Since nobody's given a really thorough explanation yet, I figured I'll throw in what I know.
-Hard Drive
The hard drive provides storage for your computer. To put this in non-computer terms, think of it like a large file cabinet. Anything you're not really using at the moment is stored there. Obviously, the larger the hard drive, the more stuff you can store on it. Also, a faster hard drive allows you to access those file faster, which can be a pretty significant difference sometimes.
The main things you should look at when buying a hard drive are storage space and RPMs. Storage space is measured in gigabytes (GB) or terabytes (TB), where 1 TB = 1024 GB (it's a binary thing. 1024 = 2^10), and as I mentioned before, more storage space means it can hold more stuff like music, movies, applications, etc. RPMs stands for rotations per minutes and it is a general measure for how fast data can be accessed on your hard drive.
-Graphics
The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) is pretty self-explanitory; it processes... well, graphics. Go figure. There's a lot of work being done now to allow other kinds of processing to be done on the GPU, like OpenCL and NVIDIA's CUDA framework, but you don't really need to worry about that sort of thing unless you're a software developer.
-RAM
If the hard drive is like a file cabinet, RAM is like your desktop; Whatever you're currently working with gets put here temporarily. Again, like the hard drive, The more you have, the more stuff you can put on it, which usually results in faster performance.
RAM is a bit tricky when you're buying it on your own. You've got the choice between DDR2 and DDR3, and both have different frequencies and timings between them. Check with the motherboard you get to find out if it needs DDR3 or DDR2, and it should also list which frequencies it requires. Also, motherboards using the X58 chipset have triple-channel RAM, so you need at least 3 sticks to get the most bandwidth. This can be a pretty big factor with price.
-Fans//Case
Not a lot to say here. Read recommendations before buying.
-Power Supply
Not a lot to say here either. Make sure your PSU can handle all of your equipment, and you'll be fine.
-MotherBoard
Ah, the mobo. Fun times to be had here. If the CPU is brain of a computer, the mobo is the spinal cord. All of your components will connect to the motherboard, and all the external connections as well.
You forgot the CPU!!! 
The CPU, as mentioned before, is usually compared to the brain. This is where all the logic and computations are done. Depending on what you're using your computer for, this is arguably the most important part. If you're building a gaming rig, though, the GPU is easily the most important, followed by the CPU.
Intel's new Core i7's are pretty sweet from what I hear. I plan on getting one when I build my next computer, and everything I've heard about them says they're sick chips. The Core 2 lineup is really cheap right now, though, and you can get motherboards for them really cheaply as well, so those are still viable too. Even AMD's Phenom chips aren't too bad, so you might want to compare your options before deciding which one you want. If money isn't a problem, though, I'd definitely recommend the Core i7.
Maximum PC has good equipment reviews and explains things pretty well. Try there for more info.
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On June 15 2009 07:30 Folca wrote:
Well... I've seen a ton of my friends start to build and construct computers from buying their own parts online
Apparently this gives the edge by saving money, with lots of discounts, but do not receive any type of warrenty or support.
I've grown a lot of interest in computers these days and why do they respond as they do with parts
So I was hoping anyone could give me a guide or help on each part of a computer consisting of every basic type of computer part
-Hard Drive
-OS
-Graphics
-RAM
-Fans//Case
-Power Supply
-MotherBoard
-Anything I forgot (Maybe Soundcard, networking adapters w/e)
Basically what I want to know is:
-What each part is
-The purpose of those parts
-Any interesting information
I really gotten a neat interest on computers, and really don't know where to start on my information researching
So thats why I come to TL.net for a neat help from the community
Thanks a lot.
-Hard Drive
Basically, the permanent storage of your computer. Contains all your data, OS, etc. You can pretty much put as many as you want into your computer as long as your motherboard has enough ports to support them.
There is also something involving multiple hard drives known as RAID which can provide information redundancy or performance increase at the cost of electric bills, wasted space, and other things. Go to wikipedia for a more detailed explanation, as there are several types which each to different things.
When buying a hard drive, know that there are basically 2 form factors. 3.5 and 2.5.
3.5s are used for desktops, and 2.5s are basically for notebooks, ps3s, etc. 3.5's are cheaper and have more space and performance, so typically you want to go for them.
