Hello new builder, I have seen many people posting requesting help/tips/how-to build a computer. Chances are if you are reading this you are one of those people anyways, lets get started.
First off lets start off with if you actually need a custom built PC or is a pre-built machine such as a dell or hp a better value for you.
Some of the questions I recommend you ask your self are:
What am I going to be using my computer for?
How often do I use my computer?
Do I plan on using my computer for anything more advanced in the near future?
If you are using your computer for music and the occasional game of solitare with some web browsing mixed in; perhaps you should consider a pre-built machine t will most likely be a better value because they buy there parts in massive quantities and are able to sell them way cheaper than you can ever buy them.
If your planning on a more intensive computer experience such as editing, gaming, or hacking (lol) you may want to consider building your own machine. It will be way higher quality product and a much better value than any pre-built system. It is also more "future-proof" since when you build your own you are most likely purchasing some of the highest quality parts on the market its safe to say you wont see it in any computer at best buy for at least two more years. Like 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM with a 890(AMD) series chipset or a x58(intel) series chipset on the motherboard.
Dont be afraid though just because a custom built PC is so much better doesn't mean you have to break the bank.
You can get away with 600 USD easy
you can be proud with 900-1100 USD
and you can brag your ass off to just about everyone for 1200-2400 USD.
I will be teaching you the basics of everything you should look out for when first building a computer.
First off lets start off with if you actually need a custom built PC or is a pre-built machine such as a dell or hp a better value for you.
Some of the questions I recommend you ask your self are:
What am I going to be using my computer for?
How often do I use my computer?
Do I plan on using my computer for anything more advanced in the near future?
If you are using your computer for music and the occasional game of solitare with some web browsing mixed in; perhaps you should consider a pre-built machine t will most likely be a better value because they buy there parts in massive quantities and are able to sell them way cheaper than you can ever buy them.
If your planning on a more intensive computer experience such as editing, gaming, or hacking (lol) you may want to consider building your own machine. It will be way higher quality product and a much better value than any pre-built system. It is also more "future-proof" since when you build your own you are most likely purchasing some of the highest quality parts on the market its safe to say you wont see it in any computer at best buy for at least two more years. Like 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM with a 890(AMD) series chipset or a x58(intel) series chipset on the motherboard.
Dont be afraid though just because a custom built PC is so much better doesn't mean you have to break the bank.
You can get away with 600 USD easy
you can be proud with 900-1100 USD
and you can brag your ass off to just about everyone for 1200-2400 USD.
I will be teaching you the basics of everything you should look out for when first building a computer.
Here is a list of components needed. (no particular order)
- Motherboard
- CPU/Processor (Central Processing Unit)
- Fan/Heatsink (Many times included with CPU but aftermarket heatsinks are recommended)
- RAM/Memory (Random Access Memory)
- Graphics Card (Sometimes optional but recommended)
- Power Supply
- CD/DVD Drive (Blu-Ray optional)
- Hard Drive
- Case
- OS(operating system)
Now lets go through the components in greater detail. I believe it should help you to see this list with and without the descriptions.
- Motherboard - The motherboard is a crucial piece of hardware in your build. Do not go to cheap on the motherboard or you will sacrifice a huge amount of perfomance, durability, and overall quality. When selecting your motherboard be sure to check the CPU socket and wattage! If you choose a motherboard but the socket for the CPU is not compatible you will not be able to run your computer. For example, If you are shopping for an intel i7 with a LGA1366 socket and you choose a LGA1156 socket motherboard it will not work! LGA1366 CPU = LGA1366 motherboard, etc. Although when shopping for an AMD CPU, You can buy an AM3 CPU and put it in a AM2 socket motherboard and it will still be compatible, BUT you will have a performance decrease compared to an AM3 socket motherboard.
You also need to check the wattage for your CPU and motherboard. If you select a 140w CPU but buy a 125w motherboard you could potentially destroy everything in a power surge. It could all FRY into smoke! (maybe not quite that extreme but DO NOT choose a CPU that has more power than your motherboard can handle!!)
- CPU/Processor (Core Processing Unit) - This would be the "brains" of the operation. It plays a hand in everything. The main objective is to handle your task in your OS(operating system). I would get the highest quality CPU possible with your budget, if you are on a strict budget AMD offers a lot of "bang for the buck". Again make sure you check wattage and sockets.
- RAM/Memory (Random Access Memory) - This is another huge roll in speed. It stores memory from applications and processes temporarily. If you do not have enough RAM then your computer will be much much much MUCH slowerr. I recommend 4 GB of high quality RAM. DDR3 with a speed of at least 1333MHz should do, Although I would suggest 1600MHz. If you plan on doing something like 3d or video editing then You may want to get more but for multi-tasking and gaming 4GB should be enough. Sometimes you will need to go into your BIOS and manually select your clock speeds for it to function 100%. CONSULT YOUR MOTHERBOARD MANUAL FOR THIS! I can not tell you how to do this because not every motherboard's BIOS is the same. So navigation and settings could all be slightly different. I can suggest if you do not want to read your manual to go on YouTube or Google and search "YourMotherBoardModel RAM timings" You should be able to find something. If you do not find anything, just read your manual!
