How to Build a Computer

Have you ever thought of building your own computer? You can build your own computer. What are the benefits of building your own computer? You can make your computer fit your personal needs, you will gain knowledge, and you will save money. I will guide you through building your own custom computer.

Computer case
Every computer needs a case. When looking for a computer case, there are some things that you should think about. The first factor to consider if you are buying a computer case online is that shipping may cost up to $20 for a case. It doesn't matter what case you choose, preferably a bigger one. You also want to choose a computer case which has space and holes for fans.

Computer fans
You now need to buy good fans for your computer. Look at what size fans your computer case supports. Most cases will say what size of fan they need, but you can also measure. To measure the size of a computer case fan, you need a metric ruler. Measure the millimeters from one fan mounting hole to the next. Do not measure diagonally. Then go online and see the nearest fit. When choosing a computer case fan, you are looking at two things. You want the fan to be quiet and you want it to move big amounts of air. Anything under 30 DBi is a quiet fan. The more important factor is how much air this fan will move. The amount of air that computer fans mover is measured in CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute.) I would recommend 30 - 40 CFM fans for a quiet computer, if you want video editing or gaming, I would get fans over 80 CFM. Fans over 120 CFM are generally loud and used in server rooms. Once you decide what computer case fans you are getting, you have to do some calculations. To keep your case cool and at good temperatures, you need a slightly more powerful intake fan than the fan that will bring warm air out. Keep in mynd that your PSU (Power Supply Unit) also has a fan that takes warm air out. To keep your computer at peak performance, you should also consider using a fan intake filter. It is just a filter that goes on the fan and filters dust out of the air befor air goes in your computer. This will slightly limit airflow but is recommended if you don't want to open and dustblast your computer every 3 months. You will just have to wipe the filter. Dust that goes inside your computer ends up on fans and CPU heatinks; limiting airflow and heating the computer. CAlculate the CFM of all intake fans and add them together, tehn calculate the CFM of all outtake fans. The intake should be slightly more.

Motherboard
The motherboard is the heart of every computer. When choosing a motherboard for your computer you should pay attention to the maximum amount of RAm, the CPU socket type, supported COUs, the FSB, and The amount of IDE/SATA/RAID ports. If you are prefer onboard graphics, also get yourself a motherboard with a good onboard video card. A strong BIOS is good if you plan to overclock.

CPU
Make sure that you choose a CPU that is compatible with your motehrboard. Your life will also be easier if you get a CPU that also come with a CPU fan. I always use Intel CPUs because of the performance and reliability. You can use AMD, but in this CPU section I talk about and compare Intel CPUs. If you are going to be just a home user, Pentium 4 is ok for you, for users who play computer games and run somewhat powerful applications, go with Core 2 Duo. If you like to play multiple graphic intensive games at the same time while your system is searching for aliens and calculating prime numbers, you should go with Core 2 Quad. Core 2 extreme CPUs are also a nice choice.

RAM
Every computer needs Random Access Memory. If you are using Windows XP, 1 GB of RAM is probably enbough for you. For Windows Vista users, 2 GB of RAM is enough. For gamers and video editors who use RAM or just people who love to multitask, 4 GB of RAM is for you. 1 GB of RAM is about $20 for most computers, if you want super fast and nice RAM it will cost you $40. Check what type of RAM your motherboard uses. Buying more or better RAM is the cheapest and fastest way to speed up your system.

Hard Drive
It is up to everyone to determine their Hard Drive needs. Some people will not need more than 40 GB, some will need a terabyte. It is up to you. It all depends on how much data you store. Do you want a fast Hard Drive or a normal one? If the RPM is above 7100, it is faster than usual.

Disk Drives
The last component you might want to have is a Disk Drive. A nice standard is to have a DVD burner, but You can have more than one. Some users are even using Blu-ray or HD-DVD readers on their computers. An important factor in choosing a nice disk drive is read and write speed. How fast do you want to burn CDs? How fast do you want to rip music? How silent do you want your drive to be?

Video Adapter
If you want extra video performance, memory, or speed, you can upgrade to a PCI video adapter. You can choose a video adapter right for you, just don't forget anout cooling.

Assembling everything
The final part is assembling everything. Read all the manuals and you should be fine. Remember that before touching electronic parts you should always ground yourself and remove any static electricity by touching the metal part of your case. You don't have to do this if you have an anti-static wristband. Remember to also never close your case fully until your computer works. If you just assemble a computer and close the case, 80% of the time it will not work. Remember to also NEVER turn on your computer without having teh CPU FAN and heatsink properly on the CPU. Don't remove the FAN and heatsink away form teh CPU too many times when assembling because the thermal paste/thermal grease which helps conduct heat will wipe off. Remember to immediatly putt the power plug if a CPU fan doesn't spin. Even waiting for 10 seconds can burn out your CPU. When you get your computer to work, check your CPU temperature and see if it is lower than 60 degrees celcius/centigrade. There are many utilities and programs which allow you to check CPU temp. The BIOS may also have options to check your CPU temperaturea as well as your computer case temperature. The most acurate information about your computer can be seen form a utility called CPU-Z. (CPUID) Remember that you should also defragment your computer after a fresh operating system install for best performance.