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This is a basic run-down on the parts and software that go into creating a Windows PC from the ground up, from motherboard to browser, and some measures you can take to protect yourself and gain stability or speed along the way. This article won't teach you how to put a computer together, just about the basic parts required and how they work with each other. I've also posted links to where you can find and order the actual necessary pieces for a new computer you might want to have me build. The more you know, the better. It might take awhile to read, but I guarantee it will be well worth your time. Even if you have no current plans to build or upgrade a PC, the information here may help you pinpoint a problem area you didn't realize existed. For anybody who is already experienced with fixing or building PC's, this article might not be for you, but I've tried to include aspects of importance to pros and newbies alike. The parts I've included here are suitable for a newer computer only, and are not usable in most PC's made before about 2006, but they're still a good general idea of the essential pieces that make up a PC. If you have questions about specific upgrades or replacements for your older computer, please use the Contact page to send me an email directly. Keep in mind that in 2005-2007 there has been a major shift in the standards for how PC parts are put together, before and after which most everything can work and fit together, but between the two things can get complicated. I buy all parts from Newegg, the best, cheapest, closest, most reliable online computer part store. Buying parts online versus in a store makes all the difference in the world in quality and price. My part in the matter has to do with working with you directly, pinpointing the precise upgrades or replacements you might need, or if you're going for a new computer, what you're looking for in terms of what you want to be able to do. From our discussions I can create a pre-made shopping list for you to follow through and purchase yourself, which is preferrable. When you recieve the shipment (usually 1-3 business days later) you would then call me to make an appointment for me to come collect the parts and perform the service (aka putting it together). If you are more comfortable paying me a lump sum (inc. shipping and tax) for the agreed-upon parts in advance so that I can order them instead, that can be arranged as well, but I still don't collect my flat fee for the labor (usually $100) until after the computer is on your desk and working. A basic windows PC (or computer in general), essentially consists of a processor, a motherboard, RAM, a hard drive, some kind of optical drive such as a CD or DVD burner, a case to screw everything down and hold it all together, input and output peripherals such as your monitor, mice and keyboard, printer and speakers, and a software operating system with applications to run it all and translate the raw machinations of the beast into data that you the human being can read and use. A computer starts with a processor, the basic computer switching mechanism, which processes billions of questions asking for one of two answers - true or false, on or off, voltage or no voltage - and it works entirely in these simple electrical terms.  It's the "brain" of the computer, if you could call it that. The language that the processor understands  and creates is binary, meaning it's composed of those two elements only, on and off, represented by the numbers 1 and 0. The most common processors are made by Intel, namely the Pentium, Celeron, and Centrino processors. I use and prefer the ones made  by AMD, such as the Athlon XP, 64 or 64-X2 processors, for price, stability, speed and coolness (asking that many questions generates a lot of heat). The newest ones are dual-core or quad-core, meaning that there are actually two or more miniature processors in the same piece working in tandum. The Playstation 3 game console, for example, has 8 processor cores. (Back to Top) | Average Price for a good AMD 64-x2 Processor: $80-90. - Item on Newegg |  | The processor is one of many pieces that are placed in the motherboard, the biggest circuit panel in your computer, which basically connects everything in the PC to each other and regulates where the information is going, like a butler to the unruly processor. It's where your video card plugs in so the computer can display what's happening in your computer on the monitor. It's where the memory  (RAM) lives and talks to the processor and serves as its short-term memory bank, where the hard drive plugs in so it can permanently store the conversations between the processor and the memory if necessary. As a general rule, you want to buy a motherboard that has as many available options as possible, for the most reasonable price and use. You don't need to buy a monster, basically, if you have a good idea of what you want. Most new motherboards have a PCI Express 16x  slot for a graphics card, and 2-4 slots for lesser PCI or PCI express cards, such as modems and wireless network cards. Most also have connections for an ethernet cable, the thick one that looks like a phone cable that might be coming from your router, dorm-room or office wall, or Cable/DSL modem. It also has all the connections for your speakers, keyboard, mouse, and USB devices. You can buy motherboards that have built-in graphics, yet they might not be up to par with the newest flashiest games and so on; however, for basic video watching, internet browsing and word processing, one