What computer parts do I need to buy in order to assemble a desktop computer?

Question

I'm currenlty saving up to buy myself a good gaming desktop but the problem is, I'm not much of a techie. So what is the complete list of parts (from motherboard to casing) do I need to buy in order to assemble a desktop. (no need to name brands or part names, be as general as possible thanks)

Answer 1

The first step to building a computer is acquiring the parts. This guide will start with a quick explanation of essential parts and elaborate on them further on.

A computer is made up of a case, also called a chassis, which houses several internal components, and the external components, including peripherals.

Inside the case go the following internal parts:

* Power Supply – converts outlet power, which is alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) which is what the internal components require, as well as providing appropriate voltages and currents for the various internal components

* Motherboard/mainboard – As the name indicates this is the electronic centerpiece of the computer, everything else connects to the motherboard.

* Processor/CPU – central processing unit, the "brain" of the computer, almost all the actual computation takes place here.

* RAM – random access memory, the "short-term memory" of a computer, used by the CPU to store program instructions and data upon which it is currently operating. Data in RAM is lost when the computer is powered off, thus necessitating a hard drive.

* Hard Drive/Hard Disk – the "long-term memory" of the computer, used for persistent storage – i.e. the things stored on it remain even when the computer is powered down. The operating system, and all your programs and data are stored here.

* Optical Drive – device for reading/writing optical disks. May read CDs, DVDs, or other optical media, depending on the type. It may be able to write some of these discs, as well. Some people like to have two such drives for copying disks. It is essential for installing many operating systems and programs.

* Video Card/Graphics Card/GPU – does processing relating to video output. Some motherboards have an "onboard" GPU built in so you don’t need (but may add) a separate video card. Otherwise, you will need a video card. These plug into a slot on the motherboard and provide a place to connect a monitor to your computer.

On top of the internal components listed above, you will also need these external components:

* Keyboard – For typing on. Many motherboards won't even boot without a keyboard attached.

* Mouse – For pointing and clicking. Unless you chose a text-based operating system, you will want one of these.

* Monitor – this is where the pretty pictures go. Come in many forms, the most common being CRT and LCD

These are the parts that a standard PC will use. We are not considering such esoterica as headless, touchscreen, or voice-controlled systems. You might want to make a check list (perhaps using a spreadsheet) of parts to use as you go about your process of research and selection. That way you won’t find yourself sitting down with a pile of brand new hardware only to find that you forgot an essential component.

Before you jump onto the web and start spending lots of money on expensive computer parts, there are three important questions you should answer which will guide your purchases:

1. What will be the main function of the computer?
2. What useful parts do you have on hand, from an old
computer or otherwise?
3. How much can you afford to spend on the system?

Do I plan on overclocking my computer?

Overclocking consists of running components at faster internal speeds than they are rated for. If you are serious about overclocking your computer, you need to do extensive research into the components you select as some parts respond to overclocking better than others. Processors that respond well to heavy overclocking are generally not very expensive (though overclockable memory is), but the price of a component is by no means a guarantee of its overclocking potential. Overclocking usually voids your warranty and is risky (you can destroy your entire computer), so be warned! You need to think hard about cooling the computer as overclocking generates heat. Anything from a few extra fans to a liquid-cooled system may be necessary depending on the nature of your system.

[edit] Do I plan on underclocking my computer?

This can be ideal for always-on entertainment systems.. Underclocked parts run cooler, often enabling passive cooling options to be used, which leads to a much quieter system..

The risk here is not destroying your computer, as with overclocking, but possible problems with hard-disk data integrity. It is a good idea to back up your disk data periodically on a non-volatile medium, such as DVDs or tape.

Where do I find the parts?

Once you have decided what you’re going to use your computer for, and have reviewed which parts are available for reuse, you should make a list of what components you will need to buy. A few hours of research can save you years of regret, so make sure that the computer you build will do what you need it to do.

Computer terminology can be confusing, so if there are terms you don’t understand, be sure to look them up. Wikipedia is an excellent place to start if, for example, you’re not clear on the difference between, say, DDR and DDR2 memory.

