How to Assemble a Computer With the Best Available Components

Best Available Components in this Computer? Maybe

The term "best availaable" is relative. The two main processors for PC computers are made by Intel and AMD. Unfortunately, it is difficult to compare the specs on the processors and be able to tell at face value which one is better. Also, the best components right now may become outdated in the next few months, days, or even hours. However, the general process of building a computer, regardless of the quality of the parts, is the same.

Things You'll Need

• Computer Case
• Power Supply
• Motherboard
• CPU
• CPU Cooling Unit
• Hard drive(s)
• Disc drive(s)
• RAM
• Video Card(s)
• Sound Card

Instructions

1. Remove the side panel on the case to access the inside. The best available case is sturdy, has good airflow, and is relatively quiet. It should include or at least have space for an intake fan at the bottom of the front of the case, as well as an exhaust fan on the backside of the case near the middle.

2. Insert the Power Supply Unit into the case. The power supply unit goes in the top of the case with the AC adapter plug going towards the back of the case. It can be screwed in with four screws at the back of the case. The power supply should have enough power for all the components of the computer, while being relatively quiet.

3. Insert the hard drive(s) into the case. The case should have metal sections where the hard drives can slide in and be secured with screws on either side. The best hard drives in terms of speed as of March 2010 are solid state hard drives, though SATA hard disc drives offer high capacity at a lower cost. Having one hard drive for the operating system and other hard drives for storage helps to prolong the life of the hard drives.

4. Insert the disc drive(s) into the case. The disc drives can be pushed into the case from the front. The back of the disc drive(s) should go in first, then the drive can be screwed in on either side to the case to secure it. The best disc drive depends on what the purpose of the drive is. As of March 2010, a Blu-Ray burning drive burns the highest quality video and holds the most capacity to disc.

5. Insert the processor to the motherboard. The motherboard is dependant on the processor's socket type and bus speeds (the speed that information is passed between the processor and the motherboard). The motherboard has a chipset and generally the better the chipset, the better the performance. Likewise, with the processor, the faster the processor, the better the system's performance. The more cores a processor, the better. Having a quad-core processor is like having four different processors running at the same time. As of March 2010, one of the best processors is the Intel i7 processor because it has four cores and implements hyper-threading technology, which virtually doubles the number of cores to eight.

6. Install the cooling unit on top of the processor and secure it to the motherboard. The cooling unit can be a heatsink/fan unit or it can be a water cooling system. The better cooled the processor is, the better it will function.

7. Install the RAM onto the motherboard to the right of the processor. The more RAM a computer has, the better it will run. The "best" in this case is the maximum amount of RAM the motherboard can handle.

8. Install the motherboard into the case. Screwholes are along the edge of the motherboard and one in the middle. The inputs/outputs should go to the back of the case.

9. Install the video and sound cards into the PCI-X slots of the computer. If you want the best graphics components, one way is to link multiple video cards together. The video cards should have a high amount of video memory. This allows the card to process graphics while minimizing how much work the computer has to do. As of March 2010, one of the best graphics cards is the NIVIDIA Quadro FX 5800. The best sound cards generally allow for increased inputs and outputs, as well as maximum sound quality output.

10. Connect the components to the hard drive. Make sure to use the right cables between the different drives and the motherboard.

11. Connect the power supply to the different components. This includes the motherboard, the drives, and possibly the video card.

12. Close the case to finish assembling the computer.

Tips & Warnings

• Wear an anti-static wrist strap or touch a piece of metal to discharge built up static electricity before touching components. This will minimize damage from static shock.

References

• Build Your Own PC