How to build an inexpensive home computer. How to assemble a computer yourself from components
A gaming computer can be considered a computer that is capable of playing all modern games, providing an acceptable level of comfort from this entertainment. But user requirements differ, so very different devices fall into the category of gaming PCs. For many users, it is enough that games play smoothly, the game world is displayed correctly and there are no control problems. Professional gamers (who make money from gaming) and those who spend a significant portion of their leisure time playing games have more stringent requirements for PC performance.
This material will tell you how to assemble a gaming PC with your own hands, both for users who just need a smooth rendering of the picture on the screen, and for gamers for whom the quality of graphics is paramount. Of course, for these two categories of buyers, both the performance of the components and their cost will differ significantly (up to ten times). But the general recommendations on how to assemble a gaming PC with your own hands will be similar for everyone.
Assembling a PC on your own is, first of all, a solution that allows you to select the optimal configuration for the needs of a particular user. Also, setting up your own computer is a way to save money. The question of how to build a cheap gaming PC interests many users. Unfortunately, the performance of a computer largely depends on its cost. Therefore, it is now impossible to assemble a completely cheap (for example, for 10-15 thousand rubles) gaming PC.
Where to begin
Budget is a key factor when choosing components. Therefore, first of all, you should decide how much money will be allocated for the purchase. It also matters whether you need the system unit itself, or peripheral devices (monitor, acoustics, keyboard, mouse).
Each manufacturer's model range includes several sockets (processor sockets). Each of them requires a motherboard with its own connector. If the CPU is equipped with Socket 1155, then the motherboard must have the same. In addition, you should consider the board's compatibility with specific processor models. As a rule, board manufacturers publish lists of supported CPUs on their official websites.
The requirements for the board itself are determined based on the number and capacity of RAM sticks that will be installed, the number of connected drives (HDD, SSD), their interfaces (SATA, PCI-Express or M.2) and overclocking capabilities. The future upgrade also matters: if one is planned in a couple of months or years, you need to choose a motherboard with a large number of interfaces and a fresh chipset (for example, MSI H61M-P31/W8 for Intel, ASUS M5A78L-M LX for AMD). If you are renting a computer for a long time and there is no provision for upgrading its components, you can save a little on the system board.
An advanced motherboard is needed if an upgrade is planned
Video card
The GPU in a gaming computer is just as (if not more) important than the CPU. It is the video card that is responsible for processing the three-dimensional image and displaying it on the display. However, you can’t just pick up and install a powerful video card and save on other hardware. Information for subsequent processing by the graphics processor is prepared by the “CPU + RAM” combination, which, in turn, receives data from the drive (HDD and SSD).
A weak processor will not allow you to unleash the potential of a gaming video card
The “weak link” (regardless of whether it is the processor, video card or hard drive) will drag the system down, becoming a bottleneck. An analogy can be drawn with a logistics terminal: no matter how high its throughput is, no matter how many cars are loaded, if there is a lack of loading equipment and labor, expanding the capabilities of the terminal itself will not help speed up its work.
Tandems like “inexpensive Intel Core i3 (or similar AMD FX 4xxx series) + Geforce GTX Titan X” are thus extremely ineffective and a waste of money. The “ceiling” of such processors is video cards of the Geforce GTX 750 Ti class. Such a chip will not reveal the potential of a more productive GPU.
To assess whether the combination of the selected processor and video card will have the optimal balance of capabilities, you can compare their prices. The cost of the GPU should exceed the price of the CPU. In the budget category (Intel Core i3, AMD FX 4xxx and 6xxx series) the difference is 10-30%, and in the niche of more expensive devices it can reach 100%. That is, if you plan to buy a processor for 8,000 rubles, then there is no point in installing a video card for 15,000 or more. But the GeForce GTX 980, costing up to 50 thousand, will be optimally combined with an Intel Core i7 CPU for 25-30 thousand.
You can install 2 video cards if the motherboard supports SLI (for Nvidia GeForce) or CrossFire (AMD Radeon) technologies. In the budget segment, such a solution looks pointless (1 GPU for 15 thousand will be more productive than 2 for 8 thousand). In the top class, connecting two video cards allows you to achieve an increase in performance that cannot be realized in other ways.
Two video cards in SLI will increase the performance of your gaming PC
If you plan to upgrade your PC, you can purchase a motherboard that supports two video cards and get a GeForce GTX 960-level GPU. For now, the capabilities of this video card are enough to play all games, and in a year you can pair it with another one of the same kind to improve performance.
It should be remembered that to work in SLI/CrossFire, video cards must be, if not identical, then built on the same version of the graphics processor.
