Build your own PC: Part 1

Building your own computer can be rewarding and has plenty of benefits. Apart from the satisfaction of doing it yourself, you get a computer built to your exact needs, without any extra bits that a manufacturer thinks you should want. This video shows the different parts required for our PC project.

The computer will be 'middle of the road' – powerful enough to run Windows Vista, but cheaper than a dedicated gaming computer.

The first choice is whether to use a processor from Intel or AMD. This dictates the choice of motherboard so it must be made first. We chose an Intel Core 2 Duo. It is two processors on one chip, giving a boost in performance.

The CPU needs a heatsink to get rid of the heat it generates in normal use. As this computer will not spend large periods of time playing games, the standard heatsink in the box will be sufficient. We do recommend buying some heat transfer paste if none is supplied in the box as this makes the contact between the CPU and heatsink more efficient.

The motherboard is what everything else plugs into. Motherboards come in a variety of sizes; smaller motherboards can be fitted into small form factor cases. They also come with most features built in, many of which used to require separate expansion cards, so smaller boards such as the one used here, the Asus , are not lacking compared with bigger ones.

The choice of memory should follow the specifications of the motherboard. It will normally have to be bought in pairs to get the best performance.

The hard disk contains all your files. We used a Western Digital drive of around 500GB and this should be plenty. This connects to the computer using a serial ATA (Sata) cable.

The optical drive is used to install OS and write discs. You should also get a Sata version if possible. If you want to install Vista, it must be able to read DVD discs. Some versions of Linux are supplied on DVD as well. Blu-ray offers more space and high-definition movies.

Although the motherboard has a VGA output for the monitor, we decided to install a separate graphics card. This will give better performance in games and the 3D Vista Aero Glass interface. The other big advantage is that it has two outputs so you can use two monitors at the same time.

The motherboard has wired networking built in, so we decided to install a Linksys Draft-N internal card. While USB adapters are available, an internal card keeps cables on the desktop to a minimum.

One other kind of expansion card is a TV card. Vista Home Premium is supplied with Media Center for watching and recording television. We used a hybrid tuner that can show either analogue or digital broadcasts.

Finally, we chose an Antec case to put everything in. There are cheaper cases, but the Antec has a reliable power supply and the construction is much better than the cheapest cases. The lack of sharp edges will prevent the cuts and scrapes we have sustained when using other cases.