So you've decided to build your own PC. Bet you're excited, eh? I remember my first build, and how excited I was; picking out the hardware, placing the order, taking delivery and spreading out the goodies on the coffee table in the living room. There is that single moment, when all the hardware is laid out in front of me, that I feel like a little kid on Christmas morning. I feel that way every time I build one. It never gets old. So, you've definitely come to the right place, my friend.

Ask anyone who's built a PC, and they'll tell you that purchasing the hardware is more difficult than the actual build. Building a machine like the Dream Machine pictured here can be a very satisfying experience, and buying the new hardware for your build can be fun too (who doesn't enjoy buying new stuff), but it can also be hard work. There's a ton of hardware out there to choose from, and it's not something you want to take lightly. You're going to have to live with your hardware decisions for a while, so unless you've got bucket loads of cash, you need to think it through and do some serious research. What I hope to do here is guide you through the dizzying process of purchasing the hardware that will meet your needs. I would not presume to tell you what to buy. I'm not recommending any brand of hardware, or any platform. I intend only to impart some general and common sense guidelines to get you where you want to be, and that's building your own PC.

You're going to need a list of the components that will become your PC. You may think you don't need one, but forget just one piece, and you'll be waiting additional days before you can finish your build, and you won't be a happy camper if that happens. What you see here is a small part of the spreadsheet I use when I do a build. We'll be adding additional information to this list a little later. Remember, you'll be making a decision about each and every part on this list, and, as I said earlier, you'll have to live with these decisions for a while. Having a list in front of you makes what you need crystal clear, so you can move on to the first and most important decision you'll make, and that's what platform your new PC will be built around.

Yup, this is the big one! All other hardware decisions come after this one. Is it going to be Intel or AMD? I don't want to stray too far from the topic, which is more the process of buying the hardware, not what hardware to buy. But there's a lot going on with Intel and AMD right now, and that's a good thing, so I'll just touch on it a bit.

INTEL: Intel's new Core i7 processors have been around for a while now. They require LGA (Land Grid Array) 1366 socket motherboards, which in turn require DDR3 Tri Channel memory. Yes, Tri Channel memory. But the Core i7 processors and motherboards are expensive, and AMD's offerings, while not as fast as Intel's, are significantly less expensive. So Intel has released yet another processing core, which is referred to as both a Core i7 and Core i5 processor, depending on the specs, confused yet, which requires yet another new socket type, known as socket type 1156, which, surprise, can run DDR3 memory in Dual Channel mode. So what does this all mean? It means that Intel is really putting the hurt on AMD right now, that's what. And it also means that in the not to distant future the Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Duo processors will be retired, no longer requiring the services of the long lived socket 775 motherboard.

AMD: AMD is hanging on, yes and deed. AMD has recently released the new AM3 processors. They support DDR3 memory (dual channel), in addition to DDR2 memory. There's also the new AM3 socket type motherboards, which support DDR3 memory only. But, and keep your socks on, you can drop a new AM3 processor in an older AM2/AM2+ socket type motherboard! Yeah, you sure can. AMD is getting spanked so badly by Intel right now, that they want you to drop one of their new AM3 processors in your existing AM2/AM2+ motherboard right away, and it's a smart move on AMD's part, as many of the AMD faithful are heavily vested in a AM2/AM2+ motherboards. AMD is determined to hang on by doing things like continuing the Athlon name with the just released Athlon II X2 and Athlon II X4 processors. Very cool move, especially the Athlon II X4. A quad core processor for, get this, under one hundred bucks. On the other hand, AMD does some strange stuff, like disabling two of four cores in a Phenom processor and selling it as a dual core. I don't get it.

Way back in September '99, when I was looking to build my first PC, I was browsing through the computer magazines at the grocery store, when out of the corner of my eye I saw the words "Maximum PC - Dream Machine '99 - Build It." I put down the magazine I was looking at and snatched up the Maximum PC magazine. True to its title, it laid out in crystal clear detail how to construct your own PC. Not only that, but Maximum PC also listed out the parts they used, and how much they cost. I thanked the almighty computer gods for my luck at having spotted the magazine, took it home, and read it cover to cover. Needless to say, Maximum PC is my favorite magazine. They always tell it like it is. In fact, the cover of Maximum PC has a motto that reads like this: Maximum PC, Minimum BS. You gotta love it! As I write this article, the September '09 issue just came out, and this year they have built not one, but three machines; low end, mid range, and high end. And like the September '99 issue, and every issue since, the magazine provides all the component details. This year, however, Maximum PC did not include the monitor, keyboard, or mouse for these systems, nor did they include the expense of an operating system. Instead, they simply installed Windows 7 RC, which remains functional until June 1st, 2010. Check out the article for yourself at their website and see what you think. Another great thing about Maximum PC is that they keep their magazines online as PDF files (down-loadable), so if you miss an issue you can always view it as a PDF, but you'll have to wait about three months. I mean, they do want you to buy the current magazine, yes?