RAM
When choosing RAM, the main thing is to take into account the compatibility of generations and operating frequencies. For example, sixth generation Intel Core i7 processors (and motherboards compatible with them) work with DDR4 RAM sticks, and AMD FX 8xxx - DDR3.
DDR4 memory is faster, but not supported by all processors
The amount of RAM is limited by the wallet and the number of slots on the motherboard. RAM is a resource that can never be enough (thanks to software developers who, after switching to 64-bit Windows, do not bother themselves with excessive efforts to optimize memory consumption). Therefore, whether to install 8 GB of RAM or 32 is up to users to decide.
When selecting RAM sticks, it is recommended to install them in pairs or triplets. In this case, the chips operate in two or three-channel (depending on the CPU model and motherboard) mode. In this case, the speed of data exchange theoretically increases, respectively, by two or three times. Two 4 GB modules will work faster than 1 8 GB module.
Drives
Hard drives are gradually losing ground under the pressure of rapidly reducing prices, gaining capacity and becoming more reliable SSDs. Since it is impossible to build a powerful gaming PC without a high-speed drive, a gaming computer cannot do without a solid-state drive. A capacity of 256 or 512 GB is enough to install Windows and games, and for multimedia content (music, movies), you can simultaneously install a capacious HDD of 2, 3 or more terabytes.
The capacity of modern HDDs has already reached 10 TB
For those who want to purchase a PC, it will be very convenient to assemble a computer online. The idea is quite simple - online stores have all the components of a computer, that is, and so on.
Therefore, you can take a specific model of one or another component, buy it and assemble it into a single computer.
But the problem is that not all models of PC parts will work well in combination with each other.
Content:compday.ru
compday.ru is an excellent online store selling computer equipment. The advantage of this site is that the range is very large.
Equipment that is not available will not be able to participate in the comparison, and, accordingly, will not be able to become part of the future computer.
But due to the fact that there are always so many products here, each user has an excellent opportunity to assemble a pretty good working machine online.
The process of using the compday.ru service is as follows:
1. First you need to go to the “future computer designer” page (here is the link).
Selecting each component is quite simple. For example, let's choose a processor model. To do this, in the corresponding section, click on the drop-down list, which initially contains three dashes.
Again, for example, let's choose a fairly old but reliable Intel Core i3 processor. As you can see, they are also divided into categories depending on the sockets.
It’s also convenient that each available model has its price next to it.
3. Now the selected processor will appear in the block on the right.
The same should be done with the motherboard, RAM, video card, cooling system and other PC components.
If you don't want to select a part, just leave three dashes there, that is, don't do anything. Gradually, the future machine will be assembled in the “Your Computer” block.
Its cost will be written below. You can click on the “Order” button to have compday.ru specialists assemble a computer with the selected components.
Rice. 2. Assembled computer on the compday.ru designer page
If any selected components are incompatible, site specialists will notify you about this. In some cases, they do not advise choosing a particular set of components.
In any case, the compday.ru website builder is very easy to use and simple, even novice users can understand it.
Each user can take a screenshot of the assembled computer or simply print out a selected set of components and go to the nearest electronics store.
In addition, the same components can be purchased in other online stores. Now let's look at another constructor with a similar operation scheme.
edelws.ru
Another very good resource that has many recommended (ready-made) computer configurations.
In addition to the ability to select PC parts, there is a display of the characteristics of the future machine.
In particular, you can see the processing power, cooling efficiency and how much . In general, it’s quite convenient and, again, simple.
To use the edelws.ru designer, do the following:
1. Go to the page of this service (here it is).
2. First, let's try to use the constructor, and after that we'll look at how to use "Recommended Configurations".
The “Indicators” tab at the top is responsible for the designer. Here, too, everything is divided into parts. For example, we will also start our choice with the processor.
To add it, click on the corresponding button under the inscription “Processor”. A panel with available processors will appear on the right.
Rice. 3. Adding a processor on the edelws.ru designer page
3. After adding the processor, the added device page will appear on the screen. This makes it possible to read more detailed information about it.
Rice. 4. Information about the device when adding one on the website edelws.ru
4. The same should be done with the cooling system, RAM, and other components.
Next to each of them there is a button “Add”. As you add, pay attention to the change in the characteristics of the future computer at the top.
Rice. 5. The process of assembling a computer using the edelws.ru constructor
5. And also as you add devices, information about all of them will be displayed on the designer page. When the computer is assembled, you can press the button "Collect and buy".
Then edelws.ru specialists will assemble a PC for you and send it to the specified address.
