Help building a PC..........

Jacklin2001

hi,

i would like to learn how to build my own PC from scratch. i have been looking on the internet for sites which help people doing this but was wondering if anyone on here can recommend a site.

also is there a good website that sells parts to build a PC or is there a lot of sites selling the different parts?

any help is greatly appreciated

Andy

A_Nice_Englishman

This site looks quite good. They also have a forum which looks pretty lively.

There are hundreds if not thousands of suppliers of PC components. Some, such as Novatech will sell you a partly assembled PC if you don't want to build from component level.

You may want to think about joining a course at a local college where you can be taught by an instructor and buld your first PC alongside other learners

Little_John

There isnt alot to building a PC it is just putting the components together.
the hardest part is deciding which components to buy making sure you get the correct board for the CPU and memory getting graphics card and CPU cooler. sometimes the hardest part has been getting the front panel connectors and switches/LED's to work.

As for where to learn how to do it I wouldnt know I started with the help of a friend showing me how to upgrade my old 486 new memory and hard drive and it just went from there. I then swapped a motherboard which pretty much is dismantling the insides and putting it back together with a new board you just pick it up it isnt hard, back then the cpu speed was set with jumpers but now its all automatic or in the bios.

a few tips,
buy a nice case it will last you ages and you wont get bored of it, back in the day cases were cheap but poorly finished and were razor sharp so building could have been a blood bath I ended up at the hospital once but I have a nice scar on one of my knuckles.
buy a decent power supply not just one with a huge watt value a good one I like the hyper type r's at the moment
CPU dont buy the fastest one it is always very expensive the next one down will be half the price almost
memory again buy high quality memory
hard drive read reviews and user comments some drives are noisy and not very reliable. Maxtor and IBM/Hitachi have been bad in the past.
Graphics cards are the really hard parthow much do you want to spend becasue you can spend alot. bigget numbers are better but try to avoid the SE second edition or special ediion cards they dont usually perform as well.

computerwoman

:jIf I can do it anyone can, https://www.ebuyer.com is very reasonable that's where I get all my parts from, also if you click on a motherboard it with bring up related products that will go with it, so once you've got the hang of it, it's easy, I bought a 2600 AMD, 1 GB memory, 120gb hdd, with cd-rw, dvd-rom, 19in ct monitor nvidia 5200 128mb graphics card, 2 years ago at £800 custom made at a shop, 1 year later I built my own AMD 3000+ 1gb memory, 80gb hdd, cd-rw, dvd-rw, nvidia 5200 128mb graphics card, floppy, ferrari pc case, I use the onboard sound, 4 usb at the back, 2 usb at the front, you get a motherboard book that tell's you where all the cables and connecters go, this lot cost me £400 but is alot cheaper now, I also got a wireless router modem firewall, and a 19in lcd monitor which was around £400 at the time wish I'd waited on them as the same monitor is only £119 now hope this help's
Kingston memory is usually your best bet I got ebuyers own brand as it was cheaper but kingston has a life time gurantee on it so that's what I'll get next, I bought a fancy samuri warrior pc case from a shop on ebay for £40.00 £120.00 in shops. It pays to shop around you could also try aria computers.

Rex_Mundi

My favourite online parts supplier is Microdirect. I've also found CCLComputers very good for service/prices.

1982

i think the best value system at the moment can be built around one of the AMD 64 single core processors as the 4000+ can be found for just over £70 and far exceeds the performance needs of all but hardcore gamers and programmers.

As for sites i have often used scan and overclockers and built up the componants i need by waiting for the weekly deals/specials. Scan also do special prices on bundles in the mix it section; if you e mail them and let them know what you want they will put it in a bundle and give you a discounted price on buying it from them.

Overclockers have a very useful forum that has lots of information on building your pc or sorting out the problems along the way but as the folk on here have said there aint that much to it, most of the componants just plug straight in and if it goes wrong its just trial and error till you get it right. You might be a bit worried about damaging componants but they are not as delicite as people think and as long as you ground yourself every 10 mins just to be safe there is not any real risk of messing things up.

My first pc build was a fair effort and it took me 4 hours to get it running until i figured out i forgot to fully plug in the mobo power supply:o but i have built a few since then and once you learn your mistakes you can have it done right in half an hour.

But really it depends on what kinda computer you are looking at. If it a base model for web surfing and email then by the time you have bought a tft moniter you might be better off buying a cheap dell model when they come on offer but if you are looking for a mid to high spec pc then building your own is the only way to go...;)

pealy

Previous posters are absolutely right, the only other thing I would advise is asking suppliers advice about whether items are compatible. That way you can absolutely take them back if this turns out not to be the case. Eg, buy the Mobo and CPU from the same place and ask them to confirm compatability.

A great forum for asking advise is hexus, http://forums.hexus.net the people here are very helpful.

I can recommend scan http://www.scan.co.uk for good buying advice and good after sales service.

wolfman

Yeah as mentioned above, make sure you get the right parts.

It's always worth posting a spec here or on other forums to get feedback. Sometimes people may be able to suggest a better component for your money that what you already have noted down.

Amalea

My fav is Overclockers for components.
Also like wolfman said post your specs to get advice from those more experienced with PC building.