The first thing that I did when the packages with the PC parts arrived was to check if everything was there and it it was the correct component. Nothing is worse than to find out that a component is missing when you’re in the middle of building the PC. I normally put everything on a table and make a quick check that I got everything that I need to build the PC.

Building a PC is much like a puzzle. You got finite parts and need to place them in the right location of the computer case and connect each and every piece properly to get a PC that is working and booting. Before I start adding pieces to the PC case I divided them into primary and secondary components.

Primary PC Components:

• Computer Case
• Motherboard
• CPU
• CPU Cooler
• Power Supply
• Thermal Grease
• Case Fans

Secondary PC Components:

• Memory
• Video Card
• Hard Drive
• Sound Card
• Other Cards
• CD and DVD Drives
• Mouse
• Keyboard
• any other external device

The reason why I’m dividing the components up is because the primary components are harder to assemble than the secondary ones. You can add the video card and remove it in a matter of seconds but you cannot do that with the CPU if the CPU cooler has already been placed on it.

I usually start with the computer case and the power unit. The computer case normally comes with a lot of screws that are needed for various parts. The problem with the power unit is its size mainly. If you have other components in the PC you might have troubles placing it in the right location. It is usually connected to the PC with four screws.

The next part is in my opinion the part were many things can go wrong. I’m talking about the motherboard. Some builders prefer to add components to the motherboard when it is outside of the computer case because they have additional free space to add the components that way. It cannot rest on the tower directly and you have to place standoffs between the motherboard and the case. The standoffs have to be in the location that corresponds to the holes in the motherboard because you will use screws to firmly place the motherboard on those standoffs.

This part is really important, especially for those builders who place the motherboard in the computer case and add other components afterwards. Some computer parts need a little bit of pressure to be properly put in place. If you do not use enough standoffs you can break your motherboard quite easily if you apply to much pressure. The more standoffs the less the chance that it breaks.

Most motherboards come with their own back panel that needs to be switched with the default one from your computer case before connecting the motherboard to the computer. The back panel contains all those USB and sound device connectors from the motherboard.

When the motherboard is in place I connect the wires from the computer case to the motherboard. The wires are used to power certain buttons and lights on the computer case, for example the Power button. You need to consult the motherboard manual to find the proper place for them.

After that I add the cpu first. Again, that is a easy task. Just consult the motherboard manual and it will tell you exactly how it is done. It comes down to raising the socket laever, lifting the metal load plate and placing the cpu in the correct position. The cpu displays a tiny triangle on one edge and that triangle is aligned with the pin one corner of the cpu socket.

I then apply the thermal grease to the cpu and place the cpu cooler on top of it. This can be quite tough depending on the type of CPU cooler that you bought. Just read the instructions properly and you should be fine. The cpu cooler is usually connected to four holes that are next to the cpu.

And that was the hardest part of assembling the computer. It really comes down to these few components that can make or break the computer. Everything else is just a matter of placing the cards in the correct slots of connecting drives to the computer.

I can understand that most users do not want to build a computer because of fear that they break something. Another fear is connected to the different parts one has to buy in order to build the computer.

The whole process is not that difficulty if you read the manuals properly and use the above build order. Last but not least, here are the components that I finally purchased for my computer. It is not the fastest computer but it can do everything that you need to do, play games, watch videos, work with it.

• Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 CPU
• Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler
• Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS4 Motherboard
• MDT DIMM Kit 4096 MB PC2-6400 CL5 DDR2-800 RAM
• Seasonic S12II-500 ATX PSU
• Samsung Spinpoint F1 1000 GB SATA II Hard Drive
• Lian Li PC-A09B Computer Case
• Leadtek PX8800GTS TDH 512MB Video Card
• Creative SB X-FI XtremeMusic Sound Card

It took me roughly 2 hours to build the compute and it started immediately after connecting the power unit. Now I had experiences in the past where that was not the case and it usually comes down to checking all connectors making sure everything is connected properly.

A friend of mine prefers the minimal approach. He only connects the primary components first, that is computer case, power unit, cpu, cpu cooler, motherboard, video card and ram and tries to boot the PC. If the PC boots he knows that everything up to this point is working nicely. He then adds one component at a time until every component has been added to the computer.

You do not need a degree in computer science to build a PC. It all comes down to reading the manual properly and the correct build order.

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The new PC basically consists of an Intel Core 2 Duo Wolfdale cpu, a Gigabyte DS4 motherboard, 4 Gigabytes of DDR2-800 RAM, a Samsung Spinpoint 1 Terabyte hard drive and a Leadtek 8800 GTS video card with 512 Megabyte RAM. I did add some other stuff to the mix to break the 1000€ goal. My plans are to write an article about the building process with lots of pictures and details about the hardware.

The second purchase was a Xbox 360 Elite video game system. I never thought I would buy one but this offer was just to tempting. The German Amazon website is currently selling each Xbox 360 system, that is the arcade, normal and elite system with a free copy of GTA IV, a free HD DVD drive and a free 3 month XBOX Live GOLD membership. I did pay 374€ (about $600) for the complete set.

I first thought a normal arcade version would do it but I have hopes that I can eventually add XBMC to the XBOX so that it can replace my old Xbox as a media center. The package with the Xbox 360 Arcade sells for 200€ (roughly $320) currently. If you wanna take a look here is the link to Amazon Germany. Remember those are European prices, they are not comparable to US prices.

I probably will have to purchase a new television soon to gain the full benefit of the video gaming system. Any suggestions on a good LCD TV ?

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Some new items have recently been introduced, for instance the Western Digital VelociRaptor hard drive that will most likely be the fastest SATA drive on the market when it comes out in Mai 2008. The question that I have to ask myself is if I really need to buy that 300 Gigabyte drive that is definitely faster than any other SATA drive that I could buy for roughly $300 or invest in more space and less speed.

Since I’m not that much of a gamer anymore I decided to not buy that hard drive. The same holds true for my choice of video card and cpu. I do not need the fastest, I need reliable hardware that runs Linux and Windows plus the applications that I need. I need Windows to test software for Ghacks and for the occasional game that might come out that sounds interesting, Starcraft 2 anyone ?

Some other thoughts: I always choose a low noise level over performance. That means I tried my best to find pc components that produce the least amount of noise possible. I’m not talking about passive cooling here although that would probably be an option as well but about components that have been developed to be less noisy than the usual pc components.

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All components for that pc cost $844.92 which is more affordable than I thought it would be. That leaves enough money for a better LCD monitor and a sound card. I know that some components are not the fastest like the video card. Nvidia and ATI are pumping out new video cards every three to six months it seems that are faster and more powerful than those that have been released just a few months ago.

I don’t need to play games on highest settings and the card that I have chosen is perfectly capable of delivering a good gaming experience on my Samsung Syncmaster 19″ lcd monitor. Did I miss something, would you change something in the setup ? Let me know, this might be the last chance to change components.

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