Building a computer from scratch
 

So I really want to make a computer. I don't know why...but I just have the urge to CREATE something. My tech level is pretty average though...I mean I can hook cables and components and stuff and I know how computers "work" but when it comes to BIOS and configuring it I wouldn't know what to do.

My questions are...

1. How do you get started? What order do you buy your components(your mobo your case your CPU)? I can't really buy everything at the same time (i'm a student).

2. How do I keep my costs down?

3. Anything else I should be aware of when getting started.

Thanks for the help!

I'd like to know this too.

Undertoad to the rescue? in step by step with circles and arrows....

this could be a monolithic post......one that would gain you acclaim among bbs's across the webz.......

computer parts companies would be trying to sponsor it....you'd get lots of cash and bj's......

i'm cautiously optimistic.

http://www.buildeasypc.com/

This is a pretty good guide. I've built a few, but I usually have my friends who are far more tech savvy do the lion's share.

Step 1: join the cult of newegg.com.

The actual building of a PC is pretty easy, and it can be fun, if you don't make any fatal mistakes. What's difficult is learning which components go together and why, and which components you really want and why. And it's a constant learning experience, because the components are forever changing. You might have the geeks pick the components and then you put it together.

Based on my experience, if you can do stuff like swap out a memory card or plug in a CD-ROM drive, you're most of the way there. Probably the most critical mistake you can make is to not hook up your fans and heat sink properly. Melted CPUs don't generally work well.

In my experience the hardest thing about the whole process is plugging in the "little stuff" to the motherboard. There is usually a bank of about a couple dozen pins on the motherboard where things like the power switch, the reset button, and the hard drive LED light plug in. These connections are different on each mobo, the wires from the case may or may not be the same colors listed in the mobo manual, the diagrams are often a bit confusing, and it can be easy to miscount the pins. But take things slowly and double-check your work, and you should be fine.

I like these guys.

Depending on what you want to use the computer for, you may want to go with more stable parts first (ie, not out of date that quickly) - like cases, CD/DVD drives, etc. I'd probably go for the motherboard, memory, and CPU last. But that's just me. Check reviews of the parts you are looking at - newegg.com is pretty good for this and has good prices.

thanks for links and advise guys...
i'd like to try and really make performance overall goal here.
even if it does cost me more.

i agree with you sperlock in that mobo cpu and memory should probably go last. and partly because they are more expensive and if the project falls through then at least i won't have expensive conponents lying around not being used.

anyway...i think the first step is buying the case. which is what i'm going to start doing this week. then the next step should be power supply (which i'm willing to splurge on...the idea of buying a cheap one just scares me). then i'll get the fans started and work on cooling what will be my beast of a computer.

wish me luck! ;)

That thing you're afraid of happening? It happens. I've lost three power supplies in the last two months.

I know it happens, but it wouldn't be the power supply I would worry about. It would be everything else that's connected to it. Like the graphics card you might spend spend a chunk of money, the motherboard, etc...

In a modern PC the power supply seems to be the weakest link. And it's the most under-reviewed, under-considered part.

How apropos. Our power supply just died last night.

Do not use a Dell hard drive your first time 'round the bend. That is all.

Power Supplies
 

Every time lightning strikes, a power supply in a Dell OptiPlex SX270 dies.

Simple steps to locate a power supply. If that supply is without a long list of written specifications, then assume power supply functions are missing. A supply performs many complex tasks. To increase profits, some power supply manufacturers have learned how to ‘forget’ some critical functions. Then when that power supply dies, an assembler blames anything except that supply.

Those specifications may only mean something to less than 1% of consumers. But that 1% are what inferior power supply manufacturers fear. If they don't provide specifications, then the 1% cannot identify defective products. Does not matter if numbers mean nothing to you. If the long list of functions are not listed numerically on at least one full page, then avoid that supply.

Another benchmark for defective supplies: if your AM radio suffers interference when adjacent to the supply, the supply is likely defective – missing an important function.


