How easy is it to build your own PC?

Question

From what I can gather, once the main motherboard + processor is fitted into the desired case, you need to slot in the relevant PC cards + Drives ,connect the cables , then load up the the Operating system and then the other s/ware. Surely, there must be alot more involved - What problems/pitfalls would there be? Can someone reccommend a good parts/kit supplier or maybe instead details of someone who bulids machines to order ? I have already tried MESH computers, but not truely a fully fledged custom machines provider and quite expensive too.

Answer 1

You've pretty much worked out the basics. The exact details come with the manuals for the components - especially make note of the mother-board 'cos there's usually switches you have to set depending on the processor you've got. Get an antistatic wristband so you don't fry anything. If any cable isn't connected properly, it's likely the machine will just fail to boot. Watch out for SATA drives because you may need to load a driver from a floppy disk (unless you have Win XP with service pack 2) when installing the Operating System. If you have multiple drives, you'll need to set jumper switches on them to say which is a master/slave. Attaching the fan to the processor can be fidly. Make sure that you screw things in properly 'cos I once dropped a screw on a powered up mother-board an fried it. I can laugh about it now.... Make sure you match the correct memory type to the motherboard as well (get at least 1GB). You won't need loads of fans (I've only got a processor one) unless you're building a games machine that'll thrash the components. Make sure your motherboard has enough USB slots and expansion slots. Make sure you get a compatible graphics card for the motherboard (there are different versions of AGP). Remember that cheep tft's only have analogue input, while £150+ will have analogue/digital (another consideration for your graphics card).

I started building about 8 years ago, and have been upgrading components ever since, if I was starting from nothing now then I'd probably buy a computer because they are so cheap (they weren't when I started) and there's less hassle (unless you buy a lemon). The only reason for building one is just 'cos you feel like it and want to learn. Well, there's nowt wrong with that really.

I posted before about how terrible Mesh are - the word "barge pole" springs to mind. We use Dells at work and they are good, but they always seem to come with very cheep and nasty keyboards/mice.

PC World are doing good deals at the mo, as are Watford Electronics. In fact, W.E. will sell you the entire kit (Aries series) to build yourself, which is a good halfway house.

If it's your first time, expect to take a day building it. Make sure you've got a friend who's a computer expert at the end of a phone! If at all possible, have a spare computer at hand with an internet connection for downloading drivers/software patches and perhaps getting more help on this site!

Good luck.

Answer 2

building a pc is a lot easier than it sounds. your right that once the motherboard and processor are put in a case its just a matter of inserting the relevant graphics/sound cards, memory and the drives and your set. the main pitfall, and the bit i get stuck at, is setting up the bios for the motherboard/pc i've heard that you can get motherboards that have the bios setup already in which case all that is needed is your operating software and the PC is good to go, however i havnt found one yet.
If you know what you want in the PC then find a computer shop that supplies parts as these normally build custom systems and normally dont charge too much for the service, varys on location and shop though. dell is good for this but trying a local pc shop might prove cheaper. Hope this helps

Answer 3

Even though everyone else is saying it is easy, there are a lot of things to take into consideration before you do. And it's not necessarily cheaper to build your own computer. When I was in computer repair classes, they first had us "plan" out" buying all the parts to build a computer. That alone took several hours and requires several steps. Actual assembly, once you've done it a few times, should only take an hour or so. First of all, you want to plan out your budget and your needs. If you have an unlimited budget, this is not much of a challenge. But you do need to think about your long-term needs. For example, if you are a heavy gamer, you will have different needs than somebody who does video editing for movies, which requires a huge hard drive. Also, when doing your planning, take into consideration any "must have" software, such as your operating system. This can cost hundreds of dollars, new, and certain operating systems, such as Vista, don't work well unless you have at least a 2.0Ghz processor and about 2 gigs of ram. I prefer Windows 7, but again, just to have a satisfying experience, you need at least a 2 Ghz processor and at least 2 gigs of memory. Once you decide what all your needs are, and I would write that down, you can go online and start making a tenative parts list. Especially if you're a gamer, looking into hardware specifications for gaming software BEFORE you buy any parts. The most important basic parts are to determine what Motherboard you need, what size processor(s), and much total memory capacity your motherboard your Motherboard has room for. Another important consideration is the front size bus speed. If you have a fast processor, but a slow bus (which is on the Motherboard and is the little metal strips your information travels on), it's like having a fast car but getting stuck in traffic on the freeway. Pretty much all the other parts can be swapped out fairly easily at a later date, so you want to spend most of your money making sure you get a good motherboard, the processor you need and which the motherboard can handle, enough memory capacity, and a good front side bus speed. Tower size also figures into this stage of the game, and will be determined by your Motherboard size. Check all your software, and unless you need a huge hard drive, I don't recommend it. They take forever to defragment....and you may find yourself defragging all night long without having it ever finish. Also, When you do look for a hard drive, there are different "speeds", and most people would want to go with a faster one, as compared to a larger one, for optimal performance. After you get all your parts and go to "build" your PC, it isn't that hard....mostly a matter of gettting the right wires connected to the right places, as well as getting the "jumper" settings correct. Jumpers are little tiny plastic pieces that fit over tiny little pins and turn on and off differrent parts of the Motherboard. Oftentimes, if you get that far along, either through tutorials or through the instructions that came with the Motherboard, and get stuck, you can call up a local community college or computer tech school and somebody will have mercy and help you the restt of the way. Hope this helps!

