Computer Building 101 - THE PARTS, part 1

So, you have always wanted to build a computer and for some reason you found yourself perusing IAMTHESECRETNINJA.COM. Well here it is, your one stop shop on what you need to buy to build your own custom computer and how to put it together.

THIS IS COMPUTER BUILDING 101 - THE PARTS, PART 1.

So why should you build your own machine? Well, that's an easy question, because you think it might be a learning experience, it might be fun, you control what goes into the box and what is installed on the hard drive, etc, etc. It might even be cheaper, but, honestly, OEM's are building machines on the cheap nowadays. What it comes down to is that you feel you will get better value for your buck by building you own machine and it just feels right.

Because that's how we roll here.

OK, first off you need to find and purchase the parts necessary to build your awesomebox. I mostly purchase my parts from NewEgg.com, but there are other online retailers out there.

There are many decisions that you, the consumer, need to make when picking out the parts for a computer, or even picking up a machine from Best Buy or Wall Mart: what do I need this computer to do? Gaming? Video editing? Web surfing/email? Writing papers? Watching movies? Frankly, even the cheapest, lowest end systems rolling out of Dell, HP, Gateway, etc, will get the job done when it comes to anything other than Gaming and Video editing... and maybe watching those HD movies that just happened to be in you Downloads folder. You don't need to spend a fortune to get the result you want. Even if you don't game or edit HD video but "might" in the future, we can make sure it will be able to or allow for an upgrade in the future.

You typically need the following: Motherboard, Processor, RAM, Hard Drive, Power Supply, Video Card, Optical Drive, and a Case.

THE ALMIGHTY CPU, PROCESSOR, CHIP, ETC ETC.

When deciding to build a machine, pick your processor first. There are two manufacturers that matter at the moment:

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AMD and Intel. AT THE MOMENT, AMD is less expensive and Intel is more powerful, however, for most users (surfing the web, listening to music, email, writing letters, etc) the only thing that matters is the price and AMD fits the bill, and is powerful enough to rock you like a hurricane. Yes, I do prefer AMD, but Intel is good as well, just too expensive for my tastes. You do get better performance, on a whole, going with Intel; but for me it doesn't justify the cost. Many swear by them and that's cool, I stand by AMD.

So you've chosen which brand and you are looking at pricing and performance. When you find a chip that works, you need to look at some of the specs. Nowadays, multiple core processors are the standard. You should buy, at the very least, a dual core processor. There are dual, triple, and quad core processors available so take that in account when purchasing. Basically, a core represents a processor. Having a dual-core is like having two processors in your machine. Literally, it is not, but it acts like it and it improves performance. The more cores, the more things you can do at any given time. A lot of new software take these cores into account an leverage the power to improve performance. In the case of video games, it has allowed developers to push the envelope with visuals and game play mechanics (of course the GPU [video card] plays a bigger role, but you need a good CPU [processor] as well).

You also need to pay attention to what socket you can plug the processor into and what RAM is supports. AMD, for example has 3 popular sockets at the moment, AM2, AM2+, and AM3. Thankfully, AMD has made it possible to drop an AM3 chip (the newest socket) into an AM2 or AM2+ socket. But AM3 motherboard will not support AM2 or AM2+ chips, unless it specifically says it will (mostly due to the type of RAM the motherboard supports). Intel is more straight about it, you buy a LGA775 chip, it goes into a LGA775 Board, and so on. It's really not a bad deal either way. But it's something you need to be aware of so that you don't pick a chip and a motherboard and when the time comes to assemble, you aren't running into issues with functionality or physical fit.

THE MOTHER OF ALL BOARDS.... THE MOTHERBOARD

The Motherboard is pretty much what the name entails. You need a lot of parts to build a computer, but all of it plugs into the motherboard. There at two main sizes:

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ATX and MicroATX.

The ATX form allows for more PCI slots (the vertical bars on the left side of the board) and this in turn allows for more expandability. The physical size matters if you end up getting a case that only supports MicroATX as an ATX board will be too wide to fit. The mounting hole configuration allows basic compatibility when installing the board in a case, so as long as the board will physically fit, the mounting hardware will align so you can mount your board.

Your motherboard selection heavily depends on what processor you will use. Also what your needs are. Most, if not all, consumer class motherboards have network and sound chips built in. Many (mainly MicroATX boards) have onboard (built in) video as well. All these features built into the motherboard make it a much easier affair to build your own system. The only downside to this is that typically these components are not as powerful as dedicated add-on card, but for most users, it is more than adequate. Another consideration is the number of optical drives and hard drives you want to have. Most users can get by with one of each. But those that need dual DVD burners and 3 or 4 hard drives need to take that into consideration when buying a motherboard. The number of SATA and IDE connections limit the number of these devices unless you buy an add on card to expand. But for the most part you, the user will have enough connectors to build your machine.

Stay tuned for part 2 of "BUYING FROM OEM's IS FOR SISSYS, WE ROLL CUSTOM"

hopefully tomorrow.