[Guide] Picking Parts For Your Custom Built Computer

[Nemmyy]

Picking Parts For Your Customer Built Computer

A Guide by Nemmyy yyyyy

Comments, suggestions, and thanks are much appreciated.

What the Hell is This Long Thing?
This guide is to help people on their way to building their own computer by helping with the part-choosing process. I am only telling you how to choose hardware that actually goes into your computer, not accessories such as monitors, speakers, keyboards, etc. The parts are listed in a logical order of how I think you should go about choosing them, but of course you don't have to do it that way. As an example, I will use all of the hardware in my custom built computer.

Why Custom Built Computers Are The Better Choice
Custom built computers are better than off the shelf ones for a variety of reasons. Most importantly, building your own computer will save you a lot of money. It will also help increase your knowledge about computers and can turn into a really fun hobby. Another benefit is that if you ever run into a problem the fact that you built the computer yourself can help a lot in solving it. Future upgrades will also be easier to accomplish because manufacturers of off the shelf PCs like Dell generally make their parts only work with each other so you'll go back to them and give them more of your money.

Where to Start
Well, first of all you need to recognize the parts you need. If you are keeping some parts from a previous computer then you can obviously omit them from your list as long as they are compatible with all of your new parts.

Here is a list of computer parts you will need to buy:

• Motherboard
  
• Processor
  
• RAM
  
• Video Card
  
• DVD Drive
  
• Hard Drive(s)
  
• Computer Case/Accessories
  
• Power Supply

What's equally important is to determine the main purpose of your computer. What you do determines how good your parts need to be and ultimately the cost of your build. If you game a lot you will want better parts and a more expensive computer, but if you only do things like surf the web and check email, you can use lower end hardware. Regardless, I recommend buying parts that are at least a little better than what you want so your computer will last longer, unless you have a lot of money to spend now and later.


If you want to figure out how to put all this stuff together then check out Deltron's guide on How to Build a Custom PC


Where to Buy Parts
The best place to buy all your parts (if you're from US or CA) is from Newegg.com. They also have a lot of good bundle deals that help you save money, so check those out too. Amazon is also pretty good if it has free shipping, but I would only buy less important things there like cases and fans. Remember to check reviews on products you're thinking about buying and don't buy used hardware!!! And you should always post everything you're about to buy for your build on Hack Forums, Support Forums, Tom's Hardware, and/or other forums to see how people feel about your build and to double check if everything is compatible.

Motherboard
Choosing your motherboard first is to me the most important since it determines the rest of your parts. For example, if you'll be getting an Intel or AMD CPU and an ATI or NVIDIA GPU. Make sure you take a look at a motherboard's supported CPU, Memory, Expansion Slots, Storage Devices, Onboard Audio, Onboard LAN, Rear Panel Ports, Onboard USB, and its physical specifications. It's also very important because it decides how much you'll be able to upgrade in the future. If you spend more now, you won't have to do as much spending later.

Wikipedia's definition of a Motherboard (Click to View)

"A motherboard is the central printed circuit board (PCB) in many modern computers and holds many of the crucial components of the system, while providing connectors for other peripherals. The motherboard is sometimes alternatively known as the main board, system board, or, on Apple computers, the logic board. It is also sometimes casually shortened to mobo."

The motherboard I have is the ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
The link provided will tell you everything you need to know about the motherboard as well as the code below, so let's analyze it! (corny i know )

Code:

Model
Brand    ASUS
Model    M4A785TD-V EVO

Supported CPU
CPU Socket Type    AM3
CPU Type    Phenom II / Athlon II / Sempron 100 Series
FSB    2600MHz Hyper Transport (5200 MT/s)

Chipsets
North Bridge    AMD 785G
South Bridge    AMD SB710

Memory
Number of Memory Slots    4×240pin
Memory Standard    DDR3 1800(O.C.)/1600(O.C.)/1333/1066/800 ECC,Non-ECC,Un-buffered Memory
Maximum Memory Supported    16GB
Channel Supported    Dual Channel

Expansion Slots
PCI Express 2.0 x16    2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (blue @ x16 mode,gray @ x4 mode)
PCI Express x1    1
PCI Slots    3

Storage Devices
PATA    1 xUltraDMA 133/100/66 for up to 2 PATA devices
SATA 3Gb/s    5
SATA RAID    0/1/10/JBOD

Onboard Video
Onboard Video Chipset    ATI Radeon HD 4200 GPU
SidePort Memory - onboard 128MB DDR3 1333 memory

