Have you ever thought about building your own computer?  It’s actually not that difficult and you may be able to save quite a bit of money.  Building your own computer offers many benefits and you will be able to build a machine that fits your needs.  Upgrading your machine will be much easier, in the future, as you will already know its capabilities.  You can save money by building your own system and not to mention gaining the satisfaction of building it yourself.

One of the first things that you need to consider is what type of machine you want.  There are many computer variations that range from the casual machine used to check email and surf the web to high end gaming and graphics design machines.  Knowing what you want out of your computer, from the beginning, will make it much easier to decide on the components that you will need to have.

There are a variety of parts that you will need to purchase on your venture.  I would recommend shopping around online to get the parts that you will need.  That way you can compare prices and get the best deal for what you decide to purchase.  The basic components that you will need are a case and cooling fan, motherboard, processor (CPU), power supply, hard drive and any other drives that you would like to have.

Motherboard
The most challenging part of the process will be choosing the right motherboard that fits the needs you are trying to accomplish.  There are hundreds of choices that range in price from the low-end $50 boards to the high-end boards, used in gaming and video editing that can go over the $200 and well beyond.  You can also find motherboard/CPU combos that may fit your needs.

There are many considerations to take into account when looking for a motherboard.  You must decide what kind of processor you want to use, Intel or AMD, as you will be able to narrow down your available choices considerably.  How big of a machine are you looking to build?  Motherboards come in a variety of sizes and this needs to be taken into account. 

You also need to make sure that the motherboard has the capability to handle the resources that you will need.  If you are going to need FireWire connections or several USB ports, you need to make sure that the board will handle it.  If you are going to be using the computer for gaming or graphics applications you will want to make sure that the motherboard has available AGP or PCI Express slots, depending on what type of graphics card you plan to use.  Make sure it will accept the hard drive/drives that you plan to use, whether it’s IDE or SATA.  Don’t forget about checking to see if it will accept dual processors, if you choose to go that route, and that it will also handle the amount of RAM (Random Access Memory) that you intend to use.  Most gaming machines will require about 4-8GB of RAM.

This may sound daunting but it isn’t as bad as it seems if you have done the planning and have the computer that you want to build solidly in mind.

CPU or Processor

When choosing your CPU, you also have several things to consider.  You will need to decide between an AMD processor or an Intel processor and make sure that this is compatible with the motherboard that you chose.  Make sure that the pin configuration and CPU clock speed are also handled by your motherboard.

RAM

You will need to purchase the correct amount of memory that your build will require.  This is also dependent on the operating system that you plan to use as 32-bit operating systems technically only support up to 4GB of RAM where 64-bit operating systems have the ability to support more.  If you are planning to run a 64-bit operating system and to install the RAM supported by it, you will need to make sure that the motherboard has the available slots for the additional RAM modules.

Video Card

If you are just looking for a basic computer configuration, you can most likely find a motherboard with onboard video that is more than capable of meeting your needs without the purchase of an additional graphics card.  However, you will want to look for a graphics card with on board memory if you are planning to use the computer for gaming or graphic intensive applications. I would recommend a graphics card with at least 1GB of onboard RAM for this purpose.  You will have to determine what style you are going to want, whether it is an AGP based or PCI Express card, and verify that your motherboard will accept it.

Case
You will want to choose a case that fits the rest of equipment that you have decided on.  It needs to be big enough to accommodate your motherboard and must have the expansion ability to handle the addition of a graphics card if you so choose.  Most cases come with cooling fans so make sure that your motherboard will handle multiple fan connections if your case has them.

Power Supply

Some case may come with a power supply, but most do not.  The majority of computers will run fine with a 300W power supply.  If you plan to build a gaming computer, you will probably want something a little bigger.  Again, make sure that the power supply that you choose will work with your motherboard.

Optical Drives

If you a looking for a basic computer configuration, you can probably get away with purchasing a cheap CD-ROM.  You will need to spend a little extra if you want to be able to play DVDs and burn CDs.  This may be the time to throw in that Blu-Ray player you’ve been wanting.





