|
Deciding what parts you will put into your
system will require a little research on your part. Take a look at
the list below then decide for yourself what you want your computer to do,
what features you want, and how you want to spend your money.
I find the easiest way to go about it is to
decide first what type and speed CPU (central processing unit) I want.
Here I've chosen an Athlon processor from AMD, though other choices
include AMD's Duron, or Intel's Celeron, Pentium III or Pentium 4.
After choosing the CPU, the motherboard and
memory choices fall into place. In this case I am using a Socket A
motherboard (Intel CPUs have different kinds of sockets) that supports
SDRAM memory (other memory types are DDR SDRAM and Rambus RDRAM).
The next decision is what kind of graphics
card you want. These run the complete gamut from very expensive to
very cheap. If you plan on playing 3D games, you might want a more
expensive card, or one that offers a good price/performance ratio.
On the other hand, if you only plan on filling out spreadsheets, you could
just get a motherboard with video capabilities built in. For this
system, I have chosen a card based on Nvidia's GeForce2 MX chip, which is
not top of the line, but offers good performance at a decent price.
These components, the CPU, the graphics
card, the memory and the motherboard that brings them together, are the
components that affect performance the most. Parts like the
keyboard, mouse, and monitor affect the experience of working with your
computer, and also require some research on your part.
Here,
I have chosen a DVD drive and a sound card that specializes in DVD audio,
but you may prefer a simple CD-ROM drive and perhaps no sound at
all. Another option is a highly integrated motherboard that offers
both onboard sound and video.
Also,
the form factor of the case we are working with is ATX. The form
factor determines the case's size, dimensions, and placement of screw
holes.
This motherboard and power supply are also ATX.
You have choices of other form factors, such as Micro-ATX and
Flex-ATX. Finally, you will
probably also want some means of connecting to the internet, such as a
modem or network card.
|
