The Idiot’s Ultimate Guide to Build Your Own PC

Build Your Own PC So you have decided to take the plunge and build your own PC? Well that’s good but there’s some problems attached to that plan. First you don’t know the difference between a motherboard and your own mother. Secondly, you wouldn’t know an Ethernet card if one came up to you in the street and shook your hand.

But that’s no reason to abandon the project and look up the phone number for your local Dell representative, because as usual, MakeUseOf has you covered. With the complete amateur in mind who has no technical knowledge whatsoever, we are going to show you how to build your own PC! This is a guide where we literally ‘hold your hand’ every step of the way.

 

MakeUseOf has teamed up with our very own Karl Gechlik at Ask The Admin to bring you nearly 50 pages full of screenshots, links to video demos and easy how-to instructions for every step involved. The result? The Idiot’s Guide To Building A PC.   This guide is so easy to follow, even your technophobe grandmother could do it.

Build Your Own PC

It’s definitely one of the better manuals out there. You can take a look at the screenshot showing the table of contents below.

Table Of Contents: Build Your Own PC

In case you’re also wondering WHY you would want to build your own computer, there are a lot of reasons.

  • First of all, you should know that building a computer has become A LOT easier than it was 5 years ago. Parts are easier to install, cases are readily available and there is a crap load of free support available on the internet.
  • This is great for paranoid freaks and geeks alike!
  • By building your own machine you know each and every component of your machine
    intimately.
  • You are not affected by the Operating System bloat that companies like Dell and Gateway
    are notorious for.
  • You can also build a system that is geared towards exactly what YOU do. A computer built by you for you. Imagine that?
  • Oh and don’t forget the Geek Cred you get from having a machine you built yourself! Not so great with the ladies but hey in a room full of geeks you can get lots of ohh’s and ahhh’s!

So, download your free copy The Idiot’s Ultimate Guide to Build Your Own PC and build your own pc.

Enjoy and spread the word!

Tagged: • • •

Aibek Esengulov

The guy behind MakeUseOf.com. Follow him and MakeUseOf on Twitter @MakeUseOf. For more details check out MakeUseOf about page.

Similar Stuff

The comments were closed because the article is more than 90 days old.

If you have any questions related to stuff mentioned in the article or need help with any computer issue, just ask it on MakeUseOf Answers.

  • Simon

    Thanks very much! I have been looking to build my own machine for some time and this will really help

    • Dan

      You’ve got to be kidding! This information is a joke.

      • http://makeuseof.com Aibek

        No, I am really serious, it’s an “The Idiot’s Ultimate Guide To Building Your Own Computer”

        Disagree? Send me the link to a better guide then.

  • http://tenasillahe.wordpress.com/ g

    great timeing! i’ll be building my first in the next few months. i look forward to reading the manual you provided.

    thanks again!

  • Terry

    Thank you for this, can send people here when I get bugged for instructions on how to build a pc.

  • Alexander Dombroff

    Like Simon I’ve been wanting to build my own computer as well. I don’t want to buy expensive new parts and have a lot of recently new stuff around. So this guide will be my starting point!

  • Gary Busey

    “This is a guide where we literally ‘hold your hand’ every step of the way.”

    You obviously don’t know what “literally” means. Unless you’re actually holding my hand, you’re just figuratively holding my hand through the process.

    You probably shouldn’t use words when you don’t know what they mean. You just look like an idiot when you do.

    • Charlie Sheen

      But not as much of an idiot like using the name Gary Busey!
      Only thing worse than that is Jake Busey!

    • haloarmor

      gary busey, they are tech geeks not english professors or dictionary enthusiasts give them a break. its great guide.

    • James

      Gary Busey, you obviously do not know what inverted commas are for. Try again please.

  • http://www.crackedworld.com C.C.Mitchell

    Building my own PC was the greatest thing I ever decided to do. It gives real feeling of accomplishment.

    http://www.crackedworld.com

    Politics Untied

  • woz

    This “building” of a computer is an illusion. This is snapping parts together, like a kit. It’s worse than a kit car and more like gluing a plastic model airplane to hang from your ceiling (like a 14 yr old kid in the last 60′s might do.) When the instructions include something like, “solder this chip…” let me know.

