| Before building a new computer you must decide | | | | years old, it may have parts that could be used in |
| what it will be used for. This will allow you to | | | | your new machine. Perhaps the hard drive could |
| allocate your budget to purchase specialized | | | | be installed as a secondary drive and the CD |
| equipment where needed. For example, if you | | | | player or DVD player may be suitable for your |
| plan to play a lot of games, you will need a | | | | needs. |
| powerful graphics card, a lot of memory, a large | | | | You are better off buying new. It's usually not a |
| hard drive, and specialized controllers. | | | | good idea to reuse the motherboard, the CPU, or |
| If the computer is going to be used for word | | | | the memory. All of these components are |
| processing and surfing the net, your graphics card | | | | continuously enhanced,. If you can find a |
| doesn't need to be so powerful and you won't | | | | computer recycling service that distributes to |
| need as much storage capacity as graphics. | | | | schools and other charities that would accept your |
| Computers built for special purposes such as | | | | old computer. |
| video editing and sound recording have there own | | | | Choosing Parts |
| particular requirements in the form of add-on | | | | Start to make a list of all the components that |
| cards to process midi files, graphics and sound. | | | | you need. Before filling in particular model |
| These cards usually mean a top of the line | | | | numbers, just make a list with the names of all |
| computer to handle special requirements of the | | | | the components e.g. case, motherboard, CPU etc. |
| CPU or motherboard. | | | | Now you need to decide on particular brands and |
| Re-using Old Parts? | | | | models of each component that you have listed. |
| Can you salvage parts from the old machine? | | | | There are several ways to go about this. You can |
| This depends mainly on its age. If it is more than | | | | build a computer system around a particular CPU, |
| five years old you would probably be better using | | | | around a particular motherboard, or around an |
| all new components. Wear and tear on the | | | | add-on card such as a professional sound or video |
| computer components and the advancements in | | | | card. As we mentioned above, the primary use of |
| computer technology do nor warrant using old | | | | the computer will determine which is the most |
| parts. | | | | important component. |
| Floppy disks are almost at the point of | | | | Most computer systems are built around a |
| obsolescence, but you may need one occasionally. | | | | particular motherboard/CPU combination. After |
| Better still copy and transfer all of your floppys to | | | | having chosen these two important components, |
| CD format. | | | | you can choose compatible peripheral devices. and |
| If you have a computer that is less than two | | | | your ready to start building your computer. |