of these motherboards works just fine, and the available slot is still there if you want to upgrade your video card later. (Back to Top) | Average price for a decent AMD Motherboard with integrated Video: $60-80 - Item on Newegg |  | RAM (Random Access Memory) is the short-term memory of the computer, where the answers that the processor generates and the current data that you are using are stored temporarily. Without the RAM, the processor would endlessly have to go to the hard drive for every little thing it needed, which  would be slow and impractical. Instead, it has all the important stuff that it's using at any given time right there at hand; the more RAM there is, the more the processor can do at any given time. Most of the computers that you have or might be using have been  made between 2002 and 2006, having about 256 - 512 Megabytes of RAM. 256MB nowadays doesn't quite cut it, so if you have this amount then I would recommend a memory upgrade to 512MB or higher. You can tell how much RAM you have by right-clicking the "My Computer" icon on your desktop and selecting "Properties". The newest computers have 2 - 4 gigabytes of RAM (A Gigabyte [GB] is 1024 times as big as a Megabyte [MB]) or even 6 - 8GB, and the memory is a different kind that reads twice as fast as well. Most newer motherboards support up to 8GB of RAM, but most computers that I build will have 2GB, which is plenty for current applications. (Back to Top) | | |  | The hard drive is your computer's long-term or permanent memory, where the files used by the operating system and all your programs are stored, so that every time your computer boots up it can recall all the necessary operating files into the RAM for you and the processor to use them. If you have music, video, or pictures on your computer, this is usually where  they are stored as well. While the RAM is a fast-moving random-access cache that only stores about 1/2 - 2 GB at a time, the hard drive is much slower and stores about 100 - 250 GB at a time. You can see how much space your hard drive has by double-clicking to open "My Computer", right-clicking the icon for your hard drive, and selecting "properties". Most computers built from 2001 - 2004 have a 40 - 80GB hard drive, 2005 - 2007 a 100 - 160GB hard drive, and most of the newer ones have 200 - 300GB or higher. For the best of your ability, unless you are a constant downloader of videos and games and music, most people will find it difficult to fill a 250GB hard drive, especially if you have a DVD or CD burner to back up your files. Hard drives are usually categorized by what kind of connection they use to connect to the motherboard, and most modern hard drives use a Serial ATA (SATA) connection, whereas if you are replacing an older hard drive from 2005 all the way back to about 1998 you will be looking for a simple ATA hard drive using an IDE connection. (Back to Top) | | |  | The Optical Drive, usually a CD or DVD burner, is how new software or other files permanently stored on a disc are inputted into your computer, and also how you can permanently store important files from your hard drive. In the old days, this was done via magnetic-storage floppy disks that many of you might remember. Nowadays, most everything can be done by optical laser technology, and the floppy drives are left out of most if not all comptuters, but it can still be handy to include one since they are still pretty cheap. The DVD Burner, though, is a marvel of a thing - the newest ones burn dual-layer discs, up to 8GB of data, and if you have the right software they can back up or make new DVD movies. There is also an available technology called Lightscribe that gives you the ability to burn a holographic image on the top of the right kind of disc. (Back to Top) | |  | The computer's case is what holds it all together, the big metal tower box that you might recognize as the "computer", sometimes called the CPU. This is where all the parts screw down and where your power and reset buttons are. Some people who have aspirations of building a computer overlook or underestimate the importance of this part, but the case should be solid,  well-built as well as good-looking, because let's face it, who wants to work with a computer that either looks like crud or falls apart? The case is like the chassis and shell body of your car, so it has to be strong and suitable to hold all your computer's vital organs. Like a car, you can get fancy flashy cases with neon lights and clear viewing panels to see your computer's innards, or you can get a basic economy model that doesn't attract too much attention. Most computer cases that you buy come with the power supply or PSU, which is a smaller metal box that sits at the upper back of your average computer tower. This is a vital part as well, because it transforms and regulates all the power that's coming into your computer. Into this box is where the cable plugs from your 115-volt AC wall socket, but the actual computer doesn't use this kind of power - the power supply actually turns that raw juice into specific small amounts of DC voltage for each of your individual components. Many people underestimate or overlook the importance of this piece, but if your power supply is malfunctioning it may cause serious issues in your computer - it also attracts the greatest amount of dust and corrosion and generates the most heat, so it's usually an important place to look if your PC is frequently dying suddenly or freezing. If a power cable coming from your power supply to one of the parts inside your computer is slightly askew