Buying Computer Parts and Components Guide
Guide to choosing cheap computer parts
You can look at building a computer as a two step process:
- Buying the cheap computer parts
- Connecting all the parts together
If you have ever played with Lego you will have all the basic skills needed for computer assembly.
There are people building and upgrading computers for years using cheap computer parts or barebone computers. Many of them have never done any formal computer training.
What cheap computer parts do I need for a complete computer?
Below is a list of all the different components in a cheap computer system. This list is everything you need to build a Intel Pentium 4 socket 478 computer. This type of computer is currently the best value once you take into account the motherboard other component costs.
If all you want to do is basic wordprocessing, email and a bit of Internet surfing then here is a list of all the cheap computer parts you will need:
CPU:
I recommend a Socket 478 Intel Pentium 4 or Celeron 2.0 Ghz and above. If you want a cheap computer then get a socket 478 motherboard and CPU. When you take into account all the other costs like memory then this is the best buy. Most socket 478 motherboards have Intel components are very stable. This means that your computer will crash less often. Celeron versions are slightly slower than full strength Pentium 4 but are better value. If you are interested in some information about all the different kinds of CPUs out there then check out my CPU guide here. Basically Intel Pentium 4 processor has more internal memory than the Celeron processor. It is best to use Pentium 4 processor if you are building a computer for CAD/CAM use or some data processing. Celeron processor will be more than enough if you are only be doing email, internet and some text editing at home. There are also processors made by companies other than Intel. AMD also makes good and poewrfull processors.
Motherboard:
You need a Socket 478 motherboard to go with your Pentium 4/Celeron CPU. The some motherboard will support both Intel Pentium 4 and Celeron processors. When buying the motherboard try to choose the most recent one so that you can upgrade your processor in the future without having to change the motherboard.
The type of motherboard you get determines how upgradable your system is. Make sure it has plenty of room for expansion. Nowadays most of the motherbords comes with sound card integrated in to the motherboard. You can add a fast AGP 3D card for games. Socket 478 is the type of connector to the CPU. Pentium 4s use socket 478 while AMD Athlons use socket A.
Memory - RAM:
You will need to get at least 256 megs of DDR memory. DDR stands for Double Data Rate and is the fastest memory available for desktops today. I recommend you getting 512MB DDR 400 memory. You will see a significant performance difference depending on the memory size.Bigger is better. Also DDR is the type you want for a socket 478 motherboard (with Pentium 4/Celeron CPU). If you want to know about the other types of memory out there Check out my computer memory guide here
Hard Drive:
Get at least a 40 gigabyte drive. It is the best price/capacity deal at the moment. You always need more so buy as much as you can afford. Also when you are buying the hard drive try to get the 7200 rpm ones. They make quite a difference in the performance. Buying more space doesn't cost much extra so I recommend you get a 80 GB drive like Western Digital, Seagate, Samsung or Maxtor. The hard drive is where your installed programs are stored. Lots of storage space means that you can have a wide variety of different software at your fingertips. If you want to know more about hard drives then check out my guide to modern hard drives here
CDROM or DVD or CD Writer or DVD Writer ?
Any CD writer faster than 32 speed is plenty fast enough. CD writers are very handy if you want to share large lots of digital pictures or video. DVD writers/burners have recently dropped dramatically in price. You must have a CD ROM drive to install Windows and other applications. With CD writer drives so cheap it makes sense to simply get a CD writer and use that as your CD ROM since they work as both CDROM and CD Writer. You can also consider getting a DVD and CD Writer combo drive if you are into DVD movies.
Graphics Card:
Get at least a 32 megabyte AGP card.You can get a very fast, cheap and reliable video card such as ATI Radeon 9000 64MB AGP graphics card. AGP graphics cards are the best but your motherboard needs an AGP slot. Your graphics card is only really important if you want to play games or make enginering designs.
Case and power supply:
Get a minimum 300 watt power supply. Get a nice large case that has enough room for you to work on your computer. If you want to know more then check out my guide to cheap computer cases here.
Sound Card:
These days most of the motherboards have a sound card already built in so you do not need a sound card.
Monitor:
Get at least a 17 inch computer monitor. If you want to save your eyesight get a 17" LCD screen like the one pictured above. LCD sreens are much easier to read from than bulky CRT displays. I've got all the details on how to select a good cheap computer monitor that suits your needs here. Guide to choosing cheap computer monitors.
Keyboard and Mouse:
If you are going to be spending a great deal of time using your mouse surfing or doing graphic design then get a new optical mouse like, Logitech combo includes both a cordless mouse and matching keyboard. I use the mouse pictured above and it is very responsive and doesn't get "jammed" with funny brown gunk like old style mice.
Keybords are pretty much all the same. If you do a lot of typing then spend more. I recommend you get the Logitech keyboard mentioned above. I know a guy who got one and it works great. The keyboard has great key action and the mouse is precise. The best part of all is that there are no cords to clutter up your desk.
I think you are ready to see how to Build your own computer.
Once you see how easy it is to assemble cheap computer parts into a computer you will be convinced.
Being an independent computer user will save you money and win you friends. You will save thousands if you plan on maintaining a computer for a few years.
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