Onboard Audio
Audio Chipset    VIA VT1708S
Audio Channels    8 Channels

Onboard LAN
LAN Chipset    Realtek RTL8112L
Max LAN Speed    10/100/1000Mbps

Rear Panel Ports
PS/2    1
Video Ports    D-Sub + DVI
HDMI    1 x HDMI
USB 1.1/2.0    6 x USB 2.0
IEEE 1394    1 x IEEE 1394a
eSATA    1 x eSATA 3Gb/s
S/PDIF Out    1 x Optical
Audio Ports    6 Ports

Onboard USB
Onboard USB    6 x USB 2.0

Onboard 1394
Onboard 1394    1x 1394a

Physical Spec
Form Factor    ATX
Dimensions    12.0" x 9.6"
Power Pin    24 Pin

The M4A785TD-V EVO has onboard video and sound so I didn't get a separate card for either. Basically all motherboards now-a-days have onboard audio and some have onboard video. Depending on what you use your computer for, buying a graphics card in addition to your onboard video chipset is really your choice. If you play games and do some demanding tasks, I would recommend buying an additional graphics card.

I'll explain the rest in their respective sections.

Processor
Your CPU is almost, if not equally, as important as your motherboard. "The Central Processing Unit (CPU) or the processor is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, and is the primary element carrying out the computer's functions."

The CPU I got was the AMD Athlon II x4 620. As you can see above, my motherboard is an AMD motherboard because it has AMD chipsets and only supports AM3 socket CPUs and Phenom II, Athlon II, and Sempron 100 Series Processors. It also only supports 45nm CPUs. This obviously limits my options by a lot.
I decided to go with the Athlon II x4 for three reasons:

1. I wanted a quad core since they're becoming more popular and it'll help my computer last longer.
   
2. I had heard that the newer Phenom II x4's had overheating issues and I didn't want to take a risk.
   
3. Intel processors are more expensive than AMD processors.

So here's the specs of my CPU:

Code:

Model
Brand    AMD
Processors Type    Desktop
Series    Athlon II X4
Model    ADX620WFGIBOX

CPU Socket Type
CPU Socket Type    Socket AM3

Tech Spec
Core    Propus
Multi-Core    Quad-Core
Name    Athlon II X4 620
Operating Frequency    2.6GHz
Hyper Transports    4000MHz
L2 Cache    4 x 512KB
Manufacturing Tech    45 nm
64 bit Support    Yes
Hyper-Transport Support    Yes
Virtualization Technology Support    Yes
Voltage    0.925-1.425V
Thermal Design Power    95W
Cooling Device    Heatsink and Fan included

The necessary technical specs that match up with my motherboard:

• it's an AMD CPU
  
• it's an AM3 socket CPU
  
• it's part of the Athlon II x4 series
  
• it's a 45 nm CPU

RAM
RAM, also referred to as memory, is very important in how many applications you can run at once and how fast your computer will be.
"Random-access memory (RAM) is a form of computer data storage. Today, it takes the form of integrated circuits that allow stored data to be accessed in any order (i.e., at random). "Random" refers to the idea that any piece of data can be returned in a constant time, regardless of its physical location and whether or not it is related to the previous piece of data. By contrast, storage devices such as magnetic discs and optical discs rely on the physical movement of the recording medium or a reading head. In these devices, the movement takes longer than data transfer, and the retrieval time varies based on the physical location of the next item."

A very important factor to consider while buying/using RAM is that each DIMM (Dual In-line Memory Module) needs to be run at the same voltage, speed, and latency settings. This doesn't mean that every stick has to have the same technical specs (you can edit the settings in your BIOS), but it will make your life a whole lot easier to just buy all exactly the same model.
ECC and non-ECC memory aren't mixable either. ECC stands for "Error Correction Codes" and this type of memory detects/corrects errors, but this is usually only popular in severs, not home computers.

The RAM I got was OCZ Gold Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066:

Code:

Model
Brand    OCZ
Series    Gold Edition
Model    OCZ3G10664GK
Type    240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM

Tech Spec
Capacity    4GB (2 x 2GB)
Speed    DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500)
Cas Latency    7
Timing    7-7-7-16
Voltage    1.5V – 1.6V
Buffered/Registered    Unbuffered
Multi-channel Kit    Dual Channel Kit
Heat Spreader    Yes
Features    Gold Layered Z3 XTC Heatspreader
1.8V EVP

You may think I'm crazy for buying this with all its bad reviews but I did my homework first. I went to the manufacturer's site and specifically asked if it would work with the rig I was setting up and they said yes, so I went ahead and bought it because I was tight on money. I had no problems setting it up or getting it work and it still works flawlessly after a couple months, but I never did run it by MemTest when i got it.

