Build Your First Computer from Hardware Scratches

Wow- if you do it first time and have some asset of time in your disposition ? then go ahead and purchase motherboard, your favorite processor, memory, video card (probably it is better to purchase it external for advanced quality). You will also need computer case ? first computer should probably go to the cheap one ? with USB 2 ports from the front side ? the only question ? you might want to replace noisy cheap power supply with $50 dollars one. Processor fan ? nowadays you will see the variety for all the tastes ? get the one with adjustable spinning speed to regulate noise (if you could not place it into the basement of your house ? I guess you live in apartment or student dormitory). Let's go to details:

? Ahead of Generation. It is not a secret that when you build your own computer ? you might overpay ? in considering to what is available in the stores.. However you usually get ahead of technology. For example ? it is still common when Dell/Compaq/IBM computers use PC2700 standard of memory. If you bought PC3200 ? you have two years of being ahead of the competition

? Processor. If you build your computer from scratches ? you should look into 64-bits processor from the beginning. Get AMD Athlon 64 3400+ at least

? Video Card. For $100 you can get maximum of memory and performance. This is why we recommend to get external videocard

? DVD Writer. RW+/- unfortunately Japanese manufacturers are in the process of decision making on winning standards plus DVD of high density. Get both supported.

? Hard Drive. Decent motherboards support IDE raid and you could experiment with striping (raid 0). Then if you purchase two IDE disks 400 GB each ? you will get 800 GB ? unbelievable for supercomputers ? but you are on your own and cosmopolitan individual ? step forward and be ahead of competition.

? Troubleshooting. Understood and respected. First listen your mother board beeps and refer to its documentation. It might not see memory, graphical card, etc. When you are installing memory ? be very careful to static electricity issue. When you are attaching your mother board to computer case ? the most typical issue is motherboard shorting ? so do not be surprised to try your motherboard first outside the case

Andrew is Lead Software Developer in Alba Spectrum Technologies ? USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving clients in Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Miami, Denver, UK, Australia, Canada, Europe and having locations in multiple states and internationally ( http://www.albaspectrum.com )

In The News:


Better Links Directory


An Inexpensive Solution to Securing Public Access Computers

Offering secure public Internet access is not as easy as... Read More

Advanced Tips on Speeding Up Your PC

Other then keeping your HDD free of viruses, spyware, and... Read More

ABCs Of DVD Drive Abbreviations

The number of different formats available in DVD drives can... Read More

Blu-ray: A Primer

Blu-ray is an optical disc format which is set to... Read More

Protecting Your Computer From Power Surges, Data Loss, Viruses, And Spyware

Protecting Against A Power Surge:Your computer is an expensive investment;... Read More

DVD Media

DVD is an optical disc storage media format that can... Read More

A Guide to Refurbished IBM Laptops

IBM boasts a very large array of older and newer... Read More

High Definition DVD

High definition DVD, also known as HD-DVD (which actually stands... Read More

Buying a Plasma or LCD TV FAQs

This article focuses on frequently asked questions by buyers of... Read More

Sony vs. Olympus: Digital Voice Recorders

Digital voice recorders have become increasingly popular over the last... Read More

Choosing a Tape Drive

Tape drives remain the leading technology used by organizations for... Read More

Learn to Find Cheap Laptop Computers on the Internet

Cheap laptop computers are coming to a store near you.... Read More

Computer Network Installation

Computer network installation has become an essential prerequisite for any... Read More

A Guide to Refurbished Laptops

Computing freedom, independence, and mobility don't have to come with... Read More

How To Choose a Computer Mouse

Computer MiceEvery computer user can hopefully identify their mouse and... Read More

How to Change, Upgade or Remove an IDE Hard Drive

Hard drives - Hard drives are a little more complicated.... Read More

Used Laptop Computer: Your Quick Purchase Inspection Guide ? Part 3

Used laptop computers are everywhere these days. How can you... Read More

Your Business versus Mother Nature

Business Consultants earn hundreds of thousands of dollars every year... Read More

RAID Disk Recovery

RAID is short for Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive)... Read More

ESR Meter - The Capabilities To Check Beyond Electrolytic Capacitor

There is something good about esr meter because besides electrolytic... Read More

Do You Have Dead Pixels?

Take a good look at your notebook computer screen. Do... Read More

Computer Cooling Hardware

PC cooling systems are one of the hottest - and... Read More

Ten Ways (plus 1) to Save on Printer Ink and Toner Cartridges

Are you getting tired of the high cost of printing?... Read More

To Upgrade or Not?

To upgrade or not? That is the question. At least,... Read More

Printer Cartridges - Step Back in History

You are working and trying to print out important documents... Read More