Wednesday, August 6, 2025

A Screw Driver is all you need ( Building PC for ALL )

  What’s in a Computer, Anyway?

Ask most people what they know about computers, and they’ll tell you that a PC is a complex, sealed box full of confusing parts that you need an engineering degree to understand — something like a cross between an unopened Egyptian pyramid and a rocket engine. Ask those same people whether they want to try their hand at actually building a computer, and they’ll probably laugh out loud. Even if you did buy all the mysterious elec tronic parts (which techno-types affectionately refer to as computer compo nents), where would you start? Where do you buy everything? How do you fit the components together? Nobody but an honest-to-goodness computer nerd could possibly put a computer together!

 Well, ladies and gentlemen, I have great news: If you can handle the tool shown in Figure 1-1 — yes, the humble Phillips screwdriver — you can safely assemble your own computer (and even enjoy doing it!). After you discover how to build your own computer and start to use it, you’ll probably agree with me: Building a computer is easier than figuring out how to use some of the complicated software that the computer can run. The idea that building a computer is as difficult as building or repairing a car is just a myth (probably encouraged by computer salespeople)

 Anyone Can Assemble a PC

You might have heard a horror story or two about someone who tried to upgrade a PC and ended up being sucked through a black hole into another dimension. When you announce to the world that you’re going to build your own computer, you’re likely to face a number of common myths:

 “Why, you have to be practically psychic about how machinery works to stick your hands inside a computer!” Wrong. In fact, you don’t have to know how any of the components work, so you don’t have to be an expert in laser optics, magnetism, or electronic theory. You just need to connect the parts together correctly and attach them to the mother board and computer case.

 “You can’t build a computer on a card table, you know. You’re going to need an airstrip, a complete toolkit, and a warehouse full of parts.” Nope. You can not only assemble a computer on your dining room table but also do so with no special tools. Find your favorite screwdriver, and you’re a lean, mean, computer-assembling machine.

 “It’s going to take you years to put together a computer. Heck, by the time you’re finished, your computer will already be out of date.” Depends on how long it takes. No, no — just kidding! This myth is defi nitely false. If you have all your components ready to go, assembling a PC is a first-time project that you can easily finish during a long weekend.

 “Something’s not going to work with something else. You’ll see.” Wrong again. (Geez, who are these people? They probably still think that airplanes will never get off the ground.) Today’s computer components are designed to work with each other. Regardless of what brand name you buy or how much you spend, if you buy a standard computer device, it should join in that big cooperative team effort that makes a working computer.

 What’s the secret to building a PC? Time for the first Mark’s Maxim for this book:

 There really isn’t a secret to building a PC

 That’s why many people have started their own home businesses building custom computers in their spare time — and why thousands of my readers have built their own computers using this book. Building a computer is fun — that is, after you conquer your initial fear. Plus, you get a big ego boost after  people find out that you built your own computer. Suddenly, you’re a genuine PC guru to your family and friends, so be prepared to handle those technical support questions at your next party

Building a better mousetrap (or computer)

Over the past few years, I’ve developed a simple rule for myself, which applies perfectly to building anything from a mousetrap to a computer. I call this rule CA — or, for those who can’t stand abbreviations, commonsense assembly. The idea is a simple one: You can prevent most mistakes while assembling a PC by using a little common sense.

Keep the following CA rules in mind when handling and connecting computer components:

Give yourself plenty of empty space and adequate lighting. If you’re building a computer on the dining table, make sure that your work area is covered with newspaper to avoid scratches. I also recommend keep ing an adjustable desk lamp handy to shine light where you need it.

Don’t start without all the necessary components. If you don’t have everything that you need to follow a project from beginning to end, don’t start yet (only to find you have to stop halfway through). It’s too easy to miss a step or forget something if you leave your computer’s bedside and come back the next day.

Treat your components carefully. This commonsense rule doesn’t mean that you need to wear gloves when handling cables or that you need to refrigerate your adapter cards. Just don’t drop a part on the floor or toss it to a friend. Keep components in their antistatic packaging until you’re ready to install them.

Follow the Three Absolutes of Component Care and Feeding. 1. Never bend a circuit board or an adapter card. 2. Always make sure the cables that connect your parts aren’t pinched. 3. Never try to make something fit. Take the component out, check the instructions again, and try it a different way if possible.

Installing adapter cards on your motherboard can sometimes take a little longer or require a little more force than plugging a game cartridge into a video game. But determining whether a card is aligned correctly with the slot is usually easy because the slot is keyed to the shape of the corresponding card

Read any documentation that comes with each computer component. Although I provide step-by-step assembly instructions throughout this book, one of your components might require special switch settings or some other unique treatment.

Keep all your parts manuals together for easy reference.After your computer is running, you can refer to your manuals quickly if you need to change any settings. In the future, if you want to sell the old device and upgrade, it’s considered good manners to provide the original manual with the component. (Complete with manualmakes a better impression on eBay.)

Save your boxes and receipts.Although it’s rare, you might find your self stuck with a brand-new defective item, and you’ll need the original packaging to return it.

Use bowls to hold small parts.Loose screws, jumpers, and wires have a habit of wandering off if left on their own. If you end up with extra screws or doodads after successfully assembling a PC, put these parts in a bowl and start your own spare-parts warehouse. Trust me: They’ll come in handy in the future. If you’re a true techno-nerd, get thee hence to a hardware store and buy one of those wall racks with all the little compartments — they’re perfect for organizing everything from screws to wires and jumpers.

Keep a magnetic screwdriver handy.It neverfails. Sooner or later, you end up dropping a screw inside your computer case. If no loose compo nents are in the case, feel free to pick up the case, turn it upside down, and let gravity do its thing. However, if you’ve installed a component that’s not screwed down yet, I recommend using a magnetic screwdriver for picking up wayward screws.

