Many people think that building a computer is a very complicated and tedious project. Most of the time, people think about the number of wires, screws, small parts, electrical components, etc. While the the thought of building your own machine can sound daunting, it really is a simple task.
Now, I'm no expert on the field of computers. To the contrary, I'm an amateur. A guy who just went to many different sites and read many books on how to build my own personal computer. I must admit that the first computer I built lacked several key parts because I did not necessarily know what I was looking for in a finished product. Nevertheless, I figured everything out and was able to build (and sell) my first computer.
The most important, obviously, is knowing the parts involved when building a basic setup. Let's say your purpose in building a computer is simply for school or office purposes. This kind of setup does not need a lot of powerful components to run smoothly. The parts you'd need for this computer would be:
1. A motherboard
2. CPU
3. CPU fan
4. RAM stick/s
5. Power Supply
6. Hard Drive
7. Optical Drive (aka CD/DVD ROM drive)
8. Case
These would be the basic parts you would need to build a decent computer for office and school purposes. They are all affordable (depending on which models you buy) and you would not be paying for parts you would not be able to utilize when buying stock computers from any store.
Now, if you are building a higher end computer for things like gaming or graphics design, you'd need higher end models of the parts listed above, plus some other parts. Those parts would be:
9. Graphics Card (aka GPU or Video card)
10. Sound Card (optional)
11. Extra fans
A "super" computer can cost a lot of money, but compared to buying from stores, you know what you're putting in and for what purpose. They end up cheaper than buying from any store and, again, you would not be wasting money of parts you won't even utilize to the full extent.
Keep in ind that in order for you to save money, you have to establish what you'll be using you computer for. Many people make the mistake of buying more expensive parts with the mindset that "More expensive, much better". This IS true. But like I stated earlier, you don't want to waste money on parts you won't be utilizing to the full extent. For example: if you buy a graphics card that can play a powerful game like Starcraft 2 but you're only interested in using your computer for typing up essays and reports, you've wasted about $100+ on a graphics card you will never need. So be practical. You only find savings in building your own computer if you know what your main purpose for it is and not get blinded by the stats each model has.
With that being said, should you buy the cheapest parts ONLY for your purpose? With the exception of the motherboard, yes. It all boils down to your budget. I always suggest to my friends to buy a higher end motherboard. Don't just buy a basic one. The reason for this is for future upgrades. A motherboard with a lot of slots for different parts makes room for future upgrades. I'll talk about motherboards in the future. But always remember that if you buy a motherboard that can only hold the parts you need and nothing more, you will not be able to upgrade further and you may end up buying a new one if you plan to upgrade in the future.
So remember, practicality and knowing what you need your computer for is the best way to start listing down the parts you need and save money.
I'm done.
-X-
