Computer

[Sammo123321]

How long does it take to build a computer if its your first time? And if it is your first time can anyone here recommend any websites or books that would help me in building my computer? Thank you. Please e-mail me at sammo123321@sbcglobal.net

 

[mechBgon]

Give yourself an evening or two and don't rush things. Most of the parts are modular and only fit together the right way (haha, famous last words ). For example, if you go to plug in the cables that connect the parts, they are usually only going to fit one way. If you go to drop a CPU into its socket, it will only fit one way. If stuff seems to be fighting you, listen to the little voice that says

:Q ~ don't force it!

and back up and look closely at what the hangup might be.

I've considered doing a start-to-finish guide next fiscal year, with lots of photos, but that's in July-August so you are probably not going to want to wait that long.

 

[Harvey]

The most important thing is your component selection. Read reviews on AnandTech and other sites to get an idea of what components work well together and how good they really are. Then, cruise the forums to read discussions about them to learn about problems and fixes and get even more first hand info about how these parts really work in the field. Your first decision will be whether you want an AMD or Intel machine. Everything else flows from that. Take your time deciding which components fit your requirements and your budget.

Meanwhile, don't forget to stop by the Hot Deals forum and other sites to help make your money go further. For example, this week, Office Max is offering 256 MB of Kingston PC2100 DDR RAM for $9.99 after rebate. That's a decent computer full of RAM for $20 if you get two and you have a friend to receive the second rebate for you. They run this special about once every 4 - 5 weeks. Similarly, Best Buy occasionally offers a Lite-On 52x32x52 CDRW for $19.99 after rebates. The same is true for hard drives. If you can give yourself a 4 - 6 week window to buy your parts, you can save a lot of money and have more for those items where money really does buy better performanc, such as a better motherboard, vid card, monitor and/or case and power supply.

Back to your original question about building your system. The only tool you'll need is a phillips screwdriver, and a good calm eye reading the manual for your motherboard. The parts only go together one way... the right way. There is very little you can do wrong if you don't rush and make sure you understand what you're about to do before you do it.

 

[Sammo123321]

Thanks for all the help.

 

[islandtechengineers]

if you really want to get into building computers... head down to your books store and grab the text on the A+ certification, it'll teach you all about building, troubleshooting and a bunch of other stuff.... or even head into your local books shop, grab it (if they have it) and flip through the sections you need help in (if you dont want to spend the cash, they usually run around 40 - 60$).

 

[Bassyhead]

took me about less than an hour to build my first computer.