Let's Take a bet; "You can Build Own Personal Computer better than Dell!"

Build Your own PC in 2 hours or less!

If you have been trying to decide whether to build own personal computer or to just buy a retail model start with these questions.

1. Read the manual of the motherboard: (Not meant as an insult!) Reading the manual of the motherboard is where everything connects into. Your build computer kit will assemble much easier if following their basic instructions (at least the first time you try it).

I don’t necessarily mean you should read the whole thing cover to cover, (although you may benefit from it). I would just read the part about installation and the BIOS features.

On that note; make sure to get a motherboard that can do overclocking. Even if you never use it, it is good to have one that is designed to be run harder than stock.

They tend to last longer because they are overbuilt, and generally, they only cost slightly more.

2. Can you use a screwdriver? The common Philips head screw driver is the most complex tool you are likely to need to build own personal computer.

I just finished a PC build this week in about 1.5 hours and used only a Philips screw driver:

3. Are you willing to take 2 hours to put a computer together?

This is probably about the maximum amount of time it will take to assemble the parts.

Many computers can be assembled in about one hour of time:

Installing the operating system may cause the entire project to take a little longer but this should not be a big deal.

Need some new surround sound speakers?

4. Are you willing to take another hour and search for the parts you need? The process is actually quite fun I believe and you will learn a lot.

I think the hardest part people have with choosing to build own personal computer is when it comes to choosing the components like the best CPU fan..

Follow these Steps to build own Personal Computer:

1. Choose your processor or CPU AMD VS Intel CPU?

a. AMD for value; what does cpu mean and "HTPC".

b. Intel for speed –if you are getting a top of the line model

a. Choose the form factor of the motherboard

i. ATX motherboards are the largest and offers most options

ii. Micro ATX - which is next smallest to ATX. Micro ATX boards are common for Home theater personal computers. Although, I always try to build my HTPC's using a full size ATX board.

iii. Mini ITX is the smallest of the group and has very little real estate for upgrades.

b. You will also need to determine the type of RAM you wish to run. Usually, it is best to get a motherboard that takes the latest type of RAM.

c. Make sure the motherboard supports the speed in MHz that your RAM can run at. (see below)

a. Make sure the RAM speed will operate at the speed (MHz) the motherboard is designed to run (example: 1333MHz RAM speed would need to be supported by both the RAM and the motherboard) they can work without matching the speed, but you have more options if they do match up.

b. Make sure the voltage range is supported by the motherboard you choose.

4. Choose your hard drive –get SATA or match to motherboard input types

5. Choose your optical drives –get SATA or match to motherboard input types

6. Choose your Monitor based on what the graphics card resolution can output on the motherboard or;

a. Choose an external graphics card and match the monitor to its resolution ouput.

7. Add in memory card readers

8. Choose a PC case.

a. This will need to be able to house the size of motherboard form factor you have chosen. You cannot stuff a Micro ATX motherboard into a mini ITX case. Or an ATX motherboard into either of the two smaller cases.

b. There are also Extended ATX motherboards.

But these are typically used for gamers that use multiple graphics cards or for video editing where more than 2 monitors are necessary.

Take your time and you will do just fine. Your "build own personal computer" success story is waiting to happen:

If you take one step at a time and cross reference the parts that need to be considered with one another, you'll do great.

Write down your different parts combinations, make a few different 'wish lists'.

My last bit of advice is to use Newegg.

In my opinion their user interface is the best around.

It is very easy to find what you need by doing searches in their site.

You can add different components to wish lists, and even have many different wish lists while you figure it all out. It works great and this is how I build my own PCs and HTPC build systems.

What's the Bet?

If you aren't happy with your brand new PC (that you built) I'll fly you and your family to the arctic circle for 2 weeks. We'll be studying the local plant life and have close ups with Polar Bears during mating season. (really close up)

The only catch is that you have to wear a polar bear suit that is sprayed with male polar bear urine. How's that sound? lol

Okay, maybe it would have been better to just give something away for free, so how's this, all the content on this site is free. On the house! (it's free anyway) ;)

Need some wireless computer speakers?

Curious about the things you can do with an HTPC?

Learn more about the best htpc and replacing cpu.

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