+++Bobby "O"+++ said:
I've read a lot about building my own PC - but it seems like a daunting task
just to map out exactly what I want. I'd like a system that has as much as
possible built in to it (as opposed to peripherals like I have now connected
to my notebook's docking station).
Building a computer from components is easy. You just buy the
components you want and connect them together in a case. At a
minimum, you need:
- a motherboard
- a CPU
- memory
- a power supply
- a disk drive
- a keyboard
- a mouse
- a monitor
- a video card (if not included on motherboard)
- a CD or DVD drive (to install software)
- an operating system
- one or more fans (optional in some cases, but always a good idea)
You can expand on this to almost any extent you desire, with extra or
larger disks, a fancier video card, more CD/DVD drives, other
peripherals like joysticks and scanners, and so on.
I'd like a large tower with room for expansion.
If you are making your own, you can buy any kind of case you want.
Pretty much all of them will accept all the standard sizes for
motherboards, especially towers.
How do I choose a motherboard and processor (and memory)?
They have to be compatible with each other. Beyond that, it's a
question of what you want to pay and what features you want on the
board. More expensive boards may have more slots for memory or
expansion, or more on-board hardware (audio controllers, Ethernet
network connections, USB ports, sometimes built-in video), or
better-known chipsets (Intel vs. Acme). Prices for motherboards range
from tens of dollars to hundreds of dollars. The same is true for
processors and memory. So you might spend anywhere from $100 to $1000
for these components.
The motherboard has to accept the processor you want. Different
processors mount in different types of sockets, and the motherboard
has only one specific socket. You can choose either the motherboard
first or the CPU first, but they have to be compatible with each
other.
The same is true for memory, although memory is a lot more
standardized so you have more flexibility on that point.
If you have an old PC, you can recycle many components, such as
extension cards or CD/DVD/floppy drives. A new floppy or CD drive can
be had very cheaply, though.
Depending on how often you've done it, assembling it all takes
anywhere from a few hours to 30 minutes. It's hard to mess up because
most connections only fit in one kind of socket, so connecting the
wrong cables to the wrong place is easy to avoid. The only tool you
really need is a medium-sized Philips-head screwdriver (for screws
that have a head that looks like a plus sign, '+').
