Build Your Own PC

Here Is What This Pro Builds for Himself

Building requires a solid foundation

When you build your own PC it's kind of like building anything else. Start with a solid foundation and you have a great chance of success. Ignore this advice at your own peril.

The foundation for building your own pc is the chassis and power supply.

Here are my requirements for both:

Chassis:

• Must fit the environment. Here I mean size, shape, orientation (desktop or tower). Do NOT plan to sandwich your poor computer in hold just big enough for it to fit. Notice the fans inside and the air vents? Yes, that means it needs air to circulate to keep it cool. Plan & buy accordingly.
• Must accommodate intended devices, both internal and external. For me, this still includes a floppy drive.
• Must have accessible firewire & USB ports - easy to get at.
• Must have a reset switch. Fortunately, this is needed less and less these days. But why not have it?
• Must have hard drive LED to indicate activity (for when you are wondering WHY oh WHY is Windows not responding?). Believe it or not, some chassis do not have this.
• I would prefer it to look sharp on the outside and prefer it to have rolled and NOT sharp edges inside. My hands have been cut up enough, I've learned.
• Large, variable or multi speed fans. A large fan moving slowly can move as much air as a slow fan spinning fast. The larger, slower will make less noise and probably last longer.

Power Supply:

• Adequate connectors (not to mention the right ones for the motherboard!) Find out what type and capacity is recommended for the board you are choosing. If you have lots of devices you need more power and more connectors. High performance video cards require more power and sometimes a connector also.
• Fans. Newer power supplies may have 2 fans, and may not run them unless necessary. This keeps down dirt in the PC and noise. A newer PC that gets noisy as the day wears on may be a clue that you have inadequate circulation for it.
• SATA power connectors. Most newer ones have this, but it doesn't hurt to check. Make sure they haven't eliminated the floppy connector either.

So here's my new PC

It shouldn't shock anyone that I build my own PC or recommend to others to build your own PC. It's really the only way to know what is going to be in the box and to know you got what you wanted and what you paid for.

That said, for most people, it probably just isn't for them, and that's Ok too. For those people, go back to my Computer Buying Guide for Desktop PC's.

Chassis: Antec NSK6580. This comes with a 430watt power supply.

Warning! Some Chassis come with a power supply and some don't. Make sure you know what you are buying.

You can get one at either Buy.com or ZipZoomFly. Figure in shipping costs also.

Motherboard: Asus P5KC. I have been buying Asus motherboards for a long, long time. Support has generally been very good and they have a 3 year warranty. On thing this board, like many new ones, does NOT have is a Parallel Port for legacy printers. Addin cards are available, however. NewEgg.com and ZipZoomFly are good choices for this.

Memory: Crucial PC2-8500 2GB Kit (DDR2). This is another area where you just need to learn your lesson of buying right the first time. Crucial.com is THE way to go. Use their selector and you KNOW the memory is compatible. Tech Support is just a phone call away also.

Note: This board also supports DDR3 memory, but it is VERY EXPENSIVE. I can always upgrade later if performance difference warrants it.

Processor: Intel Q6600 Quad Core 2.4GHz, 1066FSB, LGA775, 8MB cache. Here I am paying a few dollars more for the Quad Cord over the Dual Core. Will I get the performance? Probably not, at least not right away. Future applications I hope will use it. I buy a the point in the price curve just before it turns almost straight up. Right now that's the 2.4.

No, I don't do AMD. That's another, long, story; suffice it to say "once bitten, twice shy". Some people have great success with AMD, more power to them.

Hard Drive: 7200rpm, SATA II 3.0. Seagate or Hitachi; Western Digital is Ok too. Buy the size you need.

CD/DVD Drive: Asus DRW1814BLT, SATA, DVD+/-RW.

1.44 Floppy: Teac; NEC is Ok too. When you buy this for under $15 or so, makes you wonder why Dell charges upwards of $40.

Video: XFX GeForce 8500GT 512MB DRR2 PCI Express; NO FAN. I don't get to do any gaming anymore, so this is adequate for my (dual monitor) needs. Notice this model is designed to cool without using a fan. My experience is that the fans get noisy or die within 1 year. Will the manufacturer replace it under warranty? Yes, but only after you send in your entire video card. What will you use for 3 weeks until you get the replacement?

To build your own PC from scratch can be both fun and educational - include the kids if appopriate for your situation. Yes, it can be frustrating at times also. Make sure you have a knowledgeable friend willing to help if you do get in a bind.