Ask a Question
or
Create a Poll
  1. Home /
  2. Questions /
  3. Computers
  4. / Computers (General)

by chris0459 on January 31st, 2007

chris0459

Question

Help answer this question below.

What does one need to know when building your own computer? Also is better to buy a cheap computer and upgrade or buy something like a alienware or other type of top brand?

  • Like
  • Report
Share:
Other

Answers. 3 helpful answers below.

  • by benjamin123 on February 1st, 2007

    benjamin123

    Need to know:

    1. What parts you need.
    2. What parts you want.
    3. What parts work together.
    4. What parts go where.
    5. How to handle the parts.
    6. How to install software.
    7. How to configure for maximum power!

    As far as alienware vs cheap-o. The advantage of alienware is that they do all the hardware tweaking to try to get as much power as possible out of it for you. They will also usually pick very upgradeable parts. The cheap-o brands will just leave them on the defaults, and use the cheapest parts that get this job done.. This is why you pay a premium for alienware stuff, good parts, custom configuration.

    The cheap-o brands are often hard/impossible to upgrade as they don't really pick parts that are easy to upgrade, most notably the motherboard. The motherboard is key to being able to upgrade. It determines what ram, processor, vid cards, etc. are available to you. I almost always splurge on a good motherboard when building a machine. My latest computer is on it's 3rd processor, 2nd vid card (which i now have 2 of linked via SLI), upgraded memory, and I haven't even begun to max it out yet.

    If you want to get a feel for what it takes to put together a machine I'd start by reading some of the walk throughs at websites like http://www.extremetech.com/category2/0,1695,644478,00.asp They will give you a good idea of what is needed for all the steps above.

    • Like
    • Report

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by Karl Plesz on February 2nd, 2007

    Karl Plesz

    I agree with oluckboy. The motherboard is the key. There are so many features built into this one piece that it can make or break the usefulness and longevity of your computer.

    I prefer to go to local ma and pa computer shops, pick the pieces I want and let them build it. That way, the settings are done for me, I get a working, burnt-in (tested) system and if any parts fry during installation, it's on their dime, not mine.

    Because everyone is on a budget, I would recommend investing a flexible case, power supply and motherboard. You can always get more RAM, a faster CPU, a better video card and more storage when you are ready for your first upgrade.

    • Like
    • Report

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by MTank411 on February 1st, 2007

    MTank411

    I made my computer from scratch, I will quickly cover the parts that I used to make my computer, and I suggest looking into a website that helps people build computers for further help. I bought the case, motherboard, possessor, ram, IDE cables, DVD-RW and a CD-RW (didn't need both but I like having 2 drives), floppy drive, 16in1 card reader, power supply. This vague list but it might help, in the end it would take too much time to go into detail to explain how I knew what part to get excreta. Find a site that has information on building a computer to get the most help possible. As in the second part of your question on if you should get an alien ware or a cheap computer its best in my opinion to just build on from scratch.

    • Like
    • Report

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

Want to attach an image to your answer? Click here.

Did this answer your question? If not, then ask a new question or create a poll.

More Questions. Additional questions in this category.

You're reading What does one need to know when building your own computer? Also is better to buy a cheap computer and upgrade or buy something like a alienware or other type of top brand?

Follow us on Facebook!

Related Ads

Related Questions

Professionally Researched

Answerbag

a Demand Media company