How to Build a Minicomputer

Building a minicomputer is a great way to create a desk top PC that takes up the absolute minimum desk space.

Building a minicomputer is often a great way to save desk space and increase the amount of storage area. Minicomputers, while a little more difficult to manage and maintain, attract many users due to the small physical space that they take up. Mini PCs are not as powerful as large towers but advances in computer science are quickly making the mini PC more powerful and resourceful. Building a customized mini PC is quite possible once the core hardware pieces have been locate for your mini PC's case size and motherboard.

Things You'll Need

• Mini PC bare bones package
• Central processing unit
• Memory
• Graphics card
• Hard drives
• Fans
• Optical drive
• Nonmagnetized screwdriver

Instructions

Core Hardware

1. Choose a bare-bones mini PC package as it will contain the most difficult-to-find hardware included and installed in the mini case. If you decide to put your PC together from scratch, you will need to locate a mini case along with a power supply and motherboard that will fit within it.

2. Install a central processing unit in your computer that is designed to work with your mini motherboard. Ensure that the heat sink's physical profile will fit within the case.

3. Install or upgrade the memory of the motherboard to a level that supports the functions for which you intend to use the PC. Refer to the motherboard's manual to ensure you are purchasing the proper type of memory and installing it correctly.

4. Choose a graphics card that physically fits in your system and is supported by the motherboard's available PCI slots. You may also want to check your power supply to make sure it will run all of the required hardware.

5. Select a hard drive system that will store all of your documents and data. Be sure that the hard drives will physically fit within the mini PC's case. Many cases will only be able to hold one or two hard drives so it will be a good idea to get very large high-quality hard drives for the ones that you can fit in.

6. Ensure that enough cooling equipment is installed in the case to keep all of the hardware running efficiently. Due to the small nature of the case with mini PC's, heat builds up very quickly and is very condensed. This heat will damage components if not removed by fans and heat sinks.

7. Install an optical drive that will allow you to read CD's and burn media. A high quality optical drive will allow you to both read and write CD's and many high end models also will burn labels on the CD's.

Tips & Warnings

• If installing the CPU yourself, take special care as it is very easy to damage the leads.

References

• Tom's Hardware: Package Contents: Case, Board, Power Supply and Miscellaneous Hardware
• Directron: How to Build a Mini-ITX PC -- A Step-by-Step Guide