Choosing Computer Parts for your First PC

Whether you want to build a computer for gaming, your workplace, or simply for fun, you're in the right place. A major part of building a computer is choosing the parts, which is what this how-to will be about. As a first timer, it may be confusing or even intimidating when it comes to choosing parts, however, it isn't hard at all. As long as you take your time and are careful, you'll have your PC specs, or specifications, in no time. During this blog I will be choosing parts with you, to make sure you are following along and getting the right parts. 

1) First things first, choosing your Processor. There are two main processor manufacturers. There's Intel and AMD. Without getting into too much detail, its safe to say that they are both great, especially when it comes to both of their most up-to-date line of processors. Intel has their 8th generation processors while AMD has their Ryzen line of processors. When choosing your processor you have to understand how the speeds of the component work. Both processors will display their "Base Clock Speed", which is basically the speed of the processor. So, the higher the Base Clock Speed, then the faster your processor will be. However, you will also have to consider the amount of "Cores" in said processor. The more cores, the more information your computer can handle. Higher cores are usually the best option when it comes to software that puts a lot of stress on a processor such as Adobe After Effects or Sony Vegas Pro. Whether you choose AMD or Intel processors, there will be no major difference in the selection of parts other than the motherboard, a part which will be discussed later, since the sockets are different. For the sake of this blog, lets choose an AMD Ryzen 7 2700x. A processor with a base clock of 3.7 GHz and 8 Cores.

2) Next, it's time to choose a motherboard compatible with the Processor you have chosen. First off, you have to know the type of socket your processor can fit into. To find out, simply search online for the socket. Basically just put the name of your processor and add "socket" right after and search for it online. Something like "Ryzen 7 2700x socket" or "Intel i7 8700K socket" would be fine. Those searches will lead you to either Intel or AMD's websites (depending on the processor you searched about) and display a list of specifications of said processor. Just look for the section about the socket and you're good to go. For the processor I chose, the socket will be "AM4". This means that the motherboard I will choose for my computer has to be AM4 compatible. Same goes for Intel Processors. If your Intel processor socket is "LGA 1151" then the motherboard has to be LGA 1151 compatible. A simple way of finding a compatible motherboard is to search up on Amazon "AM4 Motherboard". Many AM4 compatible motherboards will show up, so at that point, choose one of your liking. The motherboard I will choose for my processor is the Asus Prime x470-Pro. 

3) Next we have to choose your Ram Sticks. Ram sticks allow your computer to temporarily store data meaning, more Ram = more storage = more tasks running on your computer. In other words the more ram you have the more applications you will be able to run without any major slowing of your computer. Ram sticks have both capacity and speed. A standard Ram stick is usually either 4 GB or 8 GB and sometimes 16 GB. When it comes to speed, they usually go up to 4600Mhz, meaning your pc will run faster and smoother. However to reach the speeds advertised, you usually have to overclock which is why for first timers such as yourself, it's recommended to buy some that you simply like. 16 GB of ram is perfect for anything, however, if you cannot spend that kind of money, 8 GB is enough for now. Different Ram fits different motherboards. One way to find Ram compatible to your motherboard is by simply checking the kind of "DDR" it is. Recent motherboards and processors are compatible with DDR4 Ram. But just to make sure, check the specifications of the motherboard you chose. It usually says, "Supports DDR4 Ram" or "Ram Technology DDR4", and sometimes it just states "DDR4" meaning it supports that Ram. If the motherboard you chose doesn't support DDR4 but rather an older Ram, such as DDR3, then simply buy the older Ram. For my computer, I'm getting a T-Force Night Hawk DDR4 16 GB Ram Kit.

4) Now we have to choose a graphics card. Graphics cards are necessary if you plan to either play games or use 3D Software requiring a good graphics card, such as all of Adobe Creator Suite's applications. When it comes to Graphics cards, there is no need to check for compatibility because all up-to-date GPU's (Graphics Cards), which are most recommended, are compatible with all motherboards. The GPU I chose is the EVGA Geforce GTX 1070.

5) With your main components chosen, you now need a hard drive to store all of your files. If you're looking for a simple and fairly cheap hard drive, going for any HDD (Hard Disk Drive) with your preferred space is enough. However, if you'd like your system to have a faster startup and quicker file transfers, then an SDD (Solid State Drive) is recommended. The difference between the two is that an HDD stores any information you download, and whenever you need to use the information or app, it takes a longer time for the information or apps to start up because it takes longer for the HDD to find it since it basically looks for said information. When it comes to an SSD, it stores the information, but it doesn't have to look for it since it is always available, meaning quicker launches every time. Either way, they both do the same thing, store data, which means you can get either one. For my Hard Drive, I chose a Samsung 860 Evo 500GB SSD.

6) The real question here is, how will my computer receive power? Well, from a wall outlet, but you will need a power supply to connect to the wall outlet. Power supplies come in three ways, modular, semi-modular, and non-modular ones. The differences are that modular power supplies allow you to connect only the cables you need to the power supply resulting in the best cable management possible. The semi-modular ones have the main cables such as motherboard, CPU, and GPU ones automatically connected to the Power Supply, but you can connect other needed ones as necessary such as SATA cables for your hard drives and such. The non-modular ones automatically have all of the cables connected whether you use them or not meaning, if you don't use 3 or 4 cables, they will just be stuffed in your computer case looking like a mess. Either way, they all do the same thing, supply power to the components of your computer. The only thing you have to look out for is how much wattage your power supply is. If your components are beefy and require a lot of power, a higher wattage one is recommended, however if the parts are average, then a basic 500-600 Watt power supply is enough. However, let's say your computer only needs roughly 675 Watts. If you get a 750 Watt Power supply, it doesn't mean that your components are receiving all 750 watts. They will only receive what they need which is 675. The only reason you would buy a larger power supply than needed would be to prepare for any upgrades you might have in the future. For my computer I found that a EVGA SuperNOVA 750 Watt power supply was enough for all my components. 

7) With all your components, you just need the final cherry on top. The computer case. Your computer case is where all of your parts will be installed into thus creating your desktop. The only thing you'd need to look out for is what size motherboard is supported in your case. In the description of the case it should state the max size motherboard it can fit. For example, if the case says it is an ATX case, then it means it fits motherboards that are Mini ITX, Micro ATX, and ATX. To list the sizes of motherboards that are most used in order of smallest to largest, they are Mini ITX, Micro ATX, ATX, and E-ATX, however there are more as seen in the picture bellow. 

Those aren't used other than in server systems and such, so your motherboard will most likely be the ones listed before. With that being the only thing to look out for, now just choose the case most aesthetically pleasing to you. In my case, (get it?) I chose the Corsair Crystal 570X ATX Mid-Tower case since my motherboard is an ATX size motherboard. 

With all of your parts chosen and ready to go, the only thing left is to build it. You can search online for tutorials on how to build one. There are many out there referring only to Intel or AMD processor builds, since they are a bit different. If you'd like to follow someone else's process when building a computer search on YouTube as well. There's plenty of videos of people you can follow step-by-step without missing a single thing. And lastly, have fun. Building a computer shouldn't be a hassle but more of a new and fun experience into a world never thought of before. Who knows, maybe one day you'll be making insane machines such as these.