6. In addition to manual collection, you can also use the section "Recommended Configurations". To do this, go to the corresponding tab at the top of the designer page.
A list of available configurations will appear in the drop-down list. You can click on one of them.
The main indicator for choosing in this case is the price of the computer. After clicking on a configuration, a list of devices included in it will appear.
Any of them can be changed by clicking on the corresponding button under the device. If desired, you can also reset the configuration or save it (there are also buttons for this).
It is also interesting that the website edelws.ru allows you to build a computer “for a game,” and for a specific one, for example, World of Tanks or GTA 5.
There are also graphic stations and PCs for work. All this is possible using the appropriate tabs at the top of the site window.
Rice. 8. Ready-made computers from the site edelws.ru
In general, we have before us a really well-developed designer.
ironbook.ru
ironbook.ru is a fairly popular and well-promoted online store for computer equipment.
It is worth saying that there is now an interesting trend according to which an average site selling computer components can become really cool if it adds a PC designer page.
In general, this secret was used by the employees of the site ironbook.ru.
The store’s assortment is also quite wide, so there is plenty to choose from and build a really high-quality computer. Let's move on directly to using the constructor.
To do this you need to do this:
- Go to the ru designer page (here it is).
- Then the principle of operation is the same - there are components, such as a processor, cooling, and so on, and all this needs to be selected. To do this, there is a button under each of them "Select component". After making your selection, you can click on the “Replace” or “Delete” buttons.
- After all components have been added, you can click on the “Assemble” button on the right. This will result in your order being sent to the ru store and, in the shortest possible time, specialists will assemble the selected computer and send it to you.
Rice. 9. Designer page ironbook.ru
It is useful that this site also has ready-made configurations. They can be seen in the block on the left. There you can find a PC for work, a gaming PC and many other options.
You can choose the one that suits you most.
In addition, there are three more links under the Collect button. The first of them allows you to print the assembled configuration.
With this material, you can also go to the nearest store and buy all the selected equipment there.
The second allows you to find out what the specialists of the site ironbook.ru think about the computer you have assembled.
In some cases, they may advise you to take a ready-made configuration, and in others, they may say that your PC is quite suitable for the stated tasks.
In general, ironbook.ru is a really useful site that will help you make a high-quality working machine.
meijin.ru
Finally, let's look at another great configurator that allows you to take a ready-made project and make your own computer out of it, or build a PC from scratch.
It’s very good that on this site you can immediately choose what you need a computer for and determine its cost. There are corresponding fields at the top of the site window for this.
The cost can also be set using a slightly lower scale. When these parameters are specified, all you have to do is click on the “Find” button.
Rice. 10. Header of the meijin.ru configurator page
After that, the available options will be presented on the above scale. They are indicated by vertical lines.
By moving the slider to each such line, you will be able to see the proposed configuration. Below are the devices included in it.
If you click on the “Change” button next to a particular computer component, you can change it to another.
Moreover, all devices are divided into categories - "Computer Configuration", "Software" And "Peripherals".
They are presented in the corresponding tabs of the designer.
Rice. 11. Found computer configuration
If you decide not to take a ready-made configuration, but to build your own from scratch, then everything is even simpler.
On the designer page (here it is), you can immediately go to the above-mentioned tabs of PC device categories and, by clicking on the “Add” or “Replace” buttons next to each component, gradually assemble a working machine.
Rice. 12. Selecting devices on the meijin.ru designer page
In this case, the assembled configuration can also only be printed out as a list or a screenshot. There are no built-in functions for all this on the site.
But even without this, the meijin.ru designer looks quite efficient and effective. The range here is also quite wide and will please the eye of even the most experienced users.
Below you can see a video review of the ironbook.ru designer.
How to assemble a computer online? Online computer configurator
Assembling a computer online yourself is quite simple. You just need to find an online store that has an online computer configurator that checks the compatibility of components. There are no hints in such configurators; they only hide components from the list that are incompatible with the already selected configuration. There are several fields to fill out, in which the main components of the system unit are selected, ensuring the full functionality of the computer.
Important! Computer assembly is free
The PC Configurator is an easy way to assemble a computer online while checking the physical compatibility of components.
Let's start assembling. We add the first element - the central processing unit (CPU). When selecting components, the appearance of the installed units is visualized. The price is calculated automatically online, consistently forming the cost of the finished PC. In a couple of clicks, the designer program helps you assemble and buy a system unit from scratch, assigns an assembly identification number, and saves a link. If necessary, prints the saved configuration. There is an option to find out the expert’s opinion using the feedback form.