- Fan/Heatsink - I did not originally intend to go over this but it has been "requested" so I will give you a quick run-down. When selecting this look at your budget, find one with good reviews. Look for idle temps and load temps. if it idles around 30 or below that is good much higher than that it might not be as good. Also check the load temps. The good ones I have seen don't go to much over 60. Also when you purchase a CPU a heatsink usually comes with it. If you do not plan on overclocking then you will be fine with stock cooling. When selecting a heatsink be sure it is compatible with your socket type and that it will fit in your case with no problems.
- Graphics Card (Sometimes optional but recommended) - If you plan on gaming you NEED a gfx card! If you plan on basic web browsing movie watching and low computing you should find a mother board with display outputs (most of them have that) Anyways with how fast games are advancing always get the latest technology!!! It is crucial that you get the latest technology or else you may not be able to take advantage of all the features of new games and you may not be able to see the graphics as they were designed to see. If you are wondering how much you should spend on a gfx card the answer is simple. If you select a $500 CPU chances are a $500 GFX card will be just about perfect for your system. One thing you need to make sure of is that your PSU has the connections and meets the minimum power requirements. That is VERY important.
- Power Supply - Well not much to explain here it supplies power to everything in your system.
When selecting your power supply DO NOT skimp out towards the cheaper ones!! This is very important, you need to give your computer nice clean smooth power in order to see full performance. If your budget allows it go for a modular PSU, It will keep your case organized and increase airflow witch increases performance. - CD/DVD Drive (Blu-Ray optional) - Two words. SATA, High-rating.
Get a drive that connects through a SATA cable it is faster, and more efficient. Get the one with the best rating to price ratio. Like if ones 5 stars by 50 people and cost $75.00 but another one has 50 5 star ratings and cost $34.99 go for the $34.99 drive.
NOTE: Make sure to compare specifications.(Sometimes there is a reason one cost more)
Thats about all you need to know to select a proper CD/DVD/BR-D drives.
- Hard Drive - Well pretty simple here as well, SATA, SSD if your budget allows, high ratings, good price and memory capacity.
Recommend you get a traditional HDD and a SSD. Get a SSD to boot off of and store programs (I would say at least 64GB) and then get a traditional HDD with a much larger capacity to store things like photos and music.
NOTE: Make sure to compare specifications.(Sometimes there is a reason one cost more) - Case - Again high ratings. To choose the right size case look at your motherboard, and gfx card. Is your motherboard micro atx, full atx, or extended atx? How long is your graphics card? If you have a micro ATX with a small or no GFX card you can get a micro/smaller case. ATX size motherboard requires at least a Mid size case. Extended ATX or ATX with a huge gfx card requires a full sized case.(ext atx mobo check case to ensure compatiblity)
- OS(operating system) - I recommend you get W7 Home Premium OEM 64-bit. 32-bit only supports about 3 GB of ram, 64-bit supports as much as you could possibly fit on one motherboard.
Where do I shop?
Well I am glad you asked!
Here is a list of sites recommended by custom moddingUS:
- newegg.com: well this site just has everything for highly competitive prices with customer reviews that can be extremely helpful. Awesome shipping as well.
- tigerdirect.com: Good prices, fast shipping, reliable products
- tigerdirect.ca: Good prices, fast shipping, reliable products
- Newegg.ca: It's newegg, they have just about everything you'll ever need for great prices with very reliable shipping!
UK:
- http://www.overclockers.co.uk (good for components, cheap and fast)
- http://www.novatech.co.uk (good for bundles and basics, also good for components)
Australia:
- umart.com.au: Good for finding what you need. Very clean and organised.
- msy.com.au: Cheapest around. Best prices by far.
Now when building it is actually very simple.
I may go over this in more detail but for now YouTube has like a gazillion howto videos on this already.
Before beginning make sure you are on a static-free work area (not your carpet) and have an anti-static wristband as well as being properly grounded.
Step 1 - Put power supply in case, screw into case.
Step 2 - Screw in spacers/standoffs where motherboard will sit.
Step 3 - Install hard drive(s) and CD/DVD drive(s) into case.
Step 4 - Install CPU, RAM, and Heatsink into motherboard.
Step 5 - Mount and Screw in motherboard into case.
Step 6 - Install GFX card into PCIx slot
Step 7 - Attatch all power connectors to specified spot on motherboard (consult manual for more information)
Step 8 - Push the power button and watch it post. (boots into BIOS)
Step 9 - Go back and spend a lot of time getting your cables organized. (this is called cable management)
Step 10 - Boot up with OS CD in disc drive and go through the installation process, and BOOM your done!
Thanks for reading this and I hope it helped your venture into building computers!! If you have any other questions go ahead and let us know!
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