This RAM is compatible with my motherboard because:

• it's DDR3 1066 memory
  
• it's 240-pin memory
  
• it's un-buffered
  
• it's dual channel

Although my motherboard says:

• it supports DDR3 memory, I can use DDR3 as well as anything lower (DDR2 & DDR).
  
• it supports dual channel memory I can use single channel, but cannot use anything above dual channel (triple-channel, etc.).

Video Card
Sorry for the mass quoting. I feel like Wikipedia does a way better job of explaining than I would.

"A video card, video adapter, graphics-accelerator card, display adapter or graphics card is an expansion card whose function is to generate and output images to a display. Many video cards offer added functions, such as accelerated rendering of 3D scenes and 2D graphics, video capture, TV-tuner adapter, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, FireWire, light pen, TV output, or the ability to connect multiple monitors (multi-monitor). Other modern high performance video cards are used for more graphically demanding purposes, such as PC games."

Like I said earlier, some motherboards come with onboard video chipsets. If the motherboard you choose has this then it is up to you whether or not to buy a separate card, but if your motherboard doesn't have onboard video capabilities then you're going to need to get a card. If you're going to use your PC for basic things like surfing the web, checking email, doing homework, etc. then you most likely won't need a graphics card. It wouldn't be worth the money. If you often use programs like Photoshop or if you like to play games then you should buy a graphics card, but you still don't need to if you have onboard.

If you're getting a graphics card you will be getting a PCI Express card (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express, abbreviated as PCIe or PCI-E). "PCI Express has replaced AGP as the default interface for graphics cards on new systems. With a few exceptions, all graphics cards being released as of 2009 from ATI and NVIDIA use PCI Express."
You're not limited to only PCIe for graphics cards but you might as well get one that runs on that so it won't soon become obsolete. Getting a PCIe graphics card will also save your normal PCI slots for later expansion/upgrading if needed.

"The current PCI Express implementation is version 2.1, with version 3.0 proposed. PCI Express 2.1 supports a large proportion of the management, support, and troubleshooting systems planned to be fully implemented in PCI Express 3.0. However, the speed is the same as PCI Express 2.0."

What amazes me is that pretty much everything PCIe is forward and backward compatible. I say this meaning that older versions of PCIe cards will work on PCIe slots that are made for newer versions and vice-versa. For example, a PCI Express 2.0 card will work on a motherboard that supports PCI Express 1.0 and a PCI Express 1.0 card will work on a motherboard that supports PCI Express 2.0. PCI-SIG.com announced that the same will go for PCI Express 3.0 (when released). But, you have to remember that while going forward (newer on older) your card is limited by the slot, and while going backward (older on newer), your card acts normal (the slot doesn't give it superpowers).

The graphics card I have is the SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity:

Code:

Model
Brand
SAPPHIRE
Model
100315L
Interface
Interface
PCI Express 2.1 x16
Chipset
Chipset Manufacturer
AMD
GPU
Radeon HD 6850
Core Clock
775MHz
Memory
Effective Memory Clock
1000MHz (4.0Gbps)
Memory Size
1GB
Memory Interface
256-bit
Memory Type
GDDR5
3D API
DirectX
DirectX 11
Ports
HDMI
1 x HDMI
DisplayPort
1 x DisplayPort
DVI
2 x DVI
General
RAMDAC
400 MHz
Max Resolution
2560 x 1600
CrossFireX Support
Yes
Cooler
With Fan
Dual-Link DVI Supported
Yes
HDCP Ready
Yes
Features
Features
ATI Eyefinity Technology

AMD HD3D Technology

AMD Advanced Parallel Processing Technology

3rd Generation TeraScale Engine

HDMI 1.4a support with Deep Color, 7.1 High Bitrate Audio and 3D Stereoscopic support

On chip HDCP Support

ATI CrossFireX multi-GPU support for highly scalable performance. (Use up to four discrete cards with an AMD 790FX based motherboard)

Enhanced Unified Video Decoder(UVD 3)

Dynamic power management with ATI PowerPlay technology including memory clocks

Dolby TrueHD and DTSHD Master Audio TM Support

Enhanced Internet Brower Applications

If you've been paying attention then you might be wondering how I can use this graphics card if its memory type is GDDR5, which is higher than supported by my motherboard. The answer to that is that the memory type doesn't matter for graphics cards; the type of memory only pertains to RAM compatibility.

