Book Suggestion
Today's Top 10 Best Sellers at TigerDirect.com
Netgear WNA3100 N300 Wireless USB Adapter - $39.99
Posted on Wednesday May 22, 2013
The Netgear WNA3100 N300 Wireless USB Adapter connects your notebook or desktop computer to a Wireless-N network for faster downloads.
Netgear WNDR3400-100NAS Wireless Dual Band Router - $79.99
Posted on Wednesday May 22, 2013
The Netgear WNDR3400-100NAS Wireless Dual Band Router offers the high-performance wireless Internet access needed for demanding applications.
NetGear WNR3500L-100NAS Rangemax Wireless-N Gigabi - $59.99
Posted on Wednesday May 22, 2013
The NetGear WNR3500L-100NAS Rangemax Wireless-N Gigabit Router incorporates the latest Wireless-N technology.
PowerUp! 12ft VGA M/M Monitor Cable - $5.97
Posted on Wednesday May 22, 2013
Using this cable, you can integrate your CPU to a VGA monitor for excellent visual performance.
Sabrent 100W Car 12V DC to 110V AC Power Inverter - $19.99
Posted on Wednesday May 22, 2013
Now, your electrical products are mobile ready with the AC-12VDC. This power inverter converts DC 12V electricity into 110V AC power.
Sony BDV-N790W 3D Blu-ray Home Theater System - $449.99
Posted on Wednesday May 22, 2013
This home entertainment system provides you with a Blu-ray player, 5.1 channel surround sound and 1000 watts (167W x 5 + 165W) of total power.
Sony DEV3 Digital Recording Binoculars - $849.96
Posted on Wednesday May 22, 2013
Share the thrill of discovery with the world's first digital recording binoculars, in 1920x10803D and 2D HD video.
Ultra GammaView 2050 2-Port USB VGA KVM w/ Audio - $19.99
Posted on Wednesday May 22, 2013
Control two computers using one monitor, USB keyboard, and USB mouse with Ultra U12-40715 GammaView 2050 2-Port USB KVM Switch.
WD My Book Live 1TB Personal Cloud Nas - $129.99
Posted on Wednesday May 22, 2013
This storage drive lets you save your important documents and files and also allows you to access the files from your home/office.
WD My Book Live 2TB Personal Cloud Storage Nas - $149.99
Posted on Wednesday May 22, 2013
The Western Digital My Book Live WDBACG0020HCH-NESN Personal Cloud Storage 2TB NAS lets you consolidate movies, music, and photos in one central locat
How to Build Your Own Computer
This site is dedicated to the many thousands of ordinary people who decide to build their own personal computers each year -- very often, on their kitchen tables.
My goal is simple: I want to present an illustrated, step-by-step guide to building a computer from scratch, in simple language, to help make your do-it-yourself computer-building project as enjoyable, educational, and rewarding as it can be.
If you're visiting from a mobile or tablet device, please check out our Mobile / Tablet Version. It loads faster and is formatted for easy viewing on smaller screens.
And while you're here, please check out our do-it-yourself computer builders' Forum. We'd love to have you as a member, and it's free. Just click here to sign up.
Why should I build my own personal computer?
That's a good question. After all, it's a lot easier to buy a computer from a reputable computer shop than it is to build one yourself. But the truth is that most of us computer geeks and geeklings build our own computers simply because we enjoy it. We think it's fun. But aside from being fun, there are other advantages to building your own computer. For example:
- You can build your own pc exactly how you want it, as best fits your computing needs. When you build your own computer, it truly is a "personal" computer.
- Building a PC is an educationally rewarding experience that can enrich a person's knowledge of and appreciation for applied math, electronics, and physics.
- Sometimes a home-built computer can be less expensive than a comparably equipped store-bought computer, especially if you start with a barebones computer kit.
- Building computers is an enjoyable hobby with the potential to lead to a career. In fact, many IT professionals got their start by building their own computers.
As was mentioned above, when you design your own computer, you can build it to suit the things you want it to do. The days when all computers had to do was check e-mail and surf the Web are over. A high-end smart phone like the T-Mobile Blackberry Bold can do those things (and much more) very well. But for gaming, CAD/CAM applications, high-end video editing, and other specialized tasks, there's no better way to get the machine you need than to design and build it yourself.
What do I need?
Like any other do-it-yourself project, computer building requires certain skills, tools, and resources. For example:
- You must be able to read and write.
- You have to know how to do some basic math.
- You need some basic hand tools. An inexpensive computer repair tool kit will contain all the tools you need.
- You have to have a clean place to work with a suitable table or workbench.
- You need to be able to follow instructions and observe basic safety and anti-static precautions.
- If you're a child or a teen, you will need a parent, teacher, or other adult to help you and to supervise your project. A lot of kids e-mail me and tell me they are building computers as science fair projects. Cool!
- You need someplace to obtain computer parts, like the companies who advertise on this site or your local computer shop.
- Books, videos, and other references
may be helpful if you have never attempted a do-it-yourself electronic project before.
- Before doing anything, you must plan carefully and pay particular attention to connectivity. For example, you should make sure you have enough HDMI, DVI, or USB ports if you want to add extra peripherals like an external hard drive to your computer once it has been built.
- And finally, you need the parts to build your computer. Check out the computer components section to learn about the different computer parts, and please consider using our online computer parts store when you're ready to buy. Geek Toyland is another good resource for computer parts and educational toys in general.
Navigating this Site
This site uses an unusual navigation system. The "Getting Started" link on the top of each page will take you to a map of the site. So if you get lost, click on "Getting Started." You can find your way from there.
The links for "Components" and "Software" will take you to mini-maps of the pages dealing with those topics.
In addition, some subjects are divided into multiple pages, with mini-maps on the bottom to navigate between those pages.
The reason I chose this odd layout is because I know from experience that designing and building a computer is not quite as much of a step-by-step process as one might hope. It involves a lot of back-and-forth, as well. After experimenting with different navigation styles, this one seemed most like the actual process. And after years of the site being live and several rebuilds, I still think it works pretty well; so I kept it.
Javascript Required
Please note that this site uses JavaScript (Active Scripting) for some layout and navigation functions and to open thumbnail images in new, movable, automatically re-sized windows, which allows visitors to look at the images while continuing to consult the text.
If you do not have JavaScript enabled, if your browser doesn't support it (is there a browser that doesn't support JavaScript?), or if it is being interfered with by another application (for example, by a poorly written ad blocker that's too stupid to tell content from advertising), then this site will not work properly.
Ready to begin?
Good! Then let's get started!
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