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Building a Customized System
An alternative to purchasing a pre-configured system is to create a completely customized system with the parts of your choice. Although this is the ultimate solution for a customized system, new builders are often daunted by this task. This guide is here to help you figure out what parts you need.
Fundamentally we can divide a system into two parts: internal and external. The internal parts are those parts that make your system able to function and store information. External parts are those parts that are visible for the normal user of the system such as: the keyboard, mouse, monitor and other similar devices. Without the external parts of ac system, you could still make system but it would be unusable (you wouldn’t be able to input commands into it).
Logical part selection
Each time you choose a part for your system it limits your further choices. For instance your motherboard greatly influences your processors choice (and vice versa). For this reason you can pick your parts in a logical order to help reduce your choices. Below you will find our suggestion for this ordering. Please bare in mind that this is very far from set in stone. For instance you could choose your motherboard before your case and then go backward or you could choose your CPU after your motherboard.
Pick 1: Choose a Case. Your case defines your work area for internal parts as well as the overall look of the outside of your system. Choosing a good case can make your life easier. Cases come in several major sizes: Mid-Tower, Full-Tower, and Desktop. The most popular of these sizes is Mid-Tower, and it is adequate for the vast majority of systems. If you intend to have a large number of drives (aka you want a high end workstation or a server) then strongly consider a Full-Tower or Rack Mount case. The latter is better for a server situation where you want several in a confined space. The former is better for single system setups.
Pick 2: Choose a CPU. Your CPU has a large impact on the performance of your system. Without a CPU you can’t have a system. CPU are sold by three main factors: Socket type, Speed/Model Number and FSB Speed.
- All CPUs require a cooler. Retail CPUs come with a cooler and a thermal interface pad (the substance used to allow transfer of heat between the CPU and cooler). OEM CPUs do not come with a cooler. For those you will need to purchase both the CPU and an appropriate cooler + normally a thermal interface material such as Thermal Compound
- FSB Speed is somewhat complicated subject. Generally higher is better if you are talking about like processors.
- Generally the higher the speed/model number of a CPU is (when comparing CPUs of the same socket type), the better. Also, the higher the speed/model number of a CPU is, the more expensive it will be. We recommend purchasing the highest speed you can afford.
When comparing AMD to Intel parts: Intel goes by the old Clock Speed standard, and AMD goes by performance rating numbers (model number). Comparing these two processors is really like comparing apples to oranges. The model number given by AMD is a measure of performance whereas Clock Speed is a poor measure of performance (other factors like basic CPU architecture, FSB, Cache, etc make a big impact). Performance numbers give you a rough guide to comparing the two types. Basically when comparing XP and P4 CPUs: AMD model number = P4 speed equiv +/- 200 (depending on the task)
Pick 3: Choose your motherboard. After your CPU, the motherboard is your most important choice. The motherboard defines what internal parts you support i.e. how many drives can you use (case defines physical aspect of this), what types of devices you can attach, what memory you can use, and a bunch of other stuff
- Socket Type: Your Motherboard Socket Type “must” match your CPU socket type. For instance a Socket A motherboard (AMD Duron/Thunderbird/XP), won’t work with a Socket 478 CPU (P4/Celeron).
- Feature Set: Different motherboards have different feature sets i.e. one board might have onboard IEEE1394 (fire wire) while another one might not. A large deal of money can be saved by using onboard components such as onboard sound, video, and lan instead of buying separate cards. You will need to carefully consider the feature set to decide what you want.
Tip: Onboard sound is unavoidable. Almost all modern motherboard chipsets support basic sound. As such there is almost no savings for the manufacturer to produce motherboards w/o sound. Onboard sound has improved remarkably in recent years. Onboard sounds (as well as other onboard components) are very easy to disable in the BIOS of the motherboard and doesn’t hamper your ability to use a separate card. It should be a + not a – when making your choice.
Pick 4: Drives: There are three main categories of drives: Hard drives, Optical drives, and Floppy/removable storage.
- The hard drive is the place where all files on your computer will reside. These drives are measured mainly by connection speed (ATA100, ATA133, or SATA), Size (in Gigabytes), and RPM speed. A modern system should have a minimum hard drive size. If you plan on doing a lot of music, gaming, databases, or video editing: a large drive or multiple drives is highly recommended. These days there is very little price difference between 40, 80 and even 120GB Hard drives. The difference between say a 40 and a 80 may only be a few thousand Rs. As far as connection speed: there is little difference between the three. You should go with a standard your motherboard supports. SATA is the fastest of the three and comes in higher RPM speeds that ATA100/ATA133 but it’s little expensive if your board support, use it. Most users are fine with
ATA100/ATA133. RPM speed has an effect on drive performance and heat output. Generally the higher, the better. The most commonly used speed is 7200RPM. 5400RPM drives are good for backup and music files.
