| Product: |
How to Build the Perfect Computer |
| Date: |
16/01/02 (238 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Cheaper than buying a pre built machine, Completly customisable, You know what your getting
Disadvantages: Not for absolute beginers, No guarantee
Building your own PC costs on average 1/3 less than buying one from a major retailer. Building a PC is no where near as daunting task as it may seem, set aside a couple of hours one afternoon and you shouldn?t have any problems. Planning your PC is very important because you do not want to end up with the wrong thing. The first stage is to decide what type of processor, AMD or Pentium. AMD tend to be cheaper, faster and probably the best option.
The Motherboard:
This is the central part of your computer onto which everything is connected. It looks like a large circuit board which sits inside your case. It is best to choose your motherboard first because this will influence what other parts you buy. Expect to pay around £100 for a good one and check that it is compatible with your chosen processor. Some motherboards come with video and sound built in which are a very economical way of building a PC but are not advised for a high spec gaming PC. Once of my PCs runs the very good PC Chips 810LMR motherboards with video, sound, a modem and LAN, all for £80.
The CPU:
This can be thought of as the brain of the CPU and its speed is the biggest factor in how well your PC will perform. At the moment I would either go for an Athlon 1.2GHz or an AMD XP 1600+. Both of these are very fast chips at a good price but they may not be suited to what you want. It is advisable not to drop below 1GHz due to future compatibility issues and the newer, faster chips tend to be very expensive. A CPU produces a huge amount of heat so a heatsink (a lump of metal to go on top of the chip) and fan are needed. These cost around £10 and a standard one will do. Expect the CPU to cost between £80 and £150
The RAM:
This is the area in which the PC stores data it is working on in. The more the better really. Most PCs can take up to 1GHz, some can have more. I would recommend 256MB which will cost around £40. DDR RAM is fast RAM which works at
twice the speed of standard RAM and is slightly more expensive (around £55 for 256MB). If your Motherboard is a DDR one then you can only use DDR RAM, if it is not then you can only use standard RAM.
The Graphics:
A graphics card is a circuit board which is designed specifically for producing 3D graphics, one of these will cost between £50 and £300. GeForce is the make to go for and a GeForce 2 will suffice for most people however the hardcore gamer may be tempted by the highly acclaimed GeForce 3.
The Sound:
The sound card is another circuit board which provides a connection in which to place your speakers. A standard one for stereo speakers will cost around £30-40 and one for surround sound will cost about £100. This is not a terribly important aspect of your PC unless you intend to watch a lot of movies etc.
The Modem:
This is needed if you intend to use the internet or play games, for internet surfing a standard internal one (£20) will suffice however for online gaming a higher quality of modem is advised, external modems provide low ping rates and cost between £40 and £60.
CD/DVD drive:
This is needed to use CDs or to play DVDs. A CD drive can be picked up for around £30 while a DVD drive will cost in the region of £60. Personally I would go for a DVD drive as movies on DVD become more popular and some software is distributed on DVD (runs faster). CD writers and re writers are available for £100-£200 and these can be used as well as a CD drive or DVD drive. At least a CD drive is essential to load software
Floppy drive:
This is not necessary but you will probably use it at some point so for the £10 it cost it is probably worth having.
Hard Disk drive:
This is where all of your programs and personal files are stored, a minimum is 20GB (£80) and they are readily available in sizes of up to 60GB (£150). You will often see a speed in RPM in relation to hard
disks, the faster this is the faster it spins and the faster it reads/writes. 7200RPM is standard.
Monitor:
There is not that much to choose between monitors unless you can see the picture quality. The bigger it is the more expensive. Expect to pay around £200 for a good 17? one. 15? is really too small but 19? is great for gaming and DVDs.
Case:
You will need something in which to keep all this in and that?s what the case is for. Make sure that it is the right form factor (normally ATX) for your motherboard and that it has enough 5 ½? slots for your CD/DVD drives. Most cases come with a PSU but if not then you will need to buy one separately. 250W is the minimum and 200W is recommended. A small, cheap case will cost £40 and a larger, more solidly built one will cost around £60-£70
Accessories:
Don?t forget to buy a keyboard, mouse, speakers, etc. These are fairly standard and cheap, you do not need anything special and they are nearly all compatible with everything else.
Putting it all together:
First get your case and take off the side. On your right you will see some metal bays for your drives, on the left there is a large open area, this is where the motherboard goes. Take it out and place it in so as the ports sticking up on the side fit into the spaces in the case for them. Now screw the motherboard firmly into the case. Next insert the processor, it can only go in in one way so don?t worry about getting it wrong. Place the heatsink and fan (normally one unit) on top of the CPU and clamp the heatsink onto the motherboard. Now plug the fan into one of the sets of 3 prongs on the motherboard. Next is the RAM, place your stick (or more) into the RAM socket, pull the side clips out, press firmly down on the RAM and then push the side clips in to secure it. Next is the graphics card, unscrew a plate at the back of the case and put the graphics card in the dark brown socket on the motherboard a
nd then screw it into the case. Next is the sound card and modem, these go in the light brown sockets in the same way as the graphics did. Place the Hard disk into its tray and connect the power lead from the PSU into it and a ribbon cable from the hard disk to one of the connectors on the motherboard. Now go to the front of the case and at the top there will be pieces of plastic protecting the bays, push hard on these from the outside and they should snap out. Now slide in your CD/DVD drive and floppy drive and connect them in the same way as the hard disk. Put the hard disk and CD drive(s) on 2 different cables so as it runs faster. The floppy uses the cable with a twist in it. Now connect all of the power switch cables etc to your motherboard (as shown in your instruction manual) and connect the PSU cable to the motherboard. Replace the case cover and turn it on and it should boot up. If not check inside to make sure that everything is properly connected.
Software:
You will need some sort of operating system for your PC. I recommend either windows 98 (£80) or windows XP home (£160), if you have a copy of windows already then you can use that. If everything goes to plan then you should have a working PC in around 3 hours. Remember to read the manual because it can give information specific to your hardware.
Where to buy:
Online retailers such as dabs.co.uk are the cheapest but your highstreet retailer will be able to answer any queries you may have about compatibility etc.
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