This is Part 1 of a two-part post. Part 1 will focus on the hidden hardware inside the computer tower case. Part 2 will include info on the peripherals (monitors, keyboard, mouse, etc…) and the software.
All great chefs know the importance of quality ingredients in creating an enticing entree; the same theory applies to building a computer. There are a few items that you can scrimp on to save your budget, but the main ingredients should be the highest quality you can afford.
When shopping for my ingredients, I spent several hours researching hardware ratings and rankings (Tom’s Hardware has some great charts to help you compare!) and browsing various online retailers for the best prices (ultimately, I settled on buying everything from Newegg.com).
In my last post, I listed my key reasons for wanting to build a custom computer as well as outlining a list of necessary parts. In this post, I want to walk through each part to describe what specifications I looked for in making my final selections.
First up: Motherboard
The motherboard is the main circuit board in a computer. Almost all of the other parts connect directly into and are controlled through the motherboard. To use the human body as a metaphor for the computer, the motherboard acts similarly to the spine, it attaches to and facilitates communication between all of the different parts. While you are shopping, keep a copy of your motherboard’s specifications sheet handy; you will refer to this sheet A LOT.
Concerned about speedy processing, I made sure that my motherboard could support amount of RAM I wanted (enough memory slots and the appropriate memory standard – more on this later), PCI Express 3.0 expansion slots for my graphics card, and USB 3.0 ports for fast data transfer from peripheral devices.
Purchase Price: $60 (on sale – usually $120)
Part 2: Central Processing Unit (CPU)
To return to the human body metaphor, the CPU is like the computer’s brain. The CPU is inserted directly into the motherboard and performs most of the critical computations; for this reason, it is important to identify which CPU types your motherboard supports and which socket types it uses to connect. Finally, you need to ensure that the power demands of your CPU (measured in Watts) does not exceed the Maximum CPU TDP (Thermal Design Power) of you motherboard.
Going back to our ingredient list, the CPU is one that you want to splurge on. Purchase the highest quality you can reasonably afford. TomsHardware offers some great CPU comparison charts ; select a program you plan to use frequently and research which CPU’s perform well for that purpose. For example, I used the “Adobe Premier Pro CS 6” chart because I plan to do a lot of video editing.
My motherboard supports Intel’s Core i7 / i5 / i3 (socket type = LGA1155). The i7-series is the fastest, followed by i5 then i3. With my budget in mind, I went with the Intel Core i5-3470; it is fast enough to meet my needs and less expensive than the i7.
Purchase Price: $190
Part 3: Hard Drive / Solid-State Drive (SSD)
Hard Drives and SSDs are both long-term storage for your computer. Hard drives offer larger storage compared to SSDs, which offer faster speeds at the price of space. Both types of devices connect directly to the motherboard, so ff you plan to have multiple storage devices in your computer make sure that your motherboard has enough SATA ports of the appropriate size to meet your needs.
Since most of my programs are cloud-based and I store most of my personal files on portable external drives, I opted for a 120GB SSD.
Purchase Price: $90 (on sale – usually $110)
Part 4: Random Access Memory (RAM)
RAM is also a type of computer storage; however, RAM storage is much smaller and refreshes each time the computer restarts. RAM is for short-term memory and allows programs to quickly recall information that has been previously retrieved from long-term storage on your hard drive or SSD.
When you are choosing RAM, be sure to check your motherboard’s specification sheet; you will need to know: number of memory slots, memory standard, and maximum memory supported. For example, my motherboard has four 240pin memory slots. It supports up to 32GB of memory in the following types: DDR3 2600(OC)/ 2400(OC)/ 2133(OC)/ 1866(OC)/ 1600/ 1333/ 1066
For now, I have chosen to use two RAM sticks, one 8GB and one 4GB. Both are DDR3 1600 and use a 240pin connection. If I find that 12GB is not fast enough (although it should be plenty), I can always add up to two more RAM sticks later on.
Purchase Price: $60 (on sale – usually $70) for one 8GB RAM stick
Part 5: Graphics Card
This is the piece that I spent the most time researching (and the most money on but it will be well-worth the splurge). I use a lot of Adobe products, so I started with their list of supported graphics cards . I discovered that there are two types of graphics cards: workstation cards and gaming cards. I had a hard time comparing between the two, but ultimately chose a gaming card.
Make sure that your graphics card interface is supported by your motherboard; for my case, this meant a PCI Express 3.0 slot.
Graphics cards also have their own memory. Based on Adobe’s recommendation, I chose a card with 2GB of memory.
Purchase Price: $329 (on sale – usually $339)
Part 6: PC Thermal Grease
Form what my tech assistant (my sweet boyfriend who is helping me pull this computer together) has told me, this is an important part in pulling heat away from the CPU. I’m anxious to see how this works in practice. I’ll be sure to keep you updated in later posts.
Part 7: Power Supply Unit (PSU)
The power supply does exactly as it’s name suggests – it supplies power to the rest of the system. If the CPU is the brain of the system, the power supply is the heart. To determine the amount of power your system requires, simply add up the demands of each piece listed above. For my system, the CPU required 77W and the graphics card required 600W. Originally, I ordered a 650W psu – apparently my math wasn’t working that day – so I had to return it for a more powerful unit.
Purchase Price: TBD
Part 8: Computer Case
The computer case is where all of the parts described above are stored. Some people refer to this as the “tower.” Selecting a case is mostly about aesthetics, but keep in mind that it needs to be large enough to hold all of your pieces; you can check this by finding the physical specs of your motherboard – things like the form and the dimensions. Front-facing ports are a nice feature allowing you to plug in your portable drives and headphones easily. You can easily spend quite a large chunk of your budget on a case, but I chose the cheapest option that fit the my requirements. I don’t really care much about how it looks or how heavy it is, because it will be hidden under my desk.
Purchase Price: $30
To learn more about the accessories and software that I selected, keep an eye out for “Gathering the Ingredients – Part 2”
Arielle Orem 