How to Build Your Own PC - Save A Buck And Learn A Lot

Herbalist Dr MziziMkavu · 2010-09-28T20:12:40+00:00

:lol:Original Author: Charlie Palmer Edited and adapted with permission by Charles M. Kozierok Welcome to the online version of How to Build Your Own PC, adapted from the print book by Charlie Palmer. My name is Charles and I am the publisher and webmaster of The PC Guide; I hope you will find this material a useful addition to the site. Here are some tips for understanding how the material is organized and how best to navigate through it: Hierarchy Navigation: Near the top of each page of the site you will see in a blue-outlined box a cascading set of links that reflect your current position in the organizational structure of this Guide. You can click any of these links to go up one or more levels in the hierarchy. Accessing the Table Of Contents: To the left of the hierarchy navigation box is the table of contents button. Click it to bring up the full contents of.the Guide. Next/Previous Section/Topic Navigation: At the top and bottom of each page is a solid blue box that contains buttons and links for moving sequentially through the Guide. On the far left and far right of this box are text links and large arrows that take you directly to the start of the previous or next full topic or section. These always take you to the first page of any topic that has multiple pages, to allow you to skip all the pages of any topic you dont want to read. Direct Page Navigation: In the middle of the blue box you will see a navigation display for moving easily through the pages of a topic. Each page number is listed, with the current page shown in white text on a dark background, and the other pages hyperlinked for easy direct access. Next/Previous Page Navigation: You will also see in the blue box smaller arrows that take you to the previous or next page of the Guide. The small left arrow goes to the previous page of the current topic, or if you are on its first (or only) page, the last page of the previous topic. The right arrow goes to the next page of the current topic, or if you are on its last (or only) page, takes you to the first page of the next topic. You can use these arrow to move sequentially through the entire Guide. Text Links: At the bottom of each page are a set of text links that take you to the top of this Guide or its table of contents. There are also links to the PCGuide.com home page, and the page where you can contact me with questions or feedback. I welcome your feedback, comments and suggestions. Just a reminder that all of the material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced without permission. Also, the material is provided on an as-is basis and I am not responsible for any loss that may result from your use of it. Last but definitely not least: this site is provided as an online reference resource for casual use. Please do not use software to try to mass-download the pages of this site. The Guide contains hundreds of pages, and doing this severely degrades server performance, making it difficult for others to use the site. For this reason, you risk having your access to the site blocked by an automatic script if you try to do this. If you like this Guide, please consider ordering the inexpensive print version directly from the author. You will find the hard copy useful during your PC build project. Thanks again and enjoy the site! Quick navigation to subsections and regular topics in this section Copyright and Disclaimer Chapter 1: Purchasing Components Chapter 2: Component Overview Chapter 3: Installing the CPU, Heatsink, and RAM On The Mainboard Chapter 4: Installing The Mainboard In The Case Chapter 5: Installing Drives Chapter 6: Connecting Components Chapter 7: Installing AGP and PCI Cards Chapter 8: Testing the System and Completing Assembly Chapter 9: Installing Windows XP Chapter 10: Configuring Windows XP Chapter 11: Installing A Dual Boot Operating System (Linux And Windows XP) Chapter 12: Home Video -- So, You Want to Be the Next Steven Spielberg? Chapter 13: Whats Next? Basic Steps in Building Your PC Building your own PC involves selecting and buying a few key components (see Figure 1) and then connecting them together with ribbon cables (Figure 2) and other standard connectors that are usually provided with the components. For example, most power connectors come permanently attached to the power supply which itself usually comes with your computer case. Figure 1: All the parts you need to build your own PC, except the case In front is a mainboard with RAM, CPU, and heatsink installed. Above the mainboard are an AGP video card and a PCI modem card. To the left is the hard drive with its ribbon cable. To the right is the CD-RW drive and floppy drive. Some components, such as PCI expansion cards and the mainboard, will also require using a Phillips screwdriver to secure them properly. A Phillips screwdriver is probably the only tool youll need. A small flat-nosed screwdriver is sometimes useful for prying out PCI expansion slot covers or the cases I/O shield. If you have short fingernails and you need to change jumpers, a needle-nose pliers is sometimes handy. Figure 2: Ribbon cables . On the left is a hard drive ribbon cable. On the right is a floppy drive ribbon cable. Notice the twist in the floppy cable. The end with the twist plugs into the floppy drive. The other end plugs into the mainboard. After assembling your computer, youll need to install an operating system, which is really just a software procedure. Its common to talk about installing software, even though it only involves inserting CDs into the CD drive as required. Your PC will be fully assembled before we install software. Well take you through installing an operating system step-by-step in detail in another chapter. You may also want to examine and/or modify your systems BIOS, which well discuss later. Many times, youll be able to get your PC up and running adequately without tinkering with the mainboards BIOS at all. But, tweaking the BIOS may enhance your systems performance. Make changes to BIOS very carefully. For example, if you update your mainboards BIOS with Flash BIOS and your computer hangs, its possible your PC will no longer boot at all. Well also discuss partitioning and formatting a hard drive. But, first, we need to get our parts together. Quick navigation to subsections and regular topics in this section Basic Steps in Building Your PC Static Electricity and Component Handling Key PC Components Case and Power Supply Mainboard CPU Heatsink and Fan Random Access Memory (RAM) Video Card Hard Disk Drive CD-RW, DVD and Other Removable Media Drives Sound Card Monitor Modem Network Interface Card (NIC) Keyboard and Mouse Operating System Source: How to Build Your Own PC - How to Build Your Own PC - Save A Buck And Learn A Lot Haya tena jifunzeni namna ya Kuunda Computer kwa picha na maelezo yake kwa vitendo nini cha kufanya haya tena jamani kwa wale wanataka kujifunza jifunzeni hapo

Thread starter Herbalist Dr MziziMkavu
Start date Sep 28, 2010

Herbalist Dr MziziMkavu

JamiiForums uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.

Accept Learn more…

Back

Top Bottom

Forums

New posts

How to Build Your Own PC - Save A Buck And Learn A Lot

Herbalist Dr MziziMkavu

JF-Expert Member

Our Community

Regional Communities