Another quality magazine I read is Computer Power User, or CPU for short. This a a well crafted magazine that, like Maximum PC, stands out in the magazine rack at your local book store or supermarket with its great articles, commentary, and insider information. In between magazine issues I always seem to end up at AnandTech.com. This is an outstanding website, providing the latest information on new hardware. There are, of course, many other sources of information, and I have provided a few links to these sources. Let's do a quick recap and go on a sample shopping spree for all the components we need to build a PC..

OK, we've researched all the hardware we're interested in till we can't think straight. We've worn off our finger prints thumbing through magazines, and a stiff neck from staring at the monitor, scouring the Internet for the information we need to make smart purchase decisions. We finally decided on our platform, which for the purposes of this article will be AMD, and have pretty much nailed down what the remaining hardware choices will be. So where do we shop for computer parts? Well, you can't just run down to the local computer store to buy all this stuff, providing you even have a local computer store. Maybe you're lucky and have a Micro Center close to you. Micro Center is a good place to shop, and I've bought stuff there, but more often than not I walk out of there empty handed. Don't get me wrong, when on a Sunday my power supply shoots craps, I'm a happy camper that Micro Center is around. There is no way any local computer store can carry a large enough inventory to meet our (computer builders) needs. I mean, just look at all the images I've included in this artilce. There's just a smattering of them compared to what's out there. You need to shop somewhere that carries everything you've been researching. I'll bet that while researching your parts you came across some online reseller names like Newegg, Directron, TigerDirect, or ZipZoomFly (where did they come up with these names?). So let's do a little shopping, update our hardware list with specific component information, and see what where we stand. We're going to shop at Newegg and Directron. Oh yeah, readers outside the US will have to forgive me, as I can't help them with where to shop, but the process is the same. You shop, you compare prices, and you make the best decision you can. We will no doubt be modifing our computer parts spreadsheet after we find out how much money we've spent. Modifications are always the result of lack of vendor inventory, or, as in my case, lack of personal funds.

Ouch! That's more than we wanted to spend I think. Damn! OK, what can we do to bring down the price a bit? Originally we had wanted an Antec Nine Hundred (the original, not version two), but scrapped that idea because it doesn't have built in filters. So we went with the Antec Three Hundred. It's a good looking case with plenty of ventilation, and it has filters. We've got to have filters! A computer case without filters is.... what's the word....dusty! They shouldn't even build cases without filters. The Antec Three Hundred stays even if it doesn't have a side window. Do we really need a 650 watt power supply? Probably not, as we're never going to add a second graphics card, so we can step down to a lesser power supply, but not a cheap one. No cheap power supplies! We can get a lesser processor that consumes less power, and we can step it down on the motherboard too. Don't need the 790FX chip-set when the 790X will do. What about the RAM? Since yesterday, Newegg no longer sells the Patriot RAM we had picked out, so we've got to change it. We've always had good luck with Mushkin, but Directron doesn't sell the Mushkin dual channel kit we just saw at Newegg. Since the price differences between Newegg and Directron were so small, we'll just go with Newegg on this build. Next? Yeah, the hard drives. We always wanted a RAID 0 setup using Western Digital Raptor drives, but the expense ..... OK, we'll keep the RAID 0, but use cheaper drives. And we're keeping the backup drive. Got to have a backup drive! We'll look into another graphics card and monitor and see what we can live with. We're keeping the speakers, keyboard, and mouse. OK, let's try this again.

