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Advice/information on building a pc.

T

The Equalizer

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 26, 2005
Messages
130
Hello I was wondering where does everybody learn to build/mod there pc's from? I'm thinking of buying the parts and building my own, but have zero experience with building a pc, so I was curious to see if there are any websites or books that explain everything from the absolute basics of building a pc to custom mods etc. Thanks for any help.
 
The Equalizer said:
Hello I was wondering where does everybody learn to build/mod there pc's from? I'm thinking of buying the parts and building my own, but have zero experience with building a pc, so I was curious to see if there are any websites or books that explain everything from the absolute basics of building a pc to custom mods etc. Thanks for any help.
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Well, you're in the right place... Sorta. :) You posted this in the Case Modding section, which entails... Well, basically chopping apart cases and making them look badass.

You'd be better served in the General Hardware section for a starter. However, your best education in building a PC might very well be reading and reading and reading and reading and reading some more of these forums. :)

There are some books like "PCs for Dummies" that would give you basic vocabulary, though.

Mods? Maybe move this post?
 
If you are reasonably competent and can follow directions, it will be a great project. There is a wealth of knowledge here, and on other sites if you run into problems.

It is pretty straight forward. Case, motherboard, processor, memory (ram), hard drive, dvd drives, floppy (some say not to even use these, but I still do), video card (if mother board doesn't have it on board), sound card (if mother board doesn't have on board), operating system (windows). Just like building a model.

Just do it :cool:
 
Yeah I searched for a help forum but didn't find one, this seemed the best place. Like I say, 1st and foremost I need to learn how to build a pc, seems basic enough but wouldn't want to break expensive equipment due to lack of knowledge so would like to know if there is any literature/websites on how to build a pc. Secondly how do you learn to modify it, as there are some fantastic modifications out there, and everyone has to start somewhere.
 
You learn to build a pc by reading as much as you can about it. If you google around you'll find some pretty good step-by-step tutorials about how to do it. It's not hard, but it is scary at first (I built my first pc in 2001, but now I run a part-time repair and consulting business). Just be cautious and get help if you're not sure.

You learn to mod a computer by reading the FAQ on this forum and the links that are in there. There's a TON of info-imho the FAQ and links are the single best modding resource on the net.

My advice: learn to build a stock, ho-hum rig before trying to mod. The experience will be beneficial, ntm that it's basically impossible to build a mod if you're not well versed in the basics.

Good luck to you and report back or ask for help if you need to. The General Hardware section probably is the most appropriate place.
 
Congratulations on wanting to do your own build, it's a fun experience and using the computer afterwards is a lot more satisfying than using a prebuilt box, not to mention it will be 100% to your specifications and taste... that 'P' in 'PC' does stand for 'Personal' after all.

My advice is take your time, do some research and when the building starts have the manuals open and next to you at all times so you can doublecheck each step before comitting to it. Don't rush, go step by (informed) step and that thing will be up and runing before you know it.
 
Well I am starting to build my own computer... I made one off newegg for 660 dolla... I went to this guide and it really helped... Didnt use all the parts but used most of em...

http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20051014/index.html

I then added speakers, Case, Operating system, keyboard, mouse, and a cheaper ATI video card to keep price down and no power supply since it came with case and BOOM cheap and nice rig!!!

As for putting together use some of the guides above... I dont have much money to buy now..
 
well i learned from an early age after messing around with about 5-6 generations of my personal computer, and my best friend's dad was a network tech so we always had new parts to mess with. Best thing would be to get a cheap computer, maybe an old IBM for like 10 bucks, or the ones you find sitting on the sidewalks :D and learn to take it apart and put it back together, just get used to the parts and how they fit into each other, the wiring and the like. Besides all that even if you build your computer the first time through with no problems, take it apart completely and do it all over again, believe me it will really help. And if you have ANY kind of problems there is always someone around who can help you through it, the mods and most of the people here are just freaking amazing. Good luck and don't be afraid to ask for specific advice or questions, that's what this place is here for, its just one big forum of information and advice.
 
board2death986 said:
well i learned from an early age after messing around with about 5-6 generations of my personal computer, and my best friend's dad was a network tech so we always had new parts to mess with. Best thing would be to get a cheap computer, maybe an old IBM for like 10 bucks, or the ones you find sitting on the sidewalks :D and learn to take it apart and put it back together, just get used to the parts and how they fit into each other, the wiring and the like. Besides all that even if you build your computer the first time through with no problems, take it apart completely and do it all over again, believe me it will really help. And if you have ANY kind of problems there is always someone around who can help you through it, the mods and most of the people here are just freaking amazing. Good luck and don't be afraid to ask for specific advice or questions, that's what this place is here for, its just one big forum of information and advice.
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I second that man, built my first rig back in 2001 with the help of a friend. Shortly after that I was fortunate enough to land a air-conditioned Computer Asssembly job at the local Compaq(high-end servers were my fav). Within weeks I discoverd [H]forum and my pc problems disappeard.
Take your time with your build when you consider components. Sometimes price is misleading to performance. When you do buy never buy from an un-trustworthy source(sellers with bad history/shady internet shops). You really do get what you pay for.
http://heatware.com/ Is a grat way to keep track of all those pesky transactions, and is quite helpfull as well. and all ways trust The Egg.
 
