Building your own computer

PART ONE:

I've been asked by numerous folks over the last few years, both inside and outside of DC, on how much computer they need and/or want. Usually, I sit down with them and ask them questions about their current usage and what they want to be able to do with their computer in the next 5 years.

The qustions are:

1. What do you use your computer for right now?

2. How important is your internet speed to you?

3. What do you visualize as your future needs in the area of office suite processing and/or graphics?

4. What are you planning to do differently with a new computer that you currently don't do?

5. What is your budget towards the purchase of a new computer?

6. How much time a week do you spend on the computer?

7. How much time do you spend cruising around on the internet? E-mail and IM? Online purchasing?

8. What are the specifications of your current computer?

In essence, I listen to their answers, both spoken and un-spoken, and what I normally hear is "I'm dissatisfied with my computer because of this or that." In many instances, the computer they have is around 4 years old but with minimal usage, but the person thinks that they need a better computer.

In about 80% of the time, I end up sitting down with them at their pc and teaching them the operations of the pc, the capabilities of the pc, and in many instances, showing them that there is nothing wrong with their pc as it just needs to be cleaned up and updated (in a few instances, the pc has not been updated or cleaned since they bought it). A lot of times, they are just unhappy with the internet speeds available, especially if they do not have any type of broadband hooked up.

Another 10% actually do need a new pc and based on the answers given, I usually steer them towards Walmart or big-box computer stores like Best Buy with specifications of the computer they need.

This post is for the last 10%. Those users want to expand their horizon in using the pc for more than the typical office suite processing, internet browsing, e-mail/IM usage, etc. This is where I go much more technical with the concept of buy versus build.

Typically, this operator/user wants to be able to store pictures, music, play some online games, watch movies, and generally go beyond the normal boundries of computer usage. As they visualize their future usage to me, I'm jotting down notes in regards to storage, graphics, ram, and raw computer speed.

Once the person has finished describing their concept of the "ideal" computer, I then discuss the concept of brand names and "whitebox" computers, listing the good and the bad for both (Many of you know of my distaste for brand name computers, but I do guide people to them from time to time).

At this point, I explain the costs of building a custom computer to fit their expectations and budget, what types of warranties expected, what type of customer support (usually none) against the same questions in regards to the brand names. I also discuss the pros and cons of off-the-shelf parts on the white box build versus the proprietary parts included in the brand name computer along with the proprietary OS software that seems to come with a bunch of useless software whereas the whitebox OS is clean.

This comes to the decision that the person has to make in regards to the fork in the road, custom build or brand name.

Part 2 will continue with the planning of the computer.

Excellent start, Demon. Man after my own heart. Always best to inform the "customer" and educate them rather than just try and sell them something they may not need.

I have to say, you have a very well thought out approach.

If I miss something, feel free to add it to this post but remember that every pc builder has their own way of building a pc from scratch. I'm posting the methods that I have developed over the years and I'm sure that some of the items and/or parts sequence will be controversial.

Nice post.

I built the last two PC's I've owned. I grew up around computers, and my father was the one who got me interested. I've seen everything from the custom built Heathkit that he made, to the Commodores, Apple series, and the first IBM clones to what we have today. Computers are a fun hobby for me, so building one was enjoyable. But even more than that, the reason I choose to build my own rather than buy something at a big box store is because I want to know what I'm really getting.

Like most tech geeks, I tend to do massive amounts of research and learn about what I am buying so that I don't rely on someone else (big box store employees are....let's say...less than helpful). I know what I want before I even head to the store or buy online. What I always tell people interested in buying a PC or building one for the first time is GET INFORMED. People are intimidated by computers and all the jargon. In reality, a good general base of knowledge isn't that taxing on the brain and will go a long way in not getting something you don't need or want.

For the casual PC user, I equate buying a computer with taking your car to a mechanic. You'd better either trust the seller/mechanic a lot, or make sure you are informed enough to not get taken for a ride.

There will always be those people who know they are probably paying more for no reason and are ok with that because they aren't interested or have the time to learn about what they are buying. I'm just not one of those people.

PART TWO:

You don't usually build a house without plans, nor do you go on a long cross-country roadtrip without planning the trip. It's the same way with any expensive purchase, including buying or building a computer.

Based on the discussion in Part One, you have decided to build your own computer as the off-the-shelf and/or brand name computers do not offer what you want in your prospective new pc.

Unlike other types of plans, planning a computer build does NOT mean making a list of parts you want, but rather what you want the new pc to have in the way of custom capabilities best suited to your individual needs and your ability to build it yourself or have a pc shop build it for you.

