(Approx. 2,030 words)

Build It Yourself

By Brian K. Lewis, Ph.D., Columnist, Sarasota PCUG, Florida

www.spcug.org

bwsail at yahoo.com

Obtained from APCUG with the author's permission for publication by APCUG member groups.

You may never have considered building your own computer, but it is really just an assembly job. When you are familiar with the components of your system, you will find it is easier to understand and possibly diagnose problems. A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to assemble two new computers for one of my children. She needed two additional systems for the growing work force in her business. I had forgotten how much fun it is to put a new system together. So, I thought I would share some of the reasoning behind the selection of the components and assembling them into a working product. Even if you don't build a new computer, it might be useful the next time you are looking for a new system.

For these computers it was not necessary that they be “state of the art”, so I selected an Intel Celeron D central processor(CPU). These CPUs function quite well, especially at the 3.2 Ghz speed. Since they were intended for a specific office environment the price point and the speed were ideal. However, Celeron processors do not support dual-threading nor are they dual-core processors. If you want the latest in processors then you should consider the Intel Core-2 Duo or an AMD dual processor. Another alternative would be to use a 64 bit processor instead of these 32 bit processors. The main drawback to that is that most software isn't really ready to take advantage of 64 bit processing and there are still problems with some drivers for peripheral equipment.

Once I decided on the CPU, the next step was to find an appropriate motherboard. I selected an Intel 946 series with the 775 socket. This motherboard supports Intel processors from the Celeron D to the Core-2 Duo. This makes it a good choice for any upgrades to another CPU. It also supports up to 4GB of RAM. This board also features built-in sound and video. Naturally that has both pros and cons associated with these features. With the integrated video you can run Windows Vista in the mode which uses the “Aero Glass” graphics because it borrows memory from the system RAM. As this graphic interface is one of the primary features of Vista, you would need to install a separate video card which meets the requirements of the Vista video specification. For the computers I was building this was not a problem as they will not be running Vista. Instead I purchased 2 OEM copies of Windows XP which run very well with the integrated graphics on this Intel board.

The Intel motherboard also requires DDR2 RAM (system memory) modules which improve the processing speed over that of the original DDR RAM. It also has a front-side bus which can run at 533, 800 or 1066 MHz.

With the Celeron D this bus runs at 533 MHz. For those who are not familiar with bus speeds, the front side bus refers to the speed at which information is transferred to/from the various peripheral slots to the CPU. In today's computers this can be one of the bottlenecks for data transfer. The other is the Input/Output transfer for the hard drive. Other features of this board include 8 USB 2.0 ports, a 10/100 LAN port and four SATA hard drive ports.

I have always found Intel motherboards to very solid and dependable performers. If I were intent on building a faster system with a Core-2 Duo or AMD processor then I would be looking for an ASUS motherboard. In general they get much stronger reviews related to state-of-the-art installations. I have also used them in a number of systems some of which are still running some five years later. So I always consider them for a top of the line system.

The next item I considered was the case for these systems. The one I selected was an Antec Sonata II which is a mid-size tower. This comes with an air control system that channels air from outside the case directly to the CPU. It has a 120 mm exhaust fan and provisions for an additional fan in the front of the case. The Antec power supply provides 450 watts maximum and has two fans. The exhaust fan runs only when the power supply reaches a specific temperature. As it turned out, this was the quietest case I have ever used. The fans are really whisper quiet. With any ambient noise in the work space you really can't hear the computer. This is also related to the shock mounting of the hard drives. The hard drive cage has individual removable mounts with rubber grommets around the attachment screws. Each drive is therefore mounted on these rubber grommets and essentially no vibration is transmitted to the cage or the case.

One thing I haven't mentioned yet is the RAM I installed. For these computers, considering how they were to be used, I only installed one GB of RAM. This was one Kingston 1GB DDR2 240 pin module for each system. This leaves one slot open for additional memory should an upgrade be needed.

Installation of the components into the case is not really difficult. The first part is to screw in the motherboard supports and to replace the I/O shield at the back with the one supplied with the motherboard. I always install the CPU, the CPU fan and the RAM before I try to put the motherboard in the case. Then the trick in getting the motherboard into position is to make sure that you tilt it toward the back so it fits the I/O shield and then lay it on the supports. You generally have to put a little pressure on the front edge of the motherboard to get the screw holes lined up. Once it is screwed down you can install the power connectors and the various connectors for the LEDs and front panel USB connectors. The Antec case manual is quite helpful in this regard. The Intel instructions are all pictorial and might take some thinking if you've never done this before. I found that the ASUS motherboard manuals are much better designed for non-commercial installers. Intel obviously figures that anyone using their motherboard has done this before.

