Computer Hardware

Many people do not realize the benefit to building their own computer. While computers that are bought preassembled in stores or online are good ideas for those who are starting out, there comes a time when one should gain enough knowledge to learn how to assemble their own computer. You can get more value for your dollar when you build your own. However, it is hard to beat the $300-$400 cheap systems which manufacturers assemble for beginners.

My own interest began when I was young. I was first interested in playing computer games and then the basic operations of different computer programs. As a teenager I began to work on computers and eventually built my own and continue to build computers for other and repair their computers as well.

On this page, I hope to make it easier for you to learn how to either build or upgrade a computer. I will break down the different components of computers and what you should exactly look for. I will also provide links for you to find the cheapest prices on computer parts guaranteed. So if you want to learn, sit back, read our easy step-by-step guide and get ready for a hobby that can turn into some extra cash or even a career.

Computer cases is something you will always have to look at. That is why it's important that you will want to look at for a while. Cases have progressed from their solid colors and bulky structures. Cases now come in sizes as small as shoe box and have different lights and other digital gauges. There are several different types of cases.

Media Center

A rather new type of case that has emerged recently. Media center type computers are taking over several different functions from playing dvd movies and music to displaying pictures. There is much hope that these cases will become the mainstream entertainment devices. These cases are small and are much smaller than other cases.

Mid/Mini Tower

These cases have been around for years. Many of these are now coming equipped with lights and other gadgets. A lot of these cases tend to have some room for manuevering inside. These tend to be the most popular now become of their smaller size and ability to install a lot of components inside.

Full Tower

Full Tower cases are the oldest around because computer components used to be much larger than now. These cases also are able to have a lot of components stored inside as well as taking up the most space. While full tower cases have gotten smaller in size, they are by far the biggest cases around.

Power supplies are what power the computer. Power supplies are one of the, if not the most important parts when building a computer. When building a computer, the power supply must have enough voltage to be able to run all of the components in the case and have some extra power capacity because as time progresses, power supplies tend to get a little weaker.

There are many thing to take into consideration when choosing a power supply. First thing, is to do your homework. Make sure you pick one which is a well respected name, such as Thermaltake, Antec, Enermax, OCZ, and Rosewill. If you buy a "cheap" power supply because it saves a couple bucks, it can end up costing you in the long run. It's best to spend the couple of extra dollars here because it will save you in the long run. A general rule for power supplies is that if it is heavy, it's better quality.

Second, you should look at how many watts the the power supply has. I wouldn't recommend going under 450 watts now. I would even recommend and say to go over 500. It's really up to you and what you are building your computer for. If your building an intense gaming machine, you might want to get an SLI-ready power supply. In the motherboards section, I'll get more in-depth about SLI, but quickly, SLI is running more than one graphics card.

The final thing which you should look at is output of the actual supply. It will list the different voltages and what the amps are. The higher the amps are, the better quality the power supply generally is. This wraps up everything about power supplies. Hopefully you have learned a lot about the significance of them.

The motherboard is the most important part of the computer. All other pieces are connected to the motherboard. The motherboard is the main way of transferring data between all parts on the computer as well as regulating the power. The choice of a motherboard can be a challenging task for a person who is new to building computers.

The first thing to look out for is what processor type the motherboard is for. The main two processor companies, Intel and AMD, each have their own respective socket types. The newer Intel's are socket 775 while AMD is socket 754/939. Don't make the mistake of buying the wrong type of processor with the wrong type of motherboard.

Second, look at the different items each motherboard has to offer. Make sure you know how many slots of memory are available. Generally more slots equals more capacity. You also have to look at things such as what type of interface for graphics cards does it have? How many usb ports? Does it have onboard video and sound? There are many different areas, but don't let yourself get overwhelmed so easily.

Lastly, check to see what the connections are for hard drives to the computer. IDE has been the main way for many years now. However, serial ata (SATA) is the future and is becoming more present in computers today. You can still go with IDE but make sure that your motherboard can support it.

The processor is the main "brain" to the computer. As it name suggests, processors process all of the data and codes and tells the motherboard what it exactly needs to complete its task. Generally, I recommend people to pick the processor that they want or what they can afford, and then build the rest of your system around it.

There are two choices when it comes to processors. You either have AMD or Intel. Honestly, there is almost no real difference between the two, although some claim there is, as I have used both and not really seen anything different. AMD is usually a couple of bucks cheaper, but it is the smaller of the two companies as well. Intel is just as good and really have no preference.

The old processors used to be single core processors. Many are around today still as the new idea of dual core and quad core processors are going to be the future in computing. These processors are the same size as the single core processors, however, as the name implies, there are more than one processing core on the chip which makes doing multiple tasks, a much easier experience.

As for the processor speed, you don't necessarily need the fastest processor out there. The companies make a real good profit when people buy the top end processors because they are much more expensive for too small of a performance gain. Something in the middle, from 2.2ghz-2.8ghz, is the most the the average user will need.

