Computer Building For Dummies (Help Wanted)

[Gareleus]

-[Backstory]- I was playing a few games on my laptop, and on my desktop when an offer appeared from Origin. Offering me a single AAA title for free for purchasing Sim City 5? Sure I start up the game and my desktop can not run it, tried my (gaming) Is that a joke?) laptop and it couldn't do it. Both computers are at least 4 years old the desktop is a HP all in one that is not upgradeable and the laptop suffers from; Power problems, Lack of RAM, and small Hard Drive which contributes to its overall suck.
-[Problem]- Can any of the tech savvy people hand me an idiots guide for building (yes, building) a computer along with a list of reputable sites to but parts from
-[Hint]- No previous experience in building computers so go easy on the tech language where possible.

[Syruse]

Newegg has done a few decent tutorials on how to build a computer, part one of three can be found here. The video description also contains other useful links.

http://pcpartpicker.com/ is a good site, it neatly organizes parts and gives prices on the parts from several different retailers (I.E. Newegg, Amazon, NCIX, ect.). You can also save configurations (if you have made an account) and edit them at anytime. The only downside is that they don't list everything out there nor are the prices 100% accurate, and sometimes all the retailers aren't listed. Searching for a part number on nearly any site solves that.

If you're interested in performance benchmarks PassMark is a decent site to get your mind around relative benchmarks for hardware (including CPUs, GPUs, SSDs, and RAM).

[DNoved1]

Building a computer yourself really is not as difficult as some people seem to think. The biggest problem tends to either be parts that are already damaged (inevitable, but fortunately fairly rare) or touching the circuits with your static-y hands.

Personally, I used newegg to get all my parts and everything turned out alright. I also used newegg's video guides to building a computer, found it very helpful (warning, they are a bit long).

New Egg Computer Tutorials

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A note though, building your own computer can be fairly expensive, though it tends to be cheaper than purchasing an equivalent machine in terms of power.

[Katalliaan]

Two resources I highly recommend are Newegg for its search engine and reviews (although you should shop around for prices) and PassMark for its benchmarking. Learn to love Newegg's searches, because it's the best way to narrow down the parts you're looking for - everything is properly categorized, so you won't see, say, BNC connectors in with wireless access points (I'm looking at you, Amazon). The reviews there are great because the site is used primarily by system builders who know at least something about what they're talking about. PassMark is just a useful way to tell what performance bracket a processor/graphics card falls into; like any benchmark, it may not accurately reflect which will work better for what you intend to use it for.

[Utterbob]

I started my working life as a small business owner building PC's and I can confirm what DNoved1 is saying - it's really not hard. I can't help with sites, unfortunately, as I have never tried to buy parts for delivery outside of Australia.

As for choosing components; I have spoilered this to manage the length of the post a bit. Choosing the parts is going to be harder than putting them together!

Spoiler

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1) Investigate the difference between AMD and Intel and choose the one that has features that suit you. They are both good for gaming these days and realistically, any gamer preference based on performance comes from unrealistic benchmarking, rather than gaming software performance. That said, Intel currently has higher potential but it's not all that common to see it utilised in gaming, at least not well. Therefore I would recommend choosing based on a feature/price comparison, but considering that raw processing speed is not something you are going to see a tangible difference in, with games, between the brands if you are comparing similar level chips. That said if you are rendering music/videos, doing CAD or any of those typically very CPU-cycle intensive tasks, it is very rare that an AMD chip will outperform an Intel chip of the same generation.

2) Select a graphics card based on similar considerations. Nvidia have more API based functions that will let things look better IF they are implemented by the game (e.g. Physx, Planetside 2 is a good example of this in use). ATI typically has more raw horse power (higher frame rate for lower $$ cost). Again, they are competing brands so that doesn't always hold true, compare features to price and decide what meets your needs.

3) Select a motherboard that has the appropriate socket for the chosen CPU http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPU_socketand the relevant connection for the GPU (PCI-E 8x, 16x, etc.). Those two things are required, after that you again want to compare performance, reviews, features etc. against price.

