Jul 25, 20204 min read

Building a PC

Most people tend to look at a laptop or a ready-to-use desktop as their first option for a personal computer. They want an appliance that can get the job done and give the least hassles over the long term.There exists an alternate community of technology enthusiasts who love to build their pc – brick by brick. I belong to this community. I have experienced the satisfaction of building ones machines and see it come to life. The excitement and stress of pressing the “ON” button of the computer for the first time is unmatched.

Building a PC requires one to source the components by themselves and put them together. It happens in two stages – to fit the internals into the PC cabinet and connecting the monitor, keyboard and mouse. The PC is turned on after that, and if everything works well, windows is installed.

I have built 3 PCs so far. One for my grandad, one for my cousin and the last is my home computer. All were budget builds – they ranged from Rs.25,000 to Rs.33,000, without any fancy bells and whistles.

The first phase of building a PC involves assembling the internal parts. Here’s the walkthrough for it

A PC CABINET lets you store all the sensitive electronics inside a safe enclosure. It protects the internal components from dust, insects, water and any potential hazards to electronics.

A PROCESSOR executes decisions and calculations that the user wants the PC to do. A faster processor gets work done quicker and is more expensive. You can imagine it as a genius mathematician who does mind-boggling calculations really quickly.

The RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY (RAM) temporarily stores the programs that is being used. RAM is fast, and it helps the CPU process the user’s tasks and gets the PC working quickly.

A HARD DISK is a large storage pool – it holds your files, photos, videos.

GRAPHIC CARD generates the visual information to be presented on the screen. It’s the skilled artist inside the PC.

The motherboard is the connecting hub of all the parts mentioned previously. It consists of lanes to transport information from one part to another. Think of it as a city with a network of roads that connect it from one office to another, sending and recieving goods.

What’s the use of a PC without electricity? Hence the POWER SUPPLY UNIT (PSU) is needed to supply electricity to each of these parts separately. Why separately? Because every part has a different requirement for voltage and current. The PSU is the delivery boy who delivers every component’s order for electricity.

It might seem a bit overwhelming to understand a lot of such information. Let’s look at how they fit into each other.

After this, the monitor, keyboard and mouse (all purchased separately) are connected to this freshly assembled system and turned on.

There are a few things to keep in mind for building PCs

Compatibility- Each part must meet certain standards and should be able to work with each other properly. One must read up about every component and check if they can work with other components of the PC before purchasing.
Budget – Building PCs requires one to fix a certain budget. Since each part does not cost the same, one must ensure the total price doesn’t cross the budget.
Tools – The minimum requirements are a Philips-head screwdriver and an anti-static wrist band (to prevent static charge from damaging components). The two are sufficient to build most basic PCs.

Why do I take such a laborious route instead of buying a pre-assembled one that I can pick off a shelf and use immediately?

Money – I can choose the parts to suit my budget, right down to the rupee. These PCs are much less expensive than pre-built ones. They offer tremendous value. There are parts available at every price point and I can cherry-pick the ones that suit my budget, while satisfying the requirements.

Control – Since each part is sourced separately, I can choose the best brand/product for each component. This helps me pick the most trustworthy and reliable parts for my PC. This can make a difference by extending the life of the PC by a few years.

Customization – At higher price points, typically above a lakh, fancy stuff like watercooling (keeps the components from overheating under heavy load), customizable inside lights (to flex and show off internal components) and custom cases can be added. These provide avenues for individual expression and can make a strong sculptural and visual statement in the room.

Trust – By choosing good quality of components in the PC, there is very little possibility for any issues to crop up, that would require repair or replacement of the parts inside. The three PCs that I had built have not gotten into any hardware-related issues even once. I doubt if any issues would crop up for a long time from now. That’s because every part was carefully chosen and assembled with utmost love. The secret ingredient, truly, is Love.

The Experience – The core reason for why the PC building community thrives is because it lets one to enjoy the fruits of their labour. Building PCs can be quite stressful, because there’s a lot of things that could go wrong. Its a high-risk, high-reward situation. Keeping concrete concepts aside, the smile on our faces when the PC boots properly the first time is unmatched.

The share of PCs, especially built PCs, has been declining steadly since the past decade. Advancements in the design and performance of laptops and devices like the iPad Pro have resulted in powerful devices which are equally portable. Most people prefer these portable devices over a similar-costing PC, accepting portability for a significant performance hit.

The majority of the crowd who prefer to build their PCs are gamers and creative professionals looking for a powerful desktop workstation. There is a significant body of knowledge to be required before assembling a PC and the learning curve is worth the effort. One gets to know their machine like the back of their hand.

Before I sign off, I’d like to show how far one can push custom built PCs.