Memory is also known as RAM (Random Access Memory). Memory is a temporary storage when the computer is being powered. However, unlike a hard drive, once the power is then turned off, there is nothing saved anymore to the memory. The amount of memory can be crucial to how quick a computer may operate.

The temporary storage of memory is crucial to the operation of the computer. When programs run, they need a certain amount of file space, usually memory, to make programs, including the operating system such as Windows, run smoothly. The more memory that a computer has the smoother it runs. If programs use more memory that what is abailable, it starts using hard drive space as a temporary memory area, but a hard drive operates slower than memory.

As for the amount of memory that a person should get, consider what you are going to use your computer for. If you work with digital media or gaming, you should consider getting at least 1gigabyte (gb) of memory, but personally, 2gb would be much better. However, for those who are using computer for less intensive purposes, should have 512mb and if you have Windows Vista, get 1gb of memory.

When selecting memory for your computer, make sure you pay attention to what type of memory that your computer can use. Generally, you can go with the highest speed memory because memory is able to underclock itself if your computer doesn't require the top speed. Plus the newest memory is usually the cheaper memory.

Hard drives are the permanent storage area of your computer. It's the place where you store your music, programs, operating system, and all other files on the system. With the hard drive, the more capacity you have, which is measured in gigabytes(GB), the more that you can store. Generally, the smallest you want to go, is 80-120 GB, but generally you will want to go bigger, especially is you have music, photos, and games.

There are two forms of connection for hard drives. The first one, Parallel ATA, which is connected with an IDE cable, has been the main volume of hard drives and is starting to become outdated. They are still useable, but if you are building your computer for more of a future build, go with serial ATA.

Serial ATA (SATA), is the new way that computers are communicating with hard drives. SATA is faster than IDE when it comes to transfering data from the hard drive to the system. There are different versions of SATA and you should check your motherboard to make sure what type of SATA your motherboard can support and buy your hard drives accordingly.

You can also put more than one hard drive in a computer. You can use one hard drive to install your operating system and basic programs and then you can use another to install games, music, videos, etc.

CD/DVD Drives are essential to the operation of the computer. All software comes on some sort of CD/DVD media. There are many options that you should consider when purchasing a CD/DVD drive. Do you just want to read these forms of media or would you like to do more?

There are also CD/DVD burners out there. If you are going to have music, pictures, even home movies, then you strongly consider getting a CD/DVD burner. However, one thing to remember is that DVD burners can usually burn CD's as well. However, CD burners do not burn CD's or even read them. If you know that you will not burn DVD's, there are still drives out there that can read DVD's and burn CD's.

More programs are slowly transferring to using DVD's only. To plan for the future, make sure that you buy a drive that at least reads DVD's. Since DVD's hold more data than CD's, they are becoming more popular as programs are becoming bigger. For now a CD drive will work, but sooner or eventually you will need a DVD drive.

Graphics cards enable the computer to display a graphic interpretation of what the computer output really is. The graphics card has its own memory and processing unit on it. Graphics cards have three different types of adapters with which they can be connected to the computer. They can be attached by PCI slots, AGP slots, and PCI Express slots.

PCI slots are becoming outdated quickly but it was mainly used in older computers. All computers have empty PCI slots. These operate the slowest as well. AGP slots, used to be the main slot with which graphics cards were adapted to. AGP is starting to become obsolete as well as the PCI slot as the new PCI Express technology is becoming popular now. PCI Express is the newest form of the slot for graphics cards and is becoming popular realy quick because of the performance gain it offers over AGP and the proposed gain it will offer in the future as well. Make sure to reference your motherboard to see what interface your motherboard offers.

Graphics cards come with their own memory aboard. Taking Windows Vista into consideration and future programs as well, look for a card which has at least 128mb of memory. You may be able to get by with 64mb, but 128mb would be safe considering the advancement of computers. Also, check the memory speed and the core clock speed, also known as the GPU. The higher these are, generally the better the card. If you are a gamer or do a lot of video editing, make sure you are going to get a better graphics cards because by getting a lower quality graphics card, make cause stutters, freeze ups, or you programs may not even run.

Sound cards produce the audio that you hear through the speakers. Sound cards are generally easier to pick out than other parts. Most motherboards will come with what the call onboard audio, which is a chip on the motherboard that processes the sound output. For some people this is ok as they are just looking for a basic computer to do daily tasks.

For those who run intensive applications, such as games, you are much better off going for a seperate card which connects to a pci slot. Some items you want to look for are how many channels there are, how much the digital output is, and what the sample rate is, and what the minimum system specifications are for the sound card to operate correctly on the system.

The biggest brand of sound cards are Creative and as a user of Creative, I have had no problems with them. You should check which type of card you are going to use because each card is specified for a certain type of computer usage.