How to Choose Components for Building a Computer

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Here is the inside of a computer where you can see many of the different components of an average computer

Have you seen powerful computer that can do anything you would expect a super computer to do? Have you wanted to play a game but your computer can't run it? Well it's time you make a computer. Computer companies sell pre-built systems but they are more expensive and often less powerful than a custom built computer. By making your own you will save money, get a new and valuable skill which you can even use to impress your friends.

Steps

1. Outline the benefits you're seeking from building your own computer. Different configurations suit different purposes. The cost implications of choosing between these uses are huge. A cheap work computer might cost only two or three hundred dollars. A server can reach tens of thousands of dollars. Take the advice of experienced users in your field. Spend no more than is required for your usage. Ignore salesmen or others who implore you to waste money on unneeded upgrades.
   
   • Basic System. Nothing special, just some good parts from solid brands.
   • Home System. Mainly more RAM and a dual-core processor so everyone can multi-task.
   • A Gamer's Rig. You'll need a killer ATI or nVidia graphics card from a well-trusted vendor, a dual-core processor or quad-core processor (some software is catered to a certain CPU set up, in general though the more cores the better.), speedy RAM (good quality RAM is very important), and if you want load times to be faster, a good SATA hard drive.
   • Music Sound Mixing/Producing. Choose a well-received, non-integrated sound card, such as from the X-Fi or Audigy series, a decent amount of RAM, and a decent processor.
   • Video Editing Suite. Choose a graphics card good enough at rendering what you need done (these cards may not be the same as gaming cards. ATI has a RAGE series targeted at the professional render market that are more suited to these tasks; nVidia has its Quadro range). A quad-core processor is suggested for multithreated codecs. A large hard drive will be needed, and multiple terabytes if you do lots of video editing, hence RAID HDD setups are common.
   • Server System. Not very much is needed if it's a dedicated system. An old computer or a basic system with more hard drives will do well. If your server is going to be performing complex tasks (such as using the PHP programming language or hosting a game), it will need as strong of a processor and as much RAM as possible, and a Gigabit Ethernet port assuming communication to other computers via LAN. The speed and type of RAM do not matter. You will need at least one large hard drive. One TB (terabyte) hard drive would be a great choice. The speed of the hard drive does not matter much, either. Multiple drives is a good upgrade, however, for when you are hosting multiple large-scale sites, for one hard drive can be spinning when the other isn't.
2. Select your motherboard and your CPU (central processing unit) at the same time. The exchange between the CPU and motherboard is named the socket. Sockets are specific not only to the CPU brand, but also to the class and architecture of the CPU. Socket information is readily available on any CPU spec sheet. In addition to selecting the correct socket, advanced builders often do research into the best chipset available. Often there is not much of a choice of chipsets once a CPU has been selected (you can always change your mind! Be sure to decide on all your parts before purchasing any of them!). Mainstream CPUs are either AMD or Intel. Motherboards openly advertise which CPU they support and the sockets supported.

3. Motherboards also lean toward supporting one video card manufacturer or another. For a single-card setup, any motherboard should work: almost all motherboards and cards share the common "PCI Express" (PCIe) x16 (full-length PCIe slot) interface. For multi-card parallel graphics processing, you'll need a motherboard with multiple PCIe x16 slots and "SLI" compatibility with nVidia (GeForce) cards, or "Crossfire" compatibility for ATI (Radeon) cards plus, of course, the multiple, generally matching, SLI or Crossfire compatible cards.

4. Select your case. It is preferred that you get an aluminum case because it dissipates heat. Most come with a fan and power supply. Look for a case with either dual 80mm fans or a single 120mm fan. If yours doesn't come with a power supply or if your current one isn't good then get one. If you have extreme graphics cards then get a power supply with extra electrical attachments for peripherals.
   
   
   • Each case and mother board has a form factor which is the size of the case and motherboard. The form factors of both must match in order for them to fit. Make sure that there are matching or higher number of card slots on the case than there are the motherboard; if there are more card slots on your motherboard than your case then you are limiting performance.
   • Cases come in several sizes. SFF (Small Form Factor) cases are portable small and are the only cases with integrated motherboards. There are other sizes ranging from mini to full tower. If you choose to get small cases then don't put really powerful equipment in it, or it will overheat.
5. Select RAM (Random Access Memory). This must match your motherboards clock speed (Intel motherboards range from 667MHz on the low end to 1333MHz on the high end, while AMD motherboards clock 533MHz to 667MHz). DDR3 is the most common. A Vista system should have at least 1GB of RAM, and 2GB is preferred. 4 to 8 GB is the typical limit of RAM a motherboard can address.
   • Should you wish to install above 4 GB, you'll have to get a 64-bit operating system to utilise all the RAM you've installed.
6. Select hard drives. This is where information on your computer is stored. Most computers at least hold 80GB, but at Newegg.com (link below) you can install a SATA 500GB hard drive for $100 and you normally get a GB for under a quarter.
   • There are two interface types for hard drives:
     • IDE (also known as PATA). Slower and superseded interface. Cables are flat and are long in width, obstructing airflow. However, rounded IDE cables are available.
     • SATA. The current and faster interface. It's cables are much smaller than IDE cables, improving airflow.
   • Hard drives spin a different RPMs, and this is a decent indicator of performance. A higher RPM drive will find information faster. As well, look for a cache (RAM on a hard drive that stores frequently accessed information) of at least 8MB (16MB is better).
   • Newer motherboards also support RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) which allows multiple, lower cost hard drives to function as a single unit. Hitachi and Seagate are both highly rated brands.
   • You can also go for SSD (solid state drives). They are quite expensive and don't have much capacity, but are very much faster than normal hard drives.
7. Select an optical disk drive. This is where your CD/DVDs go. Depending on your needs you should choose one that's right for you.
   • Almost all new DVD writers can make CD-Rs, so look for either a dual burner set-up or a burner and reader set-up.
   • Living room computers may also consider a Blu-ray drive. Be aware of any issues such as HDCP compliance so that the video and audio quality won't be affected and at it's maximum.
   • Lite-on, Sony, LG and Plextor are good manufacturers.
   • If you will be ripping music CDs, its best to get a drive that has excellent error correction capabilities. If you'll be testing CDs/DVDs for quality issues (C1/C2 errors, jitter), you'll need to know what testing features the drive can support.
8. Choose an OS (operating system).
   • On a budget, Windows XP Home and Vista Basic should satisfy most users. Ubuntu is free, and it is a version of Linux, but it requires some technical knowledge (If you don't know what an ISO or command prompt is then Linux is not for you).
   • For a business environment, XP Pro and Vista Business are the OS of choice. Red Hat Linux is also a good choice.
   • Vista Premium and Ultimate, as well as XP Media Center Edition all have media center software and are ideal for living room computers
   • Almost any version of Linux will run on standard hardware. Linux is great and free but may need more attention to install and configure. However building machine from pieces gives you great opportunity to check the list of supported hardware and be sure that your devices (especially video cards) will work.
   • Mac OS X is available on Apple computers and Hackintoshes. It is possible to install and run Mac OS on standard PC hardware because Apple is now using Intel processors, but it is in breach of the EULA to do so as Apple does not like its software to be installed on any non-Apple Hardware.

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