Building the Perfect PC

Preface

Building PCs isn’t just for techies anymore.

It used to be, certainly. Only gamers and other geeks actually built their PCs from the ground up—everyone else just called the Dell Dude and ordered a system. That started to change a few years ago. The first sign was when general merchandisers like Best Buy started stocking upgrade components. If you wanted to expand the memory in your PC, install a larger hard drive, or add a CD writer, you could now get the components you needed at the local big-box store.

A year or two ago, things changed again. Big-box retailers started carrying PC components like cases and motherboards—parts seldom needed by upgraders, but necessary to build a new PC from scratch. Nowadays, although CompUSA, Best Buy, and other local retailers may not carry as broad a range of PC components as some online specialty retailers, you can get everything you need for a new PC with one visit to a big-box store.

Note

Specialty PC component superstores like Fry’s carry a full range of components at extremely good prices. We wish we had a Fry’s within driving distance. Or then again, maybe not. There’s too much good stuff there. Our credit cards are smoking already, and a trip to Fry’s might be the last straw.

And you can bet that big-box stores don’t allocate shelf space to products that aren’t selling. Building your own PC has become mainstream. Nowadays, even regular nontechnical people build their own systems and have fun doing it. Instead of settling for a mediocre, ...