There are two types of hard drives, traditional magnetic hard drives, based upon a series of rotating platters, and SSDs (Solid state disk) which used flash memory. Magnetic hard drives have achieved capacities of up to 2TBs, and have good price per gigabyte.
SSDs are the new thing, with excellent performance, especially in random access times. They have reached capacities of up to 512GB, typically use less energy and are less prone to failure. The catch is that they are extremely expensive. (Currently the only 512GB model is $1600)
Big players in the traditional hard drive industry are Western Digital, Samsung, Hitachi, and Seagate. (Theres some other japanese companies that escape my name at the moment).
I recommend Western Digital drives.
OCZ and Intel basically have the SSD market by the balls but there are a myriad of companies that I don't feel like listing. OCZ Vertex or Summit models would be the ones to buy at the moment but generally everyone feels that SSDs aren't worth it at the moment because of the cost. They ARE the future though.
-OS
Pretty obvious what this is. Since any true builder isnt a mac guy, theres basically two options, being Linux (hundreds of distros), and Windows.
Linux has the advantage of being free, open source, and frequently updated. Kinda intimidating towards the new user though. (Ubuntu is fairly straight forward though so I would recommend that distro if you feel like going into linux)
Windows if you're lazy and don't like learning new stuff. It just works (for the most part!)
Assuming you don't pirate, get Vista, or wait until Windows 7, as that will be coming out later this year. Just don't listen to those XP hugging anti-vista guys. (I personally love windows 7)
The difference between 32-bit and 64-bit is in speed and how much ram you are able to use.
Get a 64-bit OS.
-Graphics
Used for 3d rendering in games, photoshop, 3d CAD, other workstation type stuff.
Similar to a cpu, but different in several ways, namely in how its utilized.
In ages past, they used to run on PCI and AGP slots, but pretty much everyone has stopped making those, and we all use PCI-E x16 cards.
In the world of graphics cards, there now only remain two companies, ATI (AMD owned), and NVIDIA. They basically make the GPUs, and ship them to other companies like EVGA, XFX, SAPPHIRE, and GIGABYTE, so they can make the cards.
At the moment, ATI typically has the best bang for the buck with their 4000 series cards, namely the 4770, 4850, 4870, and 4890.
NVidia has been lagging behind recently, but still competes with their GT200 series of cards, including the GTS 250, GTX260, GTX275, GTX285, and GTX295.
ATI or NVIDIA up to you, based upon what kind of deal you find, and what type of games you want to play (ati and nvidia use different architectures, resulting in different performance in games where the cards should perform similarly).
The brand of the card doesn't really matter as long as its not Sparkle.
What you also should consider is crossfire (ati) and SLI (Nvidia), which are basically their things for using multiple cards. Generally, Crossfire/SLI can provide the best performance for the price, but if given the oppurtunity, always go for the single powerful card vs the dual cards so you can crossfire/sli them later if you want.
-RAM
Where the temporary information is stored in your computer. Ram is wiped every time your computer restarts.
2 types at the moment, DDR2 (older) and DDR3 (newer)
We're in the process of switching over from DDR2 to DDR3, but DDR2 still performs well and can result in some good deals.
Ram is basically separated by speed, you will see ram advertised as DDR2-800, DDR3-1333, etc.
Make sure your motherboard supports your ram. Your motherboard specs will typically list a ram speed, you can use all ram speeds equal to and lower than that number, but DDR2 is not compatible with DDR3.
Typically, you don't need more than 4-6 GBs unless you plan to run VMs or something. Your FPS will not improve depending on whether you have 24GBs of ram or 6 for the most part.
Some of the big ram names at the moment are OCZ, Corsair, G-SKILL, PATRIOT, Kingston, Geil.
OCZ ram usually performs great for their prices and I've never gone wrong buying a stick from them. I prefer OCZ usually because I can find great deals (if you don't mind rebates that is).
-Fans//Case
Cases house all your components and also are involved in cooling them. It protects them from shock damage, and electrostatic discharge. No longer stuck in the 90's, we've come a long way from the beige box, with a myriad of colors and shapes to choose from.
Cases are typically made of aluminum, steel, and plastic, and come in 3 major form factors.
ATX mid - standard
ATX FULL - Larger
microATX and others - used in HTPCs and other small form factor computers.
