Build my own computer? To do or not to do?

M

mbrothwell

New Member
Recently I have begun my college major of CIS. I am more into computers than I have ever been in my life, and am literally thristing to expand my computer knowledge. I thought building my own PC would be an excellent way to jump start my computer education.


A little history on my experience: Installed new RAM, Video Cards, other misc. stuff mostly stuff in the PCI slots. I Know how to access the BIOS, but I've never done anything extensive with BIOS, and I would consider myself a "noobie" in this area. I've never set up the parts within a case. I've never done anyting with a power supply, running power to things etc. I like to think im a pretty fast learner, and above average experience with general electronic knowledge and understanding.


My biggest question is, is there anything that would be impossible for me to do while building my own computer with my level of experience? I have the internet at my disposal, and the installation guides of the parts I'm purchasing of course.


Also, what are the particularly difficult parts of the process that I should be ready for? Wiring(electrical and other), getting the computer to recognize the top-of-the-line parts are all totally new to me. Any tips from the pros on these forums would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
Building a computer is fairly simple, and not as hard as it looks. All you have to do is connect a few things, and pretty much everything only fits together one way. From the experience you've had, you should have no problem with wiring, connecting components, etc.

My biggest suggestion would be to read up on computers some (there's a lot of helpful guides here) and especially ask questions if you need to. That's the best/quickest/easiest way to learn.

You may already know this but..

Basic Components:
  • Computer Case
  • Power Supply
  • Motherboard
  • Processor
  • Hard Drive
  • Cd/DVD Drive
  • *Video Card
  • *Sound Card

The items with the asterisks are optional, depending on your motherboard, and what you intent to do with the computer. You also have to remember things like the monitor, mouse/keyboard, speakers, and better Heatsink/Fan if you plan on overclocking.
 
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I would say definitely go for it. Its rewarding and fun, and it will be a lot cheaper than how much you would pay for a dell or alienware or something. I was just like you a few years ago, and I have just recently gone from small upgrades to big upgrades/rebuilds.

Firstly I would recommend starting a new thread asking people for advice on what to buy, by telling them your budget and what you need the computer for. People will most likely build you an entire computer, and you can use that as a starting point. I would also suggest using newegg to buy your parts, its really fast and well priced.

First time I put together my computer I was actually pretty surprised at how easy it was to do. Once you do it for the first time, it would only take you like 10 minutes to do it again. For me, during the first time, the trickiest part was figuring out how to connect the case power chord to the tiny little two pronged connector. Took me a day of googling and such to figure out I just had it connected slightly wrong.

Also, anything can be fixed with google or these forums, remember that.
 
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