Most people today prefer to buy a computer in large specialized stores, completely trusting the opinion of a sales assistant. This, of course, is very convenient, just say about your "computer" preferences - and you have a ready-made system unit, a monitor, and much more. But it is worth noting that this method is the easiest, but by no means the best.
Firstly, from a financial point of view: many stores charge extra for ready-made offers, or add an expensive part to the kit, taking advantage of the inexperience of the "dummies", although it could have been cheaper. Secondly, you will know that the computer meets YOUR requirements; what could be replaced and what could be added.
In any case, an educational program on the topic of assembling a computer and subsequent upgrade (update) will never hurt. What you need to know before buying a computer? Of course, you need to know what you need it for - for games, work in office applications, the Internet, or for watching movies. We will take as a standard a computer of an average price category and average performance - the so-called "home computers". They should be comfortable both to surf the Internet and play most modern video games.
Let's start with the motherboard. This is the basis of your future system, a lot depends on its choice. Now there are two main platforms on the market - AMD and Intel, producing processors that can be installed on the motherboard. The difference between them is small, except that AMD is slightly cheaper... Depending on the types of processors, there is a difference in the sockets of motherboards - the sockets where these same processors will be placed.
Motherboards for AMD processors:
SocketAM+
SocketAM3
Motherboards for Intel processors
Socket LGA775
Socket LGA1156
Socket LGA1366
It is worth noting that processors with one socket cannot be put on a motherboard with another. The exception is processors with AM3, and you can put both in the board with AM2 +, and with AM3. Then you should pay attention to the built-in (integrated) devices - a sound and video card. If the first is found in all types of modern "motherboards", then the video is only in some. If modern sophisticated 3D toys are not too important to you, then choose a motherboard with a built-in video adapter - cheaper and more convenient. You also need to have SATA and USB ports on the motherboard, the more the better. SATA is a modern interface for connecting hard drives and disk drives, and via USB you will connect flash drives, keyboards, mice and peripherals such as a printer. It is also desirable to have at least four slots for RAM (for its subsequent addition).
With the development of the gaming industry, it became necessary to increase the video memory. On many "motherboards" you can, for example, put two video cards (SLI or Crossfire). This is desirable, but not absolutely necessary. The most popular motherboards are from ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI. Within the limits of the above, the cost of such boards ranges from two to eight (the most advanced) thousand rubles. When choosing a processor, you need to find out the number of cores in it. The ideal option for the home is a dual-core processor, AMD's Phenom II or Intel's Core Duo. The cost is from three to six thousand rubles. RAM is a product with rapidly changing price and formats. At the moment, for example, the DDR3 format is popular, it is much faster than its predecessor DDR2. And it stands on the most modern boards with sockets AM3, LGA1156, LGA1366. Make sure your motherboard supports DDR3 and Dual Channel when purchasing. In this case, by placing two identical RAM sticks in slots of the same color, you will get a noticeable performance gain.
A good option is two gigabytes of memory from Samsung or Kingston. The cost of this is from one and a half thousand rubles. A video card, if you do not have it built into the “motherboard”, is sold separately, and there are a great many varieties of it on the sales market. Video cards are produced by two competing companies ATI Radeon and GeForce. They fit into the PCI-E interface slots found in all modern motherboards. There are two parameters that determine the efficiency of a video card - memory and bus frequency. An ideal option for a home is a board with one gigabyte (1024Gb) of memory and a 256bit bus. Make sure the card has a DVI digital connector, which is required to connect the monitor to the computer. The cost of such a fee is from three thousand rubles.
The hard drive will store all your information - music, videos, documents, etc., as well as the operating system installed. Saving on it is not recommended. The best option is a disk with at least a terabyte of memory (1Tb) and a cache of at least 32 megabytes. The cost is from two and a half thousand. Do not forget to purchase a drive - DVD-RW (DVD writer), or BD-ROM (for reading Blue-Ray discs). DVD-RW costs about one and a half thousand, the second one is much more expensive (about three thousand rubles).
