PC Building - whats the big deal.

[taimuraly]

I was reading some post and the some of the people are going that they don't consider building their own PC as they don't have any " know how ". I began thinking like how hard can it be to make a PC. I have never made a PC but don't think building one is hard even do I think that it is time consuming - that's why I haven't built any. Building the PC is, I think, like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, every thing only fits where it has to. All you need is the all the stuff - Motherboard, PSU, RAM, Hard Disk, PCI cards, Graphics card, sound card (most just use the one on the motherboard), Fans, Case and ... oh forgot the Processor - and everything else is easy. Well, as I said I haven't made a PC yet and so really don't know but do think it too be easy, isn't it guys ????

 

[Zippster]

Yeah it is easy but before you out and start buying parts make sure you know what you want and make sure that everything is compatible with each other.
Look around for parts because you might find them cheaper somewhere else.

 

[DonNagual]

I think it is true that some people are more "tech-minded" than others. My ex-wife couldn't even use a can opener, let alone build a computer

I'd say the two hardest parts of building a computer are:

1. Selecting the right parts
2. Installing the right drivers (updated, including bios).

 

[Zippster]

That is true. I guess it is harder than it seems.

 

[agi_shi]

I think it is true that some people are more "tech-minded" than others. My ex-wife couldn't even use a can opener, let alone build a computer

I'd say the two hardest parts of building a computer are:

1. Selecting the right parts
2. Installing the right drivers (updated, including bios).

Nah, I'd say those are the easy parts nowadays.

The hard part is trouble shooting odd problems... I mean... REALLY odd ones.

 

[Grafficks]

I agree with #1 on DonNagual's list. The actual building of the computer is not hard at all. If you really need help during the build, there's manuals that can be helpful. The actual building of the computer requires almost no prerequisite knowledge. Understanding the names (like DDR or IDE) or understanding how each component runs (and understanding each technology, such as dual-core) is not even a necessity either. Simply following the instructions in the manual step-by-step results in a correctly built PC.

Before I buy anything I do a lot of research on it (I google absolutely everything.) so that I know I am getting what I want, there will be no surprises. I do this because I don't have much money and not a single penny can be put to waste. I recommend everyone to do this, it just pays off in the end. It doesn't hurt to read some reviews on the product that is soon to be yours. An educated buyer is more likely to be a satisfied buyer.

 

[howzz1854]

it's not, it's just a miniture version of building your own car. you just have to have sufficient knowledge. although car parts are about 10-20 times more expensive, but they all boil down to the same fundamental idea. you just need to know what works best with what and find out how to put it on. i do both PC and car modding, only difference is, the worst it can happen to you with building a pc is you lose $1000 bucks, as oppose to getting your limbs chopped off, electricuted, lose your brakes, or $30,000 investment. but again, they're just worst case scenarios. if you do your HW, there's no need to worry, plus there're hundreds of knowledgable people willing to help everywhere on the internet.

just if you're not sure what to do next, STOP.

 

[SNGX1275]

I disagree, the parts are the easy part, you just have to know what socket your motherboard is and get a processor that fits. Or find the processor you want and choose the motherboard. That stuff is fairly easy, just match up things.

Physically building it isn't all that tough either.

The catch is when you have it all built and it looks great, you plug it in, hit power and a few things can happen:
1. It works
2. Nothing happens
3. Fans spin up for split second then stop.
4. Fans spin up for a few seconds then stop.
5. Everything spins up, no video.
6. It beeps at you.
and I'm sure there are others.

The hard part is knowing where to go from there. If you don't believe me just spend some time looking around in Other Hardware, Windows OS, CPU Chipsets and Mobos. Those forums are littered with problems with freshly built comps.

 

[taimuraly]

So we all agree that building a PC, particularly putting it together, is easy. The only time consuming thing is buying the right products and installing the drivers. But this too is not that difficult and so anyone who can read a manual or follow directions should be able to built a PC ( I also think that anyone who can make furniture bought from IKEA by following the given instructions is more than capable of a building a PC ) . Thanks a lot guys for all the replies - the response is heart breaking. Cheers :grinthumb

 

[foozy]

I agree with SNG - selecting parts and building the computer is the easy part, but its the little troubleshooting stuff that can really get to ya.

My first time building a computer it took me a week to learn how to assemble one, self-teaching. It took me another week to figure out that the CMOS jumper was in the wrong place and preventing the computer from starting up.

My first time installing windows I kept booting from CD and wondering why it kept installing the same files over and over again.

And I still come here and other places even now with random odd tech support questions. Its a very rapidly evolving industry, and troubleshooting is very much a pain in the *** - thats why IT techs have jobs.

 

[Cpt_Subtext]

Its a very rapidly evolving industry, and troubleshooting is very much a pain in the *** - thats why IT techs have jobs.

Amen man amen.... the first computer I built, this one actually, wasnt to bad until I tried to update all the drivers and got along to doing the Graphics card, an old Radeon 9600 pro, the drivers on installation CD worked fine but as soon as you updated to the latest...... a blurr of colours on the screen was all you got no matter what you tried, wouldnt even take omega drivers..... sent it back as it was duff but to this day I dont know what the issue was.