The first question you need to have answered is what is the main purpose of the pc? This question has to be answered since the parts purchased and installed is going to lean towards the "stated" purpose. Remember, off-the-shelf computers are nothing more than compromises between computing, graphics, and processing.

For example, if you lean towards gaming or videos, online or not, your plan should be geared more towards graphic processing and ram, whereas the music lover would be geared much more towards processing and sound.

The second question is, of course, cost. What is your intended and actual budgetary considerations? How much can you spend up front and on any hardware upgrades down the road? Once you have your stated computer budget, increase it by 10%, if possible, to allow for unexpected costs.

You need to have these two questions answered prior to making your computer plan. Else, you will either end up with a computer that does NOT fit your intended needs due to budget constraints or you will overspend your budget.

Planning means research. Planning means more research. Planning means even more research. Get the hint?

I use an Excel spreadsheet for my planning. It looks like this when I start:

PART BRAND PART NAME COST SHIPPING TOTAL VENDOR

Processor

Motherboard

Case

CPU Cooling

Power Supply

Hard Drive 1

Hard Drive 2

Hard Drive 3

Hard Drive 4

DVD R/W Drive 1

DVD R/W Drive 2

RAM

Video Card 1

Video Card 2

Sound Card

Speakers

Monitor

TOTAL

This way, I can list the major parts in the order of my priority and it helps me plan the new pc in terms of cost and where I found the best prices for each part. It also helps me figure out where I can compromise without moving away from my intended purpose.

PART THREE will concentrate on the actual parts.

Side note for those looking for a deal. Ebay may not be it. For one, most things sold there do not have a return/refund policy. Make sure what you are getting is able to be returned if defective. Usually lagitimate vendors have a business website or an ebay store. Check their feedback for the past 6-12 months. And sometimes they wont be cheaper than Newegg or tiger direct. So do your homework.
I have always been shy about buying electronics anything at auction.
Sometimes, Amazon is a great place to get equipment at a discout price as well. And all sales thru amazon are as if you bought it from amazon as every seller agrees to the terms of being a seller.
Also, read the buyer reviews on webisites of the equipment you are interested in. Just cuz the add make it look cool, doenst mean the rest of the world who bought it thinks so. I weigh user reviews as high if not higher than magazine reviews as you get to read the failure rate, conflicts and any return/customer suport issues people are having.

Flak Monkey wrote:

Side note for those looking for a deal. Ebay may not be it.

OOOOPS, didn't mean to list the parts for my next pc--deleted.

Agree. Looking back, most of the parts I bought came from Newegg--some did come from E-bay (cases/optical drives/etc) but not the major parts like ram/processor/motherboard.

PART THREE: Processors

Ok, now we start with the actual parts. Some pc builders will quibble with the priority order that I use but remember that each builder has their own way of doing things (and their way is not incorrect but comfortable to them).

Notice that I have the processor listed first. My reasoning has to do with the numerous motherboards available. Once I have decided on the processor I want (Intel or AMD), half (in theory) of the motherboards available will disappear.

The decision you have to make with the processor is more or less one of cost, with Intel usually a little more expensive than a comparable AMD. However, cost should not be the sole criteria when choosing the processor.

You need to research the various processors available for both brands, using the reviews by pc users, magazines, and builders, such as Hothardware, Tom's Hardware, Legit Reviews, etc. While you are reading the review, take notes or screen prints of the other hardware that the reviewers are using in testing the processors. This way, you can start thinking about the motherboard, cooling, ram, cases, etc. as you research your processor as each reviewer uses different pieces of hardware.

For purposes of keeping this thread from being so long, we will concentrate on the Intel 1366 family of processors, but the planning will be the same for all other Intel and AMD processor families. One side note: depending on your desired usage, you may wish to consider the Intel 755 family and the comparable AMD family as prices for both are coming down rather quickly now that the newer processors are out . They may be a generation older but still very fast.

Once you have made the decision on the processor, you have then eliminated some more of the available motherboards, leaving you with a somewhat more manageable population to choose from.

As you do your research on the processor, watch for the comparisons data and tests. Sometimes, this information will help with the speed vs cost analysis yoou need to make.

Once you have made the decision on the processor, place the information on the spreadsheet/table. Then you start looking for the best prices (not necessarily the lowest). Don't hesitate to shop around on the internet but keep in mind that you need to factor in shipping costs, return policies, seller warranties, manufacture's warranties (usually standard), etc. Remember, the processor is usually the most expensive part of the pc.

Be careful if buying on E-Bay, Amazon, and other like sites. You can save big time using those sites and if the seller has a high satisfaction rating, you can breathe a little easier.