There are several places to buy parts:

* Internet retailers generally offer the best price for new parts. If a part needs to be returned, you may be stuck for the shipping, check return policies before you purchase.
* Auction sites like Ebay and several others offer very good prices for used parts. This is especially useful for parts which do not wear out. Returns can be problematic or impossible. Some auctions may not be legitimate. Always check the shipping cost before you bid.
* Local PC shops - Their prices are often higher, but they may make up for this by providing a lot of expertise. Get opinions from other sources, however, as they may be eager to sell you parts you don't need.
* Big local retailers often lack technical expertise and higher prices, but can be useful because they usually handle returns quickly. Also good if you need something right then.
* Trade shows that occur from time to time also provide a good place to shop, as the prices are often significantly reduced.

Also, your local town dump may have a special section for computers & monitors that others have gotten rid of. These can be more or less brand new computers with trivial problems such as a busted power supply or faulty cables. Of course if the dump does have such a section, you should ask permission of those in charge. They're usually glad to let you go through it, but don't leave a mess. Taking advantage of this can yield incredible finds, with a price tag of nothing or very little.

Number of storage drive spaces

Internal hard drives/floppy drives (which go in the small 3.5" bays) and internal CD/DVD drives (which go in the large 5.25" bays) take up space in the case, so make sure you consider how many drives you will need. It is usually a good idea to calculate the number of drive spaces needed using your motherboard requirements as a baseline minimum.

* Number of IDE x2
* Number of FDD x2
* Number of SATA
* Number of SCSI2 (estimated)

e.g. For a motherboard with one FDD, one IDE, 4 SATA no SCSI. you should choose a case with at least 8 slots.

4 BIG + 4 SMALL = 4 optical drives + 3 hard drives + 1 floppy drive

This is a mid-tower configuration. For smaller computers with fewer storage drives, like 1 hard drive and 2 optical drives, you can get a mini-tower (2 BIG + 2 SMALL) if you want to save space.

Note that it's possible to buy adaptors to fit items that go in small bays (usually hard drives) into large bays. It is, however, not possible to do the reverse.

CPU (processor)

The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the heart of your computer. It performs nearly all the actual computation that takes place as the computer is used. The choice of a CPU will affect the ultimate speed of the computer more than any other single component.

Before we can explain the differences between CPUs, you must first be familiar with certain CPU properties.

Clock speed
Clock speed, measured in Gigahertz (GHz), (or Megahertz (MHz);1 GHz = 1000 MHz) is the number of calculation cycles that your CPU can perform per second. Therefore, a higher clock speed generally indicates a faster processor. But not all CPUs perform an equal quantity of work per cycle, meaning two CPUs at the same clock speed can potentially perform at very different levels.

IPC
IPC, or instructions per cycle, is the amount of work a CPU can do in a cycle. With modern processors this number is an average.

Front side bus speed (FSB)
Front side bus speed is the rate at which the CPU communicates with the northbridge chipset component on your motherboard, measured in MHz. A larger FSB value shows that your CPU is able to communicate with other components on the motherboard (and thus your system) faster.

Interface (Socket/Slot)
CPU’s plug into a socket on the motherboard. It is very important that your CPU is a COMPLETE MATCH to your motherboard CPU socket. Plugging a CPU into the wrong socket will never work and will usually break either the CPU, the socket, or both.

Bit width
Modern processors are either 32-bit or 64-bit (this is a simplification see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64-bit for details). For our purposes a processor can be called 64-bit if it will support running a 64-bit operating system. The newer chips from Intel and AMD all support this for most 64-bit OS’s. If you have any doubts, check the support materials for the 64-bit OS you are interested in running.


Cores and Hyperthreading (HT)

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Dual-Core Advantages

Dual-core processors are a fairly new innovation built by both major processor manufacturers (Intel Core Duo / Core 2 Duo and AMD Athlon 64 X2).

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o Multitasking: Each processor has two processing centres (cores) for a theoretical maximum of twice the operating power and for better multitasking. Major advantages of dual core processors are evident when doing heavy multitasking, such as encoding video and playing video games at the same time.
o Application Support: Newer applications are being written to take advantage of this technology by using a technique known as Multithreading.
o Power Saving: Dual core processors (especially Intel Core Duo) have the ability to turn off one of their cores when application demand is low to save power.

