Please excuse me if I am a bit giddy for the next few posts. It just that, yesterday, all of the pieces for my new computer arrived and they are now in one piece sitting under my desk; in fact, I’m writing this post on it (you can see the boxes of parts to the left)! This brings me to the point of my editorial for today: Building your own PC! First, a word of warning. Assembling your own PC is not something to be taken lightly nor approached thinking you can cut corners, as it involves hundreds to thousands of dollars in parts and labor (you can appraise what you think the value of your work is when you finish, but something tells me that “Hundreds of thousands of dollars” might not be true). If something goes wrong, multiple components could be damaged, more time will be taken waiting for a replacement to ship and arrive, you could end up killing yourself from the frustration, etc. Clearly, it’s something for the mechanically and technically skilled. Now, don’t go running off in fear, as it can be a great way to gain experience, save money, and get EXACTLY what you are looking for; not necessarily what you’ll get from a cookie cutter PC.

During the course of the P.S.A., I will be intermingling reasons to build your own PC, tales from my experience while I built my big rig, and * tips and tricks * along the way to help you, the PaulTech reader, with your endeavor. It all started three weeks ago, when I made the initial decision to buy a new PC instead of continually updating my old 4-going-on-5 year old Dell. I’d had done a few prior upgrades, in the form of a new Zalman VGA cooler to facilitate an overclocking scheme and new memory modules for expansion, but that was it. It was an aging architecture; AGP motherboards with old P4 (that’s right, old) chip sets and comparatively few ports and bays just wouldn’t cut it anymore, though I made it last a while. It was then that I decided to get a new PC.

The decision to acquire a new PC means that you really only have two options: buy a completely assembled PC (refurbished or new) or buy the parts and assemble it yourself. Anyways, I’ve never liked the options my Dell gave me: weird color scheme, no choice in crucial things like a motherboard or power supply unit, etc. It just doesn’t have the expansion capability that a computer someone takes care in designing has. This means, as a potential builder, you actually do have to do your homework if you want something that will work. This isn’t a paper you get a grade on; this is real engineering, and if you aren’t careful, you could shortchange yourself. * Make sure you know what you want and what you think you will want in the future. It’ll affect every purchase down the road you make towards the PC. *

When I finally gathered a shopping list, I ordered the parts online, which is typically your best bet for everything you want. * I prefer NewEgg.com for ordering parts; they have a great reputation and very low prices, along with combo deals and specials here and there. However, I’ve heard eBay is a good place to find certain parts on the cheap. * Once you’ve ordered your parts, there is a small period of waiting while your parts get here. Take that time to clean up your area: move things around, untangle cables, basic maintenance and whatnot; it will save time later. Let me just say I only needed two tools during the whole installation: a Phillips-head screwdriver and a knife. Once your parts get there, find yourself a good open space; towards the end you will have assembled quite a collection of mangled boxes and packing peanuts. I actually just threw them on the ground (I was working on a table) so when I walked on them, it’d be easier to deal with them come trash time. I don’t know how many people do this but * when working on your PC, either use the anti-static bags to work on or a large white cloth underneath so as to eliminate the risk of static shock or losing a tiny-yet-hugely-important part. *

The order I installed stuff in was :

1. CPU -> Motherboard
2. CPU Fan -> CPU
3. Memory -> Motherboard / Motherboard -> Case
4. Power Supply-> Case
5. Two optical DVD/CD drives -> Case
6. Expansion cards and Hard drives -> Case
7. Connect everything -> Motherboard

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I can tell you that it wasn’t the most efficient, nor easiest way to go; numerous times the PSU connection cables interfered with other components being connected and installed, so if I could change anything, I would move the PSU installation to later; everything else worked great though. Once you think everything is connected right and will work, * run a power cable to your PSU unit and make sure it can boot up before you put it under your desk and connect everything up to that. * At least once, I had to assemble/disassemble the case to diagnose and fix a problem, so you may not be able to avoid it completely. Still, evading silly mistakes (“…like attaching the power switch to the HD LED connector. True story, unfortunately.” -BS) will save you tons of time. After that, it shouldn’t be long before you have your installer program running off a CD or flash drive. Boom, viola! You’re basically finished constructing your new machine.

Here’s a couple more tricks:

• Make sure your motherboard has enough ports for drives, specifically IDE-based drives. I have a problem currently where my motherboard only supports 2 IDE-based devices, but the desired configuration calls for 3; that leaves a 120GB hard drive sitting in my computer stagnating. Ugh.
• Have a Dremel tool handy, or be prepared to take pieces of the case apart. Often the large size of other parts might cause collisions with aspects of the case. I wouldn’t advise it, though, unless you absolutely know what you are doing.
• A voltmeter is also a handy piece of equipment. Great to diagnose problems with; especially with the motherboard and power supply.
• Overclocking is fun, but make sure you can dissipate the extra heat that comes as a result. After-market coolers and extra case fans are great for that. If you want a veritable cooling ‘nuke’ and don’t mind the white noise, aim an area fan into the front of your case.
• Don’t tighten the screws too much; it saves time, frustration, and arm strength. There’s usually so many that NOTHING is going anywhere in your PC.

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Now, down below are the specs for my new machine; it’s rather good for it’s price: just $10 over $1000 before S&H.

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