Building System

Introduction

This page will contain information about how you can build a custom PC. We know what component is used for, so now we need to know how we can put a system together and the components needed to do this.

Why build a System?
There are many reasons why someone would want to build a system. You get the choice of the components that will be installed in the machine. Building a system is always cheaper compared to getting the machine ready built. When building a machine you have many choices such as the set-up, the size and components which you are going to purchase. The other reason is that you can overclock a CPU which means better performance but reduced longevity.

Choices
It is very important to get a System suited for the user's needs. For example there is no point in purchasing a Quad Core CPU if the user is only going to be using Microsoft Office to create letters. This is because a Single Core or Dual Core is capable of this and is much cheaper. So it is very important to get components which will suite the user's work load or use. Sometimes it is good to get a slightly faster machine than required as you will not need to upgrade in the future and will save money. Another way of ensuring you are getting the right system is to check the Softwares that you will be running in the machine and see the System requirement needed to run the Software.

Warning
When purchasing readybuilt System you will be getting a one year warranty. When building the System some equipment you will get a one year warranty however there will not be much support for it. So before building a machine you need to consider the advantages against disadvantages.

Components Needed
Input

Mouse (Standard Mouse)
Keyboard (Standard QWERTY)

Output

Monitor (Standard VGA/DVI)
Speakers (Standard)

Storage

SATA 2 (Minimum 40Gigabytes or more)

(DVD ROM) Standard DVDROM will be needed to install the Operating System and any additional Software or Drivers.

Process

(Intel / AMD CPU) (The CPU speed will depend on the Softwares and Operating System needed, it is also quite important to note that if you purchase Intel or AMD you will need the correct motherboard that will support the CPU.)

Other

(Motherboard) This needs to be either Intel or AMD, if you have purchased an Intel CPU then you will need an Intel motherboard. Size of of the Motherboard is also important for example if you purchase an ATX motherboard then you will need an ATX case and Power Supply Unit as well. It is also important to consider that many new Motherboards come with built-in high quality Graphics Card and additional purchase is not needed.

(Power Supply Unit) The Power Supply needs to support the ATX or MATX Motherboard. This is because one has 24 pin power connector and the other only 20. The maximum power for the Power Supply can support depends on the overall components that will be installed in the machine. To check the power needed simply Click Here.

(PC Case) The PC case needs to support the size of the Motherboard and also Power Supply. It is also important to consider any future expansion that will be carried out on the machine, if this is the case then a bigger case is needed. This will provide more room and will make it easy to upgrade.

(Random Access Memory) The RAM needs to support the Motherboard. It will either be DDR, DDR2 or DDR3. Getting an incompatible RAM will prevent the system from starting up. The other things to look for is to get one with a low CLS latency and get matched pairs of RAM for better performance.

(Graphics Card) If you require a powerful Graphics Card in favour of the integrated then it is best to get a PCI-E Graphics Card with high memory capacity. Make sure that you install the drivers beforehand and disabled any integrated in the BIOS.
(Heat Sink) With any modern CPU a heat sink is needed to prevent it from catching fire. It is used to transfer heat generated from the Heatsink to the CPU. Although this is not a correct explanation another way to think of it is that any area that has a cool temperature the heat will go there, which means that both areas will be equally cool thus a cooler CPU. The Heatsink needs to support the CPU socket type for example Socket LGA 775 or socket LGA 1156 etc.

Recommended website for purchasing components

Ebuyer
Misco
Dabs
Micro Direct
OverClockers