Answer 4

You have pretty much summed it up, however, with the large range of various components, from processor types, graphic cards, sound cards, CD/DVD recorders, RAM Hard Disks etc, make sure you do a decent amount of research online, before you buy. There may be compatibility issues, for example, graphics card drivers may not work properly on certain motherboards. Read the reviews of components on various websites, (www.tomshardware.com etc) price up the components you would like, then create a list of the actual components in the PC that you would like to build. Then go online and search for forums that may be dedicated to the make of component you fancy. Look for compatibility issues and problems.

If you are looking for top of the range technology, I mean the bleeding edge, then bugs or other issues may not have been discovered as yet. You may be the first to discover them, so personally, I would purchase technology that has been reliable for at least 6 months. The price will have come down and any issues highlighted and bug fixes released.

With a reasonable amount of research, building your own PC should be easy, trouble free and satisfying.

Answer 5

is it simple? IF you know what you are doing
the biggest problems you are gonna have is compatability

(my video card isn't working why?)
( I bought the wrong type of ram)
(how do I get windows xp installed ?)
and so on

actually putting the peices together is not difficult,
they all fit in one way and as long as you don't force stuff,
its failry simple
but then theres tech support.
who do you ask when something aint right
and then when something breaks
You call up for warrenty,
and motherboard people tell you that is a ram problem
ram people tell you its a motherboard problem,
and no one will replace it
even if they do, its more shipping and handling
plus
sit down and add up the cost of the parts
don't forget the o/s ( winxp or whatever)
and see the difference between that and the $200 models from dell

Answer 6

Chicken! Actually thats about all there is to it! The mobo will come with any drivers you need for audio or video if onboard. Once the pc is booted, its a matter of loading the op sys, then installing the mobo drivers. The biggest thing to keep in mind is to follow the mobo manual explicitly! You will find you can build it far cheaper than you can have someone do it! You can save 50 to 60 percent!

Answer 7

Ummmmm.... i would endorse my own website to help build a PC from scratch but it's not up yet... so the next best thing.....

You couldn't go far wrong with the advice at pcmech (link below)as it breaks it all down to about 20 or so easy steps, you could even buy their book or alternatively you could always buy Build Your Own PC, 4th Edition by Morris Rosenthal is a good start.

Where to buy the stuff is probably the hardest thing you'll have to face..... I would give CCL and CTI a look at for parts both very good and cheap.

I have provided some good links below....

Hope this helps and good luck making that awesome gaming system....

DM

MCP MCSA MCSE+S BIT

Answer 8

It is, indeed more involved - not complicated, but more involved than what can be discussed here.

Major pitfall I have encountered is trying not to blow my components from ESD. Electrostatic discharge is a serious issue in solid state electronics. Integrated circuits are made from semiconductor materials such as silicon and insulating materials such as silicon dioxide. Either of these materials can suffer permanent damage when subjected to high voltages. Manufacturers and users of integrated circuits must take precautions to avoid this problem. Such measures include special design techniques for device input and output pins, using appropriate ESD safe packing material, the use of conductive tracks on cleanroom clothing worn by assembly workers, conducting wrist straps and foot-straps to prevent high voltages from accumulating on workers' bodies, anti-static mats or conductive flooring materials to conduct harmful electric charges away from the work area, and humidity control because, in humid conditions, the surface layer of moisture on many objects conducts electric charges harmlessly to earth.

Also, making sure that ALL components are compatible with each other - sometimes my wish list conflicts with this practical idea!

Since I build my own, I refer to Tiger Direct for the most updated information on the mew components. They give detailed information on the specs, great customer service, fast delivery.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/

Barebones kits:
http://www.barebonespckits.com/
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Category/category_tlc.asp?Id=31
http://www.acompinc.com/pricelist.asp?cid=131

A few good tutorials for you to look at are:

http://www.buildpc.org/buildpc.html
http://www.motherboards.org/articlesd/how-to-guides/924_1.html

Answer 9

build your own PC
make sure the motherboard can take on a lot of high ram & your processor is good
try this

Processor - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Dual CoreProcessor Memory - 2048 MB DDR-SDRAM400 RAM & you can fit a 400gb hard drive on it
have 2 cpu fans at the back 2 inside on the motherboard . then when you have all that done
add all in one dvd ,drive ,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152059

Graphics card . Ati, onboard .sound card .ac97

windows xp pro . then put all this software on the 400gb hard drive

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make sure you have the motherboard .drive cd
windows xp .cd drivers cd
and set up a full system back up recovery cd

Answer 10

lol thats a dificult question however i dont think you will find the answer on Yahoo ask your self before others good luck