or sparking, your entire computer will most likely act funny if it works at all. Power supplies are rated by the maximum amount of power in watts that they can support, like a light bulb, and when buying a new case and power supply for your computer, it's a good idea to look for one that's about 400 - 450W, though you probably won't use that much. Most box-store computers or Dells are 250 - 350W. (Back to Top) Average price for a decent case with 400-450W PSU - $ 60-75 - Item on Newegg *Note - the particular case linked here also comes with keyboard, mouse and speakers - combinations such as this are available if you take a good look around. |  | The video card is another circuit panel, like your motherboard, that plugs into the motherboard and handles the display of your computer. Your computer's monitor plugs into the video card. An actual video card is an independent part that you can insert into most motherboards, but as mentioned earlier you can purchase motherboards that incorporate the video card into  their existing circuitry, and most computers you buy from Big Box or Dell already have this configuration since it is cheaper and easier to build. If you work with a large amount of video, do graphic editing or 3D design or play 3D games such as First-Person shooters like Half-Life 2 or Prey, you will probably want a dedicated graphics card. Cards are rated usually by  numbers within a specific line of graphics chips that are released by one of two main companies (NVidia or ATi), the amount of information that can be transferred between the card and the motherboard at a time in bits (older 128-bit, newer 256-bit), and the amount of memory they have (like regular RAM except totally dedicated to video), which on the newer cards is around 256MB all the way to 1GB. What type of card you get is usually a matter of personal preference, they are comparable and interchangeable per price and power, though I personally prefer NVidia for stability, color depth and range of options. The newest video cards connect to newer motherboards via a PCI Express slot, whereas older video cards use AGP or just simple PCI. (Back to Top) Average price for a monster 512MB 256-bit PCI Express Video Card - $140-170 - Item on Newegg
|  | The computer monitor displays all the information coming from or going into your computer. It's essentially your window into what's happening at any given time, and if you really want to improve the look and feel of your computer experience, you'll want  a big one with lots of space. Each size of monitor has a certain amount of desktop space in pixels that it can display, which basically means the amount of real estate that you have to do what you need to on the screen. There are different aspect ratios according to whether the monitor is full-screen or wide-screen - full-screen is about 4x3 and wide-screen is 16x9, the first number being the factor of the width and the last being the factor of the height. The most common pixel size for full-screen 15-inch monitors is 1024x768 pixels, the most common for a full 17-inch is 1152x864, and the most common for a full 19- inch is 1280x1024. There are essentially two types of monitors - LCD and CRT. LCD (Lithium Crystal Diode) is a flat panel composed of microscopic crystals that turn to display different colors, and CRT's (Cathode Ray Tubes) are the usual long bulky TV-like monitors that create an image by firing electrons from a high-speed gun at the back at a phosphorous-metal screen at the front. LCD's are obviously far more detailed, sleeker, and use less power, while CRT's gobble power and create x-rays that can cause cancer over a long period of exposure. There are two main connection types as well - DVI and VGA - one Digital, one Analog. All CRT's use VGA, and most LCD's can use either connection. (Back to Top) Peripherals such as your printer, mouse, keyboard and speakers, are how your input as a user of the computer is recieved, and how much of the information is played back for your use. You can also get wireles mice and keyboards and even wireless  printers to make for less clutter on your desk (and wow your friends and neighbors). Almost all mice and keyboards and printers that you find will be able to plug into any given current motherboard, so the choice is a matter of preference and fanciness. You can get fancy 5.1 or 8.1 surround sound speakers, but they will only work in full surround if you have a special sound card or a motherboard that has incorporated surround sound. If you're building a new computer you can also find cases that include the mouse and speakers and keyboard, as shown earlier. (Back to Top) | Average price for a simple Mouse and Keyboard combo - $20-25 - Item on Newegg
Average price for basic power speakers - $15-20 - Item on Newegg |  | | |