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Disadvantages

o Support: Older programs (with certain notable exceptions) do not support multithreading and may run very slightly slower on dual core CPUs.

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Multi-core Future?
Quad core technology is finally here, and more and more programs are being built to take advantage of multiple cores. The large chip makers are discussing CPU's with eight, sixteen, even thirty two cores in the coming years. Only time and experience will tell how the advantages we are seeing with duo and quad core configurations will scale.

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Hyper-threading (HT)
Hyper-threading is an Intel technology which allows a single core processor to simulate having two cores, giving a performance boost when running several programs at once. It requires motherboards and chipsets supporting Hyper-Threading technology. The advantages of the Hyper-Threading technology have never been breathtaking and Intel has gone back and forth on it's support in multi-core processors.

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Cache
Cache is memory implemented directly on the CPU. Data which is being used in computations is stored in the cache as much as possible and can be retrieved from there much more quickly then the same data can be pulled through the northbridge from main memory. Generally, the larger the cache, the faster the system will run. Cache comes in (usually) three varieties, L1, L2, and L3. L1 being the smallest and fastest, and L3 being the largest and slowest. Usually only the L2 cache size will be shown, as L3 is rarely used in processor design, and L1 will often stay the same size throughout an entire processor product line.

*

Core
The Core of the CPU is the heart of the CPU. Often several cores will be marketed under the same name, so look at what core you are buying. It’s a mistake to choose a processor based solely on it’s rated speed in hertz . This number, while easy to understand, does not tell the whole story. The number of cores and the way they communicate will have a big effect, as will the fundamental architecture of the core or cores themselves.

Often in advertisements (especially for prebuilt systems) a processor will be described briefly, like this-

Pentium 4 at 3.2 GHz

But there’s more to it than that, a fuller specification would read as follows –

Intel Pentium 4 3.2GHz LGA775 FSB800 HT L2-2MB

Which parses out to this –

Model: Intel Pentium 4
Clock Speed: 3.2GHz (=3200MHz)
Interface: Land Grid Array 775
Frontside Bus: 800 Mhz
Other Spec: HyperThreading technology
L2-Cache: 2MB (=2048 kB)

So we can see that while 3.2 GHz is a screaming fast clock speed, this processor might not be as fast as, say, a processor with a 4 meg L2 cache, a 1066 Mhz front side bus and two cores, even if that processor runs at a slower clock speed.

Intel classifies its CPUs using a series of numbers. 3xx, 4xx, 5xx, 6xx and 7xx of which 7xx denominates the highest end products. Generally, the higher the number, the faster the CPU and the more expensive. Usually, models and ratings correspond.

* 3xx Series: Intel Celeron (L2-128KB)
* 4xx Series: Intel Celeron D (L2-512KB)
* 5xx Series: Intel Pentium 4 / Celeron D (L2-1MB)
* 6xx Series: Intel Pentium 4 / Pentium 4 XE (L2-2MB)
* 7xx Series: Intel Pentium 4 XE
* 8xx Series: Intel Pentium D
* 9xx Series: Intel Pentium D

The number followed by suffix J signifies XD technology.
E.g. Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz L2-1MB with HT --> Intel Pentium 4 530J

AMD CPUs are even more confusing in classification. The AMD Athlon CPU rating are not of the actual clock speed but rather the equivalence bench mark performance corresponding to a comparison to the AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1.0Ghz. The conversion Table is as follows:

* AMD Athlon 1500+ = Actually runs at 1.33 GHz
* AMD Athlon 1600+ = Actually runs at 1.40 GHz
* AMD Athlon 1700+ = Actually runs at 1.47 GHz
* AMD Athlon 1800+ = Actually runs at 1.53 GHz
* AMD Athlon 1900+ = Actually runs at 1.60 GHz
* AMD Athlon 2000+ = Actually runs at 1.67 GHz
* AMD Athlon 2100+ = Actually runs at 1.73 GHz
* AMD Athlon 2200+ = Actually runs at 1.80 GHz
* AMD Athlon 2400+ = Actually runs at 1.93 GHz
* AMD Athlon 2500+ = Actually runs at 1.833 GHz
* AMD Athlon 2600+ = Actually runs at 2.133 GHz
* AMD Athlon 2700+ = Actually runs at 2.17 GHz
* AMD Athlon 2800+ = Actually runs at 2.083 GHz
* AMD Athlon 3000+ = Actually runs at 2.167 GHz
* AMD Athlon 3200+ = Actually runs at 2.20 GHz