4) RAM is really a straight up choice of; How much do you want to spend? You are unlikely to have too much RAM unless you go nuts. If you are unsure, you can upgrade this later, it's the simplest and cheapest part to upgrade. Alternatively come back here with a list of other components and I will be happy to recommend a reasonable amount of RAM to allow you to utilise the rest of the components properly.

5) Go back and review your choices as a whole. Does your RAM use more bandwidth than the board offers? If you went with cheaper RAM, can you go with a cheaper board (for the same reason)? Does the CPU require a certain RAM feature to interact with for full potential? Look at the features on all 4 components and look for synergy (or more importantly lack thereof). Look at upgrading your choices to make use of all the features on all the components, or downgrade to save money on a feature that you thought was good but won't be utilised once you put all the choices together.

6) Select your Hard Drive (HDD) setup. Solid states (SSD) are fast as hell but small in storage space for the price. You might be storage intensive, in which case traditional drives are fine for gaming. SSD's are nice to have but you either need an HDD for raw space or you need to spend a fortune to have it all on the SSD.

7) Fill in the blanks - Some of this you can salvage from old PC's, some you want new but basic, others you might have a need/desire to spend more, its all based on your budget, needs (outside of gaming) and preference;

Critical

- DVD ROM (Upgrading to burner is negligible, cost wise, so normally worthwhile).

- Power Supply Unit (PSU) - make sure it's enough watts to cover the components selected plus peripherals, there are several pages, if you Google for them, that help calculate power usage. Use a couple, put in the parts you have selected above as well as anything from bellow, take the highest usage estimate, round UP to the nearest matching PSU and go one size above that.

- Case - Ensure you by a case that fits your motherboard form factor (the physical attributes like screw hole location, size, shape, etc.). This will be something like ATX, mini-ATX, mATX etc. It can be called form factor or motherboard size, or similar terms, depending of the site advertising the case.

- Speakers - if you don’t already have some (if you get a new monitor some have built-in speakers but they are normally horrid). If you enjoy your music and play a lot through your PC, I would recommend investing in a good set. Also consider sound card below under non-critical, even onboard sound, for that matter, if often now 5.1 surround or more. Get a set that can make use of it, it's worth it in a lot of games!

Non Critical

- Fans (should come with case but if you went high end components, consider better fans)

- OEM Software, consider the opportunity to get cheaper copies of windows, MS office, etc. Also note you do NOT NEED a new windows copy. The licence allows a copy to be used on one machine at a time, not one machine ever. But if you want to upgrade to 8, OEM is the best way of doing so.

- Keyboard/Mouse

- Monitor

- Wifi Adaptor - I STRONGLY recommend fixed line for gaming (ideally with direct connection to your externally connected router and not through any other routers/hubs in the house). If you must go Wifi, check the motherboard. Some have it built in but not all that many. If not you will need the adapter.

- Sound Card - most motherboards actually have great sound these days. In addition the difference between 'good' and 'great' sound cards is becoming very difficult to tell by ear. That said if you want the features (some take a fair amount of processing off the CPU, or provide effects and modification you won’t get with on-board sound) then you can look at them.

- Surge protector - a lot of PSU's have this built-in but don't rely on it. Get an external one too. I won't list it as critical since you might have a really good safety switch in your home fuse-box but a protector in-between the PC and the first point of contact with a larger circuit is strongly recommended.

Everything else you need comes in the box with something here (e.g. power cables).

Here are some tips for a first build, a lot of this is redundant if you really know what you’re doing but will help avoid problems for a first-timer;

Spoiler

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Don't be tempted to put parts together before everything has arrived. You can do that without problems once you know where everything goes, for a first build you are just asking for trouble.

Take care to do it right the first time, it's not the end of the world if you make a mistake but taking parts out is FAR more likely to be the cause of damage than putting them in. Look at the instructions and then look at the part (and where it’s going) and don't 'just try it', see how it goes before trying to get it to.

The above point is especially true for a need to reseat the CPU heat-sink, it's a bitch to do on many designs and in my opinion, is the single greatest risk action in a build. Avoiding it is a much better option!