Fans - one 80 mm fan inside the power supply is more than sufficient to cool a standard computer case. Some use a 120 mm that moves just as much air with less noise. You can (and should) do those numbers. A second fan is sometimes installed in series so that should a first fan fail, then the second fan maintains same airflow. What does the second fan in parallel accomplish? It typically only lowers chassis temperature by single digit degrees – completely irrelevant. What does a third fan do? Even less temperature reduction and greater dust clogging problems. Those who never learned by first doing numbers would never appreciate why Tool Man Taylor so often promoted the joke "More power".

01. Motherboard
02. CPU
03. RAM
04. Video Card
05. Sound Card (if you want)
06. Power Supply
07. Case
08. Cigarette Lighter
09. Monitor
10. Keyboard, Mouse, Printer

and take UT's advice and get acquainted with newegg.com

That cigarette lighter is going in there even if I don't smoke.
And yes I set up an account with newegg last night. Ordering the case tomorrow.

I had a question for tw though on fans...are you saying that all I need to cool my case is the power supply fan and that's it? Cause with a overclocked Core Duo and a pretty big graphics card it just doesn't seem like enough.

The reviews I've seen on newegg about cases really promote case cooling. Some go to the extreme and use hydraulic cooling! I'm under the impression that the cooler a component is the less chance it will fail...which really appeals to a poor student that doesn't want to replace expenisive parts.

I can't find the really good guide I've seen on case airflow, but here's a serviceable one.

Which OS will you be installing?

A know lot of people support UNIX based OSs, but i've always used Windows.

so if it was windows...i'd probably use XP Pro or something.
my current knowledge is that Vista has had a lot of problems.
but you'd think that would get better as time passed...

I ask because I am going to start an Ubuntu thread to ask some questions of these Linux gurus around here. You might find it helpful.

How many watts are you dissipating inside that case? That number and 35 CFM for a standard 80 mm fan is sufficient to calculate reality.

Appreciate how widespread are computer myths. Most who assemble (not build) a computer and consider themselves expert don't even know how electricity works. They cannot even perform that heat calculation and would get angry if pushed to do so.

One fan for the chassis - not to be confused with another fan on the heatsink that has a completely different task.

Use lessons from junior high science. First form a hypothesis. That means doing the theoretical calculations given watts and fan CFM. Then do experiments. Build the system and measure those results. Without both, then you would know nothing except speculation. These concepts from science get lost on many computer assemblers who just know only because they assembled (not built) a system. Myths will be widespread because observation alone somehow becomes fact. This ignorance is why Asian exporters make massive profits selling inferior power supplies to clone computer assemblers. Sell a supply that is missing parts for less - and have a higher profit margin? Yes because so many computer assemblers recommend power supplies only on dollars and watts - and don't even know what the watts are really measuring.

You don't need all those chassis fans. When done, put your computer in a 100 degree room and operate it all day. Yes, all computers must work just fine at temperatures above 100 degrees - most all with only one 80mm chassis fan.

Many hype more cooling for reliability because they have a trend but don't have a grasp of the numbers. Same applies to another question about disk drive life expectancy that no one answered with numbers. The naive will hype 'leave it on constantly' to extend hardware life. They have not a clue - only speculations justified by observation. Yes, higher temperatures will age a component faster. And then we put numbers to that CPU. We have lowered its life expectancy from 200 years to 100 years. So what? Notice how trends hyped by the naive become irrelevant once we apply what they avoid - the numbers.

You will hear hype about Arctic Silver. Myths to have you spend more. Most heatsink compounds selling for far less money are same as Arctic Silver. But ask one who recommends Arctic Silver to provide its thermal resistance numbers. He cannot. He just 'feels' Arctic Silver is better because it is hyped like Listerine.

When assembling a computer, also challenge claims by asking for numbers. Another number for that CPU heatsink is 'degrees C per watt'. They cannot provide that spec in writing? Then suspect a product promoted only on hype.

Again, it is the 'Tool Man Taylor' joke. The naive just know something is better ... "More Power".

You may know this already, but you can get Windows for significantly less if you order the OEM version. (M$ requires this to be in conjunction with a hardware purchase, like a motherboard or CPU or something.) One downside is that M$ licenses expect the computer manufacturer--that would be you in this case--to supply tech support for OEM copies of Windows that they install on new machines. But I personally think the OS-related Windows support you get from any of the big PC vendors is not worth anything.