Now we get to another really important component, the hard drive. As I mentioned earlier the motherboard supports up to four SATA (serial ATA) drives. So I selected Seagate Barracuda SATA2 160 GB hard drives for these systems. I went with Seagate because I have found over the years that they are more reliable than other brands. Even though some are now Seagate subsidiaries, I still prefer the Seagate label. Also, I would not consider installing IDE drives in any new computers. The transfer rates for SATA2 are so much better it doesn't make sense to install an IDE drive anymore. The other point is that the price of SATA2 is quite competitive with IDE. I suspect that it won't be long before it will be very difficult to find IDE drives. Oh yes, the cost of 160 GB drives is only a few dollars more than an 80 GB drive. And, you can go up to 500 GB for not much more. The attachment to the motherboard uses a power cable from the power supply and the data cable which comes with the motherboard. Each of these are keyed so they fit only one way into the drive and the motherboard.

At this point I usually do a power-on test to see if everything wakes up. So I connect the video monitor and external power, then press the power switch. Once the power connection is made the motherboard LED lights up. Then pressing the power on results in the case fan and CPU fan spinning. Of course I get an error message on the monitor that there is no operating system. But everything else looks good. So I just hold in the power button until the system powers down. Then I disconnect the power and video.

The only other internal drive that I installed was an NEC DVD burner. This fits into one of the exposed 5 ¼” drive slots. To get this in you have to remove one of the slot covers. The easiest way in the Antec case is to push it out from the inside. Then on the back of this cover are two rails that are removed and attached to the DVD drive with the supplied screws. Then you simply slide the drive it so it is supported by the rails. The motherboard comes with an IDE cable that attaches to the motherboard and to the drive. Each end is keyed so you really can't attach it incorrectly. These systems did not require a floppy drive.

The monitors I selected for these systems are a Samsung 17” LCD. The monitors have an adjustable height stand and can be rotated for either portrait or landscape orientation. The contrast ratio is one of the highest I've seen for LCD monitors. In addition, I didn't find any dead pixels in any of the three systems I purchased. I've had similar success with other Samsung monitors I have installed.

The final hardware components are the mouse, keyboard and speakers. The speakers for these systems are an inexpensive CyberAcoustic set since they are headed for an office environment. You can certainly find better and more expensive speakers if you prefer. The keyboard and mouse are a wireless combination from Logitech. As I use Logitech's wireless systems, I find I really like the way they operate. the only drawback is that they do require batteries. However, in the mouse that I use with my laptop the two AA alkaline batteries lasted for a year. The mouse and keyboard operate using an RF (radio frequency) receiver that plugs into the PS/2 ports on the case. With Windows XP both of these were immediately recognized as being the usual PS/2 components.

As I mentioned earlier, the operating system for these computers is Windows XP. After I had all the components installed I put the Windows CD in the drive and rebooted the computer. The system booted from the CD with no problem. Then it all that was needed was to follow the on-screen instructions to partition and format the new drive. After that Windows continued with the installation of XP. That took about 30 minutes after the completion of the drive formatting.

The final steps in the preparation of these systems was the downloading of various software components. These included Firefox, Avast anti-virus, ZoneAlarm firewall, Spybot, Spyware Blaster, Ad-Aware and OpenOffice software suite. I can highly recommend all of these components as I have used them myself for multiple years and installed them on many other computers. Oh yes, the total cost for each system, including the monitors was just over $800.00. Sure, you can buy a computer for less, but you may not get what I consider to be quality components. And, you won't know your system as well as the one you built.

How long does it take to assemble a computer? With experience it will take a few hours. If you have never done it before, I suspect it could be 4-8 hours. But like anything else, when you do it yourself there is a great deal of satisfaction obtained from a final working system. Who knows, you might enjoy trying it. Even if you don't I hope this article has given you some additional insight into the workings inside that “black box” called a computer.

Dr. Lewis is a former university and medical school professor, but not in computer science. He has been working with personal computers for over thirty years teaching, repairing, assembling and writing software for computer systems. He can be reached at bwsail at yahoo.com.

This article has been provided to APCUG by the author solely for publication by APCUG member groups. All other uses require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above).