Don't plug any power sources into anything until everything is installed. I mean external here, the PSU can be connected to devices without problems.

Use common sense. Fan blades, for example, are obviously fragile enough that people don’t try to hold fans in place with them while installing, many don’t realise that pushing the centre can (albeit rare) damage the motor. If you are not sure about a part of something; don't put force there.

Printed circuit boards are inflexible, they don't bend and they are precision manufactured so there is no need to flex them at all. Don't do it. The ONLY exception is that the springs in the CPU heat sink will likely be strong enough that the board flexes slightly during installation. Once in place there should no longer be any distortion.

Have a metallic, grounded, surface nearby and touch it regularly. This is overkill but again, for a first build, when you are unfamiliar with the parts that are vulnerable and where to touch/not touch, don't take chances.

Do not touch any part of the circuitry, stick to edges and avoid the printed circuits. The oils in skin can bridge the lanes and cause shorts (in extreme cases). As a general rule hold everything by edges and don’t use pressure unless you are sure it is safe (e.g. getting the video card to clip will require some force but you will be pushing the board across its plane so no flexing should occur). The motherboard should sit nicely in place within the case with no pushing (you will need to angle it get the connectors to sit in the back-plate but no bend or flex it).

Install order;

Spoiler

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Open case, clear it out, check for markings to match form factor (e.g. ATX next to some holes). If not, or as a double check, hover the board above and look for the matching holes.

Install the lugs (hexagonal screws with threading at both ends. Male end goes into the case, female end will receive the motherboard screws). Finger tight is fine, they will tighten properly when the screws are tightened.

Swap the back-plate (if there was one with the case) for the one that came with the motherboard. It just clips.

Install the Motherboard. You will need to angle it around and fiddle a bit to get the back connectors to sit in the holes in the above mentioned back-plate. Once they are, lay the board flat. The board will be pushed out of position by the springs on the back-plate. Gently slide it across (should be no more than 1/2 cm at most) and put in a couple of screws to hold it in place. Install screws to match every lug. Tighten with a screwdriver but, again not to tight (it will be tighter than the lugs were with just fingers but as long as there is no movement you are fine, don't risk a crack with over tightening).

Install the CPU. This is your most delicate part, DON'T TOUCH THE PINS AT ALL. There will be a notch, mark, whatever (depending on your choice of CPU) that matches an appropriate indicator on the motherboard socket. Match rotation and slot it in gently, it will fit EASILY, no resistance whatsoever so do not push, gravity is all you need. Once in close the lock mechanism and gently check you can't lift it back out.

Install CPU heat sink. This part is the most dangerous to your board. Sit the heat sink over the CPU (having already checked rotation/connection method etc.) and place it down. Most have 4 pins to clip through the board. In this case, with the heat sink resting in place, push two opposite corners evenly until both clip. Repeat with the remaining corners. You may see some flex in the motherboard while doing this but it should be no more than a mil or 2 if you have installed all the lugs correctly.

Connect the case front-panel wires (the connections are listed in the motherboard manual). This is your power button, HDD activity light, etc.

Install RAM and/Video Card (board layout can change the order here, the order is only a convenience thing. RAM is normally easier to install after the card than the reverse. Both are clip based but the video card will have an additional screw at the back of the case.

If you have sound and/or Wifi card(s) install them here.

Install PSU, DVD and HDD/SSD (the front-of-case group) (in a few cases this will be easier before the video card, again check layout and space to work with and think a few steps ahead to avoid pulling things out and putting them back later).

Install any fans (if they are not installed on arrival in the case, or if you elected to buy upgrades).

Wire your BUS connections (the Motherboard to each device that is not already directly connected to it). With a basic build this is probably just the DVD and HDD/SSD.

Wire your power connectors, start with the main power connection to the motherboard and the square 4-pin to the graphics card. From here just connect everything up that needs it (note the graphics card will probably need a square 4-pin and an additional flat 4-pin connection). Never daisy-chain major components if you can help it, if you do have to do a bit of daisy chaining, try to keep it to one major part per chain (e.g. graphics card, fan, fan on one chain, SSD, fan, fan on another).

