Why build you own?

There are many reasons to build your own PC instead of buying a Dell, HP, or other pre-assembled PC. The most common reasons are that it's fun, it gives you a sense of accomplishment and confidence, it gives you more control over what goes into your PC, and it usually costs less.

What parts do you need?

Let's first take a look at the components that typically go into a PC (plus some common abbreviations for them). Note that this list does not include the monitor, keyboard, mouse, or other external hardware, just the PC box itself.

• Computer case
• Power supply (PSU)
• Motherboard (Mainboard, MB)
• Processor (CPU)
• Memory (RAM)
• Hard drive (HDD)
• Optical drive (CD/DVD/Bluray reader/burner)
• Graphics card (GPU) - can be "integrated" or "discrete", more on that below

There are additional things you can purchase, such as a sound card, wireless card, additional hard drives, etc. These won't be covered in this guide.


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Please note that products and prices reflect what was available in early 2011 and may not be up to date with current offerings.

This is a price and feature comparison to determine the value of building your own PC versus purchasing a Dell. Dell's generally offer a good value in the low to mid range and represent the most common OEM-bought PCs.

Some things to note: The Dell prices include the tax and flat-rate shipping fee Dell charges. The custom-built prices include shipping, which could vary by $5-10 based on your location. Also, the custom-built PC prices include the full retail cost of Windows 7 Home ($99). If you have an operating system already, or can get an inexpensive copy through school, it will increase the value proposition of the custom-built PC considerably.

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It's been a year and a half since my last computer upgrade. I have been using a first-gen Phenom X3 overclocked to 3.0ghz, 2 x 1GB of DDR1066, and a good yet not great overclocking Gigabyte motherboard. I also have two hard drives and will be adding another to the mix along with a new case, since my old one is chopped up and modified to pieces.

There were some excellent deals going, including free shipping on the case. Here's the list of components:

Cooler Master Elite Case
Seagate Barracude 7200.12 500GB Hard Drive
ASRock M3A785GXH/128M Motherboard
A-DATA 2 x 2GB DDR3 Memory Kit
AMD Phenom II X2 555 Processor

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