Upgrades & System Build

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This can be one of the most satisfying areas of computer ownership and maintenance, the sense of satisfaction & achievement you get having pressed the power button on your newly built PC and then watching it burst into life! (OK who mentioned Frankenstein…?)  Can be very hard to equal & almost impossible to surpass, yes even the seasoned techs cannot help but crack a wry smile when their baby powers up for the first time.

 

Upgrades & System Builds are not just the elite domain of the afore mentioned techs, although there are some that like to think that they are! Anyone with a reasonable amount of savvy, gumption or common sense can indeed design and build their very own super fast all singing and dancing computer, just by following a few simple guidelines & procedures, you can make the process a pleasure and not the headache that so many techs would have you believe.

 

First and foremost let me just say that what applies to system building also to a great extent will apply to upgrades, for this reason I have chosen to combine the two subjects in this article; however there will be future articles dealing more specifically with each particular upgrade that you may be considering.

 

Ok let’s first look at what goes into your PC tower;

 pc-parts

  • PSU (power supply unit)
  • Motherboard / Main board
  • CPU / Processor
  • Heatsink & Fan (for the CPU)
  • RAM (Random Access Memory)
  • Graphics Card (AGP or PCI)
  • PCI Cards (ie Sound Card, Modem, Network, Joystick)
  • Assorted Fans & Wiring, Ribbons & Cables

 

That my friend is basically IT (pardon the pun)

 Now before you start thinking, “oh my God this is way too technical for me”, let me just explain that while this may seem a little mind boggling at first, it really is much easier than you think. You see, what we are talking about is basically a 3D jigsaw puzzle; they are designed in such a way that 99.9% of parts will actually only fit one way. So providing you have more than 3 brain cells & do not have the caressing abilities of a Neanderthal on steroids, then believe me, YOU CAN DO THIS !

This is going to be a multi part article, due to the amount of info required, so keep checking back for the next instalment, or if you prefer you can painlessly subscribe to our RSS feed, or subscribe via email, both of which will keep you updated on future articles…..