Wire up your externals (keyboard, mouse and monitor) and a power connection but leave it accessible. Boot it up! With all that done you should have a working PC, if not the error message should tell you what you stuffed up! (Or what it is that arrived dead). Having another PC around to look up error codes can save you a lot of hassle here too.

If it boots you can get it set up properly, connect other peripherals (e.g. speakers) and get it wired into its permanent home. Re-boot with a windows CD and off you go. :)

[finite8]

My advice is: pick brands you trust. While this is an often debated topic among enthusiasts, i can offer my own recommendations:

Motherboard: Asus and Gigabyte are two brands i trust in this area. As far as ports, i always like to have Crossfire / SLI an option, so try to get a system that has 2 PCIEx16 that can run at least x8 in Crossfire / SLI. The motherboard specs should tell you what it can do.

CPU: I was an AMD fanboy due to their excellent price / performance ratio, but the recent lineup of intel processors has made me choose Intel CPU's lately.

Graphics: ATI or Nvidia, up to you. Intel are horrendous in graphics so don't rely on IGP (intergrated graphics in the intel CPU range) or any of their on-board solutions *shudder*.

RAM: Personally, i have never had any issues with different brands. Just make sure you have enough of it, and enough is >=6Gb. Also, get the fastest you can for the motherboard you choose. It can help you out in the long run.

HDD (Hard Disk Drive): No doubt my most important; Get an SSD (Solid State Drive). Even if you only get a smaller 120Gb for your OS install and get a bigger secondary normal HDD for your storage, the SSD will give you a massive performance boost. Having the boot into windows faster than the BIOS check is just... beautiful.

Case: Get whatever you want however, the PSU (Power Supply Unit) is my bugbear. Of all the components in your system, this is the one that can be the difference between a stable, quiet system and one with fried components. Steer clear of the "Cheap but High Watt" units as in my opinion, that smells of shoddy construction or parts. I only buy Antec because i know they are a brand with an excellent reputation. Coolermaster might also be good. Shaw seems too cheap to be good.

[PatriotBob]

A lot of good points have already been made, but I'll add my 2 cents.

Motherboards: Pick a good brand. (finite8 had it right) I will say that so far MSI has been pretty solid for me. Plan for expansion as well. The cost difference to get a MB that has 4 RAM slots instead of 2 and 2 PCIe x16 slots is really marginal. Also get something that supports a higher RAM speed even if you may not buy the top shelf RAM right out the gate. RAM is cheap, upgrading it later can be a good option if it's where you're limited and your MB supports it.

CPU: I will say the past few years AMD has been fairly lack-luster in raw performance. But the performance to cost ratio on the most recent Pile-driver models is unbeatable. And lets clear this up, at this moment buying an 8 core AMD can out perform an Intel. Under one condition, you bury all 8 cores. Intels are currently designed to have great performance while doing a few heavy tasks. AMD is moving toward parallel processing. Evaluate which you will be doing more of to make your decision. But to be honest, if all your doing is gaming, either of the mid-high end Intels or the AMD FX series will barely break a sweat.

(IMO: bottom line is performance per price and AMD wins that hands down. I just can't justify the extra cost of the Intel for a situational performance increase)

Graphics: ATI/Nvidia. Nothing else exists. The only real difference is that ATI tends to give you a bit more bang for your buck.

(IMO: Nvidia has a marginally better driver setup and if your considering Linux, buy Nvidia. Other than that they're really quite even)

RAM: Buy enough to not run out. 8GB is safe now days and dirt cheap. (Make sure you have a 64-bit OS otherwise you'll be capped at 3.5GB. Which pretty much means run windows Vista/7 or Linux. Forget WinXp)

HDD: I consider this a frivolity. SSD will make you load faster. That is all. Boot times, game load times and to a very minor extent application start-up will be gloriously fast. Everything else (game framerate/performance) will be completely uneffected. Standard spindle HDD offer much greater capacity for much cheaper, if you can wait 1 min for the computer to boot instead of 8 seconds.

