Pick up a screwdriver and open up your computer case. The only thing you will see will be a lot of wires and some components that all look really complex. When you start thinking about building you own computer and putting all those things together you probably think it’s an impossible task. No need to worry! Although all the components look really complex and are products of advanced technology, they all fit together with simple connections. If you handle a simple screwdriver and if you can read some simple guidelines, then you will be fine with building your own computer. Don’t be frightened by the idea of putting all the components together. Many of the connections on the complex components can only be linked together in one simple way. There is no possibility of putting them together in the wrong way. It’s so easy, even a simple child could put a computer together.
Advantages Of Building Your Own Computer
You are probably wondering, why do I want to build a computer if I can buy one?? I could buy a cheap PC at the retail store next door!
If cost is all you think about, you can probably really better buy a cheap PC at the retail store. However, if you have some special requirements for the hard- or software, then you’ll be better off, building your own computer. When you build your own computer you can have the total control over the type and quality of your machine.
If you build your own machine you can actually save some money! You won’t match the price of the cheapest preassembled PC you found, but you will see that those systems are really bare-bone. Unless you need your computer for just Word, E-mail and simple Internet you will have to upgrade soon anyway. By building your own PC you can buy exactly what you need!
Assembling your system yourself can really be a great learning experience. By putting all the components together yourself you will learn more about how a computer works. This can be really helpful if the computer ever breaks down. This will save you money again, because you want have to pay expensive repair bills.
Disadvantages of building your own Computer
The biggest disadvantage in building your own computer is that you only get a warranty for the components, not for the complete system. If you own made computer breaks down, you will first have to find out which component caused the error and then you can try to send that component to the manufacturer. With a pre-assembled system you would just send it to the manufacturer of the complete system and they would fix the problem.
Time is, like always, a factor. But since the time you spend on building your own computer is educational time it’s not time wasted.. And if you enjoy tinkering at all, it even counts as fun time!!
Build a PC Guide: Tips you should be aware of
1. Attach the cooler first!
So you’ve finished putting all the standoffs in place in your brand new PC case, being sure they line up with the holes on your motherboard. Then you’ve spent a couple of minutes screwing them all in. Excellent. Now, if you haven’t already, you simply pop in the processor and attach the… Ah, small problem: you can’t fit your cooler, because you need to get to the other side of the board to put the holding bracket in place. And sadly, all the fist shaking and bad language in the world won’t change that (and trust us, we’d know).
2. Have plasters nearby
Whether it’s the result of bad design or actual, genuine sadism from manufacturers, many PC cases seem to have an abundance of sharp edges and pointy bits in them – all waiting to slice or impale your precious fingers. Inveterate optimists might shrug off damage to a digit, safe in the knowledge they have another nine to fall back on, but most of us will be rather more alarmed to find blood streaming from our extremities as a result of trying to fit a new graphics card. Also, it’s probably not good for the components.
3. Too many screws?
Anyone who’s ever put together a flatpack wardrobe will know there are always bits left over that you simply cannot account for. Sometimes they’re spares, but other times you know they’re meant to be in there, somewhere. But what can you do, other than pray it doesn’t collapse on you the next time you take a shirt out? That logic can undoubtedly be applied to PC builds too, but in this case that leftover screw probably isn’t going to cause any problems – not unless it’s rattling around inside the case, that is.
4. Compromise.
They say half the fun of going holiday is planning it, and the same can certainly be said of system building. We’ve all been there, on Ebuyer, Overclockers, Amazon or whatever, compiling a list of components: “Ooh, that processor looks nice. I’ll have that. 16GB of RAM? Yes, please! And I must have that 500GB SSD…” Then you click on the basket total: $6,000! Yep, it’s easy to get carried away by all the shiny things, but if you want to build a PC, you’ll probably have to accept that you won’t be able to get half the stuff you want – unless you’re rich, of course.
5. Do not keep checking prices.
This is dependent on whether you’re an ordinary person or a millionaire tax exile, but for those of us on a budget, it’s rarely wise to continue window shopping after you’ve already bought all the parts for your new computer. Within a matter of days, there could be something newer and better, and/or the thing you just bought could be reduced dramatically in price. You might well curse yourself for not waiting a bit longer, but think like that too much and you’d never buy anything at all.
The conclusion
Building you own computer has a lot of advantages. You can be assured that you will have the best components, which translates to the most reliable computer for you money. The task of building your own PC might frighten you, but on road there is much to learn and your computer will have the best performance! And of course a final advantage: the bragging rights of telling your friends you have build your own computer! That’s really priceless!
