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Building a computer is a very rewarding experience. You can learn more about computer hardware by building a computer than you can by reading every computer hardware textbook ever written. Aside from that, you get a totally personalized computer that no OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) could match, and there is also the opportunity to save a lot of money in the process. The only downside is that you won't have any technical support number to ring, or any warranty service, so there may be a chance that you will have to pay more for service (if you don't repair yourself). So now you've been sold on the merits, read on to find out how... [via] Link.
HOW TO Build A Computer
Building a computer is a very rewarding experience. You can learn more about computer hardware by building a computer than you can by reading every computer hardware textbook ever written. Aside from that, you get a totally personalized computer that no OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) could match, and there is also the opportunity to save a lot of money in the process. The only downside is that you won't have any technical support number to ring, or any warranty service, so there may be a chance that you will have to pay more for service (if you don't repair yourself). So now you've been sold on the merits, read on to find out how... [via] Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 18, 2005 01:53 AM
Computers |
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Assembling your own computer. The hardest part in doing this is selecting the appropriate parts, and making sure they're all kosher, and up to your needs. Putting it together could be done by a 6 year old.
Nit pickiness, I know, but from someone who has actually built a computer (not my desktop, but a functional computer).
-Jesse
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In a month or so I'll have a page and photos up detailing my build of a single-board computer based on the Z80 8-bit CPU. I've got a pile of components and a printed PCB, its a bit different from just assembling a motherboard and PCI cards..
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I did the DIY thing back in the 486 era, and had a lot of fun with it, but noticed when I went to replace it that the cost of software had increased, and the cost of complete systems had decreased to the point where it was no longer economic. And please, don't tell me Linux is the answer - I need something that is 100% compatible with the Windows world, and I don't feel like being (or paying) a software developer just so I can do basic tasks. But I can see applications short of a general purpose pc where running an alternative OS and making your own architecture could be useful, again though, there is the software problem.
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Jesse, define "build"...
As long as you're defining it as putting components together according to a design you made at whatever level it's assembly, so I guess you mean buying the raw materials and first designing the building the chips, capacitors, resistors, etc., then putting those together into integrated circuit boards, etc. etc.
According to that definition noone has ever built a computer and ever since the stone age has noone built anything at all.
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jwenting: You know very well what I mean, as does everybody who read what I wrote. I define "build" to mean design and creation of something from low-level "raw" materials that are readily, cheaply available and are themselves not easily build-able and can be arranged in a huge variety of ways. Technically yes, assembling a computer would fall under "build" but that's being ridiculously pedantic about it; you might say you build yourself some breakfast every morning, or build yourself a post-it note with writing on it. Someone who builds a house does not grow the lumber, or mine the raw materials out of the ground, but that most definitely falls under building, because the lumber and other materials can be arranged in nearly infinite combinations. Assembling a computer can only be accomplished in a relatively few different ways, the video card only goes in the AGP slot, the motherboard power cable only plugs into one spot. There's no thought process to the construction, it's tab A goes into slot A, and there's no two ways about it. I do not think that separating "build" and "assemble" in my original argument is being overly pedantic either, putting together 4 or 5 components in the only available slots hardly counts as building. The most in-depth aspect of designing a complete PC system would be the cooling system, which I would easily say you could build yourself a nice cooling system as part of the PC you assembled. If you were to build yourself a computer, you would need to take readily available materials that aren't easily buildable by yourself (chips, wires), and using the nearly infinite combination of wiring, traces, chip types, etc design a layout for them, and then do it up. That's how to build yourself a computer.
-Jesse
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