To maintain system stability, a power supply is required, which is built into the case of the system unit, but can be sold separately. And the power supply needs at least 430W. A case with such a block can be bought for literally two thousand, depending on the design of the case. After assembling the computer, you need to purchase a monitor. An LCD monitor with a screen size of more than 20” and a DVI port is a great option for the home. The most popular brands of monitors are Samsung and LG, but they are higher than their competitors - about eight thousand for a very good model.
Buying a printer, scanner and other things is optional.
Today, probably, there are no such people who do not have a home computer. Moreover, many have a computer in each room, and there is a working laptop. However, it is far from a secret that technology is improving more and more every day, and computers are no exception. You can, of course, update some parts, but over time you will have to change the entire computer.
Choosing a system unit
When choosing a future computer, you should first pay attention to its filling, i.e. to what is inside the system unit. Here you should pay attention to all the details: the type and frequency of the processor, the amount of video memory and random access memory (RAM), the capacity of the hard drive, the presence of a DVD drive, etc.
CPU
The main processor brands are Intel and AMD. The processor of an average computer has 4 cores, the frequency of each core is 3 GHz. There are also some families of processors - Intel Celeron, Intel Pentium, Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Core i7, AMD Athlon, AMD Phenom, etc. AMD processors have always cost less than Intel processors, while not differing in quality.
RAM
The next thing to pay attention to is RAM. A more modern type of memory is DDR 3. RAM can be 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB, etc. The price of the purchased computer will also depend on the amount of RAM. Do not forget that you can install 4 memory sticks in a computer, i.e. you can add RAM to your PC at any time.
video card
Next, we look at what kind of video card is in the computer. It can be built-in and discrete. It is better if the video card is discrete, because. it has better performance. The most popular video cards are GeForoe and Radeon, and Intel HD has also recently become popular. Moreover, a GeForce or Intel HD video card will be installed in a computer with an Intel processor, and a Radeon will be installed in a computer with AMD. For a medium-priced computer, a card with 1 GB of video memory is quite suitable.
HDD
Next, you can check which hard drive is installed, more precisely, how much memory it has. On average, a 500 or 750 GB hard drive is installed in monoblocks. However, even if you have a 250 GB hard drive, in the future you can always make up for the lack of free space by purchasing an additional HDD drive.
Power supply, motherboard, DVD drive
Also, when choosing a system unit, you should pay attention to the power of the power supply, the presence of a sound and network card - usually they are integrated into the motherboard as standard. The selected processor must be compatible with the installed motherboard. Almost all configurations have a DVD-RW drive.
Monitor and optional accessories
Having chosen the monoblock that suits you best, you can start choosing a monitor. Here you should pay attention to the diagonal, the connection interface and the type of display. By type, the display can be LED - (OLED) or LCD (TFT] LED - the technology was invented relatively recently. In fact, this is the same TFT monitor, but with a modified backlight. The display diagonal can be from 15 to 25 inches or more, here the choice is yours, it all depends on what kind of monitor you need and how much money is left after choosing the system unit.Interfaces for monitors are usually VGA, DVI, HDMI.More expensive models may have a USB interface.When buying a computer, do not forget about the keyboard and mice, you can take a webcam and an uninterruptible power supply.
A couple of tips!
Initially, when buying a desktop computer, you need to decide what you need it for. If it's just for the Internet, work, watching movies, then this is one thing. If you're looking for a gaming PC, then it's different.
First of all, I recommend buying not an assembled system unit, but buying parts for it yourself and gradually assembling it. Firstly, it will come out much cheaper, and secondly, you will buy parts with a service guarantee and you can safely change them. Whereas if you buy an assembled system unit, it will be sealed and you will not be able to climb inside if you do not want to lose the warranty.
I also want to draw attention to the fact that it is very important to choose the right monitor, so as not to spoil your eyesight later. Immediately determine the place where the monitor will stand. Determine the distance at which you will be from it, and then only buy the model that best suits your requirements.
As you can see, the choice of a personal computer is quite complicated and takes a lot of time, so the majority are already moving away from using personal computers and are increasingly buying laptops or tablets. But the PC has its own charm and not everyone understands it.
Desktop PCs in 2k18?
I see no reason to buy desktop computers in 2k18. It seems to me that laptops are much more relevant now: they are not inferior to large brothers in terms of characteristics, they are much more mobile, and the price is often more profitable. I even bought my grandmother a laptop instead of an old desktop. For Skype calls, surfing the Internet, watching movies, a simple HP for 14 thousand rubles is enough.