Now that we have all the hardware together, the computer needs some basic programming in order to run, a language so that it can communicate with you the user and display the otherwise-gibberish language of the processor and RAM in a nice handy graphic environment that you can see and understand. This basic programming is software called the operating system, and the most common type is Windows. Windows XP is the most common OS that you will find on computers ranging back to about 2001, and it's still (in my opinion) the best and most efficient. If you are only upgrading anything besides your processor, motherboard, or hard drive, upgrading or reinstalling Windows shouldn't be necessary, but much of the time it helps anyway to refresh the system. In the case of upgrading or retiring an old computer, you can use the license or CD key (usually found on a holographic sticker somewhere on the outside of your computer's case or the bottom of a laptop) from that copy of windows for the new one, provided that you aren't using the same key for two different computers (legally, that is). If you're building or having me build a brand new PC and you don't have an old key available for use, you need to buy a new copy of Windows with a new key. I personally have custom-made Windows XP CD's that take up half the space in your hard drive and RAM and run twice as fast, having removed much of the unnecessary invasive programming from the original Disc - and these can use any available legal Windows XP key. Windows Vista is actually the newest version of windows, but I personally don't use it or install it by choice since it is largely invasive and bloated, chock full of errors and unnecessary things. They've also removed the command console and much of the ability to repair it when things do go wrong, which they do quite often. Sure it looks flashier and has "cool stuff", but it also constricts your use of the PC that much more - though that might be preferable for some less-experienced users. Vista is largely unsuitable for installation on any computer with less than 1GB of RAM. (Back to Top) Beyond the Operating System and your basic PC platform, you have all your various applications, including word processors, anti-viruses, browsers, DVD burners, image editors, email and so on, that basically let you do all the things you need to do on the computer. Most computers that come from a store are loaded with lots of free junk programs - "free" subscription plans for services and trial software - that may only last a couple months and then flop out, which does more harm than good. The computer companies get a kick-back from the software makers for doing this, which allows the computer manufacturers to sell computers for less. Stores like Best Buy will try and convince you that you need to combat this by paying lots of money for their anti-virus and anti-spyware applications, and this is one solution, but not a necessary one. You can get most of the valuable and reliable software you need totally free on the internet, provided you do so with knowledge and discretion, from this website, or from my expert installation of them. The anti-viruses, browsers, and Office software that I have posted here are totally non-invasive and spyware-free, tested and approved, and completely free of charge for your personal use. On every computer I build or fix, I install a slew of programs that include Comodo Antivirus Beta, Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird, and Spybot and Ad-Aware, as well as OpenOffice.org, a free-source version of Microsoft Office, if requested. Of course I can also install whatever legitimate paid software that you wish. My software and hardware labor services for putting together a new computer or refurbishing an old one fall within $100. My software services for cleaning, setting-up, securing and optimizing a new computer from a store cost $50. (Back to Top) ~~~~~ So there you have it. A good, reliable new computer that doesn't break the bank, assembled according to your specifications and potentially overseen by a caring, local expert hand and not a factory line. Of course different proper parts can be changed and selected for a different configuration - the ones listed here have been selected for the best ratio of price to average use. Total parts for basic tower with listed parts, keyboard/mouse/speakers, integrated graphics, no new monitor, and using an existing Windows Key - about $400. Total parts for basic tower with listed parts, keyboard/mouse/speakers, added monster graphics, no new monitor, and using an existing Windows Key - about $550. Total parts for tower with listed parts and 19" LCD monitor, keyboard/mouse/speakers, integrated graphics, using an existing Windows Key - about $570. Total parts for tower with listed parts and 19" LCD monitor, keyboard/mouse/speakers, added monster graphics, using an existing Windows Key - about $720. Average shipping and tax for all parts - about $50-70. If a new Windows key is needed, add to these prices $90. To have me build, configure and set-up any of these machines, add $100. Considering the average pricing and service costs after all is said and done (with necessary software and optimization, without Mozilla) to get out the door at Best Buy or any of the other big box stores, this pricing is very competitive. Plus you will always have me available to help you personally with any problems that might arise, as well as the knowledge you have recieved in this article and whatever I might teach you in the actual process. Again, knowledge can help you prevent problems from arising and deal with them when they do. Again again, the more you know, the better. Thank you for reading this far into this basic overview of PC's and their parts. I hope you learned a few things, and that you'll contact me if you have any questions about the information or services that I've offered here. I appreciate your time and look forward to possibly doing business with you. Again, this site, its articles and downloads, are a free resource of information and tools for you to gather as much knowledge as possible, and in this light my services are that much more valuable. Happy Hunting,
T.C. Geek
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+Desktop+Memory)
Kingston 2GB DDR2 Memory Kit 
Seagate 250GB SATA Hard Drive
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 2.6GHz