You may wish to purchase a high end AMD64/EM64T (AMD and Intel, respectively) processor, which provides support for 64-bit operating systems (eg. Windows XP Professional 64-bit Edition). Most 64-bit processors are backwards-compatible with 32-bit operating systems and applications.. Given the huge expansion in addressable memory afforded by the transition from 32-bit to 64-bit (a 32-bit address space tops out at 4 Gigabytes while a 64-bit space encompasses 17,179,869,184 Gigabytes) 64 bit operating systems are the wave of the future. For the time being though, given the enormous quantity of 32-bit software out there, and the limited advantages of 64-bit as of yet , the move is likely to be a slow one.

Slower processors are generally preferred for overclocking, as they can often achieve higher overclocking percentages. Retail CPU's come in a package containing a HSF (Heat Sink Fan), instructions, and a warranty, often 3 years. OEM CPUs do not include these.

The current CPU speeds and advantages change frequently, so for up-to-date comparisons, you may want to check a website that specializes in Hardware reviews, such as Tom's Hardware Guide or Anandtech. A current (as of 14 February 2006) beginner's explanation can be found at Behardware.

Answer 2

If you wanna go for a good Gaming PC ill prefer these components :

1. Motherboard with PCI Card support and RAM support upto 8 GB
2. RAM - 2GB
3. Graphics Card(PCI Version, they are faster than AGP versions)
4. DVD Burner or DVD Combo
5. A cabinet with proper aerodynamics(gaming PCS get heated up very easily)
6. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING - Processor, i would recommend a Dual Core from CORE2 DUO or something
7. HDD, SATA at least 120 GB
8. Last but not the least, Sound Card(if your on board sound is not 5.1 channel)

Answer 3

To start with you need:

a. A Motherboard
b. A Processor
c. RAM
d. Hard Drive
e. Optical Drive (DVD/CD Reader or Burner)
f. Casing and Power Supply
g. Monitor
h. Keyboard and Mouse

Answer 4

Hi saver,
u got to know the main parts or accessories basically.
1) Mother Board and processor
2) Hard disk drive
3) RAM chip
4) Optical drives
5) Monitor (TFT or CRT)
6) Modem
7) Speakers
8) ATX cabinet
9) SMPS
10) Floppy or zip drives
these are the basic,
for a gamer,u need extra saving
u got to buy a video card,Quad core processor,upto 2GB ram space,gaming wheel,XBOX,PS3 etc.,

Answer 5

Not bad but not that great of specs for 1500.... Good- case, power supply, hard drive, ram, motherboard, cpu, graphics card is ok. Bad- 64 bit for windows 7 for those specs is useless, dvd reader/burner is ok and memory is on the cheap side. Overclocking for that much is a RIPOFF!!! and what is this computer used for gaming? because if so Intel is so much better for gaming.

Answer 6

it's all matter of money bro.if you have enough money you can get a great gaming rig.but for starter gamer u will have a good processor AMD Athlon X2 or Intel Pentium D.at least 512MB of memory, any PCI-E motherboard will do,at least 80GB hard disk, good air-way casing, & graphic card.My suggestion for starters ATI X800 or NVIDIA GT7600.
This spec cost at least USD600-750.
To get better price,suggest you to bring along a friend that good in PC maintenence or else you just have to trust the retailer.Hahahahak

Answer 7

I have found this website. It explains everything pretty good and gives you detailed information as to the items you need and what you need to do. Hope this helps.

Answer 8

You might want to consider some expert recommendation here:

http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer/guide-200703.ars

Answer 9

motherboard, cpu, cpu fan, memory, video card, hard drive, case, and power supply