What Do You Need To Build A Computer

by Tracy on 14/05/13 at 10:17 pm

With the ability to build a desktop computer no easily within everyone’s reach thanks to simplified processes, many people have at least considered the prospect of constructing their own PC from parts, but a lot of people don’t know exactly what components they need in order to build a proper machine.

The first part you need to build a computer is the shell of it, more commonly known as the case. This is the part of the computer that keeps the rest of the components from being exposed to the elements.

The foundation of all of the other parts, the motherboard, is screwed directly onto the case. This is the part of the computer that allows all the other parts to talk to each other, and is composed of a large number of ports and sockets to accommodate everything.

Inside a bracket on the motherboard lies the processor. This is the brain of the computer, and performs all non-graphical mathematical calculations for the computer. In a pinch, it can also provide graphical calculations, and while it can be adequate for lower-end machines, anything mid to high-range needs a graphics card.

Speaking of which, the graphics card is what performs the graphical calculations for high-end programs, such as games and high resolution videos. The use of a video card allows the CPU to be freed up for other processes, and provides more specialized/efficient processing for graphical tasks.

Of course, there have to be programs for these pieces of the computer to actually process, and that is what the hard drive is for. The hard drive, familiar to most computer users, has grown to rather large sizes, such as the 2TB wd2003fyys. These hard drivers are where all of the programs are stored for eventual use.

When those programs are finally loaded, they are put in the part of the computer called RAM. This stands for Random Access Memory, and is much faster than the hard drive, allowing for programs to be run in real time.

There’s one last thing that is arguably the most important part of any computer, the power supply. This piece of the computer supplies power to every other part, and is required to keep the computer running. When it comes to buying this part, you need to look for whats called a “modular” power supply, which allows you to only use the power cords you need, keeping excess wires from cluttering up the inside of your case and getting in the way of airflow and other parts of your computer. With this knowledge, hopefully you can get the ball rolling on your own computer, and feel the gratification that comes from building your own stuff.