I can't imagine my life with a desktop PC. This is not to take him to study, or to work. And what, to sit behind a stranger who behaves unpredictably, and even uncomfortable keyboards and mice?
I'm not a fan of computer games, maybe that's why I don't see the point.
Help choosing a PC
A very timely article, just now I want to change my old man to a new computer, which is also needed for work, but no one has canceled films and music. I don’t know anything about modern models at all, what parameters they have there now and what is functional. Only I have more or less decided on a monitor, a webcam is also a mandatory attribute - I often communicate with relatives who live in another country via Skype. The mouse and keyboard will be inherited from the old man - they suit me for now) I’ll most likely take a 500 GB hard drive - it should be enough, even a lot, now somehow everyone is watching online, and not like before - downloading to a computer, well and I don't play modern "heavy" games. Therefore, I don’t need an expensive gaming camcorder either, but at the same time I need a good one so that I can watch movies normally. I don’t understand the processor and RAM at all - I’ll probably ask the consultants on the spot, although they like to sell more expensive, you have to be a little in the subject yourself. The DVD drive, probably, is also of little relevance, I don’t remember the last time I used discs, now everything is on a flash drive or simply downloaded from the Internet. But he's still there in all models, as I understand it.
My approach to choosing a PC
My old computer began to freeze constantly, the sound lagged behind when playing the video, and there were many other problems. When I decided to buy a new system unit and monitor, I began to study what characteristics are relevant in our time in order to work in a graphics editor, watch movies online, and play modern games. This article helped me with that. I wrote down the most important points for myself and already went for a walk on the Internet with them. And I ran into some problems, some processors, motherboards and video cards are simply not compatible with each other. You need to go to the manufacturers' websites, there you can choose what is perfect for what. As a result, I assembled a system unit from a Core i5-7400 processor, a GeForce GT 730 video card, an Intel H110 motherboard, and 4GB of RAM. The rest was set to normal. I bought a good monitor, wireless keyboard and mouse. Now I can't help but rejoice! It is a pleasure to work, I watch movies without delays in playback.
Well, if you do not want to complete the system unit yourself, then now there are a large number of ready-made solutions for every taste and budget. My sistemnik came out about 40 thousand. And this is the average price. Happy shopping everyone!
Generally well written.
In general, everything is correctly written, I myself recently acquired a new system unit. The processor chose Intel Core i7. The hard drive is 2 TB. The thing that caused the most problems was with the video card, the prices for them have jumped over the past year is simply unrealistic. Mining farms are to blame for everything, which are massively buying them up and creating a shortage. As a result, I bought a GeForce 3 GB. I took a more powerful power supply, I don’t remember the name. I also bought a good cooling system so that games do not slow down from overheating. I did not buy a monitor, since I already have a good Acer 21 ". In principle, what I have assembled completely suits me.
If for the first time you are faced with the independent choice of a computer, then when you visit the store you may have problems, since not everyone will be able to understand the characteristics that are indicated on each model. Of course, you can turn to a salesperson or consultant for help, but it is far from certain that they will be able to explain to you all the advantages and, especially, the disadvantages of the option you are interested in. Therefore, before going to the store, you should prepare well and decide which parameters you should pay attention to in the first place, and what their marking means.
Frame
In fact, the case of the system unit has almost no effect on system performance. Its only function in this regard is to create good air cooling. Therefore, the main criterion for choosing is its appearance. Here is a matter of taste. By the way, powerful computers do not always have a presentable appearance of their case, so this is far from the most important parameter.
Number of processor cores
In stores, as a rule, the marking of the processor is always indicated as the most important element of the entire system. However, it is far from always possible to immediately determine from it how many cores a given model has. Each manufacturer defines this characteristic in its own way. For example, Intel indicates the number of cores using the label (Duo - 2, Quad - 4, etc.), while its main competitor AMD does this using the X multiplier and the corresponding number (x2, x4, etc.).
Clock frequency
It is worth paying attention to this parameter. It is measured in gigahertz, and is indicated on each processor as one of its main parameters. Modern models have a frequency of 2.6 to 3.5 GHz. 3 gigahertz should be enough for you, especially since the number of cores is a more important indicator.