    • woot

      If you’re up for soldering, ytf are you reading an idiot’s guide?

  • http://computersservicing.blogspot.com/ venkat

    @Aibek
    That’s really great compliation ,I appreciating makeuseof team making building your own computer guide whcih will be very useful.But the screenshot’s showing in Guide are respresenting outdated IDE cables,processor model and mother baords the guide is lacking in showing screenshots of current latest sata cables ,processor and mother boards though procedure might be same.Any way hats’off to makeuseof team making such an useful guide.

  • http://www.hacksomnia.com macobex

    Yo. This will really help me. I’m a tech guy, but I’m more of a software guy. But I also want to understand hardware better, so I could assemble my own PC. BTW, THanks for the info dude.

  • Doc

    > First you don’t know the difference between a motherboard and your own mother. Secondly, you wouldn’t know an Ethernet card if one came up to you in the street and shook your hand.

    Sorry, I’ve been building my own PCs for 20 years (first was a 386/16 built from discarded parts, with an EGA card and 1 floppy). This would be great for OTHER people, though!

    • Raven

      Thanks for ur bio…if I ever need a floppy installed or maybe a tune-up for my 8 track, I will certainly look u up :/

    • http://www.crackedworld.com Cracked World

      Glad to hear your so superior to the rest of us. I guess you don’t need to be reading this do you.

  • Charlie Sheen

    Apparently people missed the part where this is for BEGINNERS. Obviously they have a lack of reading skill and should go back to 5th grade and brush up a little.

  • Castle

    Some of this information seems to be dated, some parts seem to be form 2005 and others form 2008. At least readers will get the idea.

  • http://www.crackedworld.com C.C.Mitchell

    Complaining that the guide is outdated is a testament to how fast the PC hardware market changes. I built a new PC last spring and its already outdated.

    He could make a new guide every six months and not keep up with the Jones’ on this subject.

    Slack CUT!

    Its a Cracked World!

  • http://apps.jooopa.net Erik

    Apparently people missed the part where this is for BEGINNERS. Obviously they have a lack of reading skill and should go back to 5th grade and brush up a little.

  • http://4.madbe.net Donna

    But not as much of an idiot like using the name Gary Busey!
    Only thing worse than that is Jake Busey…

  • Tim

    AGP slots? Slot Processors? IDE hard drives? Is this 2001?

    Don’t get me wrong its a fairly comprehensive guide, but not overly useful with todays tech. Half of the plug/socket/port standards aren’t even in use anymore. This is just going to confuse people.

  • Mel

    lets change the date on this posting of article shale we?
    “Mar. 1st, 2009 By Aibek” to “Mar. 1st, 1999 By Aibek”
    on top of that very few people use IDE anymore. plus the over all guide on how to build just sucked… half of the guide was about the parts and other stuff (going into too much detail for a beginner). If some one wanted to build a computer and not knowing how they prob dont want all the tech junk with it ;)

    and this was posted 18 days ago and not 10 years ago why?

  • MAJID SHAH

    Thanks very much! I have been looking to build my own machine for some time and this will really help, but i dislike your downloading procedure

  • http://www.trvidcom.com.au Computer Rental Company

    Good one! I have to agree with this statement:”Building a computer has become A LOT easier — Parts are easier to install, cases are readily available and there is a crap load of free support available on the internet.” The tons of available information such as the one featured above made it easier to customize PC specs and designs.

  • looppool

    your.poet@yahoo.com , i will give you simple ways to build and comprehend the build of different desktop units, like creme pie .

