Do Your Homework!

by Jenny
(Maine)

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 few years because of the simplicity of the design and compatibility of parts. Online retailers and self-help/HOWTO sites are out there by the hundred. I would much rather build my own than buy a pre-manufactured unit that if full of compromises and stuffed full of useless software before I even turn it on.

The biggest issues with building computers is keeping up with the technology and names. Processors are built to fit certain "sockets" or "slots", and memory has a certain number of pins, speeds and architecture. Hard drives now have ATA and Serial ATA interfaces. ISA slots are pretty much gone, PCI, PCI express and AGP have taken over as the connections of choice for adding internal cards. Power supplies now have different connectors for older and newer mainboards and disc drives. All these connections keep changing, so one must always ensure that all the components will plug into each other. The good news is that as long as you have the right connectors and architecture, usually the parts will fit together and work flawlessly.

One of the best parts about today's computer part world is pricing. Most components now are very reasonably priced and usually work just fine. Gone, for the most part, are the days where cheap components were troublesome and spending hours trying to fix driver issues or hardware conflicts. The one notable exception is when using Linux. Many of the low end components don't work well with Linux, If this is a consideration, spend a little extra time the ensure the components are Linux-compatible. Also, always make sure to use the newest drivers from the manufacturer's web site. Often the ones shipped with the product don't work properly.

The most recent computer I built was a Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4 Ghz on an Intel BOXDG965RYCK ATX Intel Motherboard
with 2GB Corsair RAM,
Western Digital Caviar SE16 320GB 3.5" SATA-300 Hard Drive
and a
LITE-ON DVD Burner with LightScribe Black E-IDE/ATAPI
in a mini-ATX case. This was just a new office computer, so it's fairly basic, but performs well. It took about an hour to assemble the hardware into the case, and another hour to install software. All the pieces fit together without issue and fired up right away. Most of the time, this is what you can expect if you have done your homework.

Best online source for components and parts: Newegg.com