RAM
This is a very important element that significantly affects the performance of the entire system. RAM is measured in gigabytes and varies in a fairly wide range - from 2 to 32 GB. The size of the required memory should be selected based on the purpose for which this computer was purchased. For the Internet and office work, a few gigabytes is enough, while for gaming computers this figure, the higher the better.
video card
If you decide to buy a system unit for gaming purposes, then the video card should be given increased attention. Like RAM, its main parameter is the amount of memory, only in this case this characteristic applies to video. As a rule, this indicator is written in the card model and varies from 512 to 4 GB. The higher the amount of memory, the more powerful the games will run on your computer.
HDD
And the last important component of the system unit is the hard drive (hard drive). Here, first of all, its size (volume) and what information you will store on it are important. For text documents, photos, music and simple games, 500 GB is enough. If you are a cinephile and like to play modern games, then it is better to purchase a hard drive of at least 2 terabytes.
More and more people are wondering every day how to assemble a computer from components from scratch. Assembling a computer on your own and with your own hands is a rather fascinating and informative process. Self-assembly and configuration of a computer costs an average of 30% cheaper than buying an already assembled, ready-to-use machine.
Some people mean a system unit by a computer, but I hasten to remind you that a system unit without a monitor, keyboard and mouse is useless. Only with these peripherals does it become a full-fledged functioning personal computer.
What do you need to assemble a computer?
To start the assembly, you need to pick up a new set of parts. Parts that were in use are undesirable to buy, since in the absence of experience in setting up a PC, difficulties may arise.
So what do you need to build a computer? The points:
- computer case,
- power unit,
- motherboard,
- CPU,
- RAM,
- graphics card,
- sound card,
- dvd drive,
- HDD,
- monitor,
- keyboard,
- computer mouse.
Which computer case to choose?
Choose a good computer case. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that in stores there are cases made in China, which are made of very thin tin and are easily deformed under mechanical stress.
The computer case includes a power supply and a network cable. Sometimes the case and power supply are sold separately.
How to choose a motherboard?
Motherboards come with integrated cards for processing video information and sound. These motherboards are easier to assemble and have average technical parameters.
If you need to equip your computer with more powerful means of playing sound and video information, then you need to use a motherboard that is equipped with slots for a video card and a sound card.
When choosing a motherboard, you need to determine the area of \u200b\u200bthe main use of the computer.
How to choose a video card?
It makes no sense to use an expensive video card to view news and video information on the Internet. But if you are a fan of computer games with cool video effects or plan to work in powerful video editing programs, then you cannot do without a good video card.
When choosing, always start from the purpose for which you purchase a video card. The power and price of the video card will depend on this.
Tell the seller in the store why you need a video card. He can help you choose the right model.
How to choose a sound card?
The question of how to choose the right sound card is quite extensive, so I will limit myself to basic theses.
Sound cards integrated into the motherboard basically have two channels. If you plan to listen to music through an amplifier or receiver, then buy a multi-channel sound card. There are those that support 5.1 and 7.1 sound systems when there are several speakers and a subwoofer in the system.
Sound cards can be internal, which plug into a slot on the motherboard, and external, which can be connected to a computer via a USB or Firewire connector. Although the latter are already more of a professional level of sound cards that are used by sound engineers, DJs and electronic musicians.
First of all, to answer the question of how to choose a sound card, ask yourself why you need a sound card in general, and then look for a model that meets your criteria.
How to choose RAM?
To buy the right RAM, you first need to decide on its volume. For a typical modern computer, 4 GB is enough. A gaming computer requires at least 8 GB.
It is also important to know the type of memory slots on your motherboard. Recently, you can find, basically, only DDR3, but in general you can find the following types of connectors:
The type of RAM connector is usually indicated in the description of the motherboard. In any case, check with the store if they can exchange the memory you buy for another type of memory of the same capacity if you make a mistake with the choice of memory type.
RAM boards are sensitive to static charges, so it is not recommended to unpack them and keep them open until installation. Before installation, it is recommended to touch the metal case in order to remove a possible accumulated static charge on you.
HDD
The information that is on the hard drive also requires a certain amount of space. Depending on your goals, you may need additional memory.