Oh and BTW board2death those had to have been the longest 5 run-on sentences ever. LOL :D
 
Pretty much everything people have said here seems good. My only addition is you may want to consider modding something OTHER than your primary computer first, until you are more experienced at it. Cause believe me, nothing sucks worse than screwing up a mod and then having no computer (or screwing up a mod and being unhappy with the result).

98% of the stuff you want to mod has been done before, and done well, so look for guides on how to do it. They may not necessarily be here, but someone here can probably tell you where to find them. After you get some experience under your belt, you can go for that 2%
biggrin.gif
 
AciDeX said:
Oh and BTW board2death those had to have been the longest 5 run-on sentences ever. LOL :D
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im glad you found it important enough not only to count the number of sentences but to keep track of them being run ons. . .someone is meticulous to detail.
 
5 years ago I didn't even know how to add a harddrive but I just read threads here and decided to build my own after a few upgrades to my old one. Now I give advice to friends and family about computer upgrades, problems, etc and laugh at how I couldn't do something as simple as a hard drive install.
 
board2death986 said:
im glad you found it important enough not only to count the number of sentences but to keep track of them being run ons. . .someone is meticulous to detail.
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I wouldn't say meticulous, just observant. And bored enough to relize that at 3am. Keep up the good work, you make sleepless nights worth staying awake for. :D

On a topic related note. Just keep at building and modding and you'll be playing with your computer parts, more than you'll be "playing on it" in no time. Some side effects of this hobby include, but are not limited to: Insomnia, Balding(from constant hair pulling), boxes of parts that should have been used but never were, an ever dwindling social life(j/k), everyone and they're brother asking to fix their computer, and a intense craving for Mountain Dew and snack foods all the time. :p
 
IMO as long as you know what components you need to get you have already done 3/4 of the battle. Getting everything actually built is the easy part. You cant exactly shove the RAM into a PCI slot, or put the processor anywhere it isn't supposed to go. The golden rule I have is never force anything. If it isn't wanting to go in with a small amount of pressure odds are you have it situated wrong. Double check everything and try again. There are a few tricky things like putting RAM in appropriate slots, and applying thermal compound if your not using a stock heatsink. Other than that it is pretty simple.

Whenever people ask me for help setting up their Dells / Gateways I simply tell them "Plug everything into the only place it will fit". This is largely the case with building a computer. The hard part is selecting parts, and not for example getting DDR2 memory to go with your A64 setup (yet...).
 
My first build was also in 2001. My uncle was a tech and he offered to build me a computer, so I bought all the parts from the egg and then instead of building if for me, he watched me build it and supervised me along the way. It's one thing to have someone build a computer for you, its another to learn how to do it yourself. Most importantly, have fun, its very exciting building your own computer for the first time, atleast for me it was.
 
Once you get the terminology you are probably going to wonder what ram, hard drive, video card to buy. Just make sure they are all compatible. Some new hard drives wont work on older motherboards. Not all RAM (memory) will work on the same motherboard. Many power users might disagree with me, but I recommend for your first build you buy a motherboard with as many onboard components as possible. (ie. onboard video, sound, ethernet) It will save you a lot of pain and money during your first build. One sight that will help you pick out compatible components is www.directron.com. When you select an item, you can have it show you compatible matches. Remember too, just because you buy a board with onboard components doesnt mean you cant upgrade. Good luck.
 
batmanwcm said:
My first build was also in 2001. My uncle was a tech and he offered to build me a computer, so I bought all the parts from the egg and then instead of building if for me, he watched me build it and supervised me along the way. It's one thing to have someone build a computer for you, its another to learn how to do it yourself. Most importantly, have fun, its very exciting building your own computer for the first time, atleast for me it was.
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Man... That makes me feel old... And I'm only turning 26 this week. I think my first build was back in 97 or 98, but I'd been upgrading other machines since about 89 (installed the Prodigy kit that came with a 2400bps modem that I got for my 9th birthday all by myself).

A lot of my early education came from PC Magazine and Byte, then from the FIDOnet message bases, then the Internet. I discovered the [H] rather early on... I think 1999-2000 maybe? I remember it was when building one of my brother's machines and there was all that hype about Coppermine PIIIs and Celery...

Anyhow, from that point on... It was over. :) The [H] is the best source for an education for our kind. The reason for that is that it's not limited to one source. It's a culmination of all sources, with information culled from a cornucopia of sources.
 
I forgot to mention--a post beep will become the best sound you've ever heard in your life (yes, even better than some you may hear in bed)
 
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