Building A Computer - What is Inside?
You have picked out the perfect case with power supply. Now you are ready to choose the equipment that goes inside. You need to decide how you will use the machine so you know what you need to spend on parts. If your needs are quite general, you do not need to go high end. Building your own computer allows you to modify as your needs change and money is available.
Your computer should exceed the minimum requirements of the most resource hungry program you use. Check system requirements for the products you use to determine the speed and size of the CPU, ram, hard drive and video.
When you choose your CPU, you need to make sure that you buy a compatible motherboard. If your motherboard has on-board video, you do not need to buy a separate graphics card. If you are a gamer or use high-end graphics programs, you may need to invest in a stand-alone, higher end video card.
Likewise, most motherboards have on-board sound cards. If you are not an audiophile, you may choose not to purchase a separate audio card.
Memory is a good investment. Buy as much as you can afford. It keeps things running at peak efficiency.
You will need an optical drive. This will be a DVD burner. It is used for both CDs and DVDs.
Hard drives are very inexpensive compared to what they cost at one time. Like memory, buy the largest you can afford.
Your operating system is an expensive component, but one that you can not forget in pricing the cost of your system. Using Linux is the only inexpensive way around using Windows, but does have a learning curve.
Building a computer is an excellent learning experience. You may not save a lot of money in your initial build, but the ability to upgrade and modify can be of significant savings over time.
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