I would like to build a desktop but have never done it before. where can i go to get info?

Question

I need info. every thing from the basics (ei what parts ill need) to very speciallized (ie how to tell the difference between video cards)

Answer 1

There are several books out there you can pickup off Amazon.com or your local book store in the computer section about building your own PC.

You can also try this web site: http://www.pcmech.com/byopc/

Answer 2

Its actually not hard to build your own computer, you just need to be careful and do everything correctly, one false mistake can cause you money. When you buy your motherboard, it should come with a manual on how to install everything necessary. The main things you need to buy are: the case, motherboard, processor, RAM, hard drive, floppy drive (if you are going to use a SATA HD, you will need to use the floppy drive to install), CD or DVD drive, heatsink, power supply, and video card (if your motherboard doesn't have an integrated video chip). To install everything is pretty much easy, just screwing in the screws to the case, and connecting cables. There really isn't much mistakes you can make about fitting where each cable goes. If you're really unsure, you can consult some guides and how-to's on how to build one. Just make sure that everything you buy is compatible with your motherboard, i.e. processor, RAM. Other than that, good luck!

Answer 3

well here goes.

you need a case, ranging in price from $45- $450

power supply 450 watts or more for good clean power price-varies look for lite-on, CoolerMaster eXtreme, or antec

mother board intel dual core or other intel or wait for the new amd cpu to come out , look for asus or gigabyte or msi branded boards, these are the best

the acctual cpu, the best in your price range to fit your board, ask a store representitive or look at the ad for your board and see what it likes

cpu fan, buy cooler master

heatsink for cpu, the bigger the better, some even come with a fan, but stay away from the new thermoelectric ones, they will wear out and burn up taking your cpu with it

a video card nvidia is the leader, ati is second up, look for a geforce fx with 128 megs or more, once again whatever ids in your price range

Harddrive, stay away from maxtor or the various off brands, stick with samsung or western digital or segate they dont break as fast. size is whatever you want, but make sure your interface matches your board, sata 2 is the fastest you can get, but ide is still pretty fast, and a hell of alot cheaper.

cd/dvd burner, whatever you want. go with sony or plextor they are the best and the quietest.

ram- buy mushkin or kingston, at least 512 megs more if you can afford it. make sure it matches your mother board

floppy if you need it

another cd/dvdrom drive for hi-speed copies

a mouse/keybd- logitec makes the best, but if you need cheaper then do it.

monitor, what ever you desire, flatscreen lcd/ crt doesnt matter, as long as it suits your taste lcd's ars smaller and brighter, crt's are bigger but have a finer picture, espescially at lower resolutions

a printer- stay away from epson, stick with cannon or hp, who ever has a better value on ink

a memory stic for conveniance

speakers- dolby or just plain ol stereo

a souund card- creative audigy zs is good, but you may go less if you need.

hard drive cables should come with your hardware but make sure before you take off

windoz or linux? linux= free but takes a getting used to, windows is $400 and is slow, decide and buy/ dnld accordingly

hope this helps, if youu need further assistance send me an email [e-mail]

ps Ive done this many times, and everyone was a beginer at one time, I know how frusterating it can be to get stuck and have no where to turn

Answer 4

There are also magazines that can be helpful (see links).

If you were to go to the website of Dell or Gateway, you could choose a certain computer and then customise it by how fast a processor you wanted (of those available for that model), how much random access memory you wanted (within allowances for that model), and so on.

Answer 5

if your talking about building a cpu, my cousins have built one which is transparent. they bought all the parts like the CD rom and other parts.

I think you just need to ressearch what parts to get

Answer 6

parts:
cabinet
power supply
mother board
cpu
ram memory
vid card
hard drive
cd or dvd player.
keyboard and mouse

all above are mandatory.

have a look at these sites:
http://www.tomshardware.com/
http://www.anandtech.com/

Answer 7

Here you go,,, Good Luck

Answer 8

i don treally know., maybe chicagio