Check allconnections after you install a component.I can’t explain this phenomenon (other than to invoke Murphy’s Law), but you’ll often connect a new component firmly only to discover later that you some how disconnected some other connector accidentally.

Never forget the common foe: static electricity.I’ll show you how you can easily ground yourself before you touch any circuitry or adapter cards — groundingsounds painful, but it’s not! Unless you ground your self, you run the risk of damaging a component from the static electricity that might be lurking on your body.

Leave the computer cover off during assembly. There’s no reason to replace the case’s cover immediately after installing a part — what if you connected a cable upside down? Instead, test your newly installed device first, if possible. As long as you don’t touch any of the circuit boards inside the case, you’ll be fine.

By the way, nothing inside your machine will explode or spew nasty radiation, so you don’t have to step behind a lead screen when you fire it up. Simply make sure that you don’t touch any circuit boards inside while the machine is running. Personally, I replace the case’s cover on a work-in-progress only at the end of the day (to fend off dust, felines, and small fingers).

PCs Are Built with Standard Parts

When the first personal computers appeared way back in the late 1970s, you had to be good with electronics — and a soldering iron — to build one. Everything was soldered by hand to circuit boards, and you even had to build the computer’s case yourself. A hacker (as applied to computers) was a person who “hacked together” a computer from bits and pieces of hardware. (Today, unfortunately, the word carries a darker connotation.) 

Computers have advanced a few light-years since then; now they’re more like appliances, in that one computer is put together pretty much like another. Ever since IBM introduced the IBM PC, computers have been built using stan dard components with the same connectors and dimensions, so you no longer need the experience of an electronics engineer to assemble one. And the parts are self-contained, so you don’t need to worry about soldering (or gears and springs, either). Everyone uses the same building blocks that fit together the same way

In fact, assembling standardized computer components is how popular mail order and direct-sale computer manufacturers build their machines. Like you, they order standard computer components and peripherals and then follow a procedure (much like the ones that I describe in this book) to assemble the computer according to your specifications.

The process that you follow to build your own computer is much like follow ing a recipe. Like baking a cake, you add certain parts to your mixture in a certain order. Before you know it, you’re taking a big bite — or, in this case, using the Internet, writing the great American novel, or blasting your favorite aliens from the planet Quark

Understanding Your Computer’s Components

Before you find out more about where to buy the parts that make up a com puter (or, if you’re lucky, where to scavenge them), allow me to introduce you to each of the major components of your computer. I describe each compo nent in general, although you can find out all the details about each computer part in other chapters of this book.

By the way, scavenging parts is more wholesome than it sounds; I use the term to refer to components that you’ve removed from an older computer, used components that you’ve bought, or used parts that someone has given you. Check out Chapter 2 for some good tips and hints on where to scavenge computer components.

The metal mansion

Your computer’s case is its home, complete with a power supply, the various buttons and lights on the front, and the all-important fan that keeps the inside of your computer cool. Today’s high-power gaming machines have three or four fans, depending on how many devices inside are generating heat — heck, the fastest PCs that gamers build these days are liquid-cooled, just like your car

You might notice several large, rectangular cutouts on the front of your case. Don’t worry — your computer case isn’t defective; it’s supposed to have them. These holes, called drive bays, enable you to add components, such as a tape backup drive or a DVD-ROM drive. An unused drive bay is usually cov ered by a plastic insert. Or the front of your case might have a door that swings open for access to the bays

You can get computer cases in various sizes. The size that you choose depends on how many toys (usually called peripherals) you want to add to your com puter. See Chapter 3 for a more detailed discussion of your computer’s case.

  The big kahuna

 A number of different circuit boards are inside a computer, but only one is big enough, complicated enough, and important enough to be called your com puter’s motherboard. Your computer motherboard holds

 The CPU chip: This acts as the brain of your PC.

The RAM modules: These act as your computer’s memory while it’s turned on.

 All sorts of connectors: You connect lots of things to your motherboard, such as hard drives, a DVD drive, and power cables

 In fact, the motherboard holds just about everything, as you can see in Figure 1-2. (PCI slots are covered in Chapter 4, and your motherboard’s BIOS makes an appearance in Chapters 3 and 7.)

 If you enjoy acronyms and abbreviations, you’ll be happy to know that CPU stands for central processing unit, and RAM stands for random access memory

 Computer CPUs come in different speeds, measured in gigahertz (GHz), such as 3 GHz. Older processors used to be measured in megahertz (MHz), such as 350 MHz. Sometimes, the CPU speed is mentioned after the processor name, such as Pentium 4 3.06 GHz. In general, the faster the CPU speed, the faster your computer.

 The most popular brand of CPU these days is the Intel Pentium series, which includes the Pentium 4 and Pentium Extreme Edition, but you can also find processors from Advanced Micro Devices, which everyone calls AMD. AMD’s alternative CPUs are usually less expensive and often run faster and more effi ciently than the Pentium 4. I discuss the most popular processors and their advantages later in Chapter 4

 Your motherboard is probably one of the more expensive parts that you need to buy. If you can find a used motherboard in good shape with a Pentium 4 class CPU already installed, you should consider it if the price is right. What price is right? Motherboard prices fluctuate every month (usually downward), so check the price on a new motherboard that has a similar Pentium-series chip to determine whether you’re getting a good deal on the used board. I find Newegg (www.newegg.com), eBay (www.ebay.com), and PriceWatch (www.pricewatch.com) to be the best resources for checking prices

 For all the details on your motherboard, see Chapter 3. I discuss CPU chips and RAM modules in Chapter 4

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