Building A Computer - Picking Components

Building A Computer - Picking ComponentsRAM
Picking the parts for your computer is one of the mostGetting the right speed and amount of RAM is vital to
important things in building a computer, because youthe speed and stability of your system. If you are
cant assemble a computer without the parts! Pickingrunning XP, you will probably need at least 256 or
parts for computers has become much easier than512Mb of RAM. If you are going to be doing anything
before, because things have been standardized,memory intensive, gaming, rendering or just want a
however, you need to make sure everything will fit.faster computer, you should get 1Gb. Make sure your
The first thing to think about when choosing themotherboard has enough DIMMs and the right type of
components for your computer is what you are goingDIMMs for your RAM. Also, be sure to check the
to be using it for. If you are creating a computer forspeed and CAS Latency.
just checking your eMail and using word, you are goingHard Drive
to need much diffrent parts than a computer that youNow its time to pick your hard drive. There are few
are going to be using for gaming.variables in picking a hard drive. The first, and most
CPUimportant is size, 120Gb is usually enough for most
The first thing you should pick out about yourpeople unless, you are going to be storing alot of
computer is what CPU you are going to use, becausepictures and video. Also, make sure you get an HD
it determines what motherboard you are going to get,with the right interace that fits your motherboard.
which determines what other components you get.Almost all motherboards have IDE, but some have
There are two main CPU manufactruers, Intel andSATA (Serial ATA) Which is a much faster hard drive
AMD. Both have their Pros and Cons, but they areinterface and uses a thinner cable which helps with
pretty similar. I would suggest using AMD, becauseairflow in your case. There is even SATAII now, which
they give you a little more bang for the buck.is twice as fast. Also look at speed, almost all desktop
Here is a brief overview of the diffrent Intel and AMDHDs are 7200RPM and Cache, most are 8Mb, dont
CPUs:buy a HD below those standards. If you want to
Budget: AMD: Sempronspend some money, you can get 2 HDs and run them
Intel: Celeron Din RAID which increases performance.
Midrange: AMD: Athlon 64Video Cards
Intel: Pentium 4If you are going to be doing any gaming, be sure to
High End: AMD: Athlon64 X2buy a video card, if youre not, onboard video is fine.
Intel: Pentium DThe first thing to check for is the interface, most are
If you are spending below $500, I would suggest aAGP or PCI-E. I personally like nVidia cards better. If
budget proccesor, Between $500 and $1000, midrangeyou are going to be doing graphic intensive games, I
and $1000 and above I would suggest a high endwould suggest at least a 6600. If you have alot to
proccessor.spend, go with a 7800.
MotherboardOptical/Floppy drives
Choosing the right motherboard is vital to building yourAnother thing you are going to is a CD drive, most are
computer. First, make sure you find a motherboardIDE. Get a DVD Burner if you are going to use it. Also,
that has the right socket type for your CPU. Then,you should get a floppy drive, they are only $10ish and
check the diffrent features of the motherboards youyou might need it to install drivers when building your
are looking at. If you arent going to buy a video orcomputer.
sound card, make sure your motherboard has onboardCase and Power Supply
video and/or sound. Other things to check for on yourMake sure you have a sufficient power supply!! If you
motherboard are the hard drive interface, graphicshave a high end computer, you should get a 450W
card interface, expansion slots, the memory size andPSU. Otherwise, 350W should be fine for most people.
speed. Also, check for the chipset. There are tooMost cases are ATX, but make sure it is the same
many to talk about, but generally Intel and nVidiatype as your motherboard (ATX, MicroATX, BTX,
chipsets are better than the other ones. Now that youetc...).
picked out your motherboard, you know what to lookBe sure to make sure all your components are
for in your other components.compatible!