Building a computer?

[Kirby]

So my current computer is almost toast, and I plan to buy a new one in the next month or so.
I'm thinking it would be fun to build a computer with my 9 year old for him to use. We could start with the case, and other salvagable parts from my current computer and go from there.
I've done a little research and it doesn't seem all that difficult, but I've never done this before and I'm not all that technical, but it seems like a good learning opportunity for both of us.

So, any advice on the subject? Words of warning?

 

[FPAlpha]

It's not that hard if you are not overly clumsy or are totally inept at handywork.

Best advice i can give you is about the main processor as it is the most delicate part of the computer.. make sure you are not charged electrostatically (touch a radiator or anything else that's grounded electrically) because a very small electrical charge from you (such when you touch metal and unexpectedly get fried a little) can fry the chip.
Let it sinkly slowly into the slot.. absolutely no pressure needed and they are usually even built that they can only slot in a certain position.
Use cooling paste sparingly.. a small mound is enough and make sure that the ventilator fits evenly on the chip so the cooling paste can do its job properly and transfer the heat away to the cooling ventilator.

That out of the way everything else is straightforward.. if you know what the parts are you know what they do and how they need to be connected. Maybe try googling some visual how to's if you get stuck and are unsure how to proceed or have someone with you with some experience if possible to lend a hand.

 

[farmkid]

That sounds like a good chance to learn something and have a good experience with your son.

I would recommend you go do some research, figure out what parts you have that are usable, what needs to be replaced, etc. Then come back here and let us know what you have in mind before you actually buy anything. You could just post all that information here and we could give you all kinds of advice, but then you probably wouldn't learn as much as if you did some of the research first. Either way, I would suggest you run your plan by either us here or someone else who has some experience building computers before you actually do anything.

As for where to look for parts, you can buy new, but if the computer is more than just a few years old you may have a hard time finding appropriate parts, and when you do, the options will be few and relatively expensive. If you need older parts, there are several places to look other than retailers. You can find anything on eBay, but there may be much cheaper options. Ask on Freecycle or whatever equivalent is in your area and you may be able to get what you need for free. If there's a university in your town, check there as well. Many universities have some way they sell off old equipment for cheap. The one here in my town, for example, has what they call Surplus Sales, where they sell of university equipment and they always have a table full of computers for sale. I've bought three older computers there for $5 or less when I've needed older parts for one thing or another. Your city or county or the local land fill may have something similar.

 

[ares93]

FPAlpha: In my experience the cpu is the toughest. I found a T-Bird on the street, while it was raining, maybe four years ago. I bent back the pins and to this day, its running splendidly. Although it getting a retirement soon. It cant keep up with the demand anymore. I need a new server.


Building a desktop computer is pretty basic stuff. You can't bugger it up too bad. Bottom line, if you think before you do, you'll be fine. I've been building computers for nearly ten years now. Nowadays its basically plug and play.

Just dont forget the ESD bracelet. It looks like this.

 

[Kirby]

Thanks all for the advice!
I'm glad to hear that it is do-able, even for the unexperienced.
I'll probably get my new computer in mid March, and we won't start on the build until probably April. Plenty of time to reserch and plan.
I'll provide updates here as I get them.

 

[Methos]

agreed with ares... it's not something that's stupidly difficult to do as long as you plan it correctly...

3 questions you should ask yourself when buying the parts...

1. Case... will the motherboard i'm planning to buy fit in this properly?

don't laugh, it's a serious thing... a lot of motherboards nowdays won't fit in 'classic' cases... some, such as Dell motherboards, will only fit in Dell cases and you can't customise them well... research the board and case you're looking at and check they'll fit together

2. Power supply... this isn't a major thing if you're not building a high spec machine, but it's always worth while to check against the power requirements of your componants to make sure you're feeding them enough power from your PSU... ideally 550 or 600w should do most things happily nowdays, you shouldn't need to go above a 750 or 900w PSU unless you're building an SLI system with bluray support... but again, it's always worthwhile to double check these things.

3. Component fitting... check your motherboard first before buying processor and ram... what socket is the motherboard? Intel 775 (most common), AMD 939? Intel1156? these are all different and different processors won't work or fit in these sockets... so make sure the processor you're buying will fit in your motherboard slot... just the same as the RAM... most motherboards around nowdays will be DDR2 or DDR3 Ram slots... personally i'd recommend going for a DDR3 motherboard, purely for the speed and 'futureproofing'... with a common DDR3 motherboard you can go to 8 or 16gb ram happily... but with DDR2 you're stuck at 8...

And 4th question... i know i said 3 but this one is worth the extra... x64 or x86 (32 bit)?

Important question as it will guide what processor you buy, what amount of RAM you buy, and what Operating System you'll be installing... research them both and choose for yourself... again, i prefer x64 systems as i use over 4gb of ram, which you can't do on a x86 system... but these are things you'll have to decide when building your kit...

hope that didn't confuse you do much... but if you do have any build questions, just leave them here and i'm sure me or one of the other techies can answer them happily

M