These days, building your own computer is almost like a lost art form. As hardware has become more simplified and technology more advanced, gone are the days of putting together your very own computer tower and waiting for the dial-up Internet to connect.
Still, there are some benefits to building your own computer, especially if you are an avid gamer or programmer. Having control over your computer’s capabilities such as storage can save you the hassle of finding the best retail computer for you. In addition, buying parts online and building your own computer is oftentimes more cost-effective than purchasing one that was manufactured by a major company.
In this guide, we’ll go over everything you need to build your own computer and offer a simplified process for how to go about it. By the end of this, you’ll be well on your way to building the computer of your tech dreams. Let’s get started!
What You’ll Need: Core PC Parts
To get started, you will need to collect the necessary PC parts that make up the core of your computer. One of the reasons why organic computer development has decreased in recent years is because of skyrocketing computer hardware part prices. Excessive DRAM costs and increased prices of graphics cards make it more expensive to put together a good piece of hardware than it was before.
We recommend going to an electronic parts database like Octopart.com for all your computer parts needs. With that being said, here’s the main parts you’ll need:
- Processor: the main source of data of the machine, like a brain.
- Motherboard: this circuit board acts as the skeleton and backbone of the computer, housing the processor and RAM. This is where users plug-in hard drives, network cables, and SSDs.
- RAM: temporary storage for short-term tasks. RAMs do this for both main memory and onscreen graphics memory, meaning the faster RAM you get, the more smoothly your computer will run.
- Power supply: the heart of the computer, brings your computer to life by converting the power from the plug to what the motherboard needs to function.
- Storage: long-term storage that comes in two forms — hard drives (HDDs) and solid-state drives (SSDs). The difference? HDDs have higher capacity and are cheaper; SSDs are smaller, more expensive, and faster.
- Case: the shell of your computer, which houses all of the above parts. Be mindful that you will have to maneuver your way around the design of the case you choose when you do the wiring!
Basic Steps for Assembling a Computer
So you have all the parts you need to build your computer and get it up and running. Now comes the fun part: assembling the puzzle.
1. The Motherboard
The first part you’ll want to tackle is the motherboard. Do you recall what the motherboard is made of? This powerful circuit board contains the computer processor and RAM. It also contains a heat sink, which goes onto the processor to keep it cool. An important thing to note is that when you are assembling these parts, be sure to discharge any static buildup by working on a non-metallic surface like cardboard or a wood table.
The processor fits neatly into a socket on the motherboard that holds its pins. Simply lift a metal lever and orient the chip by looking for the golden triangle and lining it up with a triangle on one corner of the socket. Insert the chip into its slot without forcing it in, then push the lever down to the position it was in before in order to lock the chip in place.
The RAM is installed into the motherboard in a similar fashion. Ensure that the chip is aligned with the slot and slide it in. You can check to make sure it is aligned correctly by looking at the notch in the middle and seeing if it snaps in when you push the latch down until it clicks.
2. The Fan
The heat sink and fan are installed directly on top of the processor. This part has a thermal paste that it comes with, spread on its bottom, The paste makes it easy to connect the aluminum heat sink to the chip. This ensures a more effective heat transfer.
3. The Case
Next, you want to install the motherboard onto the case. Familiarize yourself with the layout of the case you picked out, making note of what goes where. They typically come with the screws and zipties you will need to secure everything in place, but if not be sure to have those on hand as well.
Install the power supply and motherboard. Be sure to slot the motherboard into the case first before slotting the ports into the metal shield. Connect the tiny cables of your motherboard, power, and SSD/HDD to the rest of the hardware.
Now that your computer is all set up, we recommend protecting the software with a powerful password that nobody will be able to hack.
Here’s a nice, detailed guide video you would want to watch: