Esherido
08-14-2007, 07:19 PM
Building Your Own Computer
Needs and Budget
Your needs and your budget are the deciding factors, decide what they are first before starting. (Be prepared to spend $1,500+ for a good computer.)
Hardware, Displays, and Peripherals
Well now that you've decided what you want it to do and have come up with your budget it's type to start looking. One of the best places to go (In my opinion.) is NewEgg, there catalog is really easy to use a provides a great range of options to narrow down your choices quickly and get the best compatibility. The also have tons of customer reviews, so you'll know if it's good quality or a piece of donkey-poo before you buy it.
Bottom line, read the reviews!
Hardware: This stuff makes up the innards of computers, but you probably already know this already. To get best performance and reduce head-aches, make sure to double and triple-check compatibility between all parts. A bare minimum to get would be:
Motherboard (Connects everything.)
Processor (Makes it work.)
Graphics card (Makes stuff appear on your screen.)
RAM
Hard drive
CD drive (Floppy too if you really need one.)
Case (Along with a power supply if it doesn't come with one, 400-500 watts should do for a low-power system, if your getting a lot of components you might need a more powerful one.)Displays: Pretty much the standard these days is LCD, though for real performance, display quality, and reliability CRT is still a good option. (Though they are massive.) Expect to fork out a couple Ben Franklin's for a really good monitor.
Peripherals: Not much to say about these except make sure to get a mouse and keyboard, speakers would be nice too.
Purchasing Everything
This part isn't that complicated. Make sure to double-check your parts, compatibility, and reviews; getting someone else to check would be a good idea too. After that, check around on all the stores to make sure it isn't cheaper somewhere else. But still be careful to make sure you can trust the seller.
Version 1.0
Needs and Budget
Your needs and your budget are the deciding factors, decide what they are first before starting. (Be prepared to spend $1,500+ for a good computer.)
Hardware, Displays, and Peripherals
Well now that you've decided what you want it to do and have come up with your budget it's type to start looking. One of the best places to go (In my opinion.) is NewEgg, there catalog is really easy to use a provides a great range of options to narrow down your choices quickly and get the best compatibility. The also have tons of customer reviews, so you'll know if it's good quality or a piece of donkey-poo before you buy it.
Bottom line, read the reviews!
Hardware: This stuff makes up the innards of computers, but you probably already know this already. To get best performance and reduce head-aches, make sure to double and triple-check compatibility between all parts. A bare minimum to get would be:
Motherboard (Connects everything.)
Processor (Makes it work.)
Graphics card (Makes stuff appear on your screen.)
RAM
Hard drive
CD drive (Floppy too if you really need one.)
Case (Along with a power supply if it doesn't come with one, 400-500 watts should do for a low-power system, if your getting a lot of components you might need a more powerful one.)Displays: Pretty much the standard these days is LCD, though for real performance, display quality, and reliability CRT is still a good option. (Though they are massive.) Expect to fork out a couple Ben Franklin's for a really good monitor.
Peripherals: Not much to say about these except make sure to get a mouse and keyboard, speakers would be nice too.
Purchasing Everything
This part isn't that complicated. Make sure to double-check your parts, compatibility, and reviews; getting someone else to check would be a good idea too. After that, check around on all the stores to make sure it isn't cheaper somewhere else. But still be careful to make sure you can trust the seller.
Version 1.0