Reasons why I would pick this card:

• Good price
  
• It supports DirectX 11
  
• Runs on the most recent interface
  
• 1 GB of memory
  
• 256-bit memory interface
  
• Supports CrossFireX and Eyefinity
  
• It has good reviews and is manufactured by a known company

DVD Drive
This isn't super important and you probably don't really need one depending on what you use your computer for. You should have one anyways, though. In fact, you need one in order to install Windows 7 onto your hard drive because it's so big and amazing . Every new drive that I've seen reads and writes CDs and DVDs so you'll only need one drive unless you also want a Blu-Ray drive (I'm not going to get into that). What you get for a DVD drive is up to you and you don't even have to spend that much on it.

The drive I have is the LG GH22 Black SATA 22X Super Multi DVD Rewriter:

Code:

Model
Brand     LG
Type    DVD Burner
Model     GH22

WRITE Speed
DVD+R    22X
DVD-R    22X
DVD+R DL    16X
DVD-R DL    12X

Physical Spec
LightScribe Support    Yes
Form Factor    5.25"
Panel Color    Black

Configuration
Load Type    Tray
Interface    SATA

It's kinda fancy because it supports double layer and dual layer. I primarily bought it so i could back up my xbox 360 games, burn movies, and install Windows7; it's worked great despite its reviews on newegg.

You shouldn't have to worry about/deal with compatibility issues involving DVD drives since all new motherboards have SATA support and IDE support (for older drives).

Hard Drive (s)
If you have a lot of money I highly suggest buying one of the newer Solid State Drives. "A solid-state drive (SSD) is a data storage device that uses solid-state memory to store persistent data. An SSD emulates a hard disk drive interface, thus easily replacing it in most applications." Solid State Drives have many significant advantages over the traditional SATA Hard Drives.

To name a few:

• "Faster start-up because no spin-up is required."
  
• "Fast random access because there is no "seeking" motion as is required with rotating disk platters and the read/write head and head-actuator mechanism."
  
• "Silent operation due to the lack of moving parts."
  
• "Failures occur less frequently while writing/erasing data, which means there is a lower chance of irrecoverable data damage."

Of course there are also disadvantages such as:

• "Flash-memory drives have limited lifetimes and will often wear out after 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 write cycles (1,000 to 10,000 per cell) for MLC, and up to 5,000,000 write cycles (100,000 per cell) for SLC. Special file systems or firmware designs can mitigate this problem by spreading writes over the entire device, called wear leveling."
  
• "As of early-2010, SSDs are still more expensive per gigabyte than hard drives. Whereas a normal flash drive is US$2 per gigabyte, hard drives are around US$0.10 per gigabyte for 3.5", or US$0.20 for 2.5"."
  
• "The capacity of SSDs is currently lower than that of hard drives. However, flash SSD capacity is predicted to increase rapidly, with drives of 1 TB already released for enterprise and industrial applications."

If you want to read more about Solid State Drives you can do so here.

Of course, if you're not rich (like me) you should get the standard SATA Hard Drive which is still good, hence standard.

I have the Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive:

Code:

Model
Brand    Western Digital
Series    Caviar Blue
Model    WD5000AAKS
Packaging    Bare Drive

Performance
Interface    SATA 3.0Gb/s
Capacity    500GB
RPM    7200 RPM
Cache    16MB
Average Seek Time    8.9ms
Average Write Time    10.9ms
Average Latency    4.2ms

Physical Spec
Form Factor    3.5"

Features
Features    Top performance for Windows Vista
IntelliSeek - Calculates optimum seek speeds to lower power consumption, noise and vibration.
SecurePark - Parks the recording heads off the disk surface during spin up, spin down and when the drive is off. This ensures the recording head never touches the disk surface resulting in improved long term reliability due to less head wear, and improved non- operational shock tolerance.

Like DVD drives, you shouldn't have to worry about/deal with compatibility issues involving hard drives because all new motherboards have SATA support and IDE support (if you have an older drive).

Computer Case/Accessories
Computer cases don't require as much of a thought process as everything else, so this is where it gets easier (I know, this guide is long). For the most part, you can do whatever you want here and have fun expressing yourself.

Please, do yourself a favor and don't go specifically looking for a case that comes with a power supply to save some money because usually they are crap. The first thing to look at while shopping for a computer case is the form factor of your motherboard and the only other thing that really matters is room for extra fans to keep your computer nice and cool. The rest is just personal preference.

