First, ask yourself: why am I building this? The answer will come up again and again in this series, so treat it as your project mission statement and keep it in mind through the whole process. Parts picked for conflicting goals make life harder down the road. Is your old machine dying? Is it just not keeping up at work? Are you tired of the limits of a game console, or do you want a setup nobody else has?
Building a PC can be frustrating at times. But when you hit the power button for the first time and it boots, the feeling of accomplishment is hard to beat.
There are a lot of build types and a lot of parts. Picking the right ones starts with knowing what the machine is for, so let’s walk through the three most common reasons people build a PC.
The Build-Your-Own-PC series
- So You Wanna Build a PC? (you are here)
- Form Factors: Making Sure Your Parts Are Compatible
- Choosing PC Components: What to Buy and Why
Deciding What You’re Going to Use It For
Internet and Home Office Machine
Are you mostly online? YouTube, Facebook, email, paying bills, the occasional document? There are plenty of laptops and desktops you can order pre-built, but that’s not why you’re here, is it? Building a PC for simple tasks is easier than you think, and it doesn’t take much. A current processor with built-in graphics, 16GB of RAM and a solid state drive will feel fast for years.
This build won’t run demanding games, and that’s fine, because it isn’t meant to. It’s a great first build to get your kids interested in computers: inexpensive, simple to put together, and they can use it for whatever you approve. A compact version also makes a good living room PC hooked to the HDMI port on your TV, and it’s small enough to move anywhere in the house.
Work and Production
Maybe the boss keeps sending you home with photo editing and ol’ reliable just isn’t cutting it anymore. Or maybe you’re doing CAD, video editing, or running a lot of programs at once. Either way, you need more oomph than the home office build. These mid to high-tier machines carry more cores, more RAM and faster storage, and they can get expensive.
Whether it’s Photoshop, AutoCAD or a pile of spreadsheets, shop around and read up so you get the performance you need. One of the most frustrating things you can do is buy the parts, build the PC, and find out it isn’t up to spec. If your software vendor publishes recommended specs, start there.
The upside: these machines are easy to upgrade. Most start mid-tier and grow with the software, often needing nothing more than extra storage or more RAM down the road.
For businesses
Need a server for your office? That’s a different job than a workstation. A server needs redundant drives, reliable backups, security, and someone keeping an eye on it, which is exactly what our managed services team handles. Give us a call before you build one yourself.
Gaming and Creative Work
I knew it. You want the big one: the tower that runs every game on high settings, or streams and edits video without breaking a sweat. Brace your brain, your patience and your wallet. Building a gaming PC is no joke, but it’s a lot of fun, and the options are nearly endless. High-end towers can easily run $3,000 or more, mostly because of the graphics card, so set a budget before you start shopping.
Power is part of the cost too. A high-end gaming PC can pull several hundred watts under load, so your electric bill is something to account for, especially if it stays on all day. Getting a gaming rig running takes a bit more effort than the other builds, but you’re closer than you think.
Next Up: Making Sure Your Parts Fit
Whatever kind of build you choose, this series will walk you through it. Next, Form Factors: Making Sure Your Parts Are Compatible covers what fits together and why. After that, Choosing PC Components walks through every part and what to buy.
Stuck along the way? Our computer repair specialists are glad to answer questions, or we can build it for you.
