Main  DIY Computer  Site Map  Email:  Webmaster Selecting Components The most difficult part of building a computer is selecting the components. There are so many different types of components out there. First of all, you have to make sure that all of the parts are compatible. If you want to buy a Socket A CPU, then you had better make sure that the motherboard has a matching socket for it. But there are other ways that components can conflict. They can conflict spatially. That is, they physically don't fit into the case that you have selected, etc. Finally, unusual hardware configurations can cause conflicts. Unusual hardware configurations include having multiple video cards, or having unusual hardware (such as video editing equipment), or having any type of devices that require multiply IRQs that they can't share with other devices. These things can cause the computer to not boot up properly, the operating system to not install correctly, or conflicts between device drivers that prevent one or more pieces of hardware from operation properly. The key to preventing conflicts is to properly research the components first. Good places to start looking for hardware reviews are at Anandtech and at Tom's Hardware Guide. They have comparisons between hardware, reviews of all of the latest products, as well as price lists. You can find information about how stable different motherboards are, what difficulties reviewers had with the hardware, as well as detailed pictures. The information found on these sites is invaluable. Once you have started narrowing down the type of hardware that you want to buy, you can start looking at places like Shopper.com, which also has reviews (which are less detailed) as well as a good place to start looking for hardware. They also compile opinions from users, as well as the ones from professional reviewers. They not only list different places that specific hardware is sold, as well as those vendor's prices and shipping costs... but they also certify merchants according to certain criteria. This doesn't mean that non-certified merchants aren't reputable. But it will give you a start with a list of reputable merchants. I've never had a problem with any of the merchants that they have listed as being certified. Be aware that you may be able to get those products cheaper elsewhere. The lists at Shopper.com will give you a good ballpark idea of what you should expect to pay. Shopper.com also lists the shipping costs that the different merchants charge. Be aware that many merchants charge unusually high shipping costs in order to list products at lower prices than their competitors. When calculating the cost of building a computer yourself, always make sure to check how much shipping you are going to have to pay on each component. Also (and this is probably obvious), shipping costs are generally lower if you buy all of your components from 3 or 4 merchants, rather than buying all of the components from different vendors. So, you may want to consider buying lots of components from vendors that you like, even if their prices are a little higher than the lowest that you can find. If you have narrowed your search down to a specific component, you could also look at epinions for reviews. Be aware that not all users necessarily know what they are talking about. If only one person lists a problem with the product that you want to buy, it could easily be due to a fluke. If multiple users report the same problem, then you should research that more carefully. As with all computer equipment, the appropriate newsgroup is an invaluable resource for getting information from experienced users about specific equipment. Make sure to read the FAQs first, before posting. After determining which components you would like to buy (or after winnowing all of the choices down to a few options), then you should start looking at different vendors to find the best prices. Make sure that you thoroughly read the descriptions and know what you are getting. For instance, zip drives come at many different prices. Some vendors sell them in a kit that includes cables, manuals and software. Other vendors just sell the bare drive, with nothing else. Different people have different lists of vendors that they are comfortable with. Here are a few that I've dealt with and like: buy.com Newegg Of course, there are many other vendors that are also good and cheap. But this should be a good start. There are also a number of places that just review different vendors. So, you might want to look for one of those places if dealing with an unfamiliar vendor. When selecting different components, it is important to determine how this computer will be used. Computers that will be used for gaming should be configured much differently than a computer that will be used as a workstation. Game computers should have an equally fast CPU and video card. Whereas workstations should have the emphasis on the CPU, etc, and you can go with a cheaper video card. There are many other similar aspects. Many motherboards now come with integrated (on-board) sound and video. In general, you will experience fewer problems and conflicts with on-board sound and video, as long as you are not attempting to run some unusual hardware configuration (two video cards, etc). However, the on-board video chipsets that are used on these types of motherboads are not high-performance. But if you are going to be using the computer for spreadsheets, word processing, etc, you will never notice the difference between on-board video and a high performance AGP video card. Similarly, the on-board sound chipsets that are used on these types of motherboards do not perform as well as a lot of PCI sound cards. But for playing CDs and MP3s, you will never notice the difference. You should not buy motherboards with on-board sound or video if you want to play the latest games. However, buying a motherboard with on-board sound or on-board video is a lot cheaper than buying all of the components separately. If you are buying a computer from scratch, you have to remember to buy all of the components that you need. Nothing is more frustrating than getting almost all of the computer assembled, and then having to wait for another week while you get the component that you forgot shipped to you. Here is a checklist that can get you started: CPU CPU fan motherboard RAM computer case chassis fan for the case hard drive CD drive Audio cable for CD drive (usually comes with the CD drive) sound card floppy drive zip drive monitor video card network card/modem keyboard mouse printer printer cable Note that new motherboards almost always come with a floppy cable. And if you bought a motherboard with two IDE channels, the motherboard will almost always come with 2 IDE cables. If you buy a motherboard with two ATA/66 or ATA/100 IDE channels, your motherboard will probably come with one fast IDE cable, and one regular (ATA/33) IDE cable (If you are not familiar with these terms, the difference is explained in the mounting drives section). Also note that if you are buying a printer, new printers don't usually come with printer cables. So, you will need to buy the appropriate cable separately. If you are building a computer for the first time, you will want to consult the links and resources mentioned on this page. However, you may also want to get the second opinion from a person who has done this sort of thing before actually buying all of the parts. They may be able to point out something that you forgot, or point you to a vendor that has cheaper prices, or may know the details of problems that other users have had with the hardware that you have selected. Back   Index   Next Sections Introduction Selecting the Components Mounting the Motherboard Mounting the CPU Installing the RAM Case Connections Mounting the Floppy Drive Mounting Drives Installing Cards External Connections POST Screen BIOS Setup Windows 2000 Biorobots Home  Site Map      Server Project Main      FAQ      How To      New Account Copyright 2006 Case Western Reserve University, Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. All rights reserved.