Hard Drive

Choose a hard drive that fits your needs and make sure that it is compatible with the motherboard you are going to use.  You have a few options regarding hard drives.  You can go with the older IDE technology, the newer SATA technology or you can look into picking up a Solid State Drive which will give you faster performance but will cost you a little more.









Operating System and Other Software

This is all personal preference on what you would like to accomplish with your machine.

Static electricity is a major when dealing with electronic components.  If you pass a static electrical charge through any of your components, there is a high probability that the device may be damaged rendering it unusable.  Needless to say, you will have to buy another one.  The best way to eliminate the possibility of damage by static charge is to wear a grounding bracelet connected to a grounded piece of metal.  These bracelets can be picked up for a cheap price. 

Step 1: First, you will need to unwrap the motherboard and processor. Align the marks on the corner of the processor with the corresponding mark on the motherboard slot.  Do not force it into position as it should drop into place if you have aligned it correctly.  Secure the processor to the board by closing the locking lever arm. 

Step 2: Install the heatsink that came with the processor using the instructions that should be provided in the box.  You will then need to connect the power lead from the heatsink to the motherboard.

Step 3: Next you will need to install the RAM.  These steps are easier to accomplish before mounting the motherboard inside the case.  Align the RAM correctly with the slots on the motherboard and press them down firmly.  There should be locking tabs on each side of the RAM module that should swing over and lock the RAM in place as you put pressure on the module to insert them into the board.

Step 4: Case Assembly: To assemble the case, you are going to need to install the motherboard, power supply, faceplate and metal standoffs to hold the motherboard in place.  The case should have a hole cut in it for the faceplate that came with your motherboard.

You will attach the faceplate to the hole in the back of the case.  Press it until it clicks into place.  This will allow the motherboard to slide into the correct position and line up correctly with the back of the case.  You will need to place the motherboard inside the case so that you can tell which screw holes match up to the pre-drilled holes in the case.  Make note of the holes on the case and remove the motherboard.  You are going to need to add the metal standoffs to these holes so that the motherboard can be screwed down and securely mounted to the case.  Place the motherboard back into the case making sure that it aligns with the standoffs you have added and the back faceplate.  Secure it to the case with the provided screws.

Step 5: If your case didn’t come with a power supply, now is the time to get it installed.  Make sure the fan on the power supply faces toward the outside of the case and the wire connections face inside.  Slide the power supply into place and secure it to the case using the screws that came with it.  Connect the power cables from the power supply to the motherboard using the manual that should have came with the power supply.

Step 6: Next, you will need to install the hard drive and any drives that you have purchased.  Remove the hard drive bracket from the computer case and secure the hard drive to it using the screws provided.  After securing the hard drive, slide the bracket back into the slot inside the case.  You will have to consult the hard drive manual and set the jumpers correctly if you are using an IDE hard drive.  You can now match up the power connector on the drive with a power cable from the power supply and connect it.  Connect the hard drive data cable to the correct slot on the motherboard (consult the motherboard manual if you need to). 

Step 7: Now you will install the CD-ROM drive.  You may have to pop out the plastic drive bay cover on the front of the case to allow the CD-ROM to be installed.  Ensure that you have the jumpers set correctly on the drive before sliding into the front of the case.  Make sure the front of the CD-ROM is aligned with the case and screw the drive into place.  Now you can connect the cables just like you did with the hard drive.

Step 8: After you have all of this taken care of, you can now install your graphics card if you have one.  Find the slot on the motherboard where you are going to install the graphics card.  Make sure to remove the metal slot cover from the back of the case if one exists on the slot you are going to add the card to.  Now line the card up with the slot and push it into place.  If your graphics card has a power connector, connect it to the power supply now.

You should now have all of the required parts installed.  If you encounter any problems, consult the manuals that each component should come with. 

Step 9: Now you can close the case up and connect your power cable, monitor, mouse and keyboard and get to work loading your operating system and other software and device drivers.  Your device drivers will allow your new computer components to function properly.

Once everything is complete and you have all of your programs installed on your brand new computer, you can sit back and enjoy the satisfaction of having built it yourself and dreaming of the add-ons that you can get with the money you saved. 

This Guide is part of a series on the Frag Doll’s guide to Things Every Geek Girl Should Know.

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