How to Build You Own Computer: A Parts List

Through all the articles I’ve done on building computers, my mantra has been “There are only eleven major parts in a computer. If you can connect just eleven items, then you can build a PC.” If you are new to this hobby, you may be asking yourself what the parts are, and how to decide on which ones to buy. Let’s start at the beginning.

CPU: You’ll build your unit around its CPU. You can pick from Intel or AMD chips, at a wide range of speeds, and prices. This most basic decision helps determine many choices you’ll make later on. Here, you must ask yourself if you want a basic “homework and internet” computer, or something faster, and higher priced.

I prefer to get a CPU-heatsink-fan bundle. It costs about the same as getting the parts separately, but by getting them together you’ll have a factory tested combo you know will work properly.

Motherboard: Once you’ve decided on a CPU, you can pick a motherboard of the same socket type. Many features must be considered. How many PCI expansion slots will you need? Do you want video on the motherboard, or on a separate card? Likewise, do you want firewire on the board, or on a card, or not at all? Most boards come with sound, but will it be the quality you require if you’re a gamer?

Hard Drive: How much storage capacity do you need? A homework PC will find 40GBs to be oodles of space, while a video editor should be looking at 200GBs or more. If you’re doing captures of analog video, get the fastest hard drive you can find to avoid dropped frames.

CD/DVD: Yes, there are still plain CD-ROMs on the market, but since the common medium of exchange for data of all kinds is the CD and DVD, I say get a good rewritable drive. If you want to share movies you’ve made, spend a couple more bucks for a drive that will do DVDs as well as CDs.

Floppy: Many people have eliminated floppy drives. Don’t. They provide a last chance to save a computer crippled by a virus. Also, the disks cost only pennies.

Graphics Card: If you decided against getting video on the motherboard, you’ll need to get a graphics card. The more memory on the card, 128MB, 256MB, or whatever, the better for games and such. However, more memory means more heat, and potential cooling problems. You can get cards that use AGP, PCI, or PCI Express slots.

Modem: If you are still stuck with dialup, you’ll have to get a 56K modem. At least they’re dirt cheap now.

Case and Power Supply: To hold all this wonderful stuff, you’ll need a case. A simple fellow like me only asks for a box with airholes punched in it, but you might want a little something extra. A design statement can be made, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Of greater concern is the power supply. There is an annoying tendency among manufacturers to pair perfectly acceptable cases with undersized power supplies. By that, I mean those under 300 watts. This is the minimum for a basic PC. If you’re a gamer, you’ll want 450 watts or more.

Case Fans: Considering the heat generated inside a computer, I like as many fans as possible. They cost only five bucks or so each.

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