Power Supply: Don't buy too cheap. As again, finite8 said, Antec is good. Buy something known for stability. Get more wattage than you'll use. The closer to capacity a power supply runs at, the shorter the life span.

Buy an aftermarket cooler. It's one of those things you may not need. But if you did, you'll hate yourself for not dropping $30 and saving yourself a major head ache.


If aren't concerned with money and can throw obscene amounts at the machine consider this.

Everything your computer does goes through the RAM. The faster the speed the faster everything will go.
Computers are moving to parallel processing. More cores is better. Intel's Hyperthreading is not a core. On average work loads it can net you up to ~60% increase, but it's very specialized. Bottom line, get more than 2 cores. 4+ are preferable.
SLI/Crossover can get you a lot of power. But in 2 years time. A single card will out perform both for much cheaper. Keep it in mind before stacking those two liquid cooled GeForce 690...
RAID. Disks will fail. (Both SSD and HDD) look into putting drives in raid 1 (mirror) if one fails, the other is copy, so you lose nothing. Doing something like 120GB SSD's for OS and 1TB HDD for storage get you fast boots and massive storage all redundant. If you do decide to RAID, be careful about the lure of RAID 5 for bulk storage. It sounds nice, but with large capacity spindle drives the likelihood of a second drive failing after you replace a failed drive is more than you should be willing to risk. Use RAID 6 instead.

[Utterbob]

liquid cooled GeForce 690...

I had to laugh, that's exactly what I have!!

I did it to run surround though, rather than for the horse power.

[Wibbles]

There's not much more I can add to the help already provided here, but I will say this: don't underestimate the value of a good quality PSU. A cheap PSU with a high wattage may sound attractive, but it's almost certainly built with very poor components with a high failure rate. Would you really want something like that powering your rig, with the potential to fry your other expensive components? Buying cheap in this department is especially risky.

Buy from a reputable brand, do your research! Personally, I went with a Fractal Design Newton R3 600W. The wattage really does depend on the components you stuff inside, so don't go and buy an expensive 1200W PSU for a less power hungry system. It's usually high end GPUs which consume the most power.

[SterlingRed]

I'd like to emphasize the choice of ssd over a traditional drive. I built a good gaming computer about three years ago. Good enough that today it still handles stuff just fine. Last year though I bit the bullet and upgraded my boot drive to an ssd. I instantly noticed the performance improvement in nearly everything I did. Its phenomenal how much better solid state is. Unfortunately it does come at a price. I recommend getting an ssd as your boot drive sized for the things you do on a daily basis like gaming, daily used files, whatever other programs you use. Then use a standard hard drive for storage of things you don't typically jump in and out of daily. This works very well for me and plus my external drive, gives me three physical backup locations.

[wizardglick]

I've built a lot of PCs for the office over the years, and really all it requires is basic screwdriver skills. Look on youtube for videos so you can actually see if once before you have to lay hands on parts yourself. Probably any pc magazine or enthuist web sites will have tutorials and "best gamin PC for under $xxx.xx." Lifehacker, Tom's guide, maximum pc, howtogeek. rockpapershotgun is running a series of articles making hardware recomendations about each subsystem. Some places will sell you "bare bones" machines. Configs vary, but often it will be motherboard, installed in a case with power supply. Or I used to buy components from Mwave.com and for a small fee they would mount the cpu and cooler on the motherboard for me and do a burn in test on it. That way, they do the hardest part (it's not really hard, but expensive if you have an accident) and you know that you have a working unit.

Couple other ideas.

