PC Building

Building a Computer

Uses for the Computer

Decide what software you want to run on the machine. Do you want to run computer games or CAD software? A basic office PC would be the cheapest to build, whereas a machine for software development would have to be slightly more powerful to run virtualisation software or containers.

If your current computer is struggling with routine tasks and software it may be time for an upgrade. A pre-built computer may be OK for light office tasks, but the manufacturers often skimp on the power supply and memory. You may require a separate work from home computer or another PC for school work.

Researching Parts

Setting a budget

This depends on the country you live in and on the general availability of computer parts. For the UK, a budget machine for office tasks may set you back £500 whereas a good development machine may set you back £1000. If you want to play the latest games, set aside another £1000 - £2000 as there is a severe graphics card shortage. Consider playing older games and waiting for the prices to drop.

Essential Computer Parts

Optional Computer Parts

Peripherals

Computer shops

For price comparison I use Google. I tend to look up the computer parts on Amazon, then I go to my favourite computer parts store to buy them. I tend to shop from CCLonline.com, Scan.com and eBuyer. I did have to source some parts from eBay for my latest build as everywhere else was sold out. I try to keep my spend on Amazon to an absolute minimum, instead I just use that website to find the items I need then I buy elsewhere.

Keeping ahead of IT trends/new part releases

Check the big IT hardware brands like Intel and AMD/Nvidia for the latest releases or check out IT hardware Youtube channels like LinusTechTips and GamersNexus. This way you will find out when new computer parts will hit the market, and you can potentially get a bargain, or get a slightly more recent motherboard and processor combination. You will have to double check the motherboard manufacturers website for the supported CPU and RAM lists - be sure to download the PDF manual and study it before even purchasing the parts.

Buying second hand

This can be problematic, only buy second hand if the part in question is fairly cheap, as sellers can often lie about the condition of graphics cards or other hardware. I brought a broken laptop on eBay to fix, it said there was only a broken hinge but when I received it and striped it down there was coffee and half a biscuit inside the laptop. I still managed to repair the item, but I would be wary about this. For graphics cards, just buy a cheap one or use onboard graphics until the market for computer parts gets better. Second hand graphics cards may have been used to mine cryptocurrency, which will mean they're close to death.

Example Shopping List - development PC

Tools and Equipment

A clear flat surface such as a table or worktop is essential, along with plenty of light. Make sure there is a power point nearby for grounding, as I plug a power supply into the socket and use this to ground myself. Leave the switch on the back of the power supply to off, and don't switch the power on to the socket. Another place to ground yourself is by touching part of an unpainted radiator (preferably when it's off). Watch this video for more information about protecting your computer parts from static electricity. Find a couple of small trays or bowls for screws, or use a magnet. A pen and paper is also vital for making a list of cables, and to double check the cables.

Read the motherboard manual throughly, as this will include a small guide on the PC building steps. Build the PC initially on the motherboard box, to protect the contacts on the back. Unpackage the case first, and locate the small box or bag of screws. This will include motherboard standoffs and screws. Make sure you have a cross head screwdriver with various sized bits handy. The screws for M.2 NVMe drives are tiny, make sure you don't loose them. I normally place an extra M.2 screw on the motherboard even if there isn't a drive installed there. When I upgrade my PC, I'll know where that screw is. Mark the page of the motherboard manual with the power button/reset button pin outs on, as these are the most fiddly plugs to plug in. Put any spare parts in the motherboard box when you have finished building, and label the box.

Use a good screwdriver set, including flathead and cross head bits. Torx screw heads are nice to have for mending Apple computers and devices. Most good cases include a few cable ties, but if you don't have any use string or velcro for tidying up cables on the back of the motherboard. Blu tack is also useful for mounting SSD's, and for putting ornaments in your case.

Build Order

Never work on a PC that is plugged in with live power, and be careful of any sharp case edges. This is especially true if you are using a case that is under £40. Carefully place any glass panels on a cushion or soft place. Handle any components by the edges, and wash your hands after building the PC as thermal pads/pastes can have silver or mercury in them.

Other PC Building Tutorials

Here are some of my favourite Youtube tutorials on PC building:

Operating System

Choose an operating system that will work with the software you intend to use. If you plan on playing modern games, I would still stick with Windows. If you mostly program on a computer and do office work like me, then choose a Linux distro. My current distro is Pop! OS (based on Ubuntu Linux Mate). Recently I've been using Linux Mint, Fedora and Manjaro which is based on Arch. A long time ago, I used to distro hop a lot, and I've used Gentoo before as well as Slackware, Arch and OpenSuse.

Download the operating system image, and write it to a blank USB drive. Plug in the USB drive and select the boot drive menu from the BIOS when you restart. Most Ubuntu and Fedora Linux distros are quite easy to install. If you must install Windows, install that first as it likes to hog the whole disk and install Linux second for a dual-boot machine.

If you have to use Windows for work, you can virtualise Windows 10/11 providing your computer has 4 or more cores and plenty of RAM (8 or more GB). There are free OS images to use with VirtualBox for Windows, even for earlier versions of Windows.

Software Installation

I normally create a list of programming tools and install them, by selecting them in Synaptic. I also use the command line tools apt install, apt update/upgrade. Fedora uses RPM packages, and dnf (formerly yum) commands for software installation at the command line. Apache is always called HTTPd on Fedora and Apache2 on Ubuntu.