No need to go larger than mid unless plan to have a ton of hard drives, feel the need for better cooling, or just like really large things.
Everyone and their extended family buy either an ANTEC, COOLERMASTER, or LIAN-LI case.
I prefer the look of COOLERMASTER cases personally, but review each case upon its own merits. (look, space, cooling, ease of use)
Fans cool your components by either moving cool air into your case or blowing hot air out. Some people have better results with positive or negative pressure systems, but I always try to keep it even.
Typically, fans come in these sizes
80mm- Small, loud, annoying.
120mm- Perfect ratio of air pushed and loudness.
140mm- Bit bigger
250mm- Quiet and push a lot of air.
If you're looking to buy extra fans, recommended ones are Yate-Loons, Antec Tri-Cools, and Scythe S-FLEX. Noctua fans are really high quality, but are expensive as heck and have an ugly brown color painted on every damn one.
You're going to find fans on your cpu cooler, on your graphics card, in your power supply, and hopefully mounted on your case. You typically won't need to buy fans unless you want to add more to your case (provided you have open places to mount them), or for water cooling.
Just make sure your computer has adequate cooling because overheating is really annoying. Lower temps will also preserve the lifespan of your components.
-Power Supply
These provide power to all your components. Its really important that you don't fuck up choosing one because a bad powersupply can ruin the rest of your components, and if you're really unlucky, or choose a bad brand, yours can end up on fire, exploding, etc.
Make sure your power supply has enough oomph to run all your components smoothly. 400-500W is typically good for a normal system, but will increase if you plan to overclock, use multiple graphics cards, lots of hard drives, water cooling, etc. Use this as a general guide.
http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
Make sure you're buying a reputable brand. Off brand power supplies are a recipe for disaster. You can't go wrong with a Corsair PSU in my opinion, but OCZ, PC&C, Silverstone, and other brands can be just as good. Make sure you go towards a trusted source when choosing a power supply.
Modular or Regular - Modular Power supplies basically are the same accept have the cable detached and you plug them in, saving you a lot of clutter and cable hiding. This also increasing the electrical resistance. I never really bothered since i have pretty good cable management and generally the non modular power supplies perform more efficiently.
80 PLUS efficiency is basically a label which brands can stick on their power supplies when it meets their certain required levels of efficiency, saving you money on the electric bill.
-CPU
Processes stuff..
Between AMD and Intel, Intel currently has the faster performing processors, but the Phenom II series from AMD provides GREAT bang for your buck.
Which you choose greatly depends on your budget. $1000+ dollars should use Intel Core i7 processors, (i5 when it comes). $500-$1000 should use AMD Phenom II quad cores. Anything lower probably should stick to Intel Core 2 Duo models.
Quad Core vs Dual Core
No reason to go dual core if you have the money, as more and more things are starting to support multiple threads. Dual Core processors still perform pretty well in games for the price though.
-Motherboard
This basically ties everything together. Everything needs to be compatible with this to work. Major things that should be decided are AMD or Intel, ram speed / amount of ram, whether it supports / has enough spaces for SLI / Crossfire, enough PCI / PCI-E slots for your sound card, wireless network card, RAID card, etc.
When choosing a motherboard, you just want everything to work smoothly. I generally try begin with the motherboard and then look for the parts, but you can easily work the other way if you find a couple of good deals.
2 form factors.
mATX - Smaller
ATX- Industry standard, use this.
ASUS and GIGABYTE typically make the best boards, but other brands work as well. Doesn't really matter too much unless you plan to overclock, as some overclock better than others. MSI particularly has a bad rap for making shitty mobos though.
-Anything I forgot (Maybe Soundcard, networking adapters w/e)
Don't need a soundcard unless you have speakers or headphones to match it. I would say at least $50 headphones to make the investment worth it. I would recommend Asus Xonar cards if you do want to buy a sound card, as they do make a difference.
PCI vs PCI-E soundcards perform the same generally, but PCI-E cards are preferred if you're already using other cards that use PCI, as they share the same bus? I think.
Don't need a network adaptor unless you want wireless.
Everything else is built into the motherboard.
If you ever need help choosing parts just make a blog post or give me a pm, someone will help you choose out the right parts.
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EPT
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