“But I don’t want to build it myself!”

Lucky you’re not alone in that area. The majority of people don’t want to get their hands dirty fiddling with a computer. Who can blame you, you have better things to do.

You can get most of these benefits from online retailers. They offer options to pick and choose your parts or customize a standard model using a few options they provide.

These case studies will guide you with step-by-step instructions on customizing from a good preset package.

• Super-budget computer case study
• Mid-range computer case study
• High-end gaming computer case study

If you want to tackle the computer building on your own then continue and read more about each individual part before making a decision. I’ll start with what I consider the most major parts that require the most thought, and move down to those parts that are easier to choose.

1. Processor: The computer processor is likely to be the most expensive part of your system. It is also the most overhyped part. I have two computers at home, one of them being an Intel Pentium 4 2.0GHz and an AMD Athlon XP 2500+, both of which are not sold anymore. They are fine for everything I do on the computer, mostly internet based stuff, and I see no need to upgrade within 2 years or even longer. When looking at buying something new I like to stay current, but keep the cost down, I would go for the slower of the most up-to-date parts. Currently that would be the Intel Core 2 Duo E6320, next up would be the Core 2 Duo E6420 and the highest would be the Core 2 Duo E6600. There is also an E6700, but the price jump to get there is currently too high for the speed gains.
2. Motherboard: Although the processor is given much attention, this part gets my most attention. The motherboard connects everything together and is more like the heart and soul of your computer. I must have USB 2.0, SATA connectors (2 sets are better), built-in sound, built-in network adapter, built-in firewire, built-in external SATA. I should also have PCI Express if you want to upgrade to super-fast graphics cards.
3. Memory: Gives the most clout if upgraded. Everything you use on the computer is held in memory and then run. At least 512MB for Windows XP and at least 1GB for Vista, more is always better, but 2GB is the most I’d recommend for now.
4. Hard drive
5. Graphics card
6. DVD writer
7. Computer case
8. Keyboard and mouse

Those are the major parts aside from the monitor.

A computer crash can be caused by a huge number of things, many of which are not serious. A friend of mine who ran a server from his office couldn’t understand why there was a computer crash everyday at the same time. One day he went there at that time to find it was the cleaning lady unplugging the computer to vaccuum and then plugging it back in afterwards.

Assuming the computer was not accidentally turned off or reset here are a few common ideas to check out.

If there is a lightning strike many parts of your computer could be damaged, but checking the power supply for life would be a good start and then work your way through.

If it won’t turn on, or there is just a quick flash and then nothing, it could quite likely be the power supply that needs to be replaced.

If your computer overheated, it will shut down, but it should turn on again later and you can install software to monitor the temperature. Check fans are working and that ventilation is adequate. Processor fans are essential, except in specialist setups.

Hard drive failures often result in the computer appearing to freeze if it is on. A scraping sound is certain data corruption, stop using it immediately if you want any chance of recovery using a specialist company. Other non-detrimental failures can also be recovered, but at a price.

Other parts can have problems, but don’t often result in a complete computer crash.

If your computer works fine before installing something new and then you have a computer crash, chances are it is the new part that is causing the computer crash. I had and still have a printer that caused my computer to crash if you turned the printer on while plugged into the computer. That was solved by upgrading the drivers for the printer.

Finding the source of a computer crash can be difficult, but mostly just requires systematically identifying what is not guilty.

Most of my friends are computer dorky kind of people and they insist on doing computer repair themselves. I’m much like that too, computer repair can be fun, but its not for everyone.

There is a lot of computer repair that you can do with simply a philips screwdriver and bit of finesse.

If you are uncomfortable with computer hardware in general, if you bought a pre-built computer and have never plugged of unplugged the outside cables yourself you’d probably be better going to a computer shop to get things done. Ask your friends or other people in the office where they get their computers fixed. A lot of people can open a computer and fiddle, but not as many can truly repair your problems, offer you honest advice and predict future problems. If you trust your computer repairman you’ll have a lot less worry about keeping your computer running smoothly.

For those who like DIY or those who are just adventurous there is not too much to the computer itself.

The case comes undone with screws at the back.

The sides slide off to reveal the inner parts.

The power supply gives power to all the inner parts. Cables are shaped to avoid connecting incorrectly.

All the parts connect to the motherboard.

Expansion cards go in the slots that show out the back.

The processor connects to the motherboard with a large fan on it.

Completely disconnect power, disconnect what you need to remove, unscrew it and wiggle it out.

Just reconnect at the end, plug in the computer and things will run again.

Alright, computer repair is a little more complicated that, and there are a few little things which require a few trickly movements, but really there is not much to it. The hard part is finding what exactly is wrong and what needs to be fixed or changed.

Computer repair with software is a much more complex thing and usually involves Microsoft Windows. Being the most widely available and most commonly used operating system there are a multitude of things which could go wrong, but which don’t happen too often. The days of “the blue screen of death” are mostly behind us, but regular backups of you data will ensure that even complete operating system failure will not mean the end of you data.