The Simple Guide To Building Your Very Own Personal Computer

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Build Your Own PC!

• The Simple Guide To Building Your Very Own
  Personal Computer
• By Chris Phillips

http//students.uta.edu/cs/csp2009
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Why Should I?

• Its not as hard as you would think
• It does not take that long to complete
• You get exactly what you want
• It saves a good deal of money

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Step 1Picking The Right Parts

• AT/ATX case
• Motherboard CPU
• Hard-drive
• Memory
• CD/DVD-ROM
• Floppy Drive

• Video Card
• Sound Card
• Modem
• Monitor
• Mouse Keyboard

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AT/ATX case

• Now-a-days a case with a 300 Watt (or greater)
  power supply is needed to supply enough power to
  all the components of your computer.
• Good air ventilation is important
• It is very important to purchase a good quality
  case, because one small defect could ruin your
  entire computer.
• Price range 100 - 200

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Motherboard CPU

• This is the heart and soul of the computer. This
  will determine the computers overall performance
• My suggestion just go to Frys Electronics and
  buy a motherboard/CPU combo so you dont have to
  manually install the CPU
• Price range 50 - 900

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Hard-drive

• This is the device that stores all of your music,
  video and game files
• It would be smart idea to purchase a 40GB ()
  hard-drive
• Price range 50 - 200

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Memory

• Memory is very important hardware that also
  determines the performance of your computer
• Density (MB) frequency (MHz) are two key things
  to look for
• You can never have enough memory
• Price range 20 - 60 for 128-256MB and 100 -
  800 for 512MB-2GB

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CD/DVD-ROM

• This device is good for playing music, movies,
  games and installing software
• Performance is measured by 1x - 52x
• Price range 20 - 100

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Floppy Drive

• This device is optional
• Good for storing files under 1.44MB on 3.5 inch
  hard disks
• A thing of the past, but nice to have
• Price range 10 - 20

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Video Card

• This device produces the visuals on screen
• This device is optional. Most motherboards
  now-a-days have built in video processors, but an
  AGP/PCI card performs better
• A 32MB card is recommended
• Price range 20 - 500

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Sound Card

• This device is what produces sound via speakers
• This device is optional. Most motherboards
  now-a-days have very good built in sound
  processors, but PCI cards perform better
• If you still plan to buy a sound card their price
  range is 50 - 300

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Modem

• This device is what connects you to the internet
• ISP is required
• Price range of 56K modem 20 - 50
• Price range of DSL/Cable modems depends on the
  company you contract with (normally around 100)

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Monitor

• Probably the most important piece of hardware to
  buy. Without it, your tower is just an oversized
  paperweight
• Two options are available CRT and LCD. Nothing
  fancy needed. CRTs are cheaper and work just as
  good
• Price range 100 - 500

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Mouse Keyboard

• Nothing fancy needed as long as the keyboard has
  all functioning keys and the mouse has left and
  right buttons. Both must be compatible with the
  operating system however
• Price range 10 - 50

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Step 2 Precautions Preparations

• Use a flat table or floor to work on
• Static electricity and its harmfulness
• Surround yourself with tools. Dont use power
  tools (i.e. power drill)
• Keep loose screws in a can
• Surround yourself with part manuals

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Step 3 Assembling The Parts

• 1 Installing the CPU onto the motherboard
• 2 Installing the memory onto the motherboard
• 3 Installing PCI and AGP cards onto the
  motherboard
• 4 Installing the hard drive and CD/DVD-ROM
• 5 Installing the motherboard (with components
  attached)
• 6 Giving it power
• 7 Double check

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Step 4 Turning It On

• Tweaking the BIOS
• Formatting the hard-drive
• Installing the operating system
• Installing drivers

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Step 5 Afterthoughts

• To keep your computer running effectively you
  might want to
• Avoid downloading harmful viruses
• Keep dust out of the tower
• Defragment the hard-drive

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Resources

• Toms Hardware
• Frys Electronics
• PC World
• Newegg - This is the site where I acquired all of
  my hardware photos except the website logo

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About

• I am a junior at The University of Texas at
  Arlington. My current major is Business Finance.
• Building computers has been a hobby of mine for 2
  years. Some people like to work on their cars, I
  like to work on computers.
• If anyone has any questions feel free to e-mail
  me at csp2009_at_exchange.uta.edu

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1 Installing the CPU onto the motherboard

• Lift lever on CPU palette
• Correctly place CPU on palette with pins and
  holes matching up
• Lower lever on CPU palette
• Correctly place heat sink and fan on top of CPU

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2 Installing the memory onto the motherboard

• Pull back the 2 levers on DIMM slots
• Correctly place the memory in the DIMM slots
• Push levers forward on DIMM slots to secure the
  memory

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3 Installing PCI and AGP cards onto the
motherboard

• Remove metal slots on back of computer case
• Put PCI card in the PCI slot and bolt the metal
  plates down with screws
• For AGP cards, first pull back tiny lever near
  the AGP slot. Put AGP card in and release the
  lever. Then bolt down metal plate with screws

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4 Installing the hard drive and CD/DVD-ROM

• Simple step. Just put the hard drive and
  CD/DVD-ROM in an available bay in the pc case

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5 Installing the motherboard (with components
attached)

• Align the motherboard screw holes with the screw
  holes provided in the case
• Screw in the motherboard. Not to tight
• Make sure no part of the screw is touching the
  circuitry on the motherboard

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6 Giving it power

• Plug in the AT/ATX plug (should be a 20-pin plug
• Plug in the cd-rom, hard drive and floppy drive
  into the IDE connectors on the motherboard
• Plug in the 4-pin Molex plugs into any peripheral
  device that requires this plug
• Plug the CPU fan into the motherboard
• Plug into the motherboard the wires coming from
  the front of the case

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7 Double check

• It is always a good idea to go back and double
  check your assembly before turning on the
  computer for the first time