Build Your Own Computer From Scratch
(This Build Your Own Computer
page is a January 2008 update to our previous "build your own" tutorial page, and it
reflects current technology. In fact, the links on this page make a
virtual kit!)
If you've eyed the
computers at Wal-Mart and Best
Buy, and then suffered from sticker shock, or, if what they're offering
is well beyond what you'll actually need, do it old school, and build
your own computer. Building your own computer is how
computers were first sold – indeed, one of the jokes among real old
timers is that when they got into computers, they were sold as plastic
bags full of parts, and you needed a soldering iron to put them
together.
To build your own computer,
you'll need the following computer components:
1)
A motherboard
-- This is the part of the computer
that
everything else plugs into.
2) A CPU, or "chip"
-- This is what does the
computation, and is
what all those television ads are about. Right now, the best
price/performance ratio in CPUs are Intel Core 2 Duo CPUs for decently
powerful machines, and Celeron 1.33 Core Duos for low budget machines
good for email, the web and writing term papers, but not gaming.
3) RAM, or the memory of the computer
-- You'll be getting what's
called DDR SDRAM, with a speed (usually something like DDR 667
SDRAM). This is where your data gets stored when it's being
manipulated. More is always better, and faster (provided it
matches the specifications on your motherboard) is always
better. It's hard to find anything smaller than 512 MB these
days.
4) Video card
-- There are two flavors of video card –- older ones use what's called
Accelerated Graphics Port, often times with a multiplier after it –- 4x,
8x. Newer ones (and the ones you'll have the easiest time
finding) use what's called PCI Express. If you're building
your own computer for gaming, you want a video card with a high end
chipset, either from NVIDIA or ATI, and a lot of memory on
it. Like RAM, it's hard to find a video card with anything
smaller than 512MB. (You won't want to go smaller anyway!) It's also
important that your video card accepts
DVI, for hooking up the newer monitors - this one has two.
5)
Sound card
-- The
motherboard in our kit already has onboard sound,
but if you choose another motherboard,you'll want to get a sound card.
Or, add this sound card if you want to upgrade your sound.
6) Ethernet network card
-- Some
motherboards come with a
network card built it. You may want to upgrade to a wireless
one
for convenience sake. 7) Hard drive
-- Bigger is better. Make sure that you get a
hard drive that works with your mother board. The two types
you'll find on the market are SATA (more modern, faster data transfer
rate) and IDE (older standard, and older, smaller, harder to find
drives).8) Mouse, Keyboard and Monitor. Get the cheapest mouse and keyboard you can stand to use – they'll probably cost about $25, total, combined (unless you have repetative stress injuries, then go all out and go ergonomic). The place to splurge when building your own computer is on the monitor. High end 19" and 22" wide screen monitors have plummeted in price, and will be the one component you're likely to carry over from computer to computer as you upgrade.
9) Lastly, you'll need a computer case
, some cooling fans (included in the suggested
case), and a
screwdriver. A well lit place is also a good thing, and a
magnifying glass can be a life saver. Nearly every case sold
these days has a power supply. And if you're going to build your own computer you're going to want this repair tool kit
.For updated information on some of the parts listed here, check out our updated Computer Peripherals and Cheap Computer Parts pages.
Tell us how you did it!
Have A Great Story About This Topic?
If you've built your own computer, you've done something that others here want to know about.
How'd it go? What did you learn? How many times did you have to start over?
Was the process smooth as silk, and you didn't electrocute yourself?
Or was it a nightmare, with all the wrong parts?
Feel free to share pictures of your finished product, and list where you got them. Other folks will want to know, so they can build one too.
What Other Visitors Have Said
Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...
I Melted Everything...
As a Geek, you would think that I would have some experience with building computers. I could tell you everything that has to do with XHTML, and Anime ...
My first build...
Alright, when I met my husband I was a total computer invalid. I knew nothing about them, except that the internet was kind of cool. He introduced me to ...
power source???
Not rated yet
Power source with cooling fans might be helpful
Can Anyone Help With A Build Your Own Computer Question?
Not rated yet
So I thought I knew what I was doing.
I had built ASUS Pentium systems while I was a student for the graduate school I was attending. I do know my ...
Building a home computer or a gaming computer very cheap
Not rated yet
I have built my first computer at the age of 15. Building your own computer from scratch is always a better idea than buying one of the computers built ...
Do Your Homework!
Not rated yet
I have built probably 25 or 30 PC-style computers both for Windows and Linux over the last 8 or 9 years. The process has become much simpler over the last ...
How to do it Cheap, but Right
Not rated yet
Honestly, building a computer is pretty simple as long as you check for any requirements listed for the individual components. An easy mistake is to buy ...
My SFF Nightmare
Not rated yet
About a year ago I decided to build a small form factor from a "barebones kit" and it turned into one of the biggest money pits (outside of my sailboat)...
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