* If you have more than 3 Gig of Ram, you'll want a 64-bit operating system
* If you are running Windows, pretty much anything is going to work. If you want Linux, you should check for availability of drivers for your hardware.
* Those "Computer Toolkits" in the little zippered books are generally not worth much. A decent 6-way screwdriver will do almost everything you need for PC assembly. Two tools that I will reccomend picking up at some point are a PSU tester and an external IDE/SATA - USB hard drive connector kit. Not needed really for initial building, but very useful down the road when you are trying to fix things, or transfer files from an old HD.
* Considering finding a good Local PC Shop to buy from, rather than just getting the cheapest price for parts online. That gives you someone to talk to and ask questions. The little extra you pay will be more than compensated for in extra services and favors you will receive. (True of most hobbies).
* Some positive force is required to put components in PCs, but not much. Maybe a little more than snapping together a troublesome lego piece. If you muscling it like you are trying to free a stuck bolt on your car, you are going to bust something.

[Wibbles]

I've built a lot of PCs for the office over the years, and really all it requires is basic screwdriver skills.

This is so true; it's quite easy to put a PC together. The challenging bit is finding the right components for your needs for a good price :)

[Gareleus]

Okay thanks for all the information and I have my computer parts all selected except the SSD (I am using two HDD on RAID 1 for normal storage), I can't find an SSD that is a 3.5" to fit the caddy other than a couple of refurbished ones on newegg (haven't looked beyond newegg). My question is does anybody here have experience with refurbished tech in general and with stuff specific to newegg? If not if it was possible for somebody to link me to a site with a reasonably priced SSDs that are 3.5"? Is it possible to use a conversion kit to make a 2.5" fit a 3.5"? Again thank you for all your help.

[PatriotBob]

They don't really make much in the way on 3.5 SSD's what your looking for is one of the many adapaters on this page.
http://www.newegg.com/SSD-HDD-Accessory ... gory/ID-43
Just buy some 2.5's and use the adapter to get it in the drive bay.
I would stay away from refurbished equipment as far as SSD's go given the way they wear.

[Syruse]

Okay thanks for all the information and I have my computer parts all selected except the SSD (I am using two HDD on RAID 1 for normal storage), I can't find an SSD that is a 3.5" to fit the caddy other than a couple of refurbished ones on newegg (haven't looked beyond newegg). My question is does anybody here have experience with refurbished tech in general and with stuff specific to newegg? If not if it was possible for somebody to link me to a site with a reasonably priced SSDs that are 3.5"? Is it possible to use a conversion kit to make a 2.5" fit a 3.5"? Again thank you for all your help.

If its not to much to ask, can you post what parts you have selected?

[Shengji]

Sorry if this is a little late, but it may be of use to others:

http://www.logicalincrements.com/

It's a website which lists different machines at different performance points and their prices with suggested components.

[Gareleus]

CPU - Intel Core i7-3770k Ivy Bridge 3.5gGHz

VPU - Nvidia GeForce GTX 670

Motherboard - ASUS P8Z77-V ATX

Memory - CORSAIR Dominator 16GB SDDR3

Storage (SSD) - OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD3-2VTX90G 3.5"

Storage (HDD)x2 - HP 652753-B21 1TB 7200 RPM 3.5"

Case - Cooler Master HAF 932 ATX Full Tower

PSU - CORSAIR CX600M 600W

Optical Drive - LITE-ON 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X

CPU Fan & Heatsink - Titan DC-155A915Z/RPW

There hope it isn't to embarrassingly f*cked up. Things I think need changing, the PSU and maybe the not stock CPU Fan & Hs because I don't plan on overclocking at least initially. :/

[Syruse]

I recommended getting the COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO over the cooler you have selected. Or maybe even an all-in-one liquid cooling solution if you're going to be overclocking your processor. If you do go the overclocking route you may want to consider a higher end motherboard such as the ASUS P8Z77-M PRO or ASUS P8P67 WS REVOLUTION or a similar board with more power stepping for the CPU with heat sinks along them. The PSU you have is alright, but if you want a higher performing one I recommend the CORSAIR AX760i. Other than that, you got a solid high-end build right there.

[Gareleus]

Well I like the ASUS P8Z77-M but it is a micro ATX board and a quick look around Newegg came up with another board, similar in everything but not the same, it is a ATX board and I'll link it here if you have any objections ASUS P8Z77-V PRO. Other than that I like the PSU you recommended and the fan as well.

[Syruse]

Yeah, looks alright to me.