Building a computer from scratch

[PointsOfLight]

So I really want to make a computer. I don't know why...but I just have the urge to CREATE something. My tech level is pretty average though...I mean I can hook cables and components and stuff and I know how computers "work" but when it comes to BIOS and configuring it I wouldn't know what to do.

My questions are...

1. How do you get started? What order do you buy your components(your mobo your case your CPU)? I can't really buy everything at the same time (i'm a student).

2. How do I keep my costs down?

3. Anything else I should be aware of when getting started.

Thanks for the help!

[lumberjim]

I'd like to know this too.

Undertoad to the rescue? in step by step with circles and arrows....

this could be a monolithic post......one that would gain you acclaim among bbs's across the webz.......

computer parts companies would be trying to sponsor it....you'd get lots of cash and bj's......

i'm cautiously optimistic.

[Mockingbird]

http://www.buildeasypc.com/

This is a pretty good guide. I've built a few, but I usually have my friends who are far more tech savvy do the lion's share.

[Undertoad]

Step 1: join the cult of newegg.com.

The actual building of a PC is pretty easy, and it can be fun, if you don't make any fatal mistakes. What's difficult is learning which components go together and why, and which components you really want and why. And it's a constant learning experience, because the components are forever changing. You might have the geeks pick the components and then you put it together.

[SteveDallas]

Based on my experience, if you can do stuff like swap out a memory card or plug in a CD-ROM drive, you're most of the way there. Probably the most critical mistake you can make is to not hook up your fans and heat sink properly. Melted CPUs don't generally work well.

In my experience the hardest thing about the whole process is plugging in the "little stuff" to the motherboard. There is usually a bank of about a couple dozen pins on the motherboard where things like the power switch, the reset button, and the hard drive LED light plug in. These connections are different on each mobo, the wires from the case may or may not be the same colors listed in the mobo manual, the diagrams are often a bit confusing, and it can be easy to miscount the pins. But take things slowly and double-check your work, and you should be fine.

[Happy Monkey]

I like these guys.

[Sperlock]

Depending on what you want to use the computer for, you may want to go with more stable parts first (ie, not out of date that quickly) - like cases, CD/DVD drives, etc. I'd probably go for the motherboard, memory, and CPU last. But that's just me. Check reviews of the parts you are looking at - newegg.com is pretty good for this and has good prices.

[PointsOfLight]

thanks for links and advise guys...
i'd like to try and really make performance overall goal here.
even if it does cost me more.

i agree with you sperlock in that mobo cpu and memory should probably go last. and partly because they are more expensive and if the project falls through then at least i won't have expensive conponents lying around not being used.

anyway...i think the first step is buying the case. which is what i'm going to start doing this week. then the next step should be power supply (which i'm willing to splurge on...the idea of buying a cheap one just scares me). then i'll get the fans started and work on cooling what will be my beast of a computer.

wish me luck!

[Mockingbird]

Originally Posted by PointsOfLight

the idea of buying a cheap one just scares me).

That thing you're afraid of happening? It happens. I've lost three power supplies in the last two months.

[PointsOfLight]

I know it happens, but it wouldn't be the power supply I would worry about. It would be everything else that's connected to it. Like the graphics card you might spend spend a chunk of money, the motherboard, etc...

[Undertoad]

In a modern PC the power supply seems to be the weakest link. And it's the most under-reviewed, under-considered part.

[Clodfobble]

How apropos. Our power supply just died last night.

[Cicero]

Do not use a Dell hard drive your first time 'round the bend. That is all.

[Flint]

Every time lightning strikes, a power supply in a Dell OptiPlex SX270 dies.

[tw]

Originally Posted by PointsOfLight

then the next step should be power supply (which i'm willing to splurge on...the idea of buying a cheap one just scares me).

Simple steps to locate a power supply. If that supply is without a long list of written specifications, then assume power supply functions are missing. A supply performs many complex tasks. To increase profits, some power supply manufacturers have learned how to ‘forget’ some critical functions. Then when that power supply dies, an assembler blames anything except that supply.

Those specifications may only mean something to less than 1% of consumers. But that 1% are what inferior power supply manufacturers fear. If they don't provide specifications, then the 1% cannot identify defective products. Does not matter if numbers mean nothing to you. If the long list of functions are not listed numerically on at least one full page, then avoid that supply.

Another benchmark for defective supplies: if your AM radio suffers interference when adjacent to the supply, the supply is likely defective – missing an important function.


Fans - one 80 mm fan inside the power supply is more than sufficient to cool a standard computer case. Some use a 120 mm that moves just as much air with less noise. You can (and should) do those numbers. A second fan is sometimes installed in series so that should a first fan fail, then the second fan maintains same airflow. What does the second fan in parallel accomplish? It typically only lowers chassis temperature by single digit degrees – completely irrelevant. What does a third fan do? Even less temperature reduction and greater dust clogging problems. Those who never learned by first doing numbers would never appreciate why Tool Man Taylor so often promoted the joke "More power".