Why buy when you can build

Computers have revolutionized the world, as we know it. They have been of means of improvement of life from Aeronautics to Zoology (A – Z), and a plethora of other fields as well. Computers have been the backbone of technological advancement and organization necessary for this knowledge explosion of the 21st century. However, what do we owe most of the driving force behind the eruption in computer advancement? Would you guess the video game? That’s right the good ole video game. Could you have ever guess that Atari’s pong would be a major contributor to the rapid acceleration in computer technology.

I began to get into computers in 1995 and paid a sum of $1500.00 for my first custom built PC. If I recall it was a 486 DX2 80 IBM Clone with 16 Megs of Ram, I even splurged with a luxurious 15-inch monitor, all built by a 16 year old high school student. I couldn’t believe it but he brought it to my house and set it up and I was off on my journey.

I purchased my next pc from the not so beloved Best Buy department store, where the sales reps where quick to tell me that the unit I wished to purchase was fully upgradeable, they failed to tell me however that it was limited to th

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Windows XP is a great OS for beginners in that it doesn’t take more that setting your BIOS (basic in and out system) to boot for CD, the BIOS itself is software that consist of all the various drivers that interface the hardware to the operating system (Muller 347).

Because many do not live in the suburbs or a large city, you will not have local access to parts wholesalers. They will include the “bare bone” essentials, which include (Case and power supply, Motherboard, Processor, memory and a floppy drive). At one point or another, every other component connects to the motherboard. Again using a website configuration wizard will help assure that all your parts are compatible with each other and must sell you a heat sink and fan for your processor so as not to void the warranty. Again there is a plethora of on-line resources and books that will assist you step-by-step. For example the Gigabyte motherboard is a great middle of the road board and has a full color fold out flyer with step-by-step instruction, from installation and Processor Clock frequencies. Something else you need to do is to set a budget as to how much you want to spend, because the sky is the limit. Also, if you do not know you're rear from a PC, you can be certain the salesman will pick up on that and really take advantage of it. I'm not saying all computer salesmen are dishonest, but you wouldn't believe some of the stories I've heard. com/howto/02q3/020904/>

September 4, 2002

. Scavenging is more wholesome than it sounds; the term refers to components you’ve removed from an older computer, used components you’ve bought, or parts that someone has given you (Chambers 14). Never carry out any work on your computer whilst is is plugged into the mains power socket, you could cause yourself and your PC damage.

The Operating System or OS as its known is a must, this is what brings it all together, unless you have a good licence that you have of a previous PC (which is no longer being used), you need to purchase a new OS.

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