Colt Tech

Archive for May, 2009

There are an infinite number of options for computers now. Whether you want a laptop, pc, or mac; and then you get into whether or not you want to buy one from a company such as Dell or build it yourself. I’m going to be discussing the steps you should take when building your own computer and give an example walkthrough.

What are the benefits of building your own computer? The biggest reason for me is cost. I can shop around for parts and find the lowest price. You also are afforded a lot more freedom in picking what actually goes inside your computer. And quite frankly, building your own computer is pretty darn fun.

Now, where do we start?

Before you think about what hardware to buy, you need to determine what kind of user you are, and what you need the computer to do.  I’ll break it down into three categories: Please note that there is an infinitely large spectrum between these categories, so try and gauge where you fit best.
1: Power/Hardcore User - You use the computer all day, and the main focus of your activities are graphic design, CAD, serious gaming, video encoding/editing, or writing code. You are going to want a computer that is fairly powerful in order to handle all the processes and demands that you’ll require.
2: Average User - You use the computer frequently, but don’t do anything too complex. You might do things ike Quickbooks, check your email, use word processing, and surf the web.
3:New User - If you are brand new to computing this would be you (i.e. you’ve been using a computer for less than a year). I would steer away from building your own computer. You haven’t established what you need it to do yet, so a cheap 300$ machine would be fine for now.

Try not to worry too much about the “what ifs” and just focus on what you most frequently use the computer for.

Also, set a budget. If you can only afford a $1,500 machine, stay within that $1,500.

Here are the main components we’re going to look at:
1- CPU/ Central Processing Unit
2- Motherboard
3- RAM/ Random Access Memory
4- HDD/HD/Hard Disk Drive/Hard Drive
5-GPU/Graphics Processing Unit/ Graphics Card
6-Sound Card
7-PSU/Power Supply
8-Cooling/Airflow
9-Case
10-Peripherals
11-Operating System
12-Other accessories

This might seem like a lot, but hopefully all these terms will become second nature by the end of this series.

The CPU:
Manufacturer: Intel or AMD
Socket: LGA 1366, 939, AM2, AM2+, LGA775, and there are many more
Number of cores: Single, Dual, Quad
Speed:  #GHz

The first two questions are to help prevent compatibility issues. If you have a cpu made by Intel it will not work on a motherboard made for AMD cpus. Sockets are brand-specific. For instance, all socket 939 motherboards and process refer to AMD chips. You need to make sure the cpu and motherboard match up. Unless you are a power user, stay away from the quad-core processors. They are fairly expensive, and you simply don’t need the horsepower. Think of it like giving a 16year old a Forumla 1 car. Dual cores are almost always a safe bet. The speed just tells you how much it can process and how fast. For a dual core, something around 2.4GHz will get the job done just fine.

For our tutorial we’re going to go with the Intel Core i7 2.66GHz socket LGA 1366 quad-core processor.