What's Needed When Building A Computer




This free computer guide will help you build a computer from start to finish. If you already have the parts required you can jump straight into building you computer, please follow our other guide: Building a Computer: Build Your Own Computer. If you dont know what you need to begin then please read on as we list and explain the different parts needed. You can also view our video section for explanations on the different parts.

  • What's Needed?
  • Buying the Parts

Whats Needed

Here is a list of parts which are required to fully build a computer. (excluding and operating system)

  • Case
  • Motherboard
  • Power Supply
  • Hard Drive
  • CD Drive
  • Processor
  • RAM (Memory)
  • Monitor
  • Cables
  • Keyboard and Mouse

However, a basic computer can be improved to fulfil many different tasks for either home or business use. Here is a list of optional components which can be chosen for your individual needs, but these are not essential to run a stand alone computer.

  • Graphics Card
  • Sound Card
  • Floppy Drive
  • Speakers

Buying the Parts

-Case
When choosing your case, you must make sure that your Motherboard fits in the case correctly. There are three main sizes that differ the fitment of the motherboard into the case. Most manufactures specify which form type the case and the motherboard are. You must make sure these both match before buying.

- Power Supply
When looking to buy a power supply, the main thing to consider is the Wattage and the type of connectors. For the connectors you must make sure if you have chosen a SATA Hard Drive / CD Drive that the power supply has the correct connectors. When selecting Wattage, 400w is usually ideal, however if you have a high spec computer with expansion cards (Graphics, Sound etc.) then you may need a higher Wattage power supply.

-Motherboard/Processor
The main thing to think about when buying both motherboard and processor is the socket type. These must match as they are not interchangeable. The two main types are AM2 and Socket 775. However, there are many types of less common sizes.

-Hard Drive/CD Drive Connections
CD/DVD drives and Hard drives both use the same types of cables. These being either SATA or IDE. SATA is easily identified as it is a thin, colourful cable. IDE is wide and flat, also know as a ribbon cable.

-RAM (Memory)
When buying RAM you must check that it is compatible with your chosen motherboard. The main types of Desktop connections are DDR, DDR II and DDR III.

-Graphics/Sound Cards
If you chose to include a graphics card or sound car to your computer, you must make sure the connection on the card matches the connection on the motherboard. The three main types are PCI, PCI-E and AGP. The most common and usually fastest is PCI-E.

Once you've bought your parts, you can proceed to the next step, Building a PC.

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