PART THREE: MOTHERBOARDS

When considering a motherboard, you need to think about the current usage but also future upgrades you may wish to make, especially if you cannot buy all of the desired parts at once. At a minimum, you need to buy more motherboard than necessary so you can have the option for future upgrades.

As you reviewed the processors, you should have made some notes as to the motherboard used to test the processor. This will give you some idea of which boards are best for the selected processor. As I research, I look for the features included on the board that are most important to me in terms of building gaming computers, such as the number of PCI/PCI-E slots and their location on the board, the type of North/South bridge cooling (passive vs. active), the number of SATA hookups, RAM slots, etc.

As you do your research on the boards, you also need to be making some determination as to the options you want and/or need along with what will be standard with the board. For example, if you are planning to use your pc mainly for storage of photos, you may be happy with the onboard audio and LAN setups. This would eliminate some expense for parts. In another pc setup, for movie making, you would want a good audio card since you need to mix the sound into the movie. Ditto for building gaming pcs.

A typical 32 bit mid-level motherboard will usually have onboard audio/video/LAN along with a mix of both PCI and PCI-E slots and 4 RAM slots and should run between $50.00 and $100.00. The more stuff on the board, the higher the price.

A typical 64 bit dual channel mid-level motherboard (duo/quad core processors) will have at least one PCI slot and 2 PCI-E slots along with four RAM slots (Ram slots will be color coded for the dual channel). Again, the price range will start around $75.00 and goes up from there.

The newer 64 bit triple channel (Intel I7 class AKA X58 boards) normally come with three PCI-E slots and one PCI slot in addition to six color coded Ram slots. You can figure on spending $175.00 and up.

For myself, I prefer Evga products due to their limited lifetime warranties but Asus, BFG, Gigabyte, MSI, Intel, and DFI are all good motherboard manufacturers. However, take your time and do your research.

PART THREE: Cases

A nice looking case is in the eye of the beholder. With that said, the main criteria should be:

1. Full tower, mid tower, or mini? Your choice. However, the bigger, the better.
2. Will the motherboard fit?
3. Will the case fit where you want it located?
4. Tool-less setup? Your preference, but sometimes it’s nice to have.
5. If air-cooled, how are the fans set up on the case, front/back/side?
6. If liquid-cooled, are there places to route the hoses or will you have to drill/modify the case for liquid-cooling? Will the case fans help cool as well?
7. Do you want a door covering the optical drives or rather do you want the drives available without having to open something?
8. Is the case roomy inside? This can be important since a cramped case can actually hinder cooling along with trying to work on the pc.
9. Side window? Eh, some folks like, some don’t—not necessary for good cooling operations

Remember, you will have to live with the case every day so make sure that you REALLY like how it looks and operates. The most important feature of a case is cooling ability. The newer the processor, the more need for better case cooling abilities as the newer processors run hotter, especially the multi-cores.

Be aware of the cheap $50.00 or less cases. There’s a reason why they are so cheap.

(DC)DEMONSLAYER wrote:

PART THREE: Cases

A nice looking case is in the eye of the beholder. With that said, the main criteria should be:

1. Full tower, mid tower, or mini? Your choice. However, the bigger, the better.
2. Will the motherboard fit?
3. Will the case fit where you want it located?
4. Tool-less setup? Your preference, but sometimes it’s nice to have.
5. If air-cooled, how are the fans set up on the case, front/back/side?
6. If liquid-cooled, are there places to route the hoses or will you have to drill/modify the case for liquid-cooling? Will the case fans help cool as well?
7. Do you want a door covering the optical drives or rather do you want the drives available without having to open something?
8. Is the case roomy inside? This can be important since a cramped case can actually hinder cooling along with trying to work on the pc.
9. Side window? Eh, some folks like, some don’t—not necessary for good cooling operations

Remember, you will have to live with the case every day so make sure that you REALLY like how it looks and operates. The most important feature of a case is cooling ability. The newer the processor, the more need for better case cooling abilities as the newer processors run hotter, especially the multi-cores.

Be aware of the cheap $50.00 or less cases. There’s a reason why they are so cheap.

An addendum to my quote on pc cases.

Be aware of the different types of motherboards as some motherboards will not fit in the standard ATX case.

A brief description of the motherboard types from WIKI are:

BTX:

BTX (for Balanced Technology Extended) is a form factor for motherboards, originally slated to be the replacement for the aging ATX motherboard form factor in late 2004 and early 2005. It has been designed to alleviate some of the issues that arose from using newer technologies (which often demand more power and create more heat) on motherboards compliant with the circa-1996 ATX specification. Size is 12.8 X10.5 Also there is a mini-BTX (PICO) at 10.5" X 8"

ATX:

ATX (Advanced Technology Extended) is a computer form factor designed by Intel in 1995. It was the first big change in computer case, motherboard, and power supply design in many years. A full size ATX board is 12 X 9.6.

