Many teens require a computer for homework, but many nice laptops cost upwards of 600+ dollars. What I did was build my own computer. For the $600 I spent on the parts, it operates very well compared to other desktops and laptops of higher price.
This all started when opportunity struck and I took a Kirkwood Summer Class on building computers, which, as my very surprised mom found out, we got to take the computer that we built home with us at the end. But this computer fell far short of my hopes of an epic gaming computer, so, naturally, I wanted more. Thus, I set out on my quest for a better computer
After several days of research spread over a year to find the best parts within my budget range, I ordered the parts, which included an AMD central processing unit (CPU), MSI motherboard, NZXT computer case, a graphics card, 2 terabyte hard drive, Blu-ray DVD drive, CPU heatsink, and power supply. It took about a week for the parts to arrive, which at that point I began putting them together.
If you know what you are doing, putting it together is relatively easy. However, if this is your first time building one, some steps may be difficult.
First, unpack the components and arrange them as you see fit. Be careful of electrostatic discharges that could interfere with the operations of the various parts. Unpack the computer tower/case first, followed by the motherboard and power supply. Before installing the motherboard, install the power supply in the case. The cords coming out of it should be going into the case, not out. Its 3-prong connector and fan should be facing out. Next, attach the CPU mount points to the motherboard with the screws and CPU brackets that came with the motherboard (or, albeit rarely, the CPU), keeping in mind the type of CPU you will be using. After you complete that, open up the CPU box and extract the CPU (and if it came with one, its heatsink). If it didn't come with a heatsink, you could buy a regular fan cooled one, or a super efficient, liquid cooled heatsink. I bought a regular one because if I bought the liquid cooled one, it would have been quite a bit more expensive.
To attach the CPU and heatsink to the motherboard, carefully move the CPU's thin (easily bendable!!!) gold connectors into position onto the big square on the motherboard with all the holes in it. MAKE SURE THE HOLES LINE UP WITH THE PINS!!!!!!!! I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH, because if you don't put it in correctly, the pins will bend, and they are VERY difficult to straighten. Trust me, I have done this before (I actually screwed up one of these pins while tinkering with an older computer, which fortunately was broken when I took it apart). After the CPU is installed correctly, the heatsink can be installed. Although you might want to follow the instructions (if there were any the came with)(especially for liquid cooled ones), the gist is put it on top of the CPU (don't worry about the possible grey goo on the contact surface, that's just the thermal conductive paste they put on there to ensure fast and efficient heat transfer from the CPU to the heatsink) and lock it in place.
Next, install the motherboard, CPU, and heatsink combination into the tower. There should have been motherboard mounting screws that came with either the tower or motherboard. Find those screws, figure out what size your motherboard is (the "form factor" as us techies call it)(ATX, MicroATX, MiniATX, etc, etc, etc, the list goes on and on and on), and match that size to the screw configuration in the case/tower. Line up the holes on the motherboard with the holes inside the case and insert the screws. There you go! You have the motherboard, CPU, and heatsink installed!
Next come the smaller things. Now you ca install the RAM (Random Access Memory) onto the motherboard. There should be 4 long slots on the motherboard. That's where the RAM cartridges go. Push them in there until they click, and sometimes they have to go a certain way, so don't force them. After that's done, you can install the hard drive and BD/DVD/CD drive. the Blu-ray drive or other DVD/CD disk drive can go on the uppermost 5.25" slot that has an opening to the outside. the hard drive should go in a lower, smaller slot (3.25") with its peripherals facing towards you, or so that they are accessible. After these 2+ items are in place, use the SATA cables included to connect both the hard drive and DVD drive to the motherboard's SATA inputs. At this time you can connect any extra things like extra RAM, graphics cards, or other miscellaneous things to the motherboard.
After everything is installed on the motherboard, connect the hard drive(s), DVD drive, fans, and motherboard to the power supply by plugging in the correct connectors on the power supply's cables to the power peripherals on the corresponding components. Also connect, if necessary, the fans to the motherboard.
Close the case up and plug in the power cord to the power supply. Flip the switch on the power supply and the computer comes to life. Or not. If there is a problem at this point, unplug the computer, open the case up again, and double check each component. The problem might be as simple as a disconnected/not fully connected power cord or cable. If the problem doesn't show itself after a look-see, you might have a more serious problem, such as a incompatible component or faulty piece of hardware. If so, try reattaching things. This might fix the problem. If it doesn't happen on a second power-up, take your assembly to a local computer repair shop and see if they can run a system/component test and figure out which piece of hardware is faulty. Consult with the professional and discuss what you can do, because it's late and I don't want to elaborate on it.
Well, the hardware phase of the process is complete. The much shorter software side of this will be on my Saturday blog post.
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