Building a computer

Inside of custom built computer.

Build our own computer? Are people really allowed to do that? Yes and as a matter of fact building our own computer was an enjoyable way to get a good system at a reasonable price. In truth, there are a lot of ways to get a computer these days. A good computer can be purchased at just about any large retailer, computer shop or online. And the prices we pay keep going down. The same cannot be said for very many things these days. So why did we go to all the trouble to build our own machine?

We found that by building it ourselves, we were in complete control of exactly what components were used. Often mass-produced computers use the cheapest parts they can get. They may have a highly recognizable name, but inside they are usually the lowest common denominator. In building our own we bought parts specific to our needs and could shop for the best bargains on each part.

For instance, if more video processing is needed, such as for video editing or gaming, a more powerful video card can be purchased. Most low cost computers are going to perform average at most things. We found that the end result in building our own was a computer with the performance of a much more expensive model at the price of a low end one.

To start we researched the various types of computer parts available and decide what kind of computer we wanted. Our decision was to make one that had good video processing power, as well as a fast Central Processing Unit speed. There is a huge array of computer parts available, mostly from online retailers.

One of the better sources for information that non-engineers can understand is a web page called My Super PC. It is located at http://www.mysuperpc.com. It is written by a person who has built several computers and has extensive information about various components, prices and the best place to purchase them.

Next we went online to purchase our parts from a well-known retailer. They arrived in about a week well packaged in a huge amount of foam peanuts. Nothing was damaged, so we could begin the fun part – assembly. The first thing to do is to read the enclosed information cards and manuals for the various parts, especially the motherboard. They provide step-by-step directions for putting everything together. It does not require a computer programmer or engineer to do this.

Everything is laid out in the directions and most things just plug together. The one thing that can easily mess up an otherwise good computer assembly is static electricity. Such discharges can run many hundreds of volts and can instantly fry sensitive computer parts such as the motherboard and memory sticks. An anti-static wrist band that connects to the computer frame is a must. They can be purchased at most electronic parts stores.

After assembling the parts and making all the connections, it was time for the first power up. It is always exciting to see what was at first just a disorganized assortment of parts come to life and do something. We then loaded the Operating System. For that we selected Windows XP, which is not the latest but has proven to be a good and stable OS. Next we loaded all the “drivers” necessary for the various hardware components, such as the video card, CD drive, etc. A driver is a small program that the computer runs in order for it to know how to interact with the different parts. There can be quite a few of them, but they are all included on the component manufacturer’s disks.

That is all there is to it! We are now enjoying our custom built computer that does just what we want it to.