Assembling a computer is a fascinating process. Available - top-end GEFORCE RTX video cards, latest generation Intel processors, RAM with passive radiator cooling and RGB backlighting, high-speed SSD drives, plus capacious HDD drives. Choose Asus Msi Gigabyte motherboards, spacious cases on aluminum chassis, Corsair, Thermaltake, Seasonic power supplies. Our designer knows how to solve difficult problems. Allows you to collect gaming computer, a productive graphics station, a machine for professional audio and video digitization.
When you have configured your PC, click the “place an order” button. Fill out the standard form, then you will receive an email with confirmation and contents of the order. Edelweiss store managers will contact you, answer your questions and agree on the time and conditions of delivery or pickup. The sales department will configure the selected PC, deploy licensed software (if you select an OS), and install the necessary drivers and utilities. The procedure for updating the BIOS to the latest available version is mandatory. PCs are tested with specialized software at full load for 4 hours.
Additional bonuses for clients
- using the code, discuss the benefits of assembly with an engineer
- the ability to quickly select a computer at a price online
- product customization
- information support, characteristics and descriptions of the nodes used
- free delivery in Moscow, fast delivery throughout Russia
Advanced online PC building service
Our experts suggest starting assembling a system unit by selecting a CPU (Processor). The configurator has an integrated module for checking the compatibility of components online. Therefore, having decided on a processor, you will be offered only components compatible with it. This will greatly simplify and speed up the assembly process.
Close
Computer prices
Today, consumers are increasingly less likely to buy a ready-made personal computer (system unit), to which they must subsequently connect a monitor, keyboard and mouse. Increasingly, the choice is being made in favor of laptops and monoblocks (all-in-one systems). If the user wants to get something special, then most likely he will prefer to assemble the computer from individual components himself. However, this does not mean that traditional systems are completely dying out; there are still quite a lot of them on sale and, if you wish, you can choose a very good system for yourself at an affordable cost, without wasting time on assembly.
The choice of a personal computer depends on what exactly you need it for. This will directly affect the cost - an inexpensive system for solving everyday problems will cost much less than a high-performance monster that can easily run the latest games. Therefore, choosing a personal computer should begin with determining what exactly it will be used for.
By the way, recently the so-called. nettops are systems characterized by very compact size and low performance. Their undoubted advantage is their small size; such a computer can even be hung from the back by the monitor, freeing up a lot of space on the desktop. In most cases, having purchased a nettop, the user only needs to connect a monitor, keyboard, and mouse to it and start working.
The disadvantages of nettops are no less obvious - there is practically no possibility of an upgrade; at best, the user can only increase the storage capacity and RAM (by the way, this problem is also typical for all-in-one PCs). However, systems with low performance become obsolete more slowly, and given the low cost, in a few years it will be possible to simply replace an outdated computer with a new one.
As for all-in-one PCs, these systems will allow you to reduce the number of wires on your desk to a minimum, especially if you use a wireless keyboard and mouse. When choosing here, special attention should be paid to the diagonal of the monitor and its resolution. After all, if you make a mistake in these criteria, you can correct it later only by buying another computer; it is impossible to simply change the monitor.
Even a beginner can build a gaming PC in the HYPERPC online configurator. Specify the gaming platform, and the service will offer components for stable collaboration, drives, cooling systems and peripherals. And our engineers can professionally assemble a custom computer in Moscow. When assembling a computer, the HYPERPC system unit configurator takes into account the requirements of heavy games - this is an excellent assistant for creating a powerful platform with the best components of 2018. When analyzing compatibility, manufacturers' recommendations, load test results and the experience of e-sports players are taken into account.
Select configuration
The designer of a system unit with a compatibility check evaluates not only the type of slots, buses, ports and connectors. All components are tested to work properly with each other, so even on a limited budget you can build a good computer with high performance. Start by defining your platform, and the configurator will offer available components to build your custom gaming PC.
Online assembly of the system unit
You build a computer online - HYPERPC brings your project to life! Specify the video card, processor, motherboard and other system parameters. The calculator will show the cost of the configuration taking into account assembly and configuration. There are tips for each component that will help you make a decision. You can immediately order peripherals, installation of the operating system and other software, modding and safe overclocking of your computer. You can create several configurations and compare them with each other.
PC Configurator
For each gaming platform, components with different characteristics are offered - from entry-level in its segment to top-end hardware. The compatibility-checked system unit designer contains components from different manufacturers, so the choice of gaming computer is not limited. The order will go into production immediately after confirmation from your side. If in doubt, the expert assistance of HYPERPC employees is at your service, who will help you assemble a gaming computer in 2018 to confidently conquer the gaming peaks.
