Save money and self build! (How to Build the Perfect Computer)

Name: mark_scott

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Product:	How to Build the Perfect Computer
Date:	05/10/01 (141 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: it is YOUR PC,, very rewarding, cheaper

Disadvantages: can be complicated, no comeback if things go wrong

You've walked around the computer stores and read the monthly PC magazines looking for your perfect PC. MOst of the time you'll find it but if not, there is another way.

Self building. This means buying the components and putting them together yourself. You have total control over everything and you are able to chop and change wherever necessary to get the PC of your dreams.

The disadvantage to this is the cost, if you are not careful, it can spiral sky high - I specified my perfect PC last year and it has cost me £5,000. the flip side to that is I have all the components I need right now. for instance, you will be very hard pushed to find 1 gb of memory with 76bgb hard drive and a 21 inch monitor on the high street.

One piece of advice about the motherboard, if you use a lot of IDE devices (CD, DVD, Zip, Hard drives etc.) ensure you buy a board with 4 channels, this will allow 8 devices.

A tip when you are buying components: remember the stupid things like a disk drive, keyboard, mouse and internal cables. There is nothing worse than building a computer and not having those components to hand. yes, they may only cost £20 together but without them you are stuffed.

to combat this, set up a checklist before you buy, list everything you need to build the computer and tick each item off as you get it. ensure you have enough slots and hard drive cages in your case and ensure that you have enough internal cables.

Once you have all the components, you need a large table access to a radiator pipe and no distractions for a couple of hours. The radiator pipe is important: the number one killer of components is static electricity 0 earth yourself and preferable wear a wrist strap before touching any gear.

Start off by putting the motherboard into the case and securing it as per the instructions. put the processor and fan assembly in place next and ensure its seated in the right way. The RAM
needs to be installed next ensuring it is put in properly without being forced. Next install the hard drive and a CD-ROM onto separate IDE channels. Finally, add the graphics card.

Connect the mouse, keyboard and monitor and connect to the mains. This will give you a basic testbed setup. Install your version of windows (you did buy this?) and ensure everything is fine. after this, shut down the machine and add any other cards in one at a time.

I prefer this method to remove any chances of conflicts. If you throw everything in at once, you may be left with a mess which would be harder to sort out.

It would be an idea to keep a notepad by the side of you and make a note of what you are doing, then if things go wrong further down the line, you have a clearer understanding of what has happened.

Finally, once everything is installed, go to the internet and update Windows (98, Me, 2000, XP) there will always be fixes or service packs to install.

Self build may sound like a labourious task, and to be honest it is, but the end result is a personalised computer which meets your specifications. You also get a much better understanding of how the computer works and hopefully you save a bit of money in the process. Just remember that the only comeback you have is the warranty on the parts, if you kill the PC by not doing things right, you will not get any money back.

overall, a worthy experience and one i'd do again.

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