- Optical drives include CD-ROM, CD-RW drives, DVD-ROM drives and DVD writers. If you are only building a light use or office use system a basic CD-ROM is ok. If you want to watch DVDs on your PC you will need either a DVD-ROM, DVD-Writer, or combination (DVD-ROM + CD-RW) drive. For most people, a CD-RW drive or DVD-Writer is a must on modern systems. These drives provide a cheap means of backing up of your most important files, and way to share your music and or video with family members.
- Removable media drives such as Floppy and Zip drives are slowly going the way of the doodoo. They really are no longer a requirement for a system – however given the low cost of a floppy drive, and the number of manufacturers still using this medium for driver disks; a basic 1.44” drive is still highly suggested.
Pick 5: Cards: Expansion cards such as Sound, Video, Network, and Tuning enhance the functionality of your system. Most cards (except video) are in a PCI format. If you are going with an ATX setup you will likely have 5 or 6 PCI slots (4-5 of them being usable). Video cards will come in an AGP format marked by speed: 4x or 8x. If your motherboard supports 8x, it is better to use an 8x card. We recommend that gamers go with either GeForce4, GeForce GT, GeforceFX, or Radeon (ATI) video cards with 128 or 256MB of on card memory to get the best performance.
Pick 6: Choose a Operating System: Your operating system will determine how you will use your system. For normal home systems we recommend either Windows XP Home, or Windows 2000 professional. Those running home networks, SOHO, or power users will likely want XP professional. If you are building a server you will need either a server version of Microsoft OS such as Windows Advanced Server 2003, or a form of Linux. If you are building a new system we recommend going with an OEM operating system CD. It will save you a lot of money and differs very little from the retail one.
Pick 7: Choose memory: Although memory comes in a variety of types, almost all motherboards on the market now take DDR or Double Data Rate memory. This memory is sold by it’s own speed ratings ranging from DDR200 (double pumped100) to DDR400 (double pumped 200) and higher. As it currently stands: most systems should use either DDR333 or DDr400. You should use memory that is at least as high as the system clock of your processor to 1 or 2 steps above it. For example: A P4 533FSB processor based system should at least use DDR333 (the same goes for an XP processor with 333FSB). Like wise a P4 800FSB processor should at least use DDR400 and a XP 400FSB processor should at least DDR400. This yields the best performance. For those using motherboards based on the i865, i875, i915 or nForce1/2 you also have a consideration known as Dual Channel. Dual Channel memory buses basically use two sticks of memory to improve memory performance. For these systems you need either a Dual Channel Memory Kit or you need to buy standard memory in quantities of two. Using 1 stick will reduce performance, and using 3 sticks may not work at all. As far as memory size goes:
- If you are building a basic home or office system based on Windows 98, 2000, or XP Home: choose at least 256MB of memory
- If you are building a system for gaming or development based on XP Pro/ 2000: choose at least 512MB of memory
- If you do a video editing or large scale graphics editing: choose a min of 512MB of memory and think strongly about 1GB
- For servers: Buy as much as you can afford and the board supports (768 or more recommend).
- For systems of light use PCs (especially those based on Linux or Win98): consider 128MB memory (higher is still better though)
Pick 8: Choose your I/O devices. A system can’t do much without a Keyboard/Mouse, and Monitor. For the keyboard and mouse we have found that the products by Microsoft and Logitech are the most popular. For the monitor: We have found that for most people bigger is better. You may think you need something like a 15” monitor right now, but your eyes will thank you if you go with the largest display your pocket book (and desk) can afford. For those doing regular graphic work or gaming we strongly suggest a 17” or 19” unit. For those going with LCDs DVI helps a bit. Ultimately it’s a good idea to do research on these types of devices and read reviews. Additionally you should think about speakers and or headphones.
Once you have all the parts picked out for your system and added to your shopping cart you should decide: Do I want to build it or do I want it built for me? If you want freelance technicians to install, and configure your system for you, or you may just order the parts and put them together yourself. (NOT recommended for people who have not put a computer together before, nor have a close friend who can help!!!)
Below you will find a Check List, which you can print out to help you make sure you get all the parts you need.
Inside the case
- CPU (Microprocessor)
- CPU Cooler
- Motherboard
- Memory
- Hard Drive
- Floppy Drive
- CD-ROM or DVD Drive
- CD-RW Burner
- Tape Drive
- Video Card
- Sound Card
- FAX/data Modem
- Network card
- Power Supply
Outside the Case
- Case
- Keyboard
- Mouse
- Speakers
- Monitor
- Operating System
- Applications Software
- System Accessories
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