A 500 GB hard drive is the best option for work. If you are going to play games or download Blu-ray movies to your hard drive, and there will be a lot of them, then you can safely take a hard drive from 1 terabyte. I prefer Seagate Barracuda hard drives.
DVD drives
DVD drives differ by manufacturer and price, otherwise they are standard. They are mainly needed to install programs and drivers for equipment at the initial stage of setting up a computer. Further, if you connect high-speed Internet, most likely you will rarely use the DVD drive.
How to choose a processor?
Processor power used to depend only on the clock frequency. The higher the frequency, the more powerful the processor. But now such a factor as the number of processor cores has been added. The more powerful the processor, the faster the computer will run. The motherboard must support the platform or socket of the processor you have chosen. Therefore, it is better to choose them together and in advance.
The answer to the question of how to choose a processor depends, again, on what you are going to use the computer for.
Monitor, keyboard, mouse
I've had a Phillips widescreen monitor, a Logitech MX Performance Mouse, and the most common USB keyboard for a long time and have been successfully working.
But I leave the choice of these peripherals to your personal taste. The number of opinions and options here is huge. I recommend taking simple but reliable ones.
Assembling a computer with your own hands: How to assemble a computer yourself?
Important Tip:
It is not recommended to wear synthetic clothing, which condenses electrostatic charge, while assembling the computer yourself. Electrostatic voltage is detrimental to microcircuits. Therefore, cotton clothing should be used.
So, how to build a computer yourself? Assembling a PC begins with installing the processor and heatsink with a fan on the motherboard. The processor is installed in the socket and fixed with a lever. Thermal paste is evenly applied to the surface of the processor and the heat sink is fixed, as shown in the figure in the instructions. The cable connector from the fan must be connected to the power socket, which is located next to the processor panel.
You can immediately install a RAM card on the motherboard. It is necessary to be extremely careful and not to make great mechanical efforts so as not to damage the neighboring elements of the board. I already wrote detailed with pictures. A detailed description of how to install the processor is supplied with the motherboard.
The next stage of assembly is the installation of a hard disk and a DVD drive into the PC case. Then the motherboard is installed and fixed. Wires with connectors that come from the power supply must be connected to the corresponding sockets of the motherboard, DVD drive and hard drive. Then connect all the wires that come from the front panel of the computer case to the corresponding motherboard connectors, following the connection instructions.
Now you can proceed to install the operating system. After fully configuring the computer software, you can close the case cover.
In general, assembling a computer with your own hands takes place in this order. The nuances of how to assemble a computer yourself are not intentionally described, since in each case they are different. Leave questions about assembling a computer in the comments.
Below is a list of very simple, targeted and very accurate utilities than you can quickly check boo(or boo boo) computer/notebook at buying... In minutes - the result is 100%, in case of failure, and 99% in case of stable operation.
In the vastness of the domestic and, especially, the metropolitan Internet, there are a lot of sites with a “bulletin board” page, where the sale, purchase, exchange and barter of all kinds of computer components flourishes. Honest people sometimes offer to buy computer or laptop cheap, very cheap. Even if just because of the urgent need for money. At the same time, professional flea marketers are often ready to sell anything, repurchased or taken from who knows where, and similar goods may have defects. Long term product warranty BOO, obviously, a rarity and therefore buying this there is a big risk of being left with nothing. Therefore, I will give a simple way to identify computers with defects, proven and well-proven. It will take you 3-5 minutes now, but it will save you a lot of nerves and money in the future.
It is assumed that you have a workable and stable according to the seller computer. The same applies to the laptop too, because. major mistakes at buying laptop or computer bu are the same. Perhaps you are buying some kind of separate component, for example, a processor or a video card, which you also need check. The essence of this does not change, but on the contrary, it is even simpler, because. you can fully focus on a particular device. Major Mistakes at buying BOO technology (computer, laptop, etc.) and the method of avoiding them are obvious - you need to check individual components.
So, there are utilities that are remarkable in their simplicity and reliability, which make it possible to establish with great probability the operability (or NOT operability) of a particular component. Let's start in order..