  • http://www.customgamingrig.com damen

    Great tutorial for beginners, exactly what you said it was. just built a site myself, guide for beginners also, so people in search of soldering chips stay clear. http://www.customgamingrig.com

  • warmonger2

    some people here really need to read a book for beginners called “The Ultimate beginners guide to dealing with idiot’s..
    lol…

  • http://www.customgamingrig.com build gaming rig

    Great tutorial for beginners, exactly what you said it was. just built a site myself, guide for beginners also, so people in search of soldering chips stay clear. http://www.customgamingrig.com

  • monkeyspit

    some ladies are geeks too!
    :P

  • Larry

    Now if they only made a do it yourself manual for laptops. How sweet would that be.

  • mom, 53

    This is my idea of an ective holiday – putting together a pc in my garage :-) Just what I wished for but thought I would never get! If I don’t succeed in putting together my own box, at least I’ll understand computers better than I do now.

    Thank you!

  • http://www.yahoo.com Dean

    I just have a question for you guys, waiting for an answer with a big signifiance for me.So, if you have in your computer a file(word,jpeg,txt,xcel…any kind of file)and you transfer this file in other computer(using a memory stick,cd,e-mail,etc)there is something in that file as a specific information about your computer(the source),something as an ID of the source computer or…let’s say something about the serial number of your OS?Something which can identify exactly the source computer?Something as a fingerprint?I was asking myself which is the answer and I was asking others,also.No answer, up to this point!Thank you anticipate for your support!

    • http://makeuseof.com Aibek

      It depends on the type of file and operating system. for instance, images often store information about the camera and date they were taken. PDF file as far as I am aware (i might be wrong) hold information about the OS and possibly even the name/company of the person who created the file. Not sure about office documents, but suspect they have the same thing as well.

    • http://soft-catalog.net mornagranger1963@gmail.com
  • K.Narayanan

    Sir,

    i have just downloaded your how to build a pc.Thank you for the free info.Is there any info regarding how to increase the speed of a pc.My browsers are very slow and my files are opening little bit late.Kindly send me reply to my mailid..

    Thanks & Regards,

    K.Narayanan…

  • http://godentip.com Tips And Tricks

    Thanks i Just downloaded your ebook :-)

  • JD

    Thanks for the effort. I just read the article and downloaded the manual. I have never built a computer and am over 60years old so never even used a computer until 15yrs ago and now want to see how they work. Took me this long to figure out how to turn them on with out assistance…Hopefully the experience will be good. The computers I want cost way too much and the ones I can afford have all kinds of extra stuff in there, I should get money back for the work and time it takes to remove the bloat and all the sales marketing I am exposed to and am insulted by being charged for it. Plus some of the guts in the generic computers seems to be on the flimsy or low standard type or proprietary and overpriced.
    Good work with the idea and product
    Thanks again

  • 1337 | \ | 006

    wow thanx 4 the guide this is goin 2 b my 1st time buildin my own comp so i need all the intel i can get my hands on keep doin a good job n thanx 4 the The Idiot’s Ultimate Guide to Build Your Own PC XD

  • http://guidepk.info mobitunes

    thanx for sharing man

  • CAIN

    You should mention something about making sure the socket type on your motherboard matches the processor you choose, and also that the RAM type matches the motherboard, this is something a lot of beginners might not know and could get them into trouble.

  • http://www.eastmobiles.com Mobile tracker

    Build your own PC, what a challenge it is, I would rather prefer to buy one.

    But it surely is exciting, thanks.

  • Jamie

    Thank you so much for this guide! This is just the sort of information I was looking for. Thanks for taking the time to write this, it must have taken ages! I’m not new to PCs but I’ve never built one from scratch before, and although your guide obviously doesn’t cover everything, it was a really good overview and I feel a lot more comfortable about building my new PC now. Many thanks! :)

  • http://www.ed-hardy-free.com/ ed hardy

    Thanks for dropping by christian louboutin and cheap christian louboutin . It’s certainly not an easy choice to make in terms of blogging platforms.

  • http://ofdogsandpuppylove.blogspot.com/ Puppy Love

    LOL. You are funny. But you putting up a computer really easy.

    Here is my website, btw, if you like dogs. Of Dogs and Puppy Love

  • Alex

    LOL I’m 10 yrs old and I’ve built a few computers before!