PC Hardware - Components Of A Personal Computer

So you decided to obtain your next computer the hard way; by building it yourself. What's great about building your own PC is it's actually easier than most people think, inexpensive, gives the builder complete control of every PC hardware component installed, it's technically rewarding and you end up with the exact PC hardware that you really need to fit your computing needs.

The PC hardware components used in the assembly of any computer system will depend on what task the PC will be used for and the environment it will be located. For a home computer to be used for remedial task such as homework, email and internet browsing, the PC hardware components can be very basic as none of these task are too taxing for a modern PC. If it's going to be used in an office setting or workplace, the components can be similar to a home PC or possibly a little higher end if any graphics design or video editing will be required. Building a gaming rig is a bit trickier and costly, so for now we'll assume you're just building a basic home computer.

A computer system is basically made up of a tower, a keyboard, monitor and a mouse, but that's what they teach in grade school or what you receive out of the box when buying a prebuilt PC. Technically, you need to be aware that the computer tower itself is made up of the following PC hardware:

CPU	RAM	Motherboards	Video Cards
Hard Drives	Power Supplies	Peripherals	Monitors

• Processor - It's the most important PC hardware component of the computer and technically, it itself is the CPU which stands for Central Processing Unit. Without it, there would be no computing at all. It will also decide what other PC hardware components will be required to finish the build. If you're familiar with processor brands, there are basically two: Intel and AMD. The brand and type of processor you get will determine your type of motherboard. The processor you purchase will also determine how fast your computer is going to be.

• Motherboard - This large slab of PVC and electronics puts everything together. The motherboard you purchase is determined by the processor. Almost all motherboards are built for a particular brand and type of processor and it will say so on the box or manual. This complex piece of electronics also has the slots for your RAM, video card, various expansion cards, your DVD drive, floppy drives and hard disk drives. It is also where your mouse, keyboard, network and other PC hardware input/output devices will be connected.

• RAM - Stands for random access memory. It's basically where the computer temporarily keeps and processes data before storage. The more RAM you have, the more temporary storage there will be for applications. The more RAM you have, the faster your computer will be. There are many types of RAM but the most common today is called DDRAM. Ask the shop for help on the best RAM for your motherboard.

• Case/Power Supply - The case is what houses all the PC hardware components. The casing is often sold along with the power supply unit (PSU) that will feed power to your motherboard, hard disk, drives and monitor. CPU casings come in different shapes, sizes, colors and designs unlike the simple beige boxes of old. For simple home use, many prefer smaller and slimmer casings. If you plan to use several hard disks, optical drives and other expansion cards, you may require a more expensive and larger full tower case to properly fit a large amount of PC hardware.

• Hard Disk - The Hard Disk Drive (HDD) is the computer's main storage unit. It's where we keep our operating system, programs or application and their data such as music, videos, photos, documents, databases and spreadsheets.

• Video Card - Some motherboards don't have video built-in or if they do, they will need to bite off a chunk of your RAM. If you don't want to share your RAM with video or plan on doing any PC gaming, then you'll need to purchase a dedicated video card.

• Drives - These include CD-ROM drives, DVD Drives, floppy disk drives and more recently, flash card drives. A DVD drive should be enough for a basic unit.

After putting your PC together, here's the rest of the PC hardware you will need.

• Monitor - What's a computer without a monitor? Monitors come in different sizes and like TV sets, their screen real estate is measured in inches. If you're building a unit on a tight budget, you could temporarily get a used bulky CRT unit that comes cheap these days or you could purchase a small flat LCD which is okay for home and office use. Larger screens are best for gaming, movie watching, CAD applications and spreadsheet intensive users.

• Keyboard - There's not much to be said about keyboards except that you could choose between a PS2 and USB connection, purchase one with extra shortcut keys for convenience and choose a larger or smaller keyboard depending on your taste.

• Mouse - There are plenty species of mice to go around. Like the keyboard, you could choose a USB or PS2 connection, choose between the traditional ball and optical mouse (choose optical), and different sizes and designs.

• Operating System - A computer is as good as a paperweight without an operating system. The assembly route you've taken will require that you install one yourself. Feel free to choose between Windows and various Linux distributions. Windows is familiar and easy to use but it will cost you while Linux is completely free and easy to use but technical support won't be so easy.

You may also need these other PC hardware devices.

• USB web camera or webcam - This is for folks who like to video chat or post on Youtube.

• Printer - An optional but important component to print documents and photos.

• Speakers - So you can listen to MP3s, movies or internet radio.