Choosing your platform

The first step in building your PC is deciding on which platform you want to base your PC around. This will probably depend on your budget. having a budget to work to will be very important as you may well go buying anything you please and end up not affording it. Its best to sit down and work out how much you are able to spend on your project. Then buy the components up to your budget changing things until it fits in with your available money. 

You should now be in a position to choose your platform. If you find you have a large budget and can afford all the latest technology, you are in a good position as you do not need to compromise anything in your machine, the platform you decide on will simply be the one that suites you the most, go to product info to check out the latest CPU's or see the right hand menu for a list of latest CPU reviews.

Today's PC are normally built around one of 6 CPU's from the top two manufacturers. AMD and Intel have commanded the CPU market for years now and constantly bring out new chips to beat the opposition. If you are buying a PC today you will either be looking at :-

If you are on a budget that is not so large, now is the time to decide what the machine is used for the most and build the PC closer to those items than anything else. For example if you play a lot of music but you are not a gamer, you can spend more money on your sound card and will not need such a powerful CPU or Graphics card.

It is important to know which platform you require before proceeding because everything else will have to be built around it. The platform I specify as your CPU, because this is the main brain of your PC and the motherboard etc will have to be built around this and there type depends on what CPU you choose. Like most stores do, the CPU is specified as the machine its self and the rest are the components of the machine.  

Once you have chosen which platform is right for you, you can begin to have a look at what components you wish to buy. there are many online retailers that will offer you great deals on you PC components, Savastore.com is one of the retailers I use as its been in the business for many years now. Once you have all of your components together run down the checklist again to make sure you have everything. Also be sure to confirm all of your components are compatible with each other. This is usually down to the motherboard you have. Every component goes through the motherboard so please don't order until you know that your components are compatible. Again I stress Its best not to start until you have the equipment so you can keep your mind on track. If you have everything you need in terms of components you will need to have few different tools handy Personally I always have the following to hand when building a PC

• Ratchet Screwdriver more than one screw type will probably be necessary
• Anti-Static wrist band
• Pliers
• One of those fancy things that pick up small screws if you drop them (I'd appreciate the name of this please =) ).
• Lots of Coffee (for installing windows and Drivers)

The ant-static wrist band is a very good idea because the slightest bit of static electricity could ruin a CPU or some RAM in an instant. You may be required also to pull out steel plates from the case, this is where it would be safer to use pliers than your hands. You will find that you can remove the plates with your hands but the edges of the case are normally sharp and if any injury can be avoided it's always worth it.

Next - Motherboard CPU and RAM