The case I got was the COOLER MASTER Elite RC-310-SWN1-GP Black SECC / ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case:

Code:

Model
Brand    COOLER MASTER
Series    Elite
Model    RC-310-SWN1-GP

Spec
Type    ATX Mid Tower
Color    Black
Case Material    SECC / ABS
With Power Supply    No
Power Supply Mounted    Top
Motherboard Compatibility    Micro ATX / ATX
With Side Panel Window    Yes

Expansion
External 5.25" Drive Bays    4
External 3.5" Drive Bays    1
Internal 3.5" Drive Bays    6
Expansion Slots    7

Front Ports
Front Ports    USB 2.0 x 2 , Mic x 1 , Audio x 1 (support HD audio)

Cooling System
80mm Fans    No
120mm Fans    1 x 120mm rear fan

Physical Spec
Dimensions(L x W x H)    18.40" x 7.50" x 17.20"
Weight    12.8 lbs.

Features
Features    Silver Color front panel case w/transparent acrylic side window

Reasons why I got this case:

• The form factor of my motherboard is ATX and the case I got supports Micro ATX and ATX
  
• It has a side panel
  
• It has a spot for an extra 120mm intake fan on the side
  
• It has USB ports in the front
  
• The color
  
• PSU is mounted on the top

Then I got an additional 120mm green led intake fan by Cooler Master. I would definitely recommend getting at least one extra fan for your computer, better safe than sorry.

You could also get some cool led lights if you want like this or some cold cathode tubes like this (I love green if you can't tell).

Power Supply
Some cases come with power supplies but usually they are crappy, like I said earlier, you should probably buy a separate one unless you're super tight on money. You should read this whether your computer case comes with one or not.

The power supply is pretty important because without one that's powerful enough your computer won't run and could get damaged. "A power supply unit (PSU) is the component that supplies power to the other components in a computer."

To calculate your approximate wattage you can use Newegg's Power Supply Calculator. You should get a PSU that has more watts than what you actually need so you can easily upgrade later. Also consider modular power supplies on your search. Modular PSUs are made so that you can take out the power cables you aren't needing; standard PSUs have every cable permanently attached.

Make sure the main connector on your PSU and the power pin needed on your motherboard match! (20+4Pin is the same as 24 Pin). Also remember to get a PSU with connectors that you need & a few extras of them such as: PCIe, SATA, Molex, etc.

Other things to look for in PSUs:

• Good energy efficiency
  
• Life span (measured in MTBFs)
  
• Sleeved cables (for neatness, easier wiring, and better airflow)
  
• Wattage that isn't too high or too low, both can ruin your computer and it might not start

The PSU I got the OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply:

Code:

Model
Brand    OCZ
Model    OCZ700SXS
Series    StealthXStream

Spec
Type    ATX12V / EPS12V
Maximum Power    700W
Fans    120mm Fan
PFC    Active
Main Connector    20+4Pin
+12V Rails    4
PCI-Express Connector    1 x 6-Pin, 1 x 6+2-Pin
SATA Power Connector    6
SLI    Ready
CrossFire    Ready
Modular    No
Efficiency    > 85%
Over Voltage Protection    Yes
Overload Protection    Yes
Input Voltage    100 - 240 V
Input Frequency Range    50/60 Hz
Input Current    11 - 5A
Output    +3.3V@36A,+5V@30A,+12V1@18A,+12V2@18A,+12V3@18A, +12V4@18A,-
12V@0.8A,+5VSB@3.0A
MTBF    >100,000 Hours
Approvals    CB, CE, FCC, cUL, RoHS

Features
Connectors    1 x Main connector (20+4Pin)
1 x 12V(4+4Pin)
6 x Peripheral
6 x SATA
2 x Floppy
2 x PCI-E
Features    Dual GPU equipped
EMI Isolated Casing
Over voltage/Over-current/Short-Circuit protection

Why I got this PSU:

• The main connector is a 20+4Pin which will work with my motherboard because it needs a 24 pin
  
• Lots of wattage for future upgrades
  
• Supports CrossFireX
  
• > 85%
  
• Its lifespan is over 100,000 hours

The End.
Enjoy

[Eagle]

It is good guide but can you please change the purple text on the beginning,your eyes hurt from it.

[Nemmyy]

Thanks, I changed it.

[Support]

Very nice guide! Perhaps you could include some sites to order the parts from?

[Nemmyy]

Thank you support
I put like 50 links to Newegg throughout the guide, and I said some places in the 2nd paragraph.

[Julie]

This guide is complete & awesome dude !
Thanks

[Nemmyy]

Thanks Julie

[Omniscient]

That's great. Enjoy the award I just gave you too. You documented your construction perfectly.

[Nemmyy]

Whaaattt no way, thanks Omni
I was getting disappointed because it took me like a week to write and i only got two comments.
Thanks again!

[Maestro]

I'm going to bookmark this. I don't have enough time to read it now, but I will definatly read it tomorrow. Extremely good thread, +rep for this.