Building Your New PC

Building your own PC may not be something you have thought about if you aren't familiar with computers. The guts of a desktop machine strewn across your dinner table can be a fairly intimidating sight. However the your children may be asking that your next PC be built from parts, perhaps because their computer games require the latest graphics card.

It's not a hard process to assemble a desktop computer from parts if you are capable of using a screw driver. In fact if it was a child asking about building the system you may already have a competent helper. One of the most important steps in building a new PC from parts if making sure that you get everything you actually need.

The assembly of your new PC can come to a stop if you realize you don't have a part you need. Worse still is having bought the wrong part or parts altogether. It is important to make a list of parts before you begin even buying components. At the most basic level your new system will need:

1 CPU, The main chip of the computer.
1 Motherboard, The circuit board the hosts all the components.
1 Case with power supply
Ram
Hard Drive
1 DVD/CD Drive and/or writers for the same disks.

Optional:
3d Graphics Card, for the latest games.
Sound Card, Needed if the motherboard does not have on board sound may be needed for audio support.

Google and other search engines are your friend for this step. When choosing the parts a little bit of care needs to be taken to select parts that will 'fit' together. The important things to note are the motherboards supported CPU socket type, and its RAM type. The CPU and RAM must be chosen to fit these types. The information about a components type will be presented on the packaging and/or on the manufactures website.

This means that the motherboard should be chosen before anything else is decided on. If you pick a motherboard which for example supports AMD processors and DDR2 RAM you won't be able to select an Intel CPU. Beyond the brand of the CPU there is the socket type such as AM2 or Socket 939, the CPU must also be of the same type. The type will be noted very prominently where ever you are looking at the CPU; on the price sheet by the name, at the top of the website, on the front of the box. It is important so it will be easy to spot, a little care that you have the right item can save you a big headache.

You're going to need some RAM now. This is the memory that the computer basically uses as a scratch pad, anything in it is not going to be stored long term. This is the space that programs are loaded to and use to store everything from the web page you're viewing at the moment to the text you are typing while you are working on it. Microsoft Windows Vista Premium recommends at least 1 gigabyte of RAM. That is the minimum and more can be a good idea. Increasing that to 2 gigabytes or more, will allow the system to hold more in memory increasing performances. Like the CPU there are a couple of varieties of RAM, DDR and DDR2 and the most common. Be sure to note which type the motherboard you chose supports.

Next you need some memory that can actually save your data in a stable format. That is where the hard drive comes in. If you are into mp3s or digital photography you may want to consider the largest hard drive you can find. At the time of writing it is possible to get units as large as 300 gigabytes, while a typical PC from a major manufacturer will include from 100 to 200 gigabytes as an upgrade option.

You will need some form of optical disk drive for the system. Combo DVD/CD drives are cheap and plentiful and are a good option. It may be a good idea to get a drive that is capable of writing to a disk as well. DVD writers come in several standards which require a specific disk type to burn too. CD writers will generally handle all available writable compact disks.

If you are interested in playing the latest and greatest games on your PC then you will probably want to purchase a graphics card as well. These devices provide the computer the ability to process 3d graphics at a very high speed. These can be as expensive or even more so than the CPU. Most new graphics cards fit a PCI Express slot on the motherboard.

Most motherboards made today provide some form of on board audio support. These are more the suitable for most peoples applications whether they are listening to their mp3s on iTunes or shooting mutants. If you are into home recording or are just an audiophile you may want to invest in a high quality sound card as it will simply provide much better quality than any on board solutions, especially in the case of recording.

Finally you will need to select a case to hold everything and power supply to run it. Generally a 400W power supply will be perfectly acceptable. Select a case that will fit your motherboard that you find aesthetically pleasing. Make sure it has at least as many drive bays as you are initially planing on having. Different case designs can mount different numbers of hard drives and CD/DVD readers and writers.

Most computer shops that outside of big box chain stores will also have staff that are able to check over your list if you aren't 100% positive you've made all the correct choices. Be aware that employees may try to up sell as well so question if they say that your parts aren't compatible and only suggest much more expensive alternatives.

Make your list and check it not less than twice before you go to buy anything, you may need to go out to see what is available but don't make your parts purchases on impulse and you will be well on the way to having a functional computer you assembled yourself.