FlexATX 9 in (229 mm) 7.5 in (191 mm)

microATX and EmbATX 9.6 in (244 mm) 9.6 in (244 mm)

Mini ATX 11.2 in (284 mm) 8.2 in (208 mm)

Standard ATX 12 in (305 mm) 9.6 in (244 mm)

EATX (extended ATX) 12 in (305 mm) 13 in (330 mm)

EEATX (enhanced extended ATX) 13.68 in (347 mm) 13 in (330 mm)

WTX (workstation ATX) 14 in (356 mm) 16.75 in (425 mm)

And now, XL-ATX

In 2008, Foxconn unveiled a Foxconn F1 motherboard prototype, which has the same width as a standard ATX motherboard, but longer to accommodate 10 slots.

In January 2008, Lian Li unveiled Armorsuit PC-P80 case with 10 slots designed for the motherboard.

A production version of XL-ATX board was released by EVGA as EVGA X58 Classified 4-Way SLI, which has the length of 13.5-in and width of 10.3-in, but it only has 7-slots.

Again, it is my suggestion that you buy/decide on the on the motherboard prior to making any decision on the case. Why? I now cannot use the Antec 1200 that I had custom painted for my next pc....................

so far all very good points!
I started to put computers together back in 90 and the 1st was a 486sx25 that did a blazing 33mhz in turbo! had 2 megs of mem and a 200 meg HD!
thats back when code was small and tight!..(I got the 1st true 3-D game! castle wolfenstein 3-D it came on 2 floppy disks which I still have!)
I have found that I can put a system together for the price that the mfg's want but it has better parts than what they are willing to let you have..when you try to change their boxes (IE customize it a bit) the price starts jump'n up FAST!
just remember that on board vid chip maybe a nice one but the bios dedicates system memory to run it!..now on the other hand installed vid cards have memory on them..BUT if what your doing is graphics intensive it will use all of it and then go to system memory and use THAT to do what you want it to do! which in case you did not do induces a bit of lag/slowness to your system...like also allowing windows to control the virtual memory/swap file on the hard drive! but thats something I found out about way back in the wfw 3.11 days

I would recommend getting a case without a power supply. The power supplies that come with cases tend to be of lower quality.
I love my Antec P180 mini. I can barely hear the thing. The downside to the mini is that I am limited to the miniATX form factor.

OK, now that most of the holidays are over...........

Let's talk about CPU cooling. Currently you have 2 choices, Air or Liquid.
We will not discuss the more extreme methods such as oil, refridgerated, or other exotic ways of cooling the CPU/Video cards/RAM/hard drives.

Right now, most of the cooling options focus on air cooling, but liquid cooling is making a great deal of headway due to the high heat putout from the CPUs and video cards, not to mention the heat from the power supply.

AIR COOLING

As with the case, the purpose of air cooling is to generate cool air passing over the various components on the motherboard, especially the CPU, north/south bridges, RAM, and video cards. In theory, more airflow = better cooling.

You have selected your case, hopefully with an eye to the airflow, and now you need to chart/map that airflow with the idea of pulling the air towards the necessary components, taking into consideration the wires that will be in the way.

Please, please do not use the stock cooling fan that comes with the processor, expecially with the duo/quad core processors. It may be adequate for desktop usage but not for any heavy usage like gaming or video processing.

CPU cooling is done thru mounted heatsink/fan combos and, depending on the motherboard, can help with the cooling of the RAM as well (using RAM fans will help also). There is such a variety of high-performance CPU heatsind/fan combos available that you will need to research and make a determination of the one best suited for your particular computer. All cooling towers have several things in common:

1. Heatsinks
2. Filled pipes or other heat dispersion techniques
3. Large (80+ mm) fans set to blow the heat towards the case exit fans
4. Weight----why? In theory, more surface exposed, better dispersion of heat.

The problem with the better CPU cooling towers is the weight. When you are installing the tower to the CPU, you usually install with the motherboard laying flat, the motherboard is installed in the case flat, other components are install on the motherboard while the motherboard is flat.

Then, you stand the case upright and all of the cooling tower weight is now supported by the motherboard only. Most of the better motherboards have taken this into consideration and have reinforced the socket area to prevent cracking of the board due to the weight and vibrations of the CPU cooler.

If you set up the airflow diagram, channel the airlow correctly, and moving your wires out of the airflow channel (not easy to do), you should minimal problems with heat.