Considering Building your own PC? look inside first
Oct 08 '00
As I find myself sitting here on the computer , processing epinions I have come to yet another one of my conclusions. There are very little composure's on the site revolving around building your own PC. I found a total of 16 and they are not all top to bottom builds , some are specific to over clocking or case selection. This while all good information is only half the battle to building your own computer. And those who are experiencing this for the first time should not even attempt to play with the over clocking aspect of computers.
In any case , the first thing you should do before you attempt to build a computer is research. Look into what kind of processors are available , the different type mother boards , case style and functionality , Ram type , CD-ROM drives and speeds , Hard drive speeds and capacities , video card options , sound card options , and modem options. As you select some of these pieces to put into your system , the purchase could effect another product and purchase. Example : You need to buy a mother board that works with the processor you buy, If you purchase an ASUS K7V , it is designed to specifically work with an AMD Athlon (slot A) style.
List for basic Computer composure:
1) Case and power supply - (AT or ATX) at least 250w , 300w for Athlon based builds
2) Mother board - ( make sure motherboard supports form factor AT or ATX)
3) CPU/Processor - make sure it is appropriate for motherboard obtained
4) Ram - PC-100/133 depending on motherboard support
5) Video Card - AGP or PCI depending on motherboard slot availability
6) Sound Card - normally in PCI format
7) Modem - at least 56k/v.90 ISA or PCI depending on motherboard slot availability
8) Hard Drive and cable - at least 13 GB or larger , 5400 or 7400 rpm EIDE , WIN98/ME eats space
9) 3 ½ floppy drive and cable - not used often and cheap , needed for initial OS install
10) CD-ROM and cable - standard at any speed you think is acceptable
11) Speaker - to amplify sound card
12) OS - win95/98/ME/2000 or whatever floats your boat
**NOTE**
Some may want a DVD drive or CD-RW drive, this can be substituted in place of the standard CD-ROM or used in conjunction with.
Now that you have an idea of all the parts you need it is time to go out and research which ones best suit your needs and budget. This is up to you and you will need to be very careful as I mentioned before. One decision could effect the limitations of another part of the computer. And although a 1.1GHZ processor sure sounds cool , it may not necessarily be needed. By settling for a 850mhz for example you can save in the wallet department. Computers even being hand built can becoming costly when you start buying all top of the line product in the first sitting. Remember you built it yourself and can always upgrade it later at a slower pace, that is much easier on your pocket. Do some searching and price it out, think before you buy , don't just jump into it.
Remember if done correctly you can build yourself a completely upgradable computer, which will allow you to spend limited amounts on upgrades. This means that when it get old you don't have to go out and spend $2000 on a new one to get in the game again. Maybe $500 on a new motherboard and processor. But to be completely upgradeable you need to be sure not to buy a mother board with integrated(built in) parts , such as video, sound or modems. Make sure all your parts are separate and plug into the main motherboard. This allows for the system you build to be constantly upgradable, thus you don't have to buy top of the line to start and can upgrade piece by piece as funding or need permits.
Another thing to take note of is that you are building from complete ground up!! The hard drive is completely bare and has nothing on it. It will need to be formated and setup to allow the computer to boot. You will need all software in hard copy format to install on the new drive after completion. WinME for example comes with a startup disk is 3 ½ format that will detect and format the drive for you. The disk automates the setup procedure for Windows until the point where it boots for the first time. Windows plug and play feature attempts to find and load drivers for all your hardware, but sometime falls short bringing me to the next topic.
After the build is complete and the OS installed it is possible that you will find that some of your hardware is not functioning properly. This could be due to improper installation , driver conflicts, or worse IRQ conflicts. I find that every time I build a new computer the hardest part of it all is resolving the hardware issues after the OS is installed. This is the part that can be extremely aggravating and time consuming. This is the part that if you don't have time or don't feel comfortable doing it , you should reconsider buying a store bought model.
For those of us who have built a few computers , the whole process is like second nature and we do not feel that it is exactly a real hard process. But the fact of the matter is that there is a lot involved in building your own computer and a lot of things could go wrong. You will only save money in the long run if you can complete the whole build successfully. If you need to at some point seek professional help the price will go back up quickly, making the store bought more and more attractive. Leaving you angered , frustrated and broke. The best suggestion I can give anyone looking at this possibility is to go to your local bookstore, pick up a book on building or upgrading your PC , and check it out. It will give you a good overview of what you are in store for during a build.
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