_ PROCESSOR used_
In the vast majority of cases, the processor either works or does not work, and there is no third way. Before handing the money to the seller, of course, make sure visually that there are no visible defects and the legs are not bent. And of course, you need to run some application on it. Great even for multi-core processors very small but very powerful utility Prime 95. It takes kilobytes (like all the utilities proposed in this article) and you can download it for free in a second or bring it with you on a USB flash drive.
So, by running the utility, select in the tab Options->Torture test..
the topmost tick, the one that corresponds to the purple number 1 in the figure.
Please note that all cores will be 100% loaded, even if you have a multi-core processor. The utility runs extremely intensive mathematical calculations on each core of your processor, selected in such a way that even a single failure in a fraction of nanoseconds on any core will instantly cause the calculations to be performed to be inconsistent with the true ones. The program does not stop checking calculations for such a discrepancy, and in case of an error, it will stop the test on such and such a core and generate an Error error. As you can see, within a minute, not a single error was detected on any of the cores (underlined in red). The program runs this test in the processor cache and no exchange with the chipset or RAM at this is not happening. That is, you test in this way ONLY the processor. The sensitivity of the test is such that if an error occurs in the 5th minute, then in real conditions you can work on the computer for hours without noticing failures! If there is no error within an hour, your processor is iron stable. If there are serious problems with it (for example, it is overclocked and not stable), you will not have time to blink an eye, as errors fall out on one core after another.
_ RAMboo_
The RAM test is no different, except that the size of the task is increased by selecting the tab at number 3 (purple number in the figure). Yes, this is the default mode. Such calculations will be placed in your RAM and in case of problems with it, the same mistakes described above will be repeated. You will know that the problem is EXACTLY IN RAM, and not in the processor. The middle tab at number two will create a peak thermal load for the entire system as a whole and with its help you can identify the insufficiency of the power supply, for example. Information about the type and modes of operation can also be viewed using the CPU-Z utility or
_ VIDEO CARDboo_
A very complex and very powerful device in terms of energy consumption, which often breaks down. The utility is well suited for testing a video card. The utility is also very easy to use and weighs very little. When you run it, you will see a window with a three-dimensional object, popularly called "hairy donut".
This test loads the video card extremely heavily using all the available power. You can check video card both for errors and for heating. You can also see the temperature graph. 15-20 minutes of running at high resolutions is enough to reveal the defect.
_ POWER UNITboo_
It has already been described above how to create the maximum thermal load for the entire system. at using the Prime 95 utility. Additionally, you need to load the video card (also described). In case of instability in this mode together, and not separately, you can sin not for overheating, but for a lack of power of the power supply. (read Choosing the right power supply). If the computer has a backlight or LEDs (and they almost always have them), pay attention to whether their brightness starts to flicker, how much it drops during the launch of the tests. This is really very informative! Such phenomena indicate a discrepancy between the voltages issued by your power supply unit and the standard +12, +5 and +3.3V. There are a lot of such LEDs for backlighting, on the motherboard or video card, on the backlight of the power indication, etc. In the end, you can insert them yourself into the power supply on free loops for beauty)) (of course, observing the polarity and voltage compliance).
_ HDDboo_
Apparently, the most important component, although not the most expensive in the financial sense. But if it does not break, and if it breaks, then it is VERY expensive. There is a wonderful article about the reliability and speed of hard drives that I recommend reading. When you have already chosen a specific disk and you need to check, a utility called HD tune simply irreplaceable! It repeats the principles of the utilities listed earlier and is small, very informative and has proven itself well. In the S.M.A.R.T. you can look at the basic parameters of your hard drive and see if they are correct. We are talking about the age of the HDD, and the number of starts-stops, its temperature, the spin-up time of the plate, the number of transferred and bad sectors. And if some parameter turns out to be doubtful, the utility will highlight the corresponding line and, therefore, you cannot rely on such a hard drive.
In addition, this article describes how you can check drive speed and reaction time. There is also a tab for a detailed check on the bad sector (bad-sector), which will take 2-3 hours. Armed with such utilities, you can, in fact, be able to check all the main components of a computer or laptop. You can buy a laptop boo or computer boo without fear that its reliability and stability are in question.
You can also order a new, absolutely reliable and carefully tested in a similar way. new computer configuration .
Happy shopping and save money!
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