Build your own PC

The days when building your own PC meant making big savings over buying a ready-made computer are gone.

It’s now possible to buy a powerful yet affordable PC from your local supermarket. So why would anyone consider building their own computer?

Building a PC is an educational experience that gives a good idea of what each component looks like, how it fits into the computer and even what each sounds like. This can make it easier to diagnose problems or upgrade a PC at a later date. It can also be fun.

This Masterclass will provide help on choosing the important components of a modern PC, while we’ll cover the assembly of these parts into a working PC in a later feature, along with a video step-by-step guide to demonstrate the job in full.

The processor
The processor is the first buying decision, since it affects other aspects of the PC such as the motherboard and power supply, which we’ll come to presently.

Two companies, AMD and Intel, essentially control the PC processor marketplace. Even the cheapest modern processor from either firm will be fast enough to cater for internet browsing and word-processing. Moreover, spending £1,000 on a top-end processor is no guarantee of a big speed boost over a £300 one ­ there are too many other factors at play.

That said, avoid Pentium 4 processors (Intel’s last generation) and AMD’s older Athlon X2 models found in bargain bins. These chips use more power than the current generation so any initial savings could be wiped out by higher electricity bills.

Modern processors tend to have more than one core and, in theory, the more cores a CPU has, the better the overall performance. The reality, though, is that a dual-core chip will suffice because few applications and games can make use of processors with four cores (called quad-core chips).

So, what should you buy? Well, we’re going to avoid giving specific recommendations because this Masterclass is not a buying guide. Currently, Intel has the performance lead over AMD, with Intel’s Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad being noticeably faster than AMD’s Phenom chips. However, the Phenom processors are less expensive.

For our example, we’ll use a Core 2 Duo E6750, running at 2.67GHz, but any modern processor will do. As a rule, the higher the frequency (the GHz number) the faster the processor. But this rule doesn’t apply when comparing AMD with Intel processors or when comparing older generations of processors with newer ones (a 3.8GHz Pentium 4 is slower than a 2.67GHz Core 2 Duo).

Consider also power consumption. Each processor is listed with a TDP (thermal design power) figure. The higher this is the more energy it uses and the higher the environmental impact and electricity bill.