Arizona heat), and it's really no fun.

If you really want to get fancy (and spend allot more money) you can get the LCD monitors.Also, if you're like me and you have your eyes glued to your computer monitor for long periods of time, consider getting a glare filter. These run for about 15 to 40 dollars. If you still have good eyesight, then I suggest you get one of these before you go blind ;-)

View Video cards Another main essential part of your computer system, the video card is a must. Without it (unless you have video inbuilt on your motherboard) you won't really be able to use your newly built PC.

Now the though question, is what type of video card you need.

1. 2 Meg PCI video card. This is your basic card (which I personally refer to as obsolete). While you won't really feel much power if you work with graphics, and you really won't be able to play allot of the newer graphical intense video games, a 2 meg PCI video card is perfect for just regular Internet usage and application such as Word, Quickbooks and other low graphic usage software. They are also really cheap (don't spend more than 20 dollars on a card like this). One thing to make sure is that it can support 800 by 600 pixel resolution.
   
   
2. 4 meg and + PCI video card. This is your cheaper alternative to enhanced graphic usage and video gaming. These cards perform quite well for graphic work and can really stand up within video games. These are also cheap, and will rarely cost you more than 50 dollars.
   
   
3. 3d fx PCI/AGP video card. These types of cards are slowly becoming the standard in all newer computers now. Basically this is what you need if you want to experience video gaming and enhanced video and graphical work. Unfortunately the price tag for these types of cards is rarely under $100.

View Keyboards and View Mouses This is really a no "brainer" category. You should just get a regular keyboard (about 8 to 20 dollars), and not worry about the fancy keyboards (which tend to be $30 and more).

If you're building a new computer for your kids, you may want to get one of those keyboards made just for kids. They're really great and easy to use for the younger child.

As for the mouse, stick with one brand, and that's Logitech. You don't need to spend 100 dollars on a mouse, 20 to 30 dollars should get you something good, solid and with a good warranty.

 

The rest of the stuff

Now that you know about the basic requirements for your new computer, I'll now go ahead and explain a few of the extra things you may want to get.

Making a real list of the "other stuff" you can get would be really long. Printers, scanners, video cameras, hubs, speakers, mics, etc... I'll leave those to your imagination and simply stick to the so-called "essentials" of the rest of the stuff. These include sound cards, modems, network cards and CD-ROM drives.

View Soundcards and View Speakers Unless your motherboard comes with in built sound, more than likely you will want to have sound on your computer. There is a very large variety of sound cards you can get, each performing quite differently and with various prices.

If you want an excellent sound card that will truly give you the best audio experience ever, then there is no doubt, you have to get the Creative Sound Blaster Live. This card is comparable to what Hollywood studios use for sound editing. There are two drawbacks to it though. For one, the price tag ... you're looking at a 150 to 200 dollar sound card (ouch!). Second, this card is not fully compatible with joysticks. Although this is a problem that is being resolved, it's something to consider if you plan on playing games which use joysticks as the main controlling device (flight Simulators for example). You may also opt to get the Creative Sound Blaster Live "Value!". This card runs for around 80 to 120 dollars, and it doesn't have incompatibility with game controlling devices. Note that both of these cards are PCI.

Next up, you can spend around 50 to 100 dollars for another good card, which will deliver you great sound, yet not with the full live surround 3d audio power of the two above cards. There is a very wide range of cards that fit this description, and my advice is, stick with the brand name Creative (and make sure you get a PCI card!).

Finally you can opt to get the bargain cards. This is a perfect solution if you really don't care about sound, and all you really need is to hear some beeps and warning sounds. In this case, go ahead and choose an ISA card. You can pay as little as 10 dollars for these, but like I mentioned, don't expect quality sound.

As for the brand names, it's a good idea to stick with Creative. Out of all the sound cards I've used, Creative has always been the easiest to install (almost 100% plug and play!) and the most compatible with applications. You can get one of the "Sound Blaster" compatible cards, but you risk going through terrible installation problems. You've been warned.

View Modems
Modems are another real no "brainer" device to get. Although you should consider if you really need a modem. With Windows 98 SE, you can actually share one modem connection with several computers, so why get another? Another thing to consider is high-speed Internet access. This is getting much more popular and it's availability is also increasing. In which case, you won't even need a modem.

Now if you do still want to get a modem, then go ahead and get an internal 56K ISA modem. No need too worry to much about brand names, most modems perform the same. Although acquiring a 3Com 56K ISA (or PCI) modem wouldn't hurt at all if you got a few extra dollars.

View Network Interface Cards (NIC)
A network card is something you may really want to get. Since you're probably reading this from your own computer, if you build another PC and install a network card in it (and your present computer), you can actually network them together.

The advantages of having your own network are many; you can share Internet access, you can share hard drives, you can play multiplayer video games against other people in your household and more.

If you're only going to connect two PC's, then make sure both have a network card, and that you get the correct cable for direct connection, and you will not need a network hub (this is called Networking, and it's something far beyond the scope of this article).

Stick to a regular PCI network card. These deliver better speeds, and are much, much easier to configure than the ISA ones. A good brand to get would be Linksys. They deliver great technical support; if you have a problem, you give them a call, leave your name and phone number to a friendly operator, and a techie gets back to you really within an hour (no "on hold"! What a concept!).

One thing you should do, is look for a sale on network components and you can get yourself 2 network cards (or even an entire home network kit) for less than $50.

View CD-ROM drives
While I'm classifying a CD-ROM drive as non-essential, we all have to face the fact that a computer without a CD-ROM drive is pretty obsolete.

It's quite simple. Don't get anything less than a 24x speed drive, and don't get the bargain CD-ROM drives if your kid's use the computer allot.

Two good brands would be Sony and Creative. These will be much more expensive, yet you can rest assured that they will last you a long time. I still have an antiquated 2x Creative and an ancient 4x Sony that outperforms my 24x NewCom CD-ROM (don't get NewCom!).

Also, you may consider getting yourself a CD-Writer or a CD-RW.

What's the difference? Well a CD-Writer (CD-R) can write on regular blank CD's (which cost about 50 cents to a dollar), but never erase or write on them again. A CD-RW can write on both regular blank CD's, and rewrite, erase and modify special blank RW CD's (which cost about 1 to 2 dollars). Again, if you want to get a CD-R (or CD-RW) stick with Creative or Sony.

So that's about everything you really need to know about what to buy! Next, you'll learn how to assemble all of the new computer hardware and to finish it up by installing your operating system (OS) software.

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