That's better. It's not exactly the PC we wanted, but it'll get 'er done. We saved ourselves $495.00. Not bad. And let's not forget tax and freight. Freight will probably be between thirty-five and fifty dollars. And while I'm thinking about it, don't have any of the hardware shipped to your house, apartment, duplex, or whatever it may be, unless you're going to be there when UPS/Fed Ex delivers. Why, you ask? Well, this is all very expensive stuff, and you don't want to come home from work, knowing it's been delivered cause you tracked it at work, to find that it's not there because somebody decided to run off with it. Have the stuff shipped to your work location.

Now, there were plenty of other ways we could have gone with the revision. The number of different combinations of parts is limited only by the time you have to spend researching your build. After all, this is just a sample build. You get what you pay for, right? The lower the budget, the harder it is to make choices. The biggest dilemma is future upgrading. Why buy an AM2/AM2+ AMD motherboard, when we know we're going to have to replace it to be able to use DDR3 RAM. Why buy a socket 775 Intel motherboard, when we know we'll have to replace it to get into a Core i3, Core i5, or Core i7 processor. On the other hand, if you don't have the funds, you don't have the funds. I understand that, believe me. No disrespect intended. In fact, if I were needing a new computer right now, I'd be looking at an Intel Core 2 Quad, and the 775 socket motherboard it requires. It would be plenty fast, not to mention reasonably priced! It would be good for two, three, even four years, depending on how it's maintained. Do your research, and there won't be any surprises down the road.

I want to mention just a couple more things. I've shopped at Newegg, Directron, and TigerDirect, and all three have good points and bad. You can see in the first spreadsheet the discrepancies in pricing between Newegg and Directron, but in the end the total prices from both places was very close. I didn't include TigerDirect on the spreadsheet because it gets pretty hairy trying to find the same part/s at three different places, but I'd rate TigerDirect on par with Directron.

There are other online places to shop, of course, and I've shopped at other places. Usually because I was looking for a component that was not current. For instance, I've got a couple of old Pentium III systems I run Linux on, and I was looking for a particular heatsink. I found it, but it took a while, and now that I have two of them, I have no intention of giving them up cause they're to hard to find. I really like my old Pentium III's.

Another thing to consider besides vendor pricing and inventory availability, is shipping. This is important because of all the money you're spending, and receiving busted up parts is no laughing matter. I've done a lot of shipping over the years, and let me assure you that damage is usually not the result of rough handling on the part of UPS or Fed Ex. And, no, I don't work for either. Both companies are very clear about how to properly package stuff for shipment. Both companies move boat loads of packages each day, and some of the packages are going to get knocked around. If the packages are packed correctly, however, then the chance of receiving a broken part is diminished. I mention this because I've received busted up computer parts, not because of UPS or Fed Ex, but because of the vendors lack of concern about packing. I've received packages where the hard drives, which were bubble-wrapped, were just bouncing around inside the box. There is no excuse for this. Sure, the vendor will send a replacement part, but they're missing the point aren't they. Pack it right the first time, and avoid all the hassle. On the flip side, Directron offers a double boxing service, which I've taken advantage of. For instance, when I order a new case, I don't order it from Newegg, cause I know it'll be trashed when I get it. I order it from Directron and have them double box it for a $5.00 fee. It's well worth it. I know the case will make it through the UPS/Fed Ex system without getting all beat up. Time and time again I've read angry reviews from customers receiving busted up parts due to poor packing.

Anyway, more often than not I shop at Newegg, and here's why. If you set up an account at Newegg, you'll have access to some convenient features. Let's say you want to price out some different combinations of parts for a build. At Newegg you can pick out a combination of parts and move them to what they call a wish list. You can then name the wish list and save it, pricing and all. Then you can pick out another combination of parts and save them to a wish list, using a different name. So, you could have a wish list called Intel Core i7, and another called Intel Core 2 Quad, and on and on and on. If a part on one of your wish lists goes into back-order, the wish list will reflect that fact. They'll even email you when the part comes in if you ask them to. Once you've saved your wish lists, they will still be there the next time you log into Newegg, but I believe the price is guaranteed for a relative short time. It's an awesome feature, and as of this writing, I've not seen this feature anywhere else. But that could change. Newegg and TigerDirect offer customer reviews of everything they sell. Read these reviews. Some of the reviewers are new to building computers, and it's obvious while reading their comments, but most of the reviewers are people who have built, or are in the process of building computers, and they can offer truly insightful information that may help you make your hardware decisions.

Well, that's it. Hope I've provided you with some useful information. Good luck with your build!