Building Your Own Computer

My friends are impressed when I tell them that I recently built my own IBM-compatible personal computer. But, in reality, it’s not a major technical feat. Installing the electronic components was easy. The hardest part was inserting the system into its case.

Building a PC is essentially a matter of plugging components into each other. When you strip away the covers, a PC is nothing but a printed circuit board with chips, a power supply to provide electricity, one or more disk drives and some plug-in expansion cards for the monitor, modem and other peripherals. The basic circuit board, called the “mother board,” is the heart of the system.

Fortunately, those boards come fully assembled with all chips, except the memory, already installed. Memory chips come on plug-in cards, called in-line memory modules or packages. Some memory modules are easy to install, others require you to be careful not to bend the small pins that insert into the mother board.

I don’t recommend that everyone build their own PC. In the first place, you don’t save all that much money. Lots of discount computer dealers and individuals will do it for you for the cost of components plus a markup or fee. Ed Neil, proprietor of NB Computer Products of Palo Alto, (415) 322-5868, charges about 10% over the cost of his component parts when he puts a system together. For that fee, he helps the user select the right equipment, buys all the components, does the assembly, sets up the hard disk and offers a one-year warranty. It takes Neil about 45 minutes to assemble a typical system, although he occasionally runs into time-consuming complications. Unless you’re willing to do your own trouble shooting, it helps to have a dealer or system builder on your side when you have problems.

Neil came to my rescue after I gave up trying to get my mother board into a standard AT case. As it turned out, the holes in the case wouldn’t align with the connectors on the mother board. Neil knew how to make the adjustments, but I never would have figured it out. If you’re going to build your own machine, be sure that all your components, including the case, come with instructions. It’s also a good idea to locate a backup expert, like Neil, who can bail you out of trouble.

With any PC buying decision, your first task is to decide what you want. Mother boards are rated by speed. Boards with faster central processing units (CPUs) generally cost more. JDR Microdevices, (800) 538-5000, a San Jose-based mail-order distributor, has mother boards starting at $89.95 for a unit with an Intel 8088 CPU that runs at 1.7 times the speed of IBM’s original PC. JDR isn’t the lowest price distributor in the industry, but it has been around for more than 10 years and offers a 30-day “no questions asked” money back guarantee as well as toll-free technical support--two big pluses whether you build or buy.

At $1,495, JDR’s high-end system has a 33-megahertz Intel 386 CPU that’s 46 times the speed of the original PC. For $400 you can buy a mother board with an Intel 16-megahertz 386SX CPU that runs about 15 times faster than a standard IBM PC. Megahertz (1 megahertz equals 1 million cycles per second) indicates the operational speed of the CPU’s internal clock. The higher the better. The comparisons to the original IBM PC are determined by using Norton Computing’s System Information program, a rough benchmark that’s widely used to estimate system performance.

I decided on a $799 system board with a 25-megahertz 386 CPU that operates 26 times the speed of an IBM PC. That’s not the fastest machine on the block, but it’s more than fast enough for me. I also bought 4 megabytes of memory ($124.95 per megabyte) and two floppy disk drives. My A drive uses 1.2-megabyte, 5 1/4-inch floppies, and my B drive accommodates 1.44-megabyte, 3 1/2-inch diskettes. Each drive costs about $100.

You’ll also need a case and a power supply. Cases start at $59.95. A space-saving “mini upright case” with a built-in power supply costs $200. I chose the $89.95 full-size slide-in case. I went elsewhere for my power supply. Most people don’t think much about the power supply system, but that’s the unit that contains the fan. I’m a stickler when it comes to noise and insist on the quietest fan. PC Power & Cooling of Bonsall, Calif., (619) 723-9513, specializes in quiet power supplies. I’m using the $149 Silencer 200, which delivers 200 watts of power and virtually no noise.

Hard disk drives are another source of noise. The platters, which spin at 3,600 revolutions per second, can sound like jet engines. JDR has hard drives starting at $249 for 20 megabytes, but I chose to go elsewhere for a very quiet 212-megabyte, 3 1/2-inch drive from Conner Peripherals of San Jose. Most people won’t need such a high-capacity drive, but I do because I test so much software. That drive, which has a street price of about $900, doesn’t come with a controller card that connects the drive to the mother board.

I opted for a small computer system interface (SCSI) drive and controller. Irvine-based Future Domain, (714) 253-0400, makes SCSI controllers starting at about $100. A single SCSI controller can handle up to seven drives, including compact disc drives and tape backup systems. To save an expansion slot, I chose an SCSI controller card that also accommodates both my floppy drives.

Every computer needs a monitor, but I already had a multisync monitor. Multisync monitors work with every type of graphic circuit board, so I knew it would be compatible. I did have to buy a graphic display board--I selected a VGA board (today’s standard high-resolution circuit board for IBM compatibles) for $129. Had I bought a VGA monitor, it would have cost me about $325.

I also bought a $30 serial and parallel card to connect my mouse, modem and printer.

The machine I built costs about $3,600 in parts, but most people will do fine with a far less expensive system. Whether you buy it or build it yourself, $2,000 can get you a fully configured high-performance 386SX-based machine. You can get a machine with a perfectly adequate 286 CPU for as little as $1,000 or a basic PC for under $500.

Although I didn’t save that much money, the experience and the ability to handpick my components made it all worthwhile. If you’re inclined to do the same, there are places you can turn to for help.

Aubrey Pilgrim has written a series of books called “Build Your Own IBM Compatible and Save a Bundle.” There are editions for basic PCs as well as 286- and 386-based machines. JDR offers low-cost videotapes that take you through the process, and some community colleges offer hands-on classes where students build their own PCs.

Milpitas, Calif.-based Domino Self Service Center, (408) 946-6991, operates three San Francisco-area stores where users buy parts and assemble their own systems with the help of an on-site technician. Domino’s prices are very good, and the company offers a one-year warranty. Some independent stores and clone builders will let you “help” or at least watch as they assemble your system, but don’